Artist description instrumental early music

Music Style modern early instrumental music

Musical Influences Balkan Celtic Nordic Sephardic Gypsy Middle-eastern

Similar Artists winter and winter, solas,

Artist History Formed in 1996 by Ric Lee, Scott Nieman, and Carol Biscardi, added Greg Reierson on percussion. Recorded first CD in 1997 with Matthew Smith as producer and musician. Second CD released in 2001 with the band focusing primarily on recording and composing.

Group Members Carol Biscardi - Cello; Ric Lee - Violin, Smallpipes and Mandolin; Scott Nieman - Guitar and Bouzouki s; Armaiti Prosch - Viola; Chris Gangelhoff - Flutes; Greg Reierson - Percussion; Matthew Smith - flutes, percussion, upright bass, voila

Instruments violin, viola, cello, ethnic flutes, upright bass, guitar, bouzoukis

Albums seven thieves (self-titled), scenic

Press Reviews Dirty Linen #99 Aoril/May 2002 Seven Thieves Scenic [Stolen SCCD 0102 (2001)] Seven Thieves is a sevenpiece group from Minneapolis that performs daring and original instrumental music that draws its inspiration from a wide range of sources. There's a short traditional Balkan piece, one from 13th century Spain, one from Scandinavia, and other pieces with Celtic roots. The originals reflect many of these influences, as well as Mideastern and mid-European ones. The group uses a vast array of instruments (though strangely enough, no single track features all seven members) including violin, viola, cello, guitar, bouzouki, various whistles and flutes, smallpipes and Highland pipes, and numerous percussion instruments. Matthew Smith plays the lion's share of instruments and did a masterful job of production by keeping the sound of the multi-instrumental backing crisp and clean. Fans of Boiled in Lead and 3 Mustaphas 3 will get the same sort of creative worldmusic fix from Seven Thieves. (JLe) CAKE Volume 11 Issue 64/65 1998 TOP HONORS REVIEW - Deneen "The Demo Queen" Gannon seven thieves. Stolen Records 1328 Madison St. NE, Mpls., MN 55413 612.781.4533 12 Track CD (Debut) In their info sheet, Seven thieves say. "We're not even sure what the hell kind of music this is, but maybe you could hand it over to your acoustic/ psychedelic/ chamber-rock reviewer." And that. my friends, is as close as I'm going to get to describing the distinctive sound of this band. Talk about talented, unique, stirring. This band has, geniunely, one of the coolest sounds I've heard on the local scene in quite some time. And I'm not going to stop there. This band has, geniunely, one of the coolest sounds I've heard on the national scene in quite some time. The music on this disc was performed entirely with acoustic instruments, and some strikingly weird ones at that (anklung, balafon, psaltry, and farm implements -- what?). The problem with using weird stuff like this is when everything is all mixed together in the same stew, the end product usually ends up being too tough to swallow. Not so with the seven thieves, whose excellently produced and performed CD satisfies at almost every turn. This disc has seen mucho time on the player at home, the player in the car, and my boyfriend's player where he works. It's a real compliment to this band's disc to say that, when it was time to review this piece of work, neither my boyfriend or I could remember where it was exactly - since we had been toting it around to so many different places. This body of work is absolutely exceptional. A must-have for those interested in the above-list genres. And great, fitting cover. Minneapolis Star Tribune Sunday, January 4, 1998 Entertainment Section Listen Up / Local: World/folk SEVEN THIEVES, "Seven Thieves" (Stolen Records) One of Minneapolis' most intriguing musical secrets is the "Friday Night Jam," a long-standing weekly exploration featuring members of world-rock band Machinery Hill, jazz band Earth Size Hail and others. From that clique has emerged Seven Thieves, an instrumental "otherworld music" quartet of violin, cello, guitar and percussion that sounds like Loreena McKennitt, but more exuberant. The group plays chamber-style music with influences from around the world, but mainly Ireland and Scotland. Violinist Ric Lee (Earth Size Hail, Carolyn Pershing Band) burns on many cuts, while percussionist Greg Reierson and producer Matthew Smith add subtle touches of jaw harp, portable pump organ, Highland pipes and numerous exotic instruments. The result is all-original music that's ever-changing, adventurous, yet concise (only one song is over five minutes; most are under four). As instrumental music regains favor and musical cultures intermix, "Seven Thieves" sounds like tradition that's also the wave of the future. 5317-- Jim Meyer, local-music columnist

Location Minneapolis, MN - USA

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