Bellevue Rendezvous are the inventive Scottish-based trio of Gavin Marwick (fiddle), Cameron Robson (cittern, jaw harp) and Ruth Morris (nyckelharpa), three experienced and far travelled musicians. The nyckelharpa is a traditional Swedish instrument, a beautifully toned keyed fiddle in the viola register, rarely seen in the UK. With a collective CV that encompasses some of Scotland’s most fascinating outfits – including Unusual Suspects, Cantrip and Iron Horse – they draw on music and traditions as diverse as Serbia, Macedonia, Poland, Canada, France and Finland, alongside many of their own compositions, to create the quirkily alluring instrumental interplay that makes their sound so distinctive.

Originally formed over several nights of jamming round a kitchen table in 2006, this unashamedly acoustic instrumental trio can move from the blissful and relaxing to really packing a punch in their more fiery numbers. There is much harmony and interweaving between the fiddle and the darker tones of the nyckelharpa, with the cittern supplying a lot of top line as well as rhythm. They have two critically acclaimed albums, Tangents (2007) and Salamander (2010), released on their own independent label Journeyman. Their third album, While Rome Burns, will be released in June 2017.

Recorded at Castlesound, this new album features original material from the band as well as traditional and contemporary tunes from Galicia, Norway, Armenia, France, Sweden, Romania and other places including… Scotland!

Salamander took them from their UK footing to a more European presence. They have played in France, Italy, Germany, Norway and Switzerland, playing at concerts, festivals, weddings, clubs, coffee shops and village halls. Latterly they have been performing as part of the 10 piece Gavin Marwick’s Journeyman Spectacular, which received a nomination for Live Act of the Year at the MG Alba trad music awards 2014.

The trio’s set bordered on otherworldly at times, capturing the senses with a sound reminiscent of the Nordic supergroup Våsen. The audience – including us – were enchanted. Oak and Thorn, Celtic Connections

…so snugly in synch as to sound at times like a single big instrument, at others like a small orchestra. Sue Wilson, The Scotsman

Elemental, mesmeric, extraordinarily beautiful… Alex Monaghan

Salamander should cement the position of Bellevue Rendezvous as one of the foremost talents in traditional music, with a sound that stands out as truly distinct and imaginative. Mike Wilson, folkandroots.com The musicianship of this group is stunning. Hotpress Magazine

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