Suprisingly strange yet strangely familiar,
the music of Dalla is the music of Cornwall.

“Dalla filter the sound of this ancient Celtic land through myriad other influences, infusing the whole damn thing with contemporary innovation and energy, as well as multi-instrumentalist virtuosity, to arrive at a kind of World Music with a Cornish accent. A rich aural tapestry that would awaken the dead. Sublime. ****” (Rock’n’Reel)

In Dalla you will find fiddle, mandolin, bouzouki, jigs, hornpipes and polkas as in Ireland or Scotland; clarinet and ‘call and response’ as in Brittany and folk ballads as in England. Yet also some unusual dance rhythms, driven by rhythmic drones and hypnotic riffs, wild improvisations around the tunes, and interwoven vocal harmonies in Kernowek – Cornwall’s own language.

Since the 1970s, there has been a revolution in the music of Cornwall, especially in the traditional dance scene. A major revival has happened in the Celtic music and dance of the region.

Two distinct formats for Cornish social dancing have emerged. Firstly, from the early days of the revival there was the ‘troyl’ and then – with the turn of the millennium came the ‘nos lowen’. The ‘troyl’ is similar in style to Scottish or Irish ceilidhs, whilst the ‘nos lowen’ is more akin to the Breton fest noz.

The nos lowen style includes the oldest and the newest elements of the Cornish tradition. It encompasses gentle, hypnotic, fast and furious dance-music and singing-for-dancing in Kernowek (Cornish language) and in English.

Nos lowen music, like its main players, has travelled the world and picked up many influences along the way, but it remains solidly anchored in the granite of our peninsula.

Dalla play for Cornish nos lowen dance nights, and also do concerts of music in this genre.