Monster Ceilidh Band

Monster Ceilidh Band

Monster Ceilidh Band is a Newcastle-based ceilidh group made up of Amy Thatcher on accordion and caller duties, Carly Blain on fiddle, Kieran Szifris on mandocello and David de la Haye on electric bass. The band plays cross-genre ceilidh music, with an emphasis on dance music, party atmosphere and instrumental folk.

Style and approach

The group describes its music as a mix of acoustic playing and electronic influences, taking ceilidh into club and festival settings as well as traditional dance contexts. Its repertoire combines quirky instrumental folk with beats-driven arrangements, and the band presents ceilidh dancing as a social, high-energy experience for mixed-age audiences.

Releases and collaborations

Mechanical Monster is the band’s second album and is presented as a double album. It includes both an acoustic disc and a more electronic set built around the project “The Monsters vs. The Touch”. The album reflects touring experiences from places including Russian metal clubs and the rainforests of Malaysia, and it brings in collaborators from Newcastle’s music scene, including glitch electronics artist Anomaly, dubstep producer DJ Giotto and Paul Susans of The Baghdaddies as producer.

Touring and recognition

In 2010 the band is nominated for best instrumental album by Spiral Earth, receives a Time Out Magazine Critics’ Choice honour and is included in the British Music WOMEX official CD. That period also sees the group tour widely, including performances at around 20 UK festivals and dates in Russia such as Moscow’s Toshka metal club, the Moscow International House of Music and St Petersburg’s Glav Club. It also headlines the Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo, Malaysia.

Member activity

Amy Thatcher is also noted for performing on Sting’s latest DVD.