Wine Dark Sea by Bad Haggis

From the dual leads of the "bagtar" (bagpipe & guitar) by Eric and guitarist Mike Hoffmann, to the deeply grooving rhythms laid down by bassist/vocalist Mick Linden and Brazilian drummer/vocalist Rogerio Jardim & Colombian percussionist Alberto Lopez, BAD HAGGIS employs a new musical vocabulary to create an exciting, hybrid sound.

WINE DARK SEA, the band's fourth CD (2005), joins the previously released ARK and TRIP albums and the award-nominated DVD SPAN featuring salsa sensation RUBÉN BLADES. The 11-song disc includes original end credits music "Cinderella Man" that Eric wrote and performed for the 2005 film of the same name starring Russell Crowe, as well as "Barcos" co-written by Rubén Blades.

For fans of Eric's world-famous pipe skills, "The Rocky Road to Dublin" combines Eric's composition "Cinderella Man" plus two other traditional tunes while the rhythm section complements the Irish reels with a traditional Brazilian drum pattern. The album's opening number "Sleepy Maggie" sung by Mick is another medley, seamlessly blending three traditional Scottish tunes -- "In and Out the Harbour", "Sleepy Maggie" and "Humours of Tulla" - with the 1980's hit by The Cure, "Hot! Hot! Hot!!!"

Three tracks feature vocals by Rogerio in Portuguese and/or Spanish: "Ventania" (Gale Wind), "Beijo" (Kiss) and "Barcos" (Ships). "Nimble Attitude's" clever lyrics describe Los Angeles traffic, complete with screeching brakes, crunching metal and shattering glass. Songs such as "Love Carry Water", "Prayers" and "Horizon" invoke water imagery, a theme linking WINE DARK SEA to Bad Haggis' previous albums. The title is taken from Homer's epic Greek poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Spreading their music across the world, BAD HAGGIS transcends the boundaries of continents and musical genres with their sonic vision. Based in Los Angeles, the band has toured across the USA as well as Europe where their concerts were recorded, filmed, and aired by the BBC and Spanish TV. In recent years the band has been featured twice on TV's Blind Date, which has aired several times to over 77 million viewers in North America. In 2004 BAD HAGGIS released the DVD, SPAN, nominated the same year for the SURROUND MUSIC AWARDS in two categories, sharing their "Best Additional Features" category with fellow nominees THE GRATEFUL DEAD, THE WHO and THE ROLLING STONES.

"...Rigler and his unisonant mates traverse and merge styles as gleefully as kids set loose in a musical Disneyland. Combining Celtic, African, Rock, Jazz, World Beat and nearly any other piping hot genre to toss into its tasty concoction, Bad Haggis is indubitably a kitchen sink of creativity." --Dirty Linen magazine, April/May 2001

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