Andy Cutting

Andy Cutting reimagines the diatonic button accordion as a contemporary vehicle for deep emotional expression. Although grounded in folk traditions, he applies an innovative sensibility to longstanding forms. Q magazine observed that Cutting “has helped to blow away a few of the cobwebs that surround traditional music,” while Folk Roots lauded his “pure, wholesome, wondrous, playing.” A one-time member of the Celtic rock outfit Blowzabella, he has persistently stretched the expressive range of the squeezebox through an array of collaborative ventures. Alongside three recordings made with fiddler Chris Wood, Cutting has delved into the traditional repertoires of Wales, Brittany, and England via Fernhill, the ensemble he maintains with Ceri Rhys Matthews, Jonathan Shorland, and Julie Murphy, as well as The Two Duos Quartet, which unites him with Wood, Ian Carr, and Karen Tweed. Until recently he also appeared with Tanteeka, the wide-ranging group featuring semi-acoustic and electric guitarist Olly Knight, saxophone, clarinet, whistle player and vocalist Jo Freya, and trombone, tuba and Euphonium player and vocalist Alice Kinlock. Additional partnerships have linked him with June Tabor, Kate Rusby, Nigel Eaton, Sting, and Pete Morton.