Tim Scanlan & Mana Okubo

Old tunes, drones and modern beats. Tim Scanlan plays as a one-man band, and with fiddler Mana Okubo alongside, the duo swings from acoustic chant songs people can sing along to, up to heavy kick drum dance tunes with the fiddle racing over the bass drones. They're comfortable in a Tokyo nightclub at midnight and just as easy in a cafe near Bonnie Doon on a Sunday afternoon. Festival credits include Electric Picnic in Ireland, Morimichi-Ichiba in Japan, the Vancouver Folk Festival and Interceltique in France, plus plenty around Australia. The Melbourne pair fits a festival stage, or a party that wants folk music it can dance to.