The inspiration for Caamaño & Amexerias’ music is inextricably linked to the culture of their home Galicia, a lush rainy mountainous area of northern Spain which stands apart as a crossroads of Celtic, Balkan, Basque and Spanish traditions, including the Galician language – more like Portuguese than Spanish. Caamaño & Ameixeiras have been around as an accordion and fiddle duo since 2018 but their devotion to Galician music as individuals began when they were children. Sabela Caamaño picked up the accordion at seven. Antía Ameixeiras took up the violin at five. Their young lives were steeped in music, assimilating Galician traditions through their academic studies and a series of collaborations with the crème de la crème of fellow Galician virtuosos.

Eventually they found each other and fused their talents as a duo, releasing their first ground-breaking and award-winning album Aire! in 2021 and a second in 2023 – Quitar o aire.

Both comprised instrumental pyrotechnics with occasional energetic and sometimes ethereal vocal harmonies. Indeed, the music of Caamaño & Ameixeiras reflects the signature Galician mish mash of traditions while shaking things up with a Basque spin on a Bulgarian tune. They even inject a western pop theme or two because, well, why not? Caamaño & Amexerias manifest a vibrant musical universe where the old ways are also the new ways.

Eric Rosenbaum