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On first thoughts Celtic tunes and salsa kicking in together, rhythmically should be pretty difficult if not a tad impossible given the strict and contrasting rhythms and stresses that distinguish each form.

Surprisingly, it works phenomenally and the fourth Salsa Celtica album El Camino, is a show-stopper, purely for the blend of Celtic melodies working along powerful Latin-American rhythms and the strength of the tunes, both traditional and original, that comprise the album.

The real gem on El Camino though is ‘Grey Gallito’, a superb guajira take on ‘The Grey Cockerel’, with Eliza Carthy’s vocals, as distinctive a voice in British folk as there is, and featuring the coro singing the refrain ‘No le canto, ahora gallito’, altering the mood of the original and giving it new depth.

Formed in Scotland in 1995, Salsa Celtica are rather predictably folk and salsa festival favourites, so expect to see them at a festival near you over summer, or alternatively get out to a festival just to see them, starting with an appearance at Dundee Jazz Festival on 22 April (see www.jazzmusic.co.uk for more information).

El Camino is released on 6 March on Discos Leon records followed by their longest tour to date starting with the UK leg in March and April. For details of tour dates get to www.salsaceltica.com.