Edinburgh Festival Insider - Music Award 2009

Each year, the Fringe and the offshoot Edge Festival provide a wide range of musical offerings to cater for every taste. From world music to avant garde; classical to techno - there's something there for everyone.

The nominations for the Edinburgh Festival Insider Music Award 2009 are:

• Camille O'Sullivan with The Dark Angel. A mesmerising show and an electrifying performer, capable of hypnotising a crowd with the raw power of emotion.
• Patti Plinko and Her Boy. A bewitching set from Patti and The Boy, backed this year by a new addition on violin. Songs of love, death and suicide have never been so glamourous.
  
• Amanda Palmer. During her visit, the Edinburgh Festival seemed to turn into the Amanda Palmer Festival - her many and varied sets and appearances were always hugely entertaining.
  
• Creole Choir of Cuba. A wonderfully uplifting and accomplished performance that was the highlight of this year's World Festival at St George's West
• Brocante Sonare. Music and percussion created from machinery, chairs and other household objects by a talented troupe of French artists.

And the winner is...

Camille O'Sullivan with The Dark Angel

With a uniquely beguiling and emotional voice, Camille blows away audiences whenever she plays. An inspired choice of songs backed by a tight group of talented musicians allows her to fully exploit the power, passion and pathos of songs she cradles like children. A consummate performer, her line in between-song banter amuses and delights, creating little moments of relief before a song like 'Hurt' or 'Look Mummy No Hands' slowly draws your heart from your chest and into your mouth.

Music that can change you, and for that, Camille O'Sullivan is awarded the:

Edinburgh Festival Insider - Best Newcomer 2009

The Fringe always draws hopeful and enthusiastic performers and groups from around the world to its gigantic stage. Helping to keep it fresh and constantly-evolving, these first-timers often provide some unexpected delights amongst the more established acts that return year after year.

The nominations for the Edinburgh Festival Insider Best Newcomer Award 2009 are:

• Sambor Dudzinski's The Time(less) Machine. Polish 'art-warrior' and multi-talented performance artist Dudzinski unveiled his marvellously original and captivating vision at Edinburgh for the first time this year.
• TBA Collaborative with The Grind Show. A young and enthusiastic group of students and alumni from Washington, TBA Collaborative brought their dark and alluring Grind Show for its Fringe debut.
• Princess Cabaret. Some of the princesses had never left Oz before, let alone brought an original and buzz-creating sketch show to the biggest stage in the world.
• Xavier Mortimer's The Shadow Orchestra. A true hidden gem amongst Universal Arts' excellent programme, Mortimer's Fringe debut was spellbinding, magical and hugely enjoyable.
• The Paper Cinema with The Lost World. A beautiful and charming visit from The Paper Cinema with their unique and lovingly-recreated interpretation of Conan Doyle's classic.

And the winner is...

TBA Collaborative with The Grind Show

For their infectious enthusiasm, for their dark and cleverly-realised vision, for their patronage of fellow performers throughout their visit, for their encapsulation of the spirit of the Fringe - and most of all for the fact they deserve all the encouragement they need to return here again next year with another show which will no doubt surpass the already wonderful Grind Show: TBA Collaborative, here's your:

Review: The Time(less) Machine ****

A light casts strange shadows onto the curtain at the back of the performance space, heralding the arrival of Sambor Dudzinski and his Time(less) Machine. As his marvellous contraption comes into view, we see it in its full glory: a wonderfully eccentric giant tricycle affair, festooned with instruments and electronic equipment, the sort of thing Tim Burton would dream up after a night on the town with David Byrne.

Dudzinski is a true artist with a childlike gleefulness in his uncompromising vision. A Polish self-styled 'art warrior', he uses his Machine and a succession of original and unique instruments - including his versatile and beautifully mellow voice - to perform a series of interpretations of classical numbers and original (and I mean really original) compositions.

With a style that is uniquely eastern European, Dudzinski at times feels as though he has stepped from the pages of a story book, resplendent in his white fur hat and playful glinting eyes. By the end of the show, when he creates an amazingly quirky and truly unique composition with contributions from the audience, the glimpse he has given into his artistic vision and integrity is a privilege and one that resonates with you long afterwards.

Dudzinski deserves much larger audiences than his show most certainly deserves, and I encourage anyone with a taste for things a little different to make their way along to the splendid Venue150 at the EICC to catch him before he and his wonderful Machine clank, hum and whistle off to delight another audience elsewhere.

The Time(less) Machine runs from 25th to 30th August at Venue150. £9 (£7 concession)