Month: February 2012

Barrule:The Flowering of Manx Music

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 6 Comments

It is a great year for the Isle of Man. The Celtic telescope points that way. A huge effort has been place in getting the music and art of the people into the scene.  I am always glad to receive updates from anything  Manx. Let me tell you that there are two sites now which I consider as best references for anything you need. And if you are a band, it is the best time to collaborate with musicians from this region because the best sound always comes from these collaborations. For instance, Jaime Smith of Jamie Smith’s Mabon has been working with local musicians and they are able to come out with something interesting. The new project is Barrule. I will let the video do the talking for you and later on you can talk among yourselves ok?

Members: Jamie Smith – Piano Accordion, Tom Callister – Fiddle, Adam Rhodes – Bouzouki.

Hometown: Isle of Man

Description:

During the Manx festival ‘Shennaghys Jiu’ in 2011, musicians Jamie Adam and Tom came together to play a one-off concert in Ramsey. It soon became apparent that they enjoyed playing together and the audience really enjoyed listening to them, so they decided to do it again!

Playing a mixture of traditional and new Manx music, Barrule hope to bring music and songs from the Isle of Man to new audiences across the globe.

The trio are currently in the process of writing and recording a new album, scheduled for release later this year. The CD will feature guest musicians from the Isle of Man and further afield.

Fiddle player and multi-instrumentalist Tom Callister has established himself as one of the leading Manx musicians, despite being only nineteen years old. Tom has spent the last year studying traditional music on Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides and has just finished recording his debut solo album, produced by the renowned Scottish musician Matheu Watson.

Here are the best sites for Manx Music:

http://www.manxmusic.com/

http://www.ynchruinnaght.com

Piece of Timber by Irish Painter Donie Ryan

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 5 Comments

Donie Ryan has completed a series of paintings called “Piece of Timber”. I am struck by his minimalist style. I was whooping with joy when one of his art found its way to my doorstep. He likes giving his art o his friends because according to him “i get more of a kick giving my art to friends than selling it, but sure i hardly ever sell anything anyway” he and his friend Mick make a perfect tandem. They like to goof around and are associated with Dublin’s young artistic crowd. His expertise moves beyond the brush. All the frames you see, he sculpted them himself. This guy works with wood and other than occasional back pains , he loves doing it for the spirit of fun. Just the way I do this blog too-all in the name of fun.

We  talked about the Baltimore Fiddle fair  in the West of Cork where he worked as a bartender during  summer. That’s where he met Moya Brennan of Clannad. “oh i just served and prepared some of the food a magical place for me”.  ive been going on holiday there since i was 12. my second home.

Donie has plans of travelling and developing his art. His subjects are anti-war and I share his passion for peace and having great fun with music and friends. One day he will have an art show and I don’t want to miss that big event. Here are the paintings.

The artwork I got.

The artwork I got.

 

This one is called  “Skitzo Jaws”:Painting/Sculpture

Here are the tunes from the Fiddle fair and I hope you enjoy the paintings with

this music as soundtrack.

======================================================

Baltimore Fiddle Fair 2009, inside the pubs and out. “Any Old Time” performs on a warm sunny day in May.

Calan is out with Jonah

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 1 Comment

These days I feel I am a bit behind my usual posts. You know why? It is because I am getting updates from left to right. There are amazing artists and the scene is flowering like never before. The support for young acts is tremendous if you think of all the forums and facebook groups sprouting in hordes.  I met amazing people in The Celtic Link forum lately and it is really a fun experience when you get info from the musicians themselves rather than just getting your news material from writings and other reviews.

Yesterday I featured Welsh band Fernhill. Now I am going to present Calan, which I mentioned came from the same source. This band is not only slick in their interpretation of traditional music but also they have  a knack for representing themselves in a way that leaves an impression to first time listeners. It is remarkable how bands these days not only take advantage of technology but also the way they represent themselves image wise.

Calan released their debut album “Bing ” in 2008 and since then they attracted warm responses from critics. Tours, rave reviews and enthusiastic audience are around always  looking for more music that these guys can take out like pancakes. The new album is called Jonah. Listen to sound samples here: http://www.calan-band.com/english/music.html

Band members:
Patrick Rimes – fiddle, bagpipes, pibgorn, whistle, trombone

Angharad Siân Jenkins – fiddle

Bethan Rhiannon – main vocal, accordion and step dancing

Alaw Ebrill Jones – harps

Llinos Eleri Jones – harp, triple harp

Sam Humphries – guitar

Alex Moller – percussion, drums

canu rhydd by Fernhill

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 4 Comments

Heavenly Welsh Band Fernhill

I heard about Calan and Fernhill from Idris Morris Jones of BBCRadio5 Radio Cymru which is focused on Welsh music. I was trying to come up with a project about pipe music and he was my target reference. But he told me that he is not the right person to talk about it so instead gave me the names of Ceri Rhys Matthews of Fernhill and Patrick Rimes of Calan plus their contact infos.

I am familiar with Ferhill because I wrote about them years ago and now they are making a comeback in my consciousness.  Now let us take a closer look at Fernhill.

Their latest album is called “canu rhydd” and I am attaching their bandcamp site so you will be able to enjoy their brand of Welsh Celtic music. The sound is distinctive and have that perky kind of delicacy.

There are 8 tracks in the album and I am listening to them right now.

julie murphy-voice, sruti 
christine cooper-fiddle, voice 
tomos williams-trumpet, flugelhorn 
ceri rhys matthews-guitar, flute, voice 

canu rhydd… literally ‘free poetry’, is written according to the free will of the poet. it is unconstrained by patronage or by the twenty four accredited meters of the secret craft of bardic poetry as laid out by einion offeiriad. from its sixteenth century flowering, came tumbling the multitude of unattached verses kept safe on the tongues of unselfconscious singers over the centuries. with these we start our songs… 

this album was recorded at dartington college of arts in july 2010, shortly before the college left its devon home for good. the album is one of many thousands of sparks of dartington’s creative legacy which are scattered throughout the country. 

recorded and mixed by nick marshall at dartington college, devon 
mastered by jens schroeder at dreamworld studio, pembrokeshire 
cover by noel hefele 

1. adar(Free) The carefree chord combinations and soft guitar strumming reminds me of lazy afternoons and the visions of being at sea.

2.when i was in my prime- I already heard several versions of this song and this one is a different arrangement. Fernhill added their fresh twist to this traditional track. With the simplicity of the guitar, it adds wings to Julie Murphy’s beautiful singing with a voice that reminds me of Mary Hopkins.

3.diddan-Beautiful tune in Welsh. It has that toe tapping appeal and the instruments just wash over. The strumming and  fiddling are superb.

4.forest-Sang in the form of a hymn, it has that soothing trumpet sound in the middle.

5.glyn cynon-The track opens with a flugelhorn. Now this kind of instrument is seldom  being used by World/Celtic acts. Having that in the album is a plus. The soft guitar plucking follows. Then there’s that lark singing of Julie. Something Jazzy, something soothing. Good for your nightcap. It ends with a step dancing tune. Now who needs coffee?

6.glyn tawe-A lilting voice and guitar in Welsh. The flugel horn occasionally embellish the lines. A beautiful poetry in English cuts through the singing..images in full color.

7. y fwynlan o serch- Guitar strumming and Ceri Rhys Matthews contributing in the vocals . The guy has a remarkable voice!  This makes you declare that Welsh is the language of the elves.

8. like the snow-This track closes the album. A haunting enveloping lament with vocal harmonies and lyrics about loss. Then, it builds up tempo in the middle with that typical Welsh dancing tune.It leaves its footprints long after you finished listening.

canu rhydd is  a beautiful transporting experience into the lush Welsh country side. You don’t have to be there to feel it all. Just listen to the music and it will bring you there. Away from all cares. Away from life’s hardships, and for just a moment…just a moment you feel this is heaven.

 

Goodies From The Mail and Blast from the Past

/ mrbaxteria2008 / Leave a comment

“The Traveler”, songs written with the love of ‘The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem’ and ‘The Dubliners’, with modern sensibilities.

Trip McCool has exciting tunes recorded for his album The Traveler.  I enjoyed all track in the album. Dennis Dougherty is the man behind it. He stated in his website about the revelation while looking at an old cottage in County Iane in Donegal. These are songs of ordinary folks ” the tenants worked, sweated and died all with the intention to make life for their children and grandchildren a bit easier. Here, dreams of America and prosperity were born while the weak and the young died.” All the tunes in the album reflect that workman’s humor with elements of Rock, Folk and traditional.

I love the song Black Eyes Susan and the interesting lyrics about cruising Temple Bar and how this certain Susan is wearing this nice leather costume,and that she  played the fiddle.The is further described as having the blackest eyes in all Ireland..

Here are the tracks off The Traveller

1. Ireland, Oh Ireland
2. Drill Ye Tarriers, Drill (Trad)
3. St. Paddy’s Wagon
4. Black Eyed Susan
5. A Sheep For Mr. Wolff
6. Ah Dee Oh Da
7. The Poteen Man
8. Me Father Was A Shepherd
9. The Choir From Hell
10. The Shirt That No One Wore
11. My Donegal
12. Every Step Of The Road

Check out his main website and listen to the song samples: http://tripmccool.com

======================================================

I had a great time talking to Jeremy via his forum yesterday. He mentioned that his band is reissuing their album from 2000 in which the high powered Congress Reel is taken.

Check this Soundclick site to hear the tunes.

” SoundClick was the first music site we signed up with I think- even before MySpace. I think it was because of Marc Gunn that we created a SoundClick account in the first place. We thought, ‘If he’s doing it, then it must be good…’

-Jeremy

======================================================

Classic Video from The Pogues

It is really fun to have young Irish friends with great sense of humor. I was given this video to help ‘cheer’ me up. What can I say? The Pogues are the only Irish band who can get away with anything crazy -including naughty song titles and album.