Month: February 2012

Shishonnah In Concert!!!!!‏

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Hi guys. I am posting a bulletin here about one of my fave Celtic groups Shishonnah. I hope everyone in the US gets to see and hear the amazing voices of Jenne Lennon and Liz Madden.

Here’s a little talk we had:

“Hi Jenne are you planning to go to Lorient this August?
I think it is a good way to promote your album!”
“Um, I think we are in talks about it. We won’t know for sure until Spring. Yes, we were in talks about an album launch party there, but won’t know anything for a little while yet. We just got our March gigs confirmed, but we haven’t heard from the venues about ticket prices yet, so I can give you the info once we know for sure how much tickets will be :)”

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Highwayman taken from the Shishonnah album Elysian Dreams. Written by Shishonnah and produced by Shishonnah and Roland Labana.

SHISHONNAH Launches New Album And Takes Chicago By Storm This St. Patrick’s Day!


This Past November, International duo Shishonnah released their new album, “Elysian Dreams” on I-Tunes and other online music stores worldwide.

The album “Elysian Dreams” is an eclectic blend of world, classical, contemporary, Native American and Irish/Celtic Folk sounds. Two songs taken from the album were released in late 2011. “I Will Carry You” and “Dance With the River” met with immediate positive responses from live audiences and the broadcast community with both songs play-listed on radio all over the world. This incredible new album also features a narration by Choctaw elder, Gary White Deer.

The Ladies have the following performances scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day in the Chicago land area:

Thursday, March 15th 8:00 p.m. Ballydoyle, Downer’s Grove, Illinois

Friday, March 16th, 7:00 p.m. Trickster Gallery-American Indian Center, Schaumburg, Illinois

Saturday, March 17th, 2:00 p.m. Pre-concert Performance ”Paint The Town Green” Dirty Nellie’s, Palatine, Illinois

Saturday, March 17th 7:00 p.m. St. Paul U.C.C. Church, Palatine, Illinois.

 

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE!

SHISHONNAH, formed in May 2010, is a merger of the talents of Irish artist Liz Madden and US artist Jenne Lennon—both accomplished musicians, performers and songwriters. They blend their Irish and American musical heritage with their Celtic and Native American traditions, essentially creating their own distinctive and innovative sound.  Their original songs will take you to a place that defines the human experience and uplifts the soul.  With incredible vocal arrangements, their sound reflects a canvas as diverse as the lands of their upbringing. The album is as much an instrumental as vocal with the ladies playing piano, harp, bodhran, whistle, Native American flute, keyboards and percussion.

Madden and Lennon have performed and headlined individually in venues worldwide, including the renowned Festival Interceltique in Lorient.  As Shishonnah, their most recent performance with the renowned Elgin Children’s Chorus under the direction of Jay Kellner for their Isle of Song concert which received superlative reviews and ovations beyond all expectations.  Their first two singles “Dance With The River” and “I Will Carry You” can be heard on The Celtic/New Age Hour every Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Easter on Women of Substance Radio, Indie Castle Radio, Vents Music Radio, Celtica Radio Ltd., Radio Crystal Blue, Underworld Mix Radio, Celtic Roots Radio, Music You Can’t Hear On the Radio, and many more! They are currently finalizing dates for their 2012 tour, which will include the United States, the U.K., Ireland, and Europe. They kick of St. Patrick’s Day 2012 with a number of performances in Chicago!

www.glencoerecords.com

www.healingsunproductions.com
www.myspace.com/shishonnah
www.facebook.com/shishonnah

Glasgow: Celtic Connections 2012

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From January 16 to February 5, musicians flocked  to Glasgow.  This video shows you why.

For more info read The Celtic Connections Blog

Also, check out http://www.celticmusicradio.net/

The McDades:Pure Vibrations!

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The McDades:The fusion that works like potion.

My friend Christi introduced me to this band yesterday. And since then I could not get rid of these headsets off my head. Whither you are listening to large surround speakers or the intimacy of your earphones, you could not stop your  feet from shaking and tapping.

Throbbing bass, hypnotic hand drumming, high-octane playing; the things that make the sound of   siblings Jeremiah, Shannon and Solon – The McDades. I am writing this article while  moving my head and smiling. I couldn’t help it. Theses guys are sugar and pepper. All the more reason for  listening and collecting Celtic music we now know as  hip and refreshing. Forget your mediocre top 40 radio and college campus music, this is it! This is high energy , the thing that  new Celtic music should be like.

The band are another export of the burgeoning Canadian Celtic music scene. The fusion of Jazz, World music and even some of that French folk makes their music sound like a buffet . Yeah after a full listen to Bloom it’s like having that full meal surrounded by a garden of exotic flowers…makes you  feel the good vibration.

Musical style: Celtic, World, Jazz

Origin: Edmonton, Alberta

Achievements: Bloom – Free Radio Records 2006 (2007 Juno Award Winner – Best Roots/Traditional Album (group), 2007 Independent Music Award Winner – Best World Album Traditional [1], two time Canadian Folk Music Award Winners Best World Group & Best Instrumental Group)

http://themcdades.com/

http://www.myspace.com/themcdades

 

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Cara:The Real Score (Interview)

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 “Since we are now a band based in Germany, Scotland and Ireland, a lot of travel is involved in live gigs and it feels like a long distance relationship. So the title reflects that, but it also reflects about how we feel about the new band members. “

The history of knowing this band came from a  conversation I had with my friend Tim. He gave me the link to the track called Rain.  The name of the album is Long Distance Love.  There’s something about the track and the title of the album that made me look for the band online and learn more. They struck a personal chord inside. I think they did the same to countless listeners out there who might have found something to connect. Be it the personal messages of the songs or the well researched s background of each track that makes you take the band seriously. A week ago, Jimmy gave me a copy of their album In Colour (their debut album) . Now I have two Cara albums. One I got from the band courtesy of band member/bodhran player Rolf Wagels. He was teaching bodhran over the weekend when he got my interview.

http://www.cara-music.com/ 

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1. How did Cara came to be? What made you guys sit down and form a band?

Rolf:  We had been friends for years, and met through sessions and festivals in Germany. We always said: We should do something together, but it took until 2003 until it happened. After Claus and Sandra had left due to family commitments, we looked for two new members. I knew Ryan Murphy from a festival in Ireland, that I attend to teach Bodhran and Cara had played a gig there as well, so the other members knew him too. So we asked him and he was delighted. Jeana we found through another band we are friends with: Beoga! It was difficult to find somebody that plays piano, a melody instrument and is a strong singer, so we are glad Beoga recommended Jeana.

2. I love the liner notes because there are song commentaries . There’s also a bit of history lesson there. Do you guys make it a point to describe the origin of each song?

Rolf: Yes, the liner notes are important to us. Every song, every tune has a story and we all like to explore the story behind it and then share it with our audience. Also in live shows, we often tell the stories behind the songs and tunes and the audience seems to like that as well.

3.The mood of the whole album is uplifting…even the saddest songs like Rain makes you smile. Are you guys into upbeat tracks or it’s a concept exclusive to Long Distance Love.

Rolf: Well, we are all upbeat people for a start, but we also like sad songs, and songs with murder and tragic. If you look at Sweet Williams Ghost, it’s all about a ghost and the tragedy behind it, and an previous recordings we had songs like “Sailor Boy” where the main character dies as well. But we are not depressive and like the craic 🙂

4.Why the title Long Distance Love?

Rolf: Since we are now a band based in Germany, Scotland and Ireland, a lot of travel is involved in live gigs and it feels like a long distance relationship. So the title reflects that, but it also reflects about how we feel about the new band members.

5. How do you gather materials for recording? Do you  research and gather materials before bringing the experiences inside the recording studio or is everything random? 

Rolf: Yes, everything is researched and tested before we go into the studio. We try to play a few sets live, to see how they feel, but sometimes things just happen in the studio and if we like that, we keep it. Since we are all so far away from each other, the recording time is precious and you need to be prepared. On the other hand, Juergen Treyz, our guitar player, owns the studio and he does the producing.

6. How do you guys record your songs? What’s the recording studio like, the atmosphere of the place and also the recording gear you use. I can’t help but notice the great deal of sound engineering you do in your works…there must be something there that we , your listeners would be interested knowing about.

Rolf: Juergen Treyz, our guitar player, also has his own studio, the artes recording studio. This is where it’s all happening, Juergen is a well known producer for acoustic music in Germany and he has a lot of experience. If you want to know more details about the equipment used, let me know, I will forward your email to Juergen.

7.What brought Irish/Scottish music into your life?

Rolf: Well, everybody has her/his own story. Gudrun came to the music through her brother who played Irish music, I was on a school orchestra trip to Ireland when I first got in touch with Irish music. Juergen studied guitar, and played Breton music before playing Irish music. Ryan grew up with the music in his homeland Ireland and won 7 all Ireland titles on the pipes. Jeana grew up on the Orkney Islands and studied for a BA (Hons) in Scottish Music at the prestigious Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award 2008 with her singing partner Siobhan Miller.

8.What are the things that await the band this 2012?

Rolf: We are gathering material for a new album, but I can’t give you an exact date for a release, we are touring a lot, including gigs in Germany, Holland and Italy, and hopefully head to the States and Canada in the second half of the year.

So stay tuned 🙂

P.S. Thanks to Nancie who decided to drop the CD of Long Distance Love inside a bag of a friend as a Christmas gift…and found its way to me.  The joy of sharing through music. May the long distance friendship that we share grow into a closer one through the years.

Hip Updates-The Bombadils

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New pics , exciting news

Hip Canadian Celtic band are deep in recording their album. They are working with interesting guys in terms of mixing and sound Engineering so I am sure the final result will be an amalgam of diverse arrangement and sound production that will please listeners. Listen to their facebook playlist as well and check out the updated pics.

https://www.facebook.com/thebombadils