2022 gives us Rura. The music first appeared as a feed via social media and YouTube. The single Dh’èirich Mi Moch Madainn Cheòthar features Julie Fowlis which is a great introduction to the goodies of the record. Our Voices Echo is the title of the new release featuring stalwarts of traditional and contemporary Celtic music. I am also feeling enclined to update this blog because I am now scheduling my posts so they appear regularly, on a schedule. I also avoid writing long expositions that take so much of my energy. I am writing for the kids who might have low attention spans but love this kind of music. So yes check this album out. It is a taste of sweetness in this whole pandemic.
Author: mrbaxteria2008
The Gardiner Brothers
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EKWqXapwMRA
So I have been watchin YouTube shorts and came across these dancing siblings. Traditional Irish music is alive as ever, in the midst of this pandemic. So, the shorts are the new kind of content that people like to consume and the Gardiner Brothers took that opportunitu to showcase their dancing talent.
It’s the Season of Winter Songs and Carols by Mary Fahl
Supposing you happen to hang out with Mary Fahl without knowing she’s a singer. She’d be someone fascinating. You both would be talking about Medieval literature, Hermeticism, Science, Poetry. Then you move into a musical discussion. You would probably share your love for Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone and other equally compelling artists. Sure, she would probably tell you that she is married to a Marine Biologist, and she would offer her exciting insights into that world. Then she starts singing.
For years, my adoration for her voice has not waned. It is the ONLY voice that you will immediately recognize. Sure there will be references to the late Sandy Denny or even Annie Lennox. But these are references to making it easy for you to spot where among the musical constellation she belongs.
The fact is, we are blessed that she exists. An audience once came up to her after a live performance telling her she sounded like Enya. I don’t think this is strange. This comparison has something to do with the reverb effect. Enya uses reverb in her studio recordings, making her vocal sound resemble that of a church ambiance. Even Sarah McLachlan uses this effect in her Surfacing album that spawned a massive hit, Angel. Mary Fahl has a big voice that has a natural reverb. She can sing in a cafe, and her voice reverberates and bounces around the wall giving you that Gregorian chant effect. The thing is, she is a contralto. For a soprano, this quality would sound operatic and even too bright. But for a contralto, she gives it a “wooden” or reedy quality that sounds warm but can be both dark and angelic.
She has this beautiful instrument that she can use for emotional effect. Has she given us all the vocal tricks that this voice is capable of? I don’t think she. Only she knows the range of her limits. With the right producer and sound engineering, she can share the gifts that the universal mind has given her. She exists for a reason. And this reason is to touch our hearts and souls.
Her holiday album Winter Songs and Carols is once at the top of my list. It is a perfect holiday album for us who don’t like jolly Christmas tunes. We are the type who cherish the mystical beauty of the holiday season associated with the older time.
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/3vXyo95i7KwqsHNTabgnYA?utm_source=generator
In Today: Help Irish Search and Rescue Volunteers Stay Afloat
‘REFUGEE RESCUE’
Saving the lives of Immigrants
Help Irish Search and Rescue Volunteers Stay Afloat
“Our only objective is to ensure the safety of those, women, men, and children who are making the perilous journey away from war, poverty, or persecution. They have the right to life.”- Joby Fox, Belfast Musician and Refugee Rescue Founder
This is a music-related blog. Once in a while, I read or get messages that are related to something bigger. And I need to be able to be part of that bigger world. After all, we are all part of humanity. We want to help one another to make this world a better place. Remember this: in the end, the only thing that counts is love. You can’t take your name or riches with you when you die. We are here for a greater purpose. Let us be kind to one another. Fight for each other. Love each other. We are all brothers and sisters.
This is from my good friend Anita Daly. Please read and share!
Refugee Rescue was founded in late 2015 by ordinary Irish citizens in response to the refugee crisis unfolding on the borders of Europe. They have gained an international reputation for working tirelessly saving the lives of up to 15,000 people off the Greek island of Lesvos. The group’s volunteers strongly believe that their own legacy of forced migration by sea throughout the Irish struggles of famine and violence puts them in a unique position to offer not only deep empathy but also solidarity to those who must do the same as they did in search of a better life.
“At the very core of our Irish consciousness we, similarly, are a people who have had to flee persecution and poverty by sea. As a result, Irish culture has spread across the world and has enriched and emboldened many cultures and countries. I believe that, despite our physical distance to the Mediterranean, Ireland should be at the forefront of ensuring the safety of these people.”- Karen Cowley, Wicklow Musician and Refugee Rescue Member
Most people forced to embark on these long and dangerous journeys depart from Libya, where migrants are subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, and slavery, among other human rights abuses. The Central Mediterranean is the deadliest migration route in the world. Refugee Rescue’s life-saving rescue vessel, named Mo Chara (or “my friend” in Gaelic) on its first short mission saved the lives of 416 people, of which 160 were children. However, to embark on future missions, Refugee Rescue are in urgent need of funds.
Over 22,069 women, men and children have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean since 2014. 813 people have already died at sea this year. On average, 5 people drown attempting to cross the Central Mediterranean route every day, and without any E.U. funded search and rescue missions, these numbers will only continue to rise as they have done since 2020. While this issue has been widely covered, the EU continues to fund and train the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, tasked with intercepting migrants at sea and bringing them back to the North African country, sometimes using excessive force.
By offering skilled emergency response to distress cases, as well as acting as witnesses of human rights violations, Refugee Rescue seeks to make this journey a little less deadly while keeping authorities at sea accountable for their actions, with the hope of preventing any more lives from being needlessly lost in the Mediterranean. The Refugee Rescue team, along with a handful of civil NGO vessels, are working alone, while being regularly detained and often criminalized by local and European authorities.
“We are hoping to acquire our own Search and Rescue ship with focused work and the public’s support. The ship would ideally sail under an Irish flag and would act as a poignant message to those seeking refuge- that we, as a people, understand forced displacement and the often choice-less choice of migration.” Caoimhe Butterly- Board Member of Refugee Rescue
Please watch Refugee Rescue’s video here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlYnVhoAajY
Refugee Rescue are in urgent need of funds. Help them to continue their life saving work by donating through their website: www.refugeerescue.org
For more information please contact:
ANITA DALY /DALY COMMUNICATIONS /917 751 8539 /anitadaly@yahoo.com
Photos of Mo Chara
Defying the Status Quo:Strong in Numbers by Moya Brennan and Liam O’Connor
Do you want something uplifting to start your weekend? This new track can do it for you!
I think in these times of chaos, we need something to uplift us. We have experienced the dreadful 2020, and now 2021 is here. Hopefully, things are going in the right direction as civilization intends to do. But we know what it feels like to suffer dread, frustration, and powerlessness. Defying the status quo seems impossible, but there is strength in numbers. Who put them there in the first place? Who gave them power? It’s us and our numbers. In numbers., anything is possible.
She talks about her faith and defies the status quo in the new release String in Numbers with Liam O’Connor. This is a dusting out of her track Against the Wind, from her debut album. For me, it is one of those great Irish albums that are underrated. As always, Moya’s releases are a family affair, with her and Liam’s clan contributing to the crafting of this fantastic song. Now I have to do a little digging about Liam O’Connor. According to Wikipedia, Liam O’Connor is a multi-instrumentalist musician, once referred to as “the Jimi Hendrix of the accordion.”
I got this exciting news via Twitter early in the morning. This is great because it’s been days since I last posted a blog. A statement accompanying a tweet from Moya Brennan states: “Here it is, my latest release with Liam O’Connor. We had so much fun making this and now it’s out in the world for you all to listen to! It was the perfect coming together of families to create this, with Liam’s daughter and son and my family teaming up in the studio Grá mór M x”
Listen to this track in your car, on your way to work. Or when riding your bike(through Bluetooth speakers), and get inspired!
Celtic Music Fan 