I discovered Brian Fitzy recently. His music combines elements of funk, Jazz, rap rnb, pop. I have to admit these elements make the music have that urban feel to it yet at the same time distinctively Celtic. I think St Paddy will get jiggy with it-I know guys I sound so 90s. He toured and became active with Irish band Ceann around 2010 playing the electric violin. Here’s a link to the band’s facebook page.
Brian plays other instruments and one of them is the guitar and he does remix tweaking in the studio. So other than being a musician, this guy is a sounds man who knows the concept of the whole recording process. He also sings. He has quite a range by the way. A soulful kind of vocal style which reminds me a bit of Brian Kennedy and another Brian-Brian McKnight. I have to admit, listening to him puts one in a Red Hot Chilli Peppers mood while doing the Irish Jig that goes down as easy as Guinness. He has branched out to other musical pursuits but A New Shade of Green stands out as one of the intriguing Celtic releases for this year.
We all know fusion fuels everything that happens here and Brian is leading the spark. So come on, lets get into the groove all ya gansta horse!
“Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.”
― Mark Twain
“Well, now
If little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you
Little by little
If suddenly you forget me
Do not look for me
For I shall already have forgotten you
If you think it long and mad the wind of banners that passes through my life
And you decide to leave me at the shore of the heart where I have roots
Remember
That on that day, at that hour, I shall lift my arms
And my roots will set off to seek another land”
― Pablo Neruda, Selected Poems
“Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.”
― Kahlil Gibran
What I learned about life is that, never ever be ashamed of your pain just because other people tell you so.In the end people will do what they must do either for practical or for selfish reasons. Everyone is guilty of doing what they must do because it is either survival or because it looks right. I have established this blog in such a way that I can just write about anything without losing followers. So today’s article is dedicated to heartbreak.
These are recurring themes to most Irish and Scottish tunes and also in anything that is relatively Celtic. I think that we all have our dark times but what sharing it with true friends can ease down the pain. Before I post songs let me share a prose I wrote today. I won’t call it poetry because I don’t think it has what it takes to be called poetry, but what is important is the emotional feeling behind it.
It’s Just Blood and Milk
Like a mother of a dead baby
whose breast is aching
because she is full of milk
that’s what this heart is suffering now
bleeding because it has no one to give its love to
not anymore…
and if you happen to pass by
please take what I can give
until the walls stop turning
until the pain subsides…
it’s all that I got now
all dreams
all hopes
now dying slowly….
so take what you can
out of this blood that is given freely
until time erases
what’s left,
and all shall fade in the wind
like the husk of memories
turning to ashes.
But don’t despair dear readers…at the end of this is a redemption song.
The first track is called I Used To Dream by Scottish band Broken Records. It’s taken from their album Let Me Come Home released in 2010. Here’s an interesting blurb:
Use of the violin, cello, and accordion gives them a distinctly Scottish edge and their faster numbers have been known to provoke ceilidh dancing at gigs. The NME branded them the Scottish Arcade Fire, although this is an accolade previously bestowed on My Latest Novel. The band, who swap instruments when performing live, have received numerous comparisons to Arcade Fire, and have also been compared to The Verve and The Levellers. They were described by NME in 2008 as “one of the country’s most exciting new bands.”
My heart is sore, I dare not tell, my heart is sore for Somebody
I would walk a winter’s night all for a sight of Somebody
Music: traditional Irish; lyrics: traditional Scottish
Adapted by Connie Dover
From the CD, Somebody (Songs of Scotland, Ireland and Early America) by Connie Dover
“Ailein Duinn” performed by Karen Matheson (from the film’s OST)
Here is a story that ends tragically. The song itslef has an interesting background:
Ailein duinn (“Dark-haired Alan”) is a traditional Scottish song for solo female voice, a lament that was written in Gàidhlig for Ailean Moireasdan (“Alan Morrison”) by his fiancée, Annag Chaimbeul (“Annie Campbell”). In 1788, Ailean, a sailor, set off with his ship to Scalpay, Harris, where he and Annag would be married. In a tragic twist, the ship sailed into a storm and all on board were lost. Annag was devastated and lost her will to live, dying several months later. Her body was later discovered on the beach, not far from where Ailean’s body was found. Before she died, Annag composed this lament for her lost love.
Jealous Heart-Moya Brennan
Two thumbs up to the wonderful haunting voice of Moya Brennan.
Sinead O’Connor performing The Wolf Is Getting Married from her forthcoming album ‘How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?’ live on The Graham Norton Show 17th February 2012.
Here is the older and wiser Sinead O’Connor performing to the beat of her drum. Her style has always been a cross between traditional Irish and also modern rock. After all these years, the voice is still beautiful as ever.
I was listening to Martin Bridgeman doing an interview with Cathy Jordan for his show Blas Glas. I was really surprised to learn that she has never released a solo album of her own before and All The way Home is the first step in breaking the ice. I really enjoyed the candid way the interview was presented on air. Anyway, this video is from LiveTrad. Enjoy!
I received the Aulaga Folk Album today called A Menos Cuarto and I have just put the CD in. Beautiful sounds. I will be reviewing this soon. This is great stuff! The music is universal and it gets to you right away.Thank you Juan Carlos for the kind note and also for this 3 CD album all the way from Spain.
Great Review of the Celtic Band Poitin from Celtic Music Magazine
When The Celtic Music Fan believes in a product produced by a wonderful band, it is always consistent with its praises. I am proud to announce that the band Poitin from the Czech Republic received another wonderful review by Jan Jacob Mekes. Please read it here: http://celticmp3s.com/2011/review-hot-days-by-poitin/ and you should check out these session photos from Special Sunday Session at U Rocha Plzen
Calan bring together the remarkable talents of 5 young musicians giving a fresh and vibrant sound to traditional Welsh music. With a contemporary and lively approach they breathe new life into the old traditions through their sparkling melodies, foot tapping tunes and spirited and energetic performances of Welsh step dancing. They blast their way through some of the old favourite reels, jigs and hornpipes with fast paced and uplifting arrangements before melting into some of the most beautiful and haunting songs. -The Calan Website.
Calan. I like the name. It possesses that pagan sound which calls to mind dragons, druids and the beauty of the Welsh mythology. It is also a term associated with Welsh feasts as in Calan Mai (1st day of May) which is the equivalent of Gaelic Beltane.
Patrick Rimes plays for this band. He has mastered the fiddle, bagpipes, pibgorn, whistle and trombone . Calan approach the Welsh traditional music scene with freshness, vigor and a fashion sense.
Like the power of the fire-breathing dragon, these guys swoop down to the scene with such intensity and hypnotic grace. I saw several videos of their performance and they always leave the audience with jaw dropping impression. Calan have joined the ranks of top Celtic players all over the world and Wales is once again at the center stage of the music scene. Like any knight haunting for the mythical dragon, I got help from their manager Huw Williams who helped me get in touch with Patrick Rimes. Now we will know Calan at this point and I am sure people who read this will want to know and listen more to this band.
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
Promo band picture
What were the challenges faced in making a sophomore album?
It wasn’t exactly the usual affair of “2nd album syndrome” where you
have to cobble something together dead quick – Sain records were
obviously keen for us to release it sooner rather than later but we’d
had plenty of time since ‘bling’ so the majority of the tracks were a
part of the regular set.
Bling was highly successful and it received a lot of praises. Has this experience made you guys feel that it was a tough condition trying to live out to the debut’s success?
I don’t think we felt too much pressure from others – but for
ourselves we wanted to create something that demonstrated how much
we’ve developed since then. Bling came out when we were still surviving
on the cute factor to some extent, and I think it reflects that – quite
rough in places and full of fun. We’ve grown up a bit now (but not too
much!) and needed something that we could look back on in 20 years time
and hopefully not cringe too much!
The pibgorn in Wales
I describe your music as vibrant and stylishly appealing. Are you guys aware that you are contributing something fresh to the traditional scene?
It’s great to be able to take Welsh traditional music to English
festivals maybe 20 minutes drive from the border and play this stuff to
people who’ve never heard anything like it before. We’re always in
search of that ‘Welsh sound’, to which the harp contributes an awful
lot, but the tunes are really distinctive. Bizarrely, it seems that
Wales itself is the least keen appreciate its own music – people are
just so determined to listen to crap all the time.
You play different instruments with the band. One of them is the pibgorn which I find fascinating. How did you master this instrument.
The pibgorn was a 10th birthday present, which I nagged my mum into
getting for me after seeing acts like Crasdant and Pibau Bach – I
paraded it round school the next day and could only make a horrific
whining sound! As an enthusiastic member of the schools recorder
ensemble, it was only really the breath control that was a problem
(fingering patterns are almost identical), and that’s always a constant
battle. Trombone playing certainly helps, but I really wish I could
circular breathe like Crasdant’s Stephen Rees.
How smoothly did the recording of Jonah go and why the title?
Since we’d been playing most of the stuff live for about a year, some
tracks went down very easily indeed, however it wouldn’t be a proper
fortnight of recording without the panic meetings and hasty preparation
of extra numbers in the studio lounge! Me and Alex the drummer also
spent several nights sleeping in the studio, which was pretty rock ‘n
roll – comfiest place I’d recommend is Dafydd’s (the boss) office!
After we’d finished recording and listened back, the song Jonah stuck
out as one of the flagship tracks and seemed an obvious choice for an
album name. We still had a longwinded discussion over a pizza and came
up with some very naff alternatives, but I’m pleased we made the right
choice!
The original music of the ancient Celts, which, paradoxically, with the “Celtic” music related only marginally, however, we know almost nothing … Vojtěch Jindra
The whole of Czech Republic is alive with folk music. Emerging from this place are the three folk bands, Taliesyn(more into folk and not really Celtic), Irish Dew( in which he left in 2006 due to musical differences)and Bran. They all have or had at one time one person in common- Vojtěch Jindra(pronounced as Woy-tesh Yin-dra) His current project Bran (also means raven in Breton) have been earning followers and positive reviews from all over festival as well as websites. My introduction to them was through a youtube post by a friend several months ago. From then on I keep hearing them through posts by Celtic music enthusiasts-mostly my network friends. This network ‘cloud’ of like-minded people also determines the kind of musical current that exists these days. It is good to have them around because they are responsible in tweeting, posting as well as blogging about the trend in the musical culture that I subscribe to. I know I am part of that cloud and it is good to be in this age where sharing is easy. I did a bit of researched and was finally able to find Vojtěch and made a schedule to include this interview between his tours.
A graduate from the Faculty of Arts at the Charles University (Czech Language), he joined Bran in 2006 and is also the composer of several songs for all the bands he is working with. He has a website www.keltskahudba.cz, where he links all of his musical connections. He also started his own label to promote independent folk music. He is with us today to talk about his work with the band Bran.
Bran brings Breton and Czech musicians together. If Bran means in Breton, the raven, which in Celtic legends is the messenger bird, then he has brought the music of Brittany to Central Europe and a little wind from the East to Brittany The musical instruments used and the diverse influences and origins of each musician create, give, put, bring together the particular colorfulness which makes Bran original. Oriented towards dance and songs of the sea Bran offers a rich and varied repertoire made up both of the compositions its members and traditional Breton tunes.
Current lineup
Robert Fischmann-vocals, flute;
Vojtěch Jindra-ak. guitar,
Tomáš Görtler-accordion, vocals;
Michal Wróblewski-saxophones, clarinet;
Petr Tichý-double bass;
Jan Chalupa-drums, percussion
Your album discography is available through your website and fans can listen to the tracks off the album In Concert(2010). I have to admit I find your band’s version of Tri Martolod quite refreshing. I hear elements of Jazz and also that distinctive Breton sound. I am confused…your band is based in Prague but in your concerts you speak in French. Are you aiming more in the French/Breton crowd rather than your native Czech?
Both I think. Our ex-leader Dewi Pajot came from Brittany, so he spoke in French. But yes – we are Czechs and we are based in Prague, Czech Republic.
You are the band guitarist and percussionist. You also manage the overall direction of the music. Do you find it at times exhausting to do a lot of creative and well as corporate stuff?
It can be a challenging as well as exhausting thing… there are so many things to do in terms of the overall direction of the music, how things are looking up or sounding like during tours, the business aspect … But I love it, it’s my life.
Five albums in a span of 12 years! What memorable things happened to the members in this span of time and also to you?
Many good and bad things in our personal as well as working life… One of the highlights of our career I think was when we played as supporting band for Alan Stivell during his concert. And we had to survive departure of our founder and friend Dewi Pajot. There were so many memorable moments, the jams and the beautiful melodies we created together…
Describe the Bran ‘sound’.
I have a problem describing it even in my native Czech. I don’t know – maybe natural acoustic sound with a kick. Simply – combination of voice, acoustic guitar, accordion, saxophone, flute, double bass and drum set. It’s eclectic but at the same town distinctive since it reflects the musical background we have.
You wrote an interesting piece about the Celts and Celtic music in your own site. I found that everyone has his or her own opinion as to what the ‘Celtic’ sound is…has it been easier to market your music in your country rather than say in Ireland and the rest of the Celtic nations?
It’s easier I think. A lot of people in the Czech Republic are open to this kind of music. But I am not enthusiastic about this label – Celtic music. Who knows really what ancient Celts played?
I noticed you have an eclectic taste and that includes listening to Depeche Mode and other music. I noticed that most musicians in this genre are more open minded and well exposed to different types of music compared to mainstream listener..Thoughts on this?
It’s true. For example, our bassist Petr Tichý began playing as a fan of metal, but now he’s a leading jazz musician in his generation in Prague. We are open- minded about music. An yes…eclectic.
Your schedule is picking up speed as this month is more about live performance. What are the things that remain constant when you and your band go on tour?
I am not really sure . When we’re on tour, exhaustion can happen but it is the music that drives us. When we play, we are not aware of how tired we are, we just know that we love what we are doing and also love the fact that the listeners respond to what we play. When we are home after touring, we don’t really indulge in vices.
Celtic Music Fan 