I just want to share with you a latest discovery courtesy of Donie . Here is Collie at first you might mistake him for a rap or hip hop artist . Not until you listen carefully and you will hear the traditional influence. Very radical. Collie is someone you will want to have around.
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The Harcourt Hotel Presents: Seamus Begley
If you are in Dublin looking for the heart of traditional music, then you better drop by to this one- stop place. Great names have played here and according to the description:
Harcourt Hotel formerly known as The Home of
Traditional Irish Music from 32 Counties was first introduced in the late 80’s and leading Musicians,Singers & Dancers performed for many years at what was acclaimed “The Altar of Trad “by journalists.
The website: http://www.harcourthotel.ie/
Check out Seamus Begley to play you great music:
Seamus Begley will be joined by Tim Edey and “Special Surprise at he Re Launch of Traditional Harcourt Sessions on Mon 13th Sept from 6.30pm
Info about the video: An t- Eilean Muileach – O’ Beir Mo Dhuthracht-Seamus Begley with Tim Edey and Karen Matheson at The Old Fruit Market Glasgow part of Celtic Connections 2010 (Seudana Chuan)
Fred Morrison:Capturing Highland and Americana
Passing across something on the web like this one is really refreshing. Fred Morrison makes music that makes you listen not really because of the speedy acrobatics but rather the nuances in every instruments he plays. There is a sense of solidarity with nature in his pieces and I think hearing him is one of life’s best gifts. He made connection between Highland music and Americana. He started playing the pipes at an early age. The music of Uist in the Scottish Hebrides enforced his musical path and which explains the expressiveness of his tunes. Catch him on MySpace.
On a Weekend Over Leo’s Tavern
Hi folks, these are the pics from what happened in Leo’s Tavern over a weekend. We spot Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh with Moya Brennan onstage. Guess who are the other famous faces!
View the complete album here.
I realized that Moya Brennan of Clannad is named after her mom Moya ‘Baba” Brennan.
Album Covers Tell You About the Music Inside
Let us go back to the days before social-networking sites like MySpace or facebook got around-or just the Web for example. Record buyers have to rely on their visual interpretations in buying albums. I mean it’s there on the shelf, with its glossy cover ; but you didn’t know back then what to expect. There were even record stores that won’t allow you to listen unless you are willing the buy the album(the process of removing the plastic cover was and still is not really something a sales person welcomes). I live in Asia and perhaps, the situation here was different compared to the States.
An album cover was the only telling sign of what the music’s about. Even now. I mean there are those who still prefer physical media over downloads. Album cover plays a big part in marketing. In the music business, building an image is as crucial as making music. The image that can also make or break album sales upon release.
I remember picking up my first Clannad album Banba. I didn’t know their music back then, but I KNOW what to expect. And I was right. The blue , gray and black did say something about the mood of the album. The logo as well as how the photo shoot was done convinced me that the music was that of a haunting, somehow gentle kind with a folk appeal.
Celtic artists do put out beautiful album overs. Bands like Altan, Capercaillie, The Chieftains or Lunasa tell you something…
Here are my examples of album covers that made me buy the CDs:
Something about that light caught my fancy...
I was convinced by the sea, rocks and sky...
Celtic Music Fan 