CULTURAL ROADMAPP: IRELAND’S WILD ATLANTIC WAY —A GROUNDBREAKING GPS-ENABLED AUDIO TOUR APP FOR MOTORISTS— TO LAUNCH CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN ON INDIEGOGO

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Sorry for no update for a while!!! It’s been a crazy month. But do check this project out. I think this is really exciting as it involves music, motorcycles and technology:
The transatlantic startup Cultural Roadmapp is launched its first crowdfunding campaign on June 7, 2016, in Indiegogo’s Transmedia category. The campaign for $35,000 will enable the startup to create a pilot audio tour for a GPS-enabled app illuminating the prodigious culture and heritage of Ireland’s west coast. Designed specifically for motorists on Ireland’s 1500- mile (2500 km) Wild Atlantic Way driving route, the hands-free app will comprise four audio tours. The pilot audio tour app spotlights Counties Clare and Limerick.
In both format and content, Cultural Roadmapp offers the immersive cultural experience more and more tourists today are searching for. Unlike the few audio tour apps for motorists available on the market, Cultural Roadmapp weaves unvarnished expert interviews, storytelling, and humor with world-class musical, literary, and dramatic performances–all 100% hands free. The app’s hands-free capability is made possible by the latest GPS technology, called “geo-fencing.” After downloading the app to a smart device, the user plugs the device into the vehicle’s USB port.
Sensing pre-identified landmarks on the tour route ahead, the app triggers the vehicle’s speakers to automatically play audio providing a delightful cultural-historical context to the landmark and local area. Without the need to keep hands and eyes glued to multimedia apps and traditional guide books, motorists can enjoy the scenery as they listen. Based in New York City and Ennis, Ireland, and founded in 2014, Cultural Roadmapp is in its early stages. Founder and president Deborah Schull is a senior writer-producer whose credits include an audio tour for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, which earned the museum world’s prestigious MUSE Award in 2011.
The startup team includes Leah O’Brien Bernini, an ethnographer and ethnomusicologist who directs content collection and curation, and Oisín Mac Diarmada, a world-renowned Irish fiddler and the startup’s music director. For more information about Cultural Roadmapp and its upcoming Indiegogo campaign, please go to http://www.culturalroadmapp.com/press. Also see Cultural Roadmapp’s Indiegogo Campaign Page at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cultural-roadmapp

Peregreni by Eve Williams:Preview and Thoughts

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Northern Irish singer-songwriter Eve Williams has carved a musical path that is not for the faint of hearts. It is not easy to just have a beautiful voice and songwriting skills these days. You gotta have grit. And grit is the very thing that pushed the release of her new album Peregreni. The new album has nine songs-a labor of love and took a lot of time to make. Screen Shot 2016-06-07 at 11.05.16 AM

Although Williams did not encounter any writer’s block after the release of Twenty Miles From Home, health issues along with other personal challenges almost drained her creative energy. Yet those challenges did not deter her from finishing these nine songs. You can hear the inner strength in each of them. Even if her lyrics talk of something else, her voice is unmistakably saying, I’ve been through a lot. This is my story.

With her supple Mezzo-soprano, Eve Williams can glide between power ballads and Celtic folk with remarkable ease. Peregreni is a delightful album that showcases her songwriting genius and impeccable power of interpretation.

The album will be released on June 10, 2016. I am so glad to get a preview and I think with Peregreni, Williams has achieved another musical height that is more confident than her previous efforts. The album sees her growth both as a poet and arranger. This is also a work of endless chores in front of the computer (if she is not with her piano)mastering Excel and also Accounting.

Yes, all musicians should be taught accounting and how to use Excel!!! She replied in one of our online conversations about the plight of indie artists.

I get the feeling that Illumination is going to be a single off this album because it has this catchiness that is pure pop, even though the song is grounded on acoustic folk and gospel. Her voice sounds at home with a big bands(complete with strings). But there are also moments when her simple arrangements shine through like the haunting Ailsa Craig. Big voices are a trend these days and I think Eve Williams has this lighthouse effect that will continue to attract travellers from all walks of life.

Peregreni will soon be available here: http://evewilliamsmusic.com/store/cdbaby_store/

Listen To If Wishes Were Horses by Kris Drever

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If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride, sings Kris Drever in the title track of his new album If Wishes Were Horses. Part personal memoir and part disquisition into Philosophical matters and the human condition, this album sounds whimsical as it is serious.

The eleven songs combine elements of pop, British folk and soft rock. His musical style is 10900044_991812364203990_2050555669683239488_oreminiscent of Donovan and John Martyn. Vocal layers embellish some songs with complex treatment. The production highlights the sound of the acoustic guitar, making the instrument brighter and warmer above the soft swirls of  vocals and percussion. The bass sets the balance between the light percussion and the whispy strums.

Further exploration into his website sheds light to the album:

If Wishes Were Horses is a collection of semi-biographical songs covering the universal, and not so universal, themes of education, politics, sex, love, ennui, self-employment, social migration and Shetland. Drever’s recent outpouring of songs stems from a move back to the Northern Isles, Shetland this time rather than his native Orkney and the discovery of new lyrical voices to describe his life, times and wild new surroundings.

I haven’t heard of his work with Lau. But I will definitely go look because his style and craftsmanship are captivating. The 2016 Celtic Connections performance made an impression, further cementing his status as a singer-songwriter of heartfelt songs.

If Wishes Were Horses is an album with mid-tempo songs. With the exception of the last track Going to the North with its fast percussion rendering but even then, the relaxed  mood remains. The same tempo is found in the fourth track Shipwrecked with its hypnotic vocals and dreamy arrangement. There are many beautiful songs in this album and I think it really deserves to have a part in your ‘top artists’ collection.

I can listen to If Wishes were Horses again and again and be wrapped in that blanket of wonder, amusement and longing -hese emotions that get regal treatment in the artistry of Kris Drever.

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Flow by Nua: The Great Sound Of The Outdoors

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Flow is a follow-up to their highly acclaimed debut album Bold. And they satisfy music fans once again!

I have the habit of bringing my huge speakers outside while chilling in my hammock. This happens every morning because I work at night.On most days the music consist of Spotify playlist-the current stuff, whither its chilled or lively tunes. There are days when I like playing Celtic music because it is good to listen to when it rains.

So I pumped up the copy of Flow which is the newest album by Canadian trio Nua. I got a positive reaction from people who happened to be nearby when they heard the tracks off the album. My cousin who was in the kitchen remarked that the music makes her want to dance, without being intrusive or noisy. She has a point. The trio have always maintained a minimal approach in their sound while maintaining that positive and uplifting style. Flow is not an exception. The tracks all go together and they have this fresh, clean and golden feeling in them.

Why golden? The music reminds me of the outdoors. It’s like sunrise against your face when you wake up in the morning. James M Law has really established his  emotional style of fiddling underneath the controlled delivery. Graeme McGillivray has a kind of playing style where his guitar sounds whispy, almost transparent. Jacob McCauley(who is my bodhran hero) has maintained that expressive mastery of the instrument that talks to you. If percussion can speak, then that has got to be the way he plays.

Flow promises to satisfy traditional music fans. The album has twelve tracks. The range of styles explored are Jazz, folk and world. There is something here for everyone. Even if you are not  hard core trad/instrumental fan , you will like Flow as proven by the reaction I got from bystanders. It is hard to choose a favourite as all tracks are beautiful in their own way. But Wide Open is a good introduction to the mood of the whole album. Like I said, Flow is the sound of the outdoors, the sound singing streams and the dance of sunlight against your face. Smuggler Cove is also a favourite due to the interesting arrangement. I don’t know if Ghostrider was inspired by the film but hey, whatever floats their boat right? Law, McGillivray and McCauley have created another masterpiece that will stand the test of time. Time to grab the album and share it with everyone.

Visit: http://www.trionua.com for more info about the trio.

My Short But Sweet Interview With Scottish Superstar Eddi Reader

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I put Eddi Reader up there with the best artists in the world. Artists whose every release is always anticipated and also celebrated. She recently dropped her Best Of album and if you haven’t read my review yet, please check it out.

This little Q&A was arranged by my good friend Anita Daly. I got a kick after discover this in my mailbox. Eddi Reader has taught me that tact and simplicity always yield good results.  $_35

She also shares with us how she is able to maintain that amazing voice! We should all try her techniques if we want to have a singing career.

  1. The Best of presents the evolution of your musical evolution through the years. Was it an arduous process trying to decide what tracks finally make it to the compilation?

I didn’t choose the tracks, it would have been almost impossible.. I never look back musically so although it sounded like the right time to assess and look at the path I have been on, It was best to keep a good distance so that when I listened I could hear it as a new complete experience.  I set aside some time one afternoon and listened afresh to what my Manager Tom Rose chose.

I was very happy with it.

  1. Looking back, have you known all along that you are going to be this influential?

I don’t have any idea that I am.  I do meet people and younger ones who love bits and pieces of what Ive offered up.  But if I have influenced I didn’t mean any harm. haha

  1. What do you miss the most about being with Fairground Attraction?
Being in my twenties with energy of a cheetah!
  1. Your voice is a fascinating instrument. How did you develop that style of singing and how do you maintain the your beautiful voice?
I drink loads of water when I work.  I try to nap if I have no energy.  Sleep repairs muscle and tissue.  I try to remember not to shout too much when I talk.
  1. How’s the book coming along?(Reader is writing a book for publication  about her great-uncle Seamus (or James) Reader).
I will be relieved when it decides its done with me.  I miss it when I’m away from doing it. But it sometimes seems endless.
  1. Your success has influenced young women singer-songwriters to be brave. How do you see the music business today as compared to the time you fronted your first band?
Thank you . I hope that’s somehow true. But I think every human has a love of something and a feeling of purposeful drive.  Nothing can stop anyone expressing themselves musically if that’s what they love to do.
I am not sure what the music biz is doing now. I ignore it as much as possible.  I think the same is true today as it was before my time: Do it with love and light and the joy will be a great reward, the Mercedes will come later.
  1. And finally, your message to your fans?

To anyone who has spent time listening while I sing I want to say thank you so much. xxxxx