Have you heard of Morenn?

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I discovered the music of Morenn after clicking the link posted by Francois Marchal of Caliorne on facebook. I think Morenn is a fascinating project and needs a good support from lovers of Breton Celtic music. There are three videos posted in their kisskissbankbank crowd Morennfunding project in which one of them I decided to post here. Their approach to music is eclectic, blending traditional Breton sounds and other World influences. The music is lively, optimistic and evokes the landscapes of Brittany.

Members of Morenn are Xavier Boderiou , Sylvain Barou and Pellen Jacques. The three  are the finest in the world of Breton music. I am quoting this interesting blurb from the site so you will have an idea what the project is all about:

The “Morenn” project is the result of the meeting between Xavier Boderiou, Sylvain Barou and Jacques Pellen around the classical music of Scottish bagpipes.The piobaireachd is usually performed solo. The songs here are unstructured, merging three instruments consistently. This unique creation combines bagpipes, guitar, flute, but also a hint of experimental music around a centenary book for an explosive result in imprecise, nebulous … Morenn.

Here is the link to the project site:http://www.kisskissbankbank.com/fr/projects/morenn

The Baxteria #10 Podcast

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My post Halloween special featuring The Hothouse Flowers on autodj and special guest Kyle Carey joins us on an interview in the Celtic music hour. More goodies on the indie variety show.

Tracks played:

Hothouse Flowers-I’m Sorry
Hothouse Flowers-Your Love Goes On
Hothouse Flowers-One Tongue
Hothouse Flowers-Forever More
Hothouse Flowers-Born
Hothouse Flowers-The Older We Get
Hothouse Flowers-Thing of Beauty
Hothouse Flowers-Alright
Hothouse Flowers-Gypsy Fair
Hothouse Flowers-Learning to Walk
Hothouse Flowers-Out of Nowhere
Hothouse Flowers-Saved
Hothouse Flowers-Si Do Mhamo i
Altan-Cuach mo Lon Dubh Buí
Clannad-Transatlantic
Cara Dillon-Black is the Colour
Kyle Carey-One Morning in May
Kyle Carey-Interview with
Samuel Smith-Song for Leon
Darren Lynch-Spancil Hill(live)
Steven Hawson-Banjo tribute to Jimmy Shand
Mick McAuley-The House Carpenter
Tri Yann & Alan Stivell-Tri Martolod
The Sisters of Mercy-Walk Away
Bauhaus-Bela Lugosi’s Dead
Active Child-I’m in your Church at Night
Heyward Howkins-Praline Country
Ghost Hotel-All Day Ocean
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros-Better Days Live
Grizfolk-The Struggle
Pedro Martins & Layne Greene-Into the Mystic (Van Morrison) Cover
Velvet Underground-Who Loves The Sun
Alex Pardini-No One Is Like Everyone Else
The Sisters of Mercy-Lucretia My Reflection
Peter Chains-Carrion Crows
Lisa Gerrard-All along the watchtower

As heard on www.radiohappy.eu

Happy Samhain!

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I am writing this on a windy and slightly sunny afternoon. The big night is tomorrow. I would be celebrating it by going out dress up for the occasion, watch a movie then buy a book or maybe the latter goes first, either way I will be out. The next day I will be going to my mom’s grave. She passed away this year May 15th. It’s almost six months and I would be lying if I say I am over it. No one will ever be over losing someone who mean the world to you.

I hear the birds singing more often and the rustling of the leaves as life became more relaxed. I probably lost it for the last two years. I think what kept me going was the idea that I need to blog several times a week. And it’s always the music that has been a  source of comfort. It always was and always will be. I was writing back and forth with singer/songwriter John Breen and he told me about this outreach programs he was putting his energy on, trying to help kids with special needs and making life better for them. I think that by caring for others we also care for ourselves. I like my life to be more meaningful…more attuned to kindness and less attached with material stuff and clutter of ideas that make facebook and other social sites toxic these days. When you go out there and help injured animals, make an effort to stop bullying and plant trees then I think real joy is just around the bend.

I had no idea what I would be writing about when I took this laptop out and started typing away. I always take writing as a spontaneous conversation with a visitor and you don’t know what will happen until you start typing those keys. All I know is that it is really a great release to send thoughts out there…to the big universe and spread the goodwill of music. Music is a gift and thank God for musicians we have something to ease us from the harsh treatment of life. A haven in the midst of the storm.

So what am I going to write about? I will list down my top 10 Halloween albums and I am sure you have already heard some in my radio show which is also the current podcast I posted yesterday. If you are not aware yet, I have my own radio show every Saturday afternoon German time 3 to 6 pm. And the website is www. radiohappy.eu. Please tell your friends about it and about the podcast taken from that show after.

1. Lunasa-Otherword : I love this album for the explosive melodies and fine album art. Great music to celebrate the spirit of Halloween as we welcome the otherworld right into our midst.

2. Loreena McKennitt-The Wind that Shakes the Barley: Very good relaxing tune to celebrate ti Irish spirt. And her voice is really the voice from another world.

3. Clannad-Lore: Yes, I think this is perhaps the most haunting and fantabulous of all their albums. But the new album Nadur is also fantastic to call the spirits and awaken the other side.

4.Chieftains-The Long Black Veil: Yes, music to awaken the spirits of the past and to celebrate the beautiful mystical side of Irish music. MY favorite guest vocalists are Sting and Sinead O’Connor.

5. Ceredwen-The Golden Land: The Welsh dou made one of the most fantastic and atmosphereic New Age inspired albums of the late 90s. Transporting and passionate. Something to listen to as you light bonfires.

The bands who never made it here are in my remaining top 10. So don’t worry!

The Baxteria #9 Podcast is up!

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I decided to go ahead and just upload the whole show instead of chopping it up into bits and deleting some. Hey what’s more interesting that letting the world hear your bloopers right? It is a very human thing. And I like human thing 🙂

So yes that’s three hours of music and some talk in between tracks. I love Saturdays because that’s the time I become a pilot of the cyberwaves. I live for music and I think it is what makes me live. What about you? What is that thing that makes you want to wake up every morning?

Despite the power failure at the start of my indie variety show(not again!) I was able to save the stream so I will be playing back the whole three-hour show 8 hours from now but I need to catch sleep first. Here are the tracks I played today:

Autodj featuring Loreena McKennitt (3pm German time)

Stolen child/ Snow/ Ancient Pines/All Souls NightThe Old Ways/ Full Circle/The Mummer’s Dance/Penelope’s Song/ The Wind That Shakes The Barley visit: http://www.quinlanroad.com/

The Celtic Music Hour (4 pm German time)

Barrule– Mycharaine’s March
Rachel Hair Trio– Tsunami Jack/Cancro Cru
John Breen– The Galtee Mountain Boy
Enda Seery-Sta Cruz
Rant Maggie Rant-Belle Katrine
McDermott’s 2 Hours-All In Your Name
Athru– The Last Pint
Samuel Smith-The Last Prayer
Jamie Smith’s MABON-Caru Pum Merch
Clannad– Vellum
Capercaillie-At the Heart of it All
Connie Dover-Ubi Caritas
***
Indie Variety (5pm German time)
***
Von Shakes-Robimson Crusoe
Roisin O-Find the Light
Joel Sarakula– Matchstick Girl
Interview with Joel Sarakula
Under the Wire– Bloom
Layne Greene-Iron Town
Travis-Sing
Korein Daniel Csernei– Lonely Autumn
Placido Domingo-Love Came for Me(From the movie Splash 1985)

Leisure is the source of creativity?

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cropped-cropped-rocks-under-water-in-sea-off-brittany-france-my.jpgI think anyone can become very creative when given time and means to do what he or she must. As a blogger, I noticed that the more I get more and more assignments, the more I become nervous and anxious to ‘do something’ and that feeling leaves me when a sense that I am working rather than enjoying what I do. October has given me a lot of time to reflect and also to talk to musicians not for interviews of music news but just getting to know them as people. People like you and me.

I learned that no matter what exciting facade we put out there we are not immune to the pitfalls of life, relationships and even tragedies. But artists are expected to ‘do what he/she must do’ and that is how the public finds happiness: hearing the works of the artists and finding their own reflections on those creations. But like I said, artists are like you and me. They have bills to pay, relationships to maintain and time to manage. Sometimes they have to scrape from that bleeding reality so that they can have something to put out there. Sometimes it consumes them and leaves them unable to do anything for years. Such creative burnout can be revived by people around them e.g. the love from family, friends and creative clusters. And thus they produce new works again which can be better!

I try any means to evolve as a blogger. I tried dabbling with online radio so that is how my weekly radio show came into being. I always thought that being impatient or discontented with one’s present situation can be a blessing. It gives us ways to grow as artistic people. As an example, my living room arrangement always changes every month. My bedroom doesn’t look static in a 365- days -a year rotation. Things are constantly moving. It is the same with relationships. I always meet new people. There those who stay and there are those who are meant to be casual companions. And that is ok because life is all about growing. We grow with people and sometimes we grow apart from them.

In that growth we always leave a seed of inspiration and in a way that is what we leave behind. It is funny that when I look at this page I always say to myself” I need to do something to make it more exciting.” But is there anything I really need to do? If there is something I need to do it is to spread kindness online and offline. That is something WE all need to do. And this blog, though primarily for information and entertainment, it is also a reflection of my convictions and also the kind of music I like. So as I plan for my next radio show later, I will have this in mind. Stop, look and listen. Then breath. And appreciate the kindness life has given me. It isn’t really hard to do I think.