Album Cover

The Fatty Farmers: Refarmatory

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The Fatty Farmers

Band: The Fatty Farmers

Album: Refarmatory

Style: Celtic Punk /Rock/ Folk

Place of origin:Toledo, España

Members:

Rodrigo farmer — mandolin, banjo & lead vocals
Sweet Javato — Whistles & Bagpipes
Javito “Litlle Boy” — Fiddle
Goyo — accordion
Lalo — Acoustic guitar & chorus
Diego F. — Electric guitar, banjo & chorus
Lamber — Bass guitar & chorus
Juankar — Drums

Tracks:

No More Woman You’ll Kill
21 Black Jack
Rather Die than Forget
Next Sunday We’ll Be Back Again
The Way Back Home
With Head Held High
The American Dream
Hate Cannot Be Forever
At The Counter Bar
My Childhood Dreams
Fancy Prankster
Johnny Techno Ska

“Refarmatory” is am album by Spanish band The Fatty Farmers. This is straight ahead Celtic rock with nods to the musical styles of The Levellers and The Pogues. I love it when bands tell about the music through the album artwork. And yes I love what I hear. In fact, The Fatty Farmers left a sonic impact that distinguishes them from the current outcropping of bands of the same musical bent. There’s never a dull moment. Every track packs a wallop.

Listen to 21 Blackjack and Sraka Dupa and you will know what I mean about sonic impact. So yeah this is an album for the depressed. Listeners who are in search of something energetic and cheerful. The band gave a bit of tribute to their Spanish roots via Sraka Dupa and other tracks but the vocals are unmistakably Irish sounding. The Head Held High showcases the bands mastery of groove. Out of this 14 tracks, I can’t find any song that’s weak or bad. You can tell the choice of materials have undergone careful analysis prior to its studio release.

I enjoy funny album artwork . The lyrics are also interesting. The instruments are superb. Talking about lyrics there is one song that really caught my attention. It is called At the Counter Bar which pays tribute to The Mermaid and the Drunks by Pablo Neruda but with a twist. Like the music, the songs have explicit lyrics and I read a lot of F bombs there but it is ok. Music is supposed to express what you feel inside and what you meant to say in colors. I love what The Fatty Farmers did for Refarmatory and I hope this record gets heard by the majority of Celtic rockers.

You may get their humor or not. But they can surely draw reaction. And like what I told one of my friends. When people don’t react to you, then it means you are boring. Refarmatory is definitely far  from boring.

Bio:

At the start of 2009 a Group of farmers from different stables appear in the music scene in Toledo to bring us a music style never heard around here.
This group brings rhythm and fun with there different costumes and there hardly seen instruments.
From the banjo to the electric mandolin played by the wild Rodrigo Farmer, to the bagpipes and irish whistles by the sweet Javato, passing by “The little boy” Javito Farmers violin.
The group is completed with Lamber on the bass, Lalo playing the acoustic guitar, Fignani the electric guitar and Juankar on the drums. The last one to join the group has been Goyo, a crack of the accordion and another big push to the group.
Celtic Punk Rock Folk music that isn’t to be heard at home but to be seen in this groups great live show that will make you want to sing, dance, jump, party hard and forget about everything for a little bit.

http://www.thefattyfarmers.com
http://www.facebook.com/TheFattyFarmers
http://www.twitter.com/TheFattyFarmers
https://plus.google.com/1046510374735521..

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Huzzah!

Please check out my article: Book Preview: THE SPIRIT of IRELAND An Odyssey Home A Memoir by Emmy Award Winning Writer Alan Cooke via Expats Post:

http://expatspost.com/entertainment/books/book-preview-the-spirit-of-ireland-an-odyssey-home-a-memoir-by-emmy-award-winning-writer-alan-cooke/

If you haven’t yet, please check out the other version of my interview of Kevin O’Donnell that appeared in this month’s edition of Irish American News. That’s page 12 of the digital copy. Thanks to Noah Smulkis of Ceolwind Productions for mailing me the physical copy of the magazine!

http://issuu.com/irishamericannews/docs/0513_chicago?mode=window

The Heart Rendering Accordion Tunes of Harriet Bartlett

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 3 Comments

Life with the accordion.

I think I am coming down with a cold. We’ve been having some nasty weather lately….

Music is my sanctuary. I am sure it is the same with you. With all the negativity in the world, I am glad that there is this place I can go and feel at home. Music has sustained me through the years. I think my ‘relationship’ with my favorite musicians lasted longer than  with few actual people. Music heals. Sometimes when we are  mad we forget who we are. But music restores that purity. It tells you ” I am here and I will never leave you or hurt you.”

I want to share with you this amazing accordion player. Her name is Harriet Bartlett and she’s from the UK. You should hear her own version of Music For a Found Harmonium originally done by Patrick Street. She adds her twist to it! Her album  Eyes Wide Open has been out for years. She does both instruments and vocals. She has a terrific voice. I find it strange that an artist of her caliber doesn’t have a follow-up album yet.

They say don’t judge the book by its cover but I can tell that looking at her album art and listening to the tracks you really get what you see-pure talent and awe-inspiring energy. Right now I don’t have news for you about her current projects. But if someone out there can step forward, that would really be awesome!

Sources:

http://www.harrietbartlett.com/

http://www.myspace.com/harrietbartlett

https://www.facebook.com/harrietbartlett

Bio:

Harriet has been playing accordion for 13 years and performing at festivals, folk clubs and theatres for the past 8 years. Her repertoire consists of Celtic music on the piano accordion at lightening speed, heart rendering slow airs and beautiful songs. She has already composed many of her own tunes with a traditional style that belies her years.

To date she has played at many venues at home and abroad to include Celtic Connections, Sidmouth International, Venner Folk Frühling, Fylde, Bromyard and Warwick Festival, to name but a few.

Harriet was invited to do a studio session / interview withAndy Kershaw, BBC Radio 3 which was aired on 3rd October 2004.

In 2003 Harriet was a winner of a coveted Celtic Connections Danny Kyle Award – the competition was held throughout the festival with no less than eighty entrants. Harriet was then approached by Greentrax Recordings to record her debut CD Eyes Wide Open produced by Dr Phil Cunningham MBE. Harriet was joined by some fantastic musicians – Ed Boyd (Flook) on guitar, Mark Maguire (Deaf Shepherd) on bodhran and Phil Cunningham on piano cittern and whistles. The CD was launched at Celtic Connections January 2004, and has received excellent reviews.

“Hugely talented. Eyes Wide Open is one of my favourite CDs of the year.” — ANDY KERSHAW, BBC RADIO 3

“Harriet has assembled here a fine collection of tunes, some contemporary with a maturity far beyond her years and if this is her first outing on CD… I can’t wait to hear the next. Go get em Harriet.” ..— Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham.

To listen to the CD click here or to buy the CD click here

In July 2004 she was nominated for the West Midlands Folk Federation “2004 Award for an outstanding contribution to West Midlands folk / traditional arts.”

She was the winner of the In the Tradition Awards 2001 at the Assembly Rooms, in Derby. Organised by Mick Peat of PR Promotions and Folkwaves on BBC in the East Midlands. There were 6 finalists; amongst the judges were Jo Freya and Lester Simpson. She has been invited to play on stage with Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham on numerous occasions, always to be enjoyed. “Phil Cunningham is a marvellous accordionist and I’ve admired him for years, so to actually join him and Aly on stage and play some tunes was fantastic!”

Living Tradition, Taplas, Celtic Heritage and Shropshire magazines have all run articles on Harriet. To view, go to the reviews section at www.harrietbartlett.com

Lúnasa: A Band with Consistently Beautiful Artwork?

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 2 Comments

Mirror mirror on the wall, who has the best album cover of them all?

I believe that every topic merits an article. The little conversation that I had with Christi and Connie inspired this piece. It has something to do with the post Christi made of the Irish band Lúnasa. Through the years this band made amazing recordings of top notch traditional interpretations that got them into the global spotlight.

They have a new album out called Lá Nua’. As always we expect nothing but amazing music . However something has been overlooked in forum discussions as well as reviews from other Celtic magazines. It is the amazing album artworks. My first Lúnasa album was Otherworld(1999). The impressionistic photography and dashes of blue and green colors are really eye-catching.  There are albums out there that sound really great but the artwork don’t really give justice to the music.  To see more of the band’s album artwork just visit the photogallery section of the official site.

The Album Cover for The Very Best of Enya

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 5 Comments
The Very Best of Enya Cover

The Very Best of Enya Cover

Here is the  controversial album cover for The Very Best of Enya coming out this November 16. Ok folks , so the debate hasn’t ebbed yet? Actually I don’t care what others say about this but I think this is a gorgeous choice. After all, The Very Best of brings to light her past and present releases. So what better choice could there be than the picture off Shepherd Moons era.

The skirt also suggests her red dress color in the Amarantine album which is a transition since she ventured into the realm of the Loxian language. This concept represents the old and the new Enya; plus, red, black and white  are bold colors that stand out from the rest of releases this year.

And-Winter-Came-album-cover-150x150Another thing worth mentioning. Congratulations! And Winter Came album cover is also nominated for Grammy Awards as the best album cover. More details can be found on the News section of enya.com . Though others like Robbi might not agree with this as a favorite, I think the theme is relevant since it is a Winter Themed album.

And one last thing. Look at this gorgeous photo taken in 2008 by Simon Fowler.

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Click for a larger version