albums

Aulaga Folk, A Menos Cuarto(Album review)

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 I received the album inside a parcel. I was surprised to find that it is a box containing 3 discs. One is the album, the second a collection of rarities and the third, a DVD.The motiff is black and white with a clock . Inserted  is a liner note of the band’s music including lyrics and pictures. I must say that it is one of the most beautiful CD packaging I put my hands on in years!

The Music.

The album opens with Los Motiladores. The distinctive vocals of Juan Carlos can be heard which reminds me of those ancient Greek  songs in mixolydian mode. Ambient sounds like crickets, percussions and an explosion of festive instrumental playing somewhere close to the middle of the track, the all like butterflies in the stomach.

My personal favorites are: the first track of course, and then  Quitate with that amazing female vocals and belly dancing rhythm. La Cautiva is very energetic , a combination of Jazz, and Latin melodies. Los Carnavales is very haunting as it reminds you haunted carnivals however the songs picks up tempo in the middle. Extramairlandura is an instrumental piece that moves in different styles. Here the driving sound of fiddle, bodhran and other instruments make themselves proud. La Uva is a showcase of guitar, percussion and vocals. Reeguedoble calls for a beautiful movie with its visual melody and stunning comic singing. The title track A Menus Cuarto closes this album with the sound of winding clock and infectious latin beats which combine all the beautiful elements of Folk, Jazz and World Music.

One can play this CD anytime again and again. I is a kind of music that is at home anywhere in the world. Juan Carlos and the rest of Aulaga Folk made a wonderful album that not only sounds good but looks good as well!

Calan is out with Jonah

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These days I feel I am a bit behind my usual posts. You know why? It is because I am getting updates from left to right. There are amazing artists and the scene is flowering like never before. The support for young acts is tremendous if you think of all the forums and facebook groups sprouting in hordes.  I met amazing people in The Celtic Link forum lately and it is really a fun experience when you get info from the musicians themselves rather than just getting your news material from writings and other reviews.

Yesterday I featured Welsh band Fernhill. Now I am going to present Calan, which I mentioned came from the same source. This band is not only slick in their interpretation of traditional music but also they have  a knack for representing themselves in a way that leaves an impression to first time listeners. It is remarkable how bands these days not only take advantage of technology but also the way they represent themselves image wise.

Calan released their debut album “Bing ” in 2008 and since then they attracted warm responses from critics. Tours, rave reviews and enthusiastic audience are around always  looking for more music that these guys can take out like pancakes. The new album is called Jonah. Listen to sound samples here: http://www.calan-band.com/english/music.html

Band members:
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

Ryan McGiver :Troubled in Mind(Interview)

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A few months ago I got acquainted with Ryan McGiver. We exchanged a little of conversation and I commented on how wonderful the album artworks are. Then I got to listen to the whole album and it literally blew me away. His music is very visual, atmospheric and beautiful. In his debut album Trouble in  Mind, he is backed by seasoned Irish musicians. According the blurb:
“Ryan McGiver’s debut album, ‘Troubled in Mind’, is a Indie-folk record of imaginative musical interpretations of old Appalachian ballads. Co-produced by Shahzad Ismaily (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Marc Ribot), the collaboration results in a spiritual, often meditative music, with a haunting quality that draws from sources as diverse as Buell Kazee, Washington Phillips and Randy Newman.”
The album includes guest appearances by an all-star cast of musicians including Jolie Holland, Doug Wieselman (Martha Wainwright, Antony and the Johnsons), Susan McKeown, Cillian Vallely (Lunasa), Stephanie Coleman (Uncle Earl), Jason Sypher, Cleek Schrey, Eamon O’ Leary, Cassandra Jenkins, Nick Reeb (King Wilkie), Jefferson Hamer, Pádraig Rynne, Patrick Mangan, Clara Kennedy, Matty Mancuso, Will Orzo and Howard Arn. Two beautiful horn and string arrangements were composed by Dana Lyn as well.
I did a little interview with him . It is now out in itunes. The physical release of the album is available on amazon.
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1.Your album Troubled in Mind is a sonic blanket of somber beauty and Appalachian musings. Have you already made up your mind if this is going to be on a label or are you going the indie route?
Indie all the way. I had some offers from labels, but the way the music industry is these days, I decided to try my hand at a self-release.  The whole process has been, as with any debut, a great learning experience.
2. You work with big names in the traditional music scene.  How did you get these guys together?
The album is a collective of many musicians I’ve worked with over the past decade: some from my native Catskills; others I played music with while living in Ireland; another I met while working in Central Virginia; but most are musicians I know from my time spent in Manhattan – many I consider to be close friends.

3. The ballads here are hypnotic. What’s the concept behind this album?

I wanted to create a sort of sonic soundscape of my mind and surroundings through the lens of traditional song.  And to create a record that – in part- represents the beauty, desolation and sadness of growing up in Schoharie County, NY.

I’m drawn to music that is meditative and melancholic, whether traditional or contemporary in form. There’s something about a sad song that makes me happy. And I love music that is rich in texture, subtle layers and has lots of space.  Points where you can insert your imagination and fill in the blanks.  I always return to art – whether music, poetry, film – whatever it may be –  that has space and allows my mind, ideas to grow.

The songs come from all over  – Texas gospel, Old-time, Irish/English ballads, even a Randy Newman cover for good measure. “I Wouldn’t Mind Dying”, comes from a Washington Philips record that I got at a garage sale when I fifteen; “Farewell Dearest Nancy” comes from a Mick Haley cassette tape I wore out (who doesn’t love Moving Hearts?), “The Dying Soldier” came from a dear friend, Paul Strother, a clawhammer banjo player I labor with in the summers back home; “Tazewell Girl” was written by my uncle, Neil Driscoll – one of my big influences in music. Others songs came directly from pages in local libraries, one specifically,  “I’m Troubled, I’m Troubled”, from a collection called ‘Folk Songs of the Catskills’.  All have been important to me for various reasons over the years and I wanted to find interesting ways of recreating and retelling some of the more common ones.

4. You worked on the recording of this album for 13 months!  A lot of effort must have been placed on each track. How was the whole experience?

While working on ‘Singing In the Dark’ with the great Irish singer, Susan McKeown, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Shahzad Ismaily – a wonderful multi-instrumentalist and composer. We became fast friends and he agreed to co-produce the album after I had been working on it for several months. Honestly, I wasn’t very familiar with his music outside of our studio sessions, but felt overwhelmingly drawn to his personality and musical contributions in a studio setting. And the way we could make each other roar with laughter! Ismaily is an extraordinary talent. And an inspiration to work with.

The album took over a year to complete, because as you could imagine, there were many schedules to coordinate. Including my own, in and out of tours.  I  worked on it as if I was building a stone wall: slow and steady, taking moments to reflect and breathe – often standing back to take a look at the greater whole while working. I made the album for myself, so was under no time constraints.

October 5:Music that Uplifts

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Donal McCague (fiddle): Sep 20, 2011 Unitarian Church, Dublin( with Dave Sheridan (flute) and Michael McCague (bouzouki)

Donal McCague (fiddle): Sep 20, 2011 Unitarian Church, Dublin( with Dave Sheridan (flute) and Michael McCague (bouzouki)

A friend told me that the mother of the dog that he has passed away. On top of that I have this frustration that I find hard to describe except this: the feeling you get being nominated several times but  not bagging even just one award. So what to do? Nothing. But the feeling of being confined eats you. In times like this only music is the way out.  Let me give you a list of performers that merit a listen in situations like these artists:

Eden’s Bridge: Grow- Taken from the upcoming  The Longest Day EP. The freshness of this track will carry you into caress of waves and prairie leaves. Transporting, uplifting, let it carry you to the silver lining of your personal clouds:

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Visit : http://www.edensbridge.net/

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Listen to Donal McCague’s Bit’s and Pieces

Explosive shimmering interpretation of traditional pieces from this young Irish fiddle player. The golden album cover speaks of the tracks-utterly timeless, radiant and mesmerizing.  Here’s the preview:

Visit: http://bitsnpieces2011.com/

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Nuala Kennedy creates a mood that kicks off the blues. This Scottish singer/flutist has made a following of her own with her style. Check this info from reverbnation :

Based in her adopted homeland of Scotland, Irish singer and flautist Nuala Kennedy performs a range of material from across the Irish and Scottish traditional music repertoires.

She also composes her own idiosyncratic brand of traditional music and tours in a variety of lineups from duo and quartet to a nine-piece festival band.

She has a new album (Tune In) released on Compass Records in March 2010. It was described as ‘A Picaresque Adventure and A Delight’ **** by THE IRISH TIMES

http://www.reverbnation.com/nualakennedy

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Feel free to share your own tunes and we will discuss it .

Dylan Cleghorn :”We’ve labeled ourselves as TEXAS CELTIC ROCK”(Interview)

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Working with my dad is a great experience. I learn something from him every day. He is an amazing songwriter and an incredible guitar player. And we really have an uncanny ability to sit down together and make music! -Dylan Cleghorn

CLEGHORN are a Texas-based Celtic Rock duo. They combine stadium rock with blues and folk influences laced with a strong Celtic brew. 23-year-old violinist Dylan Cleghorn explains the music, life on the road with dad and the state of Celtic music in the United States.

Listening to CLEGHORN is like experiencing the power of  storm dust rising with hundreds of horses racing above it. It’s an immense sonic invasion-the pulsing sound of rock driven Celtic music. The robust and pristine sound of Dylan Cleghorn’s violin is wrapped up by pop rock’s heavy sound that approaches anthemic intensity. John Cleghorn on the other hand adds his own guitar rifts, and golden melodies- a man who knows what Texas rock is.

It should be noted that both of them have come  long way since the days they spent being part of the band Needfire. It was those days when they stirred up festivals with their own brand of Celtic rock. Dylan has been noted as a Charismatic performer who even went as far as going down the stage to play with the crowd during concerts. He is a natural crowd pleaser.

Now they are back with CLEGHORN sounding better and know what they want and how they want the musical direction to be. This is a new frontier and Dylan gets to talk to us to tell us more of what’s in store .

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We have a sneak preview that is available for download .These songs are part of your upcoming CD. Tell us about the changes that happened musically for both you after Needfire.

The Needfire project was a great experiment that helped us grow in many ways – Both as songwriters and performers. And we haven’t abandoned those songs – we still include them in our current shows. But with this growth, CLEGHORN has a more refined sound. We are able to work harder and faster as a result of all we learned and we are having even more fun in the process. And personally, I think we are having more creativity now than we’ve ever had!

You and your dad are good in creating catchy Celtic influenced rock songs. How is the song writing process?

What a difficult question! We each write songs on our own, however the majority of the songs we are including with CLEGHORN have parts written from both of us. The songwriting process generally starts with my dad bringing words and a melody to me and asking me, “What kind of fiddle part would you play with this?” However, many times I also bring a fiddle riff or a song to him and say, “Dad, listen to this! What can you add to this?” There is no single process, but we certainly work as a team!

9 minutes of Woo, the first track is actually 9 minutes of bliss! What made you decide to creat this 9-minute symphonic instrumental?

Almost immediately after my dad and I arranged this piece we knew it was special. 9 Minutes of Woo had its origins in late 2005 and 2006. It’s a great story. The two of us were sitting on the couch watching Monday Night Football. My dad picked up a guitar and was fooling around with a few chords when he asked me to grab my fiddle. We soon muted the TV as magic was in the room. All of the ideas we had been working suddenly seemed to flow together perfectly! The CLEGHORN recording is the same arrangement and music/chord structure from that night. 9 Minutes of Woo is about 50/50 traditional Celtic melodies and original melodies written by myself. The guitar music and chord structure is 100% original by my dad.

Tell me about your instrumental influences. Your playing is like no other. It is rich, pristine and soaring. Tell us about the secret of your style..

I can credit my violin influences to two people.

The first is Joshua Bell. He is a modern classical violinist. Before I played violin, I played viola in the High School Orchestra. Around this time I stumbled upon Joshua Bell’s PBS special “Live from Lincoln Center..” This was my first vision of how the violin (or perhaps, the violinist) can demand attention though his performance.

In the first few months that I started playing fiddle and Celtic music, I was given Ashley MacIsaac’s CD “Hi How are You Today?” This CD changed me completely. It opened my eyes as to how the fiddle (or perhaps, the fiddler) can rock while still maintaining it’s great tone and orchestral qualities. My fiddle style and recording process is greatly influenced by Ashley. I’ve actually had the pleasure of meeting him since, and we exchanged emails from time to time – which is a great honor for me!

I wouldn’t know how to describe it, but I feel that I’ve been able to mold my own distinct style and sound. And my original tunes seem to naturally create a unique sound by themselves. But I would not be where I am today without these two influences.

How is it like working with your father who is also your band mate?

Working with my dad is a great experience. I learn something from him every day. He is an amazing songwriter and an incredible guitar player. And we really have an uncanny ability to sit down together and make music! We played a show today and I thought to myself, “What a great blessing it is to share the stage with my dad.” When we’re on stage together everything ‘clicks’ and we both are able to let loose and have fun. Our fans respond to that and let loose with us! It’s a blast, and I think this is one of the hallmarks of CLEGHORN.

Tell us what to expect on the new CD you are both working on

We’ve labeled ourselves as TEXAS CELTIC ROCK. We have an undeniable Celtic influence. But we are also a Texas band, and with that comes an unavoidable blues and Texas country rock feel. From traditional to original, acoustic to rock, we do it all. The new CLEGHORN CD will highlight all of these influences.

What is the state of Celtic music in the United States?

The Celtic music scene is still somewhat ‘underground’ in the United States. But its presence is growing! Hopefully CLEGHORN will be a catalyst in its growth and success.

What’s the best thing about performing live/recording an album.

The two are very different. Performing live is all about having fun. We are fortunate to have a great band that supports our live shows. We rehearse to be prepared for each show. Music is our passion and when we are on stage, performing our arrangements and original songs, there is perhaps no greater feeling. Of course, without an audience there is little purpose to play live. We seek to create an intimate feel with the audience regardless of the venue. This creates an emotion that is enjoyed by all.

The studio is where we really open ourselves to creativity. Many times we will have a song all worked up before going into the studio. But sometimes we walk into the studio and let inspiration lead us. We have our instruments in our hands and we never know what product we will have at the end of the day. We’ve surprised ourselves many times with the results of our studio sessions! Recording the new CLEGHORN CD has been especially rewarding because my dad and I are the only two musicians on the recordings (the two of us performed every instrument). It has been a great opportunity to grow as multi-instrumentalists.

A friend who lives in Lyon France introduced me to your band’s link! Your fan base is growing really fast. Do you plan touring outside the United States?

CLEGHORN is a new project. We have been amazed at the quick success that we are having. We are hopeful to have many U.S. tour dates on the calendar soon. We are certainly open to perform international tours as we establish ourselves and continue to grow. We urge everyone who is a CLEGHORN fan to spread the word to friends and family. If you would like CLEGHORN to perform at a festival or event near where you live, please be vocal and contact that event’s staff! You may also send the event website and details to our booking team (booking@cleghornmusic.com) and they will look into negotiating the event!