albums

Fiach Moriarty On The Radar

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 4 Comments

The hardest working artist in Ireland is finally getting his due….

Some of you might ask who Fiach Moriarty is. But for those who are acquainted to the Dublin music scene, Fiach has been known as the hardest working artist in Ireland. He has been in a lot of TV shows and live performances. Also one thing to note is that last year he came first in the annual Celtic Language Contest in Inverness Scotland. So how’s that for a 27-year -old used to be under- the- radar singer? The Irish Times calls his album So I a debut album of depth and courage, guile and wit. I stumbled upon him the first time in YouTube and that’s it. His charisma is undeniably powerful and there is so much positivity in his songs that you can’t help but be uplifted.

This is an interesting performance of a song sang in Gaelic, a love song called Sea Taim at minority language song contest Liet International 2009. Sea Taim is about a young lad who is down and out – and drunk – after his girlfriend left him.

http://www.myspace.com/fiachmusic

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Caladh Nua 2nd Album Launch

What a terrific, young band. We are going to play a lot of them. We suspect they are going to be around a long time”

–American Public Radio

Yes, this wonderful band is making an early announcement for the February 2011 launch of their second album. Be sure to be there. More info here:

http://caladh.net/

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YAOUANK 2010

YAOUANK 2010: Here’s a video featuring my pal Dom Duff from Brittany!

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Sacred Art

Courtney Davis inspires Celtic Spirituality

Have you visited his website lately? I think there’s a lot of things there for everyone. I just love the wonderful pieces he created. I have been a fan of Celtic art for years and when I stumble upon something as beautiful as this I like to tweet it out.

http://www.courtneydavisart.com/


Sahara:Soulful and Uplifting Sound from Australia.

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 8 Comments

One of the great success stories of the Australian music scene.

When you are needing something to spice up you morning cappuccino, or a companion to your Earl Grey tea at night Sahara is the perfect music for your best moments. With musicianship that has been distilled by time and space, you are an audience to the best duo  in this music category. Dave Long has one of the rare gorgeous male vocals in the tradition of Sting and Steve Winwood. I swear I could go on for hours and hours being hypnotized by tracks like  No Man’s Land, Higher Than High, and Make My Day.  I’m sure no one would question Trish long’s expertise with the sax and other instruments apart from the fact that she has a voice that could rival Celine Dion’s yet has the Irish gorgeousness.

According to their bio:

Sahara is the award winning singer/songwriter team Trish and Dave Long who met in their hometown Dublin in the eighties before migrating to Australia where they have toured extensively performing to sell out audiences. Before leaving Ireland they had performed in many of Dublin’s music venues eg. The Baggot Inn, The Meeting Place, Slattery’s, Dame Tavern and Trinity College, and alongside some of the Irish household names such as Brendan Grace, Red Hurley, Linda Martin, Errol Walsh, Freddie White, Declan Sinnott and Kieran Halpin.


I hear traces of  Van Morrison, Bruce Hornsby and Traffic. If you love something that teeters between classic folk/rock, Celtic and jazz then Sahara is a perfect soundtrack.
Trish Long: Sax, Vocals, Flute, Flageolet ,Recorder & Sequencing.
Dave Long: Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards & Sequencing.

Barleyjuice:Skulduggery Street Album Track by Track

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 3 Comments

About Barleyjuice:

Barleyjuice is a sextet devoted to traditional music. It was started by Staten Island native, Keith Swanson. Although all sing with various Celtic accents, all six of the band members – Kyf Brewer, Keith Swanson, Billy Dominick, Jimmy Carbomb, Eric Worthington, and Gregor Schroeder – are native Americans (Last FM)


I got in my hands the catchiest Celtic rock album I’ve listened so far. I am glad I have Fior from Daly Communications who is so keen in bringing out the best of Celtic music. I’ve heard of these guys before but I never got my hands on an album until now.    Here are my own  impressions of the songs :

1. Skulduggery Street-More like an anthem but with a top 40 Radio twist .

2. Connemara Ground-Kyf Brewer’s baritone and Irish swagger works here. He sounds more like Christy Moore  but with a sensual twist. I love the fiddle and the fast marching beat.

3. Prettiest Girl At The Fair-Highly melodic plus the blessing of the gruff vocals. This is a nice ballad with a beautiful acoustic guitar. It’s a perfect waltzing song after you had a pint of Guiness.

4. The Postman Always Jigs Twice-The bodhran makes the intro here. This is an instrumental so infections you can’t help but sway your head and stump your feet. Talent flows in every bar of the song.

5. Get Your Irish On-In the tradition of The Waterboys. Definitive Celtic rock in all aspects. Fans of Chris Isaak will have something to enjoy here. The barbershop humor makes the party. My cousin who is a big fan of country music danced to this as well.

6. Molly’s Girls-Kyf Brewer does have versatile vocals.There’s this hot harmonica solo that makes my eyes roll. This is closer to the Beatles(If John, Ringo and the gang went Celtic at that time) than any other band. Really great harmony vocals to.

7. Whiskey Maid-Follows the wonderful harmony vocals of the previous track but this has a more relaxed pace. Reminds you of a yellow sky on a Sunday morning.

8. Jock MacGraw-Chorus and response kind of song with hand claps. This is a song about a Scottish hero.

9. Piss ‘n’ Ginger-“She is a bonny girl”…the song starts and it tells you about this strong character by the name of Ginger.No one messes with Ginger or she will kick your arse.

10. Scottish Green-This reminds me of things that Fairport Convention did in the 70s. The downbeat, dramatic stops and bagpipes keep the guys going.

11. Drunken Sailor-Put your ska boots on and the do the pogo dance . This is a song for the party to get started.

12. Playground Jig-Another beautiful instrumental track.

13. 13. Pour That Whiskey-A  song with a rebel attitude. No compromise!

14. Generations-Beautiful , elegant folk tune. Makes you long for more of this wonderful stuff.

This is a wonderful album that works for all types of crowd. Highly melodic and well-crafted. So guys grab your copies and spread the word.

http://www.myspace.com/barleyjuice

http://www.barleyjuice.com/

Garrett Wall Band:Irish Folk Pop in a Film “Buried” starring Ryan Reynolds

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 3 Comments

It is great to get updates from cool sources. It gives me all the more reason to write and update this site. Yes yes! We have a lot of wonderful music before the years ends and it is nice to have this band with us

When the Irish countryside becomes warm and sunny…it sounds exactly like The Garrett Wall Band!

GARRETT WALL BAND

SKY POINTING

Debut Cd released in US October 12th on

COSMIC TRIGGER RECORDS

Cosmic Trigger Records announces their newest release “SKY POINTING”, by the GARRETT WALL BAND (GWB). The album is the band’s US debut and was recorded live over three days at Madrid’s PKO studios.  It was mixed in Nashville by David Ferguson (Rick Rubin’s engineer for the Johnny Cash albums and Jakob Dylan).  The Garrett Wall Band is a wonderfully unique four-piece band, based in Madrid, comprising of members from Ireland, England and the USA, fronted by Irish singer songwriter, Garrett Wall.

This is the first CD by GWB and marks a point of depar­ture for future recordings: the band’s highly original line-up eschews normal guidelines forming a clean and powerful acoustic concept in which each of the four mem­bers – Garrett Wall (guitar/piano/voice), Howard Brown (trumpet/voice), Robbie K. Jones (cajón – a Flamenco Drum Box) and Dave Mooney (bass/doublebass) – form a cornerstone in the foundation of the group’s sound.

The band’s lead singer and main songwriter, Garrett Wall, says of Sky Pointing: “Recording the album live over 3 days was very important to us as it reflects the core of what the group is about, playing live. Whatever we do from here on can be traced back to these first recordings and what they represent; a band comfortable with themselves on stage, where the dynamics and nuances are an ever changing and evolving thing. The great thing about Sky Pointing for me was that I got the chance to reboot songs of mine that had either never been recorded or had never gotten the right treatment. These include ‘Watching You Fall’, ‘Jealousy’, ‘Terrafirma’ and ‘All of the Above’, ‘All of the Above’ had particular meaning for me to rework it with the cajón playing of Robbie K Jones. As a result I really felt I had come full circle in my career and was starting a new with my most important musical step to date. As with ‘Force Majeure’ which is about the circular nature of things, when we fall we pick ourselves right up and keep going on. Nothing is perfect and perfection is not what we look for, more a perfect imperfection.”

Irish Music magazine Hot Press has called the band “…a supremely tight ensemble.” El Embrujo music magazine in Spain has called Sky Pointing, “…what could well be their first great work together…revitalized folk-pop, cre­ating its own interesting universe.”

An accomplished musician, Garrett Wall is featured on the soundtrack for the Lionsgate feature film “Buried” starring Ryan Reynolds out this month at a theater near you.

Garrett sings the song over the closing credits of the film. Garrett is also very popular on Spanish television; he sings the title song for the animated series “Pocoyo” as well as having contributed material for several upcoming movies including “The Symmetry of Love”, “First Dog” and “Tea & Sangria”.   Garrett has also written a commercial spot for Coca Cola that is airing in 80 markets around the world.  GWB tours in Europe and after having completed three highly successful tours of Ireland, they will be in the US for on the East Coast in early 2011.

You can check out more of the band at http://www.garrettwallband.com & check out the video of their cut from the cd, JEALOUSY, ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTOq_Qb591Q

‘SKY POINTING’ on COSMIC TRIGGER RECORDS is available on iTunes and Amazon.com and all retail outlets that sell great music.

www.cosmictriggerrecords.com

George Murphy ‘The Ballads of Archie Thompson’ CD out October 1st

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 2 Comments

George Murphy has an album you will love!

‘You’re a Star’ is Ireland’s  equivalent of American Idol. George Murphy became a rising star of that show which paved the way for his latest release. It is an album filled with Irish humor and it is so irresistible you want the whole family to listen near the fireplace-now that holiday’s getting nearer!

This is from a press release I got from Fior:

“George is the most exciting vocal find in Ireland…” Phil Coulter

“George has a voice beyond his years.”  Ronnie Drew

In 2004 George Murphy was just out of secondary school when he burst onto the Irish music scene after his show stealing performances on the Irish equivalent to American Idol, ‘You’re a Star’.  He landed a record deal and a number one triple platinum album followed, leading to extensive tours of the country and collaborations with the greats of Irish music including The Dubliners, Phil Coulter, The Furey’s, Aslan and Paddy Casey.

George Murphy, who hails from the north Dublin suburb of Beaumont, had never performed as a singer before his audition and subsequent rise to fame. His voice has been described as a cross between Luke Kelly and Bruce Springsteen and has a maturity that attracts fans of all ages.  The Irish music magazine Hot Press summed it up:  “For a 17 year-old to possess such a wildly evocative Dublin howl is extraordinary to the point of being unbelievable.”

George is releasing his first CD here in the US called ‘The Ballads of Archie Thompson’. The boy from Beaumont, still young at 24, has created a new collection of songs, some new, some old, but all with a fresh perspective. Tracks on the new album include ‘The Foggy Dew’ featuring John Sheahan and Barney McKenna of the Dubliners, a cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Sara’ featuring Christy Dignam of Aslan and the renowned ‘Auld Triangle’.

To explain the title and song selection on the album George says, “Archie Thompson is a fictional character, a well bearded big bellied man who exists in almost every Irish bar…his stories and songs would consist of his experiences as a young man and how he lived his life…these stories are his legacy.” The album is a collaboration with the musicians known as The Black Donnelly’s, named after immigrant Irish gang in Hells Kitchen New York, the band has played and toured with many renowned performers and were the backing band for Ronnie Drew and Terry Woods of the Pogues.

To quote Hot Press again: “George Murphy is a serious contender.”


Tracks

1. The Foggy Dew (with John and Barney from The Dubliners)
2. The Lifeboat Mona
3. Sara (with Christy Dignam)
4. Round This Town
5. Peggy Gordon
6. The Ballad Of Springhill
7. Star of the County Down (with John and Barney from The Dubliners)
8. The Auld Triangle
9. Ballad of Archie Thompson
10. No Night Out In The Jail

The Ballads of Archie Thompson is available on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-ballads-archie-thompson/id327511201

or this link

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If you haven’t gotten a copy of Barleyjuice’s latest album ‘Skulduggery Street’ then better grab one soon!