Arts and Entertainment

Celtic Music Fan Podcast # 7

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This is the podcast version of my radio show last Saturday at http://www.radiohappy.eu. Yes just music without me talking. I have added links to the band page and yes you better listen to my fantastic interview with Fraser Fifield!

The Indulgers-Ceili Mor
Qristina Bachand; Quinn Bachand-Spootiskerry/High Road to Linton/Big John McNeil
Keltic Trancefusion-Abberance
Fraser Fifield and Graeme Stephen-Esotero
Interview with Fraser Fifield
Ensemble Eriu-Jurna
Irish Moutarde-Glasses to the Sky
Taran Celt-Taran
Kyle Carey-One Morning in May

www.radiohappy.eu

Jamie Smith’s Mabon: Dedicated Tour of Wales!(Plus free song download)

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http://jamiesmithsmabon.com/taith-adre/

 

Good news and good song!

The great lads of Welsh Celtic band Jamie Smith’s Mabon is finally doing a dedicated tour all over their own county of Wales. After countless touring all over Europe the gang feels that it is time to reunite with Welsh fans and also with their own place. According to drummer Iolo Whelan:

I guess the most exciting aspect for us is that as well as being a tour *of* our home country, it also feels a bit like a homecoming – four out of the five of us live here in Wales, but we work away so often and our fans are so widely spread, that it feels a bit like we’re bringing the music home. I don’t know if that sounds pretentious, but it is making me very excited for this tour!-Iolo

And guess what. They are giving away a FREE  SONG DOWNLOAD  through their band newsletter. Please subscribe if you haven’t yet and feel free to download their haunting and enchanting track ‘Caru Pum Merch.’ I personally enjoyed this beautiful song which is the last track off their CD Windblown released last 2012. I also got an autographed copy of the album from all of them and I sometimes like to show it off hahaha.

The free track is a good one to point out to people too – the Welsh-language lyrics make it the most relevant to the Welsh tour, and it gives people who are new to the band a good idea of what we do, since it captures some of both the emotional and the more strident aspects of our playing.-Iolo

The band also said that  in the Spring of 2014, they’ve got a joint tour of England playing about 15 venues with the young singer Maz O’Connor so watch out for that one too.Awesome update from the band through Iolo and also goodluck to the tour of your homeland!   Here is the link to their newsletter where you can download the track ‘Caru Pum Merch.’ http://gmtiny.com/DSQJT/

Kickstarter Campaign for North Star by Kyle Carey (2nd album)

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 Kyle Carey North Star

It is amazing how we’ve come a long way. Before, we merely rely on the recommendations from friends, word of the mouth from experts and also through the whims of record execs. Finally, that dream album will happen.  Now the power to put whatever music we want to the top has arrived. One of the common tools used by musicians to fund their new projects is kickstarter. I am sure you are familiar with this one.

Let me tell you. Singer/songwriter and vocal extraordinaire Kyle Carey is preparing to record her new album. North Star will be recorded in Scotland aound January, during Celtic Connections.  Seamus Egan will produce the album. Now expect nothing less from this project because I know it will be an amazing album!

Kyle Carey is based in New England. You know, that beautiful place in the East Coast where everything becomes colorful this time of the year. If you remember she released that amazing album called ‘Monongah‘ and it is one of those albums that occupies the top of my playlist.

Listen to tracks off her debut album Monongah:

The Gothard Sisters – Compass

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Compass

Compass: Dreamy and energetic tunes from the magical sisters of Celtic music.

Sounds like: Mozart, Secret Garden, Anuna, Altan and Riverdance.

Track listing:

1. Compass 
2. Water is Wide
3. The Landing
4. Solid Ground
5. Guinevere
6. Call and the Answer
7. Fairy Dance Jig
8. The Whistling Gypsy Rover
9. A Song for Lark
10. Feast of the Elven King
11. Danny Boy
12. Flying Sails

The great thing about doing Celtic music podcasts is the opportunity to reach more ears and to spread the beauty that;s Celtic music. Also, the idea of relaxing and still want to play Celtic tunes to get that inspiration moving. This is what happened yesterday. I got the time to listen to the album of the Gothard Sisters called Compass. It’s their new album. What is different about this one is the energy they put so much in their recording performance.

There are slow tunes especially the traditional ones like Danny Boy but most of the tracks are electrical in their execution. Take for instance the third one called The Landing. That one literally stopped me from my idle listening and sent me to perform my improvised step dancing. I was so amazed how music can do that. Especially when it is performed with so much passion that the music dictates your feelings.

Compass is an exciting album. As the title suggests, it’s all about gravitational attraction as the compass signifies the direction to the magnetic field of the earth . It  tells us what direction to take. The sisters have done well in recording this beautiful album. I hope more ears will hear. It will be a shame if such a gem of a recording would go unnoticed. They can make Lord of the Dance have a run of their money. Check it out. I already featured the title track in my first Celtic Music podcast and I will be featuring more of them. Yes more and more until you remember to get out there and buy Compass.

***

Huzzah!

I am running a

 Win an album “The Calling” by MÉAV

 contest!!!!

So watch out for my announcement. The winner will receive Meav’s autographed album .

Celtic Dub Volume 1-Celtic Reggae Revolution

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The Celtic Reggae Revolution

Band: Celtic Reggae Revolution

Album: Celtic Dub Volume 1.

Sounds like: Dub reggae drum and based mixed with fiddle, pipes, whistles,
mandolin, banjo and accordion.

Album notes: Groundbreaking Celtic Dub album mixing Reggae Drum and Bass. Pipes, Fiddle, Box, Banjo, Low Whistle, Tin Whistle fused with heavy delay/echo, re-verb and Drum and Bass. A MUST for Ambient Dub lovers. Nicely mixed and mastered by U2’s engineer Pete Maher.

If you followed my previous post about The Celtic Reggae Revolution, then I know you already have an idea what kind of sound to expect from their new release Celtic Dub Vol. 1. Sounds from this album will appeal to those who have eclectic tastes.  And I have to say this, the production quality is excellent. Whither you are using headphones of large speakers, the tracks have this seamless connection to each  other. There are various effects present: loops, fade outs, echo and sampling bits thrown in the mix. All of these made possible by the genius of U2’s engineer Pete Maher who mixed and mastered this album .

I find myself tapping my feat to the beat and it is the kind of album I can take and play anywhere because it will also appeal to those who like dance, rnb and rap music. But if you are into traditional Irish music then this is also for you. It’s something you can just chill out to if you want something  not so trad-ish or hip hop-ish. A kind of music that is in between if you know what I mean.

Celtic Dub Volume 1 sees the band growing their sound into a more radio friendly style without sacrificing their exotic sound. St. Brendan’s Dub is the opening track that introduces you to the sounds that will come as you listen along. The fiddles and other Celtic instruments  blossom in and out of the field of sound that’s groovy and lush. The reggae beats are there to support the instruments, complimenting the musical ideas  instead of drowning them which usually happens in a lot of fusion albums.

I have my personal favorite and that’s Celtic Truth Dub because it simply moves you. It has that easy breezy feeling in the midst of the sunny tune. Dub music is a sub-genre of reggae that became popular in the 60s and branched out on its own. With Celtic Dub Vol.1, new listeners will come to appreciate the beauty of Reggae and Celtic music and I am sure they will definitely love these specific genres. It’s what  happened to me. I discovered traditional Irish music because of Celtic fusion. So Celtic Reggae Revolution are doing a great thing to the music world: they are getting people to listen to different musical cultures through fusion.

For samples of the band’s music and buy the album, go to this link: http://www.cdbaby.com/AlbumDetails.aspx?AlbumID=celticreggaerevolution2

And this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celtic-Dub-Vol-1/dp/B00DVLZIR0

Huzzah!

In today’s news: Clannad’s New Album in decades!

It’s been confirmed that the new album by the million-selling Irish group Clannad is called “Nádúr” (pronounced as Ned-dur). This is the Irish Gaelic word for Nature. Wow the last album that they released was Landmarks and that’s like fifteen years ago! But though Clannad were in a long hiatus, lead singer Moya Brennan has been busy with Voices and Harps. It’s a collaborative work with harpist Cormac de Barra. Yes I will wait for that album. More here: http://www.clannad.nl/2013/07/new-clannad-album-titled-nadur.html

For those who love harp music here’s a link to the wonderful documentary that you will love: The Harp

A very inspiring and informative documentary about the history of the harp, its relation to middle-eastern tunes, to its status as a Celtic symbol for Wales,Ireland and Scotland..how Handel wrote a harp concerto for a Welshman, Robert Ap Huw (the introduction of binary system in musical notation during the 16th century)and its evolution as an instrument spanning genres. It’s hosted by harpist Catrin Finch Really worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ImURf8KUE

Gavin Friday: I probably saw 70% of the films that he wrote music to(In The Name of the Father, The Boxer etc)and just saw Breakfast on Pluto(which he appeared as an actor). In the spirit of Irish post-punk (he was the lead singer of The Virgin Prunes)Gavin was the hero. Another youtube video worth checking out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU9s85pTlz0

Celtic Star Sign:

Thanks to my blogger friend Christi. She posted this link on her facebook page and tagged me. This will help determine which Celtic Tree Sign you belojg to. I am Birch. Want to find out your own?

WHAT CELTIC STAR SIGN ARE YOU?

Celtic Astrology had been around since about 1000BC and it’s based on 3 basic strands of belief … remembering your ancestors and the past … having an understanding of nature so you can work with it, not against it … and exploring the connection of everyday reality with that of the spiritual realm.

In Celtic astrology, the zodiac was based on trees and vines, each being connected to a lunar month and so, unlike the zodiac we’re familiar with, the Celtic calendar has 13 astrological signs. Here they are …

January 22 – February 18 … THE ROWAN (the thinker)
February 19 – March 17 … THE ASH (the enchanter)
March 18 – April 143 … THE ALDER (the trailblazer)
April 15 – May 12 … THE WILLOW (the observer)
May 13 – June 9 … THE HAWTHORN (the illusionist)
June 10 – July 7 … THE OAK (the stabiliser)
July 8 – August 4 … THE HOLLY (the ruler)
August 5 – Sept. 1 … THE HAZEL (the knower)
Sept. 2 – Sept. 29 … THE VINE (the equaliser)
Sept. 30 – October 27 … THE IVY (the survivor) … me!
October 28 – November 24 … THE REED (the leader)
November 25 – December 23 – THE ELDER (the scholar)
December 24 – January 21 … THE BIRCH (the achiever)

Find out your own Celtic zodiac profile here …
http://www.celticradio.net/php/zodiac.php?type=index

Loreena McKennitt posted this on her fb page. She’s raving about this book called The Shallows. Her recommendation makes me want to check this book out. What do you think? http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/scene/books/2013/07/29/loreena-mckennitt-recommends-the-depth-of-the-shallows/index.html