Canada

Christmas Cheers! We are Warming Up.

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So many tunes, to little time. It’s always like that year after year. But I got a few of these goodies from the artists I’ve interacted in the last few weeks so I am bringing you their Christmas musical efforts. They are all great to hear and the tunes will add warmth to this month of reflection and joy.

Listen to this beautiful instrumental track from Dee McIlroy. By the way if you haven’t known yet, he runs a venture called McIlroy Guitars. Beautiful acoustic guitars for musicians of fine taste.

Happy Christmas from McIlroy Guitars with this piece of acoustic guitar music, written by Dee McIlroy.

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Corpus Christi Carol

One of the track I play ever year from my dear friend Paula. She is primarily an electronic singer/composer but once in a while she dabbles with other types of music and is also a huge supporter of Celtic music. She made the Cara Dillon interview possible early this year. You can hear her voice and instruments in this tune called Corpus Christi Carol. She is also a history teacher.

Background(written by Paula):

This is referred to as a carol although it contains no reference to the Nativity….the predominant interpretation of the lyrics (below), which were found in a manuscript c.1504, is that they refer to Arthurian legend / holy grail quest.
The track was recorded with this historical interpretation in mind and the theme is reflected in the slideshow paintings. The melody is a traditional melody,not the Benjamin Britten arrangement.

Please see the link for further info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_C…

Lulley, lully, lulley, lully,
The faucon hath born my mak away.

He bare hym up, he bare hym down,
He bare hym into an orchard brown.

In that orchard ther was an hall,
That was hanged with purpill and pall.

And in that hall ther was a bede,
Hit was hangid with gold so rede.

And yn that bed ther lythe a knyght,
His wowndes bledyng day and nyght.

By that bedes side ther kneleth a may,
And she wepeth both nyght and day.

And by that bedes side ther stondith a ston,
“Corpus Christi” wretyn theron.

Glossary:
faucon: falcon
mak: mate, love
bare: bore, carried
purpill: purple (the royal color)
pall: a funeral pall, a cloth spread over a coffin
bede: bed
rede: red
lythe: lieth, lies
wowndes: wounds
bledyng: bleeding
kneleth: kneeleth, kneels
may: maid, maiden
wepeth: weepeth, weeps
stondith: standeth, stands
ston: stone
Corpus Christi: body of Christ (Latin)
wretyn: written

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In the trail of her shows all over the United States, it is always important to remember that Moya Brennan will always be the first lady of Celtic music. 

I will be bringing you more tunes in days to come.

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Upcoming: 2 albums from Allison Crowe!

I will be reviewing her two albums. I enjoyed her Newfoundland Vinyl(vol.1) and now she has released two goodies. Watch out for these peeps.

James Law’s Neknomination (Fiddle Version)

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As the extraordinary fiddler of the Canadian Celtic trio NUA, his projects don’t go unnoticed. As in the case of this Neknomination, where he shows his amazing instrumental excellence through guitar and fiddle. I did a brief message exchange with him and came up with interesting facts, including a forthcoming new album from NUA!

1. Can you tell us more about this project?

This isn’t so much my project as it is an interpretation or a reinvention of the original Facebook game called neknominate. Neknominations was originally when people consumed an alcoholic beverage in one gulp and posted the video of them drinking on facebook. You then nominated two other people to do the same within the next 24 hours and post it. More detail at this link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neknominate

2. What is this tune you are playing?

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James M Law

The tune I am playing is one that I wrote in the last week or so as I was working on new material for an upcoming NUA album. It doesn’t have a name yet but I’m sure one will soon enough. Graeme McGillivray (guitar player from NUA) also assisted on composing this composition.

3. This is a musical side of you I haven’t seen before and I am impressed . Is there a solo project you are working on as of the moment?

I am not working on a solo project at the moment. This video came about because Kerry and Julie Fitzgerald nominated me to play a fiddle tune. The reason I picked the tune was because it was something new that I had just written and was inspired to try and put some chords to it and work on some of my DADGAD guitar playing. Before this video, I have never done a solo video of this nature with me playing all the parts. I enjoyed the new experience and think there might be a few more videos to come in the future.

4. What are the things you want to accomplish this year?

I am looking forward to the summer this year as I have a lot of exciting gigs coming up. I will be teaching the Trad Band at the Sunshine Coast School of Celtic Music during the first week of July. NUA is playing at Mill Race Festival for our second year in a row this August. We are also playing at Goderich Celtic Roots Festival this August which is very exciting. NUA is expecting a new album to be released early 2015. The other big project I am a part of is The Marwills. The Marwills have a tour coming up in late July out to the East Coast in Halifax. The Marwills are planing gigs in Barrie ON, Toronto ON, Ottawa ON, Montreal QC, Fredericton NB, Halifax NS and Tay Creek NB where they will be playing at the Tay Creek Music Festival. Other than that I am concentrating on my music / instruments as well as my production skills as I record other artists.

5. Thanks for the time James!

Thanks Baxter, let let me know if you want more info. Here are some links to things I talked about in the questions. I will upload the video to youtube just now and send you the link when its done uploading.

http://www.millracefolksociety.com/Festival.html

http://www.celticfestival.ca

http://www.themarwills.ca

http://www.trionua.com

 

Brishen and Podcast #24

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Photo by Ryan MacDonald

Members:
Quinn Bachand, lead guitar

Richard Moody, violin

Reuben Wier, rythm guitar & vocal

Joey Smith, upright bass.

It has long been regarded that Canada is a melting pot of the best traditional music in Europe. What I admire about the Victoria, BC quartet Brishen is how they combine Jazz with world and folk elements. When you are looking for a fusion between sumptuous Acadian folk, jazz and Celtic then you have to listen to them. I think of dancing Gypsies when I listen to any of their tracks. I am sure that to watch them live would be quite an experience. Take for instance the seventeen-year-old Quinn Bachand bringing his own fresh influences with the stalwarts of music like Richard Moody (violin)  Reuben Wier( rythm guitar & vocal)  and Joey Smith( upright bass). That’s really got to be something. I love the vocals of Ruben Weir. I think he will give Michael Buble a run for his money.

They identify with their influences Django Reindhard and Stephane Grappelli which I am yet to hear but I am sure some of you out there already know their music. I don’t know if it’s the hot chocolate in my system or something else but Coquette left me feeling high and jolly. There is something about early jazz music that touches the heart. To combine that with other musical styles prove to be a powerful mix. Quite addicting. Brishen is indeed the storm bringer of fantastic music.

Photo by Ryan MacDonald

Photo by Ryan MacDonald

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The Baxteria Podcast #24

http://old.mixcloud.com/thecelticmusicfan/the-baxteria-podcast-24-celtic-and-indie-variety/

If you missed the tunes I played this Saturday, the tunes are up that link! Enjoy!

CLEGHORN-9 Minutes of Woo – House of Blues
Riverdance-Opening Scene
Dave Sheridan, Michael McCague & Donal McCague-The Independence Hornpipe
Enda Seery-Tatter Jack Walsh
Loreena MCKennitt-Ancient pines
Brian Kennedy-Carrickfergus
Capercaillie-The Tree
J.P. Kallio-River Takes You Over
The Alex MacNeil Quartet-Lullaby for Alice
Don BeeKeeper-Saviour
Alex Pardini-Sad Little King
Love Spirals Downwards-City Moon

The Log Drivers: Folk and Modern Beauty

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The Log Drivers

The Log Drivers deliver another fresh sound from Canada. They combine that love for traditional style and modern sensibility to create a kind of sound that teeters between the ancient and the urban. Even fiddler and singer Julie Fitzgerald maintains that jazzy vibe with an understated vocal delivery that comes out elegant and timeless. I already know Spencer Murray ( Flute, Pipes) through his other projects. Nate Douglas (Guitar) maintains that wispy and vigorous playing which he does with his other band The High Drive.

The debut self-titled album combines influences from folk, jazz, world and even pop. It sounds rich as they add the other instrument to the mix including bagpipes, drums and various strings. It has to be noted that Canada is blooming with great talents in all genres. The Log Drivers are riding the waves of beautiful independent music that will appeal to all types of listeners.  Their music is energetic without being intrusive. Their talents are sublime. You will love Blue Reel, A Miner’s Life and more. So better get their debut album quick! You can sample their sound here: http://www.thelogdrivers.ca/music

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A Taste of Cornish Music and Language:She’s to Blame “Dhe Vlamya Yw Hi” by Phil Knight  

Softly caressing her hair,
As the sun was rising, before my love had awakened,
Did I see on looking closely
That she was silently weeping, hiding her misery?
Tear turned to frown,
And when I spoke… in one leap,

Gone was my love, my sweetheart,
No doubt you would recognise her well.
No wonder, although my heart’s completely broken,

She has left me;
I long for her.
She has left me;
She wants to forget.
She has left me
And it seems I don’t matter
But she is to blame.

When I looked up she had gone,
No longer could I see her, only her track in the yellow corn.
The dawn sky was red,
The sun sparkling through leaves and a cow was lowing.
Though she had disappeared from sight,
Her anger and cruel words were still with me.

Gone was my love, my sweetheart.
No doubt you would recognise her well.
No wonder, although my heart’s completely broken,

She has left me;
I long for her.
She has left me;
She wants to forget.
She has left me
And it seems I don’t matter
But she is to blame.
But she is to blame.
But she is to blame.
But she is to blame.

Lyrics printed with permission

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Check this out: Top 10 Irish Traditional Album Covers of 2013

Albumcovers1

Here’s the link to the full article:

http://tradconnect.com/m/blogpost?id=6391199%3ABlogPost%3A146811

 

A Tune for Burns Supper

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Robert Burns was a charmer with sad eyes. Anyone can draw their own conclusions but that’s what I see in him ( the portrait by Alexander Nasmyth) and in his poems. There’s that heart breaking beauty in all his works. It is interesting how history can transcend his growing up in up poverty and hardship . Now his legacy resides in the hearts of many men and women.  Scottish folk tunes introduced me to the works of Burns. The

The best-known portrait of Burns, by Alexander Nasmyth, 1787

The best-known portrait of Burns,
by Alexander Nasmyth, 1787

First Time I Heard Ae Fond Kiss, I was struck at the themes of sadness and longing in the song. Perhaps it’s because I find sadness in my life and I connect to that. Or perhaps Burns is really a poet who can speak to every soul of all races and classes.

Indie folk artist Layne Greene covered a  Scots tune called The Massacre of Glencoe for this occasion. Many have covered this tune including The Corries in 1976. Robbie MacInnis provided the bagpipes. This is an interesting arrangement because Greene layered the bagpipes in the mix and the result is really fascinating. I’d say this is a perfect tune for Burns supper!

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Celtic Connections!!!

I will be posting more Celtic Connections related blogs but I am leaving you with this one. Don’t forget to tune in 4:00 pm German time for “The Baxteria” on http://www.radiohappy.eu