A set of reels recorded for the fleadh program in Cavan 2012. Thanks to Brian Cunningham for sharing this video.
We can’t deny that traditional music is the music of communion. Be it Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Breton or any music of the seven Celtic nations, there is always that sense of community whenever one goes to these sessions. Unlike the ‘star versus the spectator’ culture of pop music, Celtic music encourages the audience to participate-be it dancing or playing. It is after all the music of the people.
As someone who is trying to learn how to play traditional Irish music instruments, I feel that sense of connection to the culture through these instruments. As if the music is telling me that it doesn’t matter if I am no expert but to play is to be part of something timeless.
My bodhran and tin whistle.
I think there are more and more music schools being built and organized because the demand to learn traditional music is increasing. People can just buy a bodhran, Celtic harp, tin whistle or fiddle from ebay. Everything you need is there. You just have to know where to look. Even youtube offers free lessons. You just have to be enthusiastic enough to learn how to play.
Jeremy King of Poitin mentioned that his son is learning the accordion at such an early age. I mentioned in my previous post that there seems to be a resurgence of interest in the accordion. Scottish singer/harpist Anna McLuckie has wowed the mainstream audience with her unique performance of a mainstream tune. People now know that her musical upbringing is rooted in traditional music.
As I have mentioned above, traditional music is the music of the people. Wherever you are in the world, when it touches you, then you belong.
My peers have already their 2013/reflection up so I guess I have to add my own. A brief one. I started this site around 2009 as a way to relieve boredom. I was working on a night shift in another part of the country. I remember that my first article was all about Planxty. Back then I had no idea as to what kind of direction this blog was going to take. But I knew I need one in order to connect to the world. I knew back then that there’s a big world out there. All I needed to do was to tap into that energy and things will just happen.
And things happened. Good and bad. But they are part of the bigger picture. They had to happen so that life can unfold. That way, things will be set in motion. Bands come and go. Friends arrive and leave. But it’s just the natural order of things. We ebb and flow…and strangely find our paths to each other again. All we need was to have patience and to have a sense of detachment and trust that things happen so that they can set our destinies in motion.
It is beautiful to devote one’s life to music. Be it as a performing artist or a chronicler of the music. There are many wonders to be found. There are blessings that await us. Celtic music opened doors for me. Because of this site I got recommended and now I have other affiliations. www.celticmusicfan.com
It is good to be part of bigger things. But it is also great to remember where we came from. I think that naïve, provincial and awkward part of us is that part what we should always hold close. The world will always try to shape, pound and level us into something that’s acceptable and ‘normal.’
But to be like a sponge requires good memory and persistence. They can confine us, hold us and put us in a box for a moment. But we will always return to our original form. And this is what makes us who we are. Happy New Year.
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For those who missed my radio show this Saturday Podcast #18 is up!
Playlist:
Robert Doyle-Flags of Belfast
Michael (Blackie) O’Connell and John Joe Kelly – Traditional Medley
Eamon Murray- Bodhran Solo
Paddy Keenan-Uilleann Pipe medley
Tri Yann-L’Irlandaise
The APRILL-Fun Times
Nouvelle Electro-Radio
Sean McCarthy-Anami ( A prayer for Earth)
Joel Sarakula-I Will Deliver
Sarah Vaughan-The Man I Love
Gavern-Crystal Clear & Light is Passion (Incantation)
Samuel Smith-Bantry Bay
Hypnotic, soothing and beautiful. It is always a blessing when musicians reach out to CMF to let me hear what they are doing. Wales is the homeland of Serundal, a duo composed of David king and Maxie. Maxie reminds me a bit of the lead vocalist of another Welsh duo Ceredwen. But Serundal’s songs are less wispy and more organic.
Like their New Age peers, Serundal relies heavily on atmospheric tunes and steady beats. These aspects give each songs room to breath on the part of the listeners. Whither you want something soft to play on the background while doing something else or you really want to dissect the mythical inspirations behind the tracks, Serundal has them.
Stone of Destiny, The Hag of Winter, White Stag and The Water Dance are among the best examples of their captivating sound. Their music can be described as electronic/New Age with songwriting structure heavily influenced by folk music. You can sample more of their tracks if you go to their CD baby page http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Serundal.
UK Songwriting Contest 2010 four tracks submitted- Three from ‘Land of the Sixth Moon’ one from ‘Yule’ all voted semi-finalists 2010. 2009 Semi-finalists in the UK songwriters Contest for ‘Lady of the isles’
Members … David: producer/arranger/multi-instrumentalist/lyrics / vocals Maxie: research/ lyrics/lead vocal
Hailed by one reviewer as ‘the new Clannad’ since 2006 Serundal has produced eight full albums and two E.Ps have been released. Maxie has been a published poet since the age of fifteen, and Serundal was first born through a combination of her ideas set in poetry and David’s musical creativity. Together, born of Scottish, English and Welsh ancestry they have managed to weave together what has been described as ‘a truly magical mix of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon storytelling traditions with the energy of 21st century arrangements.’ Their music has been described as ‘timeless’ ‘cinematic’ and ‘visual’ and since 2007, they have been a featured artist on www.ubl.com Their track ‘Lady of the Isles’ (Waiting Rooms) has reached number 20 in the world chart of 521 artistes in www.iacmusic.com Through listeners votes their songs have scored highly in charts like www.songvault.fm where Serundal was the first artiste in the folk genre to have fifteen tracks on the songvault directory and to receive permanent airplay
‘The Elven Robe’ featured on Gene Godfrey’s Classic f.m www.angelfire.com ‘The Storm’ featured on Andrew John’s station on www.celticaradio.com ‘The Elven Robe’ played on Bill Everatt’s Underground www.celticaradio.com ‘Lady of the Isles’ played on Highlander radio (Live 365) www.celticradio.net ‘Snowy Owl’ on Deep Cuts radio http://www.live365.com/stations/4music2 ‘Incantation’ reached number 2 in the folk charts on www.somojo.net
Both Ab Initi (2006) and ‘Leylines’ (2007) have received excellent reviews.
Christmas 2008 saw the release of ‘Dark Days White Knights’ an album based on medieval Celtic and Arthurian legend, which has taken their musical journey into the world of progressive folk.
In the summer of 2009 ‘Lady of the Isles’ (Waiting Rooms 2006) was voted one of the songs to make it to the semi-finals of the prestigious UK Songwriter’s Contest, a remarkable achievement since this was Serundal’s first submission and there were over 6,500 entries of a very high standard.
Christmas 2009 sees the release of ‘Yule’ a special edition Christmas E.P a magical mystical blend of the Winter Solstice and the Christmas story.
Follow Serundal on twitter www.last.fm/serundalwww.myspace.com/serundalmusicwww.serundal.comwww.cdbaby.com
members of: http://www.songwriters-guild.co.uk/
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To those who are trying to get in touched with me, I took a one month off from facebook. Please use my email joseromel.labatos@gmail.com. To current contacts all my fb messages go directly to my windows mobile but I would not be able to see your posts.
Hello friends. New tunes are up plus more emphasis on Christmas music in my Celtic music show. As for the indie variety, I am featuring tunes from Radio Happy Music Compilation for the Haiyan/Yolanda Victims.
Visit www.celticmusicfan.com
Here’s another podcast for you as heard via www.radiohappy.eu yesterday. To those who are very dependent in their mobiles to listen to music, Mixcloud isn’t available on Windows phone yet. But if you are using an iphone ar an android device then this one works. All you need to do is download the mixcloud app from Google play and you are set to go. I am not sure if it works using a mobile browser but you can try.
I have not posted on Soundcloud because my paid account has run out so I need to give them another $25 so I can increase my usage. Not bad as long as they don’t block some of the songs I post there-which they do unfortunately. The same thing goes for Youtube. So these days I am only uploading my interviews with musicians that way I won’t receive comments about the songs I am including in the show. I have no issues with Mixcloud so I am using this as my primary medium of uploading my radio show.
The DJ mix is interesting as you will get to hear new bands and new music. An hour of great music! The show lasts an hour. It is divided into two sets. The first is about Celtic music and the next is indie variety. I know musicians from different genres so I need to have two sets to make sure I represent other genres other than Celtic music(which is the primary reason why I got into blogging and doing DJ work).
Celtic Music Fan 