IONA is THE pan-Celtic band iof the Washington, DC metro area: Barbara Tresidder Ryan (lead vocals, bouzouki, bodhran, pieds and guitar) Bernard Argent (flute, whistles, vocals and percussion), Chuck Lawhorn (bass guitar, vocals low whistle), Jim Queen (fiddle, banjo, vocals) and Kathleen Larrick (dance, vocals), formed in 1986.
Tracks:
1.Les Mardi Gras/Reuben’s Train/Le Reel Béatrice 04:23
2. Willie’s Auld Trews/Fionnghuala/Tam Lin 06:22
3.Morwnad yr Ehedydd/Titrwm Tatrwm/Abergenni 04:28
4.Volviendo al Valle/Chouteira/Get You a Copper Kettle 08:37
5. Tail Toddle/The Morning Dew/The Ale is Dear 02:59
6. Seán Bháin/Chloë’s Passion 03:54
7. Les Poules Huppées/Ton Bal Eured/Tumbledown 05:58
8. Pachipi/Dans les Prisons de Nantes/Johnny’s Gone to France 04:53
9. The Trooper and the Fair Maid/Toddy MacPherson’s 04:43
10. Moirney ny Cainle/Arrane y Guilley Hesheree/St. Ives Fer Moh 04:08
11. Shetland Reels: Spootiskerry/Sleep Soond i’ da Moarnin’/Faroe Rum/Willafjord 03:58
Silver is the symbol of wisdom. It is also a term used in a certain type of voice to signify something pure and sparkling. For example, Judy Collins described the voice of Sandy Denny as ” Like Golden Silver’ because it is something you’ve never heard from anyone. Iona’s music reflects this maturity and the wealth of experience being in Celtic music for years. They have influenced other bands. And while their works are seminal, they never stopped breaking new grounds by creating fresh tunes which celebrate global diversity yet still rooted in Celtic tradition.
Silver has eleven tracks of rich musicality that will continue to echo in your soul long after the CD has been removed from the player. The pieces are woven in such a way that the album sounds seamless . The tracks play in relation to each other while maintaining that diversity of arrangements all throughout the album. It celebrates the spirit of the Celtic nations as band members perform tracks varying between vocal and instrumental.
Silver is not just the joy of tunes but also of tongues. The multilingual approach of this project is impressive. It is like being treated into a dinner of different flavours and aroma that your sense can’t help but be delighted. Throw in a dance number by Kathleen Larrick and you have a stunning live show. The DVD called Live! At the 333 has been released. note: The video was recorded live with no retakes or overdubs.
The tracks :
Les Mardi Gras/Reuben’s Train/Le Reel Béatrice which is the first track makes use of the percussive power of the French language based in Quebec.
Willie’s Auld Trews/Fionnghuala/Tam Lin is a Scottish medley of lively instrumentals and a puirt-a-beul vocal track based on the Hebridean tradition.
Morwnad yr Ehedydd/Titrwm Tatrwm/Abergenni takes us into the mystery of the Welsh tradition.
Volviendo al Valle/Chouteira/Get You a Copper Kettle is a medley of Bolivian/Galician and Bluegrass music.
Tail Toddle/The Morning Dew/The Aleis Dear takes us into the marriage of Trad Scottish/Irish and of course Robert Burns.
Seán Bháin/Chloë’s Passion is a Scot tune along with a suggestive Irish tune. All translations can be found in the band’s website.
Les Poules Huppées/Ton Bal Eured/Tumbledown takes us into a buffet of French, Breton and Irish instrumental music.
Pachipi/Dans les Prisons de Nantes/Johnny’s Gone to France takes an adventurous dip into Breton and Irish tunes. This track tells of a prisoner of Nantes(which you might have originally heard from Tri Yann).
The Trooper and the Fair Maid/Toddy MacPherson’s all Trad Scot divided between the first which is a vocal track and then segued into the second half which is instrumental.
Moirney ny Cainle/Arrane y Guilley Hesheree/St. Ives Fer Moh all frolicking into the Manx side of the Celtic musical culture. Impressive vocal harmonies there!
Shetland Reels: Spootiskerry/Sleep Soond i’da Moarnin’/Faroe Rum/Willafjord celebrates the music of Shetland and Cape Breton fiddling styles.
It is hard to pick a favorite track because everything is impressive. I know trad music lovers must have heard some of these tracks performed by other artists but Iona gives them something refreshing and unique.
Athrú:Another traditional Irish band from Antrim Northern Ireland. The exuberant tunes and brilliant musicianship are not to be missed by lovers of Celtic music.
The Last Pint which is the first track off their online debut EP already tells you what this contemporary Irish trad group can create: beautiful melodies, exciting tunes and great instrumental renditions. I could not stop moving my head to the energetic rhythms. Bodhran,whistles,flutes, fiddle, banjo,bouzouki and guitar are all showcased each having its own spotlight in this wondrous carousel of instrumental fun.
The Inver Bank Set lights up the playlist with its own brand of rhythm and partying of instruments. By the time you hear Marga’s you will be smiling because the tin whistle sounds joyful. All the instruments sound like they like to be with each others company. Athrú is another example of such wonderful outcropping of traditional Irish bands in Northern Ireland. It’s the same place that gave us talents like Cara Dillon, Déanta, Realta and of course our artist of the week Eve Williams. You’ve got to watch out for this band because they have more amazing stuff waiting to be unleashed.
They are influenced by such diverse music of Beoga, Flook, Patrick Davey, Lunasa, John McSherry, Emma Sweeney, LA and Moxie among others.
Current update:
We’re playing at the “Trad for Rescue” concert tonight night in The Wild Duck Portglenone. Admission £6 and concert starts at 8.30pm. Niamh McGlinchey, Kask and Ioscaid will all be performing! If your free head on down :)-Athrú
There are amazing stuff going on in my news feed again so I want to share some of them with you:
This was originally shared and posted by 67 Music:
Pacific NW singer/songwriter, Colleen Raney is underway with preparations for a new album. It wasn’t to long ago that we caught up with her on the release of “Lark”. http://youtu.be/aNY32KeLtf8
Irish singer Colleen Raney has a wonderful new album entitled “Lark”, and held several CD Release Parties to celebrate. 67 Music caught up with her at The Secret Society Ballroom in Portland on Jan. 22nd, 2011, two days after the official release.
SkOt talks with Colleen prior to her show about her new record and other topics.
Learn more about Colleen, her music, tour dates and news at: http://www.colleenraney.com http://thesecretsocietylounge.com http://sixtysevenmusic.com
Twenty Miles from Home debuts from Northern Ireland through singer/songwriter and vocalist par excellence Eve Williams. She piqued my interest after I heard the song Oblivion. It’s a kind of song that’s hard to ignore due to its unique style. The subject of her voice is one of the things that’s covered here. What gave way to her singing that’s full-bodied and expressive? You will learn more as you read this interview.
She has traveled more than twenty miles from home physically and artistically: having met one of her musical idols, Moya Brennan through singing live in the Clubeo. The album Twenty Miles from Home is getting its official release very soon. Listen to her music or read her blog posts. You’d be captivated by her wit. She addressed a lot of issues including the musical situation in Northern Ireland and how lightning struck the studio and knocked out all the equipment knocked out all the equipment! This woman knows how to put a good craic on top of her music. Finally, our featured artist Eve Williams!
Your new album Twenty Miles from Home is out of the studio. What’s the meaning behind the title?
Well, in a fit of insanity whilst I lived in Wiltshire I decided to drive to Edinburgh one winter day. It snowed and the journey was pretty hair raising! On my way home the next day my mother phoned about every half hour to make sure I was still alive. When I told her ‘I’m only twenty miles from home’ she was pretty relieved. I decided then I wanted to write something around that concept of being nearly home, but not quite. It’s an album about a journey, my journey. The title track is the ‘home’ of the album in that I co-wrote it with my compatriot, Paul McIlwaine and it is the most Northern Irish track on there. I wanted to opt for a Robin Mark sound on that song.
You create atmospheric songs with cinematic feel. What or who influenced your style?
I originally trained as an operatic coloratura soprano so I sent my youth singing Mozart and Puccini… I loved the Romantic era composers, especially Mendelsohn and Verdi, although I’ve toned it down a bit now! That combines with my Celtic roots on the new album. When I was nearly 8 my father was hit by a drunk driver and sustained a serious acquired brain injury. He was in a coma for six weeks and had a long recovery during part of which time my mother, sister and I lived with my maternal grandparents. Both my Nanny and Papa sang to us and they tended to teach us Irish folk tunes. It was something they gave us to cope with the trauma, their lasting gift to us. That’s why it tends to creep into the things I write.
Supermarvellous! Moya is a legend, so meeting her is really nerve-wracking until she speaks to you and you realise she is actually really lovely. There were so many talented musicians on stage that night… Jacquie Sharkey and the Henry Girls, as well as Moya. Plus some kids still in their teens whose writing was amazing. It really makes you hopeful for the future of Irish music.
You must have been chuffed after Moya and husband Tim Jarvis complimented your style of music.
Well, it was certainly a bit surreal. I felt it should have been me doing the complimenting! Moya asked me to say something about my craft before I sang and I thought how do you talk about music in front people who are part of the musical lifeblood of the country, who you’ve named on your facebook page as your biggest influence? But then again they’re so nice you felt that you could share your own relatively limited experience!
What are the exciting musical things waiting for you this year?
I’m going to be having an official album launch in Belfast in June, as yet to be confirmed. Coda Music in Edinburgh have kindly agreed to stock the album (also available on iTunes and CD Baby) and I’m going to be a guest on Ciaran Dorris’ Sony award – nominated show on Celtic Music Radio so a little trip to Scotland is on the horizon. Plus I hope to sing at the opening singers’ circle of the Fiddler’s Green Festival in Rostrevor on 21st July. All go! Still writing new material as well.
I love artists based in Northern Ireland. What can you say about the current musical situation where you are?
Music in Northern Ireland had been pretty badly affected by the Troubles when people didn’t want to gather in large numbers at venues. When I left school if you wanted a career in the music industry people would have thought you were mad and you would have had to move to England (which, to be fair, I did for a while). Things are definitely looking up now. We have wonderful new venues like the Belfast Barge, we have music education centres like the Nerve Centre in Derry and the Oh Yeah Centre in Belfast but unfortunately there is still a lack of infrastructure that needs to be addressed. We don’t have a lot of publishers or labels for example. I found it much, much easier to get airplay in the USA than in Northern Ireland when I released the album.
The main thing is the talent is there with people like Laura Stevenson and Realta whom I love at the minute.
Let’s go back to Twenty Miles from Home. What were the challenges and memorable things that happened while creating this album?
The album was written partly in Northern Ireland but mostly as I was studying for my Master of Music in Songwriting at Bath Spa University and living in Corsham in Wiltshire. It’s the culmination of a both brilliant and painful year.
The first and last tracks are sung with my niece, Scarlett Burnside and recorded at our family home in County Down. I wanted to encourage her to keep going with music and also her voice was perfect for what I was trying to convey… the idea the songs that we learn when we are young stay with us and influence us, actually being part of how we relate to the world. The challenges in recording a child’s voice weren’t as myriad as I thought as Scarlett learned the piece very fast and sang it very well in only a couple of takes, but the challenges in overcoming my bad recording were beautifully handled by James Scott.
One very memorable moment was recording the vocals to Oblivion with Andrew Giddings of Jethro Tull who produced the song. We had gotten through one chorus when lightning struck the studio and knocked out all the equipment. We had to nip off for tea and toast. That’s why on soundcloud the image for the song is a bolt of lightning!
My happiest memory is of writing I Need a Rock with the inestimable Dominik Sky, who is perhaps the best singer, songwriter, producer and friend on the planet. Carlsberg don’t make housemates, but if they did….
How do you approach songwriting ?
As in how did I first start writing? I wanted to get gigs as a singer and I didn’t want to record cheesy covers. Since I’d sung on film score with the Belfast Festival Chorus and done some improvisation I thought writing would be the logical next step.
I attended the UK Songwriting Festival at Bath Spa University in 2007 having gone to Bath for a hospital appointment that year. It was the first time I had written collaboratively and I met Iain Archer from Snow Patrol which was pretty cool…. Later I did the MMus in Songwriting at Bath Spa and it involved looking closely at what influences your writing, working with other writers, expanding your collection of writing tools and techniques….
If I had to encapsulate my writing I would say that when I sit down to write a song, I want something to come out that rings true to me and to whoever chooses to listen. Also, as a vocalist I tend to be very melody focused although I am starting to get into harmonics a bit more.
Please tell me the inspiration behind Oblivion.
Oblivion was co-written by myself and a Scottish classmate, Craig Murray (now releasing material under the name Archie Atholl). Craig had written a beautiful chorus melody on the piano and he very much wanted to do something with the word ‘oblivion’, which some felt was too strong a word but we really didn’t want to change it. Basically, here were we two Celts in the South of England creating a bit of a Celt-out! Craig is a classically trained pianist and I am a classically trained soprano so the classical/Celtic style just clicked.
‘Oblivion’ means a place of being totally forgotten, and the opposite to that is memoriam so we used the Tennyson poem In Memoriam when writing the lyrics, beginning with its famous statement
I hold it true, whate’er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
Eve Williams in Donegal
‘Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
Tennyson wrote this about grief through bereavement rather than the loss of romantic love, but we took it in the direction of the loss of a relationship. We had both really struggled with grief in our lives but responded to it in very different ways. It was a very personal song and one which I now find quite painful, but I think its beauty comes from that and people have told me they find it comforting which I’m immensely proud of.
Are there plans for live shows to promote your album? And how do you feel about singing live now?
I love singing live. It’s nice to get a live audience’s reaction to the songs, and I love working with other musicians onstage. I’m planning to do a few shows in County Down and Scotland. Hopefully I’ll be making an appearance in Bath and London this summer, too. Dates can be found at www.evewilliamsmusic.com
What are the things you love about being with other artists?
I learned so much about music by seeing how other people approach it and learning about their backgrounds and outlooks. I also love sitting down and trying to come up with a song or a new version of a song where everybody pitches in their own way of thinking and skills. It’s nice to be around people who share your passion, essentially.
What are the things you think everyone needs to avoid if they want to work with other artists?
Avoid being difficult to work with! The stereotype of the tortured genius is all well and good, but in any profession you have to behave professionally. Be respectful of others and their input. June isn’t so far but for now where can listeners buy your album?
Keep supporting Celtic music! And thank you for reading this.
There you go folks. Another week of being graced by the almighty presence of Eve Williams. I envision more and more great tunes coming from this fascinating artist. Read more about her fascinating experience at the Clubeo here: http://www.evewilliamsmusic.com/?section=blog/mountains_music_and_moya
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Huzzah!
Introducing new acts. Apart from albums I review, I want to direct your attention to new acts coming out of the Celtic music world. Some are new bands with members from other bands. This happens when musicians start to branch out in search of other means to express their music. Sometimes creating new clusters of musicians with different styles can give way to interesting music. And so here they are:
Biography
Formed: 1996
Genre: Singer/Songwriter
Years Active: ’00s
In 1996 on Canada’s Vancouver Island, five acoustic multi-instrumentalists (Marc Atkinson, Chris Frye, Adrian Dolan, Glen Manders, and Jeremy Penner) came together to blend the music they loved and create a “folk world fusion” that would eventually earn them the 2003 Western Canadian Music Award for Outstanding Roots Release. Originally called the Bill Hilly Band, the five-piece spent four years perfecting their fun and rootsy sound in front of live audiences before stepping into the studio to record…
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“Highway Signs and Highway Lines”New album by Thomas Johnston coming out soon!
“I am a singer-songwriter, guitar and bodhran player creating and performing original songs in a genre best described as IrishAmericana.
I am a partner at Tabhair Records and Music Publishing LLC with my son Stephen.
“Babel Pow Wow” is the fifth album by Breton singer/songwriter Dom Duff. He got this started through the Kiss Kiss Bank Bank program. So what’s thid album all about? According to Dom Duff :
This album pays tribute to the world’s cultures, languages, to all those people who use their words and their rhythms to sing, dance, laugh, … The idea came to me after many meetings with different fans, speaking about multilingual cultures : our imagery, rhythm of our words, of our music. As usual, I sing my native Breton language, adding my guitar licks surrounds by fiddle, bass and percussion to these stomping songs and tunes.It’s about local & global troubles, causes, …
So what’s my assessment of Babel Pow Wow? To those who haven’t heard it yet, Babel Pow Wow is a collection of folk/ rock inspired tunes laced with Breton music. It is composed of a richly layered album with a wide array of instrumental explorations. I think this is Dom Duff’s most successful work to date, with ambitious effort and sleek production to match.
This album aims to take nods on all Celtic music branches. It also highlights other musical genres, from all sides of the globe. It is an album that is a must for lovers of Breton culture and the rest of the Celtic nations. And even if you don’t speak Breton, the rhythm of the language will take you to places you’ve never dreamed of.
Buan yann buan starts the album with its inspiring guitar and percussion. The tune takes flight as fiddles, harmonica and other instruments wrap this track with passionate abandon. The mandolin takes the center stage in Bitter Lands of Llydaw, along with the strong and haunting vocals of Dom. Noa pulls us into the mysterious Breton landscape with that strange mechanical sound for ambience. Chikoloden has the groove that is definitively Celtic with its beautiful instrumental arrangement and also a jig in the second half of the track that nods on the Irish side of the influence.
Floc’har jabadao is typical Dom Duff with the driving percussion and strumming. A-du gant an avel is a beautiful ballad a sweet melody and beautiful guitar solos. Those who love psychedelic rock will love the title track Babel Pow Wow. Jigs, hypnotic percussion and driving rhythm are all explored to the max in one track. Houarn & lêr channels a bit of George Harrison with that beautiful and catchy chanting for chorus. This style is also found in the next track Buzhug’o’matik.
Koroll gouez starts with an adult alternative intro and then followed by the marathon run intensity of the verse and chorus matched by the energetic fiddle and percussion. The mysterious sounds make a comeback in Treizh. The style is Middle Eastern. En tu all d’an treizh gets us back to our feet with the signature Breton rock that’s always typical of Dom Duff. Foeter breizh closes this amazing album with the sound of Breton footsteps by Breton runners. The video of this song was published more than a year ago and it’s been widely shared across Brittany.
I will never get tired listening to Babel Pow Wow. It’s got all the grooves, the sound spices you need when you want a kind of music that not only inspired but also soothes the hunger for something rooted to tradition and the love for diversity. Better get your copy now!
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Huzzah!
Alan Cooke, The Wild Irish Poet
It’s Monday! Birds are singing, the sun is up and ground is wet from last night’s rain. How are you doing?
Last time I mentioned that I read in advance The Spirit of Ireland – An Odyssey HOME – Alan Cooke’s follow-up memoir to Naked in New York. Did I mentioned that the book moved me that I wept? perhaps not so I am telling you now. It is a beautiful work , richly layered in atmosphere and images. You need to get it when it is finally out. So here’s a passage:
From The Spirit of Ireland – An Odyssey HOME : I looked at an old cottage that was for sale because the picture struck me as haunting and evocative. It was dark and grey outside with the threat of rain. This house had no road, no gentle garden path with plants along the edges. It was muddy and full of rocks. I got to the door. A small river ran around the entire house. Inside it was chilling and desolate. A whole planet of despair resounded here in lost memories and lives that had been lived out. Old stained suit jackets hung in the window. Everything was dead. The house had shed its last breath. The windows were blurred with dirt and finger marks. The floor was broken and warped and an old kettle sat in the middle of the room awaiting an owner to bring it into life again. This house had kept generations enveloped in a kind of soft life. Yet hardship always lurked nearby in the form of poverty. I imagined coins counted to the penny and a soft shuffle out the door to get a loaf of bread and some meat for the week. Or some news brought to the door that would shatter the heart. Or the sound of a baby covered in her Mother’s blood born on the wet floor as the roof let in the rain at angles. A weeping newborn amidst the rain storms that took hold of the land and shook and drowned her till she was sodden and miserable.
I saw old cigarette boxes lying by the fireplace. I imagined rugged hands lighting wrinkled cigarettes shoved into the sides of black stained drinking mouths and scouring the land, planting and digging and heaving and sweating the years away. Or maybe a song that was hummed and filled their sleep in the night. Or a foot that tapped with rhythm on the black dirt floors. Or the eyes that were lit by the fire. Soft country eyes that had only seen the glory of nature all their lives. Yet I could feel the intense energy and loss of this ghostly cottage. A house withered and dying without human warmth felt terribly lonely to me. And above me a billion miles into the sky far above the ghosts in this house we were looked down upon by forces undefinable. This tiny house in this tiny land and this eternal terror of being. The light filled the soul, measured against the immense beyond. I felt the depth of it and the memory so thick down to my fingers which I traced along a window sill.
In an old drawer I spotted a faded photo of a Father and his child. The photo was half burned, the daughter looking away from the camera. The Father had a beautiful smile. His cap was in his hands. He looked humble and had soft eyes. Where were they now? Long gone. So far gone I could not sense any of their life in this sad place. Who would buy this place? I wanted the weeds and the fern and the branches of trees to grow tall and strong and wrap themselves around this cottage. Move inside the walls and windows. Creep along the floor and take this house back into the earth. It did not belong in the present. I put the photo back in its place. I felt like I had walked upon a grave. I was trespassing amongst the dead.
Here amongst the ragged remains of an Irish home at once comforting and now cold and dead I sensed what the end might feel like. My own end. It sent a fever into the throat to think on this, the idea of ceasing to exist and of disappearing. Outside I could see a bird wet, on a thin branch still singing in this most terrible of winter days. His eyes darted with each note and his breathy reedy notes were a symphonic calming release against the singular bleakness of my emotions.
His was the constant song of aliveness. The paradox when God seemed to have bolted his door. It almost seemed to me that this messenger was all that kept the world from upending and falling apart. It is the voices of hope in the world that keep us from despair. The bird stayed for an eternity. Singing, for no purpose, but his own, and I selfishly took it for mine as well. To give my own presence meaning.
I left the house and walked back down the rocky path to my car. I looked in the mirror inside and I could see my own darkened eyes, this strange search for home within me always. The restless spirit misaligned with a race that itself was lost. Spinning on in this grey eternity called life.
There comes a time when you just want a single type of instrument to stand up. And also everything that’s composed around and about it. This is the case of The Barbarian Pipe band. Pure bagpipe richness dipped in spices and good to the heart. And the music comes big drums. Of course loud music like this needs something to set the balance.
Be warned. This is loud. For those who expect something sweet and gentle would rather be somewhere else. But if you like your sound loud , hot, kicking and enveloping then Defecatio Imperatrix Mundi is your thing. best played outside with bonfires, friends around and hardcore Celtic partying.
My picks are Ruvida because of its warlike energy amidst its tribal beauty. Those pounding the drums really know how to make your brain heat up with primal appreciation. in Nutri-Ego we get a gong like sound with a little ‘broadcast feed.’ There are other tracks worth noting but I really don’t pay attention to the title because once it starts you just get lost to the sounds. A true charmer o an album for those who want their bagpipes to shine like crazy diamonds!
Bio:
Biography
The booming music of Barbarian Pipe Band overwhelms audiences of all Europe since 2001 (see the band’s CV).
Archaic sounds and modern arrangements solve space and time into powerful trance, wild dancing and deep emotions. Playing on stages, streets, theaters, churches, feasts, motor gatherings, weeding parties, rock festivals these five musicians fit everywhere from medieval-folk to metal-rock contests.
Barbarian Pipe Band propose two types of shows. Amplified or acoustic.
Acoustic show can be on stage or everywhere.
The amplified one has to be on stage and is followed by their own sound engineer.
Both shows may be enriched by live visual performance.
Hello friends. Weekend is here. How are you doing? Life has been hectic here. There’s rain too.Yay!
Ok first of all I want to give a shout out of congratulation to Breton singer/songwriter Dom Duff who released his album today called Babel Pow Wow. A review will follow soon. I love this project because I’ve followed this while it was being created and even sent Dom videos for his use to promote the album. Again if you see this album, have a listen and buy it. It’s really a wonderful effort. Here’s the link about the album: http://www.coop-breizh.fr/cd-et-telechargement-5/telechargements-10/chansons-voix-bretagne-260/cd-dom-duff-babel-pow-wow-5093/zoom-fr.htm
Picture of the day:
Click for bigger image
...here’s my view of what will be the biggest crowd of me life … 2000 odd LA downtowners. Onstage in a couple of hours. Supporting Dropkick Murphys and their crazy punk fans! -Andy Slim Black
Here’s an EPK to remind you of this week’s featured band Enter the Haggis
Celtic Music Fan 