In this edition: Fraser Fifield, Carmel Gunning and Calum Stewart
Fraser Fifield, EDINBURGH, Britain (UK)
The Music of Fraser Fifield
My last edition covered music from Ireland, Wales and Brittany. Our new edition unleashes another talent from Scotland by the name of Fraser Fifield. I became familiar with his work after seeing videos of Salsa Celtica. This is the same band where Kenny Fraser of Music Scotland(who was our featured artist/interview) plays the fiddle in.
The fascinating thing about his work is his love for improvisation and fusion. His bio states this interesting info: “A Piper and Low Whistle player who improvises like a jazz musician. A Soprano Sax player playing the traditional music of his native Scotland like it had always been played on that instrument.” I think one of the most haunting track in his compositions is Softly Spoken, with its hypnotic arrangements and syncopated beats. He has other gems in his soundcloud page and I am sure you will definitely buy his albums when you hear his tracks. He has other equally wonderful tracks and your way of relating or liking them will depend on how you respond to the music upon hearing each track.
I am doing a correspondence with him which will be a structure for an upcoming featured artist/interview. I embedded few tracks of my choice but I recommend for you to click Fraser Fifield’s soundcloud channel http://soundcloud.com/fraserfifield to listen to the music continuously.
She moves between two worlds. The fast paced playing and the delicate execution of some tracks. A native of Sligo, she came from a musical family. I think she is one of those amazing artists who contribute their efforts in making sure Irish music gets national and international
Carmel Gunning
recognition. I wonderful info I uncovered about her: She runs The Carmel Gunning School of Music all year round in Sligo town and runs a festival annually in August. She has written 2 books on music and song and currently working on another. She has produced 5 CDs to date and is working on a singing album currently. Many of her past pupils, Liam Kelly of Dervish being the most well known, are top class in their field today.
With this kind of music and also a unique way of playing the whistle, I am sure she will conquer more ears. Let there be more albums from her then!
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Calum Stewart has a new album out!
Wooden Flute & Fiddle
Calum Stewart & Lauren MacColl
with Éamon Doorley and Andy May
Eoghainn Iain Alasdair
The Gordons
Alzen
Rise Ye Lazy Fellow
Stoidhle Nèill Ghobha
Crow Road Croft
Aileen’s
Tomnahurich
Boys of the ‘25
A Highland Lamentation
Now available for Pre-Order worldwide. (Please be careful to select worldwide delivery if you live outside the UK) All orders will be dispatched on 15th October, one week ahead of the official release date of 22nd October.
Scottish wooden flutist Calum Stewart just released an album with Lauren McColl. It is called Wooden Flute and Fiddle. This is an album that every traditional music listeners will want in his or her collection. This is due to the huge effort that the two and the rest of the session musicians placed on this album. There are slow and fast tunes. Expect variety in instruments and grand artistry that only musicians of their caliber can provide. And even if you are not really into Scottish or Irish trad music, you will still warm up to this one for its melodic and relaxing merit. Love it love it! A track from this album was featured here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mwz99
In this edition: Dave Hum, Cormac O Caoimh, Frost at Midnight, Lignit, Kevin McKidd, Dave Martin and Gillian Boucher
Clockwise: Dave Hum, Cormac O Caoimh, Kevin McKidd, Gillian Boucher and Dave Martin
The midweek edition became a weekend post due to ISP issues. Now everything is back so we are back in business. How are you lovers of Celtic music and beyond? A couple of days ago, I had an interesting chat with Martin Tourish which turned into a nice interview. So you will see Gillian Boucher in this edition because I was reminded when he said he played with her along with other artists when they were in Asia specifically the Philippines.
Next you will see Kevn McKidd who recently starred in a critically acclaimed animation The Brave. It is great to see Hollywood stars being proud of their Celtic roots. We also have a featured MP3 from Roby Atkins who is part of Frost at Midnight and yes they play great Welsh tunes. You see the guy doing techno stuff in the pic with the penguin shirt? That is no other than Scottish producer and percussionist Dave Martin who will be our next featured artist. He is part of the Big Fat Electric Ceilidh. The two men above are in my featured reviews: Dave Hum and Cormac O Caoimh. I enjoyed their CDs and I am sure you will too! You will see a video by Czech Republic based Bluegrass band Lignit with Jeremy King on the bodhran. Please enjoy and drop me a message so I can improve this site further.
Album Review: Celtic and Bluegrass 5 String Banjo by Dave Hum
Depressed? Annoyed because you are having ISP issues and it has been more than a week and they were not able to fix the problem? Just crank in one of Dave Hum’s CDs and you will forget your frown. He has a happy way of playing that every track shines with optimistic vibes. I think he is the only one I know who plays the five string banjo as of the moment and he plays it like no other kind of master. Credit goes to the fact that he plays all the instruments including the guitar, mandolin, harmonica and percussion.
His years of busking and playing all over London with the band The Huckleberries have done him well and now he is gathering enthusiasts who love traditional Irish, Celtic and Bluegrass music. My experience listening to his nontraditional album Traveling Light made me aware that he is very much into the music of the times. Well in that one he experimented with a little bit of electronic music and reggae. Here, he is playing the standards which people who listen to this kind of music will surely love. We all know that traditional music is no longer traditional when it isn’t played in a certain way and Dave knows this path so well that he actually gave tribute to the tradition by coming up with a CD composed of 21 delightful tracks.
This is a perfect kind of music if you are having little bit of traditional music party over the weekend. Just put this in your player and you will be guaranteed with tracks that will last you a while. And after one listen, the album tempts you for another spin. That is how good it is-excellent playing but music that is not intrusive you can just talk while you let this play in the background. Tracks like Cripple Creek, Farewell to Erin, Mason’s Apron and the theme from ‘The Third Man’ (taken from the 1949 BBC movie) will put a smile on your face. There are other greats like his interpretation of Raggle Taggle Gypsy and Drowsy Maggie.
You also need to check out the artwork that Dave did himself. It show’s a traveller(as the cover is meant to depict the Irish travellers having to leave their country and head for America which is how a lot of the Irish and Scottish tunes merged with the blues, gospel, oldtime and bluegrass music-Dave) carrying a staff while running around with a kite. A dog runs before him carrying a stick. There’s a girl on near left playing a fiddle. There’s also a woman beyond riding a horse. On the right looks like a trailer house with a woman watering azaleas. Then there’s the 5 string banjo where the peacock is sleeping. The colors almost remind me of ‘flower power’. Well, this goes to show that the artist is an all around kind of guy. Makes you wonder more and wait for more recordings from Dave Hum.
First track off his 5-String Banjo CD1. Yes that is Dave without his disguise!
Album Review: a new season for love by Cormac O Caoimh
Like water color painting still running and moist, the music of Cormac O Caoimh seeps into your heart rendering you speechless with emotions. His classical guitar style combined with other influences is a joy to listen to. It makes you feel filled up, like you’ve just eaten a good meal. The spiritual nourishment that his music imbues is no accident.
Being from Ireland and having shared the stage with such artists as Declan O’Rourke, Damien Rice and Damien Dempsy to name a few; made his music eclectic but never losing that Irish spirit that is all over this CD. His lyrics are heartfelt and reflective as in the case of the opening track There’s Gold There Somewhere” –Who am I? Who are you? Who do we intend to be? It’s hard it’s hard when we can’t stand on our two feet…A combination of poignancy and passion is exemplified in the title track: With every morsel of muscle, Molecule of mind, I’d try to justify new oceans and new tides and new seasons, a new season for love…
On this side of the world it is the season of rain. And his music is the perfect soundtrack for that. There is a balance of musical precision and inventiveness that pull you up from the introspective lyrics that at times seem to overpower you with sadness. His voice is a fine instrument. I like the kind of ease he puts in singing like he is talking to you-almost intimately, close to your ears so there is no need to sing loudly …but rather in a breathy style. The transparency of the vocals and the gossamer arrangement make A New Season for Love a truly luminous listening experience.
It isn’t the kind of CD you will grow tired as in the case of those with too much fireworks in the production. This is something that grows on you. A kind of music you want to take with you anywhere when you need something warm and introspective.
One of my favorite tracks of the album A New Season for Love. This one is called Heart Attack.
Interesting Documentary: A Journey Home With Kevin McKidd
I am currently working on a feature with Scottish musician/producer Dave Martin. He is involved in a musical project with Hollywood actor Kevin McKidd and I thought this is a nice intro to a feature I am doing with Dave. I found this video really inspiring and I hope you feel the same way too. Enjoy!
Travel with Kevin McKidd to his hometown in the Scottish Highlands as he revisits his childhood, performs and records the Speyside Sessions Album with classic Scottish folk songs with his friends, and reconnects with his roots.
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Gillian Boucher, fiddle, plays a lively set
My interview with Michael Tourish brought me back to the music of Canadian fiddler Gillian Boucher. She is currently residing in Ankara Turkey. More of her music here: http://www.myspace.com/gillianboucher
Plus: Lúnasa video and new releases fromAndrew “Slim” Black, Michelle Mulcahy and Eliseo Mauas Pinto.
Gwendal Meillarec, Herve Briand and Gilles Bogzh-daonet.
I am glad to discover the band Daonet from Nantes. They are a fine addition to our ever growing collection of Breton artists. They play catchy rock oriented music using Breton language. It doesn’t matter if you don’t speak the language. The music is fun, catchy with just enough loudness to awaken your caffeine deprived family members. The lead vocals of Gwendal Meillarec (he also plays the flute) is strong but not imposing which is a good thing. He sometimes mimics the sound of the bagpipes with his guitar tuned in a unique fashion using great effects.
My guest Gilles H mostly plays bass guitar. He explains : “I personally mostly play bass guitar except on O’surfin on which we play with 2 guitars (Gwendal on chorus me in rhythmic guitar and after we exchange the roles). On stage I also play synth sounds controlled by my bass (organ, guitars sounds etc.) or my guitar on “O’surfin” (upright bass sound) but on the CD, I’ve used this sounds on “Marv Ponkalleg” intro and one effect on “Nerzh-kalon”. The drums of Herve Briand make the crunch! If you read further, Gilles gives us an in-depth look at the Celtic music scene in the whole of France not just in Brittany. Here, Gilles uses the terms Breton and Celtic to differentiate the specific from the general.
You made a different treatment of Tri Martolod..it has a more energetic and punk feel. What are your expectations in terms of people’s reactions to this song and those who are loyal with Alan Stivell’s version?
Yes we play Tri Martolod on stage in our way since 2003, 2004 I think. The reactions to our interpretation of this traditional song are always good, never any complaints 😉 people sing and clap their hands every time 😉
Daonet means Damned in English. Why did you choose that name for the band?
We are from the town of Nantes = Naoned in Breton language and there is an expression from Brittany “Mont da Naoned da c’hortoz bezan daonet” = going to Nantes waiting being damned, an expression referring to people from west part of Brittany who had to go to Nantes to get a job in the 19th century. The 12th track of Donemat album, “Mont da Naoned” is a folk-rock style song based on this expression with a parallel on nowadays people who have to migrate to find a job … Paris or elsewhere on the planet …
How about giving us a brief background of each band member?
Gwendal founded the band in 2000. He is an electric and acoustic guitarist. He also sings, and plays tin whistle. He writes lyrics mainly in Breton or in French.
I (Gilles) have joined the band in 2002. I play bass guitar, upright bass, synth guitar, and I also sing.
I’ve played in the late 80’s and early 90’s in a Celtic rock band from Vannes called Tan Flam. I’ve also played, wrote and sung in rock, rock’n roll, blues-rock bands ….for example Bogzh ! with Hervé on drums …
Hervé has joined Daonet in 2006, he plays drums, derbouka, djembe, cajon etc. He played in different music styles band before Daonet : rock, punk-rock, blues-rock …
What can we expect from the band this year?
We have recorded “Donemat” with guests’ participation on violin (Frédéric Bouley) and bombarde (Olivier Arz). We have played some concerts with Olivier. We also played in acoustic configuration (acoustic guitars, upright bass, cajon and voices). These different configurations may be developed in the future for live and recording events …
Where can listeners purchase their copies of Daonet CDs and mp3s?
The latest album “Donemat” is distributed by Coop Breizh, so dealers may have access to this record. It is also available on Daonet’s website http://www.daonet.eu/ as the previous CD “Rok a raok”, the different albums are also available in numeric version on http://daonet.bandcamp.com/ .
Donemat is also available in MP3 on itunes, Amazon platforms … It is also possible to discover the album through Deezer, spotify …
What are the festivals around France that you guys have been to?And what memorable things happened during these shows?
We played for the “Festival des filets bleus” in Concarneau (Brittany) 1 year ago opening for Gilles Servat with 10 000 people attending, we were announced as the “coup de coeur” of the festival… It was great. We’ve also played for “Celtival on the rock” in Guemene-Penfao with Dom Duff and Muray Head, for Festival des nuits salines in Batz-sur-mer …
It is not a festival, but a fest like the St Patrick fest for Ireland, in Brittany around the St Yves day / Gouël Erwann may 19th there is Brittany Fest organized since several years and promoted by Brittany region, we play during this period in different contexts. We played for example, few years ago in Rennes with traditional music bands, “Les Ramoneurs de menhirs” with their special recipe mixing traditionnal music and punk music and also a punk-metal-fusion band singing in Breton … This year we played for one of this concerts for the Brittany Fest in Nantes for or the first Breton language fest in Loire Atlantique. We are also asked for playing every year for the St Patrick day with Irish music bands (traditional or rock bands). We also play sometimes our music in concerts with no Celtic, or folk theme, with rock, blues-rock, punk bands etc. for concerts organized by bikers that sometimes are a little afraid of songs in Breton but when we ask if they understand the lyrics of English singing bands this stops their fear and they often recognize that even some French singing bands are not so easy to understand ;-).
Tell us about making the album Donemat. How do you gather materials etc. Can you tell us the procedure down to the final mixing?
Most of the songs were played on stage several years before they were recorded but in the beginning of the new record project, we’ve selected the songs (with 2 traditional songs “marv pontkalleg” and the Brittany anthem “Bro gozh ma zadoù”) and we stopped playing others songs, new songs replacing the previous ones. We worked the titles adopted in studio versions exclusively with the strict tempo of a metronome on every rehearsal during at least one year. We recorded with Arthur Lauth, who manages when this is possible our sound on stage, in a one day captation + mix, a pre-production recording of the 12 titles. With this pre-production CD, we met several sound engineers to find the studio allowing us to get the recording we were expecting with an agenda matching ours ;-).
At this point of the project, we had the agreement of Coop Breizh for the distribution of our album in France. We also had a contact with a painter / illustrator Brucéro to order him a drawing for the CD.
We chose to work with a brand new studio : Woodbox Studio near Nantes – managed by Jeff Ferrand that worked before in others studios.
We began the recording in the end of may 2011 with drums and bass tracks (electric basses and fretless bass) in 2 week-ends.
Followed later by Gwendal during a week electric and acoustic guitars parts, a keyboard track on the slow song, tin whistle, and we recorded voices.
Two guests recorded after then theirs parts in other sessions :
– Olivier Arz (we played together in Tan Flam group long time ago) played bombarde on three tracks, we worked together for several rehearsals with Olivier with the complete band, or with guitar, bass and tin whistle/ bombarde.
– Frédéric Bouley who plays violin in numerous bands (Breton, Irish music) recorded on the song “Mont da Naoned”, we worked with him and Gwendal in rehearsal (acoustic guitar, upright bass, violin), and with a first mix of the tracks already recorded of this title.
We finished the choirs, Hervé recorded Derbouka and Djembe, I recorded upright bass licks with the bow on “Mont da Naoned”, synth guitar on “Marv Pontkalleg” intro and my rhythm and chorus guitar parts on O’Surfin …
Jeff did the mix with some adjustments after listen sessions with the band. We defined the final order for the titles and then the mastering process was done in a specialized company.
My brother Lionel took pictures of the band for the CD and newspapers, he also did the graphics of the Digipack including the booklet with lyrics etc. with the character Brucéro drew for us.
The CD was then manufactured in the first week of January 2012 and sent to stores in February by Coop Breizh, we also sent CD to fans who pre-ordered and organized a concert in Nantes to invite fans for this disc availability.
Do you think Celtic Breton is stronger now than before?
I suppose that you ask the question of Breton music . Is it stronger ? It is always present. In Brittany there are many bands playing traditional music : bagadoù created on the model of pipe bands. There are fest-noz bands (fest noz can be translated in night fest) and they play music to make people dance traditional Breton dances. They are very active. There are also Celtic rock bands and some Breton rock bands. They play songs written in Breton, in Gallo with or without traditional, Breton or Celtic music influences. The success of Celtic music and of Breton music for masses is cyclic in France. Alan Stivell, Tri Yann, Soldat Louis, Manau (Celtic rap), Armens, Dan Ar Braz, Matmatah (their first album), Merzhin etc. had a very good success in some periods, Nolwenn Leroy with her cover album of best of traditional songs in Breton had been a big success recently.
The scene for Celtic music and Breton music is always present here, especially in Brittany, where the festivals are very popular and numerous (Festival interceltique de Lorient, Nuits salines in Batz sur Mer, Filets bleus in Concarneau, Festival de Cornouaille etc. In the Festival des Vieilles Charrues in Carhaix-Plouguer it is much more rock and pop oriented, but a stage is reserved for Breton music). But bands playing Breton music are not only present in Brittany. In every region of France there are Breton associations including a bagad, a “cercle celtique” (breton dance group) promoting Breton music and Breton learning in the region where they live. There are also Celtic rock, folk-rock bands in the different regions playing Breton, Celtic inspired music…
A band like Daonet mostly plays rock sung in Breton language to promote its use, its learn that was in the past reduced in use by the action of France (interdiction in French schools).
Daonet band is based in Nantes, a town that officially is not a part of administrative region Bretagne, the department of Loire Atlantique was in fact removed from the historic Brittany to create an artificial region called “Pays de la Loire”. Numerous songs of Daonet are based on Brittany and Nantes history, and the use of Breton language for a band from Nantes in this context is of course a symbol. Others bands from Nantes that don’t still exist played Breton rock sung in Breton, EV and Tri Bleiz Die for example, (EV guitarist-singer Gweltaz ADEUX plays now pop-rock songs in Breton), the band Tri Yann that exists since the 70’s, plays Breton and Celtic music with some songs in Breton language is also based in Nantes.
Called “the hottest Irish acoustic band on the planet” by the Irish Times, Lúnasa performs live from the intimate confines of The Burren Irish Pub in Somerville, Massachusetts. Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts, Lúnasa is made up of some of the top musical talents in Ireland. The current lineup includes:
Audio Engineer: Antonio Oliart Camera/Editing: Greg Shea Camera: Annie Shreffler Producer/Host: Brian O’Donovan
My big thanks to Greg Shea for this one.
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New Releases:
Slim’s forthcoming LP, ‘Gallows Tree Tales’, is a barn-storming folk-rock romp through tales of love, loss, booze, laughter and madness. With big productions, there’s everything from americana rock, celtic folk, country balladeering, and even a gospel choir thrown in for good measure. Once the record’s released, you’ll be able to buy it here, and there’ll be a full band tour, gigs-aplenty, and of course, a fair few ‘Gallows Tree Tales’ to tell. Get it here: http://www.slim-music.com/tcms/home
“The Celtic Harp” is a very interesting quick guide not only approaching to questions regarding the origins of its name, its history and revival, but also to the surviving types, suggested Celtic Harpists, and a list of related external links. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/210054
Plus: Newgrange by Tina Negus and Corrina Hewat CDs
We have Philip Knight on board this week as he explains his reasons for creating a Cornish language album. I also attached an ‘artwork’ I did to further support the importance of such musical release. We have a great wealth of musical talents from Cornwall. You will know more about it as you read further. It was fun catching up with Phil. He’s been in Spain lately bringing us the Spanish sunshine and giving us a glimpse of what’s in his own and Cornish music in general.
• Omdowl Morek is an album composed of melodic songs all in Cornish. How long did it take you to complete the album?
The album is the culmination of over thirty years of writing and performing songs in Kernewek. It’s a selection of the best of my own compositions, a combination of contemporary music and folk. I aimed to blend lyrics carrying traditional folk themes with those with a personal and modern flavour. Since the album comprises contemporary themes, I wanted to update my treatment to avoid a dated sound and be sure that the songs were suitable for the 21st Century. The whole process of adapting to these constraints and recording them took the equivalent of a month of concentrated recording of my vocal and instrumental work. The arrangements took a further three months of careful editing, special effects and production.
• I like the crisp production that your son Paul Knight-Malciak has achieved. I understand he also arranged, engineered, mixed and mastered this album. How was the working experience with him?
As Paul is my son, he has a knowledge and insight regarding my love of Kernewek, my style of material and my musical aims. In view of his acumen, I was flattered that he had long pressed me to make a high-quality album. He has had ample experience with a top-flight band of both making music, arranging it and recording it and has worked with several leading technicians and producers. http://www.paulknightmusic.co.uk/ As a result I was more than confident in his abilities to direct, arrange and offer me advice. We trusted each other’s abilities and our working relationship was surprisingly civilized! Paul spent a further three months finalizing the results of my recordings, consulting with me once he had a draft album at the ready. We never once fell out during the process and I hope this shows in the finished product of which I am extremely proud.
• All of the songs in this album are in Cornish but there is a corresponding translation to English in every song. It must have been a challenge putting everything in detail on the liner notes.
The difficulty in making an album purely in Cornish was that my potential listenership was bound to be limited as it’s a lesser-used Celtic language. With the lyrics playing such an important part in my songs, I wanted them accessible to as many as possible. Thanks to MAGA (the Cornish Language Partnership), I was able to provide an accompanying booklet in parallel translation, Cornish alongside English. Unfortunately, any such lyrics booklet proved too bulky to include in the CD. I was advised that outlets would be likely to place the album with a separate lyrics booklet in literature sections rather than music. MAGA helped me overcome this by creating a webpage where the lyrics could be accessed, http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=624 whilst they also have available hard copies for distribution. I owe a debt of great thanks to them for that and their part in helping me to make the album.
• How is Cornish music different from Irish or Scottish music in terms of melody and delivery?
Well, every language has its own lilt, cadence and rhythm and such is the case with Kernewek. It all comes down to the position of the stress, the type of the consonants and the length of vowels. In general, Cornish words are stressed on the penultimate syllable (e.g. Kernewek ). Often the most important part of a Cornish sentence tends to be placed first but there it also has great variety and subtlety of meaning according to the word order. These facts tend to dictate the way Cornish music sounds, particularly if we are talking about traditional, folk music. I suggest that Irish and Scottish music have their own distinct qualities for this reason but, in view of the many grammatical structures inherent in all Celtic languages, there are also many similarities. All the same, my own music is an attempt to bring a contemporary sound to Kernewek as a modern yet authentic, revived language. I have paid close attention to its non-English pronunciation but I hope the melodies will appeal also to English-speaking ears. The melodies of my self-penned English songs definitely have a totally different quality from my Cornish ones and only one of the songs on this album could also be sung in English (Track 5 – Karoryon Porthgwarra). In spite of that, Paul feels this is his favourite track, maybe because it is the least English-sounding, and a quirky, though folksy, tune.
• www.kesson.com is selling your recording. I understand it also represents the best in Cornish music.
I have nothing but praise for Kesson (Harmony) as an excellent portal for all Cornish music, whether in English or Cornish. Its creator, Kit Davey, himself one of an accomplished Cornish family of active musicians and Cornish speakers, offers a professional outlet but does not seek to run the site purely on a commercial basis but rather to promote all Cornish musicians and music. He makes Cornish artists’ material available on a non-profit-making basis and, according to their requirements, offers albums as CDs or as downloads or both. Perhaps, readers might find the answer to the last question re Cornish music by trying a few samples on the Kesson website.
. Are you planning to tour your music?
I have no plans as such. The whole purpose in making this album ‘Omdowl
Philip: This was a beat group I sang and played the single-manual organ with (I’d have looked silly sitting on a tree, holding my organ!) back in about 1969-72. They were called the Velvet Touch and were Devon Pop Poll Champions.
Morek’ was to record to the best of all my creative powers with the help of my son Paul ‘s technical know-how a handful of my Cornish language songs. I have been a very active musician pretty well all my life since my teens in a wide variety of music, whether as a drummer, organist, guitarist vocalist. I have been folk singer, played in rock bands and beat groups, sung in a male voice choir, taught music to primary school kids, played in Country Dance bands. In a Cornish language capacity, I have been performing since the early eighties. With this album, I didn’t want my music in this vein to die and felt that, in some humble way, that it would be of benefit to the Cornish language world if it were to be there for all to be able to hear and access, and make their own. It is important for a revived language to be “sexy” so that young people want to take it up so it was important that the sound should appeal across age groups and, I hope, have a timeless quality. Otherwise there is always the risk that the language will become moribund and confined to traditional folk modes. It would not be to my liking to do a karaoke job of singing my songs to backing tracks though I obviously have these. I would need a band to reproduce the songs on stage as I might like. In the studio, I could form instrumentation as full as a whole band and, where vocals are concerned, multi-track my voice or even be a male voice choir as I was on the last track ‘Spyrys Agan Tir’.
. What are your major musical plans for this year?
Given funding, ideally I’d like to record a further ten or twelve songs that I’ve written in Cornish but, more than anything, I’d love to record a polished, updated, digital version of a song that I wrote for the Pan Celtic Festival in Galway, 1991, and which won Kernow first prize in the Pan Celtic Song Contest of that year. It was called ‘Deus Y’n Rag, Dolli’ (Come on, Dolly!) and was an attempt to create a Cornish language equivalent of ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, whereby I hoped to resurrect the language with a rocking appeal to Dolly Pentreath to come alive again. She was the then-supposed, last-recorded native speaker of Kernewek in about 1770, and she berated an English philologist, called Daines Barrington, who was searching Cornwall for surviving Cornish speakers, in true fishwife style by calling him ‘Ty gronek hager du!’ or ‘You ugly, black toad!’.
If I can once more enlist the recording and producing expertise of my son, Paul Knight-Malciak, this will be my project, together with an upbeat ‘b-side’ ofanother of my songs, ‘Hunlev an Omsettyans’ (Nightmare of the Invasion), which recalls the reprisal raid on Dolly Pentreath’s village of Mousehole by a section of the failed Spanish Armada.
Bolonjedhow a’n gwella/Very best wishes, Phil Knight
Well there you have folks. Another fine addition to our ever growing musical exploration. Be sure to visit kesson and if you like Phil’s new album, have a copy yourself.
1. Men Selevan (St Levan’s Stone) 00:00 2. Tamsin (Tamsin) 03:35 3. Maria Wynn a Gernow (Blessed Mary of Cornwall) 06:46 4. Dhe Vlamya yw Hi (She is to Blame) 10:43 5. Karoryon Porthgwartha (The Lovers of Porthgwarra) 13:49 6. Dehwelyans an Marner (The Sailor’s Return) 18:50 7. Myrgh an Mor (Daughter of the Sea) 22:59 8. Kyns ty dhe vos (Before You Go) 26:56 9. Spyrys agan Tir (The Spirit of our Land) 31:14
Today in pictures: Newgrange by Tina Negus watercolour/ink/pastel/waxed crayon 2007.
I love mixed media. This is an amazing painter by Tina Negus. My friend Paulabrought this to my attention. We both love nice pictures and I found this heart warming. The colors are really vibrant and it is very Celtic. More interpretation can be found here: http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/newgrange/Interesting
Plus:Featured mp3s: Dan Aston, New video by Cheers! and Nolwenn Leroy
“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. ”
–Bob Marley
Featured artist Celtic 5 String Banjo Player – Dave Hum
“An instrumental selection of traditional Celtic, bluegrass and old time tunes, featuring Dave Hum playing the five string banjo, guitar, bass, mandolin, harmonica and percussion.”
The music of Dave Hum is like a friend who comes to visit to bring you great news. It overflows with an almost Rastafarian philosophy that is all embracing. It is a kind of feeling you get with when you take that time off from the harsh realities of life . The seductive rhythm invites you to throw your worries and close your eyes. Imagine someone you have not heard for some time announcing he is dropping by. You don’t know what to expect. He comes marching in. Then he cracks a joke. Everything dissolves into a familiar warmth of old friendship and easy fun. That’s exactly what his music is like!
He sounds like no other. I’d call his music timeless, with the mood elevating qualities of dark chocolate. In place of words, he uses his mastery of melodies and arrangements. There aren’t any stumbling block in his musical path…it is like a great river rushing, where everything flows so smoothly.
It surprises one to know that there is only one person behind this big sound. Yes he plays everything that you hear in the recording.
Finally, the most anticipated video from Celtic rock group based in the Czech Republic is out. It features the band playing live interspersed with an old Czech film. According to Pavel, the lead singer of “Cheers!”:
“We used this movie – to point out the culture in its roots. Even if we play something totally else”..
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Featured mp3: Dan Aston
If you are very active in the Celtic folk in scene in Cornwall, then you might have seen Dan Aston as the guitarist of Cornish language band (with both his parents in it) An Derow. His music is inspired by artists like John Martyn, Nick Drake and Gary Moore. These are selections off his soundcloud page. Dan is a fine singer with a good range. His voice is in perfect shape and pitch. When asked about the possibility of releasing an album:
“I am currently working on my debut album which will hopefully be out in January 2013.”
That is a good sign. So what can we listeners expect from his debut album?
“The listeners can expect a selection of my original songs that have strong roots in folk, blues and jazz genres as well as possessing a Celtic touch. Working with local Celtic group An Derow and having played on Sue Aston’s recent album ‘Between Worlds’ has influenced me in this direction as well as my natural love towards renowned musicians in the folk/Celtic genre such as John Martyn and Nick Drake. Some of my songs will be expanded instrumentally for the album and will feature additional musicians to add further depth and textures to their musical landscapes. The expansion of my songs will also include myself playing lead guitar and harmonica which doesn’t currently appear on the soundcloud demos. The record will be musically diverse and will hopefully appeal in one way or another to listeners from all musical backgrounds.”
Dan has a live show and according to his status update:
“I will be playing at Goldsithney Charter Fair this Saturday, performing my usual mix of folk/jazz originals and covers with some new covers by Deep Purple, Bruce Springsteen and Blue Oyster Cult! Hopefully see you there should be a great event.”
Don’t miss this awesome artist live and have a listen to his recordings below.
the importance of such musical release. We have a great wealth of musical talents from Cornwall. You will know more about it as you read further. It was fun catching up with Phil. He’s been in Spain lately bringing us the Spanish sunshine and giving us a glimpse of what’s in his own and Cornish music in general.
Celtic Music Fan 