While there are events in our lives that ebb and flow, we are like willows bending and enduring whatever life hands us. But in that space between two hills we are blessed by the calm that comes when we behold something beautiful. Be it the sunset or waking up to a fantastic song, the fact is, magic happens. So yes sh*t happens and so is the realization that everything is going to be ok. If we just hold on maybe the next day or week is going to be different.
Finally the new album by Kyle Carey is out!
So what’s new? Kyle Carey has new album out! Yes we’ve waited since last year as she wrote that the said album was going to be recorded during the Celtic Connections in Scotland. She posted pictures from these sessions via Instagram and in her facebook page. Now it is out! I will listen to it and then write a review.
Congratulations to Sarah Frank and Luke Fraser of The Bombadils for finally tying a knot. I knew this was coming. This two will create beautiful music together so I am sure I will be writing about the Bombadils soon, There are many things out there really worth blogging about. And yes check out the picture below. Those are gifts from my English friend Paula. She and Gilly went to Dublin to meet Ian for a photoshoot. You will read more about it in my other blog.
I am also posting a video from Kyle Carey. Thanks to Dave Hallowell for posting this beautiful live performance. You will hear this song in the new album by the same title.
I am hungry for new materials. I am excited for something new. But for now, this is going to be a blog post below 500 words. Just let it out in small doses. We don’t want to choke on too much info. For now.
And it’s no accident that this selection of the best poems from three decades begins with the word “between,” for Heaney was a poet of the in-between (as his friend Helen Vendler has observed), writing from a zone somewhere between north and south, between Catholic and Protestant, between Ireland, England, and America, between formal and free verse, between public and private, between realism and allegory, and between plain speech and loading “every rift with oar,” while also balancing the gravitas of his subject matter with the frolic and grace of poetic language. As Heaney said, “The point is to fly under or out and beyond those radar systems.” SEAMUS HEANEY: A POET OF IN-BETWEEN POSTED BY HENRI COLE (The New Yorker)
It’s everywhere. People in my stream have been posting about the passing away of the late great Seamus Heaney. His story is everywhere: The Guardian, NY Times etc. It’s like a big hole has been punched into our collective consciousness. What is death? Why such disbelief? Perhaps we always think that great minds would never die. We feel the same way to those we love: our parents and close friends. Something in us finds it hard to let go, as such soul has already nourished the umbilical cords of our creativity, our joys, our very lives. It is a symbiotic relationship that feeds poets, musicians, painters- to create. Where do we go without the beacon of light?
I don’t claim expertise to his works as I only stumbled upon his works in the course of my music blogging. I don’t think that those in love with Irish music could divorce themselves from the culture and history ; the things that feed Irishness. So yes today I am one of those rediscovering the works of this great mind. He is gone but the memory will always remain stronger with years. For those of us who feel that being alive is a burden to carry, we find comfort in the poems of this poet. It’s like his words form this umbrella to protect us from the harsh glare of the sun and the unforgiving storms of reality.
I think being from Northern Ireland made Seamus feel that sense of being in two worlds at the same time. Your reality shapes your soul. I guess that is why we always long to find a soul mate because we have different souls inside.
I was trying to think very hard if Flutatious belongs here or in my other blog devoted to Indie folk/rock/dance-general music. After listening again and again, I decide to post it here for several reasons:
1. It is so pleasant to hear that it really fits here.
2. I know a lot of people who follow this blog have eclectic tastes.
3. They have this folk side with electronic frills.
With all these things said, I will now let you hear Flutatious. I got hooked after 2 songs. Think what this UK-based band will do with an entire album 🙂
Band member Ben Forwell recommended this link below. I think the video describes what the band’s music is about.
FLUTATIOUS came together after an inspiring trip to the Isle of Skye. The scenery and relaxed vibe inspired Michelle, Bill, Andy and Stella to put a new band together.
Michelle, Stella, Andy, Bill, William and the Colonel in Skye.
Malcolm came in on drums and then the band met the talented Mr Williams and were immediately knocked out with his jazzy vibes. 2008 saw the band finish their self-produced first album which has been selling out at every gig and was named as ‘demo of the week’ on Celtic Music Radio as well as receiving countless plays here and abroad on internet stations.
The band also had the pleasure of playing Small World, Eden, Cornbury, Hawkfest, Solfest and Weyfest and are playing to ever increasing audiences in their native northwest London.
Between Worlds the new album by multi-instrumentalist composer Sue Aston now out!
I love how the Cornish landscape is portrayed in the 1939 Hitchcock movie Rebecca. Corn wall embodies bandoned castles, windswept hillsides, moderate climate and so much more. But apart from these scenes, it’s the people who make Cornwall the Celtic nation that it is today.
The violin is a very transparent instrument in a sense that the player decides the kind of sound it produces. Violins don’t lie.Especially when one is an artist who is passionate about both the music and Cornwall’s political struggles.To quote from her : “My muse is the granite cliffs and the rolling moors of Kernow, her legends, her culture and people. Thank you for your kind words of support, I am inspired determined and ready for action!”
The second album has twelve tracks displaying her classical training and the honest sentiments of folk music. Sue ‘s music glides into the senses like fine wine. From the anthemic title track , The playful Mazy Dazey , the dark ominous charm of Storm Cat…the Vivaldi-like Hawthorne Tree, the Cornish Melody in Thursday’s Market (marghas yow), and closing with the introspective melody of Initial Bond. There are other instruments you can hear in the album(both Folk and Classical) as well as classical female voices.
Over the years, Sue Aston collaborated with Chris De Burgh (Quiet Revolution), Gordon Giltrap (Music for the Small Screen), and Andrew Downs (Centenary Firedances / The Marshes of Glynn) among others. But exploring her inner landscapes in albums like Sacred Landscapes and Inspirational Journey , she is able to carve her identity. And she is back in full force with the latest offer Between Worlds.
1.How long did it take to create this album?
It took 18 months to create my new album, as I composed many of the tracks as I went along, slotting them in between recording sessions. I was juggling my time with recording new solo violin parts, while working out the piano accompaniment and arranging the parts for the other instruments. Quite often there were two or three tracks on the go at the same time!
2. Was the process hard compare to Sacred Landscapes and Inspirational Journey?
In some respects it was an easier process as I was in total control of all aspects of the musical parts. My first and second albums relied more on the producer creating layers of sound and special effects to support the violin and piano melodies. This album was far more labour intensive for me, but much more satisfying. It also meant that the sheet music was ready to go, as I had had to get the arrangements ready for the other musicians to play on.
3. Your single The Hawthorn Tree is a very powerful piece . Vivaldi comes to mind. What inspired you to compose this?
3. With the Hawthorn Tree track, I wanted to push myself technically as a performer. On my first album, ‘Sacred Landscapes’, the track ‘Madron’ was a piece which I composed for solo violin, and with ‘The Hawthorn Tree’ I wanted another virtuoso showpiece which challenged me further – both as a composer and performer. I could never actually visualise myself recording or performing it – so when I eventually did both of these things it felt like a great personal achievement!
4. You music has always been labeled as ‘beautiful, healing, and elegant’. Has there been other description that you found rather odd?
I’m always fascinated to hear how people perceive my music. My music encompasses a wide range of styles and emotions, and when I perform in a concert it’s great to see people dancing to pieces like ‘Mazey Dazey’, then in tears over ‘The Final Homecoming’ for example.
5.I personally find your compositions challenging because they all have the classical discipline yet the expressiveness and simplicity of Folk. Do you have a plan of venturing into other forms of music?
Because I listened to different genres of music as a child – from Punk Rock to Classical – I have absorbed many styles, but really to me it is just ‘simply music’! On my new album Between Worlds, I improvised on a track called ‘Drift’ with the folk musician Rick Williams. It was recorded in one take, and has a jazzy feel to it with inspiration drawn from Stephane Grappelli.
6. Cornwall has been a visible emblem of your music. Do you consider your self as an artist and at the same time an activist?
I consider myself very fortunate to be living in Cornwall with my family. Because the spirit of Cornwall is deeply embedded in my heart, my creative output is infused with Cornwall, and so anything which affects this amazing place is of great concern to me.
7.What keeps you inspired to record albums?
Living in such a beautiful part of the world is a constant source of inspiration, as is the wonderful feedback and growing support I am so lucky to receive from people who enjoy my music.
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