Folk music

Midweek Music Extravaganza

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 4 Comments

 

Feautring: Kinfolk, Jamie Smith’s MABON, McAuley/Horan/O’Caoimh, John McSherry, Michael Shimmin, Joe Dart, Wilber Calver with Moya (Maire) Brennan & Shane McGowan

Featured Single: The Lady of the Woods

I mentioned the new single from Jamie Smith’s MABON in my last edition (with the amazing Corrina Hewat as featured artist). A few months ago, drummer Iolo Whelan announced that they are in the process of recording the new JSM album. It was later revealed that the title of the said album is “Windblown”. Anyone who followed their career in the old line up will know that they have always played lively instrumental tunes. You have to understand my surprise when I discovered that the carrier single Lady of the Woods features male vocals including top  notch harmonization. The song uses influences from pop/rock and traditional music. The song is radio friendly enough that I am sure with the right timing and promotion will be one of those top 40 UK singles like what fellow Celtic bands  Capercaillie did with Coisich, a Ruin and Manran with Latha Math.

Download the single that is given by the band for free here: http://www.jamiesmithsmabon.com/windblown/

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Introducing: McAuley/Horan/O’Caoimh

Artwork by The Celtic Music Fan

More from this link: http://www.mcauleyhoranocaoimh.com/

And check out their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Mcauleyhoranocaoimh

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Album Review: Kinfolk- This Land

A track by track review of the amazing CD.

Principal musicians: Brian McDaid & Gerry Power

Other players: Johnny Cameron,David Mclean, Damien Mullany, Alan Burton, San Proctor, Dorothy Swift and Paul Fox.

From the first few notes emanating from the acoustic guitar of the intro to This Land, one is given a tip that this album is composed of songs that you can sing along. Coupled with great accompanist from the trad scene , Kinfolk has an album that makes you feel like you are watching a family album. I call this a grand offering due to the number of guest players ranging from bouzouki, mandolin, keyboard, banjo, accordion, fiddle, uillean pipes, and other vocals and instruments. The harmonies are solid and breezy. When you are driving long distance, this is one of those albums that you’d like to listen to on your way home from a long day’s work.

Tracks:

There are 13 tracks. There are ballads , instrumentals and upbeat songs. They are arranged in a way that reminds of of a plot in a novel. Each song tells a different story but still related to the bigger picture that makes this album solid.

This Land: A tribute to Ireland and anyone who has an immigrant soul will relate to this:

” Well I hope and pray her smile will be there to greet me

Though my home’s far away I can still hear her sing so sweetly”.

Donegal: The upbeat tempo of this track makes one wonder. If this album has enough airplay and this track has enough promotion, this could be one of those top 40 folk tunes. The fiddling and singing reminds me of Scottish pop rock band Simple Minds. It is irresistibly catchy and poppy.

Stac Pollaigh: Acoustic guitar, whistle, keyboards make this instrumental track have that New Age crossover appeal. Something spiritual, relaxing but still very traditional sounding.

The Hunger Roars: Hunger Roars recall the term ‘starving artist”. I personally think it is about one goes through in life mourning over relationship we can’t salvage from the ruins. A kind of existential anguish permeates the track. It is a song that you can interpret based on your own personal feelings. It has that kind of hoe down tempo. In spite of its lively tempo, the melody is steeped in melancholy atmosphere. Something luminous but somber at the same time.

Wonderful Day: Another finger snapping and toe tapping track. An uplifting and positive track which is a tribute to a beautiful landscape. Embellished by the nice sound of the banjo and the other instruments, this song is one of those undiscovered gems in the folk music scene.

Campsie Glen:

“ Will you come with me this summer,

To the fells in Camsie Glen..

This idyllic track takes me back in those years when everything seems like a scene through a rose colored bowl. Thoughts of childhood are precious and this is something that will save us from the twist and turns of adult uncertainty. The fiddle is bright and the vocal harmonies are rich. The simplicity of this med tempo track is what makes it such a pleasure to listen to. There are ven sounds of birds at the end of this.

Bound for New York: No need to expound on the thoughts of this one because I am sure you know what t is about. And I agree! Once again, the vocal harmonies and the chorus that goes:

“So I’ll have to go,

I’ve got to let you know,

My ship will leave the harbor in the morning

Cross to the sea so blue,

But my heart will stay with you,

I’m bound for New York City in the morning..

If this song doesn’t make you misty-eyed then you are either made of steel or a frickin’ robot. I just lost it!

Lady of the Isle: The drone of the keyboards coupled with the tin whistle makes the intro to this song very ‘soundtracky’. The vocal follows with the beat of the percussion. It has the characteristic of a slow marching song. The spacey arrangement creates a haunting atmosphere which has that lament sound.

“ But we cannot be together, So I’ll love her from afar,

For she is to wed another, and that day will break my heart”.

Thingamajig: Is a jig…but has a pop rock flavor. A great fusion of styles. The percussion and fiddling makes me want to go out and dance in the rain!

Working for the Company: Voice and acoustic guitar feels like a break from the grand instrumentation of previous tracks. A tin whistle and scattering of ‘ohhhs and ahhhs’ in between the chorus and verse plus other spare vocal ‘cloak’ makes this one a must for listeners of chill music.

Home to Ireland: The use of Major 7th chords gives this track a pastoral flavor. Major 7 reminds me of golden wine and gentle rays of the sun. “ Why don’t you come home to Ireland, All the way back to this green green land. This actually expresses my sentiments why I consider Ireland as my spiritual home.

Paddy’s Shout: Another instrumental track that showcases the mature and excellent musicianship of Gerry Power and Brian McDaid. I find my self rocking my head to this gentle uplifting track.

I Blame the Whiskey: The closing track. A tongue in cheek song about…well, you with your Celtic blood would understand and relate to. But this is also a song about trying to cope with a bad experience in life. We all have that. Yes we blame the whiskey, cigarettes or anything we can get out hands on to quell that ache..anything to keep us alive. A beautiful track that I can relate to.

My verdict is: Buy this album. It has a general appeal even to those who aren’t into Celtic music. The tracks are easy to the ears and all of them are worth your listen.Maybe music can’t really heal our pain or existential anguish but it is such a fine company when we feel lost and lonely. I love this album! Buy this album here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kinfolksongs

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Featured mp3: Bridge of glllass

Here’s the pre-release track from  the olllam album (with John McSherry, Michael Shimmin, and Joe Dart) Ah something refreshing from the trad scene. This music grows on you!

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Featured Artist: Wilber Calver (AfroCubanCelticMusic)

Gran concierto en Einsiedeln, Switzerland !

I want to introduce you to this exciting artist and whose album Diaspora is making waves! Jazz musician Courtney Pine (the first Jazz musician in my cassette collection as a kid) praises Wilber Calver’s album saying: “Wilber Calver is a unique new artist who has created a brilliant original sounding album that is steeped in the traditions of his Cuban culture and the Celtic folklore of his chosen instrument the bagpipes. I can’t stop playing it.” http://www.wilbercalver.com/

We have another legendary artist in the making!

From the official website:

About Wilber Calver

Wilber Calver Rodríguez “The Ebony Piper” was born in Holguín (Cuba).  In 1997 he enlisted as a percussionist in the traditional music group of the Centro Gallego de la Habana, with whom he performed in many festivals.  In 1998 he took his first bagpipe lessons with Professor Eduardo Lorenzo and it was from this moment that he fell in love with the pipes and took the decision to dedicate himself to the instrument.

During the following years he built up his performance experience and was included in the EU documentary “The latest Bagpipers of Havana”, won the “Premio iberoamericano ” Rey de España” ( 2004 ), appeared on the feature film “Havana Blues” (2005) directed by Benito Zambrano.

His TV appearances include : Musical ” Cuerda viva ” Cuba ( 2004 ), ” De la gran escena ” Cuba ( 2004 ) -Progra ESPECIAL ” Día da Patria gallega ” TVG España (2007) – ” A compañenos ” TVG ESPAÑA( 2008) – Serie “Padre Casares ” TVG España ( 2009 ).

He has been reviewed in the following publications : Revista Bohemia ” Con la gaita a cuesta ” Cuba ( 2004 ) -Revista ” O anuario da gaita ” Epaña ( 2000 ) – ” Gaitas con tumba..o ” Diario La voz de galicia

Wilber now lives in the Swiss Alps – Einsiedeln – and is in the process of recording his first album which will be an exciting fusion of celtic melodies with Afro-Cuban roots, arranged and produced by Alex Wilson.

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Flashback: MOYA (MAIRE) BRENNAN & SHANE McGOWAN – You’re the One

As my personal tribute to the amazing late Irish novelist Maeve Binchy, I am posting this beautiful video by two equally mesmerizing artists, Moya Brennan and Shane McGowan. The song is written by Michael Kamen. It’s the ending track for movie Circle of Friends.

 

Clanú: A Closer Listen (Interview with Dee McIlroy)

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Plus our picture of the day featuring Maura O’Connell and Flashback video from Equation!

Clanú: Dee McIlroy, Niall McIlroy, Damian McIlroy and Barry Skeffington.

Great Irish music comes pouring in with Clanú.

I have no doubt that this band is going to create more great albums in years to come. I think they are in the right track with their music. It is always inspiring to have a kind of music that not only lets you look back at traditions but also makes you FEEL inside.  Clanu is one of the finest examples how Irish music is flowering, taking other influences and spreading awareness to both national and international listeners. Thanks to cyberspace one can keep track of these things which would be impossible offline. The little article I did became an agreement with Dee McIlroy  (singer / guitarist/ producer) for an online interview which took sometime due to the band’s rigorous touring schedule. If  you are not aware yet, Dee(Dermot) runs a great company called  McIlroy Guitars http://www.mcilroyguitars.co.uk It was worth the wait because they are the featured band for this week.

http://www.myspace.com/clanu

https://www.facebook.com/clanumusic

..And Dee answers the questions:

 

How do you describe your band and what’s in store for your listener this summer?

Dee McIlroy talks to CMF about Clanú

Clanú is a combination of several members of two very different Irish bands, Outta Folkus who are the Folk / Bluegrass combo (usually a 3 piece) and Torann who are a young 5 piece playing Irish Trad. Both Outta Folkus and Torann are very busy playing in venues and festivals around the country. Outta Folkus average two or three gigs a week, while Torann can fit just as many into one weekend.

Torann have just finished a stint as the “3rd class passenger folk group” in the stage musical version of The Titanic.

They will be supporting bands such as Lunasa throughout the summer months.

Outta Folkus just returned from Switzerland after a series of gigs there and have already secured gigs there for 2013.

Because two members of Torann and one member of Outta Folkus are part of the same family (father and sons), the project to create something blending the two was something that we talked about many times. Hence Clanú was formed in 2010 and we set about writing the music for the album Ancient Walls which was completed in 2011.

What’s the recording process for Ancient Walls? 

Many of the tracks on the Ancient Walls album are original, either written specially for the album or selected from a back catalogue of unrecorded material. Most tracks had been chosen before we started but there were one or two which just seemed to need to be part of the project, “Slow Whiskey” is one example.

The core of the recordings were recorded over the course of a few sessions. We have recording studio at home, so that allowed us the freedom to experiment.

“Once I had the foundation of the recording, i.e. the main tune and instrumentation which was recorded live so to speak (all major parts playing together), I would then add the orchestral pieces, bass, pads etc at a later date. Some I would do myself and other pieces would be done by the other band members where necessary and then layered into the sound. So the rest of the production and mastering took six months to complete. With that in mind, I was conscious that we must be able to recreate the sound as much as possible when playing live. Because we are all multi-instrumentalists we can swap instruments to suit the individual track and we can indeed produce the album tracks exceptionally well.

Dee, What is it about Clanu that is unique from the rest of the bands cropping up these days within the musical culture?

Irish music: It’s a family thing.

There are few, if any, bands who manage to create a mix of old and new folk songs with the fast paced modern Trad that you see in the likes of Grada and Beoga. It’s like The Dubliners meet Lunasa with a bit of Planxty thrown in for good measure. The beauty of this is that we tend to please both camps. There are many people who think an evening of pure Irish Trad would be made even better with a spattering of songs, some new and some old favourites. That’s what we do.

Torann and Outta Folkus  came head to head with an event last 11th  of Aug, not as Clanú but individually, with all members, when they will appear at the 3rd International McIlroy Guitar gathering in Ballycastle, Co Antrim, N. Ireland.

Do you think there is a fierce competition within the Trad scene these days?

 There is little or no competition within the Trad scene other than when it’s an actual competition like the All Ireland Fleadh http://www.fleadhcheoil.ie/ .

There is a tradition within Irish music that you teach the music to the next generation and this keeps the culture alive. So it’s not a case of keeping your music to yourself but spreading it as far and wide as possible, even if that means that there is less work for musicians. But we don’t look at it that way, we simply try to be the best we can and maybe offer something a little different or special.

What are the bands that were supportive of your works(recording and getting the word out there) and what are the bands that have influenced you musically? 

There are certainly many bands and musicians who have influenced us over the years, such as Planxty, The Bothy Band, Boys of the Lough and more recently Gráda, Sharon Shannon, Beoga, the list goes on.

When it comes to support for getting albums recorded and distributed, while there may be a little arts funding for the few, the vast majority of musicians dig deep into their own pockets to produce their albums. I started my own label called Stubborn Ass Music. The idea was to make studio, production and mastering time available ourselves and friends (or friends of friends) who would not in any normal circumstances be able to afford to get an album to market. So far I have produced 5 albums (not all folk / trad), the latest was An Turas by the Glengormley school of traditional music, of which all the members of Clanú have taught at.

There was an incredible amount of work put into all these albums and all in our spare time as we’re not professional musicians. But hopefully the work put in is reflected in the quality of the Ancient Walls album as well as the others.

On performing live, what are the things artists should consider especially when it is a big crowd as opposed to intimate gatherings?

Clanú are a four piece band spanning two generations and the influences of each generation comes through in their music. From the fast paced modern Trad of Damian and Niall to the even faster contemporary folk and bluegrass sound (or greengrass as we call it) of Dee and Barry. With the wide range of instruments they play, they manage to produce a sound which enthrals crowds around the country and beyond. Add to this the song-writing and tune-writing capabilities that all the members possess and you have a unique yet familiar trad / folk sound that will have you dancing, singing or crying and sometimes all at the same time.

When performing in front of large crowds it’s more than likely that all the sound, lighting, running times, etc have all been arranged, so it’s best to just relax and enjoy. The main thing to remember is “Never turn up late”. You won’t make any friends with the organizers, crew or other musicians on the bill.

What’s your message to people who have just stumbled upon Clanu?  

I would say to all those who hear our music, I hope you enjoy it as mush as we did making it. Support live music by buying the CD, downloading it or streaming it on Spotify or similar. And please spread the word. We hope we can come play in your town sometime, wherever in the world you are.

And thank you Baxter for inviting us to take part in this questionnaire.

Dee, thank you so much for talking the time to talk to CMF and also for sharing your ideas  that will  benefit musicians of all genres. Friends, don’t forget to check out the music of Clanu and also get yourself a copy of their new album Ancient Walls.

Here are links to their videos:

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Our picture of the day:  Maura O’Connell

Maura O’Connell

She has a big Celtic voice that resonates through your soul. This picture tells us how this this Irish artist sees life and uses that  inspiration to heal our hearts.

http://www.mauraoconnell.com/

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Flashback: Equation from 1995

Yes this is Cara Dillon and gang in the age of grunge music and fashion. Who would have thought that years later individual members wouldlead successful solo careers…and continue to inspire us with their great music. It is great to look back and marvel at how Irish music has evolved and influenced the younger generation.

Cara Dillon and Seth Lakeman, two of the leading acts in the UK and Irish folk scene, were both formerly members of Equation, a folk supergroup signed to Warner label Blanco y Negro in 1995 by Geoff Travis. They recorded one album, Return To Me, which was shelved by the record company just before its release (but was released by Rough Trade Records after Travis bought the masters), but the lead single, He Loves Me, got a release in 1996 with a full promotional video. The video became available on Ebay recently and with a stroke of luck I had the winning bid. Here it is in all its glory. Seth appears to be a bit of a spare part, but Cara is glowing in all her youth and mid nineties fashion! Enjoy…

Philip Knight Uncovers Omdowl Morek, His Cornish Language Album.

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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

For bilingual lyrics and more information about the artist, go to http://www.magakernow.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=7dfc15fd-948b-4826-bd3c-32c55c7a…

All songs written and performed by Philip Knight

Produced, arranged, engineered, mixed and mastered by Paul Knight-Malciak http://www.paulknightmusic.co.uk

Recording generously funded by MAGA http://www.magakernow.org.uk

To purchase the CD album, mp3s, and lyrics booklet go to http://www.kesson.com

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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 Paula brought 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

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What’s Playing: Corrina Hewat

http://www.myspace.com/corrinahewat

An Derow: Cornish language songs with hints of other Celtic cultures

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Genre: Cornish Folk Fusion

An Derow is a band made up of family and friends from Cornwall. The music is rooted in the tradition and atmosphere of the place. The style reflects the fusion of different influences that shaped the musical upbringing of each member. This makes An Derow hard to pigeonhole but has that undeniably Cornish style.

I really enjoyed the tracks because you can really feel the maritime breeze of the Cornish seaside. As a Celtic music lover, understanding the language is secondary to the beauty of the sound  that the language produces.

I think people who only listen to English songs because they can only understand English, fail to appreciate the musical value of the Celtic languages.They are missing out on other songs that they’d still appreciate because they sound beautiful.

Members:

Stuart MacQuarrie (bass)
Matthew Clarke (crowder crawn/voice/whistle)
Sue Aston (violin)
Dan Aston (guitar)
Phil Aston (guitar)

Find them in facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Derow/153169748134619

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About

An Derow means “The Oak” or it can mean “The Beginning”. We sing mainly in Cornish and perform a Celtic/fusion style.
Biography

Just launched as of February 2012

Description

Cornish language songs, up-tempo Cornish folk on voice and fiddle, with hints of other Celtic cultures, combined with electric bass grooves and electric guitars.

Naymedici : The Single Paddy McGee is Getting Good Raves!

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This band is getting a lot of attention in the UK. The video off their single Paddy McGee  is also gaining viewers from all over (The single was released on 14th July) after its release. Naymedici (pronounced Nay-Med-Ee-Chee) fuses Balkan and Irish music seamlessly that it becomes an original sound. You better hear the drums somewhere around 1:34. It is just mind-blowing!

The band describe their music as: “A mix of Balkan and Irish music in a gypsy-folk style”. Because of the attention they are getting, would you believe that Irvine Welsh (author of Trainspotting, and Glue) even tweeted them saying “F**k yes! I like that one, Tony. These guys are on it.”

Members: Mike King (Vocals & Guitar) – Ronnie King (Drums) – Joshua McClurg (Vocals, Guitar & Harmonica) – Mike Hill (Bass) – Bob Goodman (Fast as Folk Fiddle)

Look for them in facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naymedici

The video debut and new single from Manchester’s Naymedici – Paddy McGee. Single availble now! http://www.hmvdigital.com/artist/naymedici/paddy-mcgee
Video by Cosmic Joke https://www.facebook.com/pages/CosmicJokeUK
Post production by Gee Studios https://www.facebook.com/GeeStudios
Very special thanks to Fosshey Stables http://www.fossheystables.co.uk/ and St Matthews Church Stretton without whom none of this would be possible!