Folk

Mac Talla Mor:Hip,Haunting and Traditional

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If you want your vocalist to have a strong distinctive voice(ala Natalie Merchant), yet ethereal enough to be called Celtic, then New York based Mac Talla Mor is for you. If you want something traditional but  spliced with irresistible dance beats, music that’s hip but never loses vision then this band is for you.

Scottish pipe playing has always been Mac Talla Mor’s  focal point along with the Illana Regina’s strong vocals and classically trained piano playing. What’s more, each member can play other instruments which makes hearing them a rewarding experience. They have been coined ‘music for the masses’.

Mac Talla Mor in Gaelic means ‘great echo”. Learn more by visiting their home page and watch an uploaded video. Unfortunately there is not much resources on the web at this point. But with your support, the band will go places!

Albums out:

* Piping Hot 2005

* No Man’s Land 2006

* Jacob’s Ladder 2007

* The New Colossus 2008

You can listen to samples and buy mp3s here:

Welsh Celtic Music:Carreg Lafar

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carregflagNow that we have explored the traditional music of Wales, let me introduce you to another band.Carreg Lafar was formed in Cardiff Wales. In Welsh the name means ‘speaking stone’. The band is considered as the forefront of Welsh traditional music revival. So if you are curious as to how traditional Celtic music sounds like in Wales then you better hear Carreg Lafar.

They have an official site which you can listen to samples before getting the album.You can do this by clicking on the music section. Band members are: Linda Owen Jones (Voice) Antwn Owen Hicks (pipes, pibgorn, voice) Rhian Evan Jones (fiddle) James Rourke (flute, whistle) Danny KilBride (guitar) with guest piper Gafin Morgan. They want to reach wider audience through their MySpace page. I’m getting the hang of their music. What do you think?

Holding on to Peace with Planxty

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How do you fight fire? Do you fight it with another fire? There are times when we are put in a hateful situation and we forget who we are. The situation bares our animal instinct.We are not free from the wear and tear of everyday life. There are times when the internal struggles we have are worse than what’s happening outside.

My take on this? Always take time for your self. Find that personal space. Being with the same people for so long can have its downside. As they say ,familiarity breeds contempt. So always be on the lookout. So how do you fight hate? I fight it with peaceful music. Here’s Planxty with Sweet Thames Flow Softly taken from their 1973 self-titled album also known as The Black Album. I hope that to those who are having a bad day, this song will give you a source of inspiration to go on living.Don’t forget to smile.

Artist credits on the album:

The elfin enchantment of Julie Fowlis

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  Scotland has another pride and that’s through this elfin singer Julie Fowlis. She has the kind of voice that any Kate Bush and Bjork fans would love.She was featured in  BBC as  artist of the year.

 

  The music is laid back and stripped with all the clutter that marks most studio productions. This way it gives you a glimpse of the soul inside. Visit her official site. You can also check her out in MySpace.

Mícheál Ó Domhnaill 1952-2006

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The late Mícheál Ó Domhnaill for me, will always be associated with Nightnoise.  Although he was credited to bands he formed in the 70’s up to the 90’s, my discovery came when I heard Nightnoise on a compilation album in the late 90s. Nightnoise has this distinctive acoustic-chamber-jazzy and traditional kind of feel. He played the guitar/piano and backed by his sister Tríona Ní Domhnaill — vocals, flute, and clavinet. Other band members were Johnny Cunningham — violin (joined 1990),Brian Dunning — flute ,John Fitzpatrick — violin (joined 1997) , Billy Oskay — violin and of course he himself ,Mícheál Ó Domhnaill — guitar and piano.

I didn’t know he died due to a fall on his home on July 7 2006 and it was a shocked because I was listening to Nightnoise on a 3 am. There is this sad thing about being written in history- with a date attached to it. He was only 53 and he could have done more. The would have been wonderful music, not with his band but maybe as solo projects or collaborations with other musicians.
When I hear Snow on a High Ground, the band’s music on a compilation that got me to them, there is that bitter-sweet sense of presence. That song has been with me since the 90s and the crisp and powerful piano sound coupled with Triona’s backing vocals is surely an evocative piece of Celtic music.

Luka Bloom mentioned on his tour that there is a similarity between Jamaicans and Irish . I wouldn’t be surprise. I hear the same passion, the same longing for the God when I listen to Reggae and then Celtic music. We could not also deny that Irish music is a family affair. Most of the band members are related by blood and as they say, being Irish and playing music is synonymous.

I know I will never anticipate a new recording from the late great , Mícheál Ó Domhnaill but I will treasure his recorded works and will be haunting for most of his stuff in Skara Brae,The Bothy Band and Relativity .

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Someone asked me how is it that I love Irish music coming from the Philippines. I told him it is simple. It’s like liking Jamaican music even you are not from Jamaica(even going as far as knowing Jamaican phrases). It is the same thing with Irish music because after all, the music itself is universal. There’s this one interview with Moya Brennan and she was asked about the popularity of Irish music . And she answered about the Christian missionaries sent out who actually spread not only the gospel but the culture as well.  And therefore you could say that the Irish conquered the world! Wise words from a great woman there. After all, they didn’t call her Enya’s older sister(literally) for nothing.