Great performance by Maria Doyle Kennedy

 

I’ve heard of her name mentioned many times in the world of TV and music. But it is the first time I saw Maria Doyle Kennedy perform live. You have to pardon me Irish music lovers. I have been covering a lot of music in the Celtic genre that there are artists that are still waiting in my ‘must listen to ‘ list. Anyway her performance of The Most Beautiful People are Broken blew me away. There is something in that voice. There is truth in that song. The backing of Kieran Kennedy and Donal Lunny are exquisite.

this means I need to watch Orphan Black because she plays Ms Sadler. She also appeared in The Commitments. One of my favorite Irish movies of all time. This is my amazing introduction to her wonderful talent. I will follow her career from now on.

Siúil a Rún by Belfast Royal Academy

I was listening to  Siúil a Run, a fresh version by Royal Academy early in the morning. That was before doing laundry. Now it’s after laundry and I am writing about them. Nothing like a beautiful track to sooth tired muscles. It’s taken from the upcoming album Native. I love that album cover featuring a cow. I have a feeling it will reflect the pastoral bless of the Northern Irish countryside. It’s under the management of Stubborn Ass Music  so I am really sure it’s going to be amazing!

A little info about this project from Dermot McIlroy:

It was certainly an exciting brief, to produce an album of traditional music in just three weeks or so but we got there. The interesting cover art is a stamp of a Moiled cow (a Moilie), a native cow that our client breeds and hopes to promote through this CD. Thanks to The Bruces Hill Cattle company, Lofbergs coffee and the musicians and staff of Belfast Royal Academy for their help in producing this album. A few snippets of the tracks to follow soon.
Ok that sounds exciting. I have no details yet but I will surely update you about this group. I love the instruments that compliment the fantastic female vocals. “Siúil a Rún” is a traditional Irish song, sung from the point of view of a woman lamenting a lover who has embarked on a military career, and indicating her willingness to support him.

 

Two Available tracks from Wish by Poitin, via Soundcloud.

 

Yes you heard it right. The new album Wish by Poitin is finished. The main reason to rejoice.

Just when the thought the seas have calmed, Poitin brings out a new album called Wish. I am not sure about the details of the album yet, but I know the band have worked in recording tracks around Autumn last year. They uploaded two track via soundcloud: The Broomfield Wager and Toffee Jigs. The former is a vocal track showcasing the versatility of Jeremy King’s voice. It is also an acoustic and bodhran driven song. The latter is an instrumental collection of traditional tunes.

Like I said, I have not listened to the whole album yet, but I can tell this is something new. The poitin flavor is still there. But there is that slick and superb texture that I noticed in these two tracks. It is easy to judge that the album will sound this way. And this is an exciting release!

The album will be available everywhere and I will tell you more about it in my future post about the guys of Poitin.

Debut Album of CrossHarbour Coming Soon!

 

1978631_660697727329486_890377076_n

CrossHarbour takes the vibrant spirit of Traditional Irish music to new listeners.

CrossHarbour, is the name of the band after a London tube station. But it could also imply “crossing into another country’ through the sea. I love the idea that traditional Irish music blends well with any genre. It is so pure it sounds good with Jazz, Rock, Folk and even Classical music. Rosie Hodgson completes the circle, although she is not present in this video. They recorded their soon-to-be-released debut album at Livingstone Studios, London.

CrossHarbour are: Orlaith McAuliffe (flute), Sam Proctor (fiddle), Philippe Barnes (guitar), Tad Sargent (bodhran) and Rosie Hodgson on vocals. Hodgson has perfect folk vocals that sound warm and smooth. I am sure it’s going to be a fantastic debut album. To quote from Tradconnect: “I saw the future of trad music and its name is CrossHarbour.”

I keep on watching the bodhran technique of Tad Sargent as I am a bodhran student myself. His thundering chops are showcased in these live videos. You can tell they love being onstage. The listeners love them too.

Preorder the album here: http://crossharbourmusic.com/?album=crossharbour-2

 

visited us At Livingston Studios during the recording of their debut album (photos by George Staines)

 

 

St Patrick’s Day Essay and Podcast#28

There comes a time when existential blues happen to any blog. I think it is the discontented feeling of doing the same thing again and again that gives rise to this feeling. And it is good to be someone who gives you the latest in our music community. But I found out that this blog has grown into  a more structure routine-without my overt opinions. And I feel that like any relationship, things have to change. Perhaps stir on a different direction. Maybe spice things up a bit. I also realized that my mind has become cluttered as I am thinking of so many things these days. Perhaps it’s the new work that I found. It’s blowing me into a different direction. So yes things have become less personal and more sterile. It is time to shake the apple tree until the fruits fall.

We all grow. Perhaps we grow together or apart. It’s the same with friends. There are those we meet for the first who give their best foot forward. Always smiling and friendly. Then one day things become confusing. Unlike friendship, music gives us a choice. Either we listen to the same artist or probably explore other styles. But life is always like that. It is full of uncertainty. We offend someone though we don’t mean to. Or it could be all in our heads. Who knows? Sometimes we do embarrassing things and we make a fool of ourselves. In the end our greatest adversary is our own minds. I know it is hard to let go of someone’s approval; especially if that person means a lot to you. But like anything else in this world, nothing stays forever. Whether we like it or not. So things have to change.

I’ve finished uploading the radio show from last Saturday. I am happy being an online DJ. It’s something different from the usual blogging that I do. And I don’t want to impose myself on anyone. That is why I am doing less promotion on my personal page because if people really like what you do, there is no need to tell them ‘hey listen to me, what I do is cool.” And it should not be an obligatory thing because friendship should be about freedom. I’ve learned that the more we force or expect people for their time, attention and effort, the more we are imposing ourselves to them and friendship becomes strain. And the other party will start feeling trapped.

So I think whatever it is you are doing, whatever it is you are passionate about; just do it. And people will just come along. I have more than seven hundred friends in my facebook personal page. I only correspond to around five percent. But I can’t delete those who added me from my previous job. I can’t delete those who added me for the sake of Celtic music. I don’t think it is necessary. But sometimes the feeds can be too much.

I think when you are an artist, the greatest asset that you have is not really your style or talent. Everyone has style and talent. It is either you are very good or good enough. It is what you say or the ‘unique’ things you bring to the table that makes you remarkable. I am just a blogger. I am not a ‘writer.’ But I think I have something to say(like all the bloggers out there). I have opinions. I have visions and things that not everyone thinks about. And this side doesn’t really get itself known because I have followed a strict rule of doing ‘just that.’ But this is not work. This is not something I owe anyone. This is my house. And I think it is time to say whatever I want to say. And even though we can’t please everyone, as long as we are happy with what we do then we are alright.

Oh and happy St. Patrick’s celebration to all of you.

***

Sounds you should hear.

It’s been ages since I visited my soundcloud stream page. I found several artists you will enjoy. One is Scottish singer/harpist AnnaMcLuckie. Her vocal style is contemporary. She puts a cool spin to pop tunes.

I like demo tunes from established musicians. We all know that these demos or ‘live’ recordings will find their way into an album but it is always good to see the progress of the music. This time it’s Sir Phillip McHugh (slip jig) performed by Enda Seery: Vincenzo Di Mauro C Flute and James Hughes: Fiddle tuned to C.

And the last but not the least is something from Scottish piper/flutist Fraser Fifield.