Jazz

Quinn Bachand: Teen Power in Trad Music (Interview)

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Also in this edition: Mànran – Latha Math, Simple Celtic Phrases and Eluveitie – Live @ Graspop Metal Meeting.

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Young Canadian Celtic guitar superstar Quinn Bachand exclusive interview with The Celtic Music Fan.

At 13 Quinn Bachand already shared the stage with notable names in Celtic music. He has videos all over youtube performing with the likes of Natalie MacMaster and Ashley MacIsaac. It is amazing to remember that it’s been only a few years since he and his sister Qristina got catapulted into Canada’s capital of Celtic music-the East Coast from their native British Columbia, and finally  the world. Yes like any teenager he goes to school and does his homework . It seems this year is very musical for the Bachands so I decided to get an update. The last interview I did with him was April 13 of 2011.

To be 16 and being serious in doing the kind of music he likes, what is it like?  There is also this question I wanted to ask but was not included in my first interview: Why trad music and not other types of music in an age where teenagers do dance or rock? Quinn gives surprising answers to this interview:

Your tour calendar says your next performance will be on January 26 , 2013 with “Quinn Bachand and Friends – An evening of Celtic, Roots and Jazz Music.” What are you busy doing these days?

Yes, Qristina is living in Amsterdam, so we haven’t been doing as many smaller/in-town gigs. More festivals and a concert here and there. We’re doing a tour of the Yukon in February, that will be a lot of fun. I’ve just started a group with my friend Richard Moody, from “the Bills”, and “Acoustically Inclined” so we’re just getting started. It will be Richard and I with rhythm guitar and bass playing the music of Django Reinhardt, “Gypsy Jazz.”

You have just finished doing  the Celtic Christmas Ceilidh show with your sister at the Knox. How was it?

The Christmas concert was a lot of fun! It was sold out, which is great since Qristina was coming all the way from Amsterdam. It was wonderful to see so many of our friends from Victoria that we hadn’t seen in a long time, and new ones too!

Please tell me more about this wonderful video:Lady Be Good – Performed by Richard Moody, you & Aaron Watson.

 

That is Richard and I, with our friend Aaron Watson. That was the first time we ever played together. It was a jazz vespers gig in Deep Cove, Saanich (Victoria). We’re playing the old Gershwin classic, Lady be Good!

It’s been more than a year since you and your sister released the album Family. How are things in the recording aspect of both your careers? Any plans for a new album?

I’ve been looking at making a solo album myself of a lot of different things, from straight ahead Celtic stuff with me on banjo, fiddle, guitar, and whatever else, to jazz. And everything in between like French Canadian waltz with Adrian Dolan on accordion, and old time Canadian swinging tunes with Daniel Lapp on the fiddle or trumpet. It’s all being thrown around and we haven’t made any decisions. I have recorded a couple of Celtic demos though.

Qristina and I are also planning on doing another record. She’s been growing a lot as a vocalist, so it would have a lot more songs on it than the last one. She’s learned a lot of awesome tunes while she’s been in Amsterdam so she’ll throw those all on the table!

Your Mom Marie is very supportive of your music. Does she go with both of you on tours?

Our mom does manage us, since I was so young (still kinda am) she or my dad, have been going with us on our tours. But I’m older than I was before and touring with ma big sis is alright with them! As long as we don’t kill each other it’s all good. Qristina’s boyfriend, Felix, will be our referee on this Yukon tour coming up.

If you were given a chance to create your own band on the side, what kind of music would it be and what instruments would be included?

I couldn’t really decide! There’s so many  instrumental arrangements of the style of music I play, alone. And so many styles I haven’t ever played that I like to listen to. A lot of those elements are slowly coming into Qristina and my set. I’ve just bought a midi bass pedal (a foot organ) that I can control to do bass notes, or swells (that you can hear on the last album). Things like that will allow me to play more banjo and fiddle in the set.

Now that you have toured the world and played with the best artists in the scene, what’s the reception like when you go back to your native British Columbia?

We’ve had the honour of playing with a lot of great musicians and some of our idols. I’m 16 so I’m still in school and my life is kind of separate from the music stuff. A lot of kids at my school don’t know about my music. It’s very separate. But the people in the music scene here are still the same towards me, we respect each other!

Being in an age where you can literally do anything musically and somehow get away with it, what makes you stick to traditional music instead of doing the things that other people do, meaning pursuing either mainstream rock or pop?

I really love trad music. It rocks pretty hard I think. I listen to some of that stuff though, and threw some cool effects from the electric guitar on the last album tastefully, and we’ll keep doing that and experiment.

More of Quinn and Qristina: www.qbachand.com

Videos:

A set of reels we captured in our hotel room during Kansas City Irish Fest 2011. The tunes are The Dash to Portobello (by Sean Ryan) and I believe the second tune is Jim Donoghue’s. The whistle is an MK low D made by Misha Somerville, Quinn’s guitar made by by his dad, Adrian Bachand.-Zach Leger.

Gallery

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Featured video:Mànran – Latha Math

Manran hit the UK top 40 which is a wonder considering that the song is entirely in Gaelic and yes it is such an honor to celebrate the distinctive style, freshness and the coolness of the Celtic circle!

Info: Mànran are the hottest new band on the Scottish music scene. Combining driving accordion, fiddle, Highland pipes, Uilleann pipes and flute with powerful songs in English and Gaelic, all underpinned by rocking drums and bass. Though the band is a fairly recent collaboration, each member has been dazzling crowds in Scotland and throughout the world with various line-ups for a number of years but now unite to create Mànran: the fresh, unstoppable sound of modern Gaelic Scotland. Since coming together in June 2010 the band have already played at festivals in Europe and Scotland. The band have enjoyed gigs at Celtica in Italy, The Hebridean Celtic Festival in Lewis and are looking forward to a busy 2011.

Mànran are hoping to become the first band in the 21st century to take a Gaelic song into the official UK top 40. The song, “Latha Math,” was written by lead singer Norrie MacIver and it will be released on the 17th of January. It will be available for download only on iTunes. The single was produced by two of the countries top producers, Calum Malcolm (Wet Wet Wet, Simple Minds and Runrig) and also legendary accordion player and musician Phil Cunningham.

After a very successful start to 2011 after appearing on the BBC Alba hogmanay show the band are now turning their attention by making history and taking “Latha Math” to the UK Top 40!!

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Simple Celtic Phrases:

Saying good night in all the Celtic languages:

Codladh sámh-Irish

Oidhche mhath-Scottish

Nos da-Welsh

Nos dha-Cornish

Ken ar wech all-Breton

Oie vie-Manx.

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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in Celtic languages:

Bliain úr faoi shéan is faoi mhaise duit!-Irish

Nollaig chridheil agus bliadhna mhath ùr! -Scottish

Nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda-Welsh

Nollick Ghennal as Blein Vie Noa-Manx

Nedeleg laouen ha bloavezh mat-Breton

Looan Blethen Noweth-Cornish.

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Eluveitie – Live @ Graspop Metal Meeting, 23.06.12

Thanks to YouTube’s improvement we can now view a full concert. This one is by Celtic metal band from Switzerland . They are called Eluveitie. From wiki: The lyrics are often in the extinct language Gaulish. The name of the band comes from graffiti on a vessel from Mantua (ca. 300 BC).[10] The inscription in Etruscan letters reads eluveitie, which has been interpreted as the Etruscan form of the Celtic (h)elvetios (“the Helvetian”), presumably referring to a man of Helvetian descent living in Mantua.

Visit the band website: http://eluveitie.ch

Video is Published on Jun 25, 2012

Captured by Stucker
http://www.eluveitie.ru

00:00 Prologue
01:05 Helvetios
05:20 Luxtos
09:40 Neverland
14:20 Meet the Enemy
18:20 A Rose for Epona
22:45 Inis Mona
28:40 Alesia
33:10 Uxellodunon
38:30 Kingdom come Undone
42:35 Havoc
47:33 Epilogue

Fraser Fifield: Relationship of sounds and styles(Interview)

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Also in this edition: Colin Nea, Therese Honey and Enda Seery

Fraser Fifield: Pic by Barryjohn Bj Stewart

Plays: saxophone/whistle/kaval/bagpipes/percussion/composition

From: Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

About: musician, composer and producer.

With the excitement of an upcoming album, Fraser Fifield talks to The Celtic Music Fan about music and what makes collaborative musical work interesting.

This week’s special attention is given to Scottish musician, composer and producer Fraser Fifield.  I was captivated the first time I listened to one of his tracks. There’s sensitivity, intricacy and a sense of underlying elegance in his musical voice. I think I read and heard his music a couple of years ago, way before I even started writing about Celtic musicians. It is only now that I got an opportunity to communicate with him directly for this edition.

He plays the traditional instruments in a way a Jazz musician would, and then reverse the process with the Traditional instruments. It is like what happens when you put different people in different attires and situations and see how they react or how they look in that environment. This is what he did with music and instruments. I think his striking importance is being able to walk between different worlds and still maintaining the authenticity of his artistry in playing. This edition is about relationships: between different types of music, musicians and instruments.

I think you will enjoy how this interview turned out. I had fun making this one.

What’s keeping you busy these days Fraser?

What’s going with me? Well, the main thing just now is having eventually started recording an album with Graeme Stephen, guitarist and long term colleague – just duo, focusing on live performances basically – meaning played live together, not actual concert recordings..lots of electronics too but hardware boxes used in live performance on the whole as opposed to studio laboratory type of process – which is cool, but not what we’re doing here.

So we started that last week…and will be ongoing as time permits over the next wee while. Just had a flurry of CDs through the door as other projects I’ve recorded on came to fruition – Maeve Mackinnon, Sophie Ramsay and Wingin It…maybe you’ll hear some of these soon

Looking forward to playing London jazz festival with the Take 5 Europe ensemble plus a couple of gigs in Poland one with Maciej Obara 4tet and Take 5 again. Playing duo with Graeme in St Andrews Scotland in a couple of weeks…

Doing a recording session for Angus Lyon this week and hooking up for a small gig with an old friend – wonderful clarinet /sax player Dick Lee..

With John Surman and Tom Arthurs last week on Take 5 Europe. By Emile Holba

 What can listeners expect from this new album in terms of style and sound?

I’m hoping folk will hear two musicians enjoying playing together who’ve built up strong dialogue between them (we’ve been playing together some 16 yrs I think). A general rule seems to be emerging – remember we’ve just started – to avoid layering performances/multitracking ourselves i.e. you’re essentially going hear two musicians playing live together, there’s no click track etc… that’s not too say sonically the record will be simple – early results suggest anything but…this is often just low whistle and guitar but like you’ve never heard.

A bold statement perhaps..but I’m being fairy serious… The live recordings on the soundcloud page hint at the sound of course, but I am enjoying working a little more on our recordings after the initial performance, resampling ourselves in a way, extracting small bits of audio and changing it’s function…I’ll say that much. Will it sound folk or jazz – I’m bound to be asked that… and the answer is I have absolutely no idea..a bit of both, or plenty of both actually. The compositions are mine but compared to my previous records I’d say improvised passages will turn out be more featured.

I think making music is also a relationship between you, your fellow musicians and your fans. What have you learned so far in maintaining this relationship since you started? What are the things you avoid now and what are the things you consider essential?

….Essential in regard to making music with other musicians, for me, is a sense of openness, trust and maybe some kind of mutual understanding of what it is we’re doing, not necessarily verbalized but that the feeling of all being well is present…all makes for a good starting point, at least musically; you could be having the worst week imaginable, but sometimes these things can twist around into good musical moments. Sometimes, hopefully not often, one can’t get into the right vibe to make music creatively for whatever reason, cat gone missing, who knows, but assuming all is fine there should be something you can switch on to be excited about what you’re doing, if you’re not already. Basically it helps to be in good mood is what I’m saying I suppose.

Musical situations I try to avoid are those where none of the elements to my previous answer are present. Also I’ve not been drawn into a ‘band’ situation for a wee while now, which is maybe down to my personality, I don’t know..I kind of miss it in a way, the band thing, but at the same time value the diversity of music I’m currently able to fit on my modestly sized internal drive.

Be nice to audience members if they’re being nice to you…i.e. paying to hear you play….would be a good general rule…

Try and have a relationship with the people that enjoy your music, if you want to that is…unless you have some Garbarek like qualities, and I try to mean that in a nice way, it’s a probably good idea business wise to interact a bit.. which I guess is what I’m doing right now..but I’m sort of enjoying the therapy of answering your questions. How’s this piece shaping up now by the way ?

Oh this is shaping my work nicely!

If you evaluate all the tracks you composed throughout your career, which one has an impact to you in terms of the manner it was composed and the inspiration behind it?

I’ve chosen the track called Psalm from my first solo album Honest Water as it’s perhaps the tune or idea which has had the longest and most interesting journey with me to date. The first idea was to try and imitate the sound of psalm singing from the Scottish Gaelic tradition – a most beautiful and peculiar art form in itself. My approach is a very simple one and one that has worked for me in many situations over the years, the more instruments playing together the better the effect, so great if working with groups of students of varying levels of ability for example.

Most recently I used this idea in the opening section of my piece ‘Playground Tales’ written for the group Mr McFalls Chamber with guests Corrina Hewat, James Ross, Aidan O’Rourke and myself – hopefully a recording next year. So the track Psalm from Honest Water began life as one of five parts of a suite for saxophone quintet titled Traditions – one of the first years of the ‘New Voices’ series of commissions made annually by Celtic Connections, and it’s still running – quite a body of work in there now. My turn was 2001, a long time back now!

I’ve never played the tune much on my own gigs for some reason, actually probably no reason, but have used it often in a variety of other settings, I recall…a group of 7 different European bagpipes at Rudolstadt Festival Germany, recently with Dutch trio the Nordanians, with the Take 5 Europe group this year, it’s served me pretty well, and I think it’s a nice melody.

With Corrina Hewat

If you have the time, the energy and the means to be an album producer, whom would you work with and what types of musicians would you help in producing records?

Well I’m doing that very thing right now in a kind of self-medicating manner along with Graeme Stephen in the making of a duo album together which is actually a bit overdue I feel, but at last is progressing nicely. I’ve always enjoyed being very hands on with every aspect of my own record making, from the engineering through arrangements, performance to mixing. I like having the freedom to work at my own pace with things and review/adjust at will…does end up taking forever sometimes though…and that’s not so cool always.

With other artists I’ve occasionally become involved in the role of producer or perhaps co-producer in some instances – for example where a group has developed a sound collaboratively and go on to then record. I’ve never been great at adopting a workmanlike attitude when it comes to making records. I think its quite a big deal. An example I can think of is with my friend Mick West, a traditional singer from Glasgow whom I first met whilst a student there. I’d played with him in various line-ups of the Mick West Band ever since, so when the chance to make his last album ‘Sark O Snaw’ came round I really wanted to do it, not least because having played with Mick for many’s the year he’d never properly captured the best of his music on record – I wanted to change that, and I think we did, to cut a long story short. It was a labour of love like most records I’ve worked on, probably ending up with a negative hourly rate or something close it, who cares, it’s a lovely document to have.

In terms of who to work with…if they can play well with heart and soul and give and take, and we can get along well, that’s the only ingredients required. I’m pretty happy doing a lot of the work I do for those very reasons.

Take 5 is an ongoing project you are involved with. Can you tell us a little bit about it and how’s it going so far?

It’s been a very nice experience. Firstly Take 5 then this year Take 5 Europe which is new extension of it. It’s about artist development essentially, through talks/discussions/networking (that mostly over one week) and making music with the other Take 5 participants you’re given tools or ideas at least aimed at perhaps focusing one’s career, taking a look over what you’re doing and what you might be doing…it’s positive certainly if anything at all.

This year the ensemble of musicians on Take 5 Europe proved to be a surprisingly cohesive group – not a typical line-up – 2 basses, vibes, drums, guitar, trumpet, 2 saxes + me. They’re a very nice bunch of people and amazing players, in late 20s or 30s – 2 each from Netherlands, France, Poland, Norway and the UK. We’ve been playing at the festivals run by partners of the scheme in Molde, Rotterdam, Coutance, with just 2 performances left to do in November in Poland and London. Playing and hanging out with John Surman on both these Take 5 weeks was certainly noteworthy, great musician and lovely chap.

I know you have played the bagpipes for a long time. But if you were a listener, what makes a bagpipe and amazing instrument?

There’s something primal going on with it that’s for sure. I can’t get into any physics that’s for sure too…I can but agree there is something about the sound that speaks to an enormous variety of people from every part of the world. Being very loud (if we’re talking the GBH here) is surely a bonus.

-Fraser

http://www.fraserfifield.com/

There you have it folks. Be sure to keep track of  his schedules and keep him on your radars. The new projects sound amazing!

Fraser Fifield

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Pic of the day: Colin Nea-Between the Jigs and Reels

COLIN NEA will be launching his CD ‘Between the Jigs and the Reels’ at 9pm, Thursday the 8th November in the Temple Gate Hotel

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Enda Seery: Website updated and revamped!

The musician/composer of The Winding Clock has introduced a new feel and look to his official website. Visit : http://www.endaseery.com/

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Featured Video: Therese Honey: Paddy Cronin’s Jig – Jenny Pippin from ‘Summer’s End’

Yes yes! We have a new addition to our list of harpists to watch out for. Therese Honey creates a relaxing wall of strings with with the talent of Jenny Pippin. Have a listen 😀

Track 2 from the 2012 http://www.Waterbug.com release, Summer’s End. Photos of the Dingle Peninsula were taken in April 2011 by Therese Honey and Larry Mallette. Therese learned Paddy Cronin’s Jig from Gráinne Hambly. Jenny Pippin is from O’Neill’s “Music of Ireland,” 1903.
www.theresehoney.net

Do You Really Listen?

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 My essay about why we listen to music and the importance of the people behind the artist.

Gary Paczosa was Altan’s sound engineer for the album The Blue Idol(2002)

Dear readers. I have just finished my second cup of tea for the day. Would you care to join me for a little reflection? I have questions in mind. And I have conclusions of my own. How about yours? What’s your take on this article?

What makes listening to music fulfilling? Is it the speed of how the tune is being played? Is it accuracy? Technique? Style? We can go on and on rambling about what makes music interesting. I am sure we have our own sets of prejudices when it comes to other forms of music. Elitism after all exists in all forms of persuasions be it aesthetic, intellect or economic. We are snobs!

Jeff Wolpert: engineer, mixing, assistant producer for Loreena McKennitt albums and live recordings at work on her Mediterranean tour.

I think there are those who chose a particular form of genre based on the fact that very few listen to it so that makes it cool. Yes, it is the foundation of cool that keeps the business going round and round. Sometimes it is not so much on the beauty of the music than the fact that it is simply COOL to own such albums or listen to bands which your COOL friends approve of. Peer pressure?

I know I am not innocent. I have given up my biases years ago to put balance in this site. It is after all one half me, and the rest belongs to the people who contribute to the traffic of this site. Sometimes I feel my preferences are just one fourth of what this site is all about. Honestly, I also listen to other types of music. That is why I have a secondary blog which caters to indie musicians where genres like Rock, Electro and Jazz apply. But Celtic music was responsible in turning my world around which in turn gave birth to this site. Writing has been a source of joy for me.

Enya and Nicky Ryan inside old Aigle studio(picture from enyabookofdays.com)

Sometimes, miss the old days when I used to let people listen to my records to cite an example. I even went as far as making my own mix tapes so I can inject those recordings on buses and bars where people are found. And I can talk for hours how a particular note can gain different colors based on the effects that you put on a sound, making you travel inside the music and marvel at the wonders of the recording technology. I can write an essay how clarinets sound so good when played sonorously, gaining a haunting quality.

There are also times when I just listen to make me feel good at the end of the day. We all listen to music for different reasons. But I think the best music is that one where you always get satisfied in all aspects. Something that makes you think of how the arrangements of the instruments were done, the album artwork, the people who worked in the photography, the liner notes, the sound engineers, mixers and finally those who do the mastering process.

Richard Dodd: engineer and producer of The Magical Ring, the legendary album by the band Clannad

Have you ever wondered how the musicians and people involved in the album making worked hard in the studio to give you the finished product? Somehow these are things that got ignored in the world of fast mp3 downloads and not having too much time to REALLY listen. Do you really listen?

Sahara:Soulful and Uplifting Sound from Australia.

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One of the great success stories of the Australian music scene.

When you are needing something to spice up you morning cappuccino, or a companion to your Earl Grey tea at night Sahara is the perfect music for your best moments. With musicianship that has been distilled by time and space, you are an audience to the best duo  in this music category. Dave Long has one of the rare gorgeous male vocals in the tradition of Sting and Steve Winwood. I swear I could go on for hours and hours being hypnotized by tracks like  No Man’s Land, Higher Than High, and Make My Day.  I’m sure no one would question Trish long’s expertise with the sax and other instruments apart from the fact that she has a voice that could rival Celine Dion’s yet has the Irish gorgeousness.

According to their bio:

Sahara is the award winning singer/songwriter team Trish and Dave Long who met in their hometown Dublin in the eighties before migrating to Australia where they have toured extensively performing to sell out audiences. Before leaving Ireland they had performed in many of Dublin’s music venues eg. The Baggot Inn, The Meeting Place, Slattery’s, Dame Tavern and Trinity College, and alongside some of the Irish household names such as Brendan Grace, Red Hurley, Linda Martin, Errol Walsh, Freddie White, Declan Sinnott and Kieran Halpin.


I hear traces of  Van Morrison, Bruce Hornsby and Traffic. If you love something that teeters between classic folk/rock, Celtic and jazz then Sahara is a perfect soundtrack.
Trish Long: Sax, Vocals, Flute, Flageolet ,Recorder & Sequencing.
Dave Long: Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards & Sequencing.