The Air Of The Hebrides

Transatlantic Sessions – S03E04 Oganaich Uir A Rinn M’fhagail ‘Spinning Song’ (O Noble Youth Who Has Left Me)
Julie Fowlis with Donal Lunny & Bruce Molsky

Today’s feature takes us to the enchanting music of Julie Fowlis. Julie is a native of Uist in the Hebrides and she grew up listening to traditional tunes. She is also blessed with a beautiful voice plus the talent with different instruments especially the pipes.

What made Julie appealing to me is her way of adding shine to the old tunes. If you look at her interviews, you can tell that this woman is possessed not only with a great sense of humor but a sense of mission as well. She does it so passionately that at such an early age she is already regarded as one of the stalwarts in the business.

This woman smiles so easily but when she plays or sings there is that rapt concentration that is so intense it is almost like laser. Her repertoire is composed of lively as well as laid back traditional songs but never loosing that perky sense. Julie’s music is for those who love the beauty of spare arrangements but dynamic tempos that hearing her sing in a fast Puirt a Buil makes you think of butterfly wings fluttering from flower to flower.

Julie will always make me think about the beauty of Scotland and the Hebrides which will make a nice tourist destination if you want to recreate the sense of wonder that her singing brings to our hearts.

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Useful Links…

Life sciences spin-out Celtic Catalysts wins innovation award

Ah don’t we just love technology? Looking into the future but not forgetting the past: http://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/item/20745-life-sciences-spin-out-celt

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St. Patrick Festival Newsletter

Be part of it now to get to know the latest in the upcoming big celebration:

http://stpatricksfestival.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/r/61D2EA9A704857B0/AE1ACF8AFA8642D17F4E5A579FEBB2E9

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Dom Duff and the rest of the gang here:

http://www.festival-cornouaille.com/page.asp?page=programme&statut=22-vendredi

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Minnesota Celtic Folk Event

Locklin Road, a group performing Celtic and folk music, will present the Coon Rapids Arts Commission’s third concert in its annual dessert and coffeewinter concert series.

http://abcnewspapers.com/2011/03/04/celtic-folk-music-on-tap-in-winter-concert/

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Vancouver Music Fest From March 4-6

Check the details here: http://www.99vancouver.com/?p=647

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Folk Harp Music..

Yes, everything  here:

http://symphonicfm.com/music-gear/folk-harp-music-music-theory-patrick-ball-celtic-anyone-can-play-music-for-the/

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Hey look at this nice album cover of Farrar. This is the third solo album by Scottish fiddler Duncan Chisholm. It was released in 2008.

Track listing

  1. “Nuair Bhios Mi Leam Fhin” – 3:45
  2. “The Farley Bridge” – 2:22
  3. “Lorient Mornings” – 2:39
  4. “Farewell to Uist” – 4:40
  5. “Mallai Chroch Shli” – 5:56
  6. “The Hill of the High Byre” – 5:24
  7. “A’ Mhairead Og” – 3:39
  8. “250 to Vigo” – 3:15
  9. “The 303” – 4:30
  10. “Alasdair’s Tune” – 4:35

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Klee Radio From Cape Breton

Wow they are playing the new album by Rachel Davis here. They play old and new Celtic stuff. Come and listen!

http://www.kleeradio.com/

Damien Dempsey In A New Book

The Irish Lion is featured in a new book along with other news..

Damien Dempsey is among those featured in a new book called With Love, From Me…To Me Letter to my sixteen year-old self  here .

About the book:

With Love, From Me…To Me gathers these words of advice, reassurance, admonition, praise and comfort. The letters range from funny to encouraging, hopeful to regretful, but always heartfelt. Contributors include Miriam O’Callaghan, Joe O’Connor, Ray D’Arcy, Sonia O’Sullivan, Maeve Binchy, Charlie Bird, John Boyne, Jason Sherlock, Nell McCafferty, Paddy Moloney, David Norris, Ross O’Carroll Kelly, Ardal O’Hanlon, Patricia Scanlan and Victoria Smurfit. With Love, From Me . . . To Me: A Letter To My Sixteen-Year-Old Self is the ideal gift this Christmas for family, friends – or yourself!

All royalties from this book benefit the Irish Youth Foundation.

You can buy the book @ Amazon.

He will also join Glen Hansard for  a Christmas charity single. More news here.

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But of course we are always awed when we hear something about Julie Fowlis and Salsa Celtica-the latter which has my pal  Kenny Fraser playing the fiddle.

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More info on the Golowan Festival 2010 in Cornwall and Sue Aston’s pics.

It is Cornish and Celtic. It happens every year. Penzance come alive with parades and music. Colorful people come from all over the world. Musicians play their wonderful tunes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cornwall/hi/things_to_do/newsid_8727000/8727584.stm

Sue Aston

Julie Fowlis @ Great Gigs

Julie  Fowlis has performed around various venues. One of them was the much celebrated HebCelt Fest. She became one of the prominent spokes person for Gaelic singing. Her humor is irresistible and she has the style.  Here are the highlights:

@ Sidmouth

@ the Cambridge Folk Festival.

Le Vent du Nord, Lunasa’s La Nua and the Julie Fowlis EPK

Le Vent du Nord continue  to define borders of music never been explored before by other musicians. Not only that they create a kind of sound that appeals to both French, Irish and Breton listeners, they also transcend boundaries of what is alternative and what is traditional. Upon first listen, the band exude a kind of breezy top 40 adult contemporary rock feel…well, not until one listens carefully to the arrangements, one will realize how so much craft and thought have been poured into the recordings.

The really interesting thing about merging French and Celtic music is the way the words sound . There is a lot of sensuality to it.They help bring  Québécois music (which is heavily influenced by Celtic music from both Ireland and Brittany), to the  public and I think it also gave me so much insight into the kind of diverse culture Canada has. The band already released five albums.

Band members play a variety of instruments each taking turns in every arrangements.

For those who love the traditional band Lunasa, they have a new album out called  La Nua . Samples of the songs can be heard on the band’s website.  This is really a treat to Lunasa fans who have been thirsting for  latest music coming from this one of a kind Irish band. Released last April, this is what the site has to sat about the new album:

Lúnasa celebrate the arrival of a new decade with Lá Nua (‘new day’).

After a 4-year hiatus from the studio, this highly-anticipated album came out of extensive rehearsal and recording on location in the beautiful Cooley mountains in the northeast of Ireland. This environment, rich in the history and culture of ancient Ireland, inspired much of the creativity and new writing on the recording.
Released worldwide 6th April 2010

Here is one nice video from Julie Fowlis . This is an EPK following the release of her latest album “Uam”. I love Julie Fowlis and the freshness she has brought into traditional music.

June 13:Music Pubs,Tours and Releases.

If you are on our way to Cork and wants to know which music bar to go to next, don’t forget to visit de Barras. Situated in Clonkilty the West of Cork,  it boasts a one of a kind venue that already housed artists like Christy Moore, John Spillane and new up and rising acts. Feel its ne of a kind intimate ambience and diverse acts that make de Barras stand out as one of the best pubs in Ireland. Quotes ” Mark Mc Devitt, (Irish Examiner 2000) It is the presence of an unlikely musical venue that makes Clonakilty truly special however, to cross the well worn threshold of the shy and rather retiring de Barras Folk Club, is to enter into a world full of possibilities. The possibility that anyone, literally anyone, might ramble in of the street and do a few tunes.” Contact: DeBarras, 55 Pearse St.,Clonakilty, West Cork, Ireland Phone : +353 (0)23 8833381 Booking Enquiries: +353 (0)23 8836549 TUES  email: eolas@debarra.ieCheck out  www.myspace.com/debarras and www.debarra.ie for this month’s gig guide……………………….There is one site directory that will tell you the best bars in town. www.irishpubs.com has not only the lists of categories, it also has a user friendly interface that will guide you while you click for the pubs near you. It says Your Guide to the best pubs in Ireland and Irish pubs around the world. It includes categories like Entertainment, live Music, Trad Music, Disco Bars. Sport, Food. Smoking facility, Accommodation,  Parking. Job opportunities etc.(Job opportunities? Hmmm…) You can even add your pub to the list or sell it!

And now for some music news……….

Clockwise from top: Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Alan Stivell, Pierrick Lemou and band, Lily Neill, Eddi Reader with band and Julie Fowlis (Pictures courtesy of their respective websites).


The 15th Hebridean Celtic Festival has a line up of interesting artists. From 14th to 17th of July, expect to be enchanted, possessed and stirred up by some of the most beautiful music in the world. Here are the artists to play in the event:

Runrig (Mainstage Saturday) Breabach Mainstage Saturday) Treacherous Orchestra (Mainstage Friday) Imelda May (Mainstage Friday) Julie  Fowlis (Mainstage Friday) Afro Celt Sound System (Mainstage Thursday) Blazin’ Fiddles (Mainstage Thursday) Adrian Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds (Mainstage Thursday) Iain Morrison’s Ceòl Mor / Little Music (An Lanntair Saturday) The Poozies (An Lanntair Friday) The Fox Hunt (Breasclete Wednesday / An Lanntair Thursday) Anniversary Concert (An Lanntair Wednesday 7.30pm) Oidhche Chiadain (An Lanntair Wednesday 3pm) Alasdair White & Jane Hepburn (An Lanntair Thursday 3pm) Mhairi Hall Trio (Harris, Thursday 8pm / An Lanntair, Friday 3pm) Mànran (Clan MacQuarrie, Friday 8pm) Ceilidh Bands Norrie acIver’s Dance Band (An Lanntair, Wednesday) Anna Fraser Dance Band (Breasclete, Wednesday)
Deoch an Dorus (Stornoway & Borve, Friday)

According to the site news: Thousands Expected as Festival Sales Reach Milestone

 

People from countries as far away as the USA, Canada and Australia are expected to visit Stornoway this summer as the Hebridean Celtic Festival announced it has already sold more tickets this year than it did for the entire event last year

Add HebCelt Fest in facebook follow the feeds and also in twitter and myspace

Julie Fowlis , our Scottish lass is in the midst of a  tour to promote her new album Uam. According to Folk Radio Uk, Uam is an extraordinary moving album. Her best and most beautiful work to date. Julie has also been made ambassador for Hebridean Celtic Festival according to her myspace blog:

The fabulous folks at the reknowned Hebridean Celtic Festival have been kind enough to make me an ambassador for the festival and one of the first three inductees to their newly formed Hall of Fame.

I am most chuffed and honoured.  See the official info below!  (then go and buy tickets – it’s a fab festival!!)  love Julie x

Sounds like she is not only winning our hearts, she is winning the whole of UK and the world. Bless you Julie! Check her blog and music at  www.myspace.com/juliefowlis and www.juliefowlis.com her tour schedules:

Cuirmean-ciùil

Tour Dates

12th Jun

St Albans
St Albans Arena Civic Centre St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 3LD

13th Jun

Southwell
Southwell Folk Festival Nottinghamshire

15th Jun

Cardiff
St Davids Hall, The Hayes, Cardiff CF10 1AH

17th Jun

London
Union Chapel, Compton Avenue, Canonbury, London N1 2XD

20th Jun

Salisbury
Salisbury City Hall Malthouse Lane Salisbury Wiltshire SP2 7TU

26th Jun

Sedburgh
Near Sedburgh, Cumbria
View further details

Add Julie on facebook, twitter and bebo.

Breton band TornaoD is in the middle of an exciting tour this month. This band from Kaligan France have been leaving audiences breathless with their astounding, dynamic energy such that, initially bemused, then won over, people are never indifferent. Their site describes the music: In an authentic meeting of tradition and modernity, TornaoD draw inspiration from a mixture of sources, from Alan Stivell to Metallica, Led Zeppelin to Denez Prigent, 70s rock side by side with 80s metal, New Age, the East, and more…From June to August, you can watch them live in the following venues:

http://events.myspace.com/Event/4844372/Festival-Celtic

If you don’t have an idea who Pierrick Lemou is, then you’ve missed out on life’s great musical pleasures. His fiddle plying is like no other because after all, he walks in two cultures: Breton style meets Irish influences. There is a softer and sweeter style in his playing. His arrangement is also eclectic in a sense that he derives from all sources, including the great jazz bassist Jaco Pastorious. I am personally getting a hang of him and he bleeds magi in every song. Check him out at   www.myspace.com/pierricklemou and  http://www.pierricklemou.com/Following the release of the much-awaited album Emerald, Alan Stivell is fully booked for the month of July and August. He also conducted an online chat with his fans (in Breton I guess) and
yes he will be on one of the biggest Celtic Festival this year ,

FESTIVAL INTERCELTIQUE LORIENT-ANORIANT, Breizh

Upcomming shows: http://events.myspace.com/Event/2301147/Alan-STIVELL

The amazing voice behind Danu Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh continues to soar the heights of musical success as her band promotes their new album “Seanchas” was released in April 2010. Listening to her full voice, it would be hard not to be loved. She has the mastery in the sean nos style of singing as well as great talents on the flute and tin-whistle. She is good friends with Scot Julie Fowlis  who collaborated with her on collaborated on the album “Dual”http://muireann.ie/biog.html . Expect to hear more from  Muireann .Please read   www.myspace.com/muireannmusic and muireann.ie . Beautiful photos courtesy of Bríd Ní Luasaigh

Follow her on facebook, and watch her on  youtube.

There is an amazing Celtic harpist in our midst that mixes music of all genres making the sound totally her own. Lily Neill has created such a stir in the music scene after the release of her debut album “Without Words “ in 2004. “Lily Neill speaks to us without words in this gentle and gracious recording. Once again the magic of the plucked string surrounds us and brings us to a place of special resonance and peace. There is something universal in this sound: no less than three of the tracks, for example, bring the Japanese Koto and Irish Harp together as if they were long lost cousins. A shared universal sonic gene comes through her fingers as if the music inside her is truly ancestral”.  Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, November 2006. www.myspace.com/lilyneill and www.LilyNeill.com

If you haven’t got the copy of John Spillane’s latest album (The Best of John Spillane, So Far, So Good, Like), then don’t miss out on this musical gem of an album.

John is a native of Cork, the county he lovingly describes as ‘the centre of the universe’, and it has been a huge influence on this singer/songwriter. Vocally, Spillane is quite unique with an almost sean nos like element and has been described as having a voice ‘full of honesty, commitment and sensitivity’.

…some of the most skillfully crafted, vividly realized songs anyone has written in Ireland over the past dozen years.’ Earle Hitchner, premier writer/reviewer for Irish Echo and The Wall Street Journal. www.johnspillane.com and   www.myspace.com/johnspillane .

With the release of the new record Love is the Way, we are greeted by a new Eddi Reader. This one is more breezy, country sounding and free spirited which is a departure from years of seeing her in those glasses and wild hair. I first became familiar with Eddi upon watching the Jools Holland show. Her voice is simply awesome and her personality is vibrant. As she says about the album: I have a passionate love of instinctive, beautiful songs. Also a slightly insane attachment to romantic chord structures. Words that speak of some universal humanist truth. That can be ‘thrown away’ with no regrets. This can be summed up in most of the songs on this record. Tour dates for this month and July:

Beverley Folk Festival
Flemingate, beverley
Friday 18th June 2010
West End Festival
Glasgow, Scotland
Tuesday 22nd June 2010
West End Festival
Glasgow, Scotland
Wednesday 23rd June 2010
Home Festival
Dartington, Devon
Saturday 26th June 2010
Draiocht Arts Centre
Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland
Saturday 10th July 2010
Glens Centre
County Leitrim, Ireland
Sunday 11th July 2010
Dunlewey Lakeside Centre
County Donegal, Ireland
Monday 12th July 2010
Bronte Music Club
Rathfriland, Ireland
Wednesday 14th July 2010
Celtic Fusion Festival
Castlewellan, County Down
Thursday 15th July 2010
An Droichead Centre
Belfast
Friday 16th July 2010

More on http://www.eddireader.co.uk/ and

www.myspace.com/eddireader

Clockwise from top: Lily Neill’s debut Without Words CD, The Best of John Spillane, Eddi Reader(Myspace) and Pierrick Lemou in motion.