Music of Ireland

A Look into the Future, A Nod into the Past (Including two Interviews)

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Celtic music…what do you think will happen and how social networking can influence your ways of getting heard.

Featuring: interviews with Enda Seery and Calum Stewart. Featured performances: Enda Seery, Calum STEWART & Heikki BOURGAULT, bands and a documentary.

As 2012 draws to a close, 2013 promises to be more exciting with the arrival of new albums. There are new bands out there who will probably reach our awareness next year. But these young people are fierce. They are armed with both the musical knowledge and tech savvy necessary in getting their music heard.

With technology  you have the power to make anything possible. But one must be aware that competition is all around. This is due to the sheer volume of music being released day after day. You  have to work twice as hard than before. There are musicians who became  friends and I  found that without being ‘involved’ socially then nothing can really come out of one’s effort.

Whither we like it or not, music is a social activity. You don’t write music for your own personal enjoyment. Whoever argues with this please raise your hand. Because I don’t believe in such a thing. Artists write music to be heard. If you think otherwise then you have to ask yourself if you are in the right business. With that said let me get into the main course which is of course music.

Enda Seery and A New Album Next Year

Enda Seery is working on a second album which will be released next year. I am looking forward to it because I love the way he plays. He has that style of playing that is hard to find these days. I’ve had many pleasures interviewing and featuring his works. Right now, he is busy doing interactive teaching. He is also working on other projects. His cousin Colin Nea also  released and album this year and he is  supporting the album.  I got questions about his new album. He answers them as best as he can. But before that, take a listen to this track!

An Luradán/Santa Cruz/Only for Barney (Jigs)
Final Performance for Masters in Traditional Irish Music Performance
Enda Seery-Sindt D whistle
Tom Delany-guitar
An Luradán composed by Junior Crehan
Santa Cruz composed by Enda Seery
Only for Barney composed by Josephine Keegan
Recorded live at Theatre at The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick, September 11th 2012
Recording Engineer: Niall Keegan

Here is another version of the track above without the talking in the intro. For those who just like the music.  In my case I like them all. Just saying 😉

Enda Seery talks about the upcoming album

How’s the second album doing?

Second album is coming along quite well. This is a big release for me with two years and a bit since The Winding Clock release and music being more or less my career now. Recording is finished. At the mixing and editing stage now and all the other details that come with releasing an album. Check out my blogs on tradconnect. Oh by the way, the album will be called ‘Síocháin na Tuaithe’ (Peace of the Countryside)!

You will be doing vocals in two of these tracks. This will be the first time I will hear you sing. Were you nervous?

Not that nervous to be honest but I suppose a little. I have been singing a while since being in my family’s céilí and pub band we had many years ago. I enjoyed recording the vocals in studio but singing live will be a different matter altogether! I spend so much time composing and researching other instrumental and dance tunes that I forget about looking for songs so this will have to change.

 What can we expect on the second album?

Well more of my compositions will be included. Nearly 10 in total between jigs, reels, hornpipes and slow pieces. A good bit of material and new tunes was got from my time on the Masters in Trad Performance course at University of Limerick. I had an absolutely brilliant year there. Also some duet and trio tracks will be on the new album with some great musicians I met in Limerick. I have expanded the repertoire on this album too as to not focus entirely on jigs and reels. I suppose the big change will be the songs and also the flute tracks along with my regular whistle playing tracks.

Ahoy! can’t wait to get my hands on that new album next year!

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Calum STEWART & Heikki BOURGAULT – “L’heure avant l’Aube”

I had a pleasure putting Calum Stewart as part of my featured artist of the week. It is also amazing to see his project with Breton artist Heikki Bourgault take off. Calum drops by for a little chat about the video. Cool guy. But before reading that, check this video out.

Published on Dec 18, 2012

“L’heure avant l’Aube”

trad / Calum Stewart – arrangements Calum Stewart & Heikki Bourgault

http://www.calumheikki.com

Calum talks about the video:

Can you tell us the whole experience making this video?

We recorded this video in an amazing venue, called Amzer Nevez: Near Lorient, in Brittany. It’s a venue strongly associated with Breton music, and the promotion of the Breton language, dance and song.

Can you give us a little background about this track?

The track is a set of 2 reels. The first I picked up while in Belfast, Ireland. It’s normally played a little more layed back than the way we do it: but we like this groove with the 2nd reel. The 2nd was written at 4.30am during the amazing Shetland Folk Festival: “L’heure avant l’haube” (The hour before dawn)!

What’s upcoming for Calum STEWART & Heikki BOURGAULT this 2013?

2012 has been a really busy year for the duo, and we’ll keep things moving in 2013. We are working on an album release for late 2013, which features a new repertoire. It’s always great to move onto new ground and keep things fresh!

Hmm late 2013 seems like a long time when you think about the sheer artistry of these two! But yes let us enjoy the current repertoire and let the music enrich our souls.

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Featured trad video:The Steeple Session withConal Ó Grada, Dave Sheridan, Benny McCarthy and Colm Murphy

A nod to the past:

These songs appeared in my facebook status after fever hit me. I was getting all nostalgic and these bands and artists popped in my head . I realized that they are like anchor to the new bands I feature week after week and it is always great to look back and realize how music has evolved through the years.

Originating from Argyll, a region of western Scotland it’s Capercaillie with Waiting For The Wheel To Turn from LP Delirium (1991)
Karen Matheson — Vocals
Charlie McKerron — Fiddle
Manus Lunny — Bouzouki, guitar
Michael McGoldrick — Flute, whistle, Uilleann pipes
Donald Shaw — Keyboards, accordion
Ewen Vernal — Bass
Che Beresford — Drums
David “Chimp” Robertson — Percussion

“Coisich, A Rùin (Come On, My Love)”actually made it to the UK top 40 …lyrics in Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig)

I still listen to ” Hi How Are You Today” by Cape Breton artist Ashley MacIsaac.In this track he is joined by Mary Jane Lammond singing in Cape Breton Gaelic. One of the reasons why I want to see the East Coast of Canada one day.

From Brittany…beautiful place fin the North west of France ..The father of Celtic harp music Alan Stivell.

Also from Brittany Cecile Corbel. At 18, she went to Paris to study archeology, still dreaming of music. Concert after concert in Parisian pubs and cafes, she self-produced her album Songbook 1, soon noticed by the label Keltia Musique (Sinead O’Connor, Loreena McKennit).

From Manitoba Canada, Loreena McKennitt studied to be a veterinarian but Celtic music took her away.

And…last Clannad and Bono of U2: From the album Macalla which is Irish Gaelic for Echo. I think this is really cool in a sense that it’s the first time fans of New Wave music and Irish music got together in the mid 80s to cheer for this amazing song.

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Irish Folk Music Revival – Documentary (90mins)

I took down notes while watching this documentary. For those who think it is long, I list down the names of speakers and artists who appeared in chronological order…These  are very familiar names that are in this documentary:

Ronnie Drew speaks(he appears all over), Bob Geldof(he also appears all throughout) the voice of Eamon Devalera, writer John Waters, Martin Hayes (also appearing many times),Paddy Moloney,….. watch the part around 7:15 ,Willie Clancy,Anne Briggs,Johnny Moynihan,Philip Chevron of the Pogues,Teada,Eamon Carr of Horslips,
writers:Brendan Behan appears with Patrick Kavanaghand Flann O’Brien, Paddy Glackin,The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem…

Sean Limmas, writer Joe Kennedy, The Dubliners, Christy Moore,Pecker Dunne,Sean O’Riada who added the orchestral movement to trad music in the mid 60s…
Johnny Moynihan, Donal Lunny and around 1968, the Troubles.
Terry Woods ofSweeney’s Men,Andy Irvine..this is the period when the bouzouki was introduced in Irish music….
Planxty, journalist Peter Lennon, ..the 70s was sweeped by the Planxty phenomenon, then Horslips happened in the mid 70s, Thin Lizzy followed, Then The Chieftains, Clannad, DeDannan and the rest…The Bothy Band took where Planxty left off, Paddy Glackin..
The 80s where irish music became prominent brought by the popularity The Boomtown Rats, U2 etc.
The Pogues, Neil Hannon of The Devine Comedy comments,the difference being London Irish and Irish Irish, Kristy Mccoll,
Then..the birth of Celtic Music spearheaded by Clannad through the evolution of their sound in the mid 80s…oh goosebumps!Maire Brennan appears in a clip. Also the lil bit about the Brennans.

Then came the 90s happened with sound clip from Sinead O’Connor,Mary Black, The Sharron Shannon Band,the rise of Irish women!

In the 2000s with Michael Flatley, Riverdance, Damien Dempsey the documentary closes with Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill playing a tune.

http://youtu.be/39D0J8SzQMA

I hope you enjoyed this post as I did writing it..even during my fever. I am working on another interview article and more music.

The Advent Edition

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In this issue: Thomas Johnston, Christmas by Baltic Crossing,The Bog Hoppers, Enda Seery’s Blog,Happy Birthday Kevin Crawford(December 6),Celtic Rebels Band,McDermott’s 2 Hours – Stor Mo Chroi and  Affiniti.

Moving on with the week full of new music and bands.

Thomas Johnston

Thomas Johnston

Thomas Johnston

For the past five years, Thomas Johnson has been doing his PhD on traditional music in education. Performing took a backseat. He is finally finishing up and soon he will be working with other musicians. For now he was telling me that there’s nothing much to talk about. But if you have seen the two videos I posted here, you can tell that he has a LOT to say as far as teaching music is concerned.

Thomas is warm and charismatic and these qualities translate well in his teaching method. He loves to discuss about many interesting points about music and other intellectual pursuits. Since he is currently doing a lot of research on how Irish traditional music is taught, he has a lot of recordings which he did with other musicians, which he said he hopes to make them into his solo work next year.

So what’s his music like? He sent me a recording he did with other musicians. According to him: “I’m playing a tune (on a low F Colin Goldie whistle) called ‘Crinniu Na Mbad’ which means ‘Gathering Of The Boats’.  It was composed by Sean Quinn (fiddle player from New York).  I recorded it with Sean Og Graham (guitar) and Liam Bradley (keys) for a musical project some years ago.”

I hope you enjoy this one as I did. He will soon be our featured artist as he answers questions related to his teaching and playing.

A live performance from O’Connor’s bar in Doolin, Co. Clare, Ireland, during the launch of the Online Academy of Irish Music in April 2011. This session was webcast on http://www.LiveTrad.com. The tunes are Johnny Cronin’s, Molly Bawn, The Sandmount and Martin Mulhaire’s. The musicians involved are Eoin O’Neill on bouzouki, Yvonne Casey & Majella Bartley on fiddle, Mikie Smyth on uilleann pipes, Stephen Markham on piano, Kirsten Allstaff & Niall Keegan on flute and Thomas Johnston on whistle.

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Christmas by Baltic Crossing

Through our exchange, Thomas sent me a link to this video. It is very timely. These are musicians from Denmark. I always consider Danish musicians as really good in whatever musical field are in, be it electronic or in this case Celtic. I bookmarked this one and will be playing this in days to come!

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The Bog Hoppers

The Bog Hoppers

The Bog Hoppers

Combining the rebellious spirit of punk and the melodic Celtic folk style, Seattle based The Bog Hoppers are gaining fans not just in their hometown but also all over the United States. It is through their awesome recordings and energetic live shows that they are able to win listeners and Boggers as I call them. I admit their track Cod Liver Oil  caught me by surprise because I thought the low sound was a didgeridoo until I realized it’s a male voice only sang so low. It’s really worth a listen.

I love the fact that their music is lively without being noisy or too intrusive. It has all the right ingredients of a good recording that can be listened to again and again. Instrumentally, I think the band are seasoned and you can really sense the effort they put in every song in their debut album. Learn more about them here: http://www.reverbnation.com/theboghoppers

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Enda Seery’s Blog

Irish musician Enda Seery who released the highly acclaimed album The Winding Clock is working on his second album. All of the info are documented in his TradConnect Blog. He is also offering skype lessons which you might want to check out. I love the humorous tone in his writings. But check the video below. He is a pro as far as teaching is concerned. Trivia: he used to be an English teacher. He is also teaching Gaelic. I am afraid his blogging would take my readers away! Hahaha. Cheers Enda. You are awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBiSxJ3N3tU

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Happy Birthday Kevin Crawford(December 6)
The Celtic Music Fan wishes Kevin Crowford a happy birthday today!!!! Here he is playing the wooden flute during the  Killarney School of Music Award Ceremony. Kevin is adding more years, more talent and more wisdom in his music!

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Celtic Rebels Band

Now for something different, you might want to check out the music of The Celtic Rebels Band from New Jersey. Very soothing. I was listening to this over hot tea and biscuits while looking at the beautiful sunset. Kind of  a sad song but the melody makes you warm.

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McDermott’s 2 Hours – Stor Mo Chroi

I got the hang of these band’s music. They’re one of those influential bands that emerged from the UK. The latest news says: Their latest, long-delayed, but much anticipated album, Besieged, is due for release in 2013. Live work has not been a feature in recent times, but Nick Burbridge also collaborated with Tim Cotterell on an acoustic album, Gathered, released in 2012 to great critical acclaim, continuing a long commitment to making music for its own sake, without commercial aspirations, but aimed to take its place in the idiom.

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Something Pop and Classical: Rebirth
by Affiniti

I am sure genre aficionados will go ahead and get a taste of this new offering from these three talented musicians: Soprano Emer Barry, violinist Mary McCague and harpist Aisling Ennis. If you want your music dreamy and easy then sample their album from the link below and tell me what you think.

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/affiniti

Cillian Doheny: My Life as a Member of a Traditional Irish Band(Interview)

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Also in this edition: The Picts and Flutatious

Cillian Doheny; All Ireland Champion.

Riding the thunder: Apart from jamming with U2’s Bono and The Edge, Cillian Doheny gives us an insider’s look at the life of a musician in a traditional Irish band.

Cillian Doheny is based in Limerick Ireland. He plays the Tenor Banjo, Nylon & Steel String Guitar and  Mandola for Moxie. The band will release their first music video in January of 2013. They will also release their debut album next year. We will see the future of this amazing trad Irish band taking off and wowing listeners in both sides of the Atlantic.

What is it like to be a young musician playing in a trad band? Especially for someone who has bagged an All Ireland Winner title on Tenor Banjo under 18 years at the All Ireland Fleadh Ceoil held in  August 2009? Ha! You shall find out. His recordings can be found in his Myspace music page.

Music is created through friendships with other musicians. This how the trad scene  continues to flourish. I notice more and more young ones getting into the music, performing and creating them. I see a bright future in the traditional Celtic music scene. It is a world that continues to blossom with such vigor that will make even those who don’t normally listen to such music stop in their steps and listen.

I appreciate this interview with Cillian. He is down to earth, enthusiastic and he also loves promoting other musicians. These qualities make him such a great asset to those whom he collaborates with. So other than the terrific banjo playing, with fingers that move like lightning, this young man is in the right and exciting path.

Your bio says you started playing music since you were 11. Now you have mastered theTenor Banjo, the Guitar (nylon and steel), Bouzouki, Bodhrán and Mandolin. What is your main instrument now and why?

My main instrument would have to be the tenor banjo. The reason for this is my love for the sound of the instrument. I’ve also found that it’s very adaptable in most genres of music as well as traditional Irish music, which is great news to my ears.

In one unique occasion you jammed with U2’s Bono and The Edge. How did this happen and how was the experience?

This experience was one of a kind and a great opportunity to catch up with the U2 members and see what they were like. Although they had a hectic day of travelling with their flight having to be rerouted to Shannon from Dublin due the bad weather at the time, they were very friendly, good fun and loved the music.

You have a new band called Moxie. Can you give us a brief timeline of the band’s activities up to the release of the debut album next year?

We formed the band at the annual Sligo Live festival in 2011 and since then we’ve been getting on great. At the moment we are looking at releasing our new EP, recorded and mastered in Big Banna Studios,Co. Antrim by Seán Óg Graham which will hopefully be available before Christmas. We have played at festivals such as Celtic Fringe Festival ( Jun 2012), North Atlantic Fiddle Convention ( Jun 2012), All Ireland Fleadh ( Aug 2012 ), Tuam Traditional Festival ( Sep 2012 ) and of course we just made our second appearance at Sligo Live this year which turned out to be a huge success for us a year on. We have plans to bring out our debut album in late 2013 but we’re not rushing with anything yet as there is plenty of time to perfect the sound and we are also waiting on a band member to finish out his exams.

What is so great being in a trad band composed of young people your age?

Tenor banjo master

I suppose the best thing about it without a doubt is the craic that we have. We grew up with each other playing music while having great fun all down through the years, to all of us that means a lot and without that it wouldn’t be what it is.

Do you have a kind of routine when you start recording with the band? And also, what do you do to make sure you give optimum performance both in recording and playing live?

Well I am going to use the overused and sometimes overlooked statement, “practice makes perfect”. Once the music is tight and everyone is comfortable with the arrangements, that’s when we can relax and work on the sound as a whole.

If given a power to change the music scene, what are the things you want to happen?

If I was given the power to change the music scene I would make undiscovered artist’s / band’s music widely available to the worldwide public. There are so many amazing musicians out there that don’t get the recognition that they deserve due to lack of funding or funding authorities making it difficult for up and coming artists to get recognized.

Please complete this sentence: When I am not playing music I………..

When not playing music I am usually writing music, listening to music, practicing or going to see gigs with friends. I also enjoy photography and I am a bit of a technology freak too.

What is something you can’t live without when you go on a tour?

Well I’ve had a long think about this and the answer would probably have to be my hair straightener… Kidding! My iPod would definitely be one of my prized possessions on tour, as I would most likely go insane without it.

Moxie on stage

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The Picts

Members:

Grant McConnell- Accordions, Guitars, Bass, Vocals and anything else he can get his hands on..Douglas McQueen Hunter – Vocals, Guitars, Mandolins, 5 String Banjo and things that need plucked….Jeremy Stirling- Keyboards, Pianos and things that need plonked….

David Murray- Pipes, Whistles, Mouth-organ and things you blow.

Neil McDonald- Drums, Percussion and thing that need hit

Tracy Carmichael – Technical advisor, lighting and sound, driver and stage manager and anything that requires sorting.
Hometown Glasgow & East Lothian

Hypnotic,energetic and stunning! The Picts are a part of a New Wave of Celtic bands hailing from Scotland.   According to the band’s bio:

Formed in February 1997, The Picts have become one of the most popular live acts on the folk rock and concert scene. They have reached out with their unique brand of celtic rock and captivated hundreds of audiences both at home and abroad. There is a considerable influence of original material combined with the traditional. The songs and instrumentals are upbeat, powerful and irresistible for dancing, yet retain their original sentiment, feeling and intimacy.

A lengthy bio can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/thepicts/info

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A new album out by Flutatious!

I am in the process of writing a review of this album by UK based Celtic fusion band Flutatious. Watch out for that one. You can purchase the album here: http://www.flutatious.co.uk/store/

Patrick D’Arcy:Pure Pipes (Interview)

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Also in this edition: Eve Mctelenn, The Whistling Tree and Will Tun & The Wasters.

 

From Dublin Ireland to California, Patrick D’Arcy maintained the soul of the uilleann pipes and other wind instruments …making one realize that it is innate passion , not geography that keeps the spirit of the music alive.

Patrick D’Arcy

This week’s featured artist is the smooth man of the uilleann pipes, Patrick D’Arcy. I was literally captivated by his album Wallop the Spot that I had to get his ideas into cyber print for everyone’s pleasure. The album cover shows the charismatic musician grinning away from the camera to his left. The immaculate  instrument is poised ready to be played. Oxford Dictionaries define Wallop as : to strike or hit very hard(verb) or a heavy blow or punch (noun). The title speaks for the album. I think the notes are given more volume and mass with the absence of other instruments. You can literally feel as if each note  is being punched out of the instrument. He made the pipes very intimate giving a lot of angles to be appreciated including the drones. I enjoyed this conversation with Patrick and I hope you do as well.

The uilleann pipes became a star instrument in your hands. What kind of techniques have you developed so far after years of playing?

Thank you Baxter! I don’t think I do anything unusual as far as technique on the instrument goes. I use traditional techniques I’ve picked up over they years from other players and teachers by attending schools like The Willie Clancy Summer School in Clare, Ireland, and also by attending Tionól all over the US. These techniques would include cuts, rolls, triplets, crans and various other finger manipulations to trick the reed into believing that it’s supposed to be playing music and not standing dead in a marsh in California somewhere. Where these techniques are placed in relation to the beat would effect greatly the feel of the tune being played. Also the tempo at which the tune is played. I enjoy a less hurried pace to the music, trying to find feeling in tunes rather than just the thump on the floor.

You are very active in terms of networking with other musicians and creating piping sessions all over California. Has there been a dramatic change in terms of audience attendance now that it is so easy to network with listeners all over the web?

Not that I’ve noticed. When I began it was just before the onslaught of the internet anyway, the early 90’s, so I’ve always been able to email with other like-minded psycho’s. There was a great message board called The Uilleann Pipes Information List where everyone with access to a computer from complete beginners to pipemakers could share thought’s, ideas and opinions and gather information. I suppose people don’t seem as far away as they used to. Nowadays everything is available online. Every rare bit of footage and recording is there to be found and downloaded. It’s overwhelming really the amount of material there is out there. It is a matter of finding what you like and learning it intensely which will lead on to other musician’s and styles. Everything leads to something else.

What has been most memorable experience you had making Wallop the Spot?


Wallop The Spot album
by Patrick D’Arcy

Going for taco’s with Bryan Dobbs, my producer. I like food, but he is intensely into traditional Latino food. A place close to him is a small chain called Rigo’s Taco. After a day of recording we would refuel there and return to the studio for the rest of the night. Also, the recording got me back into listening to music. I hadn’t consciously been listening to traditional music for a while apart from the CD’s I have in my car on rotation at all times. Tommy Peoples, Tommy Reck, Bobby Casey, Willie Clancy and Darach Ó Catháin.
Every time I drive they are playing.
And as I live in Los Angeles, California, that would appear to be quite a bit!

 What’s your favorite track(s) off the album? And why?

I like tracks 2 (The Hag with the Money, The High Part of the Road,The Girl from the Big House ), 3 (The Green Fields of America) and 12 (My Bonny Blue Eyed Lassie). I love playing airs on the pipes and particularly these two. They seem epic to me. I also like track 4, (An Buachaill Dreóite), on the C whistle. It has a nice skip to it that I like. I was very happy with how the pipes recorded, especially the B set… there’s some whack off them! We spent a lot of time getting the sound right. I wanted to reproduce an authentic sound that allowed the listener to experience the pipes in a way that the player usually only gets to enjoy, like you are inside the instrument feeling the reeds buzzing all around you.

 Being Irish and now residing in the United States, do you keep a strong bond with your friends and fellow musicians in Ireland?

I like to think so. It is hard enough due to the distance but, like we were talking about earlier, the internet helps. Everyone is on Facebook so at least we get to see, silently sometimes, what each-other is up to. It is always nice to get together with people when I go home on holiday or on tour. Time can be limited but it’s an important part of those trips.

Having a tune at the Grand Ole Opry. — with Ricky Skaggs and Keith and Kristyn Getty at Grand Ole Opry.

 If you were given a chance to collaborate with another musician for a side project, whom would you like to work with and why?

Wow! … Liam Howlett of The Prodigy! … I think there could be some mad music made in that collaboration 🙂 I have so much admiration for other traditional Irish musician’s that I would be reluctant to impose my musicianship on them! I’d love to get a good trad band together though. It’s very hard thing to do in Los Angeles as there aren’t that many players and they’re all doing their own thing. Having said that though we do have a nice couple of sessions each week that I enjoy. Particularly the one at Timmy Nolan’s in Toluca Lake, my regular Tuesday night session. It is so important for publican’s to be enthusiastic about the music. The owner there is and takes very good care of us. It makes the atmosphere better and the music too! I love it when traditional musician’s from other cultures get together and come up with a hi-bred. Like Spillane, Irvine, Whelan and Parov did with Eastwind or Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh does with Swedish music. Liam O’FLynn also did it with Carlos Nuñez and the Galician tradition. I think Indian music would be a great combination with Irish music, maybe because of the drone commonality? I have had a the great pleasure of playing with Vikash and Prabash Maharaj from Varanasi, India. They are a father and son duo on sarod and tabla. They are consummate musicians – it would be very interesting to record something with them. I also like playing with bluegrass musicians and have had the privilege of playing with some of the best in Nashville like Ricky Skaggs, Ron Block, Andy Leftwich and Ross Holmes. It just grooves in a different way that can be interesting sometimes.

Pat that’s really a good idea…collaboration keeps creativity flowing! So what will we see you doing in the next few months?

I have a Christmas tour coming up with modern hymn writers Keith & Kristyn Getty http://www.gettymusic.com – It begins the end of November and runs until just before Christmas. There are rehearsals between now and that beginning. I am promoting my CD “Wallop The Spot” like crazy and it’s going very well. If you are a radio show host or write album reviews please contact me!
The official website of modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn Getty
www.gettymusic.com

In January I will be reassessing what to do next. Possibly a house concert/folk club tour? Any venues interested please contact me also.

Please complete this sentence: Music is………………………………………………………..

…what I am. All my life I’ve been eaten up with it… I’m just happy it’s not a disease… or is it!?!!? I wonder if there’s a generic medicine I can take to help cure it 😉

Parting words to your readers and fans?

Thanks for all the support! It is always so nice to meet people when I am out playing that know of my music. Please come up and say hello when I am in your town. And spread the word! <subtle hint>You know Christmas is coming up 😉 </subtle hint>

 Patrick is performing all over California. If you have the time please visit his sites below and also buy Wallop the Spot as a step in getting to know the uilleann pipes.

Other resources

Please visit his bandcamp page : http://patrickdarcy.bandcamp.com/

Video samples:

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Featured video: Will Tun & The Wasters live @ the Baz Bunker, Norwich.

Ok these guys are crazy! I mean crazy as in fun and amazing. A big thank you to Will Tun and The Wasters for sending me the link to their live video via twitter. It made my morning. Yes yes yes good spirits.

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Post Halloween Amusement: JACK O LANTERN STORY by Eve Mctelenn – jack à la lanterne

Those who frequent the Celtic Harp Facebook page aren’t strangers to Eve Mctelenn’s music. This one is a fine example on how story telling and music can enchant and inspire. Yes this is done in French but it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. Just Listen…and listen..and you will love the sounds and the music. I am serious.

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Featured site: The Whistling Tree

This is a new site devoted to those who want to learn and share the music of the tin whistle. The creator of this page is concentrating more on twitter feeds for now. But with more members, things will definitely change. Better hit the ‘like’ button 😀

https://www.facebook.com/TheWhistlingTree

https://twitter.com/WhistlingTree

Visual Artist and Musician Eva McCauley: The Power of Light and Air (Interview)

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Also in this edition: NUA

Eva McCauley & InVisible

A painter’s paradise: Eva McCauley talks about how in Ireland, “the air is infused with moisture, and because of that, there is a luminosity to the light  that is very unique, and an incredible thing for a painter to experience.”

Technology has a way of bringing visual artists and musicians together. Art has become multimedia. Eva McCauley explores the mystical side of painting and print making with her installation works. Inspired by technology’s ability to create something new and her love for evocative spirit of the Irish landscape, she created haunting and beautiful artworks. These are hanging illustrations rendered in a way that light and occasional wind play tricks on them. If musicians like Loreena McKennitt, Moya Brennan, Enya and Connie Dover have talents that can transport you with their voices and melodies, then Eva McCauley is the visual counterpart of such power.

Hi Eva, welcome to The Celtic Music Fan artist of the week edition! Your prints are fascinating. Can you give us a brief background on the things that inspire your work…these are beautiful ‘ghostly’ creations of paintings printed on scrims of fabric (silk oraganza) and hung from the ceiling in multiple layers to create an installation.

My recent print media installation “In/Visible”  was exhibited in Cork, Ireland this past August/September at the beautiful Wandesford Quay Gallery . As you say, the images are larger-than-life faces printed on transparent silk-like fabric (42” X 96”),  making them appear almost ephemeral, wafting in the breeze as people walk by.

The images are originally created as hand-pulled prints (monotypes & lithographs)  and then are digitally captured, enlarged and printed on fabric (PolyVoile) using a wide format Agfa Aquajet printer. The faces came to me as a result of my experience living in a pre-famine stone cottage on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean on the rugged southwestern coast of Ireland, where I was taking part in an artist residency in a very old village  called Cill Rialaig, which has become  an internationally renowned artist retreat, created by Noelle Campbell-Sharpe Although I wouldn’t consider myself to be superstitious, after  living and painting  in this  stone cottage  every day for a month,  I became aware of the invisible but tangible  presence of human beings, who may have lived in these stone dwellings in the past.

My show, called “In/Visible”, gave these “ghosts”, or apparitions,  a larger-than-life presence in the exhibition. The large faces were interspersed with large photographic images of the skies and water, so that they melded with each other, creating a multi-layered layered effect, so that the viewer could see through each ghostly image to what was behind.

 Your travels to Ireland inspired most of your artworks. What was the most memorable thing about your travels there.

As a a painter I was struck by the quality of the light. Since Ireland is an island, and it rains almost every day, the air is infused with moisture, and because of that, there is a luminosity to the light  that is very unique, and an incredible thing for a painter to experience. It really is  a painter’s paradise.  And the people in Ireland are the salt of the earth…incredibly kind, generous, always have time to talk and tell stories, in spite of the incredibly stress they are experiencing as a result of their tanking economy.

The other aspect of Ireland that influences my art is the music—I play traditional Irish music on the fiddle, mandolin and concertina, and when I’m in Ireland I become totally immersed in the local music session scene, and the local people who play the music have become great friends. I listen to the music continually when I paint, and it’s become an integral part of my work.

You have a strong affinity for things Irish/Scottish …. this is a strong influence in your art. Even your son Jacob is a world renowned Bodhran player. What was the earliest memory you have being exposed to the Celtic culture.

My father, Robert McCauley,  is the Irish side of my family. He plays the harmonica and Irish tin whistle by ear (and incredibly well!), and I grew up listening to him play. He took me to Ireland for the first time in 2002, and I was instantly smitten! Since then, I have been back to Ireland 4 times (and my son Jacob often flies over with me, and then takes off on his own travels in Ireland and Scotland) in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012 (for 6 week visits), and am looking forward to returning next summer for another artist residency in Cill Rialaig, Kerry. I then hope to return to the little village of Glendree (near Feakle) in East Clare for the music and to visit friends.

 You are presently the Founder & Director of Riverside Celtic College, Guelph, Ontario. What can students learn going to this place?

We offer classes in traditional Irish and Scottish music (Irish Fiddle, bodhran, Irish Flute, Scottish Smallpipes, Mandolin and Tenor Banjo, Guitar accompaniment, Tinwhistle, Introductory Violin and Celtic Song) as well as Irish Language and Irish Ceili & Set Dancing.  We also host  trad sessions for students, as well as traditional music concerts with musicians, (both internationally renowned and emerging), from all over the world. Often we’ll offer trad music workshops in conjunction with the concerts.

In 2012 we’ve had concerts with musicians like renowned fiddlers Tony Demarco & Patrick Ourceau, brilliant Galway fiddler Maeve Donnelly with guitarist Andy Hillhouse,  the amazing Irish flute player and singer Nuala Kennedy with fiddler Dana Lyn and guitarist Andy Hillhouse, and  look forward to upcoming concerts with the new trad trio Nua (fiddler James Law, guitarist Graeme McGillivray and bodhran player Jacob McCauley)  as well as a joint concert in December featuring Bua and North Atlantic Drift.

We have 52 mutual friends in facebook. And you are also very active in networking. But tell me, how effective is social network sites in terms of getting people to attend shows…especially in terms of those you invited within Ontario. 

I think that it’s a great way to get the word out, as more and more people are on Facebook.  And it’s an excellent way to keep people informed of what going on in one’s life and career, especially if you’re travelling, and touring around Ireland and having shows!

The Riverside Celtic Society is turning lots of heads these days. Can you tell us more about it?

I founded Riverside Celtic College in the village of Elora Ontario, in 2003, when I was first getting into learning how to play the fiddle. I was instantly addicted to the instrument, and traditional Irish  music, but was having trouble finding instructors to teach Irish fiddling.

I started the school, partly because I wanted to learn how to play, but also wanted to turn other people on to the music. I also found that after my trips to Ireland, I would come back to Ontario and crave the intimacy and richness of the Irish culture that I’d left behind me, and had a desire to create that same feeling of community in Ontario.

So, in addition to starting the school, my close friends and I started a traditional Irish pub session at the Shepherd’s Pub, in Elora, Ontario, Canada, that has been going for almost 13 years! Since then, the school has evolved into a really special and unique non-profit organization that seems to attract the most wonderful folks to its classes and events.

Riverside Celtic Society has recently received a major catalyst to its growth and evolution as an organization: we received a generous two year grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which has proven to be a  very positive development, allowing us to offer  a new educational outreach series of  music/dance performances called the “Kitchen Party”, as well as hosting an exciting new concert series (including music  workshops),  called the RCC Traditional Music Concert Series “Live Trad at the Albion”.

We have also recently received generous donations from a group of former students, to create a a new traditional music scholarship, in memory of a dear former student who, sadly, passed away in June 2011, the Tom Kelly Music Scholarship.  Ar RCC, we’ve essentially put our energy towards creating a community of like-minded people,  who love the music and culture of Ireland and Scotland, and want to share that passion.

What albums are you listening to these days and what music would you recommend to us?

After spending time in East Clare this past summer, and going to the Feakle Festival (and spending time with my good friend Maeve Donnelly), I’ve been immersing myself in the music of Clare: “The Thing Itself” with Maeve Donnelly and Peadar O’Loughlin, “The Shores of Lough Graney” with Martin Hayes and P. Joe Hayes, the albums of Dennis Liddy and Michael Hynes “Waifs and Strays”, and “Spectacle Bridge”,  and I love John McEvoy’s album  “Traditional Irish Fiddle”, as well as the album “The Kilmore Fancy”, recorded with his sister, the brilliant Irish Flute player, Catherine McEvoy.

The most recent recording I’ve been excited about is the soon-to-be-launched EP of the new trad trio, NUA (full length CD to released in 2013), with fiddler James Law, guitarist Graeme McGillivray, and bodhran player, Jacob McCauley, which features some really exciting original music that, while grounded in traditional Scottish music, is really innovative and experimental in its approach.

Who is Eva McCauley as a mom and as a friend?

An artist and musician…equally addicted to both!   www.evamccauley.com   www.riversidecelticcollege.ca 

Art samples:

Eva McCauley: Invisible

Eva McCauley:Invisible

Cill Rialaig Sky

Night Swimmers III

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NUA

A addictive traditional brew is being served courtesy of  award-winning fiddle player James M Law, versatile & tasteful guitarist Graeme McGillivray and award-winning bodhrán player Jacob McCauley. Stylish, delicate at times and mostly energetic, Nua is a trio that’s sure to captivate and please listeners. I am a big fan of Jacob McCauley’s drumming style as he brings layers of expression to the bodhran. Graeme McGillivray’s wispy strums create an envelope of steady rhythm to the laser preciseness of James M Law’s fiddling.

NUA live in Guelph, April 2012. Original composition by NUA

NUA is an innovative new trad trio, bringing a fresh and unique sound to traditional music, creating their own distinctive flavour with both original and traditional compositions from Ireland and Scotland. Based in Toronto, Canada, NUA consists of three members: award-winning fiddle player James M Law, versatile & tasteful guitarist Graeme McGillivray and award-winning bodhrán player Jacob McCauley. The interaction between the three is what really makes the music shine, whether it be their soaring melodies or tasteful grooves. The trio is also well known for their exciting incorporation of odd time signatures and poly rhythms, which give the music an electrifying lift and spontaneity.

Each member adds their own distinctive sound and influence to the music. Although they are a trio with a sole melody player, the brilliant multi-tasking of each member is demonstrated countless times with perhaps a guitar-driven flat-picked melody, rhythmic fiddle playing, or melodic bodhrán playing to add to the mix. The ability for each member to take on multiple roles is one of the staples of NUA. This adds to a thrilling live experience, and a “you just don’t know what’s coming next” approach!

NUA is currently preparing for the release of their first E.P and their debut album to be released early 2013.

More of Nua here: https://www.facebook.com/TRIONUA