Music

New Album by The Folkalists Now Available Free for Two Weeks!

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The Folkalists

Laughter is the best medicine. If you can find someone making funny tunes while maintaining musical excellence (and serious face) then he/she is on my top list. This is the case of Northern Irish band The Folkalists. From the first to last track all I get to hear are great vibes, amazing melodies and yes awesome humor. The world is harsh enough to dwell on too much angst(I had many for the past few days) and it isn’t healthy in the long run. Pickin Up The Change is the remedy.

Dee McIlroy, Eugene Glenn and Barry Skeff aren’t scared to poke fun at situations. They don’t take themselves too seriously which is a great thing. That is why these songs just come through right away. The degree of heartfelt humour and talent are  perfect addition to my collection of Irish albums! They made it to my top categories.

Dee has an amazing voice. It’s warm, mellow but with a great range. It is also an expressive instrument. The melodies are gorgeous. Their music falls on the folk/country side with echoes of traditional Irish flavour. Walking in the Sunshine is my personal ‘hit’ song because it is catchy, upbeat and artfully crafted. Just Can’t Find the Words is another favorite of mine. It’s a love song that reminds me a little bit of Crosby Stills  Nash & Young with a tinge of America. I swear I find no weak tracks in this album. This is really well conceived and flawlessly executed. They really make the songs shine with their vocal harmonization.

The instruments used in this recording are fantastic. The mixing sounds great. I look forward to more releases from The Folkalists because they are really nice to be around. We all need this music!

Like them in facebook: https://www.facebook.com/folkalists?fref=ts

http://www.folkalists.webspace.virginmedia.com/

Celtic Music Fan Podcast # 7

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This is the podcast version of my radio show last Saturday at http://www.radiohappy.eu. Yes just music without me talking. I have added links to the band page and yes you better listen to my fantastic interview with Fraser Fifield!

The Indulgers-Ceili Mor
Qristina Bachand; Quinn Bachand-Spootiskerry/High Road to Linton/Big John McNeil
Keltic Trancefusion-Abberance
Fraser Fifield and Graeme Stephen-Esotero
Interview with Fraser Fifield
Ensemble Eriu-Jurna
Irish Moutarde-Glasses to the Sky
Taran Celt-Taran
Kyle Carey-One Morning in May

www.radiohappy.eu

Forthcoming album by Fraser Fifield and Graeme Stephen ‘Esotero’

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Fraser Fifield

Scottish multi- instrumentalist Fraser Fifield has teamed up once again with Greame Stephen for another delightful instrumental album called Esotero. Release date in unconfirmed but it will be soon. They’re like the Starsky and Hutch of Scottish instrumental music. I have listened to two tracks which Fraser posted on soundcloud and facebook and I say they are fab! Of course you will be expecting these things: haunting tunes, abstract melodies, traditional instruments, jazz and rock influences and traditional Scottish flavour. So it is going to be a buffet! Can’t wait for it.

Fraser Fifield’s career stretches back to more than a decade comprising of albums and collaborations with other artists. What’s more fascinating is that he welcomes all types of genres and he isn’t afraid to experiment. I recall one of the reviews I read where the journalist remarks that he plays the traditional instrument like a jazz musician and the jazz instruments like a Celtic musician. He has the best of both worlds. You can hear more of these things in my interview which will be aired this Saturday October 12 4pm German time. We had a great time doing that interview and he even played a tune on the spot. Yes no rehearsal. I will also be playing the title track Esotero this Saturday.

I am looking forward to the release of Esotero and anything from the Fraser Fifield and Graeme Stephen collaboration is always a work of magic!

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Lament is my favorite track from ‘Honest Water’, released in 2002… A tune dedicated to his Grandmother, Minnie Davidson of Garlogie, Aberdeenshire. This is a work of genius in my opinion.

Winner of the Meav Autographed CD Giveaway Chosen!

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Heeeello! Celtic music fanatics. I have named the winner of the Meav Ni Mhaolchath​a autographed CD giveaway! His name is John Cranmer of Madison, GA USA. All the more reason why you should check this blog every now and then because there are always goodies to giveaway. Tip: these things happen when artists are either launching a new CD or starting a tour. And they are always excited to give something to their fans for the continued support. Isn’t that awesome??!

I was truly knocked out by the video of Meav doing her new song “The Calling”.  I truly felt relaxed as I watched her smoothly sing this song. She has, in my opinion, the very greatest voice of today. To list words of description would certainly be long, but I’ll try to use just a few. Enchanting, relaxing but exciting at the same time, moving. I’ve been a fan of Meav since I purchased her first CD. It really seems that her performances get better each time. With “The Calling” she has hit a new high. I look forward to her continued success as she continues to knock our socks off.

John Cranmer

Madison, GA USA

So yes,  Meav is sending out that autographed CD to John and I am sure he is going to be happy about it. Thank you all my American readers for your support and I will make sure to give out more surprises often because it will keep this whole thing I am doing exciting. I also want to give my appreciation to Irish artist Meav Ni Mhaolchath​a. She really cares about her listeners. Her sweetness  will definitely bring more and more fans. And yes she will always have the continued support of The Celtic Music Fan for her shining 5000 watts of pure talent!

Pre-order on Amazon: http://smarturl.it/MeavTheCalling
In Ireland you can pre-order a signed copy:http://www.warnermusicirelandstore.co…

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In recent news…

Those who tuned in this Saturday might have found yourselves not hearing my show The Baxteria. You weren’t dreaming. We are off the air for the following reasons which I will attach here:

Radio Happy is being taken offline for a few days in order to facilitate a transfer and upgrading of the service we provide to our listeners. Therefore, Saturday’s show with DJ Baxteria, Sunday’s show with DJ Yolande, Monday’s show with Johnny Normal and Tuesday’s show with Flip Martian will not go ahead but will return the following week as normal.

I know you’ll miss us – but please be assured this is only temporary while we put things in place to ensure the service is more robust and reliable in the future! Part of our ongoing commitment to making Radio Happy a professional and reliable source of online entertainment.

More news on the relaunch will appear over the next few days.

Thank you to you all for choosing Radio Happy up to now and thanks for your understanding and patience at this time.

– The Radio Happy Team

The new URL is http://www.radiohappy.eu

It will be better and I promise to introduce new music and also interesting ideas to my own show. Thank you all for your continued support!

 

Scoil Cheoil na Botha(7th Annual Traditional Irish Music Festival)

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Scoil Cheoil na Botha

 Scoil Cheoil na Botha is here!!!

So I just got off from a skype interview with Dónal McCague who recently won the TG4 Young Musician of the Year and the award was presented by trad legend Matt Molloy of The Chieftains. I think it is quite an achievement because it is rare to get an award like that.

The skype interview will be available in my radio show on the 12th of October. Donal is down to earth and pleasant to talk to. I think this is also due to the fact that he teaches traditional music to aspiring artists. Like the festival I am writing about.

It’s going to be a big week for lovers of traditional Irish music as something exciting is happening. It is called the  Scoil Cheoil na Botha, the 7th Annual Traditional Irish Music Festival. This event is happening in the 11-13th of October 2013 in Scotstown, Co. Monaghan. It will feature artists like Laura Beagon (fiddle), Fionnuala Rooney(harp), Gerry Murray (piano accordion), Darren Breslin (button accordion), Stevie Dunne (banjo), Rona Denkin (concertina), Tommy Fitzharris (flute), Monica Beagon-Treanor (traditional singing), Maire Nic Thaidhg (cohmra gaelige), Michael McCague (bouzouki/guitar) and of course Donal McCague!

If you are near the venue please drop by and experience great traditional music. Also make sure you look at the poster carefully for instructions.

For past videos, here’s the youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ScoilCheoilnaBotha

For the official website: http://anbhoth.ie/