newalbums

“It was recorded in real time with minimal overdubs” Caitriona O’ Leary Talks about The Wexford Carols

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 3 Comments

the-wexford-carols-covers

Happy Holidays! I wrote an entry about The Wexford Carols by Caitriona O’Leary a few days ago. And it is a delight to receive a response from the interview questions I sent her with the help of my friend Anita Daly. So here they are and I was not really surprised that she mentioned Bjork as one of her influences. These two have amazing voices.I am sure Bjork would love O’Leary’s rendering of the traditional carols. The album’s production is superb, the artwork is exceptional-plus you gotta get your hands on the liner notes as a lot of inspiration was poured in making this project. Read further and more surprises await you!

  1. The Wexford Carols was released very early of this year. What’s the story behind the re-release?

Actually the album was released for Christmas last year! But I feel that The Wexford Carols has the potential to be a long-lived perennial offering and that we hadn’t reached every music lover just yet!

  1. You are backed by fantastic studio musicians, singers and sound  tech people. It must be an exciting recording session.
 

It was indeed a very exciting session. It was recorded in real time with minimal overdubs. Basically, we were all in the room (a beautiful, converted 17th-century stable house with huge windows overlooking woodland), making the music at the same time – watching each other, responding to each other’s musical impulses.

  1. How extensive was the background research for this album?
 

I spent many years researching the carols. I started dabbling about 20 years ago, but it has really been the past couple of years that I completely submersed myself in the material. I have visited the church in Kilmore (where the carols are still sung), spoken with local Wexford historians, and spent many happy hours in Dublin libraries and music archives unearthing clues to the melodies that had been lost.

  1. Are you working on a new album and if you are what can we expect?
  1. What’s the inspiration behind this album, and the musical direction you took in recording this(see answers to question 6).
 

I am indeed working on a new album – The Wexford Carols, volume 2! There are still a dozen carols hiding in Wexford history and we want to bring them into the light too. We will be recording in the spring with the renowned producer Ethan Johns and taking a different musical approach to the first volume. It’s a very exciting prospect!

  1. Who are your major musical influences?
 

I have many, many musical influences! Nina Simone, Skip James, Sara Ghriallais, Chabuca Granda, Jordi Savall, Björk…you can probably hear bits of all of them in my work (Björk not so obviously…yet…)

  1. what your biggest Christmas wish?
 

Peace on Earth and goodwill towards all creatures and the planet.

Enjoy your copy of The Wexford Carols. It is an album that’s meant to enchant you not just this holiday season but for all seasons!

Wish by Poitin Introduces Fresh Sound and New Artistic Approach.

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Poitin-Wish

“Fresh” pretty much sums up the sound of the new album by Poitin called Wish. I have listened again and again and I am definitely aware of the new recording approach in this album compared to their past efforts. Even their musical style has evolved. This is not to say that this is better than their past albums. All of their albums including my favorite Hot Days are still worth the spin. But this has a more refined sound in terms of capturing the soft edges of the sound( amplifying the nuances) while getting rid of the rough spots.

The music in general has a more ‘soft jazz’ appeal. I think this is due to the fine tuning that they have done with their sound and it is true they are masters of syncopation and polyrhythms.  Poitin has always taken the ‘aggressive trad’ style in their recordings. Their sound has never been modest. It’s a force of nature that renders you enable to prepare yourself for some melodic impact. But listening to the opening track Toffee Jigs surprised me. For this is the new Poitin. This reminds me of recordings by Altan and Lunasa.

You can also note the wispy mix they introduced to their acoustic guitar sounds as in the case of the Broomfield Wager. Vocally, Jeremy King has beautifully covered traditional songs with his fine pipes in this album. And it just gets better and better as you climb your way into the track-listing. Rookery is a devilish charmer of a tune. It is a seductive instrumental with beautiful fiddle, flute and guitar parts.

Farewell Waltzes is elegant in its pace. The instruments weave seamlessly like curtains tangling and untangling in the breeze. I think Autumn Song is the best ballad they have ever recorded as a band. The poignant song about relationships like seasons speak with sheer honesty. If this song doesn’t move you then you are not a human being. There’s no weak track here. Wish is like a novel with chapters working together to form a beautiful story. A musical story. Blue Bear Polkas is just one of the many gems you will find if you listen to Wish.

You can really tell that a lot of love, hard work and passion went to the recording of this album. If this is the new Poitin then all the more reason for me to look forward to their next album!

Buy the album from the following:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/poitin8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/wish/id850213695