traditional

Retro: Farewell and Remember Me by Boys of the Lough

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Track listing:

  1. “Sean But/ Tommy People’s/ The Lark in the Morning” (jigs) (All traditional)
  2. “The Leitrim Queen” (song) (Ian Burns)
  3. “Lucky Can Du Link Ony/ Pottinger’s/ Billy Nicholson” (reels) (Trad/ Tom Anderson/ Trad)
  4. “Farewell and Remember Me” (song) (J Chalmers)
  5. “Angus Polka no 1/ Angus Polka No 2/ Donegal Barn Dance” (All trad)
  6. “An Spailpin Fanach (sung in Gaelic)/ The One-Horned Buck” (reel) (Trad/ Trad)
  7. “Valentia Harbour (air)/ The Jug of Punch (reel)/ MacArthur Road” (reel) (All trad)
  8. “Lovely Ann” (unaccompanied song) (Trad)
  9. “The Holly Bush/ The New Ships Are Sailing” (reels) (All trad)
  10. “The Waterford Waltz/ The Stronsay Waltz” (Trad/ Trad)

Boys of the Lough is one of those traditional Scots/Irish bands that really stick with you long after the music has been played . It makes you want to listen some more and hopefully capture incidents in nuances. The vocals are not really stylized to give out that authentic folk feel. After all folk music is the music of the people. It is the home to simplicity and honesty. These sentiments are expressed in Farewell and Remember Me. An album that has been released in 1987 but still sounds like it’s only been made yesterday. That is the beauty of recordings like this one. The traditional pieces are reinterpreted in a distinctive style but the production technique is the same. The performers don’t need to. The clarity of acoustic guitars and beautiful vocals are showcased in The Leitrim Queen. This is also a song about loss which only the Irish knows best to sing. The title track is another masterpiece accompanied in piano and cello. The sixth track An Spailpin Fanach is a song I heard performed by Connie Dover but this male vocals proved to be exquisite too. All in the all the entre album is a balance between lively and sad tunes. It has all the stuff for everyone.

Members:

  • Aly Bain (fiddle)
  • Cathal McConnell (flute, whistle, vocals)
  • Dave Richardson (concertina, mandolin, cittern)
  • Christy O’Leary (uilleann pipes, whistle, vocals)
  • John Coakley (guitar, piano, bodhran, mandoline, fiddle)
  • Guest: Ron Shaw (cello) on “Farewell and Remember Me”
  • Engineered by Alistair George

Dalla: Cornwall’s Answer to Celtic Music

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DallaWindow


Dalla is Cornwall’s answer to Celtic music. If we have Clannad from Ireland and Capercaillie from Scotland, then Cornwall has Dalla. The music is a combination of lively almost latin beats traditional airs. The music is Celtic but also distinctively Cornish.There is an ethereal quality in  Hilary Coleman’s voice . Now explaining would not do any good without an audio sample. So you better visit their official MySpace page to hear some of the songs. And don’t forget to bookmark their official website which gives another detailed infor about the band.

Mac Talla Mor:Hip,Haunting and Traditional

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If you want your vocalist to have a strong distinctive voice(ala Natalie Merchant), yet ethereal enough to be called Celtic, then New York based Mac Talla Mor is for you. If you want something traditional but  spliced with irresistible dance beats, music that’s hip but never loses vision then this band is for you.

Scottish pipe playing has always been Mac Talla Mor’s  focal point along with the Illana Regina’s strong vocals and classically trained piano playing. What’s more, each member can play other instruments which makes hearing them a rewarding experience. They have been coined ‘music for the masses’.

Mac Talla Mor in Gaelic means ‘great echo”. Learn more by visiting their home page and watch an uploaded video. Unfortunately there is not much resources on the web at this point. But with your support, the band will go places!

Albums out:

* Piping Hot 2005

* No Man’s Land 2006

* Jacob’s Ladder 2007

* The New Colossus 2008

You can listen to samples and buy mp3s here:

Irish Tin Whistle

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More infos can be found here

Welsh Celtic Music:Carreg Lafar

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carregflagNow that we have explored the traditional music of Wales, let me introduce you to another band.Carreg Lafar was formed in Cardiff Wales. In Welsh the name means ‘speaking stone’. The band is considered as the forefront of Welsh traditional music revival. So if you are curious as to how traditional Celtic music sounds like in Wales then you better hear Carreg Lafar.

They have an official site which you can listen to samples before getting the album.You can do this by clicking on the music section. Band members are: Linda Owen Jones (Voice) Antwn Owen Hicks (pipes, pibgorn, voice) Rhian Evan Jones (fiddle) James Rourke (flute, whistle) Danny KilBride (guitar) with guest piper Gafin Morgan. They want to reach wider audience through their MySpace page. I’m getting the hang of their music. What do you think?