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Shaking the Autumn Gloom with Anticlockwise by McDermott’s 2 Hours

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McDermott’s 2 Hours – Anticlockwise

Nick Burbridge – lead vocal
Molly Burbridge – backing vocal
Ben Paley – fiddle
Tim Cotterell – mandolin
Dil Davies (Oysterband) – drums
Jeremy Cunningham (Levellers) – bass
Clare Sanders – whistle
Al Scott – guitars

McDermott’s 2 Hours has given us an antidepressant  with Anticlockwise which is their ‘Best of’ compilation album. It signals the band’s creative growth up to the new track Erin Farewell. The cover art with the devil and a bunch of naked people should give you a hint what’s to come. Songwriter and guitarist Nick Burbridge (who also formed this band) has a kind of creativity that I would describe as erratic and explosive. He is the type of artist who is fearless in executing his ideas whither you like them or not. And that spontaneity coupled with raw energy can be found all over Anticlockwise. Newcomers to their music will find great stuff to be remembered here, now that the best songs in their entire catalog are here-and new ones too.

Nick Burbridge

Instrumentally, Anticlockwise is as lush as a good harvest. Vocally it’s blessed with his good vocal range ( and smooth tenor) that can be fiery one moment and then restrained the next. World Turned Upside Down is a personal favorite with its Gregorian inspired intro. The contrapuntal singing style gives us that renaissance feel.

So what can I say about this new release of Nick Burbridge’s band? I’m a fan of Nick and it is hard to be objective when you are a fan. And it is a good thing because music is a personal experience and I think whatever touches can never be questioned. The over all vibe of Anticlockwise is live. The order of the tracks are well-chosen to suit the progression of the mood. The mix is also warm. It’s like after every song, you can hear the audience applauding. Tod the Ranter is another favorite because of the steady hypnotic rhythm. A Fable from Aigge falls into the sean nos style of singing. It shows how flexible the voice of Burbridge is. It also displays the  eclecticism of this album.

Molloy goes back to the times when Ireland was struggling for independence. This reminds me of a lot of songs by Planxty in their earlier albums.  River is a foot tapper. I love the beat and the way these fiddles create a sort of wispy cloak of sound that transports you into a beautiful and dreamy place. it is true that the word save the best for last applies to great albums. All In Your Name closes Anticlockwise with such intensity that I felt my neurons were being assaulted by blue lightning.

Anticlockwise is a sensual trickster of an album. A playful devil with an immaculate smile. Beautifully conceived, exquisitely performed by the musicians involved and yes….embellished by artistry of Nick Burbridge.

Know more here: http://www.burbridgearts.org/

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!

 

The Stubby Shillelaghs:Celtic-American.

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The Stubby Shillelaghs

Artist: The Stubby Shillelaghs
Album: Celtic-American
Release Date: 29/10/13
Genre(s): Celtic, Folk, Bluegrass
Location: Colorado, USA
Members: Shaughnessy McDaniel, Ryan Knaub, Eric Fischer, Andy Mithun
Pertinent Album Information: 25% of Sales of “Gotham’s Finest” will be going to the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals as part of a charity effort by the band
Label: Self-Released
Website Link: TheStubbies.net
Facebook Link: Facebook.com/thestubbyshillelaghs

EPK: artistecard.com/TheStubbies

Buy: http://thestubbyshillelaghs.bigcartel.com/

Bawdy and Beautiful, The Stubby Shillelaghs will release their third studio album, Celtic-American

We all need a good laugh. I know I need one. I can be silly at times and there have been too much drama in my life that a dose of  outrageous humour that The Stubby Shillelaghs with their third studio album Celtic-American. If you dig authentic Celtic humor then it is here. It’s in the lyrics, the melodies and the deliveries. I admit there are tunes which made me stop sipping my coffee in the middle and ask myself if I heard it right? Were they singing about Batman and Gotham city? And is it just me or the song Corn Shuckin’ Time isn’t really about the corn harvest?The Stubby Shillelaghs 

There are longer songs with complicated plot lines alluding to American history during the civil war. I think in the midst of the comedy,  The Stubby Shillelaghs stay true to the essence of what a Celtic music album should be. History, myth, humor and yes amazing instrumental arrangements: these things that always make listening to an album enjoyable.

I also checked twice if my eyes were failing me. It says in their press release:

 

In celebration of the superhero roots that influenced the band’s two parody/satire tracks, the band is donating 25% of their net profits from their single (or equivalent amount from a full album sale), “Gotham’s Finest”, to the Children’s Miracle Network. It’s their hope that through the song they can give back to the community that has nurtured them and allowed them to thrive for three amazing years and support the real heroes at the Children’s Hospital

The album will be released during the band’s Third Anniversary Halloween Bash on October 29th at Patrick’s Pub in Greeley.  Free beer, free prize giveaways and lots of live music to celebrate three years of Stubby Shillelaghs shows and the release of Celtic-American.

Wow so I got an advanced copy of the album? And this is for a good cause! I am really honored. I mean, this is really awesome and I enjoyed everything about it. People should have this as a remedy to depression or to get our minds off the global economic situation!

Other notable guest performers are Marc Gunn for the title track Celtic-American.  There’s also Meagan T and Kirsten Carpenter contributing their talents in several tracks. Celtic-American plays like a comedy/epic comic book that flowers with abundance of talent at every turn of the page. So yes they won me over. And I had a good laugh. Celtic-American has sixteen fun lovin’ tracks. More info at the links I posted above. Big thanks to Shaughness​y McDaniel for sharing this gem. 

Pre-order the CD here: http://thestubbyshillelaghs.bigcartel.com/

Original Demo Songs by the Late Samuel Smith

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Good day to subscribers of this page. I have my own radio show this weekend and it’s in http://www.radio-happy.com/. I am so excited because I am playing my favorite Celtic tunes in that show. The first part is devoted to the music of this blog. The second part is about my other blog. So expect eclectic music and future interviews..and even a possibility of an acoustic performance!

I got a message from one of our readers. her name is Geraldine McAuley. She’s the sister of the late Samuel Smith who was a huge fan of Breton harper Alan Stivell.

According to Geraldine:

” Samuel attended Alan’s last Concert when in Dublin on a trip from the States but did not take the opportunity

to go back stage to talk with him.

Samuel Passed away on the 12/07/2013 after a short period of 5 months from a Brain Tumor.
It was heart breaking for us to watch him suffer and to say goodbye to him. Such a waste of a Talented Life.
The one good thing was we got to take him back to Ireland from Arkansas before he passed away.
His Funeral Service was full of his Beautiful Haunting Celtic Melodies both performed on CD by Samuel.”

I told Geraldine that I wish I could get in touch with Alan Stivell and tell him all about it but I don’t have the means. I asked her if there is a way I can listen to the songs that her late brother composed. She said:

“There is a lovely Lady named Charlie Doidge who met Samuel in a recording Studio in Brighton. She recorded and arranged some of Samuel’s Songs Shortly afterwards he went to live in Arkansas. I will attach now a Song entitled Song for Eire. There is some Photographs of Places Samuel visited when he was back home in Ireland. Hope you like it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uGD3dRCvtK0&t=20”

Listening to all the demo tracks of Samuel Smith left me a feeling of great sadness. It is a feeling you get when a birthday cake is left in the open with no one to eat it…or that thought that this man could have given us more songs. Songs to take us into another reality. His music seems to have come from another world. Perhaps it really came from that place.  I like to believe in that parallel universe where all our dreams that never came to be realize in this world actually happen there. Perhaps if we only have a glimpse this other reality then we don’t have to live in such quiet desperation.

I call the attention of record producers out there, or people involved in recording to take notice of Samuel’s wonderful music. You can contact germcauley@hotmail.com his sister. All Copyrights were signed over to  Sam’s Widow Tina in Arkansas. These are songs he was working on before he passed away due. He will sorely be missed.

Tracks:

Mystic Rover
Bantry Bay
Heathen Soldier
Niamh’s Lament
Return of the pilgrim
The Agony
Ballad of Oisin

Here is a poem he wrote called African Sunlady

Samuel Smith poem

Kickstarter Campaign for North Star by Kyle Carey (2nd album)

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 Kyle Carey North Star

It is amazing how we’ve come a long way. Before, we merely rely on the recommendations from friends, word of the mouth from experts and also through the whims of record execs. Finally, that dream album will happen.  Now the power to put whatever music we want to the top has arrived. One of the common tools used by musicians to fund their new projects is kickstarter. I am sure you are familiar with this one.

Let me tell you. Singer/songwriter and vocal extraordinaire Kyle Carey is preparing to record her new album. North Star will be recorded in Scotland aound January, during Celtic Connections.  Seamus Egan will produce the album. Now expect nothing less from this project because I know it will be an amazing album!

Kyle Carey is based in New England. You know, that beautiful place in the East Coast where everything becomes colorful this time of the year. If you remember she released that amazing album called ‘Monongah‘ and it is one of those albums that occupies the top of my playlist.

Listen to tracks off her debut album Monongah: