Category: Traditional
Martin Hayes & The Common Ground Ensemble: Peggy’s Dream
Since his professional solo début in the early 1990s, County Clare born Irish musician Martin Hayes has not only recharged the fiddle tradition on the national and international stage, he has also graced the music scene with one remarkable project after another. His highly expressive…
Neil Ó Lochlainn & Cuar: Umhaill
As a flute player, a double bass player and a composer, Clare-born musician Neil Ó Lochlainn has a natural a foothold in several radically different traditions, especially in his role as leader of Ensemble Ériu, the enchanting acoustic septet he co-founded in 2011 with concertina…
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin & Ultan O’Brien: Solas an Lae
Much more than a collection of tunes and songs shining a light on a particular style, region or era, singer Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and fiddler Ultan O’Brien’s Solas an Lae (The Light of the Day) is also an acoustic experiment. The project explores the relationship…
Birds on a Wire: Ramages
Sur la place où tout est tranquilleUne fille s’est mise à chanter On the square, where everything is quietA girl has started singing Jacques Brel Franco-American singer songwriter Rosemary Standley and Brazilian-born singer and cellist Dominique Pinto (aka Dom La Nena) released their enchanting self-titled…
Martin Hayes & Brooklyn Rider: The Butterfly
For many, East Clare traditional fiddler Martin Hayes started venturing outside the tradition with The Gloaming project from 2011 onwards, or more recently with the Martin Hayes Quartet since 2016. But the seeds of these new endeavours were probably sown much earlier. In 2009, Martin…
The Gloaming: Live at the NCH
Following in the footsteps of The Chieftains, Planxty, the Bothy Band and more recently Altan or Lúnasa, The Gloaming is one of the rare traditional Irish music bands to enjoy a commercial and critical success both a home and abroad while at the same time…
Martin Hayes Quartet: The Blue Room
In a musical context, the word “quartet” can point to a small group of four classical performers as in a string, a baroque, a wind, a vocal or a piano quartet. It can also refer to a small jazz ensemble consisting of a horn, a…
Trio Da Kali and Kronos Quartet: Ladilikan
Opening the record, Trio Da Kali’s balafon (a wooden xylophone), bass ngoni (a traditional lute) and vocals clearly transport the listener to West Africa. But the introduction of Kronos Quartet’s classical strings a minute into “Tita” triggers an unexpected yet uplifting musical shift, thus unveiling…