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 Hayes commenced a musical partnership with New-York-based string quartet Brooklyn […]
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Slow Moving Clouds: Starfall
Formed in 2014 and based in Dublin, Slow Moving Clouds is a contemporary Irish trio comprised of Kevin Murphy on cello and vocals, Finnish multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Aki on nyckelharpa and Ultan O’Brien (who replaced founding member Danny Diamond in December 2018) on fiddle and vocals. The band seamlessly juxtapose influences from the Irish and […]
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 making a significant impact on the contemporary musical landscape. Since […]
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 chordal instrument, a bass instrument and a drum kit. Released […]
This is How we Fly: Foreign Fields
Formed in 2010 and featuring The Gloaming‘s Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (Hardanger d’Amore), Seán Mac Erlaine (clarinets & electronics), Nic Gareiss (percussive dance) and Petter Berndalen (drums), This is How We Fly is a contemporary folk group sometimes venturing into jazz and electronica whose centre of gravity lies somewhere between Ireland, the United States and Sweden. […]
Ensemble Ériu: Stargazer
In 2014, the Model Arts Centre in Sligo commissioned Irish contemporary traditional septet Ensemble Ériu to write new music during a two week residency. The Model is home to the Niland Collection which includes 42 paintings by Irish artist Jack Butler Yeats (1871 – 1957). Composed as a response to the paintings held there and […]
