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Internet
Radio - a boon to musicians and Celtic music fans! On June
30th, 2003, a new Celtic music channel was launched: RadioCelt!
The music we love so much here at the Celtic Cafe occupies a fairly tiny niche
in the music world, and it's rare to be able to tune in a local radio station
and hear our favorite artists -- but Internet Radio saves the day! See
our coverage of previous artists by clicking here,
and please give Michael Londra and
AccuRadio feedback and suggestions
for what you'd like to hear by contacting them through RadioCelt.com.
• • • RadioCelt
Playlist Additions - July 25 ANÚNA
Behind The Closed Eye
Cynara
Invocation Although
Anúna's impact and influence can be felt strongly amongst the Celtic Cafe
community through our exposure to them as a result of Riverdance
the Show, they were a seminal choral group prior to that worldwide exposure,
and remain so today. From their website: "The music
of the ancient Celts has been all but lost except for a handful of strange and
beautiful fragments. Anúna was founded by the young Dublin composer Michael
McGlynn in 1987 to explore and redefine this music, which has been a significant
part of Ireland's rich and turbulent history. Michael McGlynn set
up the group primarily to perform his own original works and his arrangements
of medieval and traditional Irish music. He has developed a uniquely personal
musical vision for Anúna. John
McGlynn, Michael's twin brother, provides artistic staging that has enthralled
audiences world-wide, with the use of cloaked, candle-lit procession, and his
unique ability to adapt any space to the special needs of the group." They
have sung all over the world -- "from a Sultan's palace in Morocco to a huge
field on a farm in Canada, from a tiny refuge at the top of Monte Baldo in the
Italian Alps to a jammed Cathedral in Poland." They have performed and recorded
with artists as diverse as Barry Manilow, Secret
Garden, Elvis Costello, Michael Crawford, Sinéad Ó Connor
and the Chieftains. We
thank RadioCelt.com for adding three
more albums of their important work to the playlist, so that even more fans can
enjoy that ethereal sound!! Anúna's official site:
Anuna.ie •
• • CLANNAD
Greatest Hits
Clannad has been an important part of
Irish music for over three decades, and even though they no longer perform regularly
as a group, we are very familiar with some of the siblings' solo careers. Eithne
received worldwide fame as Enya, and
sister Maire Brennan (now Moya
Brennan) has long been a Celtic Cafe favorite. Another sister, Bridin,
has also embarked on a solo CD project, of which we hope to have more information
soon. To date, Clannad has released over 20 albums! One of
the best websites about Clannad is a Dutch site, Clannad.nl.
Click here for the story of this important Irish group. The
Festival of World Cultures will be the host of the world premiere performance
of Moya’s latest solo album ‘Two Horizons’ within the magnificent
settings of Monkstown Church - in Dun Laoghaire, on Saturday, August 23rd. The
official release date for Two Horizons will be Sept. 1 in the UK and Sept. 29
in Ireland. Click
here for the festival information about Moya's very special appearance.
Clannad Management site: MDM.ie
Moya Brennan's official site: moyabrennan.com •
• • BERT DEIVERT/CHRISTY O'LEARY
Song's Sweet Caress Christy
O’Leary and Bert Deivert
have just released Song’s
Sweet Caress - the first CD by a major Irish traditional artist completely
recorded and produced in Sweden. Christy O’Leary, originally from Kenmare,
Kerry, spent 12 years with the Boys of the Lough as their front man, singing,
playing whistle and pipes. Christy has also worked with John Denver, Andy MacKay
and Phil Manzanera from Roxy Music, Connie Dover, and with Swedish artists Björn
Afzelius, Roger Pontare, Ale Möller, Lena Willemark, and West of Eden. Christy’s
last CD was a solo venture in 1997 - The Northern Bridge, released in the
UK on Old Bridge Music. Steve Winick of Dirty Linen called it "one of the
most listenable albums in Irish music history... perfectly balanced... containing
seven songs sung in O'Leary's trademark rich, sweet voice... Nothing short of
brilliant... as near to perfect as anyone could wish for." Check out
the CVs at the Deivert.com
site for both Christy and for Bert Deivert, who has worked since the early '70s
as a singer/songwriter, producer, composer, and filmmaker. An Irishman and an
American, connecting up in Sweden to produce a wonderful new CD... not THAT unusual,
considering the worldwide spread of Celtic Culture, these days! Christy
and Bert will be at the Pomarkku
Irish Festival in Finland at the beginning of August and at London's Return
to Camden Town Irish Festival on October 29th, sharing the bill with Karan
Casey. Bert Deiver/Christy O'Leary official site: deivert.com/oleary.html
• • • FROMSEIER
ROSE Contradiction The
dynamic duo formed by Ditte
Fromseier Mortensen on violin and Michael
G. Rose on piano is named Fromseier
Rose, and they perform modern acoustic Celtic music so very beautifully,
in Copenhagen, Denmark. From the Fromseier
Rose website: "It was the middle of a late night session at the 2001
Copenhagen Irish Festival. Ditte launched into a lively version of Kitchen
Girl and Michael joined in on the piano. It was the first time they played
together and their chemistry was evident in the music. By the end of the tune
it was obvious that they had to play together... The music of Fromseier
Rose is based on the Celtic tradition. Ditte draws on the heavily rhythmic Scottish
and northern Irish styles. This is complemented by the swinging pulse from Michael's
New England roots. These traditional sources are combined with their own compositions
and a rich variety of musical influences. The result is a swinging and stimulating
conversation between two talented musicians that appeals to a broad range of audiences." Their
really terrific new CD entitled "Contradiction"
contains three songs by Niamh
Parsons! Thank you RadioCelt, for making this available to new ears!
Ditte Fromseier and Michael Rose's official site: FromseierRose.com •
• • BILL JONES
Two Year Winter When we first heard that unusual, and very
feminine voice on RadioCelt, and
checked to see who the singer was, we were sure there was some type of mix-up!
The credits were for a BILL Jones, but this was certainly no male singer!
It turns out that "Bill" is short for "Belinda," and she won
the Horizon award as "Best New Artist" at this year's BBC Radio
2 Folk Awards." She not only sings, she plays piano, flute, accordion and
whistle. Although her father played fiddle in a ceilidh band, Bill came to folk
music relatively late, but the praise she has been garnering is making up for
lost time! Her songs have become well-known for her individual approach and interpretation. "I
prefer the drama and intrigue and the descriptive style of traditional music.
Folk music actually means something. It has stories that move me, whereas most
other music doesn't. Read Bill's comments on the songs you will hear on
Two Year Winter by clicking
here.
Some folks may have already seen Bill on
tour with the group FaireWinds and they are heading out again in September.
Click here for more information about that... the 12-date schedule includes
an appearance at the Bromyard Folk Festival on September 13. The Fairewinds
are Bill Jones
(UK), Aoife Clancy (Ireland) and
Ann Hills (USA). For much more information about Bill, check the
Compass Records site by clicking
here.
Bill Jones' official site: freespace.virgin.net/belinda.j/index.html •
• • MICHAEL LONDRA
Remastered and Remixed Yes, it's THE Michael
Londra, Music Director of RadioCelt,
whose self-titled CD has been remastered and remixed, and although we can't imagine
it sounds better than what we've already been hearing and enjoying so much, he
assures us it DOES! Haven't yet seen our Featured Artist of the Month focus
on him, back in April, 2003? Click
here. Michael Londra's official site: MichaelLondra.com •
• • TIM O'BRIEN
Traveler
Two Journeys Here's how Sugar
Hill Records describes Tim O'Brien:
"A singer of unusual clarity and originality, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist
of rare ability, and an incisive songwriter, Tim O'Brien has, over the last 20
years, made a lasting mark on what some are calling Americana music through his
innate musicianship and his wide-ranging tastes. Whether it's the reinterpretation
of an old fiddle tune, a revitalized honky-tonk shuffle from the 1950s, or an
original, bluegrass-inflected folk song, O'Brien's music feels familiar and comfortable
while never lapsing into the predictable. The Wall Street Journal called
him a player who updates and clarifies classic repertoire without stripping it
of its earthy essence, and who writes classic-sounding material stamped with his
own perceptive personality. He describes what he's been doing all these years
more concisely: making something new out of something old. We
have sure been enjoying his performing with the
Chieftains in "Down the Old Plank Road - The Nashville Sessions,"
and can't wait to hear "Traveler," of which we're getting a sneak
peek of sorts on RadioCelt, since it's not due to be released until August 12.
We have a terrific feature about Tim at the Celtic Cafe, about him and "Two
Journeys." Click here
to see that.
Tim O'Brien's official site: TimOBrien.net •
• • THE SEARSONS
House Party Canada is providing us with some very interesting
music and dance from the Ottawa Valley -- and the latest we are hearing about
is the Searsons, comprised
of a father, his three daughters, and their friend... and the girls all step-dance!
You can even hear those feet on one of the tracks of this new CD, which sounds
like they were having a lot of fun at a house party, indeed! The
Searson's official site: thesearsons.com •
• • Check back here each weekend for information
about the newest additions to the RadioCelt playlist until such time that it is
available at RadioCelt.com itself!
Click here for last
week's additions, July 18th.
Feature: Bernadette
Price
Original Web Design: Alexander
Servas
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