Rory McCabe
1 January 2009
Skins & SinsLyonsie Records NCLD001The life of a bodhrán player can be a lonely one: constantly searching for a musical partner; often maligned by instrumental prejudice; without session civil-rights; without much of a recorded history or...
1 November 2008
Ceol is PÌobCB 001With the release of this album Stéphanie Makem and Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn have taken a step further in their nuptial partnership. Ceol is Píob is a collection of music with a distinct Ulster accent....
1 November 2008
First things FirstLorimer LORRCD1First Things First, the debut solo recording from Scottish harper Ailie Robertson, is a satisfying combination of past, present and future, as she places the ancient over-tones of the clarsach in a modern setting and...
1 November 2008
Cora Smyth (fiddle, low whistle), Breda Smyth (fiddle, whistles, low whistle), Pauline Scanlon (voice), Donogh Hennessy (guitar)Ballina Arts Centre, Co. Mayo17 September 2008It was ten minutes before showtime when I arrived at the Ballina Arts Centre to find...
1 July 2008
Ships in the ForestCrow Valley Music CVCD001Since her days with the group Solas, Karan Casey has been continually building upon her reputation as a leading interpreter of traditional Irish and contemporary folk song. This, her sixth solo release, could...
1 July 2008
The Home RulerCló Iar-Chonnachta CICD172No matter how open and objective you may try to be, one cannot help but form various pre-judgements when encountering new traditional music recordings. You begin to recognise patterns in production and presentation...
1 May 2008
Jiggin’ the BluesGreentrax G2CD7011What do you get when you cross Frankie Gavin’s traditional steerage, Rick Epping’s powerhouse harmonica and Tim Edey’s driving guitar playing? Answer: one very solid sound journey. The journeys...
1 May 2008
Ballina Arts Centre, Co. Mayo27 March 2008While walking around in the rain looking for the Ballina Arts Centre, I began to think that maybe I was in the wrong town. Nobody could give me directions: to Supermacs yes, but an arts centre? My impression was that...
1 March 2008
On the FlyLoftus Music LM002‘On the fly’ usually denotes hurriedness, a quick-fix in a situation where time is limited. However, this On the Fly does not betray anything of moves made in-flight or constrained by time. On this, the eighth studio...
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