Cagney, Tourish, Tsumbu: Documenting the Composition Process

Niwel Tsumbu

Cagney, Tourish, Tsumbu: Documenting the Composition Process

A musical group’s creative process is available for all to witness this week, as the Éamonn Cagney Trio embark on a new initiative. Since the 29 August, the trio — comprising Cagney on percussion, the guitarist Niwel Tsumbu and the accordion player Martin Tourish — have been documenting their work to create ‘original music based around the traditional idiom’.

Continuing until tomorrow, 4 September, the trio are posting videos of their composition sessions. The videographer Colm Walsh is on hand, and he is also liveblogging the development of the material on the group’s website.

The music emerging from the project, funded by an Arts Council Deis Award for traditional music initiatives, is intended to ‘stretch beyond the boundaries of traditional music, involving African, jazz and world rhythmic influences’.

Cagney, who is from Donegal, has performed with a wide range of groups, including traditional music groups such as Kíla and musicians from the classical music world, such as the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Tsumbu, who moved to Ireland from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2004, has played widely with a range of groups (mostly with jazz or classical leanings) in Ireland as well as composing for others — his new work for six musicians was premiered at the Galway Arts Festival this year. Tourish, also from Donegal, comes from a traditional music background and is active as an academic in the field.

The following are videos from days one and five of the trio’s work this week.

See more here.

Published on 3 September 2013

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