I imagine most of you will be familiar with the name Liam O’Maonlaí who was the frontman for Hot House Flowers. Rock n Roll opened many doors which he has now used to promote traditional music. He hasn’t kept to within the comfort zone of his irish roots and has already collaborated with many world musicians out of passion and as a means of exposing their music to a wider audience.
Niwel Tsumbu hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo where he spent his youth growing up in Kinshasa. He picked up the guitar at a young age and showed a natural ability for learning Soukous and Rhumba, the music of his homeland. The music began to distract him from his school work which his mother responded to by banning music from the house. This didn’t discourage him, he found ways of escaping to play with other musicians and returning home undetected.
He later discovered other forms of music from jazz, rock to classical music. His passion often meant covering long distances on foot to play in bands and that fire has continued since. He moved to Ireland in 2004 where he has struck up a great rapport with many Irish musicans.
Niwel, like Liam has continued to explore many strands of music and their collaboration seemed inevitable. The following video was filmed in December 2010 and features Donal Dineen talking with Liam O’Maonlaí and Niwel Tsumbu during his late night show The Small Hours.
The Small Hours is known for its diversity, featuring music from Johnny Cash to John Cage. Donal’s passion for curated live music led to him setting up the Parish Recordings project. The music is not anchored in any way and sounds as much at home on the dancefloor with undertones of world vibes. The first release is called Hi Five-O and features Aminah Dastan & Liam O’Maonlai on vocals (and harp & guitar), Niwel Tsumbu on guitar, Stephen Mogerly on bass, Rónán O Snodaigh (Kila) on the Wavedrum & Seán MacErlaine on bass clarinet.