Since Jack Talty launched Raelach Records in 2011, the artist-run, not-for-profit, traditional and folk record label based in county Clare, Ireland has been riding on a crest of a wave. The quality of music featured is some of the best, from groups such as the ground-breaking sound of Ensemble Ériu, a septet led by Talty and Neil Ó Loclainn to the spellbinding playing of fidil. As well as those brilliant solo releases including the superb musicianship of the young Dublin fiddle player Aidan Connolly to the delicately nuanced playing of London-Irish fiddler Claire Egan. Rest assured that there’s plenty of music on their roster to happily lose yourself in.
In 2017, photographer, graphic designer, and filmmaker, Maurice Gunning joined Raelach Records as art director and photographer and that move is visibly conveyed in their releases. Not only in the portraits of Aidan Connolly, Damien O’Reilly and fidil, which were all taken by Gunning but also in their other designs such as the simple zen-like brush stroke on the cover of Cuar’s Roscanna designed by Robin Fuller. Likewise, the accompanying layout and design have a minimalist, clean feel and an air of finesse that so suits the music contained therein. They are beautiful objects.
Nine years on, the decision to release a compilation album was not led by an upcoming celebratory landmark but rather is a response to the cancellation of their forthcoming album launches and recording sessions, and to the current disruption caused to artists due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a storm that the music industry will need to ride out for some time yet and has a significant impact on the small independent labels such as Raelach.
Rogha Raelach, volume 1 will be available to pre-order on the Raelach Records website from this Friday 3 July and features music from The Martin Hayes Quartet, Noel Hill, Geraldine Cotter, Bobby Gardiner, Derek Hickey, Aoife Ní Bhriain, Jack Talty, Nell Ní Chróinín, Pádraic Keane, Síle Denvir, Sean Gavin, and Saileog Ní Cheannabháin.
Note from label: The album is available for pre-order only. It will be released fully in physical and digital formats on October 1st, when life will hopefully have returned to normal. However, by pre-ordering the album now, you are supporting artists and a not-for-profit label at a very uncertain time in the music industry. As we will be printing a limited run of physical copies of Rogha Raelach Volume 1, your pre-order also guarantees that you will get your hands on a physical copy when we launch in October.
Watch the album preview below:
You can also support Raelach Records to continue making albums of great Irish traditional and folk music via Patreon where you can enjoy behind-the-scenes content, discounts on their online store, early access to releases, artist interviews, occasional Podcasts and Q&A content. As a not-for-profit label, your contribution will go directly to their artists and towards funding new releases – https://www.patreon.com/raelachrecords
https://www.raelachrecords.com/