We recently shared ‘Carry My Song’, a powerful video and the first in a four-part series of collaborations from the hugely talented Cork-born fearless feisty fiddler, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Clare Sands. That video features a cliff-top performance with Susan O’Neill performing on trumpet, congas, vocals and dulcimer.
Today, we get to share her second single, ‘Abair Liom do Rúin (Tell Me Your Secrets)’, featuring Clare alongside Steve Cooney and Tommy Sands.
It is often said that Spring roars in like a lion, and out like a lamb.
When Clare Sands found herself in a 500 year old off-grid cottage up the side of a mountain in Donegal, she wondered whether she had set herself up for slaughter with two lions of Irish Folk music, Steve Cooney and Tommy Sands.
Clare laughs: “The lamb and lions were soon dancing to the same tune, elevated by that potent Irish potion (starts with a ‘P’ ends with an ‘oteen…’)”
She continues:“We wrote and recorded the song over three days and nights by candle-light to create a mantra that growls from the belly and sings from the heart, ‘Tell Me Your Secrets’ (Abair Liom do Rúin) is a transcendent, traditional trance-like ode to Spring that pulsates and captivates the young and the old, pulls and pushes the brave and the bold.”
The mesmerising video, created by emerging visual artists and twin sisters Liadain Ni Bhraonáin and Kasia Kaminska was shot in the warm thaw of a typical Irish spring morning, that started with an icy sub-zero blizzard of hail and snow. It’s also our Song of the Day.
The four-part series, titled ‘Tírdreacha agus Fuaimdreacha’ (Landscapes and Soundscapes), spans over four seasons, in the four provinces of Ireland, and features Clare Sands alongside four different collaborators: Susan O’Neill, Steve Cooney with Tommy Sands, Brídín, and Liam O Maonlaí. The project sees Sands embarking on an exploration of the nooks and crannies of Ireland’s sights and sounds, whilst breaking the boundaries of Irish music in an inviting, invigorating way.
‘Abair Liom do Rúin’ by Clare Sands featuring Steve Cooney and Tommy Sands is out now on streaming services.