Various Artists – In The Echo: Field Recordings From Earlsfort Terrace
Ergodos – Out Now
I may have mentioned before how much I love albums that are a mix of performers and variations in music. Compilations were a staple in my youth, suiting my eclectic tastes and the pocket, and I still like to listen to those that demonstrate a diversity of music and voice, style and intensity.
Thanks to Ross Turner, In The Echo comes along as a fine example, with an extra edge as a ‘concept’ album. On listening, it might be hard to discern that theme, but something ties them together musically; the tracks were all recorded in the nooks and crannies of Dublin’s National Concert Hall.
The first track wrings what it can out the acoustics with Lisa O’Neill and Colm Mac Con Iomaire. One of the most distinctive voices of contemporary Irish folk music, Lisa’s version of Peggy Gordon, is conveyed with a raw timbre that brings a shudder, this bleak tale told at a slow and sad pace, augmented by Colm’s violin.
Katie Kim and Seán Mas Erlaine’s Empire One is quite a contrast, but not necessarily in a way you might expect. The musical arrangement consists of piano, bass clarinet and Katie’s vocals, close to the mic, personal and direct to the listener, though the responses come from the clarinet, not me. A picture forms: the piano footsteps in places, the buildings close in through the clarinet, a feeling akin to claustrophobia looms, and it is interesting to read that the clarinet reverb is a result of its being recorded in an old marble stairwell.
Paul Noonan and percussionist Roger Moffatt’s A Tenderness moves towards a jazz vibe; the rhythm is very catchy and offers some relief from the emotional strains of the previous tracks. Almost as if paired with this track, Naranja by Eileen Carpio and Sean Carpio seems to complement it, though I cannot quite put my finger on why. It might be some sort of build as we reach the great sound of Conor O’Brien and Cian Nugent, who sound like they might be channelling Van Morrison at the start of Do I Care? but then not quite, which is possibly a good thing.
From this mid-section, I am led towards the end by Halfway to Andalucia by Brigid Mae Power and Adrian Crowley. The song is from Adrian’s 2017 album Dark Eyed Messenger, but this version has a very distinctive country style about it, helped, or matched, or both, by Brigid’s voice, her exploration of that genre heard in her last album Burning Your Light. I prefer this version; the acoustic guitar and the reverb on the voices pull them together in a beautiful sound.
The final two tracks exemplify the experimental approach to music-making. I like to hear how instruments are used in unusual and different ways, yet trying to pick out what they are in some cases is nigh on impossible when just listening to them. The Campanile by Saileóg Ni Cheannabháin and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh is full of sawn strings, echoes from the building, and piano notes picked out, offering hints of a tune before travelling to another part of the keyboard. Lisa Hannigan and Crash Ensemble’s MCMXIV is also an exploration of the drone through deep strings; the solo voice floats across the top quite reminiscent of Songs of the Auvergne. The song has a cumulative build, and I wait for a sudden end, but instead, it plays out, brings me gently down, leaving me safely with feet on the ground, ready to start to go around again.
This album is a great snapshot of contemporary musicianship and imagination in Ireland. Ross Turner’s concept goes way beyond just seeing what the sounds are like in the various corners of a large building, and just by presenting these tracks, it is clear to see that there is a lot of exciting music to be heard. A rich and rewarding exploratory delight.