Irish Songer Songwriter Karan Casey has announced her new album ‘Nine Apples of Gold‘, to be released on 24th February on Crow Valley Music. The title track is the first single to be released today and is accompanied by an official video which you can watch below.
Speaking of the new song, Karan says: “The initial genesis for this song was inspired by Tonn Chlíona, a supernatural woman from Glandore who was said to have three brightly coloured songbirds who ate apples from an otherworldly tree and sang so sweetly that they could cure all illness, I loved the magic in this story and thought a lot about how women carry tunes and songs and dance and bring so much healing to the world.
The legend goes on to report that in order to flee from men who wanted to kill her because of her powers, Clíona changed herself into a wren and escaped; it is funny then how Sean Óg Graham went and gave the songbirds of Portglenone a guest spot on this track, without my saying anything of this story. For Pauline Scanlon, because of her beautiful singing voice and musicality but also because of her bravery in her singing and campaigning.”
Karan has teamed up with Sean Óg Graham, her long-time collaborator and friend, to create a dynamic and enchanting album of songs that speaks to healing, camaraderie in times of strife, finding enrichment and new life in campaigning for women, and of course death. This is an ode to the natural world featuring the songbirds of Portglenone, the moon, conversations from the grave, returning to the wild, listening for the cuckoo as she sleeps.
The empowerment of women is front and centre of Karan’s concerns as she gives voice to the notion that songs can sing what we cannot say. Her defiance, her vulnerabilities and her feminist heart bellow through these songs.
Karan’s last album, Hieroglyphs That Tell the Tale, was released in 2018, and as with that album, she is joined by a number of special guests. Adding their unique vocals to the album are Niamh Dunne on a duet song Sister I am Here for You; Pauline Scanlon on a searing feminist overlook of Ireland in a song entitled I Live in a Country; and Ríoghnach Connolly on Daughter Dear, a tender-hearted song between a mother and daughter. Also joined by Conor McCreanor, John McCullough, Hannah Hiemstra and Kate Ellis among others, this is Karan’s 12th album and displays her fine poetic voice where she has taken traditional symbolism and shaken it by the neck to create an ode to mother nature and a poignant cry for change.
On her March/April ’23 Irish tour, Casey will be accompanied by the dynamic duo Niamh Dunne and Sean Óg Graham both members of the popular Irish band Beoga: Niamh (fiddle, vocals) comes from a rich family heritage of Irish traditional music; and Seán (guitar) is a talented arranger, composer and producer who is in great demand as an accompanist. See the dates below, more dates are to be announced soon.
Irish Tour dates
March 24th – Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Co. Wicklow
April 13th – Duncairn Arts Centre, Belfast
April 14th – Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
April 15th – Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co. Kildare
April 20th – Glór, Ennis, Co. Clare
April 21st – National Opera House, Wexford
April 22nd – Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford
April 23rd – Hawkswell Theatre, Sligo
April 27th – Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny
April 28th – Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Co. Meath
April 29th – Triskel Christchurch, Cork
April 30th – Town Hall Theatre, Galway
+ more to be announced
Ticket links and more details: https://www.karancasey.com/tourdates.html