This week’s Folk Show features several tracks released on Claddagh Records, both from the past and more recent releases that include ØXN, a new band featuring Radie Peat (Lankum), John’ Spud’ Murphy and Eleanor Myler (Percolator), and Katie Kim; and ‘The Beautiful Road’, the latest album from Rónán Ó Snodaigh & Myles O’Reilly which is also one of our Featured Albums of the Month (read our review here – plus a guest article from Myles here).
…a calmative, a sonic balm in times of literal and metaphorical noise, but also a reminder of the verve and the life that can still exist in music. It’s an exceptional feat.
Other Claddagh offerings come from ‘Almost Everything…‘ a tribute album to the Irish poet and writer Patrick Kavanagh. From that album, I’ve chosen some beautiful readings by Evanna Lynch, Rachel Blackmore and Christy Moore. On the liner note introduction to that album, James Morrisey, the Chairman of Claddagh Records, opens:
For many of us, Patrick Kavanagh joined our life’s journey as we sat at hard desks in cold classrooms struggling to make sense of so much.
Kavanagh made poetry real. He opened our minds to life, soil and soul.
James also wrote the forthcoming large format book Garech Browne & Claddagh Records (read more here) that, together with a vinyl box set, celebrates the life of Guinness heir Garech Browne and his quest to preserve Ireland’s musical and spoken-word heritage with Claddagh Records. Among the tracks selected from their archives for that accompanying compilation album, you can also hear Dolores Keane singing Seven Yellow Gypsies (from a much earlier Claddagh Anthology released in 1999 – from which I’ve also included Gabriel McArdle) and John Montague’s Luggala, which originally featured on The Wild Dog Rose, a joint release by Montague and the late Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains.
Another Claddagh Records album that contained the magic of poetry and music was Seamus Heaney and Liam Flynn’s ‘The Poet and the Piper‘ (2003). While I’ve not included any tracks from that album here, they appear on several other mixtapes, most recently on Folk Show Episode 99. Seamus Heaney’s poetry and voice are a sublime combination that is difficult to resist, so he does appear here with ‘The Diviner’, from the joint release with John Montague – Northern Muse, recorded in 1968.
There are some other older tracks which I don’t intend to run through here, but they came to mind while I was putting this mix together. Among the new releases are Peatbog Faeries with The Sister of Moses from their long-awaited new album I See a World, which is one of our Featured Albums of the Month (reviewed here).
“With infectious rhythms, sublime musicianship, a fine ear for experimentation, and a loving respect for Scots tradition, I See A World is a rousing and breathtaking release”.
There is also new music from Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening‘s new album cloud horizons, their second album (out on September 1st via Resilient Records).
Another worthy mention is the powerful track, The Coal, taken from Seán Gray’s Fixed Assets, an album that digs into the Poetry and Politics of Ayrshire coal mining communities.
This album is a collaboration with Ayrshire Lallans Scots poet Rab Wilson. It explores the lives and communities of Ayrshire miners in their native tongue of Lallans Scots – the language of Robert Burns.
Next year will be the 40th anniversary of the miners strike. A time that shook the nation and changed the fate of tens of thousands of workers forever. The album Features Joe Rattray (Admiral Fallow), Mairearad Green (King Creosote) and Stu Brown (Blue Rose Code), to name but a few. The album is out on 25th August; you can order it on Bandcamp here. Sean also has two launch dates coming up:
The Glad Cafe – Friday, 25th August
The Scottish Storytelling Centre – Friday 1st September
Also new:
Welsh/English folk duo Filkin’s Drift with a track from their new album Rembard’s Retreat. The Ep is being released to coincide with their epic 870-mile walking tour of the Wales Coast Path starting in early September. Along the way, they will be playing 40 shows. We’ll run a news piece on this shortly, but you can read more here.
Acclaimed Uilleann piper and flautist Calum Stewart has announced his highly anticipated new album True North which is set for release on Friday, September 1 2023. The album is a testament to the Speyside native’s exceptional talent and strong connection to his heritage in the north of Scotland; the record intertwines traditional Celtic influences with self-penned, heartfelt compositions, delivering an authentic musical experience that will resonate with audiences worldwide.
We recently reviewed Iona Lane & Ranjana Ghatak’s ‘Cove’ here, described by David Pratt as a beguiling and transfixing EP – The juxtaposition of two beautiful voices from such diverse musical backgrounds is a thing of great beauty.
The Routes Quartet have released their new album Arche which combines their unique mix of classical and folk. The album will surprise many perceptions – They state in their press that they were encouraged to let their imaginations run free, and they achieve this by shifting into improvisatory perspectives. Featuring David Lombardi & Madeleine Stewart on fiddle, Emma Tomlinson on viola and Rufus Huggan on cello, you can hear this on the longest track in this week’s show – Thymos. Co-produced by Grammy Award-winning David Donaldson and Greg Lawson, they have crafted an incredibly absorbing soundworld. You can order it here.
Overleaf is the much-anticipated debut album from the Grace Smith Trio, marking a period of change and a brand-new chapter for the band. Acclaimed fiddle and viola player Grace Smith is joined by Sam Partridge (Concertina, Electric Guitar) and Bevan Morris (Double Bass) for this mesmerising new take on instrumental folk, taking inspiration from the traditional canon as well as introducing new repertoire to the mix. It’s out on September 29, and you can pre-order it via Bandcamp.
I’ve also included a track from Harriet Riley and Alex Garden’s earlier Sonder ii album…Sonder iii is out on October 13, which completes the trilogy. We will hopefully have more on this soon, but in the meantime, you can pre-order it here.
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Music Played
- Evanna Lynch – Lines Written On A Seat On The Grand Canal, Dublin
- Dolores Keane – Seven Yellow Gypsies (song)
- Cathal Ó Curráin – D’éirigh an tuile ar Labhrás
- Peatbog Faeries – The Sister of Moses
- Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening – Clogstravaganza
- Seán Gray – The Coal
- The Furrow Collective – Skippin’ Barfit Through The Heather
- Rachael Blackmore – Pegasus
- Filkin’s Drift – Clywai’r Tabwrdd
- Harriet Riley & Alex Garden – Tryst
- Dick Gaughan – The Snows They Melt The Soonest
- Seamus Heaney – The Diviner
- Calum Stewart – True North
- Seosamh Ó hÉanaí – Amhrán Na Páise
- Rónán Ó Snodaigh and Myles O’Reilly – An Ghlas Ar An Domhain
- Iona Lane & Ranjana Ghatak – Surya Pranam/Let No Man Steal Your Thyme
- Gabriel McArdle – Edward of Lough Erne’s Shore (song)
- ØXN – Love Henry
- The Routes Quartet – Thymos [Soul, Spirit]: The Letter
- Christy Moore – October
- The Alt – Falkirk Fair
- Chris McMullan – The Shaskeen, The Mist on the Mountain, McGoldricks (Jigs)
- Ewan McLennan – Jamie Raeburn
- Willie Clancy – Old Hag, You Have Killed Me / Old Tipperary (Jigs)
- John Montague & Paddy Moloney – Luggala
- Grace Smith Trio – Feather Waltz