Aidan O’Rourke’s Iorram is a truly magical listening experience, one that, for all its outward quietness, is bursting with ideas…Even without the context of the film it accompanies, this masterful document has a vividness that is almost visual in its own right.
Taking turns both tender and turbulent, John Francis Flynn’s “I Would Not Live Always” is bracing, unpredictable and without a doubt one of the most deeply affecting folk debuts of recent years.
Candlepower is an effortlessly crafted, and luxurious, listen. Charming and challenging in equal measures it is a thoroughly beguiling debut from Marina Allen who is also our Artist of the Month.
Adrian Freedman’s “Kindred Souls” is steeped in musical diversity and cultures…like nothing I have heard before. It is an immensely rich and engaging listening experience. One to savour and enjoy multiple times and the delivery of such powerful and therapeutic music is beautifully timed.
Ulster trio TRÚ talk us through their new album ‘No Fixed Abode’, offering a brilliant insight into each of the songs on their new album. It features some great stories and background…including mythology, changelings, faeries and Japanese folklore.
To listen to The Eternal Rocks Beneath is to sink into a reverie. Katherine Priddy puts a contemporary spin on the mythological and with a balletic vocal ability and bent for tender, lush arrangements, this much-anticipated debut is like stumbling upon a diamond mine.
Fishclaw’s latest EP, Feil, is part of their wider Ash project which brings listeners closer to the natural world…it’s like the musical equivalent of shinrin-yoku – forest bathing, even listening to it in the comfort of one’s own home is a transportive, strangely moving experience.
Watch part two of a short film on the making of Ulster trio TRÚ’s debut album ‘No Fixed Abode’. It revolves around the Irish traditional folk song Bonny Portmore and features a lovable character they meet called Joe.
Watch part one of a short film on the making of Ulster trio TRÚ’s debut album ‘No Fixed Abode’. It also features Tommy Sands performing ‘County Down’ which TRÚ cover in their own unique and magical way.
TRÚ are no ordinary folk band, and No Fixed Abode no ordinary album. Their music is dusted with a hint of magic and while it has all the energy befitting a first offering, it bears the stamp of quality usually reserved for seasoned artists.
With a refreshing, invigorating sound, and demonstrating a confidence and maturity in their tune and song writing, with ‘The Light of the Moon’, Gnoss have captured a sound dipped in honey that reinforces their formidable presence on the Scots traditional music scene.
While TEYR’s energetic and wildly entertaining delivery is still there on Estren, the added lyrical depth and musical variety, the moral bite and sensitivity to the world’s problems elevate them to the very top tier of today’s folk music.
