Manran

Over eleven years of gigs and now four studio albums, Mànran have always shown a healthy appetite for innovation but with Ùrar they’ve taken that to a new level. With a new line-up, they’ve produced an album that sets a fresh benchmark against which to judge contemporary Gaelic music.

Watch the video for Ailean, the energetic and powerful new single from Scotland’s most loved trad-rock band Mànran. The single is taken from their forthcoming new album ÙRAR out later this month.

Crow Flies is the forthcoming new single from Mànran and their first release since Scottish songstress Kim Carnie and guitarist Aidan Moodie joined their ranks. The single is taken from their new album ÙRAR (pronounced oo-rar), meaning ‘fresh’ or ‘flourishing’, out on 1st October.

Our Song of the Day is Mànran performing Alpha live. The song is from their An Dà Là album. A fine piece of “classic Gaelic rock that morphs perfectly into energetic puirt à beul, taking us on a whirlwind of vocals, pipes and accordion.”

On An Dà Là, Mànran excel at distilling the energy and excitement of their live shows into studio sets that not only mirror the experience but also make room for intricate musical virtuosity that provides the very finest detail. That detail, in turn, provides the album’s lyrical and vocal content with a platform that supports enthralling performances…one to be proud of.

Johnny shares some of his highlights and interviews from this year’s Wickham Festival including Blazin’ Fiddles, Mawkin, Skerryvore, Saltfishforty, Mischa Macpherson Trio, Lynched, Ewan McLennan and more.

In part 3 of our live review of Gate to Southwell Festival we have live footage from Clannad, Simpson-Cutting-Kerr, We Banjo 3, The Young’uns, The Tweed Project, Manran and more.

Read part 2 of our festival review of Gate to Southwell which includes video performances from The Urban Folk Quartet, Coco and the Butterfields, BOC and Mànran.

Our Tune of the Day is from an exciting new Irish duo based in Glasgow – Gráinne & Ryan. Together they combine fiddle with uilleann pipes and flute to perform Irish traditional tunes, contemporary tunes as well as their own compositions which together with their regional styles, produces some really great Irish sets, as you can hear.

Early morning aboard a CalMac ferry, three hours out from Oban and from a grey mist, a concrete jetty appears. Welcome to Tiree…read Johnny Whalley’s review of Tiree Music Festival.

Johnny Whalley gives a little peek at the Tiree Music Festival which he’ll be covering for Folk Radio UK later this month!

Help Mànran to become the first band in the 21st century to take a Gaelic song into the official UK top 40. Download it today from itunes!