We humans love to label and categorize things. Be it animals, plants or historical periods, we like to see the world ordered and compartmentalized neatly into concepts that we can arrange and rearrange, that we can control. The same applies to arts where we slap labels of style and genre on to works whose creators … Continue reading Aoife Ní Bhriain & Cormac McCarthy’s “Cosán Casta”: two masters create a unique musical presence
Category: Artists – C
Calum MacPhail and Tide Lines save the Scottish summer, whatever the weather
Summertime in Scotland is famously unpredictable. Sunshine, rain, high winds, no wind, basically almost anything within 24 hours. It's not exactly known as a summer paradise (although me and my wife have enjoyed great summer weather there) but as climate change progresses, even in the British Isles, Scottish summers can come with some scorchers in … Continue reading Calum MacPhail and Tide Lines save the Scottish summer, whatever the weather
Corrina Hewat’s “Song of Oak and Ivy”: mesmerizing and beautiful
Corrina Hewat is in the same master's league with other Scottish harpists like Catriona McKay, Ailie Robertson and Rachel Newton, but she hasn't released her own music - at least in recorded form - in ages. But it's 2025 and here she is now, with music that has completely surprised and enchanted me. What an … Continue reading Corrina Hewat’s “Song of Oak and Ivy”: mesmerizing and beautiful
Cara Dillon’s “Coming Home” is a great work that requires your attention
Coming Home is the latest album by Ireland's fabulous Cara Dillon. It came out already in February, but as is so customary of me, I only found time to really listen to it now in August. My first reaction was "well this is decidedly not background music or sing-along stuff". Compared to the airy singer- … Continue reading Cara Dillon’s “Coming Home” is a great work that requires your attention
The Consequences: When You Weren’t Looking
Ah, sorry for the medium long pause, again. This time it was because of - suprise! - the return of Covid, most likely courtesy of the EG.5 variant that wrecked 3,5 weeks of my life... I was actually working from home almost all that time but I was not at all well, far from it. … Continue reading The Consequences: When You Weren’t Looking
Xmas Album(s) Review / Còig: Carols & Carols Too
Carols Too by Canada’s fabulous Celtic folkers Còig is a sequel to their 2015 Carols - at least the title of the album lets us use that word. Since this blog didn’t exist in 2015, a few words on their previous Xmas album. Carols quickly found its way to my ”best Xmas albums” list and … Continue reading Xmas Album(s) Review / Còig: Carols & Carols Too
Quick Take album reviews: An Irish double take
Quick takes on two very, very nice Irish albums, one quite recent and the other from 2018. Kyle Macaulay and Nicole Ní Dhubhshláine’s Barra Taoide is brim full of Irish trad and, I believe, some original stuff as well. His string instruments and her whistles and flutes are complemented by a very good band, with … Continue reading Quick Take album reviews: An Irish double take
Quick Take Album Reviews: “Allt”, Fàrsan, Còig, Mary Ann Kennedy
This is a quick look at some albums I've listened to lately and wish to note for their quality even if I have nothing too insightful or clever to say about them 🙂 - The stellar Fowlis-Conway-Dooley-McIntyre ensemble released Allt almost a year ago already but only now it's really been on power play here. … Continue reading Quick Take Album Reviews: “Allt”, Fàrsan, Còig, Mary Ann Kennedy
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