We had checked out Vrï’s latest album before the festival and had been quite impressed with the three Welsh guys singing in Welsh. They sounded vibrant and self-assured on the album and likewise so on stage as the opening act for Cara Dillon on Sat. 28th. As far as I have understood, they play traditional … Continue reading Celtic Connections 2023: Cara Dillon with Vrï
Category: Artists – C
Catriona Price: Hert
Catriona Price may not be a household name yet but the Celtic music community is surely familiar with Orkney’s fabulous fiddle strike force FARA whose lineup Catriona is a part of. She is also 50 % of the ambitious modern folk duo Twelfth Day. With classical violin training and already a long folk/trad career, she … Continue reading Catriona Price: Hert
Listening diary for May 23-29, 2022
If anything here seems interesting, go to your streaming service and try it out. And if you really, really like it, go to the artist’s web site or Bandcamp or iTunes or Google Play or Amazon or wherever and buy it in your preferred format - musicians need food too 😉 The Halton Quartet: Based … Continue reading Listening diary for May 23-29, 2022
Album Review / Cara: Grounded
It’s absolutely fab to see Cara are active and keep producing lovely albums! I haven’t seen them live but hope to, one fine day, when we can all breathe more freely than now. Grounded is yet another covid album, as the band informs us on their website. Maybe that’s why it’s, if not subdued, then … Continue reading Album Review / Cara: Grounded
Album Review / Colm Mac Con Iomaire: The River Holds Its Breath – Tost ar an Abhainn
Colm Mac Con Iomaire's new album is a natural link in the chain of his previous works: very calm and soothing music, this time with strings in the forefront. One might argue if this blog is the right place to review music whose Irish or Celtic roots are well in the background, hardly noticeable, but … Continue reading Album Review / Colm Mac Con Iomaire: The River Holds Its Breath – Tost ar an Abhainn
Album Review / Claire Hastings: Those Who Roam
Let's be honest about it: traditional songs from the Celtic and Nordic area tend to be... well, not all that complicated, musically. At least we who live in these areas and are familiar with their musical grammar can learn to hum or sing these tunes pretty quickly. So when artists take on this tradition and … Continue reading Album Review / Claire Hastings: Those Who Roam
Retro Review / Catriona McKay: Starfish (2007)
Starfish is a small wonder. The animal, of course, is one of nature's miracles, and there's a magical quality to harpist Catriona McKay's solo album, too, released 12 years ago. It's one of those albums where a true master decisively shows both the instrument's powers and her own artistic strength: her custom Starfish Scottish harp … Continue reading Retro Review / Catriona McKay: Starfish (2007)
Retro Review / Canterach (2001)
Canterach were a Scottish trad band featuring players who had been and who were to become top level musicians in the field; this is, as far as I know, the band's only album - a shame, because it's so delightful and one of my enduring favorites. It’s basically Scottish trad but with many upgrades, so … Continue reading Retro Review / Canterach (2001)
Retro Review / Calum Alex Macmillan: Till (2017)
Calum Alex Macmillan is a Scottish Gaelic singer and piper with classy band history with Dàimh and Mary Ann Kennedy’s Na Siod. His solo album Till (the word means 'return') is a remarkable achievement. I’d characterize his niche on this album as ”Gaelic singer-songwriter”; the musical style and the sparse but very effective arrangements are … Continue reading Retro Review / Calum Alex Macmillan: Till (2017)
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