| |
|
Bríd Ní Mhaoileoin
le/with Alan Burke
'Ar Mhuin na Muice'
HABRCD001 Habari Records 2004 (Own Label)
|
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
"Bewitching" Hotpress Magazine, Dublin
"... a singer with an unquenchable fire in her belly" The Irish Times
"Cornish cream-like vocals ... an auspicious new vocal talent" Folk Roots
"...an exceptionally able debut ... a compelling collection." Geoff Wallis
"...impatient for fun and breathless with sweet huskiness..." Tommy Sands
"This album is a delight." Bruce Camron, Radio 2MCE-FM, NSW, Australia
"Sensitive and hauntingly beautiful" Rootsreviews
"An absolute treasure for any fan of Celtic languages or culture" Tradivarium.at
"A gem of World Music" Concerto Magazine, Austria
Folk Roots Magazine, UK, December 2004
Gaelic song has been blessed with some new vocal discoveries over the last few years. Bríd Ní Mhaoileoin is another one to conjure with; born in Kenya and spending her early years
immersed in Masai tribal culture, until her family returned to Ireland and settled in the Ros Goill Peninsula, Co. Donegal. She cut her teeth touring with Donegal-based Ceoltóirí Ghoill, and appearing at festivals
in Scotland, Wales, Brittany and the US, before emerging out front. Extensive stage work has prepared the road for this, her solo debut.
Ar Mhuin na Muice means on the pig’s back and is a confident and forthright work. In the company of ex-Afterhours and now Airla guitarist/singer Alan Burke, himself no mean Gaelic singer, she ploughs a vocal furrow of familiar and rare songs
within the Irish language canon, plus two songs in English. Of the latter, The Fuschia immediately catches the ear with a gently unfolding melody, delivered in a distinctive vocal style, while
An tSeanbhean Bhocht shines in a spacious stripped-down treatment. Stór a Stór a Ghrá exhibits a steely feistiness and a rarley heard Nion a Bhaoillaigh
alludes to an auspicious new vocal talent. With florid arrangements and smooth-flowing production techniques neatly framing Ní Mhaoileoin’s Cornish cream-like vocals, the final result
at times recalls early Clannad in their Dulaman/Crann Úll period. Ar Mhuin na Muice is a finely wrought statement of intent - investigate.
John O’Regan, Folk Roots Magazine, December 2004 www.frootsmag.com
Musical Discoveries, USA, October 2004
Striking vocals characterize Irish Gaelic singer Brid Ni Mhaoileoin's debut album, Ar Mhuin na Muice (translated to On the Pig's Back)
(Habari Records (Ireland) 001, 2004) ... you'll want to play it again and again! *****
To read full article click here: www.musicaldiscoveries.com
Back to top
Rootstown, Belgium, September 2004
Bríd werd geboren in Kenia maar bracht haar kinderjaren door in Donegal, Ierland. Dat was de basis van waaruit ze als bodhrán-speelster en zangeres rondtrok
met de
familiegroep Ceoltóirí Ghoill. Midden de jaren 80 hield de groep het voor bekeken, Bríd ook en ze liet de muziek vijftien jaar links liggen. Bij wijze van spreken,
want heel die tijd wist ze dat ze ooit wel eens een cd zou maken. In 2000 ontmoette ze zanger-gitarist Alan Burke en dat was meteen de geknipte persoon om mee samen
te werken. Die collaboratie resulteerde in deze debuut-cd met bewerkingen van elf traditionals, één song van familievriend John McNutt (The Fuschia) en één gedicht
dat ze op muziek zetten (An tSeanbhean Bhocht; heel mooi gedaan!). Brid zingt deze liedjes in het sean-nós, speelt zelf een aantal keren de bodhrán en wordt vergezeld
door Alan (gitaar; lead vocals op An Trocaillín Donn), Kate Dunne (accordeon), Joe McHugh en Francis McIlduff (pipes & whistles), Kevin O’Connor (fiddle),
Ian Smith (piano), Wolf Zwiauer (bas) en een paar familieleden die de backing vocals doen. Sowieso een genietbare plaat voor wie houdt van traditionele Ierse zang
omringd door een traditionele instrumentatie. Dé hoogtepunten van de plaat zijn echter de a capella gezongen songs Ailiú Éanaí, A Stór A Stór A Ghrá en ’Níon A Bhaoilaigh
dat ze helemaal op haar eentje brengt. Geen opzienbaring, gewoon een prima debuut. (MN)
Marc Nolis, Rootstown, September 2004 www.members.tripod.com/RootsTown
Geoff Wallis, irishmusicreview August 2004
"...a compelling collection".
Click here to read the full article.
Geoff Wallis, www.irishmusicreview.com August, 2004
Concerto Magazine, August 2004
Wenige wissen, welche weltmusikalischen Schätze in Österreich im Verborgenen leuchten. Die in Graz lebende irische Sängerin Bríd Ní Mhaoileoin
bringt ihr Licht an die Öffentlichkeit und veröffentlichte heuer ihre erste CD - mit tatkräftiger Unterstützung des Sängers Alan Burke [Afterhours],
in der irischen Szene bekannter Instrumentalisten wie Francie McIlduff, Joe McHugh und Kevin O’Connor sowie ihrer Geschwister Caitlín und Pádraig. Als Teenager
war die in Kenia gebürtige Bríd Ní Mhaoileoin Leadvokalisten ihres Familienensembles Ceoltóirí Ghoill, mit dem sie bei Festivals in ganz Europa
mit gälischen Gesängen aus ihrer Heimat Donegal und solchen in Swahili begeisterte. Auch "Ar Mhuin na Muice" enthält einige wunderschöne Lieder aus dem wilden,
sturmumtosen Donegal im Nordwesten Irland, aber auch aus anderen Regionen. Geschmackvoll dargeboten und arrangiert, mit Texten in Gälisch und Englisch sowie üppigen Informationen
zu den Liedern und ihrer Geschickte.
Richard Schuberth, Concerto Magazine, August, 2004 www.concerto.at
Back to top
Irish Music Magazine, August 2004
"Anyone with maybe just a wee bit more than a smidgen of Gaelic will know that the title of Bríd Ní Mhaoileoin’s
new CD, "Ar Mhuin na Muice", means "On the Pig’s Back". And that in turn means that one is doing well, or as they say in Donegal where Bríd spent her
childhood, ‘doing rightly’ because there are no great financial worries. And that includes Alan Burke, singer/guitarist, "the musical partner she had been looking for"
and whom she met three years ago. During her childhood and into her early teens, Bríd played wuth the family group Ceoltóirí Ghoill. They travelled Ireland, Scotland,
Wales, Brittany and the U.S.
The group sang in English, Gaelic and Swahili. The first two languages need no explanatioin - but Swahili! That’s because Bríd
was born in Kenya - to be near the mother. Her address today is in Austria where this CD was launched in early May and a week later there was a repeat performance at Club Chonradh na Gaeilge
in Dublin. In her distinctive Donegal accent Bríd sings twelve songs of varied background and type, and Alan sings one. The first song on the CD, "Bídeach na gCarad"
is a love song from Connemara; it’s followed by "The Fuschia", a ‘pride of place’ song in English by Bríd’s family friend, tweed
designer John McNutt from Ros Goill in north Donegal.
Farther along Bríd sings a song she heard sung by the Kerry singer, Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaoich; there‘s the well-known children’s song
"Ailiú Éanaí"; next is a song from the 1798 United Irishmen revolutionary period, "An tSeanbhean Bhocht". The next song needs no introduction either: "Green Grows the Laurel".
Alan finishes off the thirteen tracks with a delightful rendition of a song based on a true story, "An Trucaillín Donn". It’s about a man who was prosecuted
in 1910 for having his name on his cart in Irish. He lost, but everybody else then put their names on their carts in Irish, and the law couldn’t do nothing about it!
Bríd is well served by her guest musicians who include Kevin O’Connor, (fiddle), Joe McHugh (pipes, whistles), Kate Dunne (accordion),
Pádraig Ó Maoileoin (guitar/vocals), Caitlín Ní Mhaoileoin (vocals) and Ian Smith (piano, vocals).
Aidan O’Hara, Irish Music Magazine, August, 2004
If you look in an English dictionary, you will find that "on the pig’s back" also means "to have no financial worries".
But If you look at what is said in the cd booklet about song number 12, you’ll see that it is not very likely that this was the meaning that was being taken from it!
And anyway, how many bleedin’ musicians do you know who have no financial worries?! ;-) [Ed. (@brid.at)]
Hotpress Magazine, Dublin, July 2004
"Despite a fifteen-year break from the music scene that followed [Ceoltóirí Ghoill’s] split in 1985,
Ní Mhaoileoin’s acapella training is evident in her sure, solid vocals. Her debut solo CD
Ar Mhuin na Muice (On the Pig’s Back) was produced by Alan Burke, formerly of the band Afterhours, who also contributes
guitar and backing vocals to fine effect. While many of the songs here are well-known (‘Green Grows the Laurel’, ‘Stór
a Stór a Ghrá’, ‘Bríd Óg Ní Mháile’), Ní Mhaoileoin manages to put her own
individual twist on them, to bewitching effect."
Sarah McQuaid, Hotpress Magazine, 15th July, 2004
Back to top
The Irish Times, June 2004
"The Donegal singer’s début whispers of gentility, but once the epidermis is peeled away, a strapping personality emerges that’d put legs on
the coyest of songs. Ní Mhaoileoin’s vocals are seasoned by her years as a member of Céoltóirí Ghoill, and partnered by guitarist
and singer Alan Burke, Ar Mhuin na Muice is laced with a love of history and geography, and a delight in tweaking well-known songs into shapes previously unseen.
At times the production leans towards overweening politeness, but Ní Mhaoileoin’s reading of standards and rarities (Níon a Bhaoilaigh), and her
feisty a capella version of A Stór a Stór a Ghrá, accompanied by her sister and brother, Caitlín and Pádraig, speak of a singer with
an unquenchable fire in her belly."
Siobhán Long,The Irish Times, 25th June, 2004
Caitlín is her mother, not her sister! But sometimes you’d think she was her sister, the way she acts ;-) [Ed. (@brid.at)]
Tradivarium.at, July 2004
Die Sängerin aus dem irischen County Donegal, seit einigen Jahren in Graz wohnhaft, legt hier ein grossartiges Debut hin. Schon der farbenfroh-freche
Cover (Bríd vor einer seltsam lächelnden Sonne - letztere blickt normalerweise aus einem Bild des Grazer Künstlers Manfred Url!) lässt
einiges erwarten -
sehr bunt und abwechslungsreich ist auch die CD geworden.
In klanglicher Hinsicht bringt "Ar Mhuin na Muice" eine gelungene Mischung - ein weites Spektrum vom fast Orchestralen bis hin zu ganz sparsamen,
introvertierten Arrangements. Produziert von ihrem langjährigen Duopartner Alan Burke (bekannt hierzulande durch die Band "Afterhours"),
der auch
Vocals und Gitarre beisteuert, wurden als Gäste unter anderem der Piper Joe McHugh, Kevin O’Connor (Fiddle), der ausgezeichnete Schweizer Bassist
Wolf Zwiauer sowie Bríds Bruder und ihre Mutter Caitlín (Harmony Vocals) geladen. Wer’s nie verwinden konnte, dass die Gruppe Clannad nach
ihren
wunderschönen und innovativen ersten CDs nach und nach ins Esoterik-Kitsch-Eck abgedriftet sind: hier erwartet euch eine zeitgemäße gültige Fortsetzung
dieses Konzepts... und mehr als das!
Das Songmaterial umfasst grossteils traditionelles Material in gälischer Sprache, Bríds herbe, eindringlich-klare Stimme und ihre sehr persönlichen
und frischen Interpretationen lassen jeden Song zu einem besonderen Unikat werden. Der besondere Bezug zu Sprache (Bríd ist mehrsprachig aufgewachsen
und auch universitär als Übersetzerin tätig) ist dann auch am ausführlichen Booklet zu erkennen - hier gibt’s die vollen Übersetzungen
der Songs, sowie
kompetente und teils sehr witzig gehaltene Notizen zu Quellen, Herkunft etc. - für an keltischen Sprachen und Kultur Interessierte sowieso ein besonderer
Schatz.
Die Wahlgrazerin ist naturgemäß auch immer wieder in Österreich zu hören - ein Glücksfall für die einheimische Szene! Alle Infos über
ihre Konzerte,
Biographie, Photos etc. gibt’s auf www.brid.at - dort kann auch die CD bestellt werden (18,- Euro + Versand).
July 2004 www.tradivarium.at
Back to top
www.rootsreview.co.uk May 2004
The debut album of this outstanding singer features a balanced mixture of sean nós songs and ballads, played and sung with much feeling,
as well as rhythmic songs - a perfect showcase for the fantastic musicians.
Bríd’s singing is sensitive and hauntingly beautiful. She brilliantly carries her words forward and performs some breathtaking sean nós.
You can feel her love of the music on Caidé sin don tsé sin? (what’s that to anyone?), one of her favourite songs. Carpe diem! She
urges us with her singing while the bodhrán beats the rhythm.
Alan, who started out as a percussionist, delights with his vibrant guitar playing, enchants the ballads with his beautiful backing vocals
and plays the guitar as well as the bouzouki on traditional songs. The Donegal song An Trucaillín Donn (the little brown cart) deals with the
suppression of the Irish language in the beginning of the 20th century. Alan’s beautiful singing is supported by the band’s excellent playing:
Bríd on
bodhrán, Wolf on base, Kevin on fiddle and Kate on accordion.
Kate Dunne plays the accordion with much feeling and passion. Don’t miss her excellent solo on Bídeach na gCarad (sweetest of friends).
Joe McHugh not only is a master of the uillean pipes, but he’s a great whistler as well.
Kevin O’Connor’s remarkable fiddling contributes to the beauty of this album.
Wolf Zwiauer’s driving base, alongside with Bríd’s bodhrán and Alan’s guitar, is responsible for the fine rhythms.
Francis McIlduff, a brilliant musician as well, plays the pipes and the whistle on the Donegal song Máire Bhruithneal (you might have heard
this song on Clannad’s Live album).
Pádraig and Caitlín accompany Bríd on the stunning a capella song Stór a Stór a Ghrá (Darling Darling Dear).
This is certainly one of my favourite
songs. And Pádraig plays the guitar while Bríd sings and Joe plays the whistles on the Irish version of the song of the 1600s which is known
worlwide
Cá raibh tú ar feadh an lae uaim? (Where have you been all day).
Ian Smith, the sound engineer, plays the piano and adds some backing vocals as well.
Another highlight is the traditional children’s song Ailiú Éanaí an a capella performance by Bríd and Alan.
Bríd’s voice has been recorded on
multiple tracks and the title words have been adapted as well. Thus the singing recalls yodelling sounds in the Alps. I can hear some influence of
African chanting as well, no wonder, Bríd spent her first childhood years in Kenya.
Bríd will certainly inspire friends of Irish music with her album. Working with Alan and the brilliant guest musicians this stunning CD is bound to
have success and her genuine style is an excellent enrichment to the folk scene.
The CD is published on Habari Records (own label) 2004. Have a look at www.brid.at and you will find plenty of information on Bríd’s different projects.
May 2004 www.rootsreview.co.uk
Back to top
www.breizh.de (Breton online magazine published in Germany)
"Das Debüt Album dieser aussergewöhnlichen Künstlerin präsentiert sich mit einer ausgewogenen Mischung von traditionellen a Kapella
Liedern,
wunderschönen Balladen, gefühlvoll begleitet, und virtuos gespielten, rhythmischen Songs, die die Musiker dazu einladen ihr Können zu zeigen.
Brids Spektrum reicht von gefühlvollem und atemberaubend schönem Gesang über eindrucksvoll gesungenen Texten bis zu rhythmisch vorgetragenen
Sean Nós Gesängen. Ausserdem spielt Bríd das Bodhrán und die bones. Auf ‘Caidé sin don tsé sin?’, einem von
Bríds Lieblingsliedern, hört man die Freude am Spiel heraus. Bodhrán und Gesang drängen uns Carpe diem".
May 2004 www.breizh.de
Click here for full article.www.breizh.de
Back to top
Tommy Sands, May 2004
I have known Bríd since she was just a little girl fronting the talented and
charming "Ceoltóirí Ghoill". Her solid grounding in both the language and
tradition gives her the power of both playfulness and passion. Her voice
impatient for fun and breathless with sweet huskiness is a welcome sound
after all the years.
www.tommysands.com
|
|