Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and Ultan O’Brien – Cúirt Bhaile Nua
‘Cúirt Bhaile Nua’ is the first single from the forthcoming debut album Solas an Lae by traditional singer Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin (who recently performed at Tradition Now with his siblings Saileog and Muireann Ní Cheannabháin) and fiddle-player/violist Ultan O’Brien. ‘Cúirt Bhaile Nua’ is a traditional song from Mayo. The duo’s version combines droning strings with Ó Ceannabháin’s Conamara-rooted sean-nós style. Solas an Lae will be released on 5 November with an online album launch on at 8.30pm-10pm. For more, visit https://eoghanultan.bandcamp.com/track/c-irt-bhaile-nua-single

Antoni O’Breskey – The Wee Weaver
‘The Wee Weaver’ is a newly released single by Dublin-based Tuscan pianist and composer Antoni O’Breskey and band, taken from their new album Samara. The song features his daughter Consuelo Nerea Breschi (of the band Varo) on vocals, O’Breskey on piano and trumpet, Ultan O’Brien on fiddle, Aongus Mac Amhlaigh on cello, Tom Mulrooney on bass, and Leonora Lyne on flute. Commenting on the song, O’Breskey says: ‘This song has always appeared to us to be quite dreamlike. It is not clear if it is a rare happy love song, or if the love story only happens in the man’s imagination: he is dreaming about Mary, but in reality, he still remains “confined to his loom”, far away from his love.’ Visit https://nomadicpiano.bandcamp.com/

Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin – Caoineadh Cine
‘Caoineadh Cine’, based on a traditional ‘keen’ or lament, is the second song from a new album-in-progress by traditional singer and composer Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin. ‘As I was arranging and recording the keen,’ she writes on her website www.irishsong.com, ‘it was clear to me that it was emerging as a primal expression of collective loss, to give relief and transcendence. I sing it with great respect and gratitude to our ancestors, and in sorrow for all the resounding silences in our collective history that continue to affect an unexpressed grief and suffering. Invoking the constancy and empathy of the elements and celestial planets at a time of sorrow is a feature of some traditional Irish laments, and which has influenced my work.’ At its core, ‘Caoineadh Cine’ is a traditional keen from the singing of Cití Eoghain Éamoinn Ní Ghallchóir from Gaoth Dobhair (c. 1950) and is reimagined here as a new composition. It was recorded and produced in Redbox Studios by Dónal O’Connor who also plays harmonium, fiddle and viola on the track. For more, visit www.irishsong.com

TRÚ – Green Blues
Northern Irish folk trio TRÚ wrote, recorded and filmed ‘Green Blues’ during lockdown. It’s a protest song marking Black History Month and also 175 years since Frederick Douglass arrived in Ireland. The opening lyrics read ‘South Massachusetts is the place I was raised up / This country is cursed and it’s none of my fault / Guns going off, shooting young ones in trouble / Strange fruit on the trees, where’s my damn wall?’ Visit https://truband3.bandcamp.com/.

Ross Ainslie – Vana
Vana is the new album from Scottish piper Ross Ainslie, released today. Ainslie’s powerful performance with harper Catriona McKay at last year’s Achill International Harp Festival was one of the highlights of the weekend. The new album is a modern take on the Scottish piping tradition with almost all music written by Ainslie and featuring a range of musicians, from electric guitarist Malcolm Jones to Clare-based Sarod player Matthew Noone. Visit https://rossainslie.bandcamp.com/

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