Ian Lynch and River Lea – Fire Draw Near: An Anthology of Traditional Irish Song and Music
Rough Trade’s folk division River Lea has this month released Fire Draw Near: An Anthology of Traditional Irish Song and Music. The album was compiled by Ian Lynch of Lankum and comprises thirteen Irish traditional songs and tunes from the archives, recorded in various parts of the country between 1947 and 2013. ‘The Finding of Moses’ by Dublin singer Frank Harte; ‘The Cat That Kittled in Jamie’s Wig’ by Donegal fiddle player Francie Byrne; and Traveller singer Mary Doran’s recording of ‘When I was in Horseback’ are among the works on the album. ‘Colonel Fraser, My Love Is In America / Rakish Paddy’ also features on the album and is the only recording of piper Johnny Doran. Commenting on the record, Lynch said: ‘Although I’ve written and spoken academically about traditional songs a lot over the years, I’ve never had to do it on emotional terms; to say what they mean to me on a personal level. And it requires describing the indescribable. I think that it’s something about family and community; it’s something about the embodiment of a different state of mind and it’s something about nourishing the soul during the dark parts of the year. It’s something about aunties and uncles, parents and grandparents, neighbours and friends.’ Fire Draw Near is also a monthly Irish traditional music podcast and radio show hosted by Lynch. Purchase the album: https://store.roughtraderecords.com/collections/river-lea/products/various-artists-fire-draw-near

NewDad – Ladybird
Emerging Galway four-piece NewDad, who released their debut EP Waves in March, have this week released a new track ‘Ladybird’ – a haze of lo-fi indie with a bright, floaty sound, crashing cymbals and the signature ethereal vocals by lead singer Julie Dawson. The band are currently on tour performing across Ireland, the UK and Europe and have recently been announced to play at SXSW in March next year. ‘Ladybird’ is also accompanied by a new music video directed by Hugh Mulhern. Purchase ‘Ladybird’ on Bandcamp: https://newdadofficial.bandcamp.com/track/ladybird

CMAT – No More Virgos
Pop singer-songwriter CMAT has this week released a new single ‘No More Virgos’. The song is upbeat and synth-fuelled with a thumping, disco feel to it, reminiscent of the music of Welsh pop singer Marina and the Diamonds. It follows previous release ‘2 Wrecked 2 Care’ in June. CMAT also announced this week her upcoming debut album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead will be released on 25 February 2022, and she will go on tour in spring across Ireland, the UK and the US. Visit: www.cmatbaby.com/ 

Denise Chaila – Energy
‘Energy’ is the new single from Limerick rapper and poet Denise Chaila, out today on Narolane Records. The track, which features Narolane co-owner and producer MuRli on vocals in the verse, Danny Lanham on guitar, Bríd Ann McGowan on harp, and trumpets by Paul Kiernan follows Chaila’s previous song ‘061’, released in June. The bouncing, smoothly polished track has a pop-centric, old-school hip-hop sound to it and will be included in upcoming EP It’s a Mixtape, out on 26 November. Commenting on the song, Chaila said: ‘I wrote this song when I was tired and grieving. Somehow, the experience of creating it (from conception to recording to filming) became a massive learning curve. Singing “you can’t take my energy” while mentally and emotionally drained, living through incredible uncertainty and trying to find stable ground from moment to moment became a challenge I didn’t intend to set myself. One I’m glad I did.’ Purchase ‘Energy’ on Bandcamp: https://denisechaila.bandcamp.com/

Damien McGeehan – Kin
Kin is the second solo album from Donegal fiddle player Damien McGeehan, following his debut album The Tin Fiddle from 2017. McGeehan is also a member of traditional trio Fidil, with fiddle players Aidan O’Donnell and Ciarán Ó Maonaigh, and has performed and recorded extensively as a session musician. Kin is an album with a fuller sound with textured instrumentation, featuring several guest musicians including singer Shauna Mullin, guitarist and accordionist Seán Óg Graham (who also produced the record), Kieran Munnelly on flute and whistle, Liam Bradley on percussion, and Conor McCreanor on bass. It includes several of McGeehan’s own compositions and the arrangements incorporate influences from other genres such as jazz, rockabilly and Senegalese kora music. Purchase Kin on McGeehan’s website: www.damienmcgeehan.com/

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