"Trad" music and etc. (Lankum)

agorathamantis · 2023-03-26T18:01:41.399Z

Very cool to see Lankum mentioned here - had tickets to attend a concert here in Maine just before Covid upended everything… Agreed that they are doing a lot of work to reinvigorate critical discussion within trad/folk music. The Mary Wallopers are also doing this, though in a somewhat more playful (less constructive?) way.
Regarding @graymazes mention of drone: Ian Lynch’s new album puts sustained tones at the fore. I’ve always liked music that deploys more interesting techniques and approaches within a traditional setting. Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh’s music does this very well.
Sharing this here in case others aren’t familiar: Radie Peat & Daragh Lynch (LANKUM) - 'Hares on the Mountain' from episode 3 of 'This Ain't No Disco' - YouTube

Gregg · 2023-03-26T18:20:46.345Z

Fovea Hex probably my fave modern take on trad stuff, definitely check if you haven’t heard before. main vocalist is Clodagh Simonds (formerly of Mellow Candle):

And this one (unrelated, new to me, from 1974) blowing me away today:

secretstates · 2023-03-27T11:59:56.605Z

Just read this on the NYT and it seemed worth a share.

It has been thrilling to see Irish trad get so envigorated and a younger generation embrace the culture that I sometimes think we’ve been made to feel embarrassed about over the recent past.

fellowfinch · 2023-03-27T12:02:48.454Z

Why have you been made to feel embarrassed about? Curious, as I’m not Irish…

secretstates · 2023-03-27T12:47:56.209Z

Well, I guess perhaps just the homogenisation that all cultures face. I’m really not qualified to speak for a nation but I’d put it down to all manner of things from changes in education due to economic decline to the sprawl of globalisation. Common themes elsewhere but unbelievable for a country that trades so boldly on its culture.

drehleierguy · 2023-03-27T18:43:11.776Z

no mention of Spiro yet? amazing bridges between folk/trad and minimalist pattern musics:

graymazes · 2023-04-01T09:37:19.583Z

i am honestly confused: is “trad” only an irish thing? or might it cover other stuff derived from british iles musics? or (one could hope) might this be an expansive enough concept to cover other musics?

i must admit. i am a jewish bastard from california, with no blood connection to the british isles (save for my wife, a Cronin of County Cork)

but as i was studying the fiddle in all its shapes, it was the irish (and, i must admit the scottish) that appealed the most

i’ll be honest: it’s always a story that catches me. pattern-music in itself rarely quite cuts it without context; that applies to every “master” of what i was raised to call “american minimalism” (don’t hate me, it’s what they called it)

anyway here’s a song i love, and if it sends you on a Silly Wizard rabbithole then more’s the merrier

Gregg · 2023-04-01T13:01:44.763Z

graymazes:

is “trad” only an irish thing?

Not at all, although you might easily come to that conclusion from this thread! The designation “Trad Folk” is a bit of a minefield that I won’t go into, but I will post a couple of links to some stunning English “trad” singers!

And an English singer doing an Irish guitarist (Johnny Moynihan of The Dubliners) song:

tehn · 2023-04-01T14:12:29.352Z

the wind that shakes the barley (wikipedia) sung by lisa gerrard (dead can dance):

ps. irish trad goes dungeon synth in 1986

Gregg · 2023-04-01T14:49:52.922Z

Yeah, bit OT but I have the MFSL version of this on vinyl, and it’s the last track on the side, it’s a total torture test for carts, if it can track this it can track anything!

graymazes · 2023-04-04T23:34:57.912Z

[ I Would Not Live Always | John Francis Flynn | River Lea Recordings ]

john francis flynn debut LP I Would Not Live Always is really nice

some lovely modern touches with synths / tape loops / jazz harmonies / patternish pulsings

eblomquist · 2023-04-04T23:38:12.585Z

Oh this is lovely, thanks for the tip!

On another note, is anyone into Tuung? I like them a lot although I am mostly familiar with their earlier work…

Also there is Malinky, whose Three Ravens is wonderful.

ubu · 2023-04-05T23:02:44.313Z

i like this film

National Film Board of Canada

Jean Carignan, violoneux

Homme du peuple, chauffeur de taxi, Jean Carignan est surtout l'un des plus grands violoneux du monde. Sous ses doigts, les « reels » ou rigodons apparaissent comme …

(couldn’t find a version with subtitles)

dandante · 2023-04-07T19:53:37.057Z

Hi everyone - just a note to say I am delighted and (maybe not?) surprised to find enthusiasts of trad (or whatever you want to call it) here. Love Lankum too.

I’m a fiddler myself, mostly of the old-time USian variety. Still trying to figure out how to shoehorn that stuff into our wacky electronic toys – it’s a different process for everyone, I imagine.

killingtime · 2023-04-07T21:11:42.106Z

Another enthusiast of the “Trad” music scene here, I regularly play guitar in a irish session in a pub here in Cornwall, cant let this thread go without a mention of the collab between Irish piper/flautist John Mc Sherry and USA based producer/musicianTyler Duncan, their first album is a gem , listening to their second album for the first time now

the olllam

audio — the olllam

joelcorriveau · 2023-04-08T00:47:40.555Z

YES! I’m really enjoying Tunng. I’ll admit, it’s only been recently that they entered my awareness. I can’t believe how long they have been playing, how many releases, and that I’ve never heard of them!

They remind me of “next steps” in listening after some of the early, folk pop Animal Collective albums.

I have been learning Irish flute for the past 3 years. Pandemic project, je suppose. It really fills my cup learning these nutritiously dense melodies.

I’m experimenting with wooden flute + iPad as an effects chain. Not very trad.

If you are interested in learning more about Irish/Celtic music, I highly recommend Irish Music Stories podcast by Boston flute player, Shannon Heaton, (who is also my teacher).

Flook: a great Irish trad (flute) band.
O’Jizo: awesome Japanese band playing Irish trad.
Ross Ainslie + Ali Hutton: Scottish trad, with bagpipes and synthesizers (stand out track for me is Kings)

/rambles!

Glamaig · 2023-04-08T06:22:38.965Z

Hi there everyone, great to see this pop up here on lines. I am from a trad music background and toured/recorded with some of the folks mentioned here and beyond. I am a gaelic speaker and grew up with the language and the music from my earliest years.

I have tons to share in this field if anyone is interested but to start for anyone who is interested in ECM etc. artists like Fraser Fifield, Aidan O’Rourke and Chris Stout are worth seeking out.

On a different tact worth looking up singers like Lizzie Higgins, Shiela Stewart and any of the recordings of Gaelic Psalms from the Isle of Lewis.

Bands like the Cauld Blast Orchestra, Mouth Music and Lau are pretty innovative as was the incredible Martyn Bennett (greatest personal hero).

In terms of protest and powerful music Dick Gaughan is essential, as is Frank Harte.

Of further interest might be the ceol mor of Donald Macpherson, the piping of Paddy Kennan and the albums like Coolfin by Donal Lunny.

If anyone is looking for anything in particular I’d be happy to suggest anything that comes to mind. Cheers!

eblomquist · 2023-04-08T10:52:22.756Z

Brilliantl!

I’ve loved Celtic music since I first heard the Chieftains over 40 years ago. I’ve long fantasized about learning to play it but never really made any meaningful moves in that direction, although in my improvisational band it’s not uncommon for us to wind up in some kind of syncretic zone between Celtic and Middle Eastern feels…

I’m also fascinated by the intersection of those two musical currents but I’ve said enough.

Nice to meet you!

Ed

Glamaig · 2023-04-09T19:52:42.212Z

That’s great, music of the people, it travels lightly across the globe, nice to meet you too!

eblomquist · 2023-04-09T19:57:19.940Z

I was listening to Bothy Culture, which I was happy to find on Apple Music, having had the CD since it came out.

I noticed that your lines handle is the same as the title of one the coolest tracks on that record and wondered if there is a story behind that…