Northern Skyline | Clannad & Moya Brennan News, Multimedia and Discography

13 February 2010 View Comments

Happy Valentine’s day tomorrow!

Cat cuddling a teddy bear - click!

Hey everyone, happy V-day from Northern Skyline! I hope you all got cards. As for me, today I shall buy myself a card, a huge amount of chocolate, a bottle of wine and a few black and whites. Bliss… haha. Hope you all have a lovely day and smile, cause you’re all amazing! Happy cuddling, daydreaming, smiling, inspector-day day! And remember, we love you lots x

13 February 2010 View Comments

Fiddler’s ‘Spiral Awards’ Bid

All Dressed In Yellow

Fionán de Barra’s Shetland trad band Fiddler’s Bid has been nominated for a Spiral Award for their new album ‘All Dressed in Yellow‘. Fiddler’s Bid have been going for a more than a decade now and are the forerunners of Shetland music. Voting closed yesterday, but we are very confident from votes that they’ll win!! The new album is amazing, you can buy it from the newly-designed official Fiddler’s Bid website along with a few specialities… make sure to keep an eye out for their EU tour schedule!

13 February 2010 View Comments

Valentine’s day: Runa

Two thirds of Celtic Band Luna featuring Fionán de Barra and Shannon Lambert-Ryan

Two thirds of Luna

Fionán de Barra and his wife of almost one year, super-singer Shannon Lambert-Ryan (you’ll LOVE her voice) performed last night in Titusville Falls with their new band Runa (which is keeping Fionán very busy!). Fionán, who is a member of the Moya Brennan band and Clannad’s live big-band had a wee story in Irish Philly, here. As posted on our old site, their début album, ‘Jealousy’ is available now from their official website. Fionán is quite busy stateside, as well as in Europe with Moya’s band and his other band, Fiddler’s Bid, whose new album ‘All Dressed in Yellow’ has just been released. A portion of CD sales from Luna’s album will go to Haiti relief projects.

9 February 2010 View Comments

Clannad to perform on Moya Brennan’s ‘Music of Ireland’ PBS show

DVD cover

Moya Brennan’s US show, “Music of Ireland – Welcome Home” (click for trailer) will be broadcasting its first part in March 2010. The two-part programme celebrates half a decade of traditional and contemporary Irish music. Part one will feature performances and exclusive interviews from the likes of The Chieftains, U2, The Dubliners, Riverdance, and Bob Geldof. A sneak peak of Part 1′s chapters:

History of Irish music – Early 1900s

Pub session

Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

Pete Seeger’s Discovery of Irish Music

The McPeake Family

The Dubliners

The Chieftains

Clannad

Planxty

Riverdance

Van Morrison

Thin Lizzy

The Pogues

You can pre-order the CD, and soon DVD (CD/DVD combo) at Barnes & Noble.

Also, Clannad and Moya Brennan WILL perform exclusive tracks on the documentary, as will Órla Fallon and U2. Part II will feature Sinéad O’Connor and The Cranberries, who have just regrouped after a break. Mary Black, Gaelic Storm, The Script and Celtic Woman will also contribute interviews and/or songs.

6 February 2010 View Comments

Clannad’s Pól Brennan scores new film

Still from 'Dust'

Pól Brennan has composed the music for the November 2009 film ‘Dust’. The short film is set in Dublin in the year 2007. From the press release the storyline comes across very profound, we bet it’s a brilliant film and can’t wait to get it! “Dust is a film about people’s fear of getting involved in someone else’s problem. James, a Dublin taxi-driver, works hard to make a living. When a Latvian man, Valdis, is mugged next to his taxi, James finds himself reluctantly looking after him. Shot on S16 film, Dust captures the harder side of life in Dublin just before the fall of the Celtic Tiger.”

Pól also composed the music for ‘Kings’ and Irish language film that was considered as Ireland’s non-English entry to the Academy Awards (Oscars). We hope to see Pól do more soundtrack work in the future. With Clannad he recorded the soundtracks for the BBC’s ‘Atlantic Realm’, ‘The Angel and the Soldier Boy’ and of course ‘Robin of Sherwood’. Pól’s work since leaving Clannad has included working/producing with Irish singer Eimear Quinn, working on an album with his partner Tara Ní Bhroinn and releasing an album on Real World Records with Jori Hirota and Guo Yue.

6 February 2010 View Comments

Moya Brennan appears on The Chieftain’s new album

San Patricio

Moya Brennan has made an appearance on The Chieftain’s new album! Moya, who has appeared on a number of Chieftains albums makes a stunning contribution to the ‘San Patricio’ album. It was produced The Chieftains and Ry Cooder and has a huge Mexican influence. The six-time Grammy winners’ album also features Liam Neeson, Los Tigres del Norte, and dozens of other celebrated Mexican, American and Irish musicians and singers. ‘San Patricio’ brings to life the story of the San Patricio Battalion, Irish-Americans who deserted the United States Army to join the Mexican side in the Mexican-American War. Moya performs the song ‘Lullaby for the Dead’. You can hear samples online or watch a documentary on the album and its story over at Amazon.

6 February 2010 View Comments

Moya Brennan on new Máire Breatnach album

Cranna Ceoil

Moya Brennan has appeared on the new album by Irish fiddle and viola player, singer, composer, album producer and Norland Wind member Máire Breatnach! Máire has appeared on most of Moya’s solo albums and both have worked together on a range of other artists’ albums. The new album, ‘Cranna Ceoil / In Full Measure’ was released in January under the Gael Linn label, and will become more widely available over the coming weeks. We’ll add a sample as soon as possible! All tracks were composed by Máire, so we can’t wait to hear it. For more information, check out Máire’s official website.

22 January 2010 View Comments

I ndíl cuimhne Tony Clarke, ‘Legend’

Tony Clarke

On January 4th 2010, producer Tony Clarke passed away. He was the producer behind Clannad’s ‘Legend’, the BAFTA award-winning soundtrack from ‘Robin of Sherwood’, one of ITV’s most prolific programmes. ‘Legend’ is one of Clannad’s best known international albums, its film having again in 2009 been re-released in a deluxe box-set. Clannad were a huge part of the programme, and without Tony, it wouldn’t have come about so amazingly. A producer for the ‘Moody Blues’ he was considered the sixth member of the group. Fuller information can be found on the Moody Blues fansite and of course at the Clannad Newsblog. We are all as readers of Clannad and Moya Brennan news thankful for his HUGE contribution to our heroes’ works.

Tá sé ar shlí na fírinne anois, le beannacht Dé.

9 January 2010 View Comments

Moya and Iarla showcase the best of Irish music

Moya Brennan

I found a cool article in the Irish Times posted just 20 minutes ago about the south of Ireland’s biggest ever delegation of traditional musicians to the states. Moya Brennan, Iarla Ó Lionáird, John Spillane and many more of Ireland’s gems performed in New York’s city council chambers and will perform today as well. For more information, check out the article. It’s really amazing that New York and Ireland link so closely, the Conflict did a lot to merge the two places into the most rich pockets of Irish culture in the world.

16 December 2009 View Comments

Samples of ‘Ceol Cheann Dubhrann’ (updated)

Ceol Cheann Dubhrann

UPDATE 16 DEC 2009: Here is the front cover for the album designed by the wonderful Édain O’Donnell who also designed Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh’s album ‘Imeall’. Stunning photograph, reminds me of the remastered Clannad albums! Courtesy of Robert McMillen from An tEolas at the Irish News PS, you can BUY THE ALBUM TODAY!

ORIGINAL POST 13 DEC 2009: As promised, here are samples from ‘Ceol Cheann Dubhrann’. The launch was brilliant! Moya and Mairéad couldn’t be there due to being in Germany & Japan, but I spotted Leo who’s looking really well. Photos and stuff to come. I wish I could put up bigger samples, but I’ve decided against it because the album is to raise money for both Scoil Náisiúnta Rann na Feirste and Áislann Rann na Feirste, both of which promote the music of Rann na Feirste and the local communities contributions which can be heard and seen all around the world.

All musicians are from Rann na Feirste or have parents from the area apart from Moya Brennan and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, from Gaoth Dobhair although they have done a huge job keeping the songs of RNF alive. Moya’s song almost made me cry, it’s just gorgeous! From the album notes it was written by Séamus Ó Grianna (Jimí Fheilimí) and was first sung in 1925 by Hiúdaí Fheilimí. For full notes, grab the album in a few days from Cló Iar-Chonnachta – it is such a worthy cause. Scan of album cover coming soon! Below are samples of my personal favourites:

Lá Breá Te sa tSamhradh – Dónall Mac Ruairí