Irish Variety

With apologies for the lack of recent posts, the MySpace page for the day is. . .two pages, those of a musical sister and brother from Inis Oírr (Inisheer) off the west coast of Ireland. Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola has a rather huskier voice than one is usually treated to in Irish music, quite a pleasant change of pace, especially in the effortless way she floats it around the twists and turns of traditional ornamentation. Also, rather differently from the average Gaelic singer (at least those I have had the pleasure of hearing lately), she includes a few songs in English. You can listen to a thorough sampling from her albums at her website here.

MacDara Ó Conaola. . .well, for starters he should most decidedly go down in history for being the fellow who sings a terribly catchy lead on "Bímse Féin ag Iascaireacht"--make sure you hear it! Of course, it will probably make you want to stick around for a couple more. The mournful "Dun Aengus" is a bit too soft-rock for my taste, but that is by no means the sole tone of the songs offered; "The Love Token," is in English, with an unassuming fiddle complement, and "Caislean an t-Sleibhe" is your solid Irish piece. Unfortunately, MacDara only has the MySpace page, so what you hear there is all you get for today.