Category Archives: Ceol (Music)

Some Quick Posts

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Scúp - TG4

Scúp – TG4

First up a review in the Irish Times of the new TG4/BBC co-production, the comedy-drama “Scúp”, penned by Irish author and screenwriter Colin Bateman (the man behind the mid-2000s BBC hit “Murphy’s Law”):

“From reporters having to beg for their salaries to the canny deployment of question marks in headlines to see off libel accusations, Scúp, TG4’s new drama about a Belfast Irish-language weekly paper, hits some amusingly accurate notes in its depiction of a local newsroom.

Given most television portrayals of journalists fall several broadsheets-in-a-row wide of the mark, it’s no surprise that Scúp is the creation of a former journalist.”

Second is a heads-up for Sibéal Davitt’s invitation to experience some Trip-nós at the Culture Box in Templebar, on the 14th of March. And if you’re wondering what Trip-nós is:

“Trip-nós – it’s disco but not as you know it. Experience a completely unique dance experiment mixing Ireland’s indigenous ‘sean-nós’ dance with contemporary disco-inspired moves. Trip-nós is a live performance / workshop mixing sean-nós and contemporary dance with electronic music.

How does it work? It’s simple. First the Trip-Nós gang do their thaaang and then participants must choose which style of dance they would like to ‘represent’. They will then learn four steps or more in their preferred style which will be categorised in numbers 1-4. Finally the two groups must battle it out in an 80’s themed dance-off and… hey presto… Trip-Nós is born! Expect some belters including the epic ‘Inspector Norse’ …yeah, you know what I’m talkin’ bout!

There’s only room for 30 people so register here.”

Tayto as Gaeilge - Cáis agus Oinniún

Tayto as Gaeilge – Cáis agus Oinniún

Now there’s a mashup! Talking of which the Oirish Sun, model Roz Lipsett, Tayto and An Ghaeilge:

“Yesterday Tayto crisps launched a limited edition 1980s-inspired pack ‘as Gaeilge’ to promote the language. Model and Gaeilgeoir ROZ LIPSETT, 27, showcased the retro package.

Here she talks about why her native tongue is so important to her.

I ABSOLUTELY love that I can speak Irish, it’s something I’m very proud of and something I’m very privileged to have.

I went to a regular English-speaking primary school but in sixth class my parents sent to me to Colaiste na Rinne in Waterford, which is a strict Irish-only school. At the time I was horrified at having to leave my friends and move from Dublin to Waterford as a boarder.

But now I know my family did me a huge favour and I’m still friends with loads of the guys I met in An Rinn.

Irish was always my best subject in school. My family are all Gaeilgeoirs so they always spoke Irish at home. They are from Mayo and they have a very proud Irish tradition.

By the time I was leaving An Rinn I was fluent. Now, any opportunity I get, I will start waffling on in Irish, it feels very natural to me and I just really enjoy speaking it”

A quick blast from IFTN:

“TG4’s ‘Lorg na gCos: Súil Siar ar Mise Éire’, which concerns the making of Irish masterpiece ‘Mise Éire’ (an examination of Irish society in the years surrounding the 1916 Rising) has been nominated for a Focal award recognising excellence in archive films.

The documentary, which translates as ‘Finding The Footprints – A Look Back At Mise Éire’ has been recognised in the category for ‘Best Use of Footage in an Arts Production’ at the 10th annual Focal International Awards, set to take place in London on 2 May.”

And a view of Irish from the United States.

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Ceol Ar An Imeall

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Ceol ar an Imeall, TG4′s indie music show, is back tonight at 23.00 on TG4. Lots of Irish bands performing live in studio plus interviews with a host of international acts. A whole gaggle of performances for Ceol ar an Imeall are available to watch for free here. Enjoy!

Follow Ceol ar an Imeall on Facebook or Twitter.

Two Tech Stories For Gaeilgeoirí

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Two tech stories for the Irish-speaking community via the Silicon Republic. The first highlights the addition of the TG4 player to the line-up of on-demand television services provided by the major Irish cable and broadband company UPC.

“On-demand TV now comes as Gaeilge, as TG4’s line-up is added to UPC On Demand, which has now seen more than 10m views six months on from its launch.

TG4 Player now joins on-demand content from the RTÉ Player, TV3’s 3Player and 1,400 hours of series box sets available on UPC On Demand.

… the TG4 Player now brings up to 40 Irish-language documentaries, entertainment, music and lifestyle series to the mix, including flagship drama Ros na Rún, Nuacht TG4, and current affairs programme 7Lá.”

Meanwhile:

“Move over MTV and Vevo… a new Irish-language video app called TG Lurgan has launched to present music videos as Gaeilge. The app has been developed by the makers of the Irish-language social network Abair Leat! which launched earlier this year.

The free app TG Lurgan is now available to download for Android and iOS users from Google Play and the Apple App Store. The app has been developed by the Irish language school Coláiste Lurgan, which is headed up by Michéal Ó Foighil and created Abair Leat!

The new TG Lurgan app features contemporary Irish-language music videos, as well as tutorial videos on learning Irish. It also allows users to create their own playlists.

TG Lurgan is also on the Vimeo platform and recently passed the 1m plays milestone after launching on Vimeo more than two years ago.”

TG Lurgan on Vimeo can be seen here. You can download the app for iPhones from iTunes or from Google Play for Android.

Gráinne Holland – Teanga na nGael

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Gráinne Holland – Teanga na nGael – Language of the Gael

In a shameless rip-off of the Cedar Lounge Revolution here (with apologies) is my own “Something For The Weekend“.

Belfast’s Gráinne Holland is one of Ireland’s most talented new musical artists. Her innovative 2011 album Teanga na nGael (“Language of the Gael”) combines traditional Irish music with a European sound that echoes elements of pop, jazz and several other influences. Its say’s much for her talent and breadth of artistic vision that even non-Irish speakers have given her work rave reviews, proving yet again that music can be a truly international language.

She typifies in many ways the new generation of Gaeilgeoirí or Irish-speaking citizens in Ireland: self-confident in their language, culture and identity. In Gráinne’s case this has allowed her to take Irish traditional music and craft it into something both new yet old that has gained a wide appeal beyond these shores.

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Imram 2012, Leonard Cohen And More

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Imram 2012 – Féile Litríochta Gaeilge, Túr na nAmhrán, Tionscadal Cohen – Leonard Cohen

Today’s Irish Times has a lengthy examination by Úna Mullally of the Irish arts scene that is well worth reading:

“Imram, the Irish-Language Literature Festival takes place from October 11th to the 20th, and offers a dynamic programme. There are familiar names participating: Louis de Paor, Dairena Ní Chinnéide, Micheál Ó Conghaile. And there are familiar names discussed: Pádraic Ó Conaire and Seán Ó Ríordáin among them. But there is a current of energy flowing through the festival that those used to the traditional narratives of the Irish language in the arts might be surprised by.

There is an indoor and outdoor multimedia installation by Ceaití Ní Bheildiúin; a dance piece called Ré written by Daithí Ó Muirí and choreographed by Fearghus Ó Conchúir; contemporary prose from Éilís Ní Anluain; the Mouth On Fire theatre company reading Beckett’s poetry in Irish; The Cohen Project sees poets Liam Ó Muirthile and Gabriel Rosenstock translate some of Leonard Cohen’s work into Irish, with Liam Ó Maonlaí, David Blake, Hilary Bow and the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra providing the music.

Next week, a two-day symposium is being held in Dublin aiming to “explore, challenge and provoke notions of contemporary arts practice in Irish.” The symposium, titled Fás agus Forbairt’ (Grow and Develop) is hoping to bring together contemporary artists who are currently working in Irish and artists who may speak Irish but whose work is in English.

 

In music, the Kilas and the Ó Maonlaís were flying the flag for Irish-inflected contemporary music from the 1990s on, and that’s still the case. The annual Seachtain na Gaeilge Ceol compilation CDs feature contemporary Irish artists singing Irish-language versions of their songs. While the overall result might be nice, there’s a sense of tokenism about it, even if, on occasion, these songs are occasionally brought to a live setting.

But things are changing. Temper-Mental MissElayneous, an upcoming Dublin rapper, has a tendency to drop Irish rhymes into her raps accompanied by bodhrán instead of beats, namely with her track Cailín Rua. And Daithí, a Clare fiddle player who has managed to successfully fuse traditional strains with contemporary electronic music, recently sampled the singer Mary O’Hara in one of his tracks, a trick last pulled by Massachusetts band Passion Pit in their break-out single Sleepyhead.

From the Puball Gaeilge tent at Electric Picnic to Manchán Mangan’s theatre work, there is an edge to the Irish language in a contemporary artistic context, and that edge is growing as those in charge of funding continue to quietly seek out more non-traditional targets. But a new generation of artists also need to take the leap. Perhaps next week’s Fás agus Forbairt symposium will put a real structure around such tentative, yet quickening steps.”

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Dùisg!

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Scottish blogger Tocasaid has an excellent article on Scotland’s punk rock scene and the group Dùisg (“Rise, awake”):

“Compared to the Basque Country or even our Celtic cousins in Cymru, Scotland has a paucity of bands composing new material in her own language. Fortunately though, one of them is a well kent face on the international stage.
Dùisg is the second LP by Oi Polloi to be recorded entirely in Scottish/ Gàidhligthough the language has featured in various other recordings over the years, includinga session for the BBC Alba program Rapal. The last one Ar Cànan, Ar Ceòl, Ar-a-mach broke some new ground for Polloi’s mix of Sham 69/ Cockney Rejects type Oi! and Discharge-esque thrash. Added to that was some crunchy Killing Joke, bagpipes and traditional Gaelic song.

Dùisg continues in more or less the same vein but with the addition of keyboards here and there. It’s probably their best yet – lots of catchy tunes, though some of them are delivered at a pretty hectic pace. Some great guitar hooks as well as some dark and brooding grinding hardcore. The Gaelic vocals as per usual are more the bastard son of Tom Waits and Pinhead from Hellraiser than Karen Matheson or Mànran.

Lyrics deal with some of the usual topics but also break new ground. Since when did you hear of a song promoting the use of LINUX? And, in Gaelic punk rock? Other issues dealt with in the Scottish tongue are police brutality (Dìon is Cuidich), increased state surveillance (Ar Dìleab) and the futility of capitalism (Dòigh Eile).”

LINUX! Seriously, who doesn’t love LINUX? Read it all here.

So What’cha What’cha What Ya Want

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Genuinely saddened to hear of the passing of Adam “MCA” Yauch, certainly one of the voices of my generation.

From the Guardian:

“Rapper Adam Yauch, a third of the trailblazing hip-hop act the Beastie Boys, has died aged 47.

Yauch, who performed as MCA, had been in treatment for cancer since 2009 after discovering a tumor in his parotid gland.

The band’s management posted a lengthy statement on the Beastie Boys website:

It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam “MCA” Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer.

Initially dismissed as a trio of jokers who scored a fluke novelty hit with Fight for Your Right (To Party) on their 1986 debut License to Ill, the Beastie Boys would grow into one of the most ambitious and influential acts of the 1990s.

The densely layered followup to their jokey and spare debut was 1989′s Paul’s Boutique, a postmodern hip-hop masterpiece that was largely ignored at its release. Today the Dust Brothers-produced record is considered a seminal album that would hint at the genre-bending direction 1990s pop was heading.

Subsequent records Check Your Head and Ill Communication found an instant foothold in the mainstream, however, propelling the band to stratospheric stardom.

Their lyrics were packed with goofy couplets, in-jokes and pop-culture references. And each of the Beasties cultivated distinct personas and vocal deliveries that meshed well together and could stand alone.

Yauch’s voice was mellow, gravelly and gruff – sandpaper and warm beer – allowing him to play both the shady drifter (Paul Revere) and loveable buddy (“My man MCA’s got a beard like a billy goat”).

In addition to his career in music, Yauch was a film-maker and passionate Buddhist and defender of Tibetan rights. Yauch directed many of the band’s music videos under the name Nathanial Hörnblowér, including So What’cha Want, Intergalactic and the more recent Make Some Noise.

Yauch, who is survived by his wife, Dechen Wengdu, and their daughter, Losel, wrote a letter to his bandmates and fans for last month’s hall of fame induction: “I’d like to dedicate this to my brothers Adam and Mike,” he wrote. “They walked the globe with me. It’s also for anyone who has ever been touched by our band. This induction is as much ours as it is yours.”"

So here is one of my favourites:

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Oireachtas na Samhna

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The Irish Times carries a very personal report celebrating the weekend’s Oireachtas na Samhna, the annual Irish language and culture festival, this year held in Cill Airne:

“IT IS the time of Samhain and I am heading south to Killarney. Every year at this time I find myself on the road to somewhere. The reason – Oireachtas na Samhna. It has been going on now for well over a century but, in reality, it has been going on for thousands of years since its original incarnation at Tara. I am part of a tribe, and the tribe is on the move.

Oireachtas na Samhna, or the Oireachtas, as we call it, is the annual gathering of the Gaels. A festival which will be attended by 10,000 people from all Gaeltachts and beyond, and which will host some of the most prestigious competitions of our traditional arts. Sean nós singing and dancing, storytelling and oration, lúibíní and many others. Champions will be crowned this weekend, immortality bestowed. Hundreds will gather in hushed halls to hail new heroes and the families and communities that produce these champions will claim title to nobility.

Samhain is there since the beginning. It was the annual feast of Tara, where hundreds of thousands gathered to celebrate the last harvest. The word literally means summer’s end, the threshold of the dark. It is the time when we are closest to the otherworld, when the barriers between us and our ancestors soften. Our immediacy fades. We briefly become aware of the eternal.

I will meet people I haven’t met since last year’s Oireachtas. No matter. The distance of time or space is made redundant by the story we share. We’ll pick up where we left off. Like a family which meets for a wedding or an anniversary, familiarity will bathe us, and our handshakes, hugs and greetings will be as joyous as they are authentic. We’ll all be conscious of the significance of our gathering and put our best side out.

Language is more than communication. It is expression too. It provides us with another way to see the world, another way to make sense of it. And it is universal. Irish speakers of all backgrounds and ethnicities – from America, Japan, Russia, Africa, Australia, Canada and other countries are heading for Killarney right now. The Oireachtas is our festival. It’s what we do. It is our Haj, our Ploughing Championships, our novena, our Oxegen.”

More can be seen here. Including…

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Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru – Oireachtas Náisiúnta na Breataine Bige

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The people of Wales have been marking the celebration of their native language and culture in this year’s Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru or the National Eisteddfod of Wales. For the last week festivities focusing on literature, poetry, art and music have been held in Wrecsam (Wrexham) with nearly 150,000 people in attendance. As the BBC reports:

‘Organisers of the National Eisteddfod say they will look back on the Wrexham event with “pride and happy memories”.

Attendance figures for the final day of 18,151 were up 4,500 on the final day in Ebbw Vale in 2010.

Total attendances across the week were more than 9% higher at 149,692.

Aled Roberts, chair of the local executive committee for the Wrexham event said: “It has been a very happy week here in Wrexham, and we have been very lucky with the weather most days.”

He added: “It was great to see a winner in all the main ceremonies during the week – and all of these winning for the first time, and all these winners and their stories have added to the friendly atmosphere of the week.”

Mr Roberts said 4,500 local people took advantage of a buy-one-get-one free scheme at the start of the week and he was “delighted” so many local people attended with a number returning during the week.’

The very positive media coverage of the Eisteddfod has not been matched of course in England’s Britain’s national (and nationalist) media. From the right-wing Express:

‘THE BBC sent more than 200 staff to cover the National Eisteddfod of Wales, a bigger team than was dispatched to Wimbledon.

Despite being in the midst of major cost-cutting, the corporation sent 238 people to cover the singing and cultural festival which ended yesterday.

The figure was revealed as the broadcaster slashed other services, including coverage of Formula 1 motor racing, in an attempt to find savings of at least 25 per cent.

The resources used to report the week-long festival from the Maes in Wrexham, north Wales, rank it alongside the BBC’s other main outside broadcasting operations.

Figures for 2010 show that the corporation sent 185 staff to the Wimbledon tennis tournament, which was watched by 29.3 million people, 274 to the Glastonbury music festival and 292 to the World Cup.’

Horror of horrors. The BBC expending the same sort of resources on the national festival of Wales as on England’s Britain’s holy of holies, tennis at Wimbledon. No mention of the millions spent by the BBC on a recent royal jamboree by the Express hacks of course but hey, that’s a celebration of English British culture: that’s different.

But there is a reply:

‘John Osmond, director of the Institute of Welsh Affairs, insisted that the number of BBC staff involved should be seen in the context of the cultural importance of the National Eisteddfod of Wales.

He added: “There’s nowhere else in the European Union that holds an event of this size, range and scope, and certainly not in relation to a minority language.”’

On a side-note check out the web presence of BBC Cymru. The webpage of a media company serving a Celtic nation in a Celtic language. Then have a look at RTÉ in our free and independent Celtic nation. Pathetic.

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