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LAU has been described as “a formidable union of three of the finest and most innovative exponents of modern traditional music in Scotland today”; Kris Drever (guitar and vocal), Martin Green (piano accordion) and Aidan O’Rourke (fiddle).

Recorded in the winter of 2006, Lau’s debut album, lightweights & gentlemen, sound like men willing to redefine how a trio can sound. Arming themselves with both highly original repertoire and some superb takes on traditional song, their fearless appetite for improv, dig deep into a wild array of genres taking in their influences from around the world and spitting them out as a perfect folk -jazz stew.

The album is a testament to the skills of all three members: Kris Drever’s amazing guitar work and formidable vocals showcases the talents that won him the BBC Folk Awards “Horizon Award”; Aidan O’Rourke’s playing shows you why he won “Instrumentalist of the Year” at this seasons Celtic Music Awards; Martin Green takes the Piano Accordion to places your ears can only dream about visiting. No guests, No frills just three of the finest young artists working in traditional music today showing us what can be done when you keep one ear to the past and an eye on the future.

Clara Moreno is the daughter of the famous Brazilian singer/songwriter/guitarist Joyce and composer Nelson Angelo. Born in Brazil in 1971 Moreno recalls her early musical experiences with great fondness: “Every night my mother would rehearse and we use to go to all her concerts – I grew up listening to music from an early age.”

Moreno’s career began soon after she learned to talk, performing backing vocals in children’s choirs for artists such as Milton Nascimento, Egberto Gismonti, Joyce, Originais do Samba and Trem da Alegria amongst others. In 1989, aged 18, Moreno went to study music in France and it was in Paris where she both recorded her first single and first performed solo. She performed regularly at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Club beneath the Le Méridien Etoile hotel – one of the city’s most distinguished jazz venues. In 1991 at Paris’ Théâtre de La Ville, she appeared onstage alongside her mother. Moreno fondly remembers her time in Paris and on her new album, she pays tribute to Edith Piaf, “the French singer who thrilled me most”, with a wonderful cover of “Mon Manege A Moi”.

When she was 23, Moreno returned to Brazil in 1994 and launched straight into a music career, guesting on the track “Minha Gata Rita Lee” on Joyce’s CD Revendo Amigos. This followed guest appearances alongside other artists such as Nelson Ângelo and Robertinho Silva. Her first solo show in Brazil was in 1995 at the Au Bar in Rio in a tribute to the famous Brazilian singer Rita Lee. In 1996, Moreno opened for Paulinho Moska at the Garota de Ipanema park in Rio and recorded her eponymous debut CD.

In 1997, Moreno went to Japan where she appeared in the Gets Bossa Nova show in Tokyo, Japan. That same year she contributed a recording of “Só Danço Samba” for the tribute to Bossa Nova CD 40 Anos de Bossa Nova which solidified her standing as a Brazilian singer in her own right. Her third album Mutante was recorded in 1999, and picked up for worldwide distribution by UK based Timewarp Distribution. At this point, her name was brought to the attention of Brazilian music fans the world over.

2002 saw the release of Morena Bossa Nova – her fourth CD where she experimented with electronic music to create an album with a contemporary take on bossa nova. It was recorded while Moreno was pregnant with the child of producer Rodolfo Stroeter (the producer of Joyce’s most recent CDs Just a Little Bit Crazy and Rio Bahia).  Morena Bossa Nova features the Norwegian keyboard player Bugge Weseltoff as well Teco Cardoso, Robertinho Silva & Nailor Proveta – all regular contributors to Joyce’s recent albums.

With Meu Samba Torto, Moreno felt the urge to strip things down and pay tribute to the musical heritage of the city she is from: “Bossa nova has always played a very important role in my life, and I decided to go for it with this CD and really search for the feeling of what it’s like to be a “carioca”. Having listened to this music all my life I had no trouble of thinking of songs to cover and my mother Joyce, suggested some nice songs, as did Celso. I feel that the album has a 60’s bossa nova feeling, which is great, but at the same time, the music that we have done is up to date and reflects a modern view through the roots of Brazilian music.”

Meu Samba Torto features a stellar line-up of Brazilian musicians including Moreno’s mother, the legendary Brazilian singer-songwriter Joyce, and the celebrated songwriter and guitarist Celso Fonseca. It’s Moreno’s most personal album yet and this is something she’s proud of: “The album has a certain level of spontaneity that I don’t think is very common these days. With the exception of the songs arranged by Joyce, the arrangements were all decided once we all arrived in the studio. Everything was recorded live and I was lucky to be blessed with the involvement of Celso Fonseca, Joyce, Tutty Moreno, Rodolfo Stroeter, Diego Figueiredo and Ricardo Mosca – all of them very creative and stylish musicians who helped create an end result of modern music yet steeped in tradition. The album was simply constructed around guitar/bass/drums and the idea was to bring a certain degree of intimacy between myself and the listener“.

Meu Samba Torto features two new compositions written especially for Moreno by Joyce (“Sabe Quem”) and Celso Fonseca (“Litorânea”). In fact with it’s “live” sound, Joyce’s influence runs through Meu Samba Torto. This was a challenge for Moreno: “I had never recorded a “live” album before yet as we began recording, I started to gain more and more self-confidence.” According to Moreno though, there are other amazing musicians besides Joyce who are influential artists on Meu Samba Torto: “João Gilberto is the greatest influence on this album – he is the main root of the cd. I have been listening to him all my life, but during the process of creating this album, I dived deeply into his mood and I recorded many of the songs using João Gilberto’s light – his inspiration was a gift to me”.

Vanguard of the new bossa nova movement, Celso Fonseca plays guitar and sings on three songs on the new album, and the blend of his and Moreno’s voice create some of the albums highlights. There are interpretations of classic bossa nova tracks such as “Moça Flor”, originally recorded by the Tamba Trio, “Vem Morena Vem”, from Jorge Ben’s debut album, and “Morena Boca de Ouro”, made famous by the one and only João Gilberto.

Michael Black’s self titled album includes a music hall song from the 1930s, a traditional song sung in Irish, a ballad about war and the costs of it from New Zealand, a sea shanty, and a song to dance the baby on your knee. What makes it a cohesive whole is Black’s voice and his love of and natural ability to convey a good story.

Dublin born Michael Black grew up in a family of singers. Mother, Patty, and father, Kevin, filled their home with music and their children clearly took up that love, with all five of them following music professionally at various points in their lives. Black has often performed with his brothers Shay and Martin as The Black Brothers, and he is older brother to Irish superstar Mary Black and top solo artist Frances Black. All five have also recorded three albums together as The Black Family.

“The music’s in my blood, you know, I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it,” he reflects, laughing. With a doctorate in sociology, Black has taught at the university level in San Francisco where he now lives but, “really, my job is a dad. I have three small kids, three girls. My wife works a professional career, and when they came along we made the decision that I’d care for them. I’ve been a teacher, been around kids all my life, so it was a natural decision.” With his daughters growing up, it was time to turn more of his attention to his music. One of the results is his first solo album.

Each of his siblings add vocals to various cuts on this collection, but it is very much Black’s voice, style, and ideas which are the driving force of the album. There’s his ebullient sense of humor on “My Father Loves Nikita Kruschev”, the lively trip he leads around Irish tradition, fun and landscape with “Little Pack of Tailors” / “I’ve Got a Toothache”, a thought provoking look at a soldier’s choice in “The Deserter”, and a heartfelt ballad of the coal miner”s life on “The Coming of the Roads”. “Celt’s very representative of what I do when I’m performing,” Black says. I don’t stick to just that one genre of traditional Irish music, I select from things that suit me and that I like. I needed to make an identity for myself,” he says. “People would say well, we know the name, but we don’t know you. And I wanted to make something I was proud of musically.” To that end, he recruited producer John Doyle, “and I was really lucky. John’s a great guitarist, and a great producer, he’s got a really quick ear, and he understands acoustic music.”

The family pitched in to add outstanding harmonies to the tracks, too. Black’s brothers and sisters Shay, Martin, Mary and Frances all sat in, as did members of the next generation of the Black family, including rising pop star Danny O’Reilly and up and coming singers Eoghan Scott and Roisin O’Reilly. “They’re even more amazing singers than we are,” Black says. “All the family can sing, so why not have them all along?” he adds with chuckle. In addition to John Doyle on guitar and bouzouki, others who support Black on the recording include fiddlers Liz Carroll and Liz Knowles, Solas’ Seamus Egan on whistles, Chico Huff on bass and Dirk Powell on piano.

It’s Michael Black’s voice and influences that hold the center around which these voices and instruments work. Being Irish is part of who he is musically, and he incorporates that into his music always “but I don’t stick to just one genre,” he says. “I’m rooted in roots music, music of the people.” His beloved roots music, from Appalachian ballads to Irish jigs to songs of reflection, is what’s celebrated on this recording. “I’m singing this stuff, and people are enjoying it. This is what I do. This is what I sing.”

Athena Tergis hails from San Francisco where she released her first album at age 16.  Shortly after, she moved to Ireland to follow her musical passions where she lived for over 3 years playing with groups such as the Sharon Shannon Band.  Her musical journey brought her to London and then on to New York where she starred in Riverdance on Broadway for the full year and a half run of the show.  Her talent for many genres of music attracted the attention of Bruce Springsteen’s sax player, Clarence Clemmons with whom she toured for over a year. 

In 2001 Athena joined up with Mick Moloney, John Doyle and Billy McComiskey in the Green Fields of America playing Traditional Irish tunes and songs at they’re best while exploring the music’s journey to America. The Green Fields of America’s self-titled album was on Compass records, as was Absolutely Irish! a documentary about 2 special concerts produced by Paul Wagner for PBS. Also on Compass records, Athena Tergis’ solo album ‘A Letter Home’ was produced and accompanied by John Doyle.

In 2009, Athena performed as a featured soloist in a 49-city tour of the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra.   With a tour of China scheduled for 2010, Athena began composing, working with several top classical composers and arranger.

Now living in the village of Montalcino in Tuscany, central Italy; Athena and husband Mario Bollag have built a state of the art recording studio called TerraLuna Studios in the hills of Tuscany www.terralunastudio.it .  While still touring regularly, Athena is also very involved in running their winery, Terralsole.

www.terralsole.com

Niall Vallely

Armagh-born Niall Vallely has established himself in recent years as one of the most original and distinctive voices in Irish music. A former member of Cork-based band NOMOS, he has been acclaimed throughout the world as one of Ireland’s greatest concertina players. Niall began learning the concertina at the age of seven, taught by his parents Brian and Eithne Vallely, founders of the Armagh Pipers’ Club, and over the years he has developed a unique approach to playing the instrument.

A resident of Cork since 1988, Niall completed a degree in music at U.C.C. in 1992. As a student he was involved in various musical projects with composer/pianist Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin.

In 1992 Niall was featured on the highly acclaimed BBC/RTE television series ’A River of Sound’, and had a track included on the Virgin album and BBC video that accompanied the series. In 1990 Niall formed NOMOS who went on to become internationally recognised as one of the most important Irish bands of recent times. They recorded two critically acclaimed albums, before splitting up in 2000.

In more recent years Niall has been performing in a solo capacity and with musicians such as Karan Casey, Tim O’Brien,

Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Paddy Keenan, Mel Mercier, and others. In 1999 he released his debut solo album, BEYOND WORDS, and in 2003“Callan Bridge”

(Compass Records) with his brother Cillian on pipes.

Paul Meehan

Paul grew up and started learning Irish music in Manchester in the midst of a flourishing scene which also produced the likes of Mike McGoldrick and Dezi Donnelly. In his early teens Paul moved back to Middletown, County Armagh with his family. He quickly established himself as a rising star on the banjo, while more recently spending a lot of time on the guitar.

He spent a few years living in Cork City where he became a member of the highly acclaimed North Cregg, with whom he recorded three albums. He has also spent a number of years touring and recording with Dorsa and the Karan Casey Band. He is currently a member of one of Ireland’s foremost traditional bands, Lunasa. In recent years Paul has also appeared on stage with the likes of Altan, At the Racket, Paddy Keenan, Tommy Peoples and Liz Carroll.

Caoimhí­n Vallely

Like his older brother, Niall, Caoimhín grew up in Armagh and began tin whistle lessons at the Armagh Pipers Club before moving on to learn the fiddle. He also started classical piano lessons at this time. On leaving school he went to University College Cork to study music. From there he moved on to the University of Limerick where he studied for an M.A. in Traditional Music Performance.

He has played and recorded with many different bands and individuals over the past ten years including North Cregg, Upstairs in a Tent (along with Brian Finnegan now of Flook, and Kathryn Tickell), Nomos, The Karan Casey Band, Alan Kelly, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin and Mel Mercier, Barry Kerr, and Martin Meehan. In late 2005, he released his debut solo piano album, entitled “Strayaway”.

“She suggests the future of the Celtic fiddle.” – The Washington Post

“Her originality and rhythmic swing well provide the bridge Irish music needs to break through to a mainstream audience.” – The Los Angeles Times

”She electrifies the crowd with a dazzling show of virtuoso playing” – The Irish Times

It is a rare grade of artists whose work is so imaginative and virtuosic that it alters the medium. It has been said that the task of respectfully exploring the traditions and progression of the Celtic fiddle is quite literally on Eileen Ivers’ shoulders.

Over the past 15 years, fiddler Eileen Ivers has established herself as the pre-eminent exponent of the Irish fiddle in the world today. Well known as a nine time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, founding member of Cherish The Ladies and musical star of Riverdance, Eileen Ivers has performed with The London Symphony Orchestra, The National Symphony at The Kennedy Center, The Boston Pops, The Chieftains, Hall and Oates, Afrocelts and Patti Smith. Ivers’ recording credits include over 80 contemporary and traditional albums and numerous movie scores including “Gangs Of New York” and “Some Mother’s Son”.

The daughter of Irish immigrants, Eileen Ivers grew up in a culturally diverse neighborhood in the Bronx, New York. Rooted in Irish traditional music since the age of eight, Eileen proceeded to win nine All-Ireland fiddle championships, a tenth on tenor banjo and over 30 championship medals.

Being Irish-American, the intrigue of learning more about the multicultural sounds of her childhood took hold. After graduating magna cum laude in mathematics from Iona College and while continuing her post-graduate work in mathematics, Eileen fully immersed herself in the different genres of music she experienced growing up in New York. Perhaps it was the mathematical mind coupled with her passion for seeking parallels in certain traditional music styles which contributed to what has become the signature sound featured in much of Eileen’s recordings since the late 1980’s.

The release of Ivers’ latest CD, An Nollaig: An Irish Christmas, coincides with her annual Christmas tour and Christmas symphony shows. It is a truly joyous, animated and at times contemplative Christmas collection composed equally of beautiful airs, traditional carols, dance tunes and holiday classics. An Nollaig: An Irish Christmas continues to display why Ivers, while always staying respectful to the tradition, is hailed as one of the great innovators and pioneers in the Celtic and world music genres.

Founded in 1977, the L’Ensemble Choral du Bout du Monde (the “World’s End Choir”) brought together traditional instrumental performers and over a hundred vocalists from over forty native choral groups throughout Brittany, the celebrated Breton province in Northern France.

Accompanied by bagpipes, keyboards, harps, guitars, flutes, claviers, percussion, conremuse, and the Grand Organ of the Landévennec Abbey, the ensemble keeps the native music alive through both traditional and original choral music in their Breton language (the Celtic dialect of Brittany).

Since 1989, composer, musician, and arranger Christian Desbordes has led the ensemble. In 1991, Desbordes composed the music for a theatrical production, La passion Celtique / Ar Basion Vras.

They recorded albums in 1992 and 1994, and in 1997, L’Ensemble Choral du Bout du Monde recorded Noëls Celtiques: Christmas Music from Brittany for Green Linnet, which won AFIM’s “Best Seasonal Music Album” in 1998.

The Bothy Band evoked universal praise from audiences and critics alike. They are that rare combination of genius, harmonic subtlety, rhythmic drive, and vocal clarity that moved Rogue’s Gallery to dub them, “the most important Celtic band of the rock era.”

From their very first album, the Bothies attracted the attention of listeners on both sides of the Atlantic. When legendary fiddler Tommy Peoples was replaced by Kevin Burke for the group’s second album, Old Hag You Have Killed Me, which came out in 1976, none of the awesome power of the group’s initial surge was lost. It was that auspicious second album which contained a vocal tour de force with an unpronounceable Gaelic title, moving an unabashed fan to proclaim that “one listen to the quick-paced, strangely harmonized Fionnghuala (fuhwhun-NOO-whu-luh is close) will leave you convinced of their greatness.”

By the time their third album, Out of the Wind, Into the Sun, was released, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that siblings Mícheál Ó’Domhnaill and Triona Ní Dhomhnaill, rhythm genius Dónal Lunny, piping king Paddy Keenan, flute virtuoso Matt Molloy, and brilliant fiddler Kevin Burke stood at the very summit of Celtic music — a group admired by all, imitated by many, surpassed by none.

It was inevitable that the group would record a live album (in that bastion of Celtic music, Paris, France!) producing a wild, uninhibited set of music, “played with verve, and captured with truly great sonics.” Before you knew it, the band members had gone their separate ways, joining up with such celebrated progeny as Touchstone, Patrick Street, The Chieftains and Nightnoise. But the Bothies’ legacy remains on their four stellar albums, as well as a collection, The Best of the Bothy Band, released after their breakup.

Upon hearing this collection, Emily Friedman of Chicago Magazine was moved to deliver the following paean, which might serve as an elegy for the band’s tenure: . . . together they took jazz chords, Gaelic-language songs, taut instrumental interplay, and a deep sense of their shared Celtic past and created a body of music that still shines . . .This was one of the greatest of all bands; get this album and learn how much we lost when its brief career ended.”

Each a master-musician in his own right, Matt, Tommy, and Paul come together on this album to produce a collection of fiery reels, jigs and hornpipes. The tunes here are from different sources, mainly from Counties Clare, Donegal and Roscommon, and capture the atmosphere of the informal yet spirited sessions that traditional musicians revelled in. Superb Irish traditional music from superb Irish traditional musicians.

An accordion player since the age of nine, Martin’s career has seen him playing in many of traditional music’s leading groups including Midnight Well, De Dannan, The Boys of the Lough, and Skylark.

His first solo album ’A Connachtman’s Rambles’ met with critical acclaim and established him as a solo musician. His second solo album 1990’s ’Perpetual Motion’ is considered by some to be one of the best accordion albums ever produced by an Irish artist. The release in 1993 of ’Chatterbox’ gave further evidence of his outstanding technique, imagination, and compositional talent.

A popular session musician, O’Connor has appeared on recordings by such diverse musicians as Rod Stewart, Elvis Costello, Mark Knofler, Tanita Tikaram, Townes Van Zandt, Chieftains, the Dubliners, Davy Spillane, Maire Brennan, and the Waterboys.

In 1995, O’Connor became the first recipient of the Allied Irish Banks, Traditional Musician of the Year award at a ceremony in his home town of Galway. The award was to acknowledge the tremendous contribution he’s made to traditional Irish and in particular, accordion music.

Sligo-style fiddler Kevin Burke and guitarist Mícheál O’Domhnaill first played together as members of the legendary Bothy Band. After the band broke up, the pair toured the United States and Europe, recording two albums together: Promenade (1979), and Portland (1982).

Both albums were critically acclaimed internationally, and are now considered to be staples in any avid Celtic music-lover’s collection. In the making of their two albums, the fiddle and guitar duo aspired to embody relaxed vitality, which they achieved through their compelling melodies, pulsing Sligo rhythms, intricate variations, and vocal perfection.

For over forty years, Kevin Burke has been considered to be the living master of Sligo-style Irish fiddling. Burke has recorded over twenty albums, taught at countless camps, universities, and summer schools, and has toured extensively all over the world. A founding member of Patrick Street, Planxty, Bothy Band, The Celtic Fiddle Festival, and Open House, Burke is instrumental in keeping the Sligo music tradition alive.

Producer, guitarist, vocalist, and keyboardist Mícheál O’Domhnaill began his musical career as a teenager when he created the band Skara Brae with his sisters Tríona and Maighread. Throughout his short life, O’Domhnaill played, recorded, and toured with Mick Hanley, the Bothy Band, Relativity (a band he founded with Triona and brothers Phil and Johnny Cunningham) and ex-Bothy Band members Kevin Burke and Paddy Glackin.

Since they were wed in 1977, vocalist Dolores Keane and multi-instrumentalist John Faulker have recorded three duet albums, toured extensively together, and have since collaborated on several musical projects.

Dolores Keane was born in Co. Galway, Ireland, and was a founding member of the Irish folk group Dé Danann. After she and  Londoner John Faulkner wed, he produced her first solo album and the duo subsequently recorded three duet albums.

John Faulkner got his start as a member of songwriter Ewan MacColl’s band in the 1960s and early 70s. Later, he and Keane founded the band Reel Union.

Together they have performed and toured extensively throughout the world, focusing especially on North America, Europe, the Eastern Asia, and Australia. To date, Faulkner’s discography includes fifteen albums, six of which he produced or co-produced, and two of which are solo albums. Faulkner is also an accomplished film composer and songwriter, and wrote the music for the 1970s BBC children’s television show Bagpuss.