Irish group Plúirín na mBan unveiled their exciting debut album, Female Rambling Sailor, last Saturday (July 1st).

The supergroup features a collaboration between Irish traditional singer, composer, and bodhrán player Cathy Jordan, Austrian singer, composer, and fiddle-player Claudia Schwab and the contemporary Irish composer Irene Buckley. Meshing atmospheric drones with ancient song lyrics, their wide-reaching backgrounds combine in a unique mix of traditional Irish and ambient/electronic music. The 12 songs centre around a female narrator as layers of fiddle-delays, heavy bodhrán rhythms, and intricate three-part vocal harmonies mark the story of a dreadful ghost and a boatsman trying to convince his love to marry him.

The artists' first collaboration was through the Cairde Sligo Arts Festival, in which the three women were commissioned to create new music that blended both traditional and contemporary. As a result, they premiered their work as a part of the festival's online edition, 'Cairde Connected', in July 2020.

The trio were inspired to work together again and set out to record their debut album in 2021 and 2022. They explored more deeply their growing repertoire of ancient melodies reappearing in the context of ambient electronics and delayed fiddle-loops, additionally drawing in elements of diverse music traditions such as Indian Classical music or jazz, the three-piece recorded their debut album over the last two years.

Listen to Female Rambling Sailor below.

Female Rambling Sailor Tracklist:
1. LISSADELL
2. SADHBH NÍ BHRUINNEALLAIGH
3. TWO BROTHERS
4. FÍLL A RÚN Ó
5. CURRAGH WRENS
6. GREY FUNNEL LINE
7. PLÚIRÍN NA MBAN
8. PORT NA MNÁ
9. FEMALE RAMBLING SAILOR
10. THE DREADFUL GHOST
11. MAYFLOWER
12. GUTHRIE'S STUDY