Making The Difference

CLADDAGH RECORDS

Founded towards the close of the fifties, Claddagh Records was the brainchild of Guinness heir Garech Browne. The label s first outing was Ri na bPiobari by uilleann pipes teacher Leo Rowsome. Next came the debut album by The Chieftains, intended then to be a one-off recording but which turned out to be the first of over a dozen by the band to be released by the label.
Since then The Chieftains have come to be regarded as representing the definitive sound of Irish music on the international market, while Claddagh has established itself as one of the most significant treasure-houses of Irish music.
For quite a while it was one of the few record companies in Ireland acknowledging the importance of indigenous music, and over four decades it has served up countless classic recordings by such sterling performers as Matt Molloy, Sean O Riada, Sean Keane, Mairtin O Connor, Seamus Ennis and others. Harp player Derek Bell released a memorable album of tunes by Carolan, while recordings of Irish poets also found a place in their impressive catalogue.
In more recent times Claddagh has released such gems as Black, Black, Black by Cran and we will shortly see the release of a back catalogue compilation called The Chieftains Collection and A Real Irish Christmas. These will be followed by a four-CD box set of the first four Chieftains albums, while The Chieftains Collection brings together a selection of tunes from their first five albums onto one CD.
A Real Irish Christmas is a sample of gems from the Claddagh catalogue, both instrumental and vocal. The solo instrumental tracks include offerings from Paul McGrattan (flute), Tommy Potts (fiddle), Michael Tubridy (flute), Leo Rowsome (uilleann pipes) and a host of other legends. Featured groups include Cran, Skylark and The Whistlebinkies. With songs in both Irish and English, it promises to be a worthy reflection of all that s best in the Irish trad scene, past and present, and one that will be treasured well into the future.

RITZ/GRAPEVINE

RMG Distribution Ireland provides a nationwide distribution facility for both their own labels and for a variety of independently-owned Irish labels. Formerly known as Grapevine Distribution, the company merged with the Ritz Music Group two years ago.
The label s link with Sony Ireland means it distributes to over 150 independent retailers with a 24-hour turnaround, while they also supply other Irish wholesalers. Their extensive catalogue includes releases from many of Ireland s top labels, including Ritz, Grapevine, Shanachie, Hummingbird and Solid, as well as an impressive haul of international labels, including Curb, Hollywood and Walt Disney soundtracks, and hits by T-Spoon, Jennifer Paige, Bob Marley and Dove.
Over the past ten years or so, the Grapevine label has provided a crucial platform for the development of contemporary music in Ireland, much of it linked to the folk tradition of both Ireland and the USA, and featuring such renowned acts as Sharon Shannon, Sean Keane, The Swans, Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, Charlie Landsborough, Mary Duff and Steve Earle.
The much-acclaimed White Ladder album by David Gray, De Danann s How The West Was Won, The Words That Remain by Solas and The Irish Tenors album have been major sellers for the label group.
Currently winning hearts and minds is the recent album No Stranger by Cahirlistrane minstrel Sean Keane, which has achieved double-platinum status. According to label manager Janine Nallen, Keane will have a new album in the Spring which is currently being recorded in his native Galway with Jim Rooney and Arty McGlynn.
Their forthcoming release schedule includes a new album by the irrepressible Sharon Shannon in March of next year. It will feature Steve Earle playing on the track Galway Girl which was recorded during the Virginian s recent visit to these shores. There are also whispers of a new album by Emmylou Harris next Summer. How do we know? Well, we heard it through the grapevine, of course!!

SHANACHIE RECORDS

According to mainman Joe McKenna, Shanachie Records began with the merging of two separate projects, a recording by Loughrea flute player Paddy Carty and The Wheels Of The World, a compilation of 78 s featuring Irish music from the twenties and thirties and which included recordings by the legendary Michael Coleman, James Morrison, Patsy Touhey and other musicians of that calibre.
So it was as far back as 1974 that Dan Collins and Richard Nevins decided to set up Shanachie to facilitate the release of these two now-legendary albums. In the following years they issued a remarkable body of work from musicians and singers such as Andy McGann, Paddy Reynolds, Paul Brady, Tommy Peoples, Frankie Gavin, Alec Finn, Joe and Antoinette McKenna, Joe Burke, James Kelly, Paddy O Brien, Daithe Sproule and many others.
More recently the label has released albums by the younger generation of Irish artists such as the outstanding Danz and the already highly acclaimed Solas, Karan Casey and James Keane. There s also a second volume of the Voices of Celtic Women compilation Holding Up Half The Sky available as well as Connie O Connell s fine Music From Cill Na Martra album.

OIREACHTAS

The 1999 Oireachtas, one of the most important cultural events in the Irish calendar, will take place in the Ring area of Waterford from 28-31 October.
Ring, where the Irish language still forms a major component of daily life, is renowned for its great music tradition, from the legendary singer Nioclas Tombmn right through to such energetic contemporary bands as Danz. Nor do you have to travel far for a bout of set dancing, which in this area is faring better than it has for decades. Oireachtas will give a prominent place to traditional dancing styles and Festival Organiser and renowned singer Aine Um Cheallaigh even dares to suggest that Riverdance could easily be put in the shade in terms of dancing abilities and styles. Now there s a claim!
Waterford s local radio station WLR are doing live links throughout the festivities, while Raidio na Gaeltachta are planning to broadcast a show each day and Radio Ulster are also putting together a regular programme called Blas. It is estimated that 5,000 visitors this year will spend over half a million pounds in Dungarvan and the surrounding Ring area.
The Oireachtas generally revives interest in Irish culture in general, but especially in music and the Irish language. Sean-nss singing plays a central role in the event, and much of the public attention will focus on the coveted Millennium O Riada Cup for sean-nss singers. Over 15 singers of both genders will compete for the prestigious trophy, a gold medal and #750, as well as the honour and the glory that inevitably goes with them.
As Liam O Maolaodha, director of Feile Oireachtas na Gaeilge told Hot Press: This musical tradition was the major pop music culture of its time, perhaps over centuries, where events, be they parochial, family or national, were recounted in verse and sung unaccompanied to an attentive audience who would perhaps learn the songs and bring them back to their own areas.
For the 1999 version, there will be three days of competitions, including a dramatically staged comedy discussion in Irish and in rhyme, a sort of rap comes to Ring! Sounds too good to miss!
Meanwhile the ever-busy Cls Iar-Chonnachta s latest flurry of activity sees the label re-release the album Rinn na nGael by Nioclas Tombmn, scheduled to coincide with the Oireachtas competition in An Rinn Gaeltacht (Ring) in County Waterford. The Rinn area is particularly noted for its distinctive sean-nss singing style, and the late Tombmn, who died in 1994, was one of the most acclaimed singers from the region, with a reputation that reached all over Ireland and abroad. He had a repertoire of over 300 songs, and even when he sang songs from other parts of Ireland he magically imbued them with a falvour of Na Diise .

KARAN CASEY

Having earned a sizeable following during her stint with Solas, Karan Casey is now embarking on a solo career and is currently working on her second album. The Waterford-born singer with the strong, clear voice which she applies stylishly to a stimulating repertoire, has established herself as a highly talented and distinctive stylist.
Her first solo album Songlines won plaudits from critics and a track from that debut, One I Love , written by Jean Ritchie, has been picked up by Brian Kennedy for his new album.
Karan Casey plays HQ at the Hot Press Irish Music Hall of Fame on 30th October.

ORA

Ora are a new band merging the sound of Irish traditional music with the hardest club sounds of today. It s a five-piece unit, with four trad musicians and noted DJ Aoife Nic Canna. If Gaelic vocals, slow airs, ambient melodies, new age percussion, sean-nss dancing and live mixing are your particular cup of herbal, then Ora should be top of your shopping list.

IARLA O LIONARD

After he concludes his current tour of the USA with the Afro-Celt Sound System, Iarla O Lionard will settle into the producer s chair for the soundtrack and score of If I Could Read The Sky, based on Tim O Grady s novel, and due from Channel Four Films next year. Among the artists featured in O Lionard s new project will be Martin Hayes & Denis Cahill, Noel Hill and Siniad O Connor. n