Raw. Jarlath Henderson

Jarlath Henderson's album that we all had been waiting for so long is finally here. In Raw we can finally enjoy the essence of this great piper, the one that we enjoyed in almost all his performances but that had never been well reflected in the studio. Four talented musicians performing a repertoire they know perfectly, no more artifacts or more tricks are needed to make an almost perfect album like Raw: simple, authentic, direct. Music sometimes needs nothing more than that simplicity to become sublime.

The album Raw is dedicated to the memory of the four doctors of Medicine Sans Frontiers slain in Syria. You can hear and buy the album here.

The Livelong Day. Lankum

This blog was born about a month ago and, practically at the same time, the third album by the Irish band Lankum was released. That coincidence was not the result of chance. After being away from folk music for more than 10 or 12 years, it was this record that prompted me to create this blog and to know the latest trends in Celtic music.

This is not the Irish music we are accustomed to listening to, many may even have difficulty identifying it as traditional music... but it is impressive. Seemingly simple and pure melodies are enveloped by a dense sound atmosphere created thanks to the drones of Lynch's uilleann pipe and Peat's accordions. MacDiarmada's heartbreaking fiddle and Daragh Lynch's murky guitar of are the elements that complete the complex, almost surreal, acoustic landscape of Lankum.

Personally I would like to highlight the voice of Radie Peat, a deep and impressive female voice, rooted in the earth like that of the great blues singers, a voice from another time. It is that voice that becomes the protagonist in the last cut of the album to give us the most painfully beautiful song I've heard in many years, Hunting The Wren, for me it's the best track of The Livelong Day.

You can buy The Livelong Day here.

Madness Is Convention. Charlie Le Brun's debut album

Charlie Le Brun is a classical training flutist born in Rennes. In 2008 he moved to Wesport and began to frequent the jam sessions of Matt Molloy's Pub and to deepen his knowledge of the Irish flute repertoire. Ten years later Charlie has settled in Dublin and now launches his debut album Madness Is Convention. An album that has been recorded live in Belfast and produced by Dónal O'Connor at RedBox studios. In Madness Is Convention Charlie has the collaboration of Aoife Kelly (Concertina), Eamon Rooney (Bodhrán) and Feilimí O’Connor (Guitar).

The official presentation of the album will be on November 9 during the Ennis Trad Festival.

You can buy the album here.