low
& tin whistles, keyboards, acoustic & electric 9 string
guitars, kalimba, theremin, zither, hammer dulcimer, percussion,
vocals
Dan
Britton -
bodhran, acoustic & electric guitars, percussion, banjo,
vocals
Adele
McMahon - violin,
vocals
Bridgett
McMahon - vocals
Neil
Rabjohn - cajon
drum
1
Queen
of the May - The Congress
2
Celtic
Fire
3
The
Kesh - Morrisons Jig
4
Spancil
Hill
5
Colliers
Reel
6
Debhair
the Dancer - The Kid on the Mountain
7
Weaving
a Spell
8
Wheelans
Jig - Coolies Reel
9
Thunderhead
10
The
Gathering
11
Cunla
12
Bobby
Caseys - The Rising Tide
13
Dakar
To Dublin - Mickey The Moulder - Stan Chapman's Jig
14
Ritual
of the Celtic Fire
Jigs, reels and new music from the hugely talented
Govannen band. Blazing fiddle, Irish whistles, bodhran and
percussion plus a host of exotic instruments feature on
an album that will warm your heart and make your feet want
to move.
background
The
last Govannen studio album Healing Waters focussed on mixing
Celtic tunes with atmospheric music to evoke the Chalice
Well at Glastonbury. On Celtic Fire the plan was to make
an upbeat rhythmic instrumental album of Celtic music, while
keeping some sound connections with Healing Waters.
As a starting point, they used their arrangements of the
Irish jigs and reels from the Govannen live repertoire.
They also threw in some new tunes to widen their set and
added some Chris Conway originals. The aim was to keep the
freshness of a live sound but have the advantages of layering
sounds that the studio brings.
Chris had done some preproduction in the spring, but the
main recording took place during a very busy summer of concerts,
weddings, and ceilidhs for Govannen. Sometimes someone would
come into the studio straight after a concert. This meant
they were pretty sharp in the studio and work progressed
quickly.
Bridget (who had to leave the band when she left the UK)
flew in from Ireland and gave some great atmospheric vocal
performances. Neil had played a few concerts with the band,
and came at the end with his cajon drum to help stoke up
the percussion.
So - a few bits of Conway production magic and Celtic Fire
was born - another aspect of the Govannen sound. Catch them
at a concert sometime. They kick up a storm.
The band were really happy with how Celtic Fire turned out.
It has a live upbeat feel, but with enough variety to not
jig & reel you to death, and with enough atmispheric
touches to appeal to those who enjoyed Healing Waters.
influences
Alan
Stivell, Donal Lunny, Planxty, Moving Hearts, Gwerz, Dan Ar Braz
trivia Winner of the COVR Award for best World Music album 2010
Live versions of some of the tracks on Celtic Fire can be
heard on Live - Sniff The Pony
Thunderhead title was a play on it being the name of a big
wave, and also was reflecting Dan's hangover when he recorded
it.
A vocal version of Cunla appears on Bridget McMahon's Celtic
Woman album.
Bridget was by now living in Ireland and had to fly over
for her recording sessions.
Shortly after this release Neil Rabjohn became a permanent member of the
band.
On iTunes and some download distributors the album tracks are in the right order but the track titles are all jumbled up. This has been corrected on Amazon and Spotify.
CC's favourite track -The
Gathering
track
by track
1.
Queen of the May - The Congress - (traditional)
These set of tunes is a big feature of Govannen's live
sets. A favourite part is when they break out into a Latin
section in The Congress. For this recording they also
added a small ska section too.
Chris Conway - keyboards, percussion, samples
Dan Britton - acoustic guitar, bodhran
Adele McMahon - violin
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum
2. Celtic Fire - (Chris Conway)
This anthem by Chris has something of a Scottish feel
to it. It is probably inspired by his regular trips to
Edinburgh, though he confesses that he wrote the tune
in New York. It's a catchy tune - after hearing it everyone
in the studio kept whistling or humming it. In the middle
is a little tune he calls The Detour.
Chris Conway - tin & low whistles, acoustic 9 string
guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals
Dan Britton - bodhran, vocals
Adele McMahon - violin, vocals
3. The Kesh - Morrison's Jig - (traditional)
The Kesh was another inspiration for the previous track
so it made sense to run them together. These two jigs
have been long favourites of the band - Morrison's - also
known as Port Uí Mhuirgheasa, was the first Irish
tune Chris ever learned and Chris & Dan recorded it
in their band The Storm Thieves some 14 years ago.
Chris Conway - tin & low whistles, acoustic 9 string
guitar, keyboards, percussion
Dan Britton - bodhran
Adele McMahon - violin
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum
4. Spancil Hill - (traditional)
This old favourite theme has been given a new twist in
this arrangement by Chris with a jazzy lilt and some beautiful
atmospheric harmonies from Bridget.
Chris Conway - low & tin whistles, acoustic 9 string
guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals
Dan Britton - bodhran, vocals
Adele McMahon - violin, vocals
Bridget McMahon - vocals
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum
5. Colliers Reel - (traditional)
Colliers is a new tune to the band but not to Adele who
pulled this out of her head in the studio. Such a clever
twisting and turning tune, it really only needed a little
percussion as backing to set it off.
Dan Britton - bodhran
Adele McMahon - violin
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum
6. Debhair the Dancer - The Kid on the Mountain - (traditional)
Debhair the Dancer has been a favourite if Chris's for
years and he has been wanting to introduce it to the band
for a long time. The Kid on the Mountain is a popular
but demanding slip jig that always keeps the listener
guessing.
Chris
Conway - tin whistles, acoustic 9 string guitar, percussion
Dan Britton - bodhran, percussion
Adele McMahon - violin
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum
7. Weaving a Spell - (Chris Conway)
This Conway concoction has been over 2 years in the making.
He started with the hammer dulcimer given to him as a
present and added some zither to it. Every few months
he'd add another layer or two, eventually adding Govannen
into the mix. It grew into this unique magical gem.
Chris Conway - kalimba, zither, hammer dulcimer, bamboo
flute, theremin, keyboards, percussion, vocals
Dan Britton - bodhran, vocals
Adele McMahon - violin, vocals
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum
8.
Wheelans Jig - Coolies Reel - (traditional)
These tunes are a big favourite of the band's in their
live concerts and often gets people up and dancing. Bridget's
ethereal voice floats over the band stunningly here.
Chris Conway - keyboards, percussion
Dan Britton - acoustic & electric guitars, bodhran
Adele McMahon - violin
Bridget McMahon - vocals
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum
9. Thunderhead - (Dan Britton)
Amazingly Dan recorded this bodhran once, then went and
recorded it a second time - almost identical. The clicks
are rimshots on the drum with the wooden beater. A thunderhead
is a big wave in surfing-speak and not related to a recent
hangover Dan had. (honest)
Dan Britton - bodhrans
10. The Gathering - (Chris Conway)
This unusual piece in two parts popped into Christo's
head soon after he woke one morning. He rushed into the
studio and recorded it quickly before he forgot it. Breakfast
had to wait.
Chris Conway - tin whistles, electric 9string guitar,
keyboards, percussion, vocals
Adele McMahon - vocals
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum
11. Cúnla - (traditional)
This piece is a favourite of Dan's knowing well the Planxty
and Chieftans versions, and was his request for a new
tune for Govannen to learn. It is known as a song too
in English and Gaelic, Cúnla being a boys name.
Chris Conway - keyboards, handclaps
Dan Britton - bodhran, percussion, handclaps
Adele McMahon violin
Neil Rabjohn - cajon drum
12. Bobby Caseys - The Rising Tide - (traditional
- Chris Conway)
Christo has been playing Bobby Casey's as a feature for
his low D whistle for sometime, he recorded it as part
of his Earth Rising suite on his songs album of the same
name. On this arrangement he added a little tune of his
own, The Rising Tide in double time.
Chris
Conway - low & tin whistles, keyboards, electric 9
string guitar, percussion, vocals
Adele McMahon - violin
Bridget McMahon - vocals
13. Dakar to Dublin - Mickey the Moulder - Stan Chapmans
Jig -
(Chris Conway - traditional - traditional)
Dakar To Dublin is an overlapping set of riffs with an
African feel plus Native American sounding chants which
frames the 2 jigs. Africa and Ireland also came together
on his album with percussionist Chris Puleston, The Healing
Drum, on a piece called An Irishman in Africa.
Chris Conway - tin & twin whistles, keyboards, percussion,
vocals
Dan Britton - acoustic guitar, bodhran, percussion, banjo,
vocals
Adele McMahon - violin, vocals
14. Ritual of the Celtic Fire - (Chris Conway)
A ritual of celebration as the Celtic Fire anthem returns,
as does the thunder. The feeling of celebration was genuine
as it was the last piece to be recorded on Govannen's
last day in the studio.
Chris Conway - vocals, tin & low whistles, handclaps
Dan Britton - bodhran, vocals, handclaps
Adele McMahon - violin, handclaps
Bridget McMahon - vocals, handclaps
Produced by Chris Conway
Winner of the COVR Award for best World Music album 2010
downloads
(track titles are mixed up on iTunes)
Amazon.co.uk
