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FIACHRA O’REGAN, LAWRENCE O’ HEARN, MALO CARVOU - Out Of Thin Air

FIACHRA O’REGAN, LAWRENCE O’ HEARN, MALO CARVOU - Out Of Thin Air
Private Label


In the CD introduction Lawrence O’Hearn states that this spontaneous recording captures “a moment in time” and offers a snapshot “coloured with echoes of an older Ireland”. Therein lies the core of
Out Of Thin Air, a collection of traditional music largely selected from the repertoire for uilleann pipes and flute, featuring pipes, flute and whistle up front. The treatment of the music relies on spontaneity garnered from sessions and familiarity with the source material (rather than using the tunes as springboards for self-indulgence) and thus this recording has a more raw sheen than many contemporaneous traditional releases.

The participants - Connemara born piper Fiachra O’Regan, Breton flautist Malo Carvou, and Lawrence O’Hearn on tin whistle, with Niall McQuaid on bodhrán and Gilles Apap on fiddle - play both together and separately and the combined sound recalls an older style of traditional ensemble work recalling echoes of Seán Ó Riada and Ceoltóirí Chualann and the Chieftains’ early recordings.

While this recording may be deliberately retro in approach, and the ensemble work recalls an interpretation of Irish traditional music that concentrates on the tune’s modal melodies as opposed to adding exotic rhythmic flourishes or superfast pyrotechnics, the resultant sound is nonetheless fresh and vibrant. The tunes are played at a speed that can be listened to, enjoyed and danced to, and the lack of modern day accompanying instruments such as guitar and bouzouki is noticeable but no less effective. The tunes include the classics: Colonel Fraser, My Love Is In America, The Yellow Tinker, some Carolan pieces like Lady Dillon and Planxty George Brabazon, and airs like Sliabh Geal gCua Na Féile, rendered with respect and clarity. Out Of Thin Air is delightfully free flowing and consistent in re-establishing older values while displaying the players combined virtuosity. It’s as near to the ‘raw bar’ as one could wish for, and all the better for that.

John O’Regan

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This album was reviewed in Issue 120 of The Living Tradition magazine.