Search - Iarla O'Lionaird :: Invisible Fields

Intelligently combines medieval + modern, Irish + studio bea

John L Murphy | Los Angeles | 04/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For those familiar with Real World's label, this fits nicely into the repertoire. I admit that while O Lionard's sound's a bit more laid back than my tastes tend towards either with Irish folk-influenced or adventurous rock-tinged music, that this made a great soundtrack for a rainy morning commute. It reminds me very much of Peadar O Riada's two albums released over a decade ago on the New Jersey indie label Bar None--like O Lionard, O Riada (as those who recognize Sean O Riada's heir apparent!) takes the Irish language and traditional influences and washes them within a bath of electronic textures at once oddly contemporary in its density and at times even medieval in its evocation of chant and plainsong arrangements.



On slight letdown: I do wish that O Lionard had included the Irish-language texts along with the lyrics he prints in English; the only exception to the anglicized liner notes is his "Aurora," taking inspiration from Sean O Riordain's wonderful poem here printed, linking Africa Thuas/North Africa's winds to what is felt across the oceans in Ireland by this predecessor to O Lionard, a Cork visionary and modernist-existentialist thinker from the middle of the last century. O Lionard, as with the O Riadas and O Riordain, continues the Irish Munster bardic tradition into another millenium. This album, his third I believe, again brings the most contemporary of chill out beats into the contemplative milieu of monastery and meadow. Blending ancient strands into a complex new spiralled tapestry of sound, this is enduring music."

Seven Steps From Éire

Antti Keisala | Jyväskylä, Finland | 02/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In my comment to the Afro Celt Sound System's record "Anatomic" I gave Iarla Ó Lionáird high praise and called him "one of the true voices of our contemporary music". Why? What is it in him that isn't to be found in all the other artists mixing sean-nós in modern influence? An impossible question to answer.



I am very particular about making as little sense being the key to enrichening my experiences - that is, I cherish the notion that there are things in my consciousness, in even the most fundamental of principles and opinions, that I can't figure out because they are so essentially tied to my own personality. I could be the product of my enviroment, and partially I am, yet I am also the product of my soul. So every time a voice reaches deeper than others, straight into the heart of the matter, into the mysterious space I can't define in myself, it's a cause to celebrate. Ó Lionáird is like this, there is vision in his voice alone, and certain economy, especially as we're directly descending from Afro Celt Sound System. This is lusher than his previous albums, but also sparer. He says a lot more with less trouble.



The songs themselves tie together and all of them feel integrated together. The music itself is in touch with our time yet it's still so not Zeitgeist it's refreshingly healthful. There are arcs of sound coming and going, floating and shivering about, and none of it is palpable enough to be immersed with first listenings. I remember buying "Anatomic" and this the same day, and it was not but only after a week of listening to "Anatomic" that I got around to listening this record through for the first time. And now it has filled my imagination already. "A Nest of Stars" is one of his best songs, an amazing contrast of the economical and sonic lushness. And Ó Lionáird's voice hovers above the soundscape like that of an angel, sometimes accompanied by a whole canvas of sounds, sometimes, as in the profound "Taimse Im' Chodladh" or "I'm Weary of Lying Alone", by scarcely anything at all. This is the combination of the best things in sean-nós and modern 'fusion' (that graveyard of a word). This is in the vein of Martyn Bennett at his best ("Glen Lyon", 2001): meditative, contemplative, deeply alive and existential. Ó Lionáird knows his Weltschmerz, but is seems he also knows ours. Even thinking of "An Buchailin Ban" sends shivers down my spine.



This is only his third album in the past ten years, so let's hope he continues to go down his path, as he seems to be giving us an album more glorious than the earlier with each release.



With best regards,

AK"

The Very Finest Male Gaelic Singer Ever releases a treasure

o dubhthaigh | north rustico, pei, canada | 10/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"of such sublime beauty that this will go down as one of the hallmark releases for the 21st Century. O Lionaird advances as he serves the great Gaelic singing tradition in ways that few others can even remotely approximate. This is the sound of the Irish soul aspiring to its own release from the mortal coils. From the very time I heard Iarla, with Noel Hill and Tony Linane in that classic pub-session CD from Sliabh Luchra, I realized I was listening to the human soul as it found expression within a particular culture.

Apparently Real World was impressed by the same recording and somehow Afro-Celts came to be. Alongside the amazing trajectory of that ensemble, O Lionaird has assembled a catalogue of solo recordings that have re-set the bar for what stands as excellence and passion in this form. Apart from Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh of Altan, he has no peers, and perhaps only Mairead may even surpass his remarkable gifts, accomplishments and homage to a culture he truly loves.

In this release he works closely with Kevin Killen, who helmed Peter Gabriel's maginificent SO, and Welsh composer Gavin Bryars, whose classical works come from another world altogether, so profoundly do they move the human soul. The result is a CD unlike any you will ever hear again in your life. Iarla has consistently outdone himself in the course of his work with A-C and solo. How he will or even could surpass the beauty and passion of this release is beyond my imagination. His own songs stand up as well, if not better than the traditional efforts. Gaelic singers will be referencing this disc for centuries. It is THAT GOOD.

Mixing taped sound bites from his family or well known West Cork personalities in the tradition, Iarla creates a sound scape of uncompromising spirituality. It is positively gorgeous and compelling music on offer here. Perhaps this will give Mairead the impetus to shed Altan for a moment and release the CD of her own material that has been building up.

In any case, this is a disc you'll hand down along generations. This will one day assume the status of the pure drop of Gaelic singing."