52
Lúnasa are among a handful of Irish traditional bands – think Altan, Dervish, the recently reformed Bothy Band – that seem to have been around forever and just can’t help but keep making top-class music. In Lúnasa’s case, they were formed originally in 1997 and, as is the case with many bands, have had a shifting line-up over time, with fiddle player Seán Smyth and double bassist Trevor Hutchinson the two remaining original members, founding members John McSherry and Michael McGoldrick having long since gone. The current line-up has been in place since 2012 with, in addition to Seán (Colin Farrell sometimes subbing for Seán on fiddle) and Trevor, Ed Boyd on guitar, Kevin Crawford on flute and whistle, and Cillian Vallely on uilleann pipes and low whistle. This line-up recorded Live in Kyoto at the legendary Taku Taku club in Kyoto, Japan, over three nights in November last year. The album is their first since their previous studio album, CAS, in 2018 (reviewed here) and their third live album, following The Kinnitty Sessions in 2004 and a 2013 album with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
What is unexpected is that rather than do what most artists do and stick with tunes that are familiar from recordings and previous live shows, Lúnasa has come up with ten sets of tunes that they don’t usually play, drawing to an extent on some of their individual recordings away from the band. The first set of tunes, played by together the band, starts with March Of The Meeatoiteen Bull, a glorious, particularly distinctive tune recorded by the legendary Donegal fiddle player John Doherty in the 1970s and also recorded, amongst others, by Altan, by John Doyle, John McCusker, Mike McGoldrick, and by Bríd Harper. The set originates from Cillian’s 2016 solo album The Raven’s Rock, the other tunes, 40 March, and then a shift in gear for an audience rousing 40 Reel, both composed by Cillian’s brother Niall.
Windmill Hill /The Seven Houses/The Rock Road are a great set of tunes composed by Cillian. Windmill Hill illustrates perfectly how well Lúnasa makes use of their component instrumental parts to construct compelling arrangements, in this case, a gradual layering of instruments after a delicate guitar introduction, whistle, then fiddle, then bass and what might be a low whistle, all filling out the sound. Cillian’s pipes only become really obvious on the faster The Rock Road. Connections and collaborations between Irish and Breton traditional musicians have been strong over many years, and Lúnasa here play a very fine set of three Breton tunes – one, Bal Loudieg, was recorded on a live album by the great Breton band Kornog. The set winds around some of the different Breton time signatures and shifts focus from flute to fiddle to pipes, making for an intriguing listen.
Kevin Crawford’s delightful whistle skills are showcased on the march Liam O’Raghallaigh – a tune the inestimable Mary Bergin recorded on her classic whistle album Feadóga Stáin. It’s the first in a set of three tunes, with just refined guitar and bowed double bass for company, followed by Drumcairn, another march that Cillan composed, his pipes to the fore, and the set concluding with John McGinley’s, a stirring full ensemble reel. Seán’s fiddle takes centre stage on two lovely tunes, the jig Winnie Hayes, taken at a slow pace and The Blue Fiddle, a not particularly slow polka, composed by Steve Cooney and the title track of Seán’s 1993 solo album. It’s low whistle time on Days Around Lahinch /Man From Moyasta as Kevin and Cillian reprise a magnificent set of reels composed by Kevin they recorded on their 2009 duo album On Common Ground. The album concludes with a perfectly judged set of three reels – Union St. Session/Boys Of The 25/Cabin In The Woods – flute, fiddle and pipes mixing and matching across the tunes, underpinned by ever-inventive guitar and double bass rhythms. The audience had very good reason to be as enthused as they were in their subsequent applause.
Lúnasa have toured in Japan for some 20 years, often promoted by the enthusiastic Yoko Nozaki (who has championed Irish music in Japan for more than three decades), and it was Yoko who had the original idea for the band to make a live album in Japan, together with the vision to make it happen. Live in Kyoto captures the energy and inspired playing that typically infuses a Lúnasa gig, with the sparkling sound of their unique combination of instruments and the added freshness of great tunes that are not so familiar.
Live in Kyoto is self-released and out now. Available to buy here.
