Bill Smedley, Presenter of The Old-Time Music Hour at WSOV in Millheim, PA, USA called to our house in Spiddal about a months ago and we had a lovely session with Lena Ullman, Frank Hall and Steve Sweeney. Here a few tracks, rough n ready https://padlet.com/newtchaser/otmh (Ep 22)
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Gigs this May Bank Holiday Weekend
Finally, some nice weather:- Sunny Friday evening and I am looking forward to playing with Ged Foley and Steve Sweeney tonight and also on Sunday night in Padraigin’s. (9.30 start) Saturday night will be Taaffe’s in full swing: song with Regis and tunes with Jimmy Dillon; party guaranteed!
BBC travel: Sat night in Taaffe’s, Galway and ‘The Craic’
nice clip about Galway, Ireland and ‘the craic’ from BBC travel…they also called into Taaffe’s on a Sat night with Jimmy Dillon, Regis Golding, Roisín Broderick and myself
http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20180403-irelands-light-hearted-approach-to-life
New Zealand Radio Show
Review in Lonesome Highway
http://lonesomehighway.com/music-reviews/tag/nolan-mckelvey-dave-desmelik-lena-ullman
Lena Ullman & Anna Falkenau I Can Hear You Calling Scroll
How lucky we are that these two noted musicians have, by different routes, ended up making their homes in Ireland and producing this wonderful collaborative album.
Lena Ullman is Swedish by birth, but has spent most of her adult life to date in the West of Ireland, where she has been immersed in, and influential in the Old Time and Irish traditional scene there, especially in Galway and Kinvara. She is a clawhammer banjo player with her own distinctive playing style.
Fiddler Anna Falkenau hails from Germany, by way of Scotland and the US. Classically trained, she has ‘converted’ to traditional playing and studied Irish fiddling in UCC and then American Old Time and South Indian music in the US. Regarded as a superb fiddler in the Irish tradition, here she brings many of her other influences to the fore.
The twelve tracks here, self produced (along with Ivan Murray) and recorded as live in the studio, consist of songs and instrumentals, both original and ‘traditional’.
Lena shows her songwriting skills on two tracks: Homeless highlights the plight of the many unfortunates currently sleeping on the streets of the country, while Blueberry is an equally plaintive lament of longing. Her delicate falsetto vocals and her playing recall Peggy Seeger – in fact the similarities are striking.
Anna’s cat, Apatchy, was the inspiration for her one original composition here – Apatchy Hunting In The Garden is a lively old timey tune that effectively immortalises the feline antics.
Lena’s slow tune Waiting For Anna leads me to suspect that Anna might have a reputation for tardiness somewhat akin to my own! More interestingly, this two part tune allows Anna to indulge her knowledge and love of South Indian music, and the result is beautiful, leaving this listener wanting more.
Lena sings and plays her unhurried version of the traditional Red Rocking Chair, and also gives us her own take on the oft covered Black Jack David. On the set of hornpipes City of Savannah/ Ladies Choice/The Factory Smoke Anna’s fiddle playing sounds at its most ‘Irish’. On the remainder of the album, these (untutored) ears detect a Scandinavian feel to much of her playing.
Overall this is a superb album, that only improves with listening. Let’s hope it goes a little way towards raising the profile and popularity of this niche musical genre. (Eilís Boland)
Good Ol’ Times
good ol’ times: Saturday night at the Lisdoonvarna Old-Time Gathering; with Anna Falkenau, Dan Levenson, Carl Jones, Aisling Keogh, Derek Copley, Siona Knepper, Erynn Marshal & all the lovely dancers! https://www.facebook.com/irisholdtime/videos/614898275528524/
First Irish Old-Time Gathering….
Looking forward to tunes TONIGHT in Padraicin’s with the amazing Ged Foley and Steve Sweeney and myself…starting 9.30pm… Also tomorrow , heading to Lisdoonvarna…Old-Time Gathering…looking forward to tunes and playing a couple of solo tunes at Saturday night’s concert…www.irisholdtime.com
fRoots Review
“Blueberry” on NZ Folk Show
Delighted that there is another of our songs featured on New Zealand Radio Show; …listen on link below
Playlist. Folk on Sunday, no. 1113
Radio Kidnappers (NZ) 104.7MHz FM & 1431kHz AM.
Broadcast: 28/01/2018 1504-1600 NZDT
STREAMING LIVE: http://player.wizz.co.nz/kidnappers
REPEATING: Mon 5/02/2018 2100-2200 NZDT
US airplay and nice on-air review
William Smedley gives “I Can Hear You Calling” a glowing review on air…the two album tracks are not too far from the beginning!
8th OT Show WSOV 1-17-18.mp3
American Radio Show