Looking forward to a lovely evening and sharing the stage with Little John Nee, Matthew Noone and Dave Rock. The Rowing Club tomorrow evening….

http://www.aislingrichmond.com

from this months in the Irish Music Magazine: “I CAN HEAR YOU CALLING” RESONATES WORLWIDE – Anna Falkenau & Lena Ullman

“A wonderful collaborative album,“ this latest release by acclaimed fiddle player Anna Falkenau
and five-string banjo virtuoso / singer Lena Ullman has found open ears around the world. Since its launch at the Ennis Tradfest it has been widely played on radio shows in Ireland, France, Denmark, New Zealand and across the US. At home I Can Hear You Calling continuous to be featured on RTE1, Clare FM and RnaG. In printed and virtual media, the new album has met with appraisals from national and international music press. “A superb album, that only improves with listening” writes Lonesome Highway Magazine. fRoots remarkes on the “rich cultural influences” of the duo and Siobhán Long responds in the Irish Times: “The pair’s marriage of fiddle and banjo sits perfectly in their chosen musical landscape, where the raw bar glistens in all its free-spirited, unadorned glory,” awarding the independent release four out of five stars.
With critical acclaim reaching from “an ear-whispering collection,“ over “a showcase for innovation and virtuoso playing” to “I Can Hear You Calling raises the hairs on my neck at times, that primal edge on the fiddle particularly,” Anna Falkenau and Lena Ullman have made quite the impact with their new collection of traditional and original tunes!
(Quotes from reviews in Lonesome Highway, Folkworld and from Pete Mullineaux, Poet)

Big Congrats to my students for playing a treat at the Galway Fleadh last weekend: Ruairi Kennedy (1st Place Slow Airs, U12), Shauna McCarthy (2nd Place Slow Airs, 12-15), Aimee McCarthy (2nd Place Slow Airs, 15-18), Sinead Duggan (1st Place Misc. Instruments, 3rd Place Slow Airs,12-15), Mary Duggan (3rd Place recommended Slow Airs and 3rd Place recommended in Misc. on Viola, 15-18) and to Chloe Winston and Orna McCormack!

Coming up today’s Down the Back Lane presented by Bill Verdier (every Sunday on WXNA, Nashville from 4-6 PM US Central at 101.5 FM and streaming/archived for 50 shows at www.wxnafm.org), music from Lena Ullman & Anna Falkenau, Willie Kelly & Mike Rafferty, Moloney, Keane & O’Connell, The Tannahill Weavers, Andy M. Stewart, Caroline Keane & Tom Delany, Floriane Blancke, , Brian Conway, Dylan Foley, Tony Demarco, Siobhan O Donnell, Catherine Jordan, Nathan Gourley & Joey Abarta, Harry Bradley, James Kelly and Zan McLeod and loads more.

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)

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!

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

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: 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/