Author: Breffni Banks

For some people music is a hobby, for others it’s a way of life. For others it’s a series of incomprehensible squiggles on a page of sheet music. For Aisling Quinn it’s about using the inner squiggle.“There is a unique note each person has inside them- like an inner squiggle. The challenge is to capture it and let it out!” 

Born in Galway, Aisling spent her formative years devouring music, without prejudice to particular styles or genres. Their home was full of instruments and Quinn was tinkering on pianos and strumming guitars for as long as she can remember. Piano was the first instrument Aisling learnt formally but like most teenagers, the discipline to practice escaped her. “I always felt the piano was like a close friend but it’s hard to stay friends with someone when you have to pass an exam on them every year."  

So, inspired by jazz and blues albums from the 30’s and 40’s and her mum’s Carole King LPs, Aisling decided to go down a more laid- back style of jamming, teaching herself as she went rather than being penned in by formal, structured lessons. Her curiosity and love of sounds led her to pick up many other instruments such as mandolin, flute, violin, bodhran, melodica and xylophone. Aisling steadily began settling into her musical skin. 

In 2002, she embarked on the next step of her musical adventure when she moved to Dublin to begin a music production course in order to gain a better understanding of the technical side of the industry. In 2007, she released her first EP A Simple Arrangement, which received encouraging reviews, praising her “truly beautiful voice” and “undeniable musical talent”. Her confidence was growing and in 2009 she was contacted through her MySpace page by singer songwriter Albert Niland, who invited her to support him on his Irish tour. The same year, much lauded performer Rosey also invited her to tour with him.  

In the same year Aisling began to delve into the world of theatre; composing the original music for Bluepatch productions of ‘Portia Coughlan’, ‘The Clean House’ and ‘Medea Redux’, which in turn led her to develop an original, collaborative theatre piece, "Memory Palace’, which debuted at the Galway Theatre Festival 2010 and was hailed by Irish Theatre Magazine as "intelligent, truly inspiring theatre". 

Despite her new found love of the theatre, Aisling’s focus was really always very much on creating and establishing her own musical identity and since the release of the debut EP, she had been gathering a collection of songs with a view to releasing a record. “I felt, musically, I had my own unique point of view so the challenge was to achieve something whole and complete, artistically, with this album, for myself in the first instance, and then hopefully for other people to enjoy". Assembling some of Ireland’s finest session musicians, Aisling settled herself into Jam Studios, Kells, Co Meath, working with co-producer Martin Quinn. The end result is Let The Games Begin, a collection of eleven beautifully crafted songs, packed with colour, personality, melody and an endearing vulnerability.Quinn’s quirky and energetic take on pop, jazz, folk and blues is worth multiple listens.“Carol King, Nick Drake, Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright, Joni Mitchell, Ed Harcourt, Merz, Aimee Mann they’re all floating around there somewhere bumping into each other, and saying hello!.”
 

Let The Games Begin will be released on Friday May 20th, 2011. Aisling Quinn will be touring Ireland from early April and will be joined by The Halliday Squares.  In 2009, the track ‘When You Come’ achieved a semi final position in the ISC (International Songwriting Competition)  www.songwritingcompetition.com, a prestigious US based competition that recognises new songwriting talent from across the world. And just recently, it was announced that her track ‘Song I Wrote For You’ also achieved a semi-final position in the ISC 2010. Judges included Tom Waits, Rhianna, Jeff Beck, Robert Smith, Jerry Lee Lewis and a host of industry names. Both tracks feature on the debut album.
    
Tour dates include;
Thursday 19th  May  Album Launch, Grand Social, Dublin
Friday 20th May  Tower Records, Dublin. Instore @ 6pm.
Saturday 11th June  Kelly's Bar, Galway
Friday 17th June  Passionfruit Theatre, Athlone

On May 6th, Mary will be releasing her first new recording in 6 years. The single 'Marguerite and the Gambler' is written by Ricky Lynch tells the age old story Mary told in her first solo recording 'Anachie Gordon'. This time the story is set in the Wild West. It's the first recording from a new Mary album to be released later this year – working title 'Marguerite and the Gambler and other stories'.
 
For over a quarter-century, singer Mary Black has been a dominant presence in Irish music, both at home and abroad. She has shared stages, tv shows and recording studios with some of the most revered performers of her time. She has also played a frontline role in bringing Irish music, past and present, to an increasingly appreciative and ever-growing global audience. The San Francisco Chronicle once described her as "One of the best interpretative singers around".
 

Known for her commitment to original material by Irish songwriters and her unique interpretations of the songs she chooses, Mary has released 11 studio albums all of which achieved platinum sales status and spawned countless hits. Indeed, one of Mary’s albums – No Frontiers – spent more than a year in the Irish Top 30!
To the acclaim and awards Mary has received over the years from both the public and the critics must also be added the esteem she has generated from her fellow artists. Indeed, many of them have recorded and performed live with her, including Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Joan Baez and Van Morrison, not to mention a host of Irish traditional musicians and singers. Along the way she has also recorded and performed with her siblings in The Black Family and with her highly successful sister Frances.
 

2008 marked the 25th anniversary of Mary's first solo album, and to celebrate the momentous occasion Mary released a special compilation double album 25 Years/25 Songs. It featured a personal, hand-picked selection of gems spanning Mary's career and it still serves as a testament to the extraordinary range and quality of both her vocal prowess and her astute song selection. Mary recorded two brand new songs for the project, and the album went straight to No. 1 in the Irish charts, where it remained for a staggering five weeks, spending over seven months in the Irish top 40!
 

In an industry noted for its fickleness and its almost insatiable need for fresh novelties, Mary Black’s enduring successes have proven that her depth of talent and her love of singing transcend the generations, as well as national and musical boundaries too. She is indeed a real Irish treasure and her talent a gift from this small island to a grateful world.

2010 THE HOT SPROCKETS win the final of the King Kong Club which enables them to de-camp to Sierra Vista studio in the Portuguese mountains where they record their debut album “HONEY SKIPPIN’” with BOZ BOORER (Morrisey, The Polecats) at the helm.

The Contemporary Music Centre in association with Dublin Dance Festival presents A Meeting Place – AMP, 12noon – 2pm, 22 May 2011 in the Centre’s Library, as part of the Dublin Dance Festival 2011. This special edition of AMP offers choreographers, composers, dancers and musicians the opportunity to meet and learn about collaborative practice across music and dance.
 
A panel including UK choreographer Balbir Singh and his musical collaborators, Irish choreographers Fearghus O’Conchuir, Megan and Jessica Kennedy, and Mary Nunan and composers Denis Clohessy and Karen Power will discuss approaches to their work together.
 
Chaired by Paul Johnson, Director, Dance Ireland, the discussion will be followed by a question and answer session. There will be ample time to get to know the panelists and fellow attendees at this relaxed brunch event. Light refreshments will be served.
 
“This is one of a series of AMP events that CMC will host across 2011. There is a real desire among composers and artists of all disciplines to learn and share experiences about different forms of artistic collaboration. AMP events facilitate this.” says Karen Hennessy, Promotion Manager, The Contemporary Music Centre.

Damien Rice collaborated with French actress, Melanie Laurent, on five songs for her debut album, “En t’Attendant”, released on 2nd May. Two of the songs, duets between Damien and Melanie, are now available from Damien’s website.

To buy “Uncomfortable” and “Everything You’re Not Supposed to Be” go to www.damienrice.com.
 

Sounds of the Silk Road featuring the Hilliard Ensemble, Ivan Monighetti, Lydia Kavina and the EQ Ensemble perform in St.Peter's Church of Ireland Drogheda on Friday 29 April 2011 at 8pm. Tickets available from 0818 205 205 or on the door

The first concert in the Sounds of the Silk Road series will take place in St Peter’s Church of Ireland, Drogheda on the 29 April 2011 at 8pm. The concert will feature work which was specially commissioned by the Louth Contemporary Music Society by Dmitri Yanov Yanovsky, a highly talented and well regarded composer from Tashkent, Uzbekistan a country at the crossroads of the rich and oriental and Islamic traditions of Central Asia.

The piece ‘Morning’ is based on text from Robert Lax's poem of the same name. It has been written for and will be performed by the renowned Hilliard Ensemble who have performed in Louth on a previous occasion, singing works by Arvo Part. Ivan Monighetti, one of the world’s most accomplished cellists along with some of the foremost Irish musicians in the newly formed EQ Ensemble : Maria McGarry(piano), Malachy Robinson (double bass), Cliona Doris (harp), Deirdre O'Leary (clarinet), Susan Doyle (flute), Chris Stynes(percussion),Maeve O'Hara(percussion),Elizabeth Cooney(violin), Cian O'Duill(viola).

The performance will also include another of Dmitri's works called Nightmusic – Voices in the Leaves which was written for Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.
 
World renowned Lydia Kavina will open the concert with a contemporary piece called Kitezh 19, by Iraida Yusupova. Lydia plays music on a Theremin, an electronic instrument which makes music without touching. It is an unusual instrument based upon the technology of proximity meters and was invented and pioneered by Lydia’s great uncle Leon Theremin in the 1920’s. Lydia will run the Theramin workshop for the interested and simply curious.
 
Sounds of the Silk Road is presented by Louth Contemporary Music Society (LCMS) in association with Drogheda Arts Festival. The event is funded by The Arts Council/ An Chomhairle Ealaíon and financially supported by Create Louth.
 
Tickets for the performance priced €15 are available from www.centralticketbureau.com (0818 205 205) and http://www.droghedaartsfestival.ie (00 353 41 9833946)

(Photo of The Hilliard Ensemble by Friedrun Reinhold)
 

CHARLEVILLE CASTLE, TULLAMORE, CO OFFALY – 29th, 30th & 31st JULY 2011