Next week sees the release of Cormac Breatnach’s latest album, Éalú, thirteen years since his last musical journey. The new album has been quite a journey for Cormac, and features contributors from all over the world. In the run up to the album launch on 9th March, Cormac took time out to speak to IMRO about how it all came about.
While Cormac has always looked beyond his traditional Irish roots for influence, Éalú, as the title suggests, provided a further escape for him to expand the flavour of his music. “For many years now I have been meaning to give expression to a number of musical ideas I wished to work with. The ‘concept’ Album which is the culmination of these ideas came about once I decided to reduce the number of tracks.”
Cormac received support throughout the process from guitarist and co-producer, Gavin Ralston, who was influential in the use of electric guitars on six of the seven album tracks, a new direction for Cormac. “I have always loved the sound of the electric guitar with its many capabilities, whether used in blues, jazz, or in other genres, or with Irish music and I am very grateful to Gavin for his sympathetic musical approach taken throughout this album.”
The album contains 10 new instrumental compositions by Cormac, most of which are contained in the title track, Éalú, which runs to 9.5 minutes. “Universal Sun” a children’s song is penned by Cormac himself and is sung by Uché Gabriel Akujobi with Niwell Tsumbu. US singer and “Desperate Housewives” star, Vanessa Williams, also sings an arrangement of an Irish hymn with lyrics by poet, Theo Dorgan, entitled “Land of the Welcome?”
The involvement of seventeen musicians and five singers from Ireland, Africa, Spain, Japan and the USA provides an international dimension to this recording, allowing for more diverse influences and styles. Speaking of the logistical demands of recording with such a large number of contributors in various locations, Cormac tells us: “The time it took to record and especially mix the final sounds demonstrates in my opinion the ambitious nature of this project. I encouraged a certain amount of freedom, where possible, to each of the contributors and was open to their contributions and I loved the result.” The process was helped by the ease with which modern musicians can work together, even when located at opposite sides of the world. “Technology allowed for the outside recordings to happen in America and Japan without my physical presence, although I did travel to Madrid to oversee the Spanish band, La Musgaña, perform.”
Speaking of the development of the songs throughout the recording process, Cormac describes how a recording of this nature, and perhaps all recordings, will inevitably grow and develop from beginning to end. “Tracks can take on a life of their own. I was particularly happy with the charged-emotional lament I composed for my parents and how the track developed, including the unexpected lyrics which were specially written by Aoife Doyle.”
Cormac hopes that Éalú will inspire young composers and musicians in their own personal musical journey. He admits that the varied nature of the album may not appeal to all listeners, but he believes these variations are a strength and the album requires an investment of time to do it justice.
“It has been a labour of love involving familiar themes of awakening, love and loss but with a large sprinkling of fun for good measure. The work is complete. It is for others to judge its relevance and success.”
