After the release of their debut album Made From Sand on their own Magi label Dublin-based 4-piece Alphastates knuckled down to a solid year of touring the length and breadth of Ireland as often as possible, building up a fan-base that will stand them in good stead for the future. They are currently working on new songs for the recording of their second album.
From Planxty to The Bothy Band to Coolfin, to Mozaik and back to Planxty few musicians have played such an influential role in Irish music or have a longer CV than Donal Lunny. Born in Tullamore to a mother from Donegal and a father from Enniskillen, Dónal Lunny has come a long way from playing his left hand guitar in Dowling’s Pub in Prosperous with The Liffeysiders doing Clancy Brothers songs.
In recent years he has been working with his latest band Mozaik, as well as enjoying a reunion with his Planxty cohorts as they play to sell out crowds in Ireland and the UK.
Róisín Elsafty is a sean-nós singer from Connemara. Her biggest musical influence is her mother, the wonderful singer Treasa Ní Cheannabháin, with whom she has recorded a CD. Róisín won the premier award for traditional singing at the Oireachtas in 2002, and has recently performed at the Open House Festival in Belfast and Celtic Connections in Glasgow. Through their singing and teaching, Róisín and her mother have been to the forefront in developing sean-nós singing among a new generation in Connemara.
Paddy Casey is one of those rare things, a musician who truly lives to play music. Paddy headlined festivals throughout the Summer of 2004 and with his album “Living” has settled comfortably for quite a while now in the Irish top 10.
It’s certainly a far cry from Paddy’s beginnings busking on the streets of Dublin in his pre-teens before Sony’s S2 label signed him up in 1998. His debut album was released less than a year later (following an 8 day recording session), which led to a gruelling period of intensive touring (“I was full on touring for two years with the first album. That was new enough to me so it wasn’t hard doing it. But the travelling…!”) that saw him endlessly criss-cross the world throughout 1999 and 2000.
Presented by John Kelly, this year’s Other Voices includes performances from Declan O’Rourke, Mark Lanagan, The Cowboy Junkies, American Music Club, The Divine Comedy, The Devlins, Dónal Lunny, Tom Baxter, Republic of Loose, Ocean Colour Scene, Gavin Friday & Maurice Seezer, Steve Earle, Cathy Davey, The Thrills and The Chalets.
Back when it started nobody could have predicted the success that Other Voices and the musicians themselves would enjoy. Several of the artists who previously took part, including The Frames, Damien Rice, Gemma Hayes and Bellx1 have gone on to success on a world-wide scale, received awards, had chart topping albums and achieved sell-out tours. The third series of Other Voices once again brings together musicians from various backgrounds, traditions and disciplines to celebrate different sounds and styles of music and voices.
In a region steeped in tradition and heritage that has long attracted musicians from different disciplines, over 100 musicians have gathered in the most westerly point of Europe over the last three years to perform in front of a small but privileged audience, in a 200-year-old church. For a fortnight last December, 35 cutting-edge artists gathered in St. James’s church and in this very special atmosphere created an exciting mix of modern sounds and new voices. Once again Other Voices captures a moment in music time and gives audiences an unmissable opportunity to witness and experience a richness and diversity of sounds and music as they echo out from the west of Ireland.