CATHAL Ó CURRÁIN

Fifteen and a bit years later, he has made his own way. Originally from Gaoth Dobhair, Cathal has come a long way from An Chrannóg, a music school in the northern region. From an early age he was immersed in music alongside such famous musicians as Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and his nephew Ciarán Ó Maonaigh, and he was born into a family well known for their singing, which Cathal learned from his aunts Caitlín and Bríd Joe Jack. Having started with the banjo at 9/10, he soon became interested in the bouzouki at 11/12. Then the fiddle caught his eye as the accomplished musician that he is at 14 years old.

After cutting his teeth on other musicians' albums, The High Seas with Ciarán Ó Maonaigh and Caitlín Nic Gabhann, on the Friel Sisters' second album, Before The Sun, with Aoife Scott, and finally in the band The Conifers, which he helped to found, he shifted into high gear with the release of his first solo album, Cosán Ceoil.

And for a first, let's be honest, it's a real success. Thirteen tracks, equal parts songs and instrumentals, almost all from his native Donegal. Whether it's The Green Fields of Gaoth Dobhair or Two Sisters borrowed from Clannad's repertoire or Paddy's Trip to Scotland played by Altan, An Saighdiúir Tréigthe by Skara Brae, Dooish Mountain by Tommy Peoples or songs learned from his great-uncle Jimmy Dinny Ó Gallachóir: D'éirigh an tuile ar Labhrás, The Star of Donegal and Mo Shean Dún na nGall. And Brenda Stubbert's, learned on a New Year's Eve from the Shetlands band, Fiddlers Bid.

As Cathal exercises his talents on fiddle, bouzouki and banjo, and with a delicate voice, he is ably assisted by his friend Marty Barry on guitar, Ryan Molloy on piano, Megan Nic Fhionnghaile and Ciarán Ó Maonaigh on fiddle, Conor O'Loughlin on concertina and Felix Morgensten on bodhrán. From the first note to the last, this is an excellent album that reveals a young man with promising talent.

Autoproduit COC001 - cathalceoil@gmail.com