CATHY JORDAN

She has recorded around fifteen albums with them. But alongside the band, she is involved in numerous other projects, as she is part of the trio The Unwanted and has already released several albums under her own name.
She returns this time with an ambitious project, ‘Crankie Island Song Project’, an album that has required a colossal amount of work, as Cathy has set herself the task of preserving songs from every county. She has collected 32 of them, one for each of Ireland’s 32 counties. These songs cover a wide range of themes found in Irish music: love, mourning, emigration, the supernatural, politics, lullabies... An album recorded over a three-year period in various studios in Ireland and abroad, featuring over 30 musicians and singers from across Ireland: Benny McCarthy, Caoimhin Ó Fearghail, Seán Óg Graham, Seamie O’Dowd, Conor Lamb and Loïc Bléjean... It’s impossible to name them all.

It features duets with artists such as Dónal Clancy, Myles McCormack, Lisa O'Neill, Andrew Hendy and Nuala Kennedy.
Listeners will also recognise familiar songs such as “The Wind That Shakes The Barley”, “The Spanish Lady”, “The Rocks Of Bawn”, “Fill a Ruin O” and “Eileen Óg”.
And to accompany each song, there are original animated illustrations, presented in Crankie Boxes – boxes operated by a crank handle. First appearing in Europe in the late 18th century, they were known as ‘animated panoramas’ in the 19th century. An illustrated scroll is wound onto hand-cranked spools whilst a song is sung. A bit like the forerunner of cinema.
Of course, there are no images on the album itself, but simply log on to Bandcamp to view the images illustrating each song. These are original works created by a collective of Irish artists.
A thoroughly original project that showcases magnificent songs and highlights Cathy Jordan’s delicate voice. A real success.

Autoproduit - www.cathyjordan.ie ou cathyjordan.bandcamp.com/album/the-crankie-island-song-project