Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill
Welcome Here Again ~ ( ( Green Linnet 1233) )
Martin Hayes epitomizes the fiddle music of County Clare for many people. He started playing when
he was seven years old and, by the age of thirteen, was touring with the Tulla Ceili Band, arguably
the most revered and famous ceili band in Ireland at the time which was led by his father, PJ Hayes.
Martin was also entering national competitions and winning them. By the age of twenty he had won
every available competition in the country.
The music scene in East County Clare in the 1970’s was full of fine fiddlers, and Martin's locality near
the village of Feakle was home to many of them. In addition to PJ Hayes, Paddy Canny, Martin
Rochford, Francie Donnellan, Vincent Griffin and Martin Woods all were a great influence on the
young musician. The gentle contemplative style of these fiddlers molded Martin at an impressionable
age, and by the time he left school he was playing to the approval of musicians thirty years older
and more. It is a rare thing to have such depth and clarity of understanding in one so young, but
Martin Hayes seemed to feel the music of his home place and to hear what older players were trying
to express.
When Martin left Clare for Chicago in the 1980’s he became immersed in the diversity of musical
styles that the city had to offer. It was also in Chicago where Martin met his current musical partner,
Dennis Cahill. With several other musicians, they formed an electric/Irish/rock fusion band called
Midnight Court, after the poem by the eighteenth century Clareman, Brian Merriman. After three
years dedicated to the freedom of musical experimentation and exploration, Martin was drawn back
to the music of his roots with new insights and a deeper confidence. He headed for Seattle in the
1990’s and pursued a new path playing a pure and distilled version of the music he had grown up
with; a version built on universal musical principles that could now find its place in the wider world
of music.
The 1993 recording, Martin Hayes was greeted by widespread critical acclaim, which garnered Martin
the National Entertainment Award (the Irish Grammies) and the Hot Press Heineken Award. His
second album, Under the Moon, released in 1995, continued to build on the success of the first,
attracting an international following.
For Martin, the music spoke to him and inspired him. He constantly sought to express that
inspiration and to convey the same musical message as generations of musicians before him. With
Dennis Cahill’s understated guitar outlining and intensifying that message, the duo touched
audiences across the world. The Lonesome Touch, released in 1997, reached out to the Irish music
community and beyond. Hayes and Cahill became more adventurous, more empathic, more attuned
to each other, and more able to stretch the music while remaining true to its essential qualities.
Following international festivals, concert tours, television spots and awards ceremonies, Martin and
Dennis released Live in Seattle in 1999. Their live sound had become legendary: tunes which never
ended, sets which started in one place and finished somewhere totally different. Recorded at the
Tractor Tavern, the album featured as its centerpiece one medley lasting almost thirty minutes.
The duo’s new album, Welcome Here Again, is a fresh departure; eighteen tracks and not one of
them over seven minutes, but with that same burning intensity and depth of emotion. It used to be
common for Irish musicians to record one tune at a time, to make each one a self-contained
masterpiece. The new album revives this tradition. The playing of Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill
renders the essence of the tunes, revealed in their purest form, accessible and appealing to all. "The
Dear Irish Boy" is one such track. "P Joe's Reel" is another. The mesmeric rhythms, the tantalizing
slow release of melody, the extra tone from viola or tuned-down fiddle, all of that and more is on
this album. After eight years, Hayes and Cahill are indeed Welcome Here Again.
Welcome Here Again ~ ( ( Green Linnet 1233) )
Martin Hayes epitomizes the fiddle music of County Clare for many people. He started playing when
he was seven years old and, by the age of thirteen, was touring with the Tulla Ceili Band, arguably
the most revered and famous ceili band in Ireland at the time which was led by his father, PJ Hayes.
Martin was also entering national competitions and winning them. By the age of twenty he had won
every available competition in the country.
The music scene in East County Clare in the 1970’s was full of fine fiddlers, and Martin's locality near
the village of Feakle was home to many of them. In addition to PJ Hayes, Paddy Canny, Martin
Rochford, Francie Donnellan, Vincent Griffin and Martin Woods all were a great influence on the
young musician. The gentle contemplative style of these fiddlers molded Martin at an impressionable
age, and by the time he left school he was playing to the approval of musicians thirty years older
and more. It is a rare thing to have such depth and clarity of understanding in one so young, but
Martin Hayes seemed to feel the music of his home place and to hear what older players were trying
to express.
When Martin left Clare for Chicago in the 1980’s he became immersed in the diversity of musical
styles that the city had to offer. It was also in Chicago where Martin met his current musical partner,
Dennis Cahill. With several other musicians, they formed an electric/Irish/rock fusion band called
Midnight Court, after the poem by the eighteenth century Clareman, Brian Merriman. After three
years dedicated to the freedom of musical experimentation and exploration, Martin was drawn back
to the music of his roots with new insights and a deeper confidence. He headed for Seattle in the
1990’s and pursued a new path playing a pure and distilled version of the music he had grown up
with; a version built on universal musical principles that could now find its place in the wider world
of music.
The 1993 recording, Martin Hayes was greeted by widespread critical acclaim, which garnered Martin
the National Entertainment Award (the Irish Grammies) and the Hot Press Heineken Award. His
second album, Under the Moon, released in 1995, continued to build on the success of the first,
attracting an international following.
For Martin, the music spoke to him and inspired him. He constantly sought to express that
inspiration and to convey the same musical message as generations of musicians before him. With
Dennis Cahill’s understated guitar outlining and intensifying that message, the duo touched
audiences across the world. The Lonesome Touch, released in 1997, reached out to the Irish music
community and beyond. Hayes and Cahill became more adventurous, more empathic, more attuned
to each other, and more able to stretch the music while remaining true to its essential qualities.
Following international festivals, concert tours, television spots and awards ceremonies, Martin and
Dennis released Live in Seattle in 1999. Their live sound had become legendary: tunes which never
ended, sets which started in one place and finished somewhere totally different. Recorded at the
Tractor Tavern, the album featured as its centerpiece one medley lasting almost thirty minutes.
The duo’s new album, Welcome Here Again, is a fresh departure; eighteen tracks and not one of
them over seven minutes, but with that same burning intensity and depth of emotion. It used to be
common for Irish musicians to record one tune at a time, to make each one a self-contained
masterpiece. The new album revives this tradition. The playing of Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill
renders the essence of the tunes, revealed in their purest form, accessible and appealing to all. "The
Dear Irish Boy" is one such track. "P Joe's Reel" is another. The mesmeric rhythms, the tantalizing
slow release of melody, the extra tone from viola or tuned-down fiddle, all of that and more is on
this album. After eight years, Hayes and Cahill are indeed Welcome Here Again.
Reviews
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If you have a CD or event you would like to have listed here, please submit your request
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Heidi Talbot
In Love & Light ~ ( ( Compass 4469 ) )
"Heidi Talbot sings in a voice that's both awestruck and tender.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Talbot is exquisite…Bjork combined with Enya.” – THE VILLAGE VOICE
“Ms Talbot is one of the most generous musicians I know.
I love the way she sings and she loves what she does. She is CLASS!” – EDDI READER
Look out for a new star in the glittering firmament of great Irish singers: with the release of her new
album In Love and Light, Heidi Talbot is truly set to shine. After five years as lead singer with the
Irish-American supergroup Cherish the Ladies, and high praise for her previous solo outing, 2004’s
Distant Future, Talbot now extends her talents over a broader, bolder musical canvas, in company
with a stellar cast of guests. Drawing on the full, diverse spectrum of influences that inform her
singing, In Love and Light complements Talbot’s exquisitely expressive, honeyed yet ardent voice with
guest contributions from Eddi Reader, ex-Solas guitarist John Doyle, fiddler John McCusker and
flute/whistle ace Mike McGoldrick.
Born in the rural village of Kill, Co. Kildare, Talbot began singing in the church choir run by her
mother, Rosaleen, meanwhile absorbing the vibrant array of music that filled the family home. At
sixteen, she enrolled at Dublin’s celebrated Bel Canto singing school, studying for the next year and a
half under its founder and director Frank Merriman - “the best teacher in the universe,” according to
Sinead O’Connor, another former student.
Her next move was to New York where she spent two years honing her voice and style amidst the
city’s vibrant musical melting-pot. In 2002 Talbot was invited to join Cherish the Ladies and in
between the band’s hectic touring schedule she continued to develop her solo work, releasing Distant
Future in 2004 on the Nashville-based roots label Compass Records. Produced by John Doyle, the
record featured such distinguished guests as multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, concertinist John
Williams and fiddler Rayna Gellert. Three years later, the recording of In Love and Light coincided with
her decision to leave Cherish at the end of 2007.
Tracks on the new album range from the Scottish traditional ballad “Glenlogie” to the vintage Ink
Spots hit “Whispering Grass”; Tom Waits’ bittersweet classic “Time” to an old parlour hymn, “When
they ring the Golden Bells”. There’s an old-timey duet with Orcadian singer Kris Drever on “The
Blackest Crow”, and a cover of “Cathedrals”, by the cult US band Jump Little Children, as well as two
new originals by English singer-songwriter Boo Hewerdine, who produced the record. The list of guests
also includes Capercaillie’s Donald Shaw and Ewen Vernal, and ex-Fairground Attraction drummer Roy
Dodds.
The launch of In Love and Light, at Glasgow’s world-renowned Celtic Connections festival in January
2008 kicks off an exciting year for Talbot, who’ll be featured as a guest on forthcoming albums by
Radiohead drummer Philip Selway, and the new trio collaboration of John McCusker, Kris Drever and
Idlewild singer Roddy Woomble. Between times, she’ll be touring both the US and Europe extensively
to promote In Love and Light.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Compass Records • 916 19th Avenue South • Nashville Tennessee 37212
(615) 320-7672 • Fax (615) 320-7378
Press & Promotion: stephanie@compassrecords.com • New Media: kelly@compassrecords.com
Retail: thad@compassrecords.com • http://www.compassrecords.com
In Love & Light ~ ( ( Compass 4469 ) )
"Heidi Talbot sings in a voice that's both awestruck and tender.” – THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Talbot is exquisite…Bjork combined with Enya.” – THE VILLAGE VOICE
“Ms Talbot is one of the most generous musicians I know.
I love the way she sings and she loves what she does. She is CLASS!” – EDDI READER
Look out for a new star in the glittering firmament of great Irish singers: with the release of her new
album In Love and Light, Heidi Talbot is truly set to shine. After five years as lead singer with the
Irish-American supergroup Cherish the Ladies, and high praise for her previous solo outing, 2004’s
Distant Future, Talbot now extends her talents over a broader, bolder musical canvas, in company
with a stellar cast of guests. Drawing on the full, diverse spectrum of influences that inform her
singing, In Love and Light complements Talbot’s exquisitely expressive, honeyed yet ardent voice with
guest contributions from Eddi Reader, ex-Solas guitarist John Doyle, fiddler John McCusker and
flute/whistle ace Mike McGoldrick.
Born in the rural village of Kill, Co. Kildare, Talbot began singing in the church choir run by her
mother, Rosaleen, meanwhile absorbing the vibrant array of music that filled the family home. At
sixteen, she enrolled at Dublin’s celebrated Bel Canto singing school, studying for the next year and a
half under its founder and director Frank Merriman - “the best teacher in the universe,” according to
Sinead O’Connor, another former student.
Her next move was to New York where she spent two years honing her voice and style amidst the
city’s vibrant musical melting-pot. In 2002 Talbot was invited to join Cherish the Ladies and in
between the band’s hectic touring schedule she continued to develop her solo work, releasing Distant
Future in 2004 on the Nashville-based roots label Compass Records. Produced by John Doyle, the
record featured such distinguished guests as multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, concertinist John
Williams and fiddler Rayna Gellert. Three years later, the recording of In Love and Light coincided with
her decision to leave Cherish at the end of 2007.
Tracks on the new album range from the Scottish traditional ballad “Glenlogie” to the vintage Ink
Spots hit “Whispering Grass”; Tom Waits’ bittersweet classic “Time” to an old parlour hymn, “When
they ring the Golden Bells”. There’s an old-timey duet with Orcadian singer Kris Drever on “The
Blackest Crow”, and a cover of “Cathedrals”, by the cult US band Jump Little Children, as well as two
new originals by English singer-songwriter Boo Hewerdine, who produced the record. The list of guests
also includes Capercaillie’s Donald Shaw and Ewen Vernal, and ex-Fairground Attraction drummer Roy
Dodds.
The launch of In Love and Light, at Glasgow’s world-renowned Celtic Connections festival in January
2008 kicks off an exciting year for Talbot, who’ll be featured as a guest on forthcoming albums by
Radiohead drummer Philip Selway, and the new trio collaboration of John McCusker, Kris Drever and
Idlewild singer Roddy Woomble. Between times, she’ll be touring both the US and Europe extensively
to promote In Love and Light.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Compass Records • 916 19th Avenue South • Nashville Tennessee 37212
(615) 320-7672 • Fax (615) 320-7378
Press & Promotion: stephanie@compassrecords.com • New Media: kelly@compassrecords.com
Retail: thad@compassrecords.com • http://www.compassrecords.com
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Green Linnet • 916 19th Avenue South • Nashville Tennessee 37212
(615) 320-7672 • Fax (615) 320-7378
Press & Promotion: stephanie@compassrecords.com • New Media: kelly@compassrecords.com
Retail: thad@compassrecords.com • http://www.compassrecords.com
Green Linnet • 916 19th Avenue South • Nashville Tennessee 37212
(615) 320-7672 • Fax (615) 320-7378
Press & Promotion: stephanie@compassrecords.com • New Media: kelly@compassrecords.com
Retail: thad@compassrecords.com • http://www.compassrecords.com
