Happy New Year everyone. I’m reminded of this song I wrote quite a while ago. Two versions of it here from the same magical room. One with the great band I had at the time (audio only) Live in Bewleys Cafe Theatre and the other a solo video version in the same room empty, which resonates a bit differently due to the year we have had with empty venues. I guess it’s a song of hope. Two lost souls finding each other and the potential for that to spark into something meaningful for both. Thanks to Gary Raymond on percussion, Rama Block on bass and Eimear Lynch and Cathy McEvoy on fiddles; all wonderful musicians and people. Also many thanks to Ruairí Galavan for creating the video version doing all the creative and technical stuff himself. Great work.
That feeling of excitement that we got as kids in the run up to Christmas is a special thing, going to meet family, religious events, cards coming in the mail all building up to the excitement of Christmas Day. With events happening on zoom and delivery vans dropping by every hour and plenty of various restrictions no matter where you are in the world this year is different but even in this context I hope you feel the excitement of the days counting down.
I’m feeling the relief that the year is almost over and we are now at Christmas. It’s kinda a note home to friends in Ireland, sadness that I can’t make it home but thankful for the bit of magic and mystery that Christmas brings. make it a good one folks!
Conceived, written, recorded and mastered by myself in 13 days in Dec 2020. I began to write the songs for this Christmas Album in a hospital carpark (due to Covid restrictions) in Michigan as I was waiting for my wife’s procedure to be completed.(All went well and she is recovering!) So what brought on the Christmas Songs? It’s been a few years since I wrote a Christmas Song, (Some of you might remember Christmas Wings?), so in the back of my mind I guess I was looking for angles to tackle the subject. And then in the course of a few days the concepts came out and were developed in the studio with overdubs etc. I wasn’t sure if all five new songs would make the cut but I’m proud of them all so I hope you like them. It’s important for me to be as truthful as I can about my beliefs and I didn’t want to do a one dimensional Christmas album. As I mention in one song “I’m not sure if I believe in Christmas” but that doesn’t mean I can’t join the chorus and enjoy this traditional celebration. I hope this collection of Christmas songs gets you in the spirit of Christmas and makes you think about your connection with it.
The fact that I won’t make it home to Ireland this year is tough but then again does it really matter where we are in the world with lockdowns etc. happening due to covid? We need to stay connected with friends and family in the new ways imposed upon us and keep enjoying the music old and hopefully new. Happy Christmas Everyone!
Lots of radio play this week which is great! Thanks to Caoimhe Ceol Ní Chathail in BBC Radio Ulster who played Tá An Nollaig Linn on Blas Ceoil on Fri. I’ll be having a long chat as gaeilge with her on the 1st January 2021 about my Irish language songs. Thanks also to Bill Marshall at Sounds Like Ireland Muskegon MI for playing Christmas True. This evening both songs are being played on The Celtic Show out of Atlanta Georgia thanks to Jon Kiger. Listen in to their shows for more great Irish music!
You can buy the double A track single via this link https://endareilly.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-true
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