Monthly Marker February 2019: M’ANAM

01 Feb
Cover: M'ANAM-M'ANAM

Once again we start a new month with a new Monthly Marker, in what seems to be the coldest part of winter yet, at least here in the Netherlands, and of course in North America. Now, there are two things one can do in this time of year. Either bring warmth into your life by turning up the music and start dancing, which is what we did in January with Aérokorda’s Cliffs of Moher. Then there is the complete opposite option…

For February we would like to look to the cold, which is such an integral part of nature. With this month’s Marker we want to acknowledge, even celebrate the Bitter Wind, which is why we were so very excited when M’ANAM approached us and offered a premiere of a song from their upcoming album. It is based on a 9th century Irish poem with that very same name! The music in this song was written by Michael McGlynn, who we all know from ANÚNA, and it features an impressive solo by Philip Barkhudarov. Special thanks to Saar SeeDling (ANÚNA, SeeD Pagan Folk, Crashing Bats (FB)) for your intermediary role!

So let’s get outside, light a fire, and enjoy these impressive sounds together with friends and family!

“Bitter is the wind tonight,
It tosses the ocean’s white hair;
I do not fear the crossing of a calm sea,
By the fierce warriors from Lothlind.”

You can find M’ANAM her:

Monthly Marker January 2019: Aérokorda

01 Jan
Cover: Aérokorda

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

We hope you had a great New Year’s Eve, and we wish you al an amazing 2019, filled with the best music and dances! And to start all that off right…we present our new Monthly Marker, Aérokorda’s “The Cliffs Of Moher“!

Aérokorda is a band of three, formed within the Balfolk community. Their music is heavily influenced by both Irish sounds as well as folkmusic from the Balkan area, and this comes together to create a unique sound that is loved by all in the wonderful world of Balfolk dancing. This months Marker was taken from their 2017 album “Hush The Wolves” (Cliff wrote a review of this album). We saw them at CaDansa, and of course more recently at the Midwinter Fair Archeon, where they moved the crowd with their passion for music.

So come on and put on your dancing shoes (or go barefoot like many “folkies”) and let’s dance our way into a brilliant new year!

You can find Aérokorda here:

Monthly Marker December 2018: Harmony Glenn

02 Dec

A new month, and thus time for a new Monthly Marker. And since this is “the festive month”, we thought it would be time for a festive song! Obviously we couldn’t go with just any old Christmas song, so we have something very special for you!!

Our dear friends of Harmony Glen have been working on a seasonal song, soon to be THE new seasonal hit of course, and we at CeltCast have the honour of being the very first to bring this song to light! (No, but really. It wasn’t even supposed to be released just yet. Talk about a scoop! 🙂 )

And so we are proud to present: ‘Christmas Is Here‘! A folky and festive ode to the perils of the holiday, which we will be playing five to six times a day throughout all of December. So jingle your bells and come sleigh away with us, as we dance our way towards the new year!

P.S.: We know this song is about Christmas but there are of course many celebrations around this time of year. So, we would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone an amazing time, whether it be a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas, a Blessed Yule, an Awesome Kwanzaa… in short: Happy Holidays to all!

Harmony Glen

You can find Harmony Glen here:

Monthly Marker November 2018: Cara

01 Nov
Cover: Cara-Live

With Imbue’s “Mirie It Is When Sumer Ilast” we took a moment to reflect on the harshness of winter, but with the weather now actually turning colder and the darkest days of the year rapidly approaching we would rather focus on the warmth of the coming winter festivals!

For November we chose Cara’s “Heroes” as our Monthly Marker. We first saw Cara live only two months ago at Festival Mediaval and they immediately took up residence in our hearts! This band, that formed way back in 2003, plays pure Celtic Folk, and does so with a passion! They have won several Irish Music Awards and the experience of this German/Scottish group is clear in everything they do, both live and on their albums.

“Heroes”, from their 15-year anniversary album “Live”, is an instrumental tracks that just makes you want to get up and dance. So come on everyone, put aside your Guinness, your mulled mead or your hot chocolate, and join us on the dance-floor and let’s ignore the cold together!

Cara

Cara can be found here:

Monthly Marker October 2018: Imbue

01 Oct

As we say goodbye and a heartfelt thank you to Paya Lehane for brightening up September with her beautiful song Memento we move into October, which is definitely the beginning of the darker days of the year. So what could be more fitting than a song about the harshness of winter?

Mirie it is when sumer ilast is (one of) the oldest secular song(s) ever written in English (though we may have some difficulty reading it, used to a more modern version of the language as we are) and it is about the harshness of the darker part of the year as compared to summer.

This version was recorded as a single by our friends of Imbue and released only last week (though also performed during their Live in the Livingroom event with CeltCast), so we are very proud and happy to be able to feature it five to six times a day throughout the month, especially since the Monthly Marker of course already has quite a connection with Imbue. Ever since the first Monthly Marker, in January of 2015 (tempus fugit, anyone?) the song has been preceded by a very special jingle, written and recorded by none other than…Imbue! So in a way we have come full circle now.

You can find Imbue here:







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