Search Results for: clannad

Irfan – Roots (2018) review

20 Jan
celtadmin
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Sunday the 25th of November, 14:45 PM, I am on Winter Castlefest, the 2018 edition. As I was getting ready to photograph the next band in ‘The Great Hall’-the name Castlefest has given to the big tent where the games are played and the indoor performances take place- I couldn’t help but notice Sowulo‘s Faber Auroch entering. The next to pass me was Sara (SeeD‘s singer/bouzouki player) and her partner. But I really started raising an eyebrow when some minutes later Brisinga‘s Fabi came by asking if I knew where the Imbue members were sitting. As I started looking around, I was also able to spot Rowan from Heidevolk and members from Sunfire and The Royal Spuds in the audience. All the members of Emian and Waldkauz had found a place in the front rows, as had former AmmA member Hanna van Gorcum and from the corner of my eye I could also see sound magician Fieke van den Hurk. Afterwards I discovered SeeD’s frontman Koen van Egmond and Sowulo’s harp player Chloé Bakker also attended the concert a day earlier. Now the Castlefest scene, as I fondly call the Pagan/fantasy folk scene we are all part of, has always been a really supportive one with bands visiting each other’s concerts and all kinds of collaborations happening on stage and behind the scenes. But even in this supportive scene it is rare for ten(!) bands to be represented at one concert. And that’s exactly what happened as Irfan got ready to play at the Castlefest 2018 Winter Edition. In a way it says all about the status Irfan has within the alternative Pagan folk scene.


Well, the concert was beautiful, mesmerising and captivating from start to finish. With the seating area placed closely around the podium, there was this real connection between the band and the audience. The atmosphere was pure magic, really captivating and Irfan were given a standing ovation at the end of the concert. It goes without saying that I acquired their newest mini-CD Roots straight after to try and hopefully re-experience a bit of that magic again at home. And that is exactly what happened when I put Roots in my CD player.

From the first notes of the opening song Mominstvo Irfan captivates you. They take you into ancient Persian times. You walk with them into the courts of India, you reminisce about the old days of the pharaohs. And it feels like the sharp desert sand brushes over your face while you marvel at the wonders of Petra. In their bio Irfan compare their music with audio-archaeology and I can clearly hear why they say that. Irfan has acquired the ability to fill their music with history. They manage to sound old and modern at the same time. Giving their music a timeless quality that is rare. They did it for the first time on their second album Seraphim. Mostly Seraphim is a mix between classical European music and Eastern European folk, -imagine Cesair meeting up with Loreena McKennitt, with Dead Can Dance or Ofra Haza joining in every now and again to spice things up-, but the song Return to Outremer, had that magical timeless feel to it for the first time. The band perfected this sound on their 2015 album The Eternal Return, making it one of my favourite ‘traditional’ folk CD’s ever. And they are doing it again on Roots. If you are a fan of the band, you can buy the album without reading any further. You won’t be disappointed.

But for those who don’t know the band yet, a short introduction:
Irfan is a Bulgarian band that formed in 2001. From the beginning Ivaylo Petrov (Middle-Eastern lute instruments), Peter Todorov (percussion), Yasen Lararov (traditional flutes and harmonium) and Kalin Yordanov (vocals and percussion) have taken influences of the traditional music from the Balkan, Anatolie, Persia, the Middle East, North Afrika and India. For centuries the Balkan have been the portal between the Medieval and Byzantine world on one side and the Ottoman world and Middle Eastern world on the other. Influences and heritage from all these areas with their ancient civilizations find a beautiful marriage in Irfan’s sound. Up till now Irfan have recorded three albums: Irfan (2003), Seraphim (2007) and The Eternal Return (2015).

The basis of the Irfan sound nowadays is the warm electronic string and choir carpet they lay. On top of that comes the deep, warm, hypnotic male voice from Kalin, the beautiful melody lines from the harmonium and wind instruments, the upbeat percussion from Peter and Kalin. Although most Irfan songs are slow balladesque songs, the percussion gives them a real upbeat character. The icing on the cake are then the beautiful female lead vocal lines. On their first albums, Irfan featured Denitza Seraphim as the lead female vocalist. On Roots Darina Zlatkova takes over that role. For the fans that will not be seen as a major difference, both singers are equally talented. You could argue that Denitza’s voice is a touch warmer in tone, that’s all.

Irfan’s previous album The Eternal Return was a lovely blend from all their influences. Taking us all over ancient Europe, North America and the Middle East. Their sound on The Eternal Return could be compared with Dead Can Dance meets Loreena McKennitt in her Mediterranean Odyssey period. On a song like In The Gardens Of Armida you can even hear a touch of Clannad in the vocals.
Roots is a touch different, not only is it the first album recorded with Darina, it is also the first album where the songs are not written by the band. They are all based on traditional Bulgarian songs, arranged by either Ivaylo Petrov, Darina Zlatkova or Yasen Lazarov. I can’t tell if it is Darina’s tone of voice or the concept behind the album, but Roots sounds a touch more intimate then on The Eternal Return. As if the band comes home again on this album, after the many faraway places they sang about on The Eternal Return.

It’s actually amazing how little the band needs to build up a beautiful song. A touch of keyboard, some strings, a tap on the drums and Darina’s warm voice and see, the goose bumps are already there. Build up like that Momphinstvo is not only a beautiful intro into More, Ta Nali, but also into the whole CD. More, Ta Nali is one of the more up-tempo songs on roots. Uplifting percussion, mesmerising flute melodies and again Darina’s wonderful warm voice. I just love, how in Middle-Eastern cultures the voice is more than a carrier of words, it is an instrument in itself. With the surprise percussion break in the middle More, Ta Nali is easily my favourite song on Roots. The single Rusa is equally beautiful. This ballad really features Darina’s voice. One of the members of Seed, Sara, lovingly put it to words on Darina’s Facebook page: “I think Roots is the perfect way of introducing you to the people who haven’t seen you perform with the band yet. What you can do with your voice is amazing, and hearing Rusa for the first time made me cry a little”. There isn’t anything more I can add to that well-deserved compliment.

One of the key elements of the Irfan sound is how subtle the music is, minimalistic almost. On Dyulber Yana for instance the song doesn’t actually start, it slowly evolves from a single note to a beautiful song. Solos are also not clearly ‘started’, they appear in the music, the melody lines just slide into a solo piece and they slide out again just as easily. Yasen places some really nice harmonium melodies in it, quite catchy actually, and it is surprising how this ballad picks up speed in the end.

Emeriga is -in the Irfan world- a fast dance song. Driving percussion, doubled vocals, cool string instrument, and the wonderful low ‘hoarse’ flute solo, all together make for a really powerful energetic song. A real crowd-pleaser amongst the dancers during live shows, I’m sure of it, and also one of my favourites on the album.
Lyube Le is already the last song on Roots. Sadly, because I would have loved to hear one or two more songs, Roots is that beautiful. Anyway, Lyube Le is another stunning song. A beautiful intro featuring Ivaylo on lute and -she has been mentioned before- the wonderful Darina. The tender duet between Yasen and Ivaylo also can’t go unnoticed. On this song Irfan leaves the homely feel and drifts of to the ancient world again. Back into the magical music world they so beautifully created.

To sum it all up, Roots is a beautiful addition to your Irfan collection or a stunning gateway into the musical world of this wonderful Bulgarian band. Either way if you love the music of Dead Can Dance, Cesair and Loreena McKennitt, then this is a must-have CD. 10 out of 10 if we were giving points.

– Cliff

Editor: Diane
Pictures: taken at Winter Castlefest by Cliff de Booy Photography

Gwendolyn Snowdon – Three Strand Braid (2018)

28 Mar
celtadmin
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The first two sentences I wrote while listening to Three Strand Braid for the first time were: ‘The music feels like a warm soothing blanket.’ and ‘She is an amazing storyteller!’. Now that I’ve spent about a week listening to Gwendolyn Snowdon‘s first solo album, I know those lines sum up this whole album quite nicely.

–‘Wait a minute.’ I hear you ask ‘Did I just hear you say storyteller?’

Yes. Although we are talking about a Folk album, I am sure I have been listening to a book filled with small stories. It has taken me overseas, it told me stories of lovers lost, It told me tales of ‘naughty girls’ and men young at heart, it gave me moments of laughter (you just have to listen to the lyrics in Little Duke Arthur’s Nurse) and a tear of melancholy. Twelve stories found a place on Three Strand Braid. Four English songs, four Dutch and four Irish. I will explain why that is after I introduce Gwendolyn a bit more.

Gwendolyn Snowdon was born in 1980 in Haarlem, the Netherlands. At the age of 10 she started learning guitar, soon followed by vocal lessons. Nowadays she plays bouzouki, Indian harmonium, bodhran and guitar , but her main ‘instrument’ is her beautiful voice. The first band she joined was called The Dutch Lemmings, a Celtic Folk band, inspired by traditional Folk music ánd the energy of the, then quite new, fantasy folk scene. (you can see a photo of them playing at the Midwinter Fair in 2012 on the right)
At the moment Gwendolyn is one of the main vocalists of the Celtic Folk band Finvarra. With this band being a bit less active and Gwendolyn having a bit more time on her hands, the idea grew to record a first solo album. One person to encourage her was Omnia frontman Steve ´Sic´ Evans-van Harten. Two and a half years ago Gwendolyn started collecting songs she loved for her album. With her father being Dutch and her mother being half English/half Irish, she had the idea to explore her own roots through music and that is how the concept for Three Strand Braid was born. Four English songs, four Dutch and four Irish, braided together to form one Folk CD. You can see that concept come back in the cover art of the album as well. A lovely painting made by Lisa Falzon.

During the recording of Three Strand Braid she worked closely with sound engineer and producer David Groeneveld. He was also responsible for the recording and production of Finvarra’s first CD. Finvarra bandmates Patrick Broekema and Corné van Woerdekom were quite willing to help out with guitar, tin whistle, mandolin and violin parts. Other musical friends to help out were Kelten zonder Grenzen / Datura / Ball Noir‘s hurdy-gurdy player Lies Sommer, Perkelt‘s recorder player Paya Lehane, David’s brother Melchior Groeneveld on guitar and of course former The Dutch Lemmings member and long time ‘partner in crime’ Coca Román (now Kelten zonder Grenzen) on harp.

The first song on Three Strand Braid really sets the mood. It is a beautiful interpretation of Sandy Denny´s The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Sandy Denny is the late singer of the English 70’s folk band Fairport Convention. Gwendolyn tells in the informative booklet that she adores Sandy’s music. She thinks this is one of Sandy’s most beautiful songs. While researching The North Star Grassman and the Ravens on the internet I found a moving version of it on YouTube with Sandy Denny herself on piano. I don’t know íf Gwendolyn and David saw this specific performance, but if they did, it could well have been the starting point for their version. It starts really small with David accompanying Gwendolyn on piano. The warm blanket I mentioned at the start. But it builds up to a powerful ballad with violin, drums, strong backing vocals and of course Gwendolyn’s own voice in all it’s glory. A wonderful tribute to her musical hero.

The second song is a Dutch one called Te Haarlem in den Houte. It’s a medieval song that tells the story of a boy who wants to spend the night with a ‘naughty girl’. Gwendolyn introduces her first guest soloist: Datura / Kelten zonder grenzen / Bal Noir‘s Lies Sommer on hurdy-gurdy. The start is definitely medieval. The clean classical vocals, the drum rhythm, the hurdy-gurdy sound of Lies are all things I know well from the Dutch medieval band Datura. But as the song builds up it suddenly goes Celtic. Especially the hurdy-gurdy solo pulls it right into the Celtic Folk sound. Nolwenn Leroy‘s version of Tri Martolod comes to my mind while listening. Indeed a braid of two strands in one song.

Logically the third song then has to be Irish. Gwendolyn picked another musical hero of hers: Irish Folk singer Christy Moore. From his huge repertoire she choose I wish I was in England, an up-tempo ballad about a love found and lost again. Gwendolyn and David kept this as a pure Celtic Folk song driven by a catchy mandolin melody played by Finvarra’s Patrick Broekema. You just can not get it out of your head after you heard it. For a short moment the name Amy MacDonald flashes by when I hear the guitar intro, but that soon passes. Gwendolyn has her own singing style. A style that comes closest to Sandy Denny. With that addictive mandolin hook this is a fun, cheerful song with a melancholic story. Pure folk.

Johnny Rau is a song by the Dutch band Törf, sung in local dialect. It’s followed by Little Duke Arthur’s Nurse. This traditional, originally recorded by English 50’s/60’s Folk singer Frankie Armstrong, tells about a young man who wanted to get ‘naughty’ with a nurse… and what then happened that night. A medieval story at it’s best.
By now it’s clear that Gwendolyn is a storyteller. The songs that she selected have two things in common. They had to have a beautiful composition… and a good story to tell. Needless to say that Gwendolyn is a good storyteller. And she has a wonderful partner in producer David Groeneveld. With his Pop music background he manages to give every song that something special it needs to get the story across. This particular song starts with a keyboard intro as Clannad or Enya could play it. You feel the mist flow over the English hillside, while young Johnny is travelling out on this fair May morning. But where Clannad would keep this mystical sound going, David pulls the sound right back to the pure singer/songwriter Folk that is the core of this album. Adding splashes of backing vocals left and right to keep the music fun and interesting.

Lovely on the Water and Willow’s Song are two more beautiful ballads. Willow’s Song has a wonderful, almost creepy violin rhythm in there, that reminds me a wee bit of how Kate Bush uses it in her music. The original song is part of the soundtrack of the British horror movie the Wickerman. Gwendolyn and David, in their arrangement, managed to give the music an eerie, ghostly feel. Gwendolyn’s versatile voice easily flows into a eerie melody line as well. Her voice here is a mix of Gwendolyn herself (she just has her own style that is instantly recognisable) and Loreena McKennitt. My personal favourite on the album.

One day before the official CD release, Gwendolyn was the guest in a CeltCast ‘Living room session‘. Hearing her talk about how important the friendships she made are to her, it was obvious there couldn’t be a first solo album without the help of Coca Román. And here she is on De Harpspeelster. Gwendolyn found this song in an old Dutch songbook and Coca composed a beautiful harp tune to accompany it. The harp melody sounds a wee bit Eastern, especially with the choir coming in at the end. Gwendolyn’s music really manages to trigger my imagination. Here it is making me drift into a Chinese landscape, on a hill with golden rice fields below me in the sunset as the music fades out. (Although it being a Dutch song, it should probably have been a Sawa in Indonesia.) But not for long. Clean guitar chords pull me right back to the bright green fields of Eire.

Quiet Land of Erin is a song full of longing, the longing of the Irish people abroad for their homeland, the emerald green Isle of Erin. Gwendolyn is at her very best in this former CeltCast ‘Monthly Marker’. You feel the longing, the sadness and melancholy of this story. Again, David Groeneveld surrounds her voice with just the right sound. Clannad meets Gwendolyn Snowdon. Another firm favourite on the album.

On The Next Market Day the last of Gwendolyn’s guests appear. Perkelt’s Paya Lehane plays the beautiful lead melody and solo on recorder, a type of flute. The song itself is a medieval love story. In most versions it ends with a marriage, but Gwendolyn leaves it with an open end. The arrangement itself reminds me of Omnia’s version of The Well. Especially with the solo that Paya composed. A beautiful magical tune that would capture any traveller’s heart.

The Parting Glass is a fitting end to Three Strands Braid. Gwendolyn, with the help of her friends, has made a beautiful CD. Well rooted in the Celtic Folk traditions, but with the surprising Dutch songs, the Pop influences of David Groeneveld and the cool variation in song choice on the whole, it also is a really fresh album that keeps on giving. Having said that, what makes this CD really stand out in the crowd is Gwendolyn Snowdon herself. Her voice is amazing and she has the skills to use it to its full potential. Sometimes it´s crystal clear, like a modern Joan Baez, sometimes eerie and mystical like a Dutch Loreena McKennitt. But most of the time she uses that melodic Irish accent as a female Christy Moore. I know I compare Gwendolyn with some big names here, but I really feel her voice has that quality. But, the biggest compliment I can give Gwendolyn is that she sounds like herself! All the names mentioned in this review are pure references to help explain the music. In the end Three Strand Braid is a 100% pure Gwendolyn Snowdon. And I love it!!!!

– Cliff


Fotocredits:

– Picture of ‘The Dutch Lemmings’ during the 2012 Midwinter Fair and
– Pictures taken during the ‘Calling in Spring’ festival 2018 courtesy of Kees Stravers

– Gwendolyn Snowdon promotional picture courtesy of Wen Versteeg Fotografie


Cesair – Omphalos (2017)

26 Dec
celtadmin
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Cesair is a six-person band that blends Classical together with Pop (World) music, giving it a nice Eastern-European feel as they go along. Together, this makes for a unique sounding band. Cesair themselves describe their sound as ‘Epic Folk and Mythic music´. I would say Carl Orf meets Vivaldi meets Rastaban meets Faun equals Cesair. They are one of the few bands that really manage to marry Classical skills with Pop music and get away with it.

With Dies, Nox et Omnia Fieke, as a producer, recorder, editor and mixer, gave Cesair a real powerful sound. Just as Carl Orf‘s Carmina Burana blows you away with the bold sounds of a big orchestra playing at full strength, Cesair managed to do the same. The accordion and hurdy-gurdy themselves are already instruments that can fill a room and Fieke made good use of the surround sound to give the whole band a overpowering impact. Hearing the main instruments in front of you, but nice bouzouki and violin accents coming from all sides. Just listen to Cansa and you’ll hear the violin playing in the corner of your ear. Or Graeica where Thomas’ bouzouki is placed in the same way that gave Dies, Nox et Omnia a really big orchestral sound.

As most of you will know, Fieke van den Hurk left the band last year to focus on her career as a producer and sound engineer at her Dearworld studio. The band was extended with new, but well-experienced band-members Luka Aubri (Rastaban) and Faber Auroch (Sowulo). With this change, there was no way around it… the big question with Cesair‘s second album was: “How would they sound with their new line-up?”. The pre-CD-release concert at Castlefest 2017 sounded very promising. Visually the band was as entertaining as ever. During the concert there was even that bit of ‘Fieke magic’, with her standing in the audience and singer Monique van Deursen and Violinist Sophie Zaaijer goofing with her from off the stage.

But what about the album? Well, Fieke is still part of the band on Omphalos!

Although saying her formal goodbyes to the audience on stage in March of 2017, with a wonderful concert in the Peppel in Zeist, the band decided Fieke was so involved writing the Omphalos songs that she still deserved to be named as a band-member in the credits, next to new members Luka and Faber.

Therefore she says her official goodbyes to us, the fans, with the album Omphalos. A fitting and touching tribute to Fieke from the band, showing how beautiful a friendship in music can be.

Onto Omphalos.

With this album the band went a different route. This time the mix is more open. Fieke, also producing, recording and mixing this album, plays with the volume in stead of putting up this impressive wall of sound. Listening you can discover little pearls. Lead soloists are pushed forward and supporting instruments are less pronounced in the mix, leading your ear through the music. New band-members Luka and Faber fit well within the music.

Fieke took on a more supporting role which made room for my personal highlight on Omphalos: the string section. Both Sophie and Faber play wonderful string melodies. Their solos and melody lines really take the lead role together with Monique’s voice. While Dies, Nox et Omnia focuses on the band as a unit, with Omphalos the talents of each individual musician comes out. And they are talented! Monique has a wonderfully pure and powerful, classically trained voice with an impressive range. One of the strong-points of Cesair. In this more open sound Thomas Biesmeijer really gets the chance to colour the music with his guitar and bouzouki chords. This new sound also means Jan de Vries can shine more as a percussionist. His drums don’t disappear in the overall sound, but are a main feature. Just listen to him drive to music on Troll Kala Mik.

With Dies, Nox et Omnia Cesair took us on a journey through classic texts and history. Quoting and interpreting passages of Babylonian, medieval Dutch, 7th century Greek and 16th century Spanish texts to name a few.

On Omphalos, Monique takes us with her on a similar journey through old and modern literature. The inspiration while writing this album came from the Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (a.k.a. Horace), the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, the Romanian poet George Coșbuc, some anonymous sources and the poetic Edda, an anonymous collection of Icelandic medieval poems.

As always I don’t want to go through all the songs on the CD. It’s way more fun to discover the music yourself without me spoiling everything. But still, here are some I really wanted to high-light.

Erda, the first track of the album: a first class earworm. Straight away, the more open sound of this album works it’s magic. Monique and Sophie shine in this song. As said, Monique is such a skilled mezzo-soprano, she impresses throughout the whole album, as does Sophie. Hearing her taking the lead solo so clearly and often, I suddenly realise how amazing she is as a violinist. Stunning. In all, if you listen to Erda and like it, you can safely buy the whole album. The song is a perfect representation of Cesair anno 2017.

Many of you will already know Chorihani from various concerts: a cheerful, fast song with, again, a beautiful solo from Sophie, this time straight from a gipsy party it seems. Good old Fieke and her accordion make it even more Eastern-European.

Troll Kala Mik we also know from the Cesair concerts. It´s a duet (or is it a duel?) between the beautiful poet Monique and the ugly troll Thomas. Pick your own favourite, but mine would be… …Jan. His percussion work is the foundation of this song. You could even say he plays the lead instrument on this.

Another duet is Ahes. It’s Cesair’s interpretation of a medieval love story from Brittany. It tells of a forbidden love between princess Ahes (a.k.a. Dahut) and a lover she invited in, before being married. A great sin in medieval times. Of course the whole city was punished and swallowed by the sea, as would happen in old times. Faun‘s Stephan Groth takes on the role of the lover from the ocean, who persuades Ahes to open the gates of her city. A guest appearance to look forward to should Faun and Cesair play the same MPS festivals the coming season.


Mardochaios is the Greek name for the Mesopotamian god Marduk. The song is an anthem for him, again driven by the powerful drums of Jan, followed by some beautiful violin melodies and vocals. My personal favourite song of the album.

Yet another song that has an interesting musical feel is Boudicca. The intro with the strong, almost threatening, male/female vocals make it sound like an menacing Enya or Clannad on their very best days. Sophie´s violin solo pulls you straight back into the Cesair world but the song keeps that eerie feel to it… A real tribute to the lady who dared to defy the Romans.



As i said, I could name all the songs because they all are equally good. Omphalos is an album that you need to get if you love an impressive mix of classical and folk/world music. It’s an album that will mesmerize you, make you want to play it again and again. One piece of advice: play it loud and get the whole impact of the album. It’s going to be worth it. At full volume is where the true beauty of Omphalos appears in all its glory… or live on stage of course!!



– Cliff


– Pictures 1, 3, 4 and 7 taken at Castlefest 2017 and picture 2 taken at the Gothic & Fantasy Beurs 2013,
courtesy of: Cliff de Booy

– Pictures 5, 6, 8 and 9 taken at the Omphalos release party at the Willemijn, Almere 02-12-2017,
courtesy of: Kees Stravers


Down the rabbit hole

05 Nov
Alex van der Jagt
0 Comments
2014-11-05 Down the rabbit hole
When Alice went through the rabbit hole she entered a world where everything felt strange. This last week has felt something like that for us too. But there is more. In this strange wonderland some things appeared to be exactly opposite of what Alice was used to in her normal life. And now, that has also happened to CeltCast! 😀

We are all used to radio stations interviewing bands and artists. However, the first ever interview that CeltCast is involved in is an interview that the lovely people at Bastaard had with us!

For Dutch speakers, you can find the original article and interview at www.bastaard.net.
For English speakers, we have translated the article and interview for you here.
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A bit more than a week ago the new online radio station CeltCast went live. On CeltCast you will mostly hear Celtic, Viking, Folk and Folk inspired music. The station was founded by Alex and Arjan, but already has a bandscout as well.
CeltCast originates from the Netherlands, but it has an international focus. Primarily on Europe, but because of the non-stop music it has gained attention from all over the world. You can listen to CeltCast through their official website, ShoutCast and recently through TuneIn. So most devices should be able to play CeltCast!
In order to better introduce you to CeltCast we had a written interview with its founders which you can read below. What do you think about the start of a new radio station? What kind of music would you like to hear on a station like CeltCast? Let us know in the responses!

What is the goal with which CeltCast was founded?
Alex: The station was founded out of a love for music. I really wanted to give something back for what the musicians gave us (my family) over the past years. The joy at the festivals, on the road or at home, the energy to pick up tasks that I thought I wouldn’t have the stamina for, the dancing with my girls in front of the stage, in the living room and even in public, the emotional touching experiences, the depth and the humour! But the greatest gift is the interest that my daughters have developed in making music themselves. They play Celtic Harp, Piano and Harmonium, but are already looking at playing Bodhran and Guitar.
Music is something magical. It can touch you, or move you. It is this magic that I would love to share with as many people as possible, and I would like to present a large stage for that to the bands and artists.
Arjan: For me there is of course also that love of music, that I have felt since a very young age, that is a driving force behind me wanting make a contribution to the scene. Music influences all aspects of my life and I am very thankful to the musicians that make that possible. But besides that I also like to address the feeling of community that I feel within the folkscene. I think, we think, that we can use our radio station to amplify and expand this community, so that more music can be made and shared, and ultimately so that more people can enjoy it. That is also the thought behind the addition of “Community Radio” to the stations name.

What is the target audience for CeltCast?
We don’t really want to think in target audiences. At the festivals you see people from all corners of society come together to enjoy themselves. The music in our playlist has something primal, something touching. Something that people don’t get to hear in the “mainstream media” any more, but that immediately grabs you when you open up to it.
Everyone is very welcome: musicians, producers, organisers and listeners. If they just sneak a peak we hope that something “clicks” and that they choose to stay.

Is CeltCast aimed at the whole world, or more at European listeners?
We chose English as our primary language, in order to be accessible for the largest possible audience. Since our home base is in Europe it is logical that most of our listeners are European, but to say that we specifically aim at that would be wrong. We don’t say “around the clock, across the globe” for nothing. At this moment the Netherlands is clearly in the lead when speaking of where the listeners are from, followed by Germany, the UK and the US, but to our delight we even seem to be reaching people in far away lands like Ecuador, Japan, India and Australia. In that last country our scout, Bob, is currently working to find bands that are as yet unknown to us here in Europe.

What kind of music and bands will we hear on CeltCast?
Celtic, Viking, Folk and Folk inspired music is how we describe it. The concept of Folk of course encompasses a wide range of music including Nordfolk, Balkan Folk, Breton Folk and sometimes certain “Gypsy” music. But we can’t ignore music like EUZEN either. We mostly select the music by feel and we discuss it a lot amongst each other. The thing that connects it all is positive energy and that acoustic sound.
We play various big names from the festival world such as Rapalje, FAUN, Omnia, Cesair, Sowulo, Trolska Polska, Virelai, AmmA, Shantalla and Harmony Glen, but we also play the lesser known bands from a forgotten past, from remote areas or bands that are working hard to make a name for themselves. It’s great to receive responses and questions, because we see that listeners hear of bands like EMIAN, Instinkt, Lunasa, Tevenn and Sylvain Barou for the first time through our station, or maybe get acquainted with the old Clannad (1973!) or Mark Knopfler solo.

Through which channels can people listen to CeltCast?
We are working hard to offer several options. At the moment people can listen using the player on the website, the RadioJar plug-in on Facebook, and the TuneIn and RadioTuna apps for tablets and smartphones.

Is it all non-stop music or are there/will there be specific programmes?
Currently we play non-stop music, even without jingles, but we’re working on that. 😉
We have thought about specific shows and programs based on the time of day, but as a global station there’s never really an “evening” or other fixed time. We also want to keep an eye out if the audience actually wants it. Right now we are actually getting a lot of compliments on playing “nice alternating music”, so we’re focussing on the basics for now.

If there is going to be scheduled programming, will they be non-stop programmes with a certain theme or will there be hosted programmes? (Live or recorded)
Both options are possible, though it would mean we would really have to take the time to set up proper preparations. Because of the nature of the station, everything will have to be broadcast in English. For the near future it is most likely that we will present additional material, such as recorded interviews or reports, separate from the stream on the website. But who knows what the future, or help from the scene, might bring…

Do you view other similar stations as competition?
No. We sincerely believe that there is room for multiple stations, each with their own characteristics. It’s good that listeners have a choice to tune in to what they need at that time. The more, the better, I would say, so that the artists have the largest stage possible. In the mean time we’ll see about growing on our own strengths.

In what way will CeltCast differentiate itself from other similar stations?
We chose to create a stream with 100% music. No commercial breaks, no chit chat. We are able to do that because we chose to pay the royalties ourselves to BUMA/STEMRA and SENA (the Dutch copyright organisations). In this way we’re not dependant on a provider that wants to profit from us. We also consider involvement to be a core value for us. We want a “for the scene and by the scene” radio station. We want to invite and encourage everyone, both the listeners and the artists, to think along with us.

Does CeltCast need money to exist?
Absolutely! But we invest this ourselves, so that we are registered as “non-commercial”. We never know what the future holds, but for now we gladly pay for this, so that we have the freedom to decide everything ourselves.

Can listeners support CeltCast?
Well, not financially, but if you want to support us we’d be very happy! You can share the station with your friends. Write a nice report on a concert, an album or a festival and we might be able to publish that. You might have the guts to go interview a band. Go crazy with creativity on our logo if you want. All forms of artistic contributions are appreciated! We’re also always open for tips about new music and all sorts of good ideas.
With the subtitle of the station being “Community Radio” we want to indicate that this station is something for, as well as by, the listeners. By working together with bands, listeners and organisers we can grow as a whole.

What kind of activities can we expect from CeltCast in the near future?
We are currently working on expanding “our” repertoire and we’re making time for interviews, reviews and reports, but all the while new and huge ideas are forming in the backs of our minds. Ideas that we will be executing with the help of the community. So stay tuned… 🙂








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