Ímar are a folk band from the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, founded in 2016 in

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. They won the Horizon Award for Best Emerging Act at the 2018

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British ra ...

History

The members of Ímar first met as teenagers through the

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (; meaning "Society of the musicians of Ireland") is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1951 and has pr ...

tutoring program. They reunited in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and formed the band in 2016, naming it after the Viking warlord

Ímar Ímar ( non, Ívarr ; died c. 873), who may be synonymous with Ivar the Boneless, was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century who founded the Uí Ímair dynasty, and whose descendants would go on to dominate the Iri ...

. The profile of the band rose quickly, bolstered by their individual reputations as members of several prominent ensembles. In 2018, the band won the Horizon Award for Best Emerging Act at the

Musical style

Ímar are a purely instrumental band. Their musical style is derived from the folk music traditions of the nations of each member – Brown is

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, Murphy is

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, Callister and Rhodes are Manx, and Amini is

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

. Murphy notes that their style is "more of a pure-drop trad sound than most of the other bands we’re involved in". In a review, Johnny Whalley of

Folk Radio UK Folk Radio UK, is an online Independent Music Journal covering a broad range of Folk music, Global music, Independent music, American Primitive Guitar, Drone Music and other alternative offerings. Established in 2004 by Alex Gallacher. the websi ...

notes that "while the general description 'Celtic' might be appropriate, their music, in fact, derives firmly from the Irish tradition with polkas and slides interspersed with the more generic jigs and reels". He highlights the "intensity, energy and, above all, precision" of their sets. Mike Wade of

IOM Today Isle of Man Newspapers publishes the Isle of Man's newspapers. They are the ''Isle of Man Examiner'', the ''Isle of Man Courier'' and the ''Manx Independent''. They are all weekly newspapers. Its website is www.iomtoday.co.im, as well as owning G ...

describes their work as "fast, driving tunes, bouncing, infectious reels and slow, beautiful melodic numbers, highlighting individual skills of each player".

Band members

* Adam Brown –

Bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...

* Ryan Murphy (flautist), Ryan Murphy – Flute, tin whistle, and uilleann pipes * Tomás Callister – Fiddle * Adam Rhodes (bouzoukist), Adam Rhodes – Bouzouki * Mohsen Amini – Concertina

Discography

* ''Afterlight'' (2017) * ''Avalanche'' (2018) * ''Awakening'' (2023)

References

External links