''Draíocht'' is the debut album by Irish composer, musician and songwriter Dave Flynn. It was released in 2006 through Frisbee Records and distributed through
CDBaby
CD Baby, Inc. is an online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. The CD Baby music store was shut down in March 2020 with a statement that "C ...
.
Content
The album is a mix of songs and instrumentals, strongly inspired by traditional Irish music. It includes five songs co-written with the poet Pádraic Ó Beirn.
The album was produced by Flynn with the assistance of sound engineers
Manus Lunny
Manus Lunny (born 1962) is an Irish producer and multi-instrumentalist from County Donegal, Ireland, best known as a member of Celtic supergroup Capercaillie. He is the brother of multi-instrumentalist and producer Dónal Lunny.
Track listing
# "The Tempest in Mali" (Trad arr. Coleman/Dunne/Flynn/Swift)- 6:13
# "The Mad Magician" (Flynn/Ó Beirn) - 4:00
# "The Mad Magician's Daughter" (Flynn) - 1:23
# "Stone Walls" (Flynn/Ó Beirn) - 6:28
# "The Magical Reel/Cinderella's Slipper" (Flynn) - 4:30
# "Beautiful Freaks Like Us" (Flynn/Ó Beirn)- 2:58
# "The Afro-Classical Jig" (Flynn)- 1:39
# "Ducks" (Flynn) - 4:51
# "The Monument/The Crickets March over the Saltbox" (The Monument comp. Seán Nugent, The Crickets March over the Saltbox trad arr. Flynn/Swift)- 2.57
# "Woodlands" (Flynn/Ó Beirn) - 3:39
# "Inisheer/Louis' Waltz" (Inisheer comp. Thomas Walsh, Louis' Waltz trad arr. Dunne/Flynn) - 5:13
# "Lullaby" (Flynn/Ó Beirn)- 4:43
# "Drowsy Maggie/The Coming of Spring" (Drowsy Maggie trad arr. Flynn/Swift, The Coming of Spring comp. Paddy O'Brien- 4:29
Mick Dunne
Michael 'Mick' Dunne (27 May 1929 – 11 August 2002) was an Irish sports journalist who pioneered television coverage of Gaelic games.
Birth and childhood
He was born 27 May 1929 in Clonaslee, County Laois, one of two sons of Francis Dunne, ...
- banjo
*
Manus Lunny
Manus Lunny (born 1962) is an Irish producer and multi-instrumentalist from County Donegal, Ireland, best known as a member of Celtic supergroup Capercaillie. He is the brother of multi-instrumentalist and producer Dónal Lunny.Conan McDonnell - bodhrán
* Pádraic Ó Beirn - lyrics, backing vocals
* Brian O'Toole - bass guitar
* Ciarán Swift - guitar
Reception
The album received a number of glowing reviews. John O'Regan in ''
Irish Music Magazine
''Irish Music'' is a monthly music magazine covering folk and traditional Irish music
Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.
The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional musi ...
'' wrote "Draíocht is one of the most surprising debuts to hit my ears in ages...An interesting and intriguing collection from a tunesmith, instrumentalist and composer, Dave Flynn is a name to conjure with and Draíocht is very definitely worth an open-minded listen."
Chris Nickson
Chris Nickson (born 1954) is a British writer, novelist, music journalist, and biographer.
Biography
Nickson was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, but lived in the United States from the age of 21, returning to the UK in 2005. As a music journalist, ...
in ''
Sing Out!
''Sing Out!'' was a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that was published from May 1950 through spring 2014. It was originally based in New York City, with a national circulation of approximately 10,000 by 1960.
Background
''Sing Out ...
'' wrote "Draiocht is Gaelic for magic, and it certainly suffuses this solo debut from
Dublin Guitar Quartet
The Dublin Guitar Quartet is an Irish guitar quartet that specialises in the performance of contemporary classical music, particularly music associated with minimalist composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt and Kevin Volans. Th ...
member Flynn. He doesn’t hammer you over the head with his technique, but instead seduces with melody and invention, as on the opener, “The Tempest in Mall,” where subtle West African influences float under the music to create a lulling, gentle atmosphere. There’s very strong support from the other musicians, especially fiddler Liz Coleman and the pair of guitar duets with Ciaran Swift are little short of gorgeous. He closes with an interesting, slow version of Drowsy Maggie that brings out the delights of the tune to round out an album that is, yes, magic."Dave Flynn: Draiocht. (Sound recording review) ''Sing Out!'' March 1, 2009, Nickson, Chris /ref>