Music from the Heart

In The Echo is an eight-track concept compilation album, curated and produced by Ross Turner. Recorded in various locations in the historic National Concert Hall building in Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin – ranging from old lecture theatres, to dis-used stairwells, to a former morgue – this record features collaborations between Irish musicians across an athletic span of musical traditions: Lisa O’Neill & Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Katie Kim & Seán Mac Erlaine, Paul Noonan & Roger Moffatt, Eileen Carpio & Sean Carpio, Conor O’Brien & Cian Nugent, Brigid Mae Power & Adrian Crowley, Saileóg Ní Cheannabháin & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, & Lisa Hannigan & Crash Ensemble. 

“There are musicians from different disciplines working together,” says Turner. “A conduit runs through the collaborations – that is the environment, the surroundings in which the music was created.”

He continues: “Recording within remote pockets and open spaces of the building provided a completely unique atmosphere to the performances. I understand what it means to most musicians to feel comfortable, and I also understand that a sense of something special happening is vitally important for inspiration and performance. When the balance is right, the results yield truly satisfying situations for the musician and the listener.”

The results here are always intimate and engaging – by turns warm, dark, forlorn, gently humorous, and transcendent – and always possessed of a certain “first-touch” freshness always found in the most fertile collaborations.

The collection opens with Peggy Gordon, originally an English trad song, performed here by the unmistakable voice of Lisa O'Neill joined by the remarkable talent of Colm Mac Con Iomaire. You don't need to be an expert in Irish music to recognize these two. Mac Con Iomaire's playing is unique like a fingerprint, easily recognizable and O'Neill's vocal is like no other. May not be everybody's cup of tea yet she's widely recognized for her work. Collaboration of these two feels very special on its own.

Empire One, from Katie Kim and , Seán Erlaine,  is a weary, deeply atmospheric number. Resemblance to Lisa Hannigan's voice comes to mind immediately.

Paul Noonan & Roger Moffatt's contribution called A Tenderness continues on the atmospheric vibe, approaching it from the different angle. Laced with an oriental feel and a hypnotic rhytm, this track catches the attention of the non/folk listeners.

We mentioned above, and you surely know it anyway, there are artists who are easily and quickly recognizable either for their voice or for their playing style. Conor O'Brien(Villagers) is one of those singers with both remarkable voice and unmistakable singing style. Plaintive, with so much power. He sings Do I Care? and we believe he does.

Eight tracks, Eight different collaborations, all recorded live. This collection shows that not only the musicians and their abilities are important in a collaboration but the environment where the music gets recorded has an equal importance. And the magic gets created.