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One Day

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A unique record of ten tracks featuring instruments from pre-history, antiquity and ancient surviving musical traditions. Whilst many of the tunes are played and recorded acoustically, some include up to date electronic additions to enhance the particular sounds of the instruments. Recordings took place in Connemara, Ireland, North Wales and Hamburg Germany. The collection may be described as a further exploration of instruments and sounds evolved since the inception of the band Reconciliation in 1991. Sound Engineer and producer Rod Callan of Penylan Studios contributed hugely to this album through his great understanding of the ancient instrument collection and their musical potentials. Rod has worked with Reconciliation and Ancient Music Ireland since the early 1990s. His arrangements on some of the tracks on this album cross boundaries which results in a new inspirational sound. Evocative musical combinations are realised as a result of live concerts and previous recordings combined with techniques gained by the players in their personal careers. Particular emphasis is placed on drone rhythms and instrumental overtone as well as new drumming methods on the Irish frame drum or bodhrán.
The new vibrant sound may be described as a definitive departure from more conventional music today. Yet, strong dance rhythms are complimented by complex tone and overtone manipulation. Great walls of acoustic complexity introduce an alternative view of the essence of music both as a rhythmic stimulant and an evocative mood enhancer. The music of Reconciliation is new in the world and yet takes its influences and origins from some the oldest instruments and traditions created by humanity.

01 One Day 5:20 min

This intricate tune is the result of multifaceted instrumental multitracking around a poem describing the despair of a bumble bee who finds himself unable to escape from a greenhouse. It may be described as the most conventional of all the ten tracks on the record. For the first time Reconciliation used more modern musical instruments in the recordings. These include acoustic guitar, bass, mandolin and violin. The guitar on this track is introduced bringing the tune more into a musical mid-range and giving it a rounder soundscape. This piece is carefully constructed and arranged.

Simon O’Dwyer – vocals, dord íseal, dord ard, adhaarc, click stones, stone whistles.
Philip Conyngham – didgeridoo, vocals.
Maria Cullen O’Dwyer – bodhrán, tubby drum, vocals.
Rod Callan – acoustic guitar, jaws harp, bass guitar.
Recorded at Ancient Music Ireland, West of Ireland 2011.
Composition – Callan, Conyngham, O’Dwyer, Cullen O’Dwyer.

 

02 Politicos 2:22 min

Politicos was recorded acoustically in a farmhouse in Connemara, West of Ireland. The idea was to explore the combinations which could be achieved through alternating a didgeridoo with a newly revived and developed ancient Irish singing method in a conversation. Phil Conyngham played his most precious didgeridoo which was given to him by a traditional maker in Catherine, Australia. The vocal called cronán is an experimental recreation of a throat singing tradition that was practiced in Ireland for thousands of years and only died out in the 19th Century. To do this, Simon O’Dwyer referred to written and oral descriptions as far back as the time of Christ and the overtone singing methods in countries such as Nepal and Tuva. The tune is named after the gabbling that goes on among politicians.

Philip Conyngham – didgeridoo.
Simon O’Dwyer – cronán (throat singing), click stones.
Recorded at Ancient Music Ireland, West of Ireland 2011.
Composition – Conyngham, O’Dwyer.

 

03 Slug Love 3:49 min

The unmatched piece is so called as band member Philip Conyngham has a particular love for slugs! This tune consists of an in-depth exploration of the use of instrumental and vocal tone and overtone manipulation to achieve an entirely new sound. ‘Slug Love’ goes into a complex world of acoustic interaction that almost defies the accepted rules of music.

Philip Conyngham – didgeridoo, dord íseal.
Simon O’Dwyer-  dord íseal, dord ard, cronán (throat singing).
Recorded at Ancient Music Ireland, West of Ireland 2011.
Composition – Conyngham, O’Dwyer.

 

04 Yippadee 2:30 min

This fast ripping jazzy piece of music is based around an up-beat playing method developed on the bodhrán (Irish frame drum). Using a particularly heavy ebony two ended stick which was made by the late Dessy Seary of Wicklow, the player creates a fast rolling beat which may be compared to the gallop of a horse. Accompanied by bodhrán played with the hand, a driving percussion makes the perfect foil for the introduction of a distinctive complex didgeridoo style, fast and furious that only this player can generate. The tune was recorded acoustically in one take.

Maria Cullen O’Dwyer – bodhrán (goat skin played with two ended ebony stick).
Philip Conyngham – didgeridoo.
Simon O’Dwyer – bodhrán (ginet skin, played with the hand).
Recorded at Ancient Music Ireland, West of Ireland 2011.
Composition – Conyngham, O’Dwyer, Cullen O’Dwyer.

 

05 Breath Under Stone 6:28 min

‘Breath Under Stone’ was composed to reflect the mood of the mountains of the West of Ireland in high Summer. Recorded both in studio and in the open air, the sound reflects the depth of life and the continuous rhythm of nature. Rod Callan who recorded and mixed several of the tunes on this record, composed and added a complimentary guitar tune to ‘Breath Under Stone’. Rod also named this piece. A local robin who conveniently sang that day was included and his descendants continue to be paid royalty in the form of bird seed!

Simon O’Dwyer – dord íseal, dord ard (bronze trumpets).
Philip Conyngham – dord íseal, didgeridoo.
Rod Callan – acoustic guitar, bass guitar.
Local Robin – vocal.
Recorded at Ancient Music Ireland, West of Ireland 2011.
Composition – Callan, Conyngham, O’Dwyer.

 

06 Standing Alone 4:10 min

‘Standing Alone’ could be considered to be one of the quirkiest covers ever made of the song Blue Moon originally written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934. This version includes an eerie vocal and a variety of bronze horns, trumpets and bodhrán. The piece rolls along with an inevitable optimism that is both energising and evocative. One particular inimitable sound is created by didgeridoo crossed with a kazoo whilst a rounded pumping all-encompassing rhythm is delivered on bodhrán. The addition of a polka played on a tin whistle sends this piece into a realm of its own!

Philip Conyngham – dord íseal, didgeridoo, buzz didgeridoo.
Simon O’Dwyer – dord íseal, dord ard, vocals, sea shell.
Rod Callan – acoustic guitar, bass guitar.
Maria Cullen O’Dwyer – whistle, bodhrán.
Luke Day – mandolin, fiddle.
Recorded at Ancient Music Ireland, West of Ireland 2011.
Composition – Callan, Conyngham, O’Dwyer, Cullen O’Dwyer.

 

07 Hocket 2:30 min

This multi-level piece is influenced by hockety style horn bands from West Africa. The bodhrán used is one of the last made by the late Charlie Byrne of Thurles. It is fitted with two goat skins back to back and is so designed to give a whooshing sound. Also featured is an Early Medieval melody reed horn from Co. Mayo, West of Ireland. It is interesting to note that all the instruments with the one exception of a pair of Aboriginal Australian clap sticks have their origins in Ireland.

Simon O’Dwyer – dord ard, adharc, bodhrán, mayophone (early medieval reed instrument).
Philip Conyngham – dord íseal, clap sticks.
Recorded at Ancient Music Ireland, West of Ireland 2011.
Composition – O’Dwyer, Conyngham.

 

08 Purnolulu 6:13 min

Purnolulu is a fascinating exploration of combinations of didgeridoo, dord íseal (bass bronze horn), and piano strings that build a deeply evocative sound landscape. Using advanced effects, a rich tapestry of mood is generated as the tune moves through a complex creation of tone and harmony.

Philip Conyngham – didgeridoo, dord íseal, dord ard, percussion.
Söener Ramert – piano strings.
Recorded at Madusa Studio, Keil Germany 2019.
Composition – Conyngham.

 

09 Black Rock 4:44 min

The title ‘Black Rock’ is inspired by the heavy rolling beat implemented on bodhrán which is enhanced by deep cronán (throat singing). This piece of music features the experimental side of the acoustic instruments. The bodhrán or single frame drum is played in a way that reveals all the power and drive of a ‘full kit’.

Philip Conyngham – didgeridoo.
Maria Cullen O’Dwyer – bodhrán.
Simon O’Dwyer – cronán (throat singing), fipple whistle.
Recorded at Ancient Music Ireland, West of Ireland 2011.
Composition – O’Dwyer, Conyngham, Cullen O’Dwyer.

 

10 The Monster 3:37 min

This tune creates an image of swimming and diving in Lough Ness and then meeting with the legendary monster! But rather than it being the expected ferocious creature, the monster turns out to be a gentle giant that sings with the visiting diver.

Philip Conyngham – didgeridoo.
Simon O’Dwyer – didgeridoo.
Recorded at Ancient Music Ireland, West of Ireland 2010.
Composition – O’Dwyer, Conyngham.

 

Sound Engineer/ Post Mastering Ireland/Wales – Rod Callan, Mark Warden.
Sound Engineer Germany – Söener Ramert. Philip Conyngham.
Final Post Mastering Germany – Haulke Albrecht.
Production Rod Callan, Simon O’Dwyer, Philip Conyngham, Maria Cullen O’Dwyer.
Arrangement Rod Callan, Simon O’Dwyer, Philip Conyngham.

Produced by Ancient Music Ireland © 2020.

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