I stumbled on this Altan video of the trad ‘Month of January’, from January 2019. I’m stunned it has had only 420 views in all that time. Let’s give it a few more.
One consequence of lockdown is that singer Mairead has mused on social media about whether she wants to return to the life of a musical troubadour once it’s over. She’s certainly served her time. Altan have been on the road since roughly 1990, peaking perhaps (in commercial terms) in the mid to late 90s. I saw them often in Belfast and Dublin and Donegal then – they were truly exhilarating – but lost touch with their music after the 90s. I saw Mairead at an awards do in Belfast two years ago and she shouted a breezy ‘hello!’ as she dashed across the room to another crowd of well-wishers and revellers. Whatever she chooses to do next, I wish her well. 🙂
Fabulous, I enjoyed that.
Very similar melody to She Moved Through The Fair, no?
If we are sharing Irish type folk singing, then let me suggest this – What Will We Do When We Have No Money by Lankum (formerly Lynched). Spooky and spellbinding…
I got She Moved Through The Fair, too.
Glad you liked it, Arthur. To me, no, I don’t hear a similarity to ‘She Moved…’ – but they inhabit the same world, certainly. Here’s a version by Gay & Terry Woods (from 6:12) from 1970 that’s less sweetly arranged, as it were – pure drones and melody.
Gorgeous stuff Colin, thanks for posting. Mairéad Nà Mhaonaigh has a fabulous voice. Great band; sad never to have seen them live.
It’s probably not too late… but who can tell? I suspect that Mairead is probably reassessing the full-time musician thing. I can’t imagine she would pull the shutters down on Altan for good – as an entity for very occasional events.
Wonderful band – I was lucky enough to see them in the late 80’s with Frankie Kennedy at the Bermuda Folk Club. They absolutely brought the house down. Great memories.
God, how I have missed going to Ireland these last 12 months.
More brilliance:
I first heard Altan in Richer Sounds. I was there buying the future Mrs F a little system for her digs. My track stopped and I heard a wonderful noise coming through the wall of the next demo room. I put my head round next door and asked “What’s this? It’s great!” I miss those moments of serendipity.
Very pleased to say I saw them a few times over the years, including at CFF.
At the end of the 90s, at a little festival somewhere in Notts, I was there as part of Eddi Reader’s crew. I was loitering backstage in the green room and made Altan a pot of tea. Lovely people.
It was these three reels – Tommy Peoples/The Windmill/Fintan McManus’s – from 1993’s Island Angel album:
A classic!
Altan were a staple of my 1970s immersion in Irish. I began with the Chieftains, ahead of finding them a little too easy, finding Planxty my preferred gateway drug, through onward into Bothy Band, De Dannan and Altan. With a host of glorious female singers to wallow in, from the low husky alto of Dolores Keane, to the strange affecting tone of Triona Ni Dhomhnail, none had the same purity of voice of Mairead, at least not until Cara Dillon. When her life and band partner Frankie Kennedy died in 1994, that was deemed the end of the band by many. We haven’t heard the last of her or the brand.