The Widening Gyre

by Altan

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

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1.	Maggie’s Pancakes/Píobaire an Chéide/The Friel Deal (Reels) 03:35	info	buy track
2.	No Ash Will Burn 03:21	info	buy track
3.	Buffalo Gals/Leather Britches/Leslie’s Reel 03:55	info	buy track
4.	Má Théann Tú ‘un Aonaigh 02:39	info	buy track
5.	A Tune for Mairéad and Anna 03:51	info	buy track
6.	White Birds 04:40	info	buy track
7.	The Tin Key/Sam Kelly’s Jig/The Gravediggers (Jigs) 03:23	info	buy track
8.	Cúirt Robin Finley 04:16	info	buy track
9.	The House Carpenter (Gypsy Davy) 04:33	info	buy track
10.	Samhradh (Slow Reel)/Aniar Aduaidh (Jig)/The Donegal Jig 06:11	info	buy track
11.	Lurgy Streams 04:01	info	buy track
12.	The Triple T 05:50	info	buy track
13.	Far Beyond Carrickfinn 03:48	info	buy track
14.	The Road Home 04:56	info	buy track

about

With a career at the pinnacle of Irish music for nearly 35 years Altan has achieved legendary status in a genre that has been equally shaped by the band's influence and genius. On THE WIDENING GYRE, the band explores the musical relationship between American roots music and the traditional music of Ireland. It's the first full project Altan has recorded in Nashville, and working under the guiding hand of producer and Compass co-founder Garry West, the album pairs these Irish masters with some of the leading lights of American folk and bluegrass music, many of whom the members of Altan have known for years. The resulting music is completely engaging, simultaneously breaking new ground and reminding listeners of the ancient bond between Irish and Appalachian music.

Stand out tracks include “White Birds” featuring Mary Chapin Carpenter on a lush, meditative reimagining of the W.B. Yeats poem about being a bird on the sea, an appropriate metaphor for a band who has musically and physically crossed the Atlantic in the making of the album. Eddi Reader, “an amazing singer and very generous person,” says founding member Mairéad Ni Mhaonaigh, offers her angelic backing vocals to “Far Beyond Carrickfinn.” Altan borrowed the mournful waltz “No Ash Will Burn” from the legendary Nashville songwriter Walt Aldridge. Mairead’s crystalline vocals unlock the Celtic undertones of the song and contrast the plaintive baritone of Bruce Molsky, a longstanding friend of Altan and an old-time fiddler and singer of great renown. The bluegrass presence shows itself on “Buffalo Gals” and “Thomasino (Thomas Tourish’s Tune),” a lively fiddle song written by Altan’s own Ciaran Tourish which features bluegrass giants Darol Anger, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Todd Phillips and Bryan Sutton. Tim O’Brien provides a duet vocal on “The House Carpenter (Gypsy Davy),” a track which spotlights the shared musical roots of Irish and Appalachian music with references to both of these historical song

credits

released February 24, 2015

Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh: Vocals, fiddle
Ciarán Curran: Bouzouki
Ciaran Tourish: Fiddle, octave fiddle, whistle, low whistle, vocals
Dáithí Sproule: Guitar, vocals
Mark Kelly: Guitar, vocals
Martin Tourish: Piano accordion, keyboards

Produced by Garry West and Altan
Executive Producer: Howard Chu

Recorded and mixed by Sean Sullivan at Compass Sound Studio, Nashville, TN except:
Bruce Molsky recorded by Harley Fine at Super 70 Studio, Beacon, NY.
Eddi Reader recorded by Mark Freegard at Kyoti Studio, Glasgow, Scotland.
Natalie Haas recorded at her home studio. | Michael McGoldrick recorded at his home studio.
Julee Glaub Weems recorded by John Plymale at Overdub Lane, Chapel Hill, NC.
Jim Higgins recorded by Sean Horsman at Ephemeral Studio, Co. Galway.
Ciaran Tourish and Mark Kelly backing vocals recorded by Camille Champarnaud
at Basement Takes Studio, Dublin, Ireland.
Dáithí Sproule’s harmony vocals recorded by Dik Shopteau
at Godikgo Studio, Minneapolis, MN.
Mastered by Randy LeRoy at Airshow Mastering, Takoma Park, MD
Photography by Leila Grossman | www.grannisphotography.com
Stylist: Tara Hackney
Location: Scarritt-Bennett Center, Nashville, Tennessee
Package design by Robert Hakalski | www.visual-machinery.com
Front cover design by Édaín O’Donnell

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about

Altan Donegal, Ireland

Altan is arguably the most iconic band working in traditional Irish music today. For the past 35 years, they have been bringing the music of their native County Donegal to the world stage. Irish-language songs and dynamic twin-fiddling, the hallmarks of Altan’s sound, framework the band’s newest album, aptly titled Donegal. ... more

shows

May 22

Ulmer Zelt

Ulm, Germany
Jun 19

Ulmer Zelt

Ulm, Germany
Nov 15

Mayfair Theatre

Chicago, IL

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