After playing together in The Doon Céilí Band and O’Rourke’s Feast, Paddy and Nathan started getting together to work on individual tunes they liked, pairing melodies for their own satisfaction. Finally, they decided to record a CD, encompassing the revival of old tunes reinterpreted and played tightly together on fiddle and box, and adding some musically engaging accompaniment from guitarist Dáithí Sproule. The tunes selected for this recording were taken from the repertoire of players such as Tommy Potts, Ed Reavy, Johnny McGreevy, and some lesser-known but wonderful musicians like Tom Ginley of Belfast, and Francie Brereton of Tipperary, to name just a few of the influences.
“I love this stuff, it flows like water, wraps itself around my soul and makes all the daily troubles go away, exactly what good music is supposed to do.” — Jack Baker, Irish American News
“...pure accordion plus fiddle. The dynamics remain the same throughout, so it’s the responsibility of the individual tunes to create different emphases, and this is done with beautiful melody phrases or unusual changes of key...” — kuec, Celtic-Rock.de
“...the music on this album is first rate throughout, from beginning to end... in all cases, the tempos and swing are just right, and full of warmth and grace... an entirely compelling album." — Daniel Neely, The Irish Echo
Track List
Reels: The Balmoral / O’Dowd’s Favorite
Reels: The Wheels of the World / Paddy Fahey’s
Hornpipes: Jim Erwin’s / The Hereafter
Reels: The Flax in Bloom / The Flash in the Pan
Double Jigs: The Ballykeale / The Rambling Pitchfork
Reels: The Morning Mist / The Pookeen Dubh
Reels: Sheehan’s / Johnny McGreevy’s / Felim’s Frolics
Hornpipes: The Midnight Hornpipe / The Castle
Reels: McGoldrick’s / The Repeal of the Union
Reels: Aggie White’s / A Toast to Paddy Canny
Double Jigs: Patsy Cauley’s / The Killina / Young Jerry Holland
Reels: Miss McDermott’s / Dancing on the Door
Slip Jigs: Wink and She Will Follow / I Have A House Of My Own With A Chimney Built On Top Of It / The Periwig Jockey
Reels: The Starry Lane to Monaghan / John Mosey McGinley’s
Clan March / Polka: The March of the Jacobites / Bright and Early
Reels: The Queen of May / Tom McGinley’s
Produced by Paddy O’Brien, Nathan Gourley and Dáithí Sproule.
Recorded, engineered and mixed by John Wright of The Villa Recording Studio, Savage, Minnesota. Mastered by Greg Reierson, Rare Form Mastering, Minneapolis.
