MICK MCAULEY, WINIFRED HORAN & COLM O CAOIMH
Long-time SOLAS members MICK MCAULEY and WINIFRED HORAN
have joined forces with the amazing Kilkenny-born guitarist COLM O
CAOIMH to bring you their new release “SAILING BACK TO YOU”.
SOLAS has long been heralded as one of the most innovative and
exciting bands to emerge on the Irish music scene over the last two
decades and have been cited “the best traditional band in the
world” by the Boston Herald while the New York Times praised them
as “a five-piece of extraordinary instrumental and vocal fire-power”.
So when Mick McAuley and Winifred Horan released their first duet
album “Serenade” in 2006, it was received with much anticipation
and widespread critical acclaim being voted into the Top 5 Irish
albums of 2006 by The Irish Times. Another few years have passed
and now Mick and Winifred have teamed up with the dynamic young
guitarist, COLM O CAOIMH for their new album “SAILING BACK TO
YOU”. Colm, who is a founding member of the steadily rising Irish
group CALADH NUA, (meaning New Harbour) has spent the last few
years touring extensively throughout Europe and Canada. A
musician of supreme talent and versatility, Colm brings to the
project his own unique style of tune backing while complimenting
the gentler vocal numbers and enhancing the subtleties of
Winifred’s unmistakable fiddle sound. Throw in Mick’s vocal and
instrumental talents and special guest Chico Huff’s genius on the
bass, and it all goes to make for a beautiful musical journey,
sometimes haunting and soulful, other times joyful and exhilarating.
The album opens with a traditional French tune called “Les Amantes
Infideles” which has the flavours of a smoky Paris cafe while tracks
like the tasteful cover of the LOW ANTHEM’S “Charlie Darwin” bring
a unique realism and honesty to the album. And, of course, there
are instrumental reels, Jigs and airs, both original and traditional, to
drive it all on.
WINIFRED HORAN
Born and raised in New York of Irish parents, Winifred began playing
music at an early age. Her first instrument was piano, which she learned
from her father who was himself an accomplished pianist and jazz
trumpeter. His love for classical, jazz and traditional Irish Music was a
great influence on Winifred and ultimately laid out a colourful and eclectic
musical direction. She began fiddle and Irish dance lessons in the then
bustling Irish scene in New York in the 1970’s. Her fiddle teacher was the
late Maureen Glynn and her dancing teacher was the great Donald
Golden. Throughout these years she participated and competed in many
fleadhs and competitions in the US and Ireland, winning the US National
Dance Championships a record nine years in a row.
At this time, she was also pursuing a path in classical music and
ultimately won a scholarship to attend Mannes College of Music in
Manhattan, as a teenager, for violin. She then went on to earn a degree
in Music from the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in
Boston. This combination of both classical and traditional backgrounds
helps to define the style that is so identifiable and associated with
Winifred’s playing. In great demand for live shows and as a studio
musician, she has worked with many of the finest musicians on the Irish
Music and contemporary folk scenes. She has played and recorded with
Cherish the Ladies, Sharon Shannon, Declan O’ Rourke, Belinda Carlisle,
Mundy, Pierce Turner, Richard Shindell, Liz Carroll and many more.
Her meeting and ultimate collaboration with Seamus Egan saw the start
of the Irish-American band SOLAS which has since enjoyed worldwide
success. Solas has been warmly received for it’s live performances,
timeless recordings and extraordinary musicianship.
Winifred released two solo albums over the last ten years – “Just one
Wish” and “The Pleasures of Home” to great critical acclaim both in the
U.S. and Ireland.
MICK MCAULEY
Mick McAuley was born into the well-known musical family from Kilkenny
and has been playing Irish Music from a very early age. In fact, his first
public performance was when he was featured on tin whistle by the late
great Irish tenor, Frank Patterson at the tender age of five. Mick took up
accordion at the age of nine and has since become one of the leading
exponents on that instrument in Ireland. During his teenage years he
mastered several other instruments and competed successfully in various
competitions. By his late teens he had toured extensively throughout
Europe at concerts and various cultural festivals as part of the family
group, other ensembles, and as a soloist.
Mick moved to London in 1991 and recorded and toured regularly
with the London based Ron Kavana Alias band and was part of “The
Bucks” with Ron, Terry Woods and piper Paddy Keenan. Returning
home for a while in 1994, he recorded and toured with Niamh
Parsons’ Loose Connections and has also recorded or toured with
Patti Griffin, Susan McKeown, Karan Casey, Paul Brennan of Clannad,
and Eurovision winner Eimear Quinn. While spending time in New
York during the mid-nineties he joined the band SOLAS and has
recorded and toured with them during the years since.
2004 saw the release of Mick’s debut solo album, “An Ocean’s
Breadth” which received rave reviews and was heralded by the
Washington Post as “ Celtic Album of the Year”. While the album reaffirmed him as one of the best accordionists in Irish music, it also
established him as one of the finest and most unique singers in
Ireland. He is regularly invited to appear as a special guest of the
European touring production “Celtic Legends”. Recently Mick has
been spending more time in songwriting mode and has written and
co-written most of the songs for the upcoming release from SOLAS
called “SHAMROCK CITY”. It is an extensive project that follows the
largely Irish emigration to Butte, MT in the late 1800’s into the early
20th Century, to work in what was then one of the largest copper
mines in the world. Check out www.solasmusic.com for more details.
Mick has also commenced work on a new instrumental accordion
album and is currently writing for an album of original songs, which
he hopes to release in 2013.
COLM O CAOIMH
Colm O Caoimh has been a huge presence on the Kilkenny music
scene in recent years and is a founding member of CALADH NUA
who have burst onto the Irish music trail with two exciting albums
“HAPPY DAYS” and “NEXT STOP”. His solidly imaginative playing
and delicate finger-style is described as being both the backbone
and powerhouse of CALADH NUA.
The mediaeval city of Kilkenny is synonymous with the meeting of
culture and tradition. It was here; in an artistically nurturing
environment that Colm O’Caoimh took his first tentative steps in
music through classical piano and violin. But it was his intrinsic
passion and love for Irish music that eventually drew Colm, a fluent
Irish speaker, to the guitar.
Taking the long-tested and circuitous route of weekend fleadhs and
national festivals the world soon opened up to his evident talents.
Through a distinctive and unfaltering style influenced by guitarists
such as Jim Murray and John Blake, his abilities were soon in
popular demand both as a live performer and a studio session
player. As an accomplished pianist and bassist, Colm is a regular
guest of the trail-blazing Jeremy Hickey of RSAG (Rarely Seen
Above Ground) among many others.
Colm has re-defined the guitar accompaniment of Irish Music,
bringing to it influences of Jazz and swing, all the while grounding
the music with his own unique driving, earthy rhythm. Coupling that
with the subtleties of his numerous finger picking styles, it is widely
believed that Colm is one of the most versatile and talented
guitarists in any genre of music today.