Looking uncannily like Jay Kay but with less extravagant taste in cars and far more easy going after a few drinks on a night out – Sligo’s papparrazzi can walk the streets in safety – Felip Carbonell is back with a bang. Over a year since he let go of the controls at Dervish Towers, the north west’s favourite Mallorcan has unveiled a new roster of acts, whose affairs he will be steering in his inimitable fashion.

At its launch Carbonell Productions Ltd. will be representing Mary McPartlan, one of the most talented folk singers to come out of the Irish scene in recent years. Born in Drumkeeran, Co. Leitrim and now living in Galway, she started singing in the early 70s but it wasn’t until 2003 that she decided to make music her full time career, Mary was a nominee for Best Folk/trad Artist‚ in the Meteor Ireland Music Awards 2005, while her album The Holland Handkerchief‚ has also been nominated for Best Folk Album‚ in Irish Music Magazine Readers Poll 04/05 and reached the top spot on the Top 10 Folk Albums of the Year‚ 2004 in Mojo Magazine in the UK...
Cora and Breda Smyth, sisters from Co. Mayo, Cora and Breda Smyth (fiddle and whistle) have been playing traditional Irish music from a very young age. Cora played violin in the group that won the Eurovision contest with The Voice‚ in 97 and has been touring with Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance‚ and collaborated on several recordings including The Chieftains' Grammy nominated album Water From The Well. Breda has also toured as violinist with Lord of the Dance‚ and has released a debut album Basil And Thyme.
Originally a trio, Klazz was formed in Sligo by Scottish virtuoso violinist and former member of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Bill Stewart, Sligo jazz guitarist Jim Meehan and Mallorcan Latin guitarist Felip Carbonell. They were soon joined by Eddie Lee, former member of the Café Orchestra, on bass. The quartet’s repertoire flows from Brazilian Bossanova, through Gypsy and Swing Jazz and original compositions. Although a relatively new band, the personal style and experience of its members has made Klazz a very popular and sought-after attraction in the music scene from their base in the North West of Ireland, both as a trio and quartet.
Felip Carbonell’s Els Ritmes De La Mar is a musical journey which bri ngs us through Felip's 20 odd years of musical experiences as a composer and interpreter of Latin music. Musicians from Mallorca and from Ireland join in a unique show featuring Felip's compositions along with numbers of his vast Latin repertoire, from 'Catalan Rumba' to 'Cuban Bolero'; from 'Brazilian Bossanova' to 'Traditional Mallorcan Music' Yes, indeed, traditions and culture in Mallorca are still alive and kicking despite the tourist invasion of the island.
Also being represented are The Old Rope String Band, a unique combination of music and comedy. This is the cutting edge of music-hall and you’ll have a chance to suck in some of the madness as they tour Ireland between the 23rd – 29th September.
Rounding out a very eclectic roster is, first of all, Avshalom Farjun a self-taught Israeli musician who for the past 15 years has been playing the qanun – an oriental psaltery and the grandfather of the piano – composed of 90 plucked strings invented in the 9th century by Persian philosopher Al-Farabi. The final name to look out for is Nass Marrakech, a Moroccan ensemble whose members belong to the Gnawa community, people who were taken either as slaves or soldiers from the Gulf of Guinea to Magreb (north-western Africa), where they settled and where even today their descendants maintain their traditional brotherhood. They perform a ceremony called the Gnawa Lila in which the maestro uses music to induce the participants into a state of healing trance. Nass Marrakech's sound mixes Central African drums (djembes, sabar) with mandolin, Hindu tabla, sentir (3-stringed bass oud) and the omnipresent karkaba (metallic castanets) to create a solid musical landscape over which the voices perform the traditional call and response.
In a far more traditional vein, Music Network is looking for a young Irish trad group for its Young Musicwide Award 2005. Originally developed in 2001, Young Musicwide is a unique professional development scheme designed to assist a selected group of Ireland's brightest young musicians at the beginning of their professional careers. Music Network is once again broadening the scope of the Young Musicwide Award, by including an Irish trad group for the first time in 2005. Through an audition process an Irish trad group, with a proven interest in Irish traditional performance, in a concert setting, will be selected to participate in the Young Musicwide Award programme for three years. Auditions for this award will take place in Dublin on Tuesday 14 June. Application forms are available from Aisling White, Musicwide Manager, at (01) 671 9429 or [email protected]. The closing date for completed applications is Monday 9 May.
Now well established in Irish music circles, Gráda – both collectively and individually – continue to win new fans via an intense concert schedule and numerous appearances as sidemen. Flautist Alan Doherty is now being widely heralded for his solo performance on the film score of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Between them they have played with such a diverse range of performers as Damien Dempsey, Louis Stewart, Damien Rice, Bill Whelan and Coldplay’s lead singer, Chris Martin.
In the three years since the release of their debut album, the band has toured heavily, continuing to broaden and refine their sound. In addition to traditional songs and tunes, their new album The Landing Step boasts material drawn from Emily Saliers, Oscar Wilde, Linda Thompson, and New Zealand songwriter Greg Johnson. Their planned seven date tour sees the band take the scenic route round the UK from Aberdeen to Taunton.