ireland

Amelia’s Magazine | Fionn Regan: brand new 100 Acres of Sycamore video and instore gigs

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FIONN REGAN BY RICH GILLIGAN
Fionn Regan is a folk musician with the history that befits his heartfelt words. The son of musicians, buy information pills he grew up in the Ireland that we all hear of but never quite imagine exists: a rural idyll where a child could wander free and return home to the sounds of home made merriment. He left school young and took up a series of itinerant jobs whilst travelling around Ireland and the UK, order self educating himself in libraries. With the release of first album The End of History in 2006 he gained critical acclaim and a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize. His second album, The Shadow of An Empire, took a more experimental electro influenced turn, but for 100 Acres of Sycamore (released in August), he has returned to his roots.

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100 Acres of Sycamore was written in Mallorca, where he stayed at the home of Anna Friel – invited after having met her by chance in Valencia. He was enchanted by the ancient setting and on his return recorded the entire album in seven days. It’s a deeply rich experience, made special by his use of language. Not for nothing is Fionn Regan an honorary member of the Trinity College Literary Society.


The video for 100 Acres of Sycamore was shot by music photographer Sebastien Dehesdin on Hampstead Heath.

Fionn Regan plays a couple of inshore dates this week, including one at Rough Trade West this Sunday 18th September, then at the Lomography Gallery Store on Commercial Street. He headlines Bush Hall on the 20th September. 100 Acres of Sycamore is out now on Heavenly Recordings.

Fionn Regan by Autumn de Wilde HWCH

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday September 13th, 2011 3:15 pm

Categories ,100 Acres of Sycamore, ,album, ,Anna Friel, ,Bush Hall, ,electro, ,Fionn Regan, ,folk, ,Hampstead Heath, ,Heavenly Recordings, ,ireland, ,Lomography Gallery Store, ,Mallorca, ,Mercury music prize, ,Rough Trade West, ,Sebastien Dehesdin, ,The End of History, ,The Shadow of An Empire, ,Trinity College Literary Society, ,video

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Amelia’s Magazine | Jennifer Evans at the Windmill: Live Review

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jennifer-evans
Taking the stage at a pretty busy Windmill was the hotly tipped Jennifer Evans. Although largely an unknown quantity in the UK, she’s been picking up a fair bit of good press back home in Ireland for a while, and with the release of her debut LP, Works From The Dip And Foul, last year she’s already drawn comparisons with Anna Calvi and St. Vincent. So no pressure, then!

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A diminutive figure with a big voice, and backed by Shane Holly on drums and Sean Maynard Smith on bass, Evans took us through some choice cuts from her album. With a sound that combines elements of blues and jazz, she doesn’t play your average four to the floor – if anything, it reminded me at times of a less urban take on Frank, Amy Winehouse’s debut, and early Noisettes (Evans’ vocal style and mannerisms, such as on the song Uncomfortable Word, are similar to those of Shingai Shoniwa). She’s a sparky performer, rarely staying still for a moment and the music, too, dips and dives, catching you off-guard with sudden tempo changes.

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Even when there was a slight hitch in the set, when Evans couldn’t find the capo for her guitar, the band styled it out with an extended jam, and effortlessly slotted back into place when she was ready to go. There was also a radically reworked version of Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy – I only realised what it was right at the end, when Evans told us, even though I should have clocked it from the lyrics (a black mark for yours truly, there).

There’s another small London gig coming up, and you can’t help feeling, on the strength of tonight, that with a bit more exposure Jennifer Evans could really live up to those comparisons and become as recognised a name in the UK as she is back home.

Written by Richard Pearmain on Wednesday February 25th, 2015 5:42 pm

Categories ,amy winehouse, ,Anna Calvi, ,ireland, ,Irish, ,Jennifer Evans, ,Massive Attack, ,Noisettes, ,review, ,Sean Maynard Smith, ,Shane Holly, ,Shingai Shoniwa, ,St Vincent, ,Windmill

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