Pippa Marland - vocals, saxes, whistles Rob King - acoustic guitar, mandola, bodhran Nic France - drums and percussion David Goodier - double bass Geoff Castle - keyboards Chris Haigh - violin Diarmaid Moynihan - uilleann pipes, whistles Brian Morrissey - bodhran, banjo, whistles Richie Buckley (on the new album and some 2008 gigs) - saxes Julian Nicholas - saxes, whistles
We have always been very blessed in all the great musicians who have shared the stage with us over the years, some of whom continue to guest with us: Nigel Thomas - double bass; John McSherry - uilleann pipes and whistles; Pete Jacobsen - keyboards; Roy Dodds - drums and percussion; Dave Early - drums and percussion; Mark Walker - bass; Ian Beestin - drums; Vicki Burke - saxes and vocals; Dave Sturt - bass; Nick Kacal - double bass; Mark Edwards - keyboards; Iain Ballamy - saxes; Andy Sheppard - saxes; Donal Lunny (who produced and guested on the new album) - bouzouki, bodhran, guitar; Liam O'Flynn - uilleann pipes; Paul McGann - voiceover; Brian Connor - keyboards; Laoise Kelly - harp; Mike Nolan - flugelhorn, trumpet; Dudley Phillips - double bass; Jon Taylor - keyboards; Adam Gittins - double bass; Ben Groenevelt - double bass; Kit Morgan - electric guitar; Keith Warmington - Harmonica; Dave Griffiths - double bass; Arnie Somogyi - double bass; James Blennerhasset - double bass.
Influences
Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Moving Hearts, Planxty, Clannad, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Pentangle, Bert Jansch, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock
LATEST NEWS
NEW ALBUM - 'MY CRESCENT CITY'
recorded in Dublin, produced by Donal Lunny
We are very pleased to announce our new studio album 'My Crescent City' is available to order from I&E Records for Credit Card sales via the Carmina website & major internet retailers - Mp3 sales via iTunes, Napster & Emusic (and others) also now available
Download PDF files of information on the album's songs and lyrics
Representation by Crispin ThomasCTM UK - and Carmina - bookings@carmina.co.uk
The first published review (folkforum.nl) of 'My Crescent City' gave it 9+
"a musical feast"
"Pippa Marland has a real autumn leaf of a voice...with a gorgeously rich depth of colour" 8/10 Hot Press
"beautiful, harmonious music" Songlines
"Whispers of Moving Hearts at their spacious, innovative best, as well as Van during his 'No Guru, No Method, No Teacher' period, infuse this quietly confident set piece. Vocalist Pippa Marland bestows a smoky, languid air to a gathering that boldly takes possession of the iconic 'Lord Franklin', and guest piper Diarmaid Moynihan bores deep beneath the surface of 'Twenty Three/In the Morning'. The pleasurable maturity of the playing and the sense of ego-free collaboration is a joy to visit and revisit." The Ticket, Irish Times
"Their very name is a guarantor of the finest music from an eclectic group of musicians. Their latest offering lives up to all expectations" **** Nottingham Evening Post
"Every once in a while, a band floats beneath the radar with a sound that's
utterly their own - and a sharp intelligence that sets their music apart
from the mainstream. Carmina have been busily building a loyal fan base with
their glorious interplay of jazz and traditional/roots music for a few years
now, fuelled by the smoky vocals and compositions of Pippa Marland and the
guitar and mandola skills of Rob King. Their songbook stretches from musings
on Chaos Theory and the Ku Klux Klanto more traditional subject matter of
emigration, broken hearts and shipwrecks, and their Donal Lunny-produced
album, *My Crescent City*, shows the pair hell-bent on cleaving to the
outside track: always a more alluring place to be." Siobhan Long The Irish Times (The Ticket) July 2008
Radio Airplay for 'My Crescent City'
'December Song' was on the Christmas 2007 playlists for BBC Radio Nottingham and KCLR FM (covering the south-east of Ireland) - this meant the stations gave repeated airplay for the song throughout the Christmas period
'December Song' was also featured in the 'Celtic Heartbeat' Christmas show on BBC Radio Wales RTV-oost (Hengelo, The Netherlands) played 'December Song' (13/12/07) in a Winter-themed 'Goeiemiddag Overijssel' show 2MCE-FM NSW Australia played 'Hungry Hill' (08/12/07) &
'December Song' (22/12/07), WRFG (Georgia, USA) aired it on 30/12/07
'Blessed are the Broken' made the 'Top Ten of 2007' on 'The Crooked Road' (Radio Britfolk - now The Music Well & Swindon Fm - 20/12/07 & 'webcast') Aled Jones (BBC Radio 2) played 'Blessed' on 20/05/07 calling it "Beautiful", the show was also 'webcast'
'Blessed' has also had UK airplay on Mike Ganley's show 'The Crooked Road' (Radio Britfolk/The Music Well & Swindon Fm) (17/05 & 24/05, 07/06/07, 12/07/07 & 1/12/07
On 25/10/07 Mike played 'Stretched on your Grave', interviewed Pippa on 08/11/07 and played 'Mostly Myself' (22/05/08)
Frank Hennessy on 'Celtic Heartbeat' BBC Radio Wales reviewed 'Blessed' as "Absolutely Gorgeous....a Masterpiece"
Frank played 'Blessed' again on 20/10/07 and 'Hungry Hill', 'Lord Franklin' and 'Cool Clear Water' on 27/10/07 & 17/05/08 - Carmina also featured in his Christmas show
John Holmes, BBC Radio Nottingham afternoon show played two tracks from the album 28/10 and on 05/11 interviewed Pippa and played more tracks, more recently playing 'TwentyThree' on 22/05/08
BBC Radio Show websites feature 'Contact the Show' facilities that if you wish you can sent in requests & comments
FM-Brussel Belgium played two songs from 'My Crescent City' on 14/10/07
Carine Tolbecq on Radio Panik (Belgium) played 'In The Morning (from the new CD) & 'The Five Lakes' (from Weather in the Heart) (09/06/07)
"beautiful, I like the new songs very much"
Radio responses from further abroad to 'My Crescent City' & 'Blessed' have also been very encouraging -
"I love Carmina's music!! The music is beautiful, uplifting and fits so well into my show. Listeners have called often asking about the pieces..."
"I have added (Crescent City) to my 'best of 2007' list" Laurie DesJardins - KVMR Nevada City, CA, USA
playing 'Carolan' (24/02/06), 'The Five Lakes' (24/03/06 & 20/04/07), 'Last Call for Tomorrow' (09/08/06), 'Lord Franklin' & 'You Turn me on, I’m a Radio' (01/06/07), 'Mireia' & 'Tom Moody' (29/06/07), 'Tom Moody' (19/10/07), 'Blessed are the Broken' (16/11/07 & 08/02/08) & 'Hungry Hill' (16/11/07), 'Stretched on your Grave' (30/11/07 & 26/03/08), 'TwentyThree' (14/12/07)
long-time supporter Mark Thomas on his KMSU Minnesota, USA World
Beat show played 'Blessed' (02/06/07 & 01/12/07), 'Hungry Hill' (03/11/07) & 'TwentyThree' (05/01/08)
"Such wonderful, heartfelt celtic music! - wonderful material and rock solid production - I've gotten a very enthusiastic response regarding the Carmina tunes that I have played" Kelly Clement - 'Celtic and Beyond'KTAO 101.9 FM New Mexico, USA
On 24/10/07 Kelly aired 'Blessed Are the Broken', 'Lord Franklin' and 'December Song' from the new cd
John C. FalstaffWRFG (Georgia, USA) has played 'Twentythree' (25/11/07 & 02/12/07), 'December Song' (30/12/07), 'I Am Stretched on Your Grave' (13/01/08 & 24/02/08), 'Hungry Hill' (09/03/08, 18/05/08, 22/06/08), 'Lord Franklin' (06/04/08) & 'Raglan Road' (13/04/08)
"Very beautiful sound" Yoichiro, Shinjuku Records Tokyo
Susi Lanagan (PBS
FM 106.7 Melbourne, Australia) played 'Cold Clear Water of the Mountain' (27/03/08), 'Mostly Myself' (1/11/07), 'Twenty Three (In The Morning)' (22/11/07) & 'Love Like Angels' (09/02/06)
Sonja Hedlund on WJFF Jeffersonville, NY played 'Mountains of Prayer' and 'Mireia' (11/10/07), 'Blessed Are the Broken' & 'Hungry Hill' (12/04/08 & 30/05/08), 'December Song' (19/04/08)
"Very lively, beautiful music - I really like this group"
John Weeks & Cath Connelly (3MDR 97.1 FM) Vic. Australia played 'Blessed' (27/10/07)
Founded by songwriters Rob King (acoustic guitar, mandola, bodhrán) and Pippa Marland (vocals, saxes, Irish whistles), Carmina’s music is original, soulful and sophisticated, drawing in Celtic traditional and contemporary strains blended with jazz improvisation. Although their sound has been compared with Moving Hearts, Joni Mitchell and Van Morrison, Carmina’s music is uniquely their own, yet highly accessible. Reviewers in the press worldwide have described their music as: ‘Powerful, original and enigmatic … spellbinding …spiritual...fresh, sophisticated and accessible …inspirational, vibrant …magical’.
Carmina first made their name touring Ireland and have since played major venues and festivals throughout the world. Appearances have included Glastonbury, Trowbridge, Belfast Folk, Cork Jazz, Marlborough Jazz, Edinburgh, Stainsby Folk, Galway Arts, Henley Arts, Port Fairy (Australia), Bruges International, Labadoux (Belgium), Zwolle (Holland). Their appearance at Stainsby Festival 2005 was chosen as one of the top five roots gigs of the year in the East Midlands by the Nottingham Evening Post.
Carmina have three other albums out currently, the most recent being Love Like Angels ( ‘A really great album – wonderfully moody and emotional’ Bath Evening Chronicle, Sept 2004). This follows on from 2003’s On a Quiet Street, recorded live in Ireland with sponsorship from Guinness (‘Gorgeously haunting’ Time Out.
They are also promoting the re-issue of their classic recording Weather in the Heart, also produced by Donal Lunny – which was celebrated by the press internationally as ‘One of the most lyrical, surprising and enriching albums of the Celtic world’ El Pais, and ‘mesmerising and bewitching’ Irish Times.
On its original release it was nominated in Ireland for two major awards: Hot Press Best Roots Album and IRMA Best Traditional Act.
As well as selling through high street outlets in the UK, Ireland, North America, Australia, Belgium, Spain, Taiwan and Japan, Carmina's music is available through all the major download sites including iTunes, Napster, PayPlay and Mp3tunes
Cd's can be ordered in & by Record stores worldwide via Super D Distribution and from CdBaby and Burke's Music (Castlemaine, Australia) The Basement Discs, Melbourne, Australia
Shinjuku Records (Tokyo, Japan)
After the Gold Rush (Nevada City, CA USA) Ameoba Music (Hollywood, Berkley & San Francisco CA USA) Ella Guru (Atlanta, Georgia USA)
The band have appeared on several compilation albums: a live version of ‘Beulah Mae’s Dream’ (from Love Like Angels) was included along with songs by artists such as Damian Rice and Eddi Reader on Galway Bay FM’s LP/CD Embraces, and ‘Bird of Paradise’ featured on the very successful Canadian compilation CD Celtic Mystique.
‘Concorde’ (from Weather in the Heart) was played by a special gathering of air traffic controllers at Heathrow Airport as the Concordes landed completing their last commercial flights on Oct 24th 2003. Pippa and Rob were also honored to be invited to perform ‘Danny Boy’ by the family of the song’s composer, Frederick E. Weatherly, at a special commemoration for him. Carmina have frequently appeared on radio and TV in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Australia, and are currently receiving strong airplay in the US and Canada. Their songs have been recorded by other European artists and have also been used for TV programmes, most recently on GMTV and Points West (UK).
