Michael McGlynn founded Anuna in late 1987 in his native Ireland, and having been brought up on the Sex Pistols and Debussy from an early age, didn’t really understand that choirs were supposed to behave and sing in a certain way. Thus the Anuna story began. Today Anuna is still run by Michael and his twin brother John McGlynn.
Although Anuna are best-known in some circles as the "choir-who-sang-in-Riverdance", the group’s history and ethos transcend the whole Celtic genre. The genesis of the group came long before Riverdance. Anuna remain one of the most unusual musical voices around today. Not classical, not folk, not world, not Celtic... Anuna was formed also as a response to the rising clamour for change in their native Ireland, and the need to find a voice that fell between the two stools of Irish music, Traditional and Rock.
Anuna are known by name in Ireland, as they spent 18 weeks at number one in the Irish charts in 1994 with the single Riverdance, and entered the U.K. top 10 the same year. However, Anuna bear scant resemblance to any of the so-called Celtic shows or fashionable trends of the moment. Much of the music is exotic and unusual, spanning over 1000 years of history and their uniquely beautiful vocal sound has resulted in multiple collaborations with artists such as Secret Garden, The Chieftains, Sinead O Connor and Elvis Costello, to name but a very few. They have also won an Irish National Entertainment Award for Classical music in their own country, and been nominated for a Classical Brit Award in the UK. Their own albums have charted in the Irish charts and in UK and US Specialist charts over the last 10 years. They have appeared on three Grammy Award winning albums, twice with the Chieftains.
The choir have had around 150 members in total since 1987, and tour with between 11 and 14 singers. Their shows are very different to any other show that a choral group would attempt to do. The group are costumed in cloaks and long gothic-style dresses for the women, and sub-star trek uniforms for the men. They use the entire venue when performing, and the atmosphere is electric. The albums, of which there are around 10, are hugely varied, but in recent years output has declined. Happily in 2006 Anuna released SENSATION, their first original album since 2000, which has been described as "a major leap forward" [Hot Press] and "an agile leap into the unknown" by The Irish Times.
In Autumn 2007 Anuna will undertake a two month tour of the USA, and their programme "Anuna - Celtic Origins" will be broadcast nationwide there on PBS in August/September, followed by a major DVD and CD release..
Hey, you stopped being "lazy"... though I don't believe you are actually... ah how lovely to hear those voices & thanks for your gorgeous comment, & how I WOULD love to sing with ANUNA, must be lovely among that smooth sweetness... mmm T again Anni
oh man did you guys just come to the US? how did i miss that!!! i went to the website, it said you may be coming back to US this year, but wasn't able to see where or when?
How did I get there? Well I got an begging e-mail from MPT week before last and I usually ignore them, but this time I was feeling a little cheeky so I wrote back "if you play the Anuna special again I'll give you more money" well I got a message back say now that you mention it they'll be here next weekend and you can have a ticket for th audience if you like. Well I liked. :D Well I must say it was an interesting experience.!
I'm so pleased you liked the book. I saw it an antique books tore near my office and as it was quite inexpensive I picked one for you and one for me. They had several. You looked so exhausted that I would have felt horridly guilty interrupting you at all, so this is nice. I actually saw ya'all eat lunch I was in the courtyard as well working on my cross stitch! Take care of yourself! I'm sure we'll met one day, Goddess willing. :D
You are all soo amazing. I would love to see "All she has is you" on the profile. I think it is such an amazing song. I was hooked on it as soon as i heard it for the first time.
Really enjoy listening to your music. I don't buy many CDs these days, but I heard a bit of Celtic Origins and decided it was well worth the purchase. Hope to see your group live in the States some time.
i love music i listen to all types of music experimental being my favorite the first time i ever saw you guys on tv i was at home fixing to fall asleep when all of a sudden i heard this beautiful music coming from the living room. i saw a bunch of people performing and i though my little brother was watching his high school dvd, but as i continued watching... i discover ANUNA and thats how you guy just got a new fan!!
i love to listen to ya'll when i'm high ...it trips me out (especialy those bells) and i got you on itunes too! wish ya'll the best of luck