THE STORY SO FAR:
In October 1997, Irelands all-star quintet Lúnasa released their début CD Lúnasa, a searing mix of concert and studio tracks gathered from their first prolific year together. It was immediately hailed as one of the freshest recordings of Irish music in years, called moving, pulsating, and thrilling to the very marrow by fRoots magazine and a true must-have disc by The Irish Voice. From the start, Lúnasa met with instant acclaim. Their first album became an immediate best-seller in Ireland, topping Hot Press folk charts and nominated one of the years top ten by the Irish Echo in the USA.
Since that auspicious beginning, Lúnasa has become one of the most sought-after bands on the international Irish music scene. The bands inventive arrangements and bass-driven grooves are steering Irish acoustic music into surprising new territory. On their first American visit, word-of-mouth led to sold-out shows and rave reviews. A standing-room only crowd in New York confirmed Lúnasas reputation wrote The New York Times. This is the hottest Irish acoustic group on the planet.
Like the younger generation of Nashville musicians such as Béla Fleck or Edgar Meyer, pushing the boundaries of bluegrass into jazz and beyond, Lúnasa are redefining Irish music by going right to the heart of its rhythms. With its distinctive use of the upright acoustic bass -- brought front and center by Trevor Hutchinsons remarkable playing -- teamed with percussive guitar, the group seeks out the essential heartbeat of a tune. There are lots of great melodies in Irish music but often people dont hear the rhythms underneath, says founding member Sean Smyth. We try to relate the swing or energy out of the music, using new rhythms, letting each instrument add its own unique layer. Well play the same tune over and over searching for the groove, exploring it. We let the music find its pulse. The result is a sound that, though distinctly Irish in flavor, touches on jazz and other improvisational music forms.
Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honour of the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts, Lúnasa is indeed a gathering of some of the top musical talents in Ireland. Its members have helped formed the backbone of some of the greatest Irish groups of the decade - Bassist Trevor Hutchinson was a key member of The Waterboys, and later he with guitarist Donogh Hennessy, would form the dynamic rhythm section of The Sharon Shannon Band. Fiddler Sean Smyth is an All-Ireland champion who has played with Donal Lunnys Coolfin; Kevin Crawford, considered to be among the finest flautists in Ireland played with the acclaimed traditional group Moving Cloud; and, piper Cillian Vallely (of the same talented musical family as brother Niall Vallely of Nomos). Now Lúnasa are adding some of the hottest next-generation talent in Ireland, working with guitarists, Tim Edey and Paul Meehan.
As confirmation of their excellence live, Lúnasa won the "Coup de Coeur Mirror" prize for their performances at the Quebec City Summer Festival July 2003. This prize is defined as follows "Recognizes an artist, in any popular music genre, who the jury agrees has given a truly outstanding performance. The concert must stand out from all the others on the basis of one or more criteria "
In 2004, seven years and three albums on from that acclaimed début, the band revisited the immediate, live-in-the-studio recording style on the riveting new album The Kinnitty Sessions. Recorded before an invited audience of friends and supporters in the supposedly-haunted walls of Irelands Kinnitty Castle, the album is clearly the work of an ensemble in peak form. Sharpened by constant touring and endless refinement of the material in a live setting, The Kinnitty Sessions is the most inventive and intense recording yet from Lúnasa, capturing the vitality and interplay of their concert appearances with a rich, crystal-clear studio sound. The album received a nomination for Folk Album Of The Year in the BBC Radio 2 Awards. It was also voted Best Traditional Album of 2005 by the readers of Irish Music Magazine.
Between their stunning début (available in a remastered/expanded edition as Compass Records COM 4317) and the heights scaled on The Kinnitty Sessions, Lúnasa released three superb albums for the US Green Linnet label. Otherworld (1999), The Merry Sisters of Fate (2001), and Redwood (2003) were each met with wide critical accolades, and furthered the development of the bands richly detailed, driving vision of acoustic music. The albums were supported by tours through Ireland, the US, the UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, Italy, Holland, and Spain.
In 2001 Lúnasa went to Hollywood (and performed in front of 13,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl). In 2005 Hollywood came to Lúnasa in the form of their debut composing for a feature film, Irish Jam. Lúnasa also recorded two songs for the soundtrack of Irish Jam with ex-Brookside Babe and now film star (of Land Girls, Rogue Trader), ANNA FRIEL. The film also starred US film star/comedian EDDIE GRIFFIN (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Undercover Brother).
Lúnasa's 9th birthday is celebrated with the release of their sixth album Sé (pronounced shay the Irish for 6). Sé is receiving even greater critical acclaim than the usual high praise which has greeted each album release. The Irish Times made it their CD Of The Week journalist Siobhan Long writing Lúnasa have embarked on another journey, full of hairpin bends and vertiginous peaks, fuelled by an insatiable appetite for reconnoitering routes previously uncharted. Sé is a snapshot of a band whose rigorous
attention to detail repays the listener time and time again. Hidden treasures lurk in every nook and cranny within.
Possibly the hardest touring band in Irish music are keeping up the intensity through 2006 with a schedule of 140 shows. They started the year with a 1,400 sell-out at Celtic Connections, Glasgow then on to Hawaii; mainland USA (3 tours over the course of the year); a dozen countries in Europe finishing up in Japan in December. One of the highlights of 2006 will be Lúnasas headlining appearance at Dublins National Concert Hall on 8th June. The concert is being recorded by RTE Radio One. It will be preceded by national TV appearances and extensive media coverage.
2007 saw the bands 10th Anniversary and was a year of celebration! Continuing throughout 2008 doing what they do best, Lúnasa will be touring and promoting the release of their new best of album, 'The Story so Far...' is now available at the online store.
A full list of news, tours and special performances can also be found at www.lunasa.ie
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