NoCrows

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October Snow set (excerpt)

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Released: Oct 31, 2010

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October Snow set (excerpt)
2:19
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Cormac's Fancy (excerpt)
1:46
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Troy (excerpt)
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The Magician
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Exit Music for a Film
2:19
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General Info

Genre: Acoustic / Classical / Folk
Location Sligo, Sligo, IE
Profile Views: 52925
Last Login: 1/19/2012
Member Since 9/25/2006
Website http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5vY3Jvd3MubmV0
Record Label Whirling Discs/Crows Records
Type of Label Indie
Bio
Sligo based group NoCrows has been making waves in the folk and world music circuit since 2007, playing a unique blend of Irish traditional, classical and world music. In the past two years NoCrows has played Glastonbury, Dranouter and Labadoux Festivals and countless other dates around Europe. NoCrows is a quartet of Sligo musicians from very different backgrounds: Steve Wickham (of Waterboys fame) on violin and vocals, moved to Sligo from his native Dublin in the early nineties and has been an integral part of Sligo’s music scene ever since. Mallorcan maestro Felip Carbonell, on Spanish guitar and vocals, has resided in Strandhill for over 15 years, as has Swiss multi-instrumentalist Anna Houston, who is as comfortable playing cello in Sligo Baroque Orchestra as she is on banjo and mandolin in local trad sessions. The quartet is completed by versatile double bassist Eddie Lee, the band’s only Sligo native, who has been part of Sligo’s modern music scene, performing with rock, soul, jazz, folk, world and classical groups since 1981. The group also regularly features, in addition to the above, Dublin based Russian violin virtuoso Oleg Ponomarev. NoCrows repertoire is truly global as their music ranges from Portugal to Moldova, from Brittany to Russia, from Venezuela to Greece and beyond. Always on the lookout for a good tune, the band borrows from the classical oeuvre as it does from jazz, trad, folk and world music. The group has two previous CDs on its own label Crows Records and Dervish’s Whirling Discs. The live debut CD, Live at the Strand was recorded in late 2006 and released in 2007 to critical acclaim. (“Swing rarely felt this good”- Siobhan Long of The Irish Times). The second, Magpie (2008), described by The Irish Times as “A beautifully wrought selection of instrumental music”, caught the public imagination once more. “Magpie was NoCrows just beginning to discover our own voice”, says Eddie Lee, “it was an album we are very proud of and contains original material written by each member. We have been mixing genres for a few years now, and NoCrows on the Moon is a logical progression, involving more original material and some of the many musicians that have influenced us in our lifelong musical journey”. Members of the band can be heard performing an acoustic session every Wednesday, in what they describe as their musical birthplace, ‘Shoot the Crows’ pub in Sligo. The band’s CDs, distributed by Claddagh records, are available in all good record stores, online at Townsend Records (UK) and CD Baby (worldwide) and all good download sites. For tour dates and other info, see www.nocrows.net <br> NoCrows facebook page... if you like us please become a fan!......<br> .."The melting pot that is No Crows borrows from the cosmopolitanism of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and Loyko's innovations (with just a tincture of the freewheeling of Django Reinhart) for their debut.... Swing rarely felt this good ". Siobhan Long, Irish Times 2006.... "...a beautifully wrought selection of instrumental music. You can sense the pleasure they find in each other's playing..." Joe Breen, Irish Times, July 2008
Members
Steve Wickham Violin & Vocals, Anna Houston Cello & Mandolin, Felip Carbonell Guitar & Vocals, Eddie Lee Double Bass and from time to time: Oleg Ponomarev: Violin CDs MAGPIE AND NOCROWS ON THE MOON AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING ONLINE OUTLETS......UK/EUROPE:..TOWNSEND RECORDS ....USA/Rest of World: ..CD Baby See also ..the Official NoCrows website..www.nocrows.net
Influences
Gosh where do we start... in no particular order... Vivaldi, Turlough O'Carolan, Django Reinhardt, Frank Zappa, Dervish, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Waterboys (well could we leave them out really...) Sligo Rovers, Sligo pubs, Nine Wassies from Bainne, Gato Perez, Brahms, Martin Scorcese, Ennio Morricone, John Coltrane, Seamie O Dowd, Charlie Haden, the notorious Byrne Brothers of Strandhill, our respective spouses and many children, Lyric FM... thank God for a radio station that plays real music, Dermot Healy, Pat McCabe, Those Nervous animals v Drumshanbo Gun Club, Baroque n' Roll... John the Map, Uisce (even if he thought Pachelbel's Canon was Air on a G-String), our mammies and daddies.
Sounds Like
‘Magpie’ No Crows review.... When I walked into Sligo folk pub Shoot the Crows early in January this year I thought I would get something different but nothing could have prepared me for the musical awakening that awaited me. I was totally bushwhacked by the untamed rhythms, musical ingenuity and, most of all, the sheer unfettered originality of resident group ‘No Crows’. .... No Crows latest offering ‘Magpie’ bleeds with creative brilliance and this CD transports us to an almost Dickensian world of musical grandeur. There is astonishing musical range, depth and complexity to the No Crows oeuvre; I firmly believe that they are the most unique group of their kind in Ireland today. I find many shades and moods in No Crows from Ennio Morricone to classical composers and more cultish artists such as Nick Cave. No Crows admit that a lot of the tunes they play are in minor keys and the mood of some of these tunes is comparable to sombre pieces like John Williams’ Schindler’s List theme, one that I can imagine No Crows doing justice to. .... ‘Magpie’ and the music of No Crows in general might aptly be described as cinematic, for it conjures a veritable array of images; flickering lights and furtive shadows. This would be ideal film score material and its disposition reminds me of several great scores I have come across lately including Johnny Greenwood’s exceptional and unsettling work for There Will Be Blood and Nick Cave’s masterful scoring of The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford (especially the latter). At one of the Shoot the Crows sessions I attended, No Crows played a tune called ‘Five to Six/Exit Music For A Film’ and it features on the CD. The group semi–joked at the end of another piece that it was like ‘Entrance Music For A Film’ but I latched onto the observation and I personally would love to hear the music of No Crows in the context of a film soundtrack. .... The four members of No Crows come from diverse musical traditions and pastiche their own distinctive talents into the fascinating melting pot that is ‘Magpie’. Steve Wickham of The Waterboys, as fine a fiddler as you will ever hear, has never sounded better and his wonderfully tempestuous fiddle playing is a pure treat. Mallorcan Felip Carbonell is a passionate performer who has stamped indelibly the imprint of his own native musical tradition on ‘Magpie’. Eddie Lee brings great scale to this work with his distinctive grooves on the double bass. Anna Houston is a gifted multi–instrumentalist whose playing on the cello and mandolin complements perfectly; she is a talented writer too as is evidenced by her titular track ‘Magpie’. .... No Crows ‘Magpie’ album possesses a sometimes Hermannesque feel but there is no dearth of upbeat stuff either: ‘Mimi’s Chorino’ composed by bassist Eddie Lee for his newborn daughter is a musical delight and a surefire toe–tapper. .... ‘Magpie’ traverses acres of musical tradition with everything here from a Gregorian chant (‘Sa Sibil–la’ which Felip learned from his aunt who sang it in Palma Cathedral) to a Greek traditional (‘Pernod’) and a rare Venezuelan tune (‘La Partida’). This is an array of international instrumentals to render the word eclectic virtually redundant. The group’s originals are gems too: in Anna Houston’s ‘Magpie’, the traditional roots she shares with Steve Wickham surface; Wickham’s opening salvo ‘Crowswing’ sees two “duelling fiddles” (his and Russian Oleg Ponomarev’s) go to war in a piece that is tantamount to “a Russian bandit tune.” The group benefits from the services of an interesting cast of guest musicians, notably Cathy Jordan whose elegiac composition ‘Claudia’ features as track 2. .... I have heard the No Crows session in Shoot the Crows aptly described as “world class” by one observer, a description I thoroughly agree with, and the same holds true of this album. The album ‘Magpie’ would aptly be described as world music, for it represents a fascinating mosaic of musical traditions and influences. This is high concept stuff, full of texture and nuance, that brings you on a mind–expanding musical journey across oceans and continents. Magpie’ is a handsomely mounted, richly textured album of oceanic depth and dazzling musical range; this is a collection of expertly arranged and lovingly recorded world music. .... The stellar front cover artwork by Heidi Wickham, depicting two busy crows, deserves a special mention; this stark but striking painting reminds me of the moody paintings of Caravaggio and matches the mood of the music. A photo of the No Crows members donning masks in a forest on the CD sleeve adds further mystique to this inestimable group. .... The music world looks very different since I discovered ‘No Crows’ – a group that constitute a university of musical excellence. Listening to the album ‘Magpie’ is like therapy; it is a haunting piece of work and its tunes are timeless and enduring while its creators are endlessly inventive and imaginative. Discovering No Crows lit up the early months of 2009 for me, a time that may otherwise have seemed like a dull and gray wasteland as has been the case for so many. The No Crows repertoire is a well of musical excellence that I know I will draw from again and again. .... Marty McCool Music Reviews .... No Crows is an awesome foursome of fine musicians based in Sligo, Ireland. Felip Carbonell is a magnificent Mallorcan guitarist and his Flamenco/Manouche-style guitar provides the engine for No Crows exciting and stylish music. Steve Wickham of 'The Waterboys' is the violinist and his energetic style and repertoire adds spice to the quartet. Anna Houston's Swiss/Celtic roots are apparent in her intricate and soulful playing of the Cello and Mandolin. Eddie Lee provides the hot grooves on his double bass. Their repertoire is truly global as their music ranges from Irish traditional to classical and gypsy swing as well as folk tunes from China, Finland, Moldova, Russia, Venezuela, Greece and beyond. No Crows recorded their debut CD September 2006 live at the Strand Bar, Strandhill. The follow up studio album, Magpie, was released in summer 2008 to critical and public acclaim. NoCrows have spread their wings in 2008 and performed in Mallorca (twice), sharing the stage with their friends Dervish, and Belgium, as well as many venues around Ireland. 2009 promises many great things for NoCrows with major festival appearances lined up. .. ........ .... CD also available from following download sites: MusicNet, Zune, Tradebit, USEN, MP3-Extension, YooPeDoo, MusicNow, Nexhit, Mouzika, Inprodicon, Daiki, BuyMusic, AudioLunchbox, Napster, MP3tunes, PayPlay, Interia, Destra, Charity Tunes, Bitmunk, Puretracks, Rhapsody, RuleRadio... .. .. .. .. .... ...... ....

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NoCrows on the Moon - The New CD

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NoCrows on the Moon, the third CD is available for download now on itunes: Click Here

CD now available from CD baby worldwide "The melting pot that is No Crows borrows from the cosmopolitanism of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and Loyko's innovations (with just a tincture of the freewheeling of Django Reinhart) for their debut.... Swing rarely felt this good ". Siobhan Long, Irish Times 2006

"...a beautifully wrought selection of instrumental music. You can sense the pleasure they find in each other's playing..." Joe Breen, Irish Times, July 2008

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CD also available from following download sites: MusicNet, Zune, Tradebit, USEN, MP3-Extension, YooPeDoo, MusicNow, Nexhit, Mouzika, Inprodicon, Daiki, BuyMusic, AudioLunchbox, Napster, MP3tunes, PayPlay, Interia, Destra, Charity Tunes, Bitmunk, Puretracks, Rhapsody, RuleRadio...