Philip King: The man behind Other Voices

Seeing Horslips perform live last December in a small church in Dingle was one of the musical highlights of my life. Here's a story on the series itself and how it has become one of the leading showcases for music in Ireland:

The King of Dingle

The programme is now generally regarded as a major success for Philip King, who is himself a noted musician, songwriter, radio presenter, music pundit and all round decent bloke – as well, of course, as a television producer/director of the highest calibre. One of the unlikely treats of the concept is that it’s all centred around a tiny church in Dingle, a long trek from the bohemian environs of Temple Bar or the technical surroundings of RTRs Montrose, places both musicians and crew might be more used to inhabiting.

“If you want to know the facts you can always consult the historians, but if you want to know how the people responded emotionally to what was happening to them you have to consult the poets and songwriters.” He says “In a real sense Other Voices is archiving the soundtrack of this generation, and that’s a very exciting thing to be involved in.”

So why record it in Dingle?

“I live here,” King replies, “This place had long struck me as a perfect setting, with a real toehold on the heart of the tradition.”

“Every creed, colour, kin and shade of musical persuasion can cross-fraternise and the end-point might be Afro-Celt Sound System fans hunting for Sean O’Riada recordings.”

The church setting is, he explains, a vocalist’s dream. “The voice is unlike any other instrument, it’s very personal, located closest to the heart – whether it’s Tibetan throat singers or Robert Plant or Tim Buckley, the sounds are related. As such, I’d obviously hope that diversity is a defining feature of the event – somebody listening to a different form, suddenly going ‘what is that? We recognise that’.”

More at the link. Requires registration.

Other Voices Fourth Season Begins

James Blunt and The Walls live from Dingle

THE fourth series of RTÉ’s Other Voices series will make a welcome return to the screens this week. The music series filmed last December at St James’s Church in Dingle begins this Wednesday on RTE 2.

It has become one of the most celebrated events in the musical calendar and this year was no exception with 32 Irish and international acts, descending on the Kerry town to take part.

Bell X1, Rufus Wainwright, Hal and Horslips were among the acts that took to the stage in the 70-seater venue.

The popularity of the series is due to the variety of musicians from different backgrounds playing a diversity of styles and sounds in the intimate setting of the 200-year-old church.

Presented again this year by John Kelly, the show will run for nine weeks until the end of March. Kelly, who presents The View on RTE 1, said there were so many great moments.

“José Gonz·lez singing Kylie was one. But there were far too many to mention. Musicians mixed, friendships were made and who knows what collaborations lie ahead,” he said.

More at link.

Other Voices Official Site

Stay tuned for news on the online chat with Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart!

Promoting the next gig: Johnny Fean & Steve Travers

Johnny Fean & Steven Travers, legendary players on the Irish rock scene, play The Cobblestone on Saturday, the 18th of February.

Johnny Fean is best know for his work with Horslips and Steve Travers was once the bass player with the Miami Showband. Together they create a musical experience that mixes furious paced rock, grass roots blues and some Celtic rock classics.

Johnny Fean began playing guitar, tenor banjo, mandolin and harmonica as a teenager and performed with groups like Sweet Sweet and Jeremiah Henry. When Declan Sinnott left Horslips, Fean was drafted in on a guitar and spent a very successful decade with the band.

Over twelve albums and a multitude of singles, Horslips lay down the template for Celtic Rock mixing traditional and rock music and referencing tales from Celtic mythology. Horslips played their last concert in Belfast in 1980 encoring with a rousing version of The Rolling Stone's "The Last Time".

After Horslips, Fean spent his time playing with The Zen Alligators, Host, Treat and The Psychopats. Horslips re-grouped last year to open an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in the Orchard Gallery in Derry and recorded a new album, Roll Back.

More at link.

Horslips Fans on MySpace

Oh dear. A simple registration to leave a blogwarming message to the Radiators From Myspace has quickly metasized into a whole new dimension of interactivity online when I should be working at my day job.

Turns out there's more Horslips fans in California! One of them has a LOT of friends.

Sharkie

Sharkie's Album Pics

Tara Telephone concert ticket with Leo O'Kelly

Finally, a bit of ephemera in the form of a concert ticket:



According to those who know, we have

Skid Row - featuring Gary Moore
Blues House - featuring Ed Deane
Orphanage - featuring Philip Lynott
Leo O'Kelly - doing a solo gig, but see below for his bio in Tir na nOg
Jazz Therapy - featuring bass-player Brian Masterson who became an in-demand studio engineer with lots of major artists

And we have Tara Telephone, which makes this last-ever post of mine on a dial-up modem all the more appropriate. Cable guy came and went and wireless cable hardware and software is installed. What's needed now is a trip to the computer store to pick up a wireless card. Would have done this before, but the decision to go wireless was a bit spontaneous yesterday.

Sorry...back to Tara Telephone (it's the phone thing, see? And you wouldn't believe how much time it takes for files to load and..whoops! At it again.)

A very important part of my "Horslipping" in 2005 (I don't know what else you call it, but essentially: all the activities around this unshakeable infatuation with a rock band that I never saw perform live until last month...) was the discovery that Tara Telephone has made a significant contribution to Dublin's modern literary scene. And, via its later guise as Gallery Press, I had already 'discovered' that long before buying my first used Horslips CD.

More groovy stuff came to light on this last visit when I checked out the two Tara Telephone publications in the books & periodicals collection at the National Library. Read them both in the hour before closing, trying to memorize as much detail as possible. Seems like there's going to be a King Crimson album purchase in my future! And, with luck, an essay to contribute to the Hairless Heart Herald.

In the midst of all that was 2005, I had begun a section of the site dedicated to Tara Telephone. It's been highlighted now and then, and still has much more to be done (see above, re: dial-up modem and the frustration of it all!)

Expect big things from it now, but here's a link to it as it currently stands:

Tara Telephone (Main Photo)
Tara Telephone Introduction

"Horslips Roll Back the Years"

Horslips roll back the years

DINGLE was the place to be for music fans in December as legendary group the Horslips arrived in town to play their first fully live electric set in 25 years.

The performance, part of the Other Voices music series saw fans reliving some of their favourite Horslips tunes, classics like Dearg Doom, Furniture, Trouble with A Capital T, and The Man Who Built America.

The band first came to prominence as much for their image as their thumping, electrifying Celtic rock with their thigh length boots, electric fiddles, smoke machines and purple satin flares.

In an eight-year period from 1972 to 1980, they produced a staggering 12 albums and performed over 2000 times across the world.

They disbanded in 1980 but got back together in 2004 when they recorded a stripped down acoustic album of their favourite tracks Rollback.

In October of this year, the band released a DVD entitled Return Of The Dancehall Sweethearts, a film by Maurice Linnane.

The film is more than a music DVD – it's a social history of Ireland in the 70's told through the filter of Horslips and their music. The Horslips were one of 32 Irish and International bands to descend on Dingle for the duration of the Other Voices series.

[More at link...]

The recording of the fourth installment of Other Voices, the internationally acclaimed RTE 2 music series, commenced on December 9 in the intimate surrounds of Dingle’s St James Church.The series, hosted by broadcaster and writer John Kelly, and was filmed in front of a small live audience.

For those unlucky enough not to be part of that audience they can catch the series on RTE 2 from late January onwards.

Yes! It was fantastic. I'm still trying to capture exactly what it was about being in that extraordinarily 'right' space to hear Horslips live. In my memory, there's just this sense of light and balance to the moment.

The other song they performed that night was Rescue Me. It was the heart of the set for me.

"Horslips Roll Back the Years" - Kerry newspaper article

Horslips roll back the years

DINGLE was the place to be for music fans in December as legendary group the Horslips arrived in town to play their first fully live electric set in 25 years.

The performance, part of the Other Voices music series saw fans reliving some of their favourite Horslips tunes, classics like Dearg Doom, Furniture, Trouble with A Capital T, and The Man Who Built America.

The band first came to prominence as much for their image as their thumping, electrifying Celtic rock with their thigh length boots, electric fiddles, smoke machines and purple satin flares.

In an eight-year period from 1972 to 1980, they produced a staggering 12 albums and performed over 2000 times across the world.

They disbanded in 1980 but got back together in 2004 when they recorded a stripped down acoustic album of their favourite tracks Rollback.

In October of this year, the band released a DVD entitled Return Of The Dancehall Sweethearts, a film by Maurice Linnane.

The film is more than a music DVD – it's a social history of Ireland in the 70's told through the filter of Horslips and their music. The Horslips were one of 32 Irish and International bands to descend on Dingle for the duration of the Other Voices series.

[More at link...]

The recording of the fourth installment of Other Voices, the internationally acclaimed RTE 2 music series, commenced on December 9 in the intimate surrounds of Dingle’s St James Church.The series, hosted by broadcaster and writer John Kelly, and was filmed in front of a small live audience.

For those unlucky enough not to be part of that audience they can catch the series on RTE 2 from late January onwards.

Yes! It was fantastic. I'm still trying to capture exactly what it was about being in that extraordinarily 'right' space to hear Horslips live. In my memory, there's just this sense of light and balance to the moment.

The other song they performed that night was Rescue Me. It was the heart of the set for me.