This album is pre-Riverdance and seems to have been a dream of Andy's ever since his visit to Eastern Europe in the 60's. The album is East Wind.

East wind is for me the most difficult of all his albums to review, not because he doesn’t sing on the album but because he seems to be so washed out in the mix. This is a fantastic album anyway, but I must admit to being a little disappointed that Andy Irvine’s playing is lost under pipes, saxophone and keyboards. If you have ever heard Andy play a Balkan tune live on stage, you will know exactly how powerful an experience that can be, and that was buried here………….. But this is comments coming from a person that could listen to Andy’s Bouzouki playing all day, every day. The album its self is an incredible achievement and certainly a direction that is sure to be taken again in the future. I know that Mosaik, Andy’s new band that also include Nikola Parov, have been touring Australia with this style of music to rave reviews. From the small pieces I have heard of Mosaik, this is a very positive direction indeed.

Andy’s playing of Bulgarian and Macedonian tunes on the bouzouki have been admired back since tunes like Smeceno Horo first appeared on a Planxty album. Infact Smeceno Horo is played on this album, under the name “ Hard on the Heels” . This track and “ Two steps to the Bar” seems to have a better mix, and his bouzouki is more prominent here. Kadana, is a beautiful track mixing the vocals of Marta Sebestyen and the wonderful Gadulka playing of Nikola Parov. This track alone got me out buying some of Marta’s solo albums. One of which she credits Andy Irvine for getting her interested in Irish music. She also mixes Irish and Balkan music on the album.

This is a great album, how could it not be. With Andy Irvine and Davy Spillane alone, it would be a definite album for anyone’s collection. Sprinkle on the talents of Nikola Parov and Marta Sebestyen also and you have one of the best world music albums money can buy.

Kieron

 

 

 

Below are the sleeve notes by Andy,

East Wind was recorded at Westland Studios, Dublin.

CHETVORNO HORO.

A Chetvorno Horo is a dance in 7/16 time having three dance steps to the bar - one long and two normal.

THE BEAR'S ROCK.

The Bear's Rock (Meckhin Kamen) is the site outside the town of Krushevo where Pitu Guli and his men made one brave last stand against the Turkish forces during the Illinden rising in Macedonia in 1903. The people of Krushevo, who, along with the rest of Macedonia, had laboured under the brutal Ottoman empire for over 500 years drove out the Turkish garrison at the start of the rising and proclaimed "The Krushevo Republic". It lasted for just ten days before the Turks sent in an army of 20,000 to exact retribution and the Krushevo Republic was drowned in blood.

DANCE OF SULEIMAN.

Originally a Macedonian song and is in Kopanitsa rhythm 11/16.

ILLYRIAN DAWN

A reworking of a Bulgarian slow air.

PRIDE OF MACEDONIA.

(In 11/16 time).

ANTICE.

A Macedonian song (pronounced Ann-tee-tsay) in 7/8 time.

TWO STEPS TO THE BAR.

This is a dance in 'paidushka' rhythm' - 5/16 time.

KADANA.
Marta Sebestyen-vocals.

A song that Muslim girls in the Rhodope mountains of Bulgaria would sing about the problems and prohibitions of love affairs in their communities.

HARD ON THE HEELS.
.

This would take a bit of dancing to, it is mainly in two different 9/16 rhythms but starts off in 15/16 time.

Bill Whelan did a recording session with Planxty back in 1980, and played such a memorable riff on a set of reels that we wouldn't let him go. Bill and I have been firm friends since then, during which time I have marveled at his ability to write and arrange music-while apparently manning a telephone!

Seriously, his work rate and music talent are a by word in the business, not just in Ireland, but with the many international artists with whom he has worked and collaborated. So it comes as no great surprise that he arranged, directed, produced, played and kept the spirits up on this album…
It was no more than we had come to expect of him.

Andy Irvine.

The idea of making an album of Bulgarian and Macedonian music has been around for a while now - since Planxty days to be exact. Long animated discussions have been held in Public Houses during this time but in spite of some great ideas and some hilarious evenings nothing has come of it - till now. So it is with great pleasure and a sense of relief that I find myself jotting down these notes on its conclusion.

Back in 1968, I hit the road for the Balkans and spent a year and a half traveling around sleeping in orchards, taking in the sights and the sounds and falling in love with the music and the people. I hauled a bunch of records back to Ireland, locked myself away and tried to get the hang of the rhythms. Not only have I been trying to play this music ever since but I've been trying to get half the musicians of Ireland to play it as well.

Thus, here we have Davy Spillane playing in his own superb style, Bill Whelan, who has done all the arranging, producing and just about everything else: Mairtin O'Connor, who came up from the west of Ireland and played accordion and John Sheahan of the Dubliners who came in and played fiddle. Tony Molloy played bass and had a big hand in the early structure of the tunes; Paul Moran and Noel Eccles played a bewildering array of percussive instruments and Ken Edge and Carl Geraghty played Soprano Saxophones. Anthony Drennan and Michael O'Suilleabhain played some great solos and Rita Connolly sang harmony in 18/16 time as if she had been brought up doing it. Nikola Parvo was brought up doing it and flew over to lend us some credibility with his virtuoso playing of Bulgarian instruments and finally, Marta Sebestyen, well known for her wonderful singing with the Hungarian band, 'Muzsikas', dropped in and blew us away with the songs.

We started out to make a Bulgarian / Jazz fusion album but somewhere along the line that idea got dropped and we made this instead. I don't really know what you'd call it, no doubt somebody will think of a pigeon hole to put it in, meanwhile , in the words of the old song:- "the music goes round and round and it comes out here……"

Andy Irvine.