LP - Black Vinyl
The Gloaming's debut album, entitled simply The Gloaming, was produced by Thomas Bartlett and mixed by Patrick Dillett (David Byrne & St. Vincent). It was finished in the summer of 2013 during the build up to a series of sold out concerts at prestigious venues in London, Amsterdam, Paris & New York.
In early 2011, the five musicians first met to explore their collaboration at Grouse Lodge Studios in Ireland's County Westmeath, an hour northwest of Dublin. In August 2011 -- newly christened The Gloaming -- they went on their first Irish tour, including a sold out debut show at The National Concert Hall, Dublin. The sellout hints at the excitement surrounding their formation, as does the fact that Ireland's prime minister Edna Kenny was in attendance that night.
Most of The Gloaming's work is based on traditional Irish forms, the basic grammar of which is known as a "reel." "Reels" are performed in simple rhythmic meters (2/2 or 4/4) and repeated in simple configurations. They are the syntax of Irish music just as a "riddim" is to dub reggae and the "break" is to contemporary hip-hop.
Happily, what The Gloaming do with the syntax of Irish music is anything but simple nostalgia. Into these traditional structures, they introduce deep wells of personality and experience. Lyrics are drawn from the history of Irish literature, old and new. The music is played with the authority of virtuosos. The result is unclouded by sheen or hokey sentimentality. Instead, it's haunting and emotionally charged. It sounds ancient without being a mere reproduction.
Tracklist:
Side A
1. Song 44
2. Allistrum's March
3. The Girl Who Broke My Heart
4. Freedom / Saoirse
Side B
1. The Sailor's Bonnet
2. The Necklace of Wrens / An Muince Dreoilíní
3. Hunting The Squirrel
4. Samradh Samradh