This CD is dedicated to the working boats in western Ireland by the name of Galway Hookers. The artists on this CD perform 17 great tracks with a maritime issue and beyond. Buy this CD and learn more about the great past and present of the traditional Galway Hooker boats.

The Irish folk festival this year pays tribute to Ireland’s most important heritage site. Older than the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China or Stonehenge, Tara was the mythical ritual site of Ireland’s Neolithic inhabitants, later the residence of the High Kings of Tara and their druids. Hard to believe, but true. The government granted permission to build a motorway through the landscape of Tara and destroying the fascination and integrity of the country side. Solas, Beoga, Kevin Burke & Ged Foley and Phamie Gow say: "No!" Long live Tara!

It is precisely thirty years ago that the Irish Folk Festival toured for the first time and caused a musical earthquake that rattled the music scene on the Continent. That the festival is alive, innovative, steeped in the tradition whilst at the same time looking to the future, can be judged on the superlative line up Solas, Carlos Núñez, Jim Hayes, Ian Smith and Stephen Campbell on this CD.

All tracks on this compilation are previously unreleased and were recorded live and in a studio exclusively as a tangible memory of the Irish Folk Festival Tour 2003.

PADDY KEENAN & TOMMY O’SULLIVAN, ÉILíS KENNEDY BAND,
CATRIONA McKAY & CHRIS STOUT, GALLDUBH

The motto "a blast from the past" says it all. The past is very much alive! And how!
All tracks on this compilation are previously unreleased and were recorded exclusively as a tangible memory of the Irish Folk Festival Tour 2002.
With Geraldine MacGowan & Friends, Jake Walton and Eric Liorzou, Alan Kelly Band and Slide

A compliation of Magnetic Music artists including Flook, Geraldine MacGowan, Rawlins Cross, Bachelors Walk, Toss the Feathers, Fallen Angels, North Cregg, Barachois ...
Playing time 66 minutes

The third CD from Midnight Court - 11 tracks, including wonderful songs (again one of Aaron’s) and some of the band favourite instrumentals; real Midnight Court songs and tunes to listen and dance to !

"Midnight Courts third album captures both their on stage exuberance and their imaginative yet subtle musical creativity in one dynamic package. Their collective recipe is based on tight traditional music played on accordion, fiddle and bouzouki, laced with original compositions and song from Irish and American sources."
(Irish Music Magazine)

Timeless, her third release for Magnetic Music, sees her apply her intimate vocal style to an exemplary mix of trad songs and contemporary works by Kieran Halpin and Sandy Denny. Timeless is a particularly effective collection since it looks to the past but does not live there. It shows MacGowan staking an incontrovertible claim for an overdue place of honour among the elite of Irish singers. Her interpretations of even the oldest songs makes them relevant to today and tomorrow.
(Jackie Hayden Hot Press)

"Basically it´s ´cos we think Tarras are fab, and they are no more, no less. Young, gifted, exciting and different. They have rich Celtic roots....
(Folk Roots)

"Their previous album was called 'Twisted Fingers' which for me summed up the state of their fingers after playing some of the numbers on that album - they were just so tricky. This new album is of the same dexterity, if not more so. It´s an album full of traditional material, but injected with such vigour, life and fun. I guess if you took it to heart, then you´d never pick up a musical instrument again, these guys are so good. Tracks like "The Lark In The Morning", "Ossian" and "The Bonnie Ship The Diamond", as well as a boat load of medleys are just sumptuous."
(Modern Dance Magazine)

The Iron Horse are a Scottish electric folk band and this is their fifth album. About half the album comprises songs sung by Annie Grace in a fairly soft, atmospheric style similar to Karen Matheson or Loreena McKennitt. The majority of songs are traditional ones, though often given new (but suitable) tunes. The folk selections are traditional ("The Demon Lover" and "Auchindoon," for example), but their versions are original and entertaining. The few composed songs fit in nicely with the ones by trad arr. Where the band really comes to life, however, is with their instrumentals. Their tune sets, driven by Gavin Marwick's insistent fiddle, are really entertaining. The band plays fast, but it's not just playing fast to show off, but to cheer and regale their audience. The rest of Iron Horse pitches in to make a great experience; the fiddle/drums interaction on "Faith Healer," for example, is stunning. A subtle use of electronics adds a bit more flavour to the mix.
Winthrop Dahl

Everyone has seen them battered by the wind and lashed by the sea - the lighthouses that dot the Irish coastline, giving seafarers a safe passage round the cliffs, leading them into the harbour. A lighthouse is a symbolic place; it conjures up images of isolation, spirituality and pioneering enterprise. But a lighthouse also shows the direction we should go.
This is the inspiration for the Irish Folk Festival tour and this album is a wonderful exponent of that inspiration.
With Karan Casey, Nomos, Joe Burke & Anne Conroy and Kennedy's Gathering Storms.

With this band, Magnetic Music once again demonstrated a talent for selecting for quality and artistic potential. After an odyssey of record company applications and rejections, Reckless Pedestrians knocked on our door in the mid-nineties: it was instantly clear to us that we were dealing with an extraordinary band. And it wasn't just the exceptional songwriting; they were fantastic live, too. Above all singer-guitarist Ray Garvey, who shares the vocals with David O'Mahony on "Last Bus Home". We got lots of airplay for this song in Germany and the band became well-established on several club tours.
Sadly, the band broke up and the members went on to pursue solo careers. Ray Garvey was signed by Sony and founded the band Reamonn. The band's first single "Supergirl" spent six weeks at the top of the German charts, and the band's two albums both reached gold status. Well done Ray! We wish you all the best for the future, and we have fond memories of you and your engaging ways. If you want to remind yourselves of his musical debut, we can warmly recommend "Delirious Cocktail" MMR CD 1006 or the live video "On the move" MMM 001.

These two musicians belong to the great talents that Irish folk has come up with over the past few years. Skirm's voice unifies all that's typically Irish and makes the most traditional, potential hit material.
Dezi is "All Ireland champion" and his bow sounds like a magicians wand being stoke across his fiddle. Together, the music sounds more like magic happening.

"One of the best CD's I ever got"
(Martin Hofmeister,MDR Radio Leipzig)

Already well established on the traditional music scene, the band first demanded the attention of a broader public through the music they created for the BBC TV documentary series, "The Gamekeeper" (1995).
Since it's formation, the band's sound and line-up has gradually evolved from acoustic beginnings to its present dynamic merging of traditional and contemporary music. At its most effective during their live shows capturing the audience with their infectious enthusiasm and vitality.

DAMP IN THE ATTIC "I was ... flying it"

„The title says it all; rollicking reels, jaunty jigs, happy hornpipes, and the best barndances I have heard in a long time. The change from jigs to reels on the opening track is heart-stopping and the Quebecois set is a classic.
The four songs slow the pace considerably. A creditable rendition of the „Massacre of Glencoe" is followed three tracks later by the romantic „Spoon River", then by the bittersweet „Dubbin´s flowery vale" and finally the tragic „Lovely Willie". Cyril O´Donoghue´s voice is melodious and pleasantly rough, and the accompaniment is very nicely done with some lovely touches on mandolin from Martin Murray.
This is excellent stuff: Fine tunes, a wonderful tight sound, and plenty of spirit. The members of this band are impressive enough individually, but when they´re put together the result is mighty indeed."
(Living Tradition)

"Superb arrangements and a crisp sound mark a new direction."
(The Sunday Tribune)

"Along the way you get some stirring reels, hornpipes and jigs, all played with a magical combination of finesse and humour"
(HOT PRESS MAGAZINE)

"In the five years Toss The Feathers have been around, they've appeared on Gay Byrne's Late Late Show on RTE in Ireland, BBC Television's Rhythm Of The World series, as well as local programmes like What's New and Granada Reports. Despite having put out very few records, Toss The Feathers have a live reputation second to none, especially amongst those fans of Pogues-style celtic rock music."
(Manchester Evening News)

Columbus Eclipse is their debut album and most folky one.

This second album features more of their own compositions, validating their professional and individual profile. They connect pieces for fiddle and whistle known from the past with new-age rock sounds in a way which results in a cohesive, sound, both contemporary and consciously traditional. Often described as Irish Rock at it's best.