Winter Sunrise Soundscape on the Wexford Coastline

The Irish Audio Awards Event 2024

I kept trying, but I couldn't concentrate on work today. so instead I made a cover of "lazarus". harmony + moral support from glen hansard. thanks to alec bemis for the prod. 

Lazarus

Take It From Here

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh - 10 String Hardanger d'Amore
Seán Mac Erlaine - clarinet, electronics, voice

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh + Seán Mac Erlaine duo teaser

The Dreadful Deed

Recorded by Sean Coleman in Orphan Studios Dublin 2016
Omnichord Stevie Appleby
Piano          Adam O Regan
Bass            Donagh Seever O Leary
Drums         Dylan Lynch
Vocals Guitar Super Ser heater Brian Mooney

Christians

This Life

"The Melting Song" is from Seán Mac Erlaine's new album "Music for Empty Ears", which is released on 25 May 2018 and is now available to pre-order here: 
https://ergodos.ie/shop/releases/music-for-empty-ears/

---

Seán Mac Erlaine’s richly-textured woodwind sound meets an expanded palette on Music for Empty Ears, the Irish musician’s breathtaking new album. Having honed his distinctively-shaped soliloquies over his first two solo records, Mac Erlaine’s work now bears the mark of collaborations with Norwegian luminaries Jan Bang and Eivind Aarset to reveal a fresh, variegated musical language.



The album journeys through a splendour of musical shades: from the gently insistent minimal grooves and hushed invocations of tracks such as ‘The Melting Song’; to slow pans across dark, saturated vistas on tracks such as ‘Winter Flat Map’; to a warm, celebratory treatment of the Irish traditional tune ‘An Buachaill Caol Dubh’; and to moments of visceral, splintered abstraction in ‘Shake and Sigh’ and ‘The Alchemist III’.

Whether it’s the elusive vocals of Galway singer Sadhbh Ní Dhálaigh or Mac Erlaine’s sublime clarinet melodies that catch you, Music for Empty Ears is an album that reveals more and more with each listen. And, with a bespoke print by Dublin design studio Destinctive Repetition, the heavyweight vinyl of Music for Empty Ears is a beautiful and sumptious object to hold as much as to hear.

Seán Mac Erlaine is a Dublin-based woodwind instrumentalist, composer and music producer, recognised as one of Ireland’s most forward-thinking creative musicians. Mac Erlaine works in a variety of settings from free improvisation, contemporary jazz, folk music and experimental theatre, and is a member of the groups This is How We Fly and the Quiet Music Ensemble. “One of the most interesting and adventurous musicians of his generation” – The Irish Times

Electronic musician/producer Jan Bang has worked with such luminaries as Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Brian Eno, and Arve Henriksen. From his work as a pop producer in the 90s, his pioneering work in developing the concept of live remix has led to him being constantly in-demand as producer and performer today. “[Jan Bang is] defying all misconceptions about the vast potential of electronic composition.” – All About Jazz

Eivind Aarset is a guitarist with a unique musical vision that absorbs and reflects all manner of music while retaining an enviable individualism and high quality craftsmanship that can span from quiet intimacy to searing intensity. As one of Norway’s most in-demand guitarists, Eivind Aarset has worked with Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Bill Laswell, Jan Garbarek and many more. “Norwegian Eivind Aarset is in a class of his own proving that lyricism and raw noise aren’t contradictory.” – The Guardian

The Melting Song

On 25th May Ireland will vote on amending its restrictive abortion laws. I was asked by Room for Rebellion and C.A.N.V.A.S. to create a piece for a compilation in aid of pro-choice charities to be released prior to the referendum. For logistical reasons this compilation won’t be released until later in the year, so I’ve decided to share the piece now, a week away from the referendum.

If you’re an Irish citizen or resident, please donate to Together for Yes:
https://www.togetherforyes.ie/donate/
If you’re not an Irish citizen or resident, please donate to Abortion Support Network or Alliance for Choice: https://www.asn.org.uk  http://www.alliance4choice.com/donate-2/

ABOUT THE PIECE:

“I am an old woman now, with one foot in the grave and the other on its edge.” 

Like most people of my generation, I studied the work of Peig Sayers (1873-1958) at school and the opening lines of her 1936 autobiography "Peig" are burned into my consciousness. "Peg 2018" takes those opening lines as a starting point, but departs immediately from the original, imagining the reflections of an entirely different, fictional Peg, an Irishwoman born in the 1950s. 

NOTE: The piece in no way represents the views of Peig Sayers or her descendants.
CONTENT ADVISORY: Material may be distressing for some listeners.

Image: Gustave Courbet's Jo, the Beautiful Irish Girl

Peg 2018

Milan'ese

I make music with clarinets and saxophones and electronics and people. Full information at www.seanmacerlaine.com

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh + Seán Mac Erlaine duo teaser

Seán Mac Erlaine

Related tracks