Since releasing my first solo album Tarantella in 1994 I have made many different recordings but began to feel the need to make another record of my accordion playing after starting to explore the interesting possibilities of an A and B flat tuned keyboard. I have not changed any of the keys of the tunes on this record but instead, have enjoyed using a range of new fingering patterns thrown up by thinking a tone higher than normal to produce the old notes.

I recorded the tunes with Junior Davey over two days at Doolittle recording studios Co Sligo in a playing marathon I am unlikely to repeat. As a result the playing is raw, spontaneous and full of life. I'm especially grateful to the contributions of Seamie O'Dowd and Dennis Cahill whose accompaniment and musicianship helped turn this feast of Irish accordion playing into a wonderful listening experience.

Press Reviews

Luke Daniels is one of our favorite button box players in the world, and has been for some time. He is out with a fabulous double album, entitled The Mighty Box. We first heard him years ago with the iconic, Reeltime. He stayed with us here in Chicago, and we also met him in Ireland for a couple nights at Reeltime founder, Chris Kelly's home. Magic memories, now lost in the veil of history. At that time, he had been selected by the BBC as Young Musician of the Year. That was many years ago (enough that it would be indelicate of you to ask what specific year) again, all lost in the veil. However, he has gone on to wonderful things since then. He is a master of the traditional form and is also extraordinarily creative at the same time. An extremely gifted musician. If you love Irish button box, this album is a must. Be aware that there are stretches of trad perfection, accompanied by brilliant modern touches. This is magic. This is Luke Daniels. This is the best. Wow! Let us repeat, Wow! Bill Margeson

The Living Tradition Jan/Feb 2012

The title is a suitable description for the elegantly constructed white box housing the two CDs constituting this amazing magnum opus from accordionist Luke Daniels. The statistics themselves are astonishing to anyone familiar with recording work. 71 tracks (compiled from traditional Irish music manuscript collections, other contemporary musicians' sessions and recorded output, and eight of Luke's own compositions) amounting to almost 110 minutes of music recorded over two days at a studio in County Sligo in, as Luke self-confessedly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, puts it, "a playing marathon I am unlikely to repeat!"

The wide assemblage of tunes embraces strathspeys, reels, jigs, slip jigs, hornpipes, slides and other Irish tunes spanning over three centuries and resonant with wider Celtic echoes, Cape Breton in particular. The pieces, each of which is described in detailed tune notes based on research at the Traditional Music Archive in Dublin, are organised in an array of 24 tune sets that must assure Luke's perpetual place in the pantheon of great box players.

Consistent agility, fluidity and dynamic sense characterise his playing of a button accordion with the keyboard tuned to A/Bb allowing him to present the traditional tunes in conventional keys but using intricate fingering patterns that provide a refreshing originality. His playing forms the foreground of a beautifully balanced soundscape with, equally consistently, excellent and empathetic accompaniment from, in the main, Seamie O'Dowd (guitars - steel strung, 12 string and resonator; harmonica and fiddle), Junior Davey (bodhran) Dennis Cahill (guitar and cittern) and Rick Foot (double bass). The recording has a very live feel and is of such a clear quality as to suggest the musicians are in the room playing for you!

This album is a truly great achievement by this ever imaginative, interesting and versatile player imbued with an innate sense of Irish traditional music and the wider Gaelic tradition but open to contemporary ways of reinterpretation and arrangement. Personally, I've a modest interest in the button accordion as an instrument but found myself in no way tired or distracted at relentless exposure to so much instrumental tune music. The intricate melodic detail and rhythmic intensity of the music is both magnetic and compelling; indeed I challenge anyone to listen to it and sit still! Kevin T Ward

Irish Music Magazine

There's so much to absorb in the latest release from the highly accomplished box player Luke Daniels. The Mighty Box encompasses a staggering seventy one tunes in its double CD format that are an amalgamation of his own compositions, session derivatives and tunes sourced from traditional music archives. His Doug Briggs crafted accordion tuned to A/Bb explores intricate fingering structures that toy with the traditional in a fresh and invigorating manner.

This successful experimentation is strengthened by the able accompaniment of guitar stalwarts, Seamie O'Dowd and Dennis Cahill, Junior Davey on bodhran, bass player Rick Foot, percussionist, Gigi Bioclati and Victor Nicholls on tuba.

Each a master in their field, the album illustrates their ability to enunciate with precision whilst ensuring each tune flows to its own pace. A great example of this being the Australian Waters set where strings, percussion and box merge together with rhythmic clarity. Style and range are a standout in the Doodley Dank set where slip jigs surge into a slide taken from the playing of Sliabh Luachra box player Johnny O'Leary. I'm drawn to the variation in tracks ranging from the use of harmonica which, along with all the instruments, provides a funky introduction to the Rainy Day set contrasted with the subtleness of instrumentals partnering Daniels expertise on a lovely set entitled Patsy Geary's Doberman's Wallet.

The standout of this double CD is the fact that with so many tunes to immerse yourself in, with one instrument as the common thread, your attention could dissipate yet Daniels engages with a variety of style, ornamentation and contrasting instrumental accompaniment whilst showcasing his obvious expertise on the box throughout.

The Mighty Box is the work of a mighty box player. Enough said! Eileen McCabe