GOITSE:  Úr

Goitse are:
Colm Phelan, World and All-Ireland Bodhrán champion

Conal O’Kane, who is fast making a name for himself as one of the finest guitarists of this generation.

Áine Mc Geeney, with her sweet, charismatic voice draws audiences into the music along with her Áine’s energetic fiddle playing style

Alan Reid on banjo and bouzouki.

Tadhg Ó Meachair is the pianist and piano accordionist, bridging the gap between melody and accompaniment. The Dublin native is renowned for his unique approach to bass work and accompaniment, while also having picked up national awards for his melody playing.

⭐️ // Trad Album of the Year // ⭐️

⭐️ // Female Musician of the Year // ⭐️

Thanks to ASLR celtic music awards for giving Úr - 'Trad album of the Year' and
Áine Mc Geeney 'Female Musician of the Year'. 4.02.20

'Úr' - new album from Goitse
Forged in the white-hot creative crucible of Limerick University’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, Goitse (*Goitse is an informal Gaelic Irish greeting meaning ‘come here’), have graduated with a musical maturity worthy of the greatest. Named Live Ireland’s ‘Trad group of the Year’ in 2015, they have made a name for themselves as one of the most sought-after bands amongst connoisseurs of Irish Traditional music across the globe, with their performances gaining notoriety across four continents. Their distinctive sound lies in the quality of their own compositions interspersed with traditional tunes from Ireland and abroad, which make each set entertaining and unique. Their long-awaited fifth album, 'Úr', will be released in the UK on Sept 18th

Bodhrán player Colm Phelan tells us “this album is the first album with new member Alan Reid on banjo and bouzouki. The word “úr” encapsulates this new venture, as well as summing up where we are musically with this album. The instrumental tracks are a mixture of our own compositions and traditional melodies, some of which have never been recorded before.”

Similar to these instrumental tracks, Úr includes songs dating from the 18th century right up to the current day. A highlight of the album is Henry Joy, where Áine’s sweet vocals are complemented by the powerful singing of Barry Kerr from County Armagh. Another guest on the album is bass extraordinaire Martin Brunsden of Hothouse Flowers fame, whose playing adds depth to Goitse’s already stellar rhythm section.

Úr delivers across the board from heart wrenching songs to melodies that make you want to lace up your dancing shoes.

Audio

Track 1:The Queen of Argyll

Track 2: Invasion

Track 3:Months Apart

Track Listing

1. The Dog Reels
2. For Good Measure
3. Henry Joy
4. The Eagle’s Rock
5. The Queen of Argyll
6. Siobhainin Seo
7. Invasion
8. Urchnoc Chein Mhic Cainte
9. Months Apart
10. Emerald (Isle of Gola)
11. Uncertain Lodging

Watch Goitse play The Dog Reels via Copperplate Channel on YouTube.

[youtube=/..https://www.youtube.com.]

Also by Goitse and available from Copperplate

Goitse: Tall Tales & Misadventures
Goitse: Inspired by Chance

Press Reviews

SONGLINES 154   WWW.SONGLINES.CO.UK

A new member keeps this Irish trad group sounding fresh

Úr sees a first personnel change for Goitse with Alan Reid replacing James Harvey on banjo and adding piquant bouzouki to the mix. An alumnus of Limerick University’s Academy of Irish Music and Dance, where Goitse formed in 2010, Reid takes his place with lightly thrown-off aplomb, dexterously nimble on finger-picked banjo (‘The Eagle’s Rock’) and making the bouzouki sound like it has forever been a part of the quintet’s sound. It’s especially welcome as delicate underpinning to Áine McGeeney’s cut-crystal vocals in ‘Emerald (Isle of Gola)’, a tale of eloping lovers. The bouzouki is supplemented even more so by Tadhg Ó Meachair’s liquid piano accordion in the coupling of the dreamy slip jig ‘Siobháinín Seó’ and McGeeney’s ‘The Truce’.
Guest contributions add new tones and textures to ink in the album’s title, Úr (translating as ‘Fresh’). Hothouse Flowers’ double bassist Martin Brunsden provides characterful support on nine of the 11 tracks with vocalist Barry Kerr joining McGeeney on ‘Henry Joy’, a potent tribute to the eponymous Irish revolutionary and organiser of Belfast’s legendary 1792 Harp Festival. Conal O’Kane’s guitars and Colm Phelan’s bodhrán add fire and thunder of their own as Goitse look to their second decade with characteristic verve. MICHAEL QUINN

www.folkworld.com
Four songs and seven instrumental tracks from a band that is snapping at the heels of the best in the world. Appropriately, this fifth album opens with Dog Reels and Goitse's music hits you right between the ears. I listen to a lot of albums, as you'd expect, but rarely do the first notes pack the punch of Úr. No gentle ramp-up, no long self-indulgent intro: it's straight in there with bodhrán and bass giving a solid thump behind the box and banjo of Taidhg Ó Meachair and Alan Reid. When Áine McGeeney's fiddle comes through on The Callan Lasses it lightens the mood somewhat before the lads pile back in for a rattling reel jointly written by McGeeney, Reid and Ó Meachair. Despite their Donegal background, Goitse handle polkas with panache, and there's a trio of them here which take some beating.

On the vocal tracks, Goitse have followed the Beatles' advice: take sad songs, and make them sadder. Áine's high clear voice is already exceptional, and she pours pain and pathos into the lyrics here in English and Irish. Henry Joy is a timely reminder of Irish history which we all hope will not be repeated. Andy M Stewart's Queen of All Argyll has a note of optimism although the arrangement shares that same ominous mood created by Colm Phelan and Conal O'Kane. Emerald is a grim tale of star-crossed lovers who meet a grisly fate on the Isle of Gola. I don't understand the words of Úrchnoc Chéin Mhic Cáinte, but from the tone here I'm guessing it doesn't end well for these lovers either. Fortunately the instrumentals are more cheery, despite titles such as Months Apart, The Invasion and My Lodging is Uncertain: half traditional and half newly formed, they include more reels and jigs at various tempos, a 5/4 of course, and the final Denis Murphy slide. Among the highlights are another sultry tune from McGeeney in Nancy's Arrival and a glorious version of Geese in the Bog. If you aren't already a fan of Goitse, this CD says you should be.  © Alex Monaghan

Irish Music Magazine Nov 19
A new line up and a new studio recording, and a guest or two on the album too, notably Martin Brunsden from Hothouse Flowers, his bass playing adding a rich groundwork on songs and tune tracks. Goitse’s newest member Alan Reid brings both the banjo and bouzouki to their table; the zook is a new addition to their sound palette and blends in particularly well on the tracks Seobháinín Seóand Isle of Gola.

The album breathes new life into old songs and melodies, exemplified best perhaps in Úrchnoc Chéin Mhic Cáinte. Written by Peadar Ó Doirnín (1700 – 1769), it is a song that is still alive in the oral tradition of Oriel. Here, it is an achingly emotional duet between Áine Mc Geeney's crystal clear voice and Tadhg Ó Meachair's powerful yet restrained piano that tells the story of an infatuated youth attempting to court his love. If like me you love a folk song with a potent message then the standout track has to be Henry Joy. Here Áine sings with Barry Kerr; the song is from the 1798 Rebellion but its message of self determination and fellowship is poitin-potent in these countdown days to Brexit. Two lines that recur in the song, will give you a flavour of its sentiment: Our country’s called Ireland it’s the garden of the earth And I dream of a future where the people know their worth Alan Reid opens the final track on his banjo at a determined walking pace over a harmonic progression, the fiddle joining in to add a tenor-toned sparkle. The percussion is a study itself, marking out Colm Phelan as one of the most sensitive bodhrán players on the professional scene today.

Goitse have won many awards and with overseas media praising them for their live performances and congratulating them on their ambitious determination to add new music to the tradition. This album continues with that mission. It will be feted, admired, mined for new tunes and will provide many moments of inspiration. If you sing or play this is an essential album for your collection. If you are a fan you’ll need no persuading, you probably have the CD already. Seán Laffey