With the release of "Silvery Moon" on Appleseed Recordings, singer Aoife Clancy, daughter of the recently deceased Bobby Clancy (a member of the Clancy Brothers for the last quarter century) resumes a solo career that was put on hiatus not long after the 1994 release of "It's About Time," her first of three solo albums to date. The following year, she was invited to become the lead vocalist for the New York-based Cherish the Ladies, one of the most sought-after Irish-American groups in Celtic history and possibly its only all-female band. In the last half of the '90s, Aoife (pronounced "Ee-fa") played hundreds of shows with them and sang on six albums, while also releasing a second solo record, "Soldiers and Dreams," in 1996.
After almost five years with the sextet, Aoife decided to reestablish her own name and, as Cherish founder Joanie Madden writes in the new CD's liner notes, "to delve further into the world of Irish, Scottish, English, Appalachian and contemporary folk." Fulfilling that intention, Aoife chose to record material from many sources. The songs on "Silvery Moon" include traditional ballads from both sides of the Atlantic ("Banks of Sweet Primroses," "Across the Blue Mountains," "Silvery Moon"), vintage poems vividly arranged ("Are You Sleepin', Maggie," "The Sliprails and the Spur"), and compositions by modern folk musicians Mark Simos, whose songs have also been covered by Alison Krauss and Union Station and others, Ireland's Ron Kavana, and solo artist, sometime Clancy Brother and Aoife's cousin, Robbie O'Connell. The Clancy connection continues with instrumental contributions by another of Aoife's cousins, guitarist Donal Clancy (a member of the popular Solas Celtic band) and a closing duet on The Weavers' classic "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" with father Bobby, all the more poignant for his subsequent demise.
Unifying this repertoire into a seamless and magical whole is Aoife's understated, affecting voice, described by the Boston Globe as a "beautifully honest mezzo [that] possesses a husky lower register that sweetens into pure high sustain without sounding forced or affected." Whether backed by an Irish fiddle or an American Dobro, Aoife breaks down ethnic barriers into pure music, timeless and universal. Among those assisting her on "Silvery Moon," along with Donal and Bobby, are percussionist Liam Bradley (a Van Morrison sideman), bassist James Blennerhassett (from Celtic singer Mary Black's band), fiddler/solo artist Lissa Schneckenburger, and flutist Larry Nugent, who frequently tours with Aoife.
Bio:
While the last name "Clancy" may perk up Celtic music lovers' ears around the world, Aoife Clancy had little idea of the extent of her father and uncles' international stardom as The Clancy Brothers while she was growing up in the small Irish town of Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary. Sure, she was taught to play banjo and guitar by her father Bobby by the time she was ten and started singing in pubs with him by age 12. ("He was and still is a great inspiration and always encouraged me to continue singing...I owe him a lot," she says.) And, yes, after a year of studying drama in Dublin at the Gaiety School of Acting, she was invited to tour Australia, singing at festivals and concerts that featured some of Ireland's greatest musicians, including Christy Moore and The Furey Brothers. And then there was the Caribbean cruise performing with The Clancy Brothers, Aoife's first appearance at the Milwaukee Irish Festival (the world's largest gathering for Celtic music) and a seven-week tour of the United States with the renowned Paddy Noonan Show.
But it wasn't until Aoife moved to the United States in 1992 that she understood the full measure of her family's widespread popularity. "In Ireland, they were well known but didn't tour there much," she says. "But after coming to the States, I realized just how famous they actually are."
Even if The Clancy Brothers' renown came as a surprise, Aoife's career choice was environmentally, and perhaps genetically, predetermined. "There was always plenty of music around when I was growing up," she told the Boston Globe. "I suppose I have it in me; I can't help it." Other family members felt the musical pull as well. Her brother Finbarr currently tours with The Clancy Brothers, her cousin Donal Clancy plays with Solas, cousin Robbie O'Connell has his own solo career as well as playing with Clancy O'Connell Clancy and many other groups, and cousin Colm Power is also a professional musician and songwriter.
After Aoife's relocation to America, she recorded her first solo album, "It's About Time," for Rego Records in 1994, and embarked on a promising solo career. As one reviewer wrote, "She has the breadth of styles that makes her concerts fascinating. Her singing would melt packed ice with its warmth and richness." She was soon invited to fill the lead vocalist's role in the unique, all-female Irish-American sextet Cherish the Ladies, with whom she toured and recorded between August 1995 and April 2000. Aside from singing on five Cherish the Ladies albums released by RCA, Green Linnet, and their own Bigmama Records, Aoife and the group also contributed to the Boston Pops Orchestra's 1998 Grammy-nominated "The Celtic Album."
Early in her stay with Cherish, Aoife found the time to record a second solo record, "Soldiers and Dreams," which was quite accurately pegged by Dirty Linen reviewer Al Reiss as possessing "a contemporary-meets-traditional-music-on-equal-terms feel, and Clancy's smooth, expressive singing voice works both ways too, ensuring a successful merger of the two approaches..."
When Aoife left Cherish the Ladies to renew her solo career, she retained that guiding musical vision, amply displayed on her new "Silvery Moon" CD. Whether the songs she sings originate in the United Kingdom, Australia or Appalachia, Aoife's seemingly effortless blend of warm, natural vocals, genre-defying instrumentation, and repertoire of classic and modern material deserves to make this Clancy Daughter a worthy inheritor of an iconic family name and an even broader following.
Aoife's appearances on the Faire Winds collaborative tours with fellow Appleseed artist Anne Hills and England's Bill Jones have been folk highlights for the last two years, and her own shows are a magical musical delight.
Read more...