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Track Listings
| 1. A Nest Of Stars |
| 2. Cu-cu-ín |
| 3. Taimse Im' Chodladh (I Sleep) |
| 4. I'm Weary Of Lying Alone |
| 5. The Day That You Were Born |
| 6. An Buachailin Ban |
| 7. Oisin's Dream |
| 8. Tuirimh Mhic Fhinin Dhuibh |
| 9. Aurora |
| 10. Scathán Na Beatha |
Product Description
Review
From the first precise whisperings of "Gaelic" on track one,Invisible beguiles, mesmerises, surprises and sometimes stuns the listener. It's the sheer, unmitigated force of poetry that does it: Iarla Ó Lionáird's style of deliverymakes you feel you understand every word, even if Gaelic is not your native tongue.
But it's his voice too: it glides smoothly from some remote point, both haunting and alien, and then draws you into its tender embrace.
Lionáird's day job is providing the other-worldly vocals for Afro Celt Sound System. Invisible Fields finds him temporarily shelving the Afro and digging deep into the blood-and sweat-soaked soil of the Celtic tradition known as sean nós: an ornamented, intoned style of singing in Gaelic.
This album is an exploration of elemental states and emotions, of dreams, nature's patterns and birdsong, of family and the silt-like spirit of generations. But the lyrics are rooted in the politics and society of Lionáird's native Ireland, and a poet from his own village in West Cork, Sean Ó Riordáin, provided the words for the stirring, shamanic song "Aurora".
Perfectly balanced with the unique voice are lovely, rising, symphonic chord sequences played on synthesisers and piano, as well as delicate samplings of dulcimer, bodhran, harmonium and cello. Lionáird is in the same school of sophisticated but mellifluous folk fusion as Sigur Rós, Andrew Cronshaw and Röyksopp: passionately pursuing new lines of thought and musicality while holding fast to ancient traditions. Musically austere, he is a minimalist of sorts, but pours too much feeling into his art to remain a cold medium for musical ideas.
As on other Real World productions, there's a touch of Peter Gabriel in the stadium-friendly arrangements and the emotive harmonies. Plus there's an echo of U2 on "Day that you were Born" Lionáird counts Bono among his many admirers, along with Nick Cave and Sinéad O'Connor. If you thought Celtic music was fiddles, jigs and reels, this extraordinary album will be a platform for your transfiguration. If you are already an initiate, lie down in these magical fields of sound and prepare for the next Celtic Revival. --Chris Moss
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
Iarla O'Lionaird, best known as the lead vocalist of the Afro Celt Soundsystem, has teamed up with producer/mixer Kevin Killen (well known by Peter Gabriel fans for his work mixing So ) to create the album Invisible Fields. This album will delight fans of traditional sean-nos, rock and experimental ambient sound everywhere. With touches of ethereal beauty (reminiscent of Sigur Ros) and earthy rock guitar, Invisible Fields even features an extraordinary arrangement for a mediaeval viol ensemble by revered English composer Gavin Bryars.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breathtaking,
By iky-mo (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Invisible Fields (Audio CD)
It would be easy simply to list a stream of superlatives for this album, but that wouldn't do much to explain why it would deserve such treatment. First there are the extraordinary arrangements; they trip across supposed boundaries so naturally that you quite forget that the "boundaries" were ever supposed to exist at all: folk instrumentation rubs shoulders with electronica; pop tunes shift into floating, gauzy textures of sound where melodies disappear; african rhythms underpin passages of delicate piano -- just as you think you've grasped the essence of it, it's somewhere else. At times it seems so simple, that it's hardly worth a second listen; then you DO listen and realise that it's utterly perfect, always doing enough to surprise without being showy. It's done with an ease that's breathtaking. Next there's the amazing quality of O Lionaird's voice. If you don't know it, then you have been missing out on one of music's great experiences. If you do know it, then I need say no more. It matters not a jot that he sings mainly in Gaelic.
This is a perfectly good place to start a collection of O Lionaird's work. If you like this, then you'll pretty certainly get on with the earlier Seven Steps to Mercy and with I could Read the Sky. If you know and liked those, this certainly won't disappoint.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Traditional But Of The Tradition,
By
This review is from: Invisible Fields (Audio CD)
You will not find the usual array of traditional Irish instrutments on this album. But is still very much Irish music but in a 21st century context. But the voice,the voice...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligently combines medieval + modern, Irish + studio beats,
By John L Murphy "Fionnchú" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Invisible Fields (Audio CD)
For those familiar with Real World's label, this fits nicely into the repertoire. I admit that while O Lionard's sound's a bit more laid back than my tastes tend towards either with Irish folk-influenced or adventurous rock-tinged music, that this made a great soundtrack for a rainy morning commute. It reminds me very much of Peadar O Riada's two albums released over a decade ago on the New Jersey indie label Bar None--like O Lionard, O Riada (as those who recognize Sean O Riada's heir apparent!) takes the Irish language and traditional influences and washes them within a bath of electronic textures at once oddly contemporary in its density and at times even medieval in its evocation of chant and plainsong arrangements.
On slight letdown: I do wish that O Lionard had included the Irish-language texts along with the lyrics he prints in English; the only exception to the anglicized liner notes is his "Aurora," taking inspiration from Sean O Riordain's wonderful poem here printed, linking Africa Thuas/North Africa's winds to what is felt across the oceans in Ireland by this predecessor to O Lionard, a Cork visionary and modernist-existentialist thinker from the middle of the last century. O Lionard, as with the O Riadas and O Riordain, continues the Irish Munster bardic tradition into another millenium. This album, his third I believe, again brings the most contemporary of chill out beats into the contemplative milieu of monastery and meadow. Blending ancient strands into a complex new spiralled tapestry of sound, this is enduring music. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seven Steps From Éire,
By Antti Keisala - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Invisible Fields (Audio CD)
In my comment to the Afro Celt Sound System's record "Anatomic" I gave Iarla Ó Lionáird high praise and called him "one of the true voices of our contemporary music". Why? What is it in him that isn't to be found in all the other artists mixing sean-nós in modern influence? An impossible question to answer.
I am very particular about making as little sense being the key to enrichening my experiences - that is, I cherish the notion that there are things in my consciousness, in even the most fundamental of principles and opinions, that I can't figure out because they are so essentially tied to my own personality. I could be the product of my enviroment, and partially I am, yet I am also the product of my soul. So every time a voice reaches deeper than others, straight into the heart of the matter, into the mysterious space I can't define in myself, it's a cause to celebrate. Ó Lionáird is like this, there is vision in his voice alone, and certain economy, especially as we're directly descending from Afro Celt Sound System. This is lusher than his previous albums, but also sparer. He says a lot more with less trouble. The songs themselves tie together and all of them feel integrated together. The music itself is in touch with our time yet it's still so not Zeitgeist it's refreshingly healthful. There are arcs of sound coming and going, floating and shivering about, and none of it is palpable enough to be immersed with first listenings. I remember buying "Anatomic" and this the same day, and it was not but only after a week of listening to "Anatomic" that I got around to listening this record through for the first time. And now it has filled my imagination already. "A Nest of Stars" is one of his best songs, an amazing contrast of the economical and sonic lushness. And Ó Lionáird's voice hovers above the soundscape like that of an angel, sometimes accompanied by a whole canvas of sounds, sometimes, as in the profound "Taimse Im' Chodladh" or "I'm Weary of Lying Alone", by scarcely anything at all. This is the combination of the best things in sean-nós and modern 'fusion' (that graveyard of a word). This is in the vein of Martyn Bennett at his best ("Glen Lyon", 2001): meditative, contemplative, deeply alive and existential. Ó Lionáird knows his Weltschmerz, but is seems he also knows ours. Even thinking of "An Buchailin Ban" sends shivers down my spine. This is only his third album in the past ten years, so let's hope he continues to go down his path, as he seems to be giving us an album more glorious than the earlier with each release. With best regards, AK 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Iarla has a voice of an Angel,
By Monica A. O'connell - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Invisible Fields (Audio CD)
Listening to Iarla makes the world feel great. What a voice! He makes you smile, cry, ponder, want to dance, want to sing, want to lie down and listen while the music he makes fills your heart with joy and love. I had a wee crush on Iarla when I heard him live in Wellington, New Zealand and now after buying this CD from Amazon I have a huge crush!! The world is a better place with him in it.
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