Special concert marks launch of Danny Diamond’s fiddle album

Fiddle player Danny Diamond (of the group Mórga) will launch his latest album Fiddle Music with a concert in the City’s Crane Bar this Friday night,

The album features music inspired by legendary fiddlers such as Tommie Potts and Seán Keane, alongside influences from Nordic and American folk tunes, all set to unique drone-based accompaniment.

The Irish Times gave Fiddle Music a five-star review in which critic Siobhán Long described his playing as ‘ambitious and authoritative’ and acclaimed the album as a ‘definite contender for CD of the year’.

In September Fiddle Music was chosen as Album of the Month on TradConnect.com, with reviewer Tony Lawless describing Danny Diamond’s music as ‘visceral in its intensity and individuality’.

Danny is a founder-member of the group Mórga, which released an album and gigged extensively around Europe before a brief split in 2011. Mórga reformed in 2012 and released their second album, For the Sake of Auld Decency, in 2014. In addition to his work with Mórga, Danny released Danny & Aki – Music from the Irish, Nordic and American Traditionsin 2012. This collaboration with Finnish multi-instrumentalist Aki has been critically lauded and the duo are currently working with cellist Kevin Murphy as Slow Moving Clouds, an experimental acoustic trio drawing inspiration from Finnish and Irish music.

On Fiddle Music Danny performs material from the Irish traditional repertoire, showcasing tunes learned from family members, friends and older recordings. The CD also includes five of Danny’s compositions, inspired by Irish, Nordic and American folk traditions. The drone-based accompaniment is provided by fiddle, uilleann pipes, accordion and the nyckelharpa, a traditional Swedish instrument.

That approach, which was born of Danny’s desire to move beyond the usual instruments used in backing Irish music, gives the recording its unique character.

For the Galway launch of the album Danny will be joined by Aki (violoncello da petto), Ian Lynch (uilleann pipes), Anna Lethert (sean-nós dance) and other guest musicians.

Admission is €10/concession: €8. Admission and the Fiddle Music CD is €15. Doors are 9pm.