Internet Archive's in-browser audio with external links "theater" requires JavaScript to be enabled. It appears your browser does not have it turned on. Please see your browser settings for this feature.

Sint-Niklaas, Samhain 1995

by: Ail Fionn

Funkey

Publication date: 2005-05-20 09:20:00

Usage: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Topics: mandolin, saz, baglama, drone, droning, acoustic, atmospheric, folk, free psych-folk, free psychfolk, free psych folk, freeform, improv, improvisation, improvisational, improvisatory, improvised, improvising, jam, jamming, lofi, lo-fi, organic, other, psychedelia, psychedelic, psychfolk, psych-folk, space, spacey, spontaneous, modal, elf, elven, fairy, faery, pixie, Wales, traditional Welsh, Welsh traditional, Welsh folk, traditional, Celtic, Samhain

Semi-improvised saz and mandolin recordings, recorded Sint-Niklaas, Belgium in November 1995.

Notes

Inge - mandolin
Matthew - saz

These are all recordings from a fairly spontaneous session at Funkey's "Higher Grow" studio in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, early November 1995. We'd just turned up, unannounced, after spending a bit of time in the Pyrenees.

A week or two before the recording session, outside the church of Massat in the French Pyrenees.
"Samhain '95" was improvised on the spot.

"Sôspan Fach" is a traditional Welsh tune, the sort of thing Welsh kids learn at primary school, but also the signature tune of the Llanelli Scarlets rugby club. We learned it off a postcard Inge bought in Pembroke that summer. In the years since, another "Matthew Watkins" has emerged as one of Llanelli's star players, curiously enough.

Gavin is a banjo-playing friend from Wisconsin (currently part of bluegrass band Sloppy Joe) whose style I was attempting to imitate, leading to the 'Gavinsong' riff.

'The Flat Oak' is a favourite tree of ours near Whitstable in Kent, which had become the focus of the A299 road protest that year.

'Samhain' is the Celtic new year (Hallowe'en, basically), around the time we recorded this - nothing to do with the 80's hardcore band!

original cassette cover

The original tape cover. We collaged this at Funkey's studio after the session - the stone is the from the village of Elphin (Ail Fionn), associated with legends of St. Patrick; the tree in the background is the Flat Oak mentioned above; the wizard, sun and mushroom were taken from a photo of a painting done by Whitstable artist Sheila Maclurkin on a makeshift toilet constructed at a road protest camp near Whitstable earlier that year.

Ail Fionn A Tiny Window
The Spring - Matthew's 'audio blog' contact: mwatkins@maths.ex.ac.uk