Dublin based "Desert Aces" Launch CD

[Ptarmigan]

Thanks to Richard Hawkins over at Bluegrass Ireland Blog for the news of this interesting Irish CD Launch.

N.B. These guys perhaps sound just a little too Country &/or Bluegrass for some members here
... but hey, here's the info anyway. I'll let you decide for yourselves.

We launch our debut album in Crawdaddy [at the old Harcourt Street station, Dublin 2] on 7 April.
The 11-track debut CD features a mix of old-time tunes and original compositions, all with a distinctly North American roots and Irish folk sensibility.
The CD booklet features liner notes on each track indicating the origins of this eclectic selection.
Tunes are fused together that span all the way from the state anthem of Ohio to a polka from west Limerick.

For more information, check out the latest: Bluegrass Ireland Blog

Desert Aces ~ Website

Desert Aces ~ MySpace

Pete McGuire's ~ MySpace

[deleuran]

Hey I know these guys! Or I should rather say they asked to be added as friends on my MySpace site.

I don't think it is true to say that they are too country or bluegrass. Not to my taste anyway. I like the GOOD stuff from both genres, just as much as I hate the BAD stuff ;D

On the contrary, I think they are too Irish.

Naw, just kiddin' ;D But I think it is true, that there are a strong flavour of irish music involved here. You would never hear an american band play for instance Soldiers Joy that way.
This is no critique. I like it, just think it would be unfair to compare it to country or bluegrass.
It's far from it, in my humble opinion.

[Ptarmigan]

Too Irish eh? That's interesting.

I dare say I'm so used to hearing Irish in music that now, I find it hard to spot it, when it flavours other music.

I must say though, I do agree that an Irish group, or a group from anywhere, should not be worried about playing their Old Time Music or any other kind of music, with a flavour of their own country's music in there too.

Reminds me of those country farmers, with their very thick country accents who so desperately try & hide their own accent & try so hard to sound like cowboys when they get up to sing country songs. They should be proud of their own accent & should just let it flow naturally, in my humble opinion anyway.

As for the tune Soldier's Joy, well of course, since it came from this side of the pond originally, it is of course us who are playing it the right way & those pesky Americans who've got it all wrong! ;D

One thing that does make me switch off, every time, is that country style of singing, you know the type I mean, with that affected YODEL thrown in.
Sorry. but that just makes my skin KREEEEEEP!
Mind you, I suppose that must make the Swiss, the best Country singers in the World! ;D

Cheers
Dick

[deleuran]

I must say though, I do agree that an Irish group, or a group from anywhere, should not be worried about playing their Old Time Music or any other kind of music, with a flavour of their own country's music in there too.

Reminds me of those country farmers, with their very thick country accents who so desperately try & hide their own accent & try so hard to sound like cowboys when they get up to sing country songs. They should be proud of their own accent & should just let it flow naturally, in my humble opinion anyway.

I totally agree. No reason to be ashamed of, or try to hide your background, or try to pretend you are something you are not.
And about the flavour. Nothing wrong with that. That's the way music has always evolved.
We have seen it in America, with blending of different kinds of folkmusic into new forms. Cajun, Zydeco, old-time, bluegrass, hawaiian, western swing etc.etc.
And in the case Desert Aces, we see that the music that originally came from the british isles, became a new style over there, now return to the old country and get influenced by the culture it sprang from.
I find this very interesting. And always have found it very interesting to try to trace where different kinds of music comes from. How did it become what it is now, who are the ancestors, which cultural and sociological changes have influenced. What kinds of music have been blended to exactly this cocktail? An etnographic study into music so to speak

One thing that does make me switch off, every time, is that country style of singing, you know the type I mean

I know exactly what you mean. Note that I said:

I like the GOOD stuff from both genres, just as much as I hate the BAD stuff

[desertaces]

Hi I thought I'd add my 2cents to this discussion considering we are the topic at hand.

We play old time tunes and bluegrass, trad and country
so what appears on our debut cd is a real selection of
all of these genres, it is of course music that suits
the all string format. We even play pop tunes when in
the mood. Our repertoir includes a long list of old
time tunes that we often play in performance but this
is not reflected well on our myspace page or on the
debut album as we are favouring our own compositions
as anyone would expect. We are also highlighting our
excellence in a more native sound as this has (lets be
realistic) greater potential for industry success from
our point of view.

We are all accomplished musicians and feel that music
shouldn't be so strictly categorised or purist. The
band Desert Aces provides a vehicle for expression of
our own musical interests and admitedly Old Time is
only one of many elements in the mix.

We are not American either so it only makes sense,
being folk musicians that are natives of Ireland and
of course Camille from Northern France, that we will
have strong Celtic leanings in our music.

The singing styles vary from song to song and we have four singers in the group. The singer on the myspace selection is admittedly more country because he writes country tunes and has a mid atlantic accent anyhow from living in several different places and as a result has lost any sort of recognisably Irish lilt. but we also have more folk like original tunes sung by other band members that are pure limerick.

The most important thing is that we love playing and
performing. We love music and we always try to play at
a level of excellence. And like the countries and
peoples in the world music would benefit if human
beings stopped inventing rediculous imaginary
categories, borders and divisions. Its all music
isn't it and whats important is that it is made well
and made with love.



oh yes nearly forgot www.desertaces.com or
www.myspace/desertaces will give you an idea of where we are coming from.

[Ptarmigan]

Hello there,

Reading back through the thread, I think we're all saying more or less the same thing, just in different ways.

I think all musicians do recognize that there is good music & bad music out there, but obviously we don't all like "all" good music.

If a piece of, for example, Opera or Country Music just doesn't do anything for me, no amount of people telling me how good that music is, will ever make me like it any more. Music speaks to our souls & it either moves you, or it doesn't. We all have our likes & dislikes in music.

As for categories ~ just imagine the chaos in a music store, if there were no categories? So I think the distinctions between different types of music can be helpful, sometimes. I save a lot of time, when I visit CD Baby, when I can simply post Old Time in the search box. Without categories I could spend weeks, months or years trying to track down interesting musicians & bands who play the music I like to listen to.

I appreciate that any group of musicians are going to be playing the music they ALL like to play ~ I'm sure that's healthy. However, that said, most of the contrived fusion I have heard over the years does little or nothing for me. So, for example, personally I would never have bought a Horslips LP despite the fact that over the years I bought hundreds of Folk LPs & hundreds of Rock LPs. Squash those two genres together & what comes out the other side is neither one thing nor the other for me, it just doesn't float my boat. However, thousands of people really loved their music because for them it was brilliant & good luck to them. They were pushing the boundaries & it is healthy for those boundaries to be pushed. But we can't ignore the fact that they do exist.

If music was to end up, one day, being just one huge mush, I think we'd all be the poorer.

At the end of the day, every action has a reaction, & when numbers of musicians try to fudge the edges, an equal number will always strive to maintain the integrity of a genre & help to preserve the "Pure Drop".

That said, if everyone strived to preserve the Pure Drop, the music would simply stagnate and be at risk of being lost, but by the same token, if everyone strived to fudge the edges, we'd just end up with an unrecognizable mushy fushion. So I think we need all these elements to keep music healthy.

Well that's how I see it. I'd be very interested to hear how other folks here, see it?

Cheers
Dick