Album Review: Chasing Abbey — Cyber Celt
Chasing Abbey have been putting out singles and EPs for about ten years, and CYBER CELT is their first album. Ronan Bell, Jonathan Byrne and Ted Conway are from Tullamore, in the middle of Ireland, and they combine traditional instruments with electronic production. Some of the lyrics are in Irish. Conway says that on this record he found it easier to express himself in Irish than in English, and he credits Kneecap with bringing the language back into the conversation.
The electronic elements in the production, like deep digital bass and earth-shaking drums, add to the hypnotic quality of the folk music that is the backbone of what Chasing Abbey are doing. The vocals are also performed in a hypnotic way and sometimes even slightly processed digitally, creating an even more mesmerizing effect. "Mar Sin" goes further, adding distorted synth textures and modern hip-hop inspired drums, and "Colonised Minds" incorporates elements of ambient.
Some of the songs are political. "Greedy Pigs" comes from Conway's time working as a butcher with his uncles and grandfather, where one pig ate the others' food and got to the slaughterhouse sooner because of it. "Íorónta", the Irish word for "ironic", is about people who fight colonialism being called terrorists.
CYBER CELT is a confident debut. The electronic production doesn't push the folk into the background, and the political songs make their point without turning into slogans. The album also fits well with what is happening in Irish music right now. Kneecap have made Irish-language rap an international story, Fontaines D.C. have taken Irish guitar music to a global audience, and The Mary Wallopers and Madra Salach are bringing traditional songs to younger crowds. Chasing Abbey belong in that company, with their own approach: old tunes and their native language, built with the tools of electronic music.
CYBER CELT is out on September 18. The CYBER CELT World Tour starts the day before at Vicar Street in Dublin and continues through the UK, Europe and the US before ending in Perth, Australia, on December 14.
The electronic elements in the production, like deep digital bass and earth-shaking drums, add to the hypnotic quality of the folk music that is the backbone of what Chasing Abbey are doing. The vocals are also performed in a hypnotic way and sometimes even slightly processed digitally, creating an even more mesmerizing effect. "Mar Sin" goes further, adding distorted synth textures and modern hip-hop inspired drums, and "Colonised Minds" incorporates elements of ambient.
Some of the songs are political. "Greedy Pigs" comes from Conway's time working as a butcher with his uncles and grandfather, where one pig ate the others' food and got to the slaughterhouse sooner because of it. "Íorónta", the Irish word for "ironic", is about people who fight colonialism being called terrorists.
CYBER CELT is a confident debut. The electronic production doesn't push the folk into the background, and the political songs make their point without turning into slogans. The album also fits well with what is happening in Irish music right now. Kneecap have made Irish-language rap an international story, Fontaines D.C. have taken Irish guitar music to a global audience, and The Mary Wallopers and Madra Salach are bringing traditional songs to younger crowds. Chasing Abbey belong in that company, with their own approach: old tunes and their native language, built with the tools of electronic music.
CYBER CELT is out on September 18. The CYBER CELT World Tour starts the day before at Vicar Street in Dublin and continues through the UK, Europe and the US before ending in Perth, Australia, on December 14.