Karan Casey - Nine Apples of Gold
Karan's new album will be released in Feb 22nd 2023. You can pre-order a Limited Edition Signed copy of the CD now and it will be shipped by the release date.
Karan has teamed up with Sean Óg Graham, her long-time collaborator and friend, to create a dynamic and enchanting album of songs that speaks to healing, camaraderie in times of strife, finding enrichment and new life in campaigning for women, and of course death. This is an ode to the natural world featuring the songbirds of Portglenone, the moon, conversations from the grave, returning to the wild, listening for the cuckoo as she sleeps.
The empowerment of women is front and centre of Karan’s concerns as she gives voice to the notion that songs can sing what we cannot say. Her defiance, her vulnerabilities and her feminist heart bellow through these songs.
Adding their unique vocals to the album are Niamh Dunne on a duet song Sister I am Here for You; Pauline Scanlonon a searing feminist overlook of Ireland in a song entitled I Live in a Country; and Ríoghnach Connolly on Daughter Dear, a tender hearted song between a mother and daughter. Also joined by Conor McCreanor, John McCullough, Hannah Hiemstra and Kate Ellis among others, this is Karan’s 12th album and displays her fine poetic voice where she has taken traditional symbolism and shaken it by the neck to create an ode to mother nature and a poignant cry for change.
Karan Casey - Hieroglyphs That Tell The Tale
Irish Times Review
"Karan Casey’s latest album is revelatory. She’s always been a singer of songs that tell a story and show their muscle. But this collection sees her step into a space that’s likely to appeal equally to fans of alt-country and Irish folk alike.
Her opening cover of Dylan’s Hollis Brown is a triumph: producer, Capercaillie’s Donald Shaw and engineer Seán Óg Graham support her to soar higher and further than ever before, and her telling of the tale of that South Dakota massacre is strangely resonant of these times we live in.
Her reading of Janice Ian’s I’m Still Standing Here and of Eliza Gilkyson’s Man of God are remarkably comfortable bedfellows with the traditional Sixteen Come Next Sunday, all connected by the subtlest arrangements, with Niall Vallely on tiptoeing concertina, Michael McGoldrick on flute and contributing vocals from Karen Matheson, Aoife O’Donovan, Niamh Dunne and others. This is a strikingly three-dimensional work that stands the test of intensive and repeated listening with ease. A vivid and dazzling snapshot of Casey invincible, at the height of her powers." (Siobhán Long, Irish Times 19/10/18)
Karan Casey - Two More Hours
Two More Hours features guest appearances by singers Mick Flannery, Abigail Washburn and Aoife O'Donovan and was produced by Niall Vallely. This self-penned album is a first for Karan. Contemporary in tone it takes a much more personal approach to her writing and singing.
"A beautiful and emotionally wrought album that will attract lovers of good music" Daniel Neely, Irish Echo
Karan Casey - Ships in the Forest
Karan Casey is an artist who proves
that the ancient and the modern make excellent bedfellows. One of the
most influential and imitated vocalists in Irish or American folk music,
Karan is a natural innovator. On Ships in the Forest, her fifth solo
album, Casey's warm, soulful voice ebbs and flows around ballads both
timely and timeless.
Produced once again by Donald Shaw (of Capercaillie fame), the album
was recorded at Karan’s home in County Cork and features the members
of her current touring band, Caoimhín Vallely (piano), Kate
Ellis (cello) and Robbie Overson (guitar) along with some special guests,
including Kris Drever and Niall and Cillian Vallely.
The songs found on Ships in the Forest range from fresh arrangements
of tried and true folk standards ("Black is the Color of My True
Love's Hair" and "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye") to "The
Fiddle and the Drum", Joni Mitchell's 1969 anti-war madrigal and
Martin Furey’s newly-composed “The Town of Athlone”.
"One
of the great voices in contemporary music has just gotten even better." Sing
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Karan Casey - Chasing the Sun
"Chasing the Sun" was released in April 2005. This album represented
a new departure, featuring as it does a significant number of her self-penned
songs. Recorded at her home in Co. Cork and produced by herself and
partner Niall Vallely, the album largely features her touring band
of Robbie Overson, Paul Meehan and Niall Vallely along with Ewen Vernal,
John Anthony, Michael Aharon and Erik Johnson.
"This album has irresistible, addictive qualities that make it very hard to switch off from." Living Tradition
Karan Casey - Distant Shore
Karan's third album was released throughout the world in 2003. Produced by Donald Shaw it features a mixture of contemporary and traditional material. Guests include vocalists Tim O'Brien, Karen Matheson and John Spillane. Karan's regular band of Robbie Overson and Niall Vallely are joined by the likes of Dirk Powell, Michael McGoldrick, Dezi Donnelly, Paul Meehan, James Grant and Cillian Vallely. Traditional songs sit alongside new material from John Spillane & Louis de Paor, Billy Bragg, Ger Woulfe, Tim O'Brien & Darrell Scott, Ewan McColl and Karan herself.
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"Casey shifts her focus to contemporary folk-pop songs and emerges as the Irish equivalent of Emmylou Harris," Washington Post
"Karan's out in front and from the looks of this will be for many years to come." Irish Music Magazine
Karan Casey - The Winds Begin to Sing
Karan's second solo album, 'The Winds Begin to Sing', was a major critical success throughout the world. Voted Best Folk Album of 2001 by the readers of Irish Music Magazine, it blended her intimate grasp of traditional music with a daring new approach.The album featured a mixture of traditional songs collected from the likes of Frank Harte and Áine Uí Cheallaigh and contemporary songs by writers such as John Spillane, Louis de Paor and Andy M.Stewart.
Karan Casey - Songlines
Karan's debut album was produced by Seamus Egan and largely featured the playing of her Solas colleagues. A stunning collection of mostly traditional songs it still sounds as fresh today as it was the day it was recorded.
Karan Casey & John Doyle - Exiles Return
Long awaited duet album from former Solas bandmates Karan Casey and John Doyle. Produced by Dirk Powell and recorded in Nashville, the album draws mostly on the traditional repertoire of Irish, Scottish and English songs alongside one John Doyle original.
