The West Cork Ukulele Orchestra

Meet the West Cork Ukulele Orchestra. In 2012, I hope to make a lot more visits to the south of Ireland. There's a wealth of great talent radiating around cork and it's outer limits. You could argue that DeBarra's in Clonakilty West Cork, is the greatest music venue in Ireland and before that it was the legendary Connolys of Leap, both remote institutions of live music that encouraged and nurtured local music for the past 20 years. The West Cork Ukulele Orchestra, with many of it's members accomplished musicians in their own right, symbolize for me the beautiful collaborative energy music can create in the spirit of community which thrives outside the machine of city life.

Traz Live from a Livingroom

Still in school, Traz, with a wealth of talent and appreciation for all things folk, may never experience what it takes to exist as a band once the hammer of third education and adulthood bares down upon them. If they do stay together as friends and most importantly as a band, in my opinion they'll have no trouble climbing the success ladder together. If you like Traz please buy their great value for money record and prove me right.

The Dublin Laptop Orchestra & This Is How We Fly

In the words of so many Youtube viewers.. Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh brought me here. I've been filming Caoimhin since 2009, and ever since then his collaborations have been a primary focus of mine. Hardanger fiddle player and proffessor of music at Princeton University USA Mr.Dan Truman, devised a sytem of grouping laptops together to trigger sounds in strange and unusual ways but most importantly as a number of laptops connected together to act like a group or orchestra. He met Caoimhin during his year stay in Trinity College and they composed a song with Trinity College music students under the moniker of The Dublin Laptop Orchestra. This short film documents a night that Caoimhin meets and collaborates with The Dublin Laptop Orchestra while touring with his band 'This Is How We Fly' in Smock Alley theatre Dublin. This Is How We Fly is another collaborative excursion for Caoimhin involving a tap dancer, a saxophonist and a percussionist from mars. Enjoy!! It doesnt get more contemporary than this!

Comments (0)     

Little Bird Lisa Hannigan As some of you who've commented on the videos Lisa and I have made have been asking, does she like to invite self punishment? I've thought it myself, standing on the edges of a full bath-tub poiniting down at a submerged lisa, lip-syncing at super human speed. Well I'm glad to say, from her dedication her vision was realised 100% and again I've learned just how much Miss Hannigan applies herself to her art. After 17 takes the fates ordained the very last one was to be the video. The "Ah sure we'll just do one more for the craic" take.

James McMorrow We Dont Eat James McMorrow came back for another vague inter-dimensional Arbutus treatment. The roads and walls become the stage for a travelling James Vincent who is looking out the window of a tour van with him watching him watching you!. For this we dodged some joyriders in the Dublin mountains, James wasnt with us, was just the 3 stooges. We must have been a strange sight driving along country roads at night with Hector pointing his projector out the sunroof.. the generator fumes in the boot gave us all a pumping headache, even with all the windows open. Channel 4 did a 'making of here

Lisa Hannigan Channel 4 Out of all the footage I've shot of Lisa during the last 2 years I was asked to compile an 11 minute short documentary for Channel 4. Difficult to narrow many hours of footage and live performances in to 11 minutes but I had a great time doing it. Feels like building a jigsaw.

Hello Moon When I was asked to make a video for Hello moon it was the sleeve of their record which won me over. Two cute blonde kids dressed as white chickens in a forest. Un-believe-ably cute! My subconcious brief here was to give it a feel of the Spike Jones movie Where The Wild Things Are but let the kids do the rest. They were brilliant, running and leaping around Massy's Wood. Was a great day out.

Si Schroeder Culture Night Culture night was celebrated all over the country again this year and I was asked along by The Temple Bar Cultural Trust to make a little promo for them. In-between I managed to catch an acoustic performance of Si Schroeder. Enjoy the buzz and see you there next year for sure.

Comments (2)     

Greetings all. This month there's a couple of new entries in the library to keep your ears warm for the onset of winter. Rhob Cunningham plays a brand new tune in a livingroom (my livingroom.. shhhh), a group of folky youngsters called Traz play the Spirit of Folk festival in Meath, Lisa Hannigan invites John Smith on a small boat for a sing-song in Baltimore and plays a song herself, Knots from her sophmore album 'Passenger'.. Daniel Martin Moore gets soulful and moody as I get abstract and Seamus Fogarty goes all grass roots in The Back Loft, Dublin. Put the kettle on and enjoy!

Comments (1)     

I'm not quite sure, as a free entertainment resource that a little diary entry thread such as this needs to be on the site. All I do is ramble about useless shit, there's facebook for that! So I'll keep this informative and not cry and moan whenever I drop a lens or my car wont start.

Videos to come :: By the end of next week I'll have finished four promo videos and an EPK for Lisa Hannigan whose releasing her second record 'Passenger' at the end of September (one of them is Lisa singing under water in one take..), I have finished two promo vids for James Vincent McMorrow, of very artfull and rootsy themes, 2 major Arts Council projects ; a concert in Mitchellstown Cave and a lovely piece called Mayo Makes Music where I've filmed instrument makers in their workshop and will project that footage over the instruments being played at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Mayo.. and a short film of 5 songs from the wonderful Seamus Fogarty played back to back in Dublin at The Back Loft. Oh and a slovakian fiddle player called Vladimir busking with his band on Grafton St. Great stuff. Will release here on the site over time.. thanks for reading and stay tuned.

Comments (4)     

Since coming home from Bali the world seems to have collapsed. Camera, lenses, cards and computer all broke in the same week. Debts in the many thousands not including what I need for new gear. Been working on lots of projects but hiring a friend, so debts and duties only getting more intense. Cant finish/edit anything because computer now in slow repair. Moved to my PC and adobe premiere. It wont install! No summer this year in Ireland, just rain. Moan. At this rate it would be very tempting to start smoking again. It's all a test and damn it I wont let it beat me. Though it's very tempting to fly back to Bali, forever.

Comments (1)     

Lots of music vids to come out of Aug/Sept, as I'm returning from my Cambodian/Indosesian adventures soon. My 3 month trip has given me lots of time to clear my head and think about feature films ideas. Three documentary ideas and one low-budget sci-fi idea. I want to take Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh to Cambodia to jam with a poor blind man among others, and highlight our enormous musical and historical similaritites. Another short-film to expose our ridiculous radio broadcasting monopoly which is destroying the growth of indigenous talent in Ireland (sorta summerized in this tall story) , another idea to make a true story/biography (using actors) to film the life of one of our countries greatest and most brilliant yet unfortunate singer/songwriters. Lastly a sci-fi idea to take Liam O'Maonlaí to Peru to play and military airplane pilot who lands his plane in the Aztec desert 1500 years ago (mini trailer) and against orders makes contact with the native people, which creates a few problems.. That's a lifetime of ideas right there, if I were to try and save money to shoot them on my own. Wish me luck with getting at least one funded by a grant scheme. Might speed things up a little ;) 

Comments (0)     

Cambodia is a f***ing amazing place. A very fine tourist destination... but the people, their music and their culture.. I'm just amazed. Gobsmacked every day. From the Killing Fields to this.. and all the change there has been, in-between, in the re-growth. A hundred stories to be told through song which not unlike the times of British rulein Ireland, was banned in Cambodia until 1985. For 15 years. The people here are still from the hedge schools and the music as fresh as a ripe coconut. If the someone could give me the funding to take someone like Liam O'Maonlai or Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh over here for two weeks to jam with the locals and speak of their revival in song and beautiful images, remind us of the beginnings of our own Irish cultural revival just a hundred years ago. There's a feature documentary.

Grant forms shall be attacked as soon as my feet hit the green green grass of home!!!!

Comments (0)     

I directed the promo video for Villagers 'The Pact' which gets an International release on May 5th.

The band had a few hours to spare before heading away to tour with Elbow so it had to be shot very quickly. The whole production started at 11am and ended 1.30pm. Quick for a spanking promo type thing but easy to execute because of tried and tested Arbutus methodologies ;) 

To bring something extra to the video Conor had a great idea for a central theme effect, which works so well I wish I could borrow himself to help me edit a few more vids! All in all, very happy with it. It's a beautiful and no-nonsense reflection of the tune.

Comments (0)     

I'm heading away for two months to South East Asia so all documenting plans on hold. There's been a huge surge in visits to the site which is brill. I think people finaly believe in the function it serves. There's no stream more bleak and uninteresting than the mainstream and by your reactions I'm glad to point it out so succesfully..

While I'm away there's a good few vids to be released so stay tuned.. The MTV promo video for Villagers 'The Pact' directed by yours truly is coming soon.. Lisa Hannigan goodies galore and maybe a few Asian surprises ;)

Big Karma

M

Comments (0)     

I've been with Lisa Hannigan and band in Wales, England, documenting the recording of her next album. I can tell you now that the music is outstanding. Nobody who is familier with Lisa's music is going to be disapointed. There is an immediate dose of extra maturity and discovery that threads seamlessly through every track. There are clips being posted now from Lisa's blog www.lisahannigan.ie and from her Arbutus Yarns page www.arbutusyarns.com/lisahannigan.html

Comments (0)     

Yes I've been blinded by the big city lights! All the music is here. All the artists. I have a serious hankering to come live here for a spell and top up on the international Yarns. But you know, there's about as many good ones here as there are back home..meaning there's a lot of shite. We are an outstanding country for musicians, just a bit walled in.

Comments (0)     

I've been lucky enough to follow Julie Feeney to Paris (up online), and now I'll be following her and the band to New York!! Thank you Julie! I've been dying to get out of Ireland again since travelling to Reykjavik, then Paris. It's amazing altogether to point my cam at beautiful cities, especially with gorgeous music involved.

..and Villagers!! Filmed their whole Christmas show in Vicar St. with the full band on top form. It'll be up here for all to see soon enough. Looking forward to documenting their Orchestral show in the Opera House, Cork.

Comments (1)     

There's a lot more videos I'd like to bring to Arbutus Yarns for 2011. First and foremost I'd like to show you all, in full, the enormous talents of Seamus Fogarty. A man who almost certainly will do well for himself, with or without any Irish industry intervention. Eithne Ni Cathian has just about the most honest, sincere and beautiful female voice in this country, so she too, I'll be stalking. There's also a bunch a of teens in Stoneybatter called Traz, bloody amazing stuff.

Jerry Fish's vaudville-tastic shows in The Sugar Club last November with Mick Flannery, Lisa Hann and Cammile O'Sullivan :: The Turning Pirate New Years Eve Party including Tucan, Neil Hannon, Cathy Davey and Lisa Hannigan :: Paul Brady's snowed in gig and after hours session at Doyles Pub with Maria Doyle Kennedy and Fiach :: Julie Feeny and her orchestra in Paris..... are all to send off the year for Arbutus Yarns and should pop up early in the new one.

Massive plans then ensue for 'Villagers live in Cork Opera House with the RTE Concert Orchestra', a huge production and the first of it's scale for me. James Vincent McMorrow will also follow suit in the Opera House with the RTE Orchestra in tow and then join Caoimhin O'Raghalliagh, Lisa Hannigan and myself down the bottom of Mitchellstown Caves later in the year. There are more Icelandic adventures planned with hopes to bring greater attention to the creative and historic connections between our two countries, I'll hopefully be covering artists at most of the major festivals, chasing world artists in Dun Laoghaire and locking combinations of them in the same room if possible. Finally and most importantly I'll be looking to bring many fresh and inspiring Irish underground artists to your attention throughout the year as I find them.

Thanks to all the people who made things happen for Arbutus Yarns in 2010. Stephen Mogerley for his talented eye and priceless loyalty (literally price-LESS). Nialler9 and State.ie for all your support and good will. Donal Dineen for all the beautiful artists and opportunities you've sent my way, IMTV for a pretty amazing award, The Arts Council for making cool stuff happen and Mary Hickson for her cool belief in that stuff, Una Molloy and Lisa Hannigan for the good times and all the amazingly entusiastic web-watchers, Ian Cudmore for the Storyland experience and generally being the best neighbour I've ever had and finally, everyone this year who has been compelled to contact me by e-mail and write kind and encouraging words. 

Thank you all and Merry X-Mas!!!!

.xXMXx. 

Comments (1)     

Great stuff. Arbutus Yarns is going to Paris to film Julie Feeny do a gig over there with her orchestra. Wonderful indeed! Paris in December. Julie is one of the very first artists I wanted to film back when I began over a year ago. I'm glad to have waited this long and developed a style I'm hoping will compliment her in full.

Comments (0)     

Wow. I won the accalade at this years IMTV of 'Best Director'. I went to the awards with my very beautiful parter Aideen and we stayed for the first couple of announcements and then I got a scare. I honestly did not think I was possibly going to win. The nomination for 'Best Live Video' came and went, and I just could'nt stick around for another loosing announcement. So an hour after we left (to join Ronan O'Snodaigh's album launch) I got a text from the lovely Jennifer Evans that I had won. It was a great feeling and will always live with me. That I can turn up to gigs, film them and remain completely invisible, but yet there are people who notice what I do and shout about it. Thank you x  

Comments (1)