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Music review: A sparkling debut out of Sligo-Leitrim

February 15, 2011

By Staff Reporter

LAUNCHING THE BOAT, by Sfona, #DL001, Doorla Records, Ballintogher, Co. Sligo, Ireland.

Every so often, a recording arrives unannounced that demonstrates how vibrant the traditional scene is among the young in Ireland. The debut recording by a quartet named Sfona from the musically rich Sligo-Leitrim area proves that promising talent will find an outlet – even on a so-called “vanity” pressing.

There’s no trace of vanity on this album, where all egos are subsumed to the sheer pleasure of playing dance music as well as possible. Fiddler Damian O’Brien and piano accordionist Oliver Loughlin, both from Drumkeerin, Leitrim, flutist June Nf Chormaic from Ballintogher, Sligo, and keyboardist Kevin Brehony from Castlebaldwin, Sligo, are a superbly matched group, bearing the stamp of such excellent tutors as Carmel Gunning, Bernard Flaherty (author of the outstanding 1990 book “Trip to Sligo”), Paddy Ryan, and the Shanley family from Kiltyclogher.

What an absolute delight it is to hear a piano accordion played with the sensitivity and complementary mastery of Loughlin, a 1996 All-Ireland champion sporting a bass hand of rare touch. His teasingly slow-tempo lead on an unnamed reel, where he’s backed by Brehony on piano and then joined by Nf Chormaic on flute, gradually picks up pace, then shifts into higher gear with O’Brien’s fiddle and guest Darragh Kelly on drums for a superb rendition of “The Old Road to Charlestown.” The latter was written by Brendan Tonra, who emigrated from that Mayo town to Boston in 1959 and whose tunes deserve much wider attention.

The tempo of the jigs “Tommy Maguire’s” and “The Queen of Mayo,” a Charlie Lennon composition, is faultless, reflecting how closely in sync Sfona is, while “The Castle Set” of reels is a dancer’s dream, revealing a buoyancy and balance that much older musicians would envy.

Piano accordion and fiddle together expertly kick off the reel “The Ash Plant,” with guest Michael Rooney lending a hand on harp, that is then followed by Nf Chormaic’s excellent flute playing, crisply backed by Brehony, on “Dan Breen’s” reel. They are soon joined by fiddle and accordion, which, in turn, drop out, leaving the flute, harp, and piano to carry on until fadeout. Though short in duration, it’s an impressively layered arrangement nonetheless.

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Beautifully paced medleys such as “Launching the Boat/Gerry Cronin’s,” “The Spey in Spate/Kilcoon,” and “The Good-Natured Man/Miss Galvin’s” further affirm Sfona’s emerging status as an Irish traditional band whose future is as bright as the past they revere. What a find this East Sligo-North Leitrim foursome is for anyone who loves Irish traditional dance music played as it should be.

– Earle Hitchner

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