Finally, I always hope that some one takes away an interest from the evening, for example things to look up afterwards, like the history behind a love song they really liked.”
MARLOES: You began as an instrumentalist, but nowadays you are singing too. How important are the song lyrics to you?
“Very important. To me it is impossible to separate the songs, in terms of lyrics, from the music. In fact, that is one of the problems that I have with the current commercialisation of Irish folk music. Lots of people record these days which has led to some very great albums, but the quality of the sleeve notes often lags behind. In fact often they don’t exist at all since it is cheaper. Personally, I feel that’s a great pity. These notes give the listener information on the songs, and the history and stories behind them, along with the chance to read the lyrics. More importantly, if the song is in Irish, the notes can give translations of these very important lyrics.”
“Language was always a great part of Irish folk songs; many of them were written at a time when the Irish language was still banned. Also, emigration has always been a main feature of Irish life, and therefore lots of songs are very emotive, about people who leave or, the other side of the coin: what it is like being left behind. Sometimes humour, particularly of the tongue-in-cheek kind, is also an important aspect. So I would definitely say that lyrics are an essential ingredient of the music, and vice-versa.”
MARLOES: Is the importance of lyrics a typical aspect of Irish folk music?
“No, not really. No matter what country you are in, folk music is music of the people, I found. It gives you a sense of what was happening at the time, and serves as a reminder of historic events. It is a form of oral history, really. To remember great battles, but also the great love stories of that time and so on. That’s one of the things I love about folk music. Even when the focus is on local events, there is universality in the subjects.”
Niamh has more recently been part of another project, combining Irish and Basque music and song, showcasing their uniqueness whilst exploring the similarities between them. With this project, she toured all over Ireland and the Basque Country, and it led to the recording of another CD.
The Living Tradition - Page 32
make a decent living in the music business – this is, after all, a luxury industry, and one which gets sidelined a lot when times are hard. In fact making a living from music in the folk genre has always been hard. It’s simply not a commercial genre.”
Riverdance: Photo: Jack Hartin, for Abhann Productions
MARLOES: On your latest album ‘Ó Euskadi go hÉirinn - the Irish Basque Connection’, you perform together with Basque musician Ibon Koteron. What made you decide to expand your musical horizons beyond Irish folk music?
“The more I travel, the more I understand and appreciate my own folk music, and the more I see connections between it and folk music from all over the world. The Basque collaboration was a good example of this. Both the Basque country and Ireland have a history of emigration and world travel - in fact we both think we were first to discover America! - both countries have had their language, customs and culture oppressed, and even outlawed, and both countries are fighting hard to restore them, and successfully too, I feel. Both countries have a very special connection to the sea, and looking at the lyrics of some of the Basque songs, they could just have easily
been old Irish songs. And it’s fun to do these collaborations – they challenge you and your perceptions of your own music in a very enjoyable and satisfying manner.”
MARLOES: Your previous two albums received rave reviews. Did this put pressure on you when preparing for this third album?
“Because this album was a collaboration with a Basque musician and therefore completely different, there wasn’t the same pressure. Although there is always a little bit because you want to do the music justice, and you want people to like what you’ve worked hard to produce. These albums are my babies!’
MARLOES: So what does the future hold, what is your goal?
“Well, with the recession affecting people globally you can imagine how hard it is to survive and
“So for me, the important goal is to continue to do what I’m doing – touring, performing, recording, researching. It’s what I love doing. At the moment I am working on two albums simultaneously, and I feel that’s not going to be the end of it. I have lots more in me. Also, I would love to get into radio and TV in either the research side or presenting. I’m talking of music programmes of course – you won’t find me in any reality show!”
“And I think that as I long as I can continue to develop myself, implement and exchange musical ideas, I will. Even when these are relatively hard times for musicians, due to the recent budget cuts in the cultural sector in all over the world, for me it’s still worth the hard work. And to be honest, some of these hardships have also had their positive sides: for example, there is much more solidarity between musicians and artists in general now. We have started to look out for each other much more, and there is a real camaraderie. I still truly love what I do.”
For more information see
www.niamhnicharra.com
All of Niamh’s albums are also available from:
www.livingtradition.co.uk
Photo: Valerie O Sullivan
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