Seafaring Man

Amazon.com
In the decade since Mouth Music pioneered the Afro-Celt connection, music has changed--and so has Martin Swan, the band's leader and only constant presence. With his first album in six years, his sound has become a true mix of electric and organic, bringing in more "real" instruments to give a space and depth to the music. Not unlike Capercaillie, Swan channels the Celtic spirit on tracks like "Whaling Ship," and he offers real Shetland mouth music on "Alieau Thug Au," which vocalist Ishbel MacAskill sings in joyous Gaelic. While there will be inevitable comparisons to the Afro-Celt Sound System, at its heart Seafaring Man is simply a music man who's come to terms with himself, his life, and his art--and the results are glorious. --Chris Nickson

Tracks:

Seafaring Man
Whaling Ship
Milleadh Nam Braithrean
Manitoba
Month Of July
Inveralligin
Thoir A Nall Ailean Thugam
Snowgatherer

Amazon.com

In the decade since Mouth Music pioneered the Afro-Celt connection, music has changed--and so has Martin Swan, the band's leader and only constant presence. With his first album in six years, his sound has become a true mix of electric and organic, bringing in more "real" instruments to give a space and depth to the music. Not unlike Capercaillie, Swan channels the Celtic spirit on tracks like "Whaling Ship," and he offers real Shetland mouth music on "Alieau Thug Au," which vocalist Ishbel MacAskill sings in joyous Gaelic. While there will be inevitable comparisons to the Afro-Celt Sound System, at its heart Seafaring Man is simply a music man who's come to terms with himself, his life, and his art--and the results are glorious. --Chris Nickson

Customer Reviews:

The Moody Sea.......2001-11-08

Not many artists or groups have been able to successfully deal with the theme of the sea. However mouthmusic has done that perfectly. Their sea is not a warm Charles Trenet "La Mer" but a moody thoughtful intelligent one. Through a nearly perfect combination of traditional Gaelic and modern instruments they have created a sound which is not only interesting and fascinating but like a good wine keeps getting better with each minute past. Kaela Rowan is amazing on the vocals and she has given the album a beautiful touch. The wise voice of Ishbel MacAskill in "Millead Nam Braithrean" provides a thought provoking mood. Martin Furey and Matin Swan have done good jobs on vocals but the album is held together by the music and lyrics of Swan complemented by the voices of Rowan and MacAskill.
The only shortcoming of this album was that I found most of the introductions to the songs to be a bar too much. This tended to be burdening at times. Over all a great album especially if you are interested in songs of nature and Gaelic music.