Ger Wolfe’s music is Bardic in its perceptions, his prose is intelligent, witty and carefully crafted, in a nut shell this beautifully played modern Irish music. The city boy from Mayfield in Cork is happiest when he takes a decidedly bucolic rural ramble, his world and music have a surface quality that speaks of the open air and of the soft Irish country side, I could cite I have been loved’ and ‘Look At That Old Field’ as ones to listen to cartefully for their delicate haunting poetry, but there is a hard edge to his writing, that can take us to the margin of the precipice, where the familiar can fall into chaos, and for an example I can think of nothing better on this album than the The Grey Crow which on its surface is about a grey crow scavenging but deeper down was inspired by Christine Buckley’s work on exposing clerical abuse in institutions of the state over the last century especially. I re-recorded these to mark the passage of time.” And in doing sop he has given them new life and new meanings. The Curra Road is a song I previously recorded in 2002 and similarly The Fallen Branches is from my debut album ‘Word and Rhyme” 1998. Others are very new, including I have been loved, probably my newest from late 2008 and No bird sang from about 2 years ago. “I’ve had some of the songs for a long time, for instance ‘Take my hand’ and ‘lay me down’ were both written at the time of the Bosnian Serb/ Croat war of the mid to late 1990’s. The intimacy achieved by one voice and guitar telling its truths to the listener makes for a singular listening experience.” Some of the tracks are new, some re-workings from his previous albums as he told me in a recent IMM interview: “In many ways the spared down acoustic approach of combining Ger Wolfe’s voice and nylon string guitar recalls the approach adopted by Leonard Cohen in his 60s albums Songs of Leonard Cohen and Songs from a Room. It has trademark song writing and melodic depth his work has developed within the last decade.” He hit the nail on the head and he went on to say Using a voice and guitar combination ably produced by Peadar O Riada, the result is immediately intimate and personal. John O’Reagn wrote “No Bird Sang – Ger Wolfe’s fifth album goes back to the acoustic roots of his music. Just to note Song of the Sea will be premiering in San Diego at the Gaslamp Stadium on January 30th.Want to see earlier releases? Visit the archive.
If you are a fan of Celtic music or just soundtracks in general this is certainly something to listen to. It really adds to the atmosphere and creates a very calming surrounding. Overall, the soundtrack is a perfect blend of everything you want from this type of movie. It certainly doesn’t detract from it’s beauty but it’s just something noticed at times. The only complaint I had was that the main song seems to be repeated a lot through the soundtrack.
There is almost an overwhelming calming nature at times that complements any creative flow. What really sets this soundtrack apart from others is the very emotional response you receive from it. Both Bruno Coulais and Kila have put together something truly unique. Then add a huge influence of Celtic/Irish music. To put it very simply, imagine a Miyazaki film, usually composed by Joe Hisaishi.
If you are unfamiliar with Cartoon Saloon or The Secret of Kells you probably don’t know what to expect from Song of the Sea’s soundtrack.
There have been only a handful of soundtracks I’ll ever listen to before I see the movie and Song of the Sea was one of those. It almost allows you to relive those moments when you listen to the soundtrack. For me it breaks down into two areas: the emotions that the music makes you feel complemented by the memories and feelings you get from the movie. So what exactly makes a soundtrack truly special? It’s something that I’ve been attempting to ponder and find an answer to. While I was more then interested in seeing the actual movie based solely on the fact it was the studio that brought us The Secret of Kells, after watching but a quick trailer, the music sealed the deal. Which brings me to the upcoming animated film Song of the Sea. For me, soundtracks are one of the most important part to any movie. They make up part of my rather eclectic taste in music. If you asked me what genre of music I listen to the most, there would be a quick thought and an almost instant response: soundtracks.