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The Irish Club of Regina has quite a few active musicians within it's ranks and they are always willing to play a tune or two! Many of them are active within Rógairí, one of Regina's newest and best Celtic bands! We have accomplished fiddle, whistle, flute, guitar and bodhrán players.
If you're looking for some music for an event, lessons or just a fellow musician to chat with, please feel free to email us at info@irishclubofregina.org!
CD Review - Six of One 5 of the Other - An Tua
Submitted by David Popoff
An Tua is a great Irish band fronted by flute player and singer Hanz Araki. Hanz is short for Hanzaburo and he is the world's only sixth generation Shakuhachi player, a traditional Japanese flute. Hanz also became interested in the Irish flute, due to the Irish traditions on his mother's side and he has become an international master on both instruments. Hanz was also the flute player for the well known band, The Paperboys.
The album Six of One 5 of the Other was released in 2004 and features Hanz as well as other guest musicians such as Dave Corey on bouzouki and Suzanne Taylor on keyboards. There are numerous other musicians who weren't identified on his website, which is a shame, as he has some outstanding talent on this album! I purchased the album through iTunes, which doesn't provide the liner notes, and it's a shame that his website doesn't provide a bit more information.
The CD features six songs and five sets of tunes, hence the title! Hanz and his fellow musicians do a great job of traditional tunes such as Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore, Jock o' Hazeldean and The Boys of Barr na Sraide. He also does a great job fronting on flute on the outstanding sets of tunes on the album. Hanz's voice suits the songs he sings. He sings in quite a traditional style and the instrumentation and arrangements on his songs and tunes are contemporary enough to be interesting to the listener, but traditional enough to be familiar.
Hanz Araki and An Tua's website can be found at www.antua.com.
Music Review - Flook - Flatfish
Submitted by Bryan Rice
I first came upon this band on my honeymoon last summer in Ireland. We found an incredible music shop/recording company/café called Magnetic Music that is a place any Celtic music lover could easily spend a day. The shop can be found in Doolin, County Clare a few kilometers from the infamous Cliffs of Mohr.
We were digging in the mountains of music around the store looking for a band that featured the bodhran. The owner made one suggestion; a group she guaranteed to be exactly what we wanted. She told us that, in her opinion, Flook has the best bodhran musician in all of Ireland. This is a bold statement to make considering how many musicians there are throughout the very musically inclined country.
The band members include: Sarah Allen (flute, alto flute, whistle and accordion), Ed Boyd (guitar, bouzouki and mandolin), Brian Finnegan (flutes, whistles and bansuri), and last, but definitely not least, John Joe Kelly (bodhran). The band is technically solid and although three of the members play multiple instruments, they are very proficient on what ever they pick up. The album Flatfish is entirely tunes. In my personal opinion, there is no vocalist that could steal your ears away from the flutes and whistles let alone the bodhran. They are enchanting; jazz flute freestyles are the initial hook that brings you into the music, but the heart and soul of the band belongs to Kelly. He is an absolute master of his drum. The speed and precision that he brings to Flook are unmatchable; his rhythm is trancelike. Any Flook album will find a spot in your regular rotation if you are a fan of traditional Irish music with a modern twist.
“...to say John Joe Kelly plays the bodhran, is like saying Mount Everest is a bit of a climb” Sidmouth Music Festival, Paul Saunders, March 1999.
“Sarah Allen and Brian Finnegan ring and redouble the changes, combining fiery wildness and adrenalin-fuelled spontaneity with razor-sharp technical control and rich fullness of feeling.” Songlines, Spring 2000.
“No guest players, no electronic embellishments, just a craking set of tunes, from tender waltzes to fiery Balkan dances, and a cornucopia of sublime musicianship.” Rating ***** out of 5 Sue Wilson, The Scotsman, October 2, 1999.