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DAMIEN MULLANE

Evoke

Philippe Cousin

Born into a Cork family, Damien Mullane spent his youth in London before migrating to Ireland, where his family roots lay.

Even as a teenager, he was already gifted with an extraordinary talent, winning numerous accordion prizes and competitions. Twice Irish champion, he was soon spotted by Frankie Gavin, founder and fiddler of the band Dé Dannan. On his return to Ireland, he joined the band at the age of 19. No mean feat! A band that inspired him during his childhood, admiring the great accordionists who succeeded each other in Dé Dannan: Jackie Daly, Máirtín O'Connor, Aidan Coffey and Derek Hickey, whom he succeeded in the mid-2000s.  
But after five years with the band, he decided to strike out on his own, releasing a debut album in 2013. It was around this time that musicians such as Sting, Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones), Bob Geldof and Bill Whelan (Riverdance) called on him.
Although steeped in traditional Irish music, Damien considers himself a simple accordionist, as the traditional label, while not denying tradition, seems too restrictive. Rather than having a label imposed on him, he prefers to play the music he likes.

And he composes a lot, with 80% of the tunes on his new album Evoke bearing his stamp. A set of tunes, The Maids of Mount Kisco / The Snakes in the Bush, kicks off the 45 minutes of a truly original album. Then it's on to Damo's Slip Jigs, two tunes on which his accordion is both shimmering and gentle. A little further down the album, we're treated to Sligo Jigs, which, with pauses between musical phrases, adds a swaying rhythm.
Then there's the polka suite on which Damien ventures into Kerry and Golden Brown, a pair of waltzes in the best vein. One of the few tunes borrowed from others, Badinerie, by a certain J.S. Bach, has an incredible speed of execution that Frankie Gavin would not disavow. The album concludes with If I Didn't Mean You Well, composed by Bill Withers, on which Damien's daughter accompanies singer Niamh Farrell.
Of course, a whole host of musicians came to lend a hand to D. Mullane to make this album a real success. Let's hope it won't be another twelve years before he brings us another musical gem.

Autoproduit - www.damienmullane.com