LEOIN RUA

A few years ago, I introduce you, in Trad Magazine, to Sligo, a band based on the Luxembourg border. Since then, like so many other bands, Sligo has split up. But it was only to be reborn in 2020 by joining forces with two members of Blossom, another band from Lorraine.

The result was Leoin Rua, Irish for Red Lions, a reference to the symbol of neighbouring Luxembourg.
Yann Caroff (bass and arrangements), Axelle Colombo (fiddle) and Fabio Andreazza (bodhrán) from the late Sligo, joined by Rebecca Noël (concertina, piano, bodhrán and vocals) and Julien Destange (guitar and vocals), combined their talents to create a new band.
A skilful blend of traditional music and arrangements with a touch of modernity, this friendly combo also places a great deal of emphasis on multi-part singing in its repertoire.

And for their first recording, they have chosen to offer their public a six-track EP, A l'Auberge du Lion Rouge. It features songs straight out of tradition, some of them standards. Foggy Dew is an emblematic song from the 1916 revolution. P. Stands For Paddy, covered many times by the likes of Planxty and Cara Dillon. Then there's the famous Back Home In Derry, a song written by Bobby Sands during his captivity in the notorious Maze prison and later popularised by Christy Moore. There's also At McCarthy's Party, learnt from the late Seamus Begley, whose voice can be heard on a hidden track. Then there's Are Ye Sleeping Maggie, written by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill and performed by singer Helen Flaherty.
As usual on a record of Irish music, you'll recognise polkas, hornpipes, reels and jigs, performed in dynamic fashion by these five excellent musicians. All that's left now is for them to perform and come up with a full album in a few months' time.

Autoproduit – www.leoinrua.com