WEST OF EDEN

Founded in 1995 by the couple Jenny and Martin Schaub, following a trip to Dublin where they fell in love with Celtic folk music, they have since toured Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and China. And they have welcomed numerous guests on their various albums: Duncan Chisholm, Steph Geremia, Jarlath Henderson, Kate Rusby and Heidi Talbot...

To mark their thirtieth anniversary, they present us with a truly exceptional fifteenth album. An album where melody reigns supreme and where Jenny and Martin excel in their respective genres – folk songs for her and folk rock for him.
Having experimented with various musical styles, they return this time with an album deeply rooted in Irish, Scottish and Appalachian traditions. ‘Lighthousekeeping’ takes its title from a lighthouse keeper’s house on the west coast of Sweden, where they played their very first concert in 1994, and where they recorded this album.
For the occasion, the six band members were joined by leading figures from the traditional music scene: the Scotsman John McCusker on fiddle and whistle, and the Irishman Michael McGoldrick on uilleann pipes and whistle.

The album features well-known tracks such as ‘P Stand for Paddy’, often associated with Planxty, ‘The Rocky Road to Dublin’, ‘Paddy’s Lamentation’ and ‘Si Bheag, Si Mhór’, composed by the blind harpist T. O’Carolan around 1690. Jenny’s delicate voice works wonders on ‘Is ar Éireann ní Nfheósfainn cé hí’, accompanied by the whistle and a double bass. The same goes for ‘Song from Molom’ and ‘Willie and Mary’. When Henning Sernhede, the band’s guitarist and banjo player, lends his voice to ‘Pound a Week Rise’, he adds a distinctly ‘Americana’ touch with a repetitive banjo riff.
Rightly acclaimed in Sweden, where they enjoy a certain cult following, West Of Eden present an album that should bring them success far beyond their home country.

 West of Music WOMCD19 - www.westofeden.com