Lunasa Has had a change in membership. Donogh Hennessy, dare I say one of the best Acoustic/Rhythm guitar players which has driven Lunasa for a while now has been replaced by Tim Edey. I don’t know much about this gentleman, I just hope it doesn’t change the direction of the band.
Do you think that this change is going to hurt the band?
Wow. That leaves just Sean Smyth and the bass player left over from the original lineup.
I think we’ll just have to see what happens. The music will probably change some - it certainly has since their first album. Whether thats a good thing or a bad thing is for each listener to decide.
Lunasa as been my favorite ITM band since I’m in ITM.
And I believe all the albums sounds different but up to now, the band never changed directions. Redwood had a different sound (a lot smoother) but they came back to the original sound with the Kinnity Session. And I’m glad of all that!
I would be happy their music still upgrade with time but not a change of direction like Solas did …
Leo
Last I saw on the Lunasa message board, which was a while ago, the absence was most likely temporary. He just needed to do is own stuff for a while.
I am sure I wil still like them. My favorite album is Redwood in fact I am listening to it right now along with Otherworld different but I love them both. Yes they are my favoite band and I hope they come out with another book but if Donogh doesn’t come back I don’t think they will.
Stupid question – how exactly do you pronounce ‘Lunasa’? I’m tempted for some reason to read that last syllable as “sha” or “sia” as in “Asia”.
Not a “stupid” question at all!
LOO-na-sa.
Bloom thanks for the link…I had no idea this had been a prior thread on the board.
I pronounce it Loon-a-sa
In Gaelic, if the “s” is supposed to be pronounced “sh”, then it will ususally be
surrounded by the “slender vowels” (i or e). So, if were pronounced “Loo-na-sha”,
it would probably be spelled something like Lunaisea (or more likely
Laonaiseadh, just to tick me off…) Of course, I’m not really sure if Lunasa
is supposed to be a Gaelic word or not, so I’m probably just blowing smoke.
Lúnasa is indeed an Irish word. In fact, it’s the word for the month of August!
Pronounced LOO-nuh-suh.
They’re not an ITM band, though, are they? I listened to the Redwood CD and thought it was more of a fusion thing.
Redwolf
Why wouldn’t they be? They play dance tunes with traditional instrumentation, + a double bass.
They are a lot more “arranged” than some other groups, 'tis true. But so were the Chieftains, when they first appeared.
Redwood, as has been mentioned above, is one of their more “mellow” albums. I particularly like the new Breton composition on it.
Traditional instrumentation is a fiddle solo, or pipes solo, or a flute solo, or a whistle solo, or a lilter solo, or a concertina solo.
Bloomfield, I’m surprised at you! Flutes have only been common in Irish music for less than a century-and-a-half. How can you possibly consider that traditional?
And really, when you get down to it, probably the least traditionally Irish thing Lunasa does is play reels. After all, reels were only introduced to Irish music about 200 years ago. Not really traditional, now, are they? They should be playing real traditional stuff – jigs, spiced with a few minuets, country dances, and cotillions.
[Can of worms lid]
NOt worth opening the can of worms again
[/Can of Worms closed]
I thought they were more rocked up than that, but it’s been a while since I listened to the CD…perhaps I should take another listen.
Redwolf
My overall point is that - if the music is appealing, why be concerned about a label? I personally consider Lunasa to be “trad” because they play dance tunes in familar rhythms with familiar instrumentation. By that definition, a band like Flook! wouldn’t maybe fit because they change the tunes so much from what one would expect. NOt that it matters a whit to me because they are a good band.
There are very obviously some people use a more restrictive definition than mine.
Ultimately, “tradition” is just a word. It’s the music that matters.
Right on. I agree. 
I also believe that the label “traditional” gets bandied about a lot because - let’s face it - the historical music of Ireland is just d@mned good. So, celebrate, transmit, preserve it - but because it’s good music - not on the basis of mere age.
I’m not coming down on it at all…it’s just not something I personally find appealing. Tastes differ, after all.
Redwolf