Laoise Kelly

..FÁILTE. . . I am a traditional Irish Harper from Westport, Co. Mayo. Since my journey began with my harp (many moons ago) I have met many amazing musicians and serious characters and played some interesting music. I've been involved in more than 50 recordings with artists like Steve Cooney, Sinéad O'Connor, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin, The Chieftains, Mary Black, Donal Lunny, Kate Bush, Sharon Shannon, Tim O'Brien, Cherish the Ladies. I recorded 2 albums and toured extensively with traditional group 'Bumblebees' and have a solo album 'Just Harp'. In the world of fleadhs and harp competitions that I grew up in, one of the most memorable was winning the Waterford Crystal harp at the Belfast Bicentennial Harp festival 1992, because it was presented by non other than Mr. Derek (ding-dong) Bell RIP, and also because it only comes 'round once every 200 years! I have performed for President Mary Robinson and President Mary McAleese and for the 25 Heads of State of the EU at a special concert, I've also played at the last winter solstice of the Millennium at Newgrange, at Parliament buildings, Stormont, for the Northern Ireland Assembly Christmas celebrations, and in Tara's Halls on summer solstice 2007. Enjoy the music!
*********************REVIEWS********************
“Laoise Kelly is a young harpist with the disposition of an iconoclast and the talent and technique of a virtuoso.” Irish Times (Nuala O’Connor)
"An exuberant and innovative talent which catches the spirit of the modern Irish music movement in a way that few harpers have done to date." Irish Music Magazine
"She is probably the most important harper currently playing and this album [Just Harp] only enhances her reputation." Acousticmusic.com
“Laoise Kelly subverts all cliched images of Irish colleens with harps by playing driving instrumental music” Cara Magazine
“She turned the often sedate harp into an instrument alive with the mirth and gaiety of dance music. It serves as synth, bass and virtuoso solo instrument in her sure and confident hands. She ably changes tunings, syncopates, harmonises and above all plays a stunning melody line, all in the same breath, or sweep of the arm.” Irish Music Magazine
“Kelly virtually reinvents the instrument with her rhythmic and melodic intricacy, her syncopation and undulating chords and harmonies . . . she'll have you swaying in your bath-chair with her profound musicality.” Irish Times (Mic Moroney)
“Beautiful harp playing from one of the few young exponents of the instrument to make a name for herself in recent years on the Irish scene. She brings to the instrument a confidence, maturity, clarity and joyfulness that is both refreshing and modern using innovation and ornamentation to good effect. Many styles and influences are demonstrated on this enchanting album. Listen and let the stresses of modern life roll away on the waves of this album.” worldmusic.org.uk
“The harp itself makes it's own contribution to the music Laoise has chosen: the sharp point of attack of each note, the soft rounded tone that follows, and hangs across the next notes, creating a rich halo that is an intrinsic part of the harp's personality. Laoise's rhythmic precision and control of the bass notes, by stopping them as she plays the next note, maintains a clarity that helps the overall definition of the playing. The chordal arrangements are rich and interesting, the rhythmic accents are charming and the accuracy of Laoise's rapid triplets reinforce the precision and ease of the overall rhythm. The playing sounds effortless and allows the listener to relax and enjoy. The music of Ireland has been further enriched by this album.” Donal Lunny
“The harp has for long been a powerful icon of Irishness. When the United Irishmen set out in the eighteenth century to ‘break the connection with England‚ the symbol of their political philosophy was the harp and they proudly proclaimed that it is new strung and shall be heard.
Before the recent advent of the curious and dyslexic figure seven, Guinness and the harp were inextricably linked and we all know too well the harp on the brown envelope, which can be the voice of doom from the revenue.
Curiouser and curiouser then, as Alice would say, that the harp has not played as full a part as it might in the resurgence of Irish music that has grown like a mighty wave since the sixties. Did its connection with the old Irish aristocracy mean that it did not translate easily to these democratic modern times? Whatever the reason or reasons this CD from Laoise Kelly may be a small but significant step towards changing all that.
Eleven tracks show an exuberant and innovative talent which catches the spirit of the modern Irish music movement in a way that few harpers have done to date. There is a flexibility of rhythm and phrasing in her playing that is light and bright and gives her the scope to explore the music in a way that is fresh and twinkling and shows the harp off in a completely new light. Tracks that stand out particularly are President Garfields which includes four tunes all of which started life as hornpipes but come out quite differently here, three jigs written by Uilleann Piper, Brendan Ring under the title Brendan Rings and a most magnificent rendering of Carolan’s Farewell To Music. This is a wonderful sample of the formidable talent of Laoise Kelly who has much to offer now and to the development of Irish music in the future.” Irish Music Magazine
“The harp is a much maligned instrument, probably because of its association in years gone by with sopranos and its current widespread use in new age music. But it has been around almost since the beginning of time and is common to many cultures and traditions. There must be a reason for that. Laoise Kelly knows the reason.
If you enjoy sweeping, ethereal glissando effects and a dainty plinky-plonky sound, this album is really not for you. There is such body and depth in Laoise Kelly's playing that at times you feel there must be more than one musician playing on this solo album, as her strong melody lines are accompanied by intricate chordal accompaniment and powerful bass runs. Kelly has mastered her instrument completely.
Another exceptional element on this recording is her sense of arrangement. She digs down into the very roots of the tunes, adapts them for her instrument and presents them in a traditional setting. By drawing on the emotion and character of the melodies, Laoise's harp takes its place alongside fiddle, accordion and flute in the echelons of traditional Irish melody instruments, sounding perfectly in place.
President Garfield's Set, which opens the album, sets the mood: a dancing collection of three tunes played as reels, in which you could almost imagine Laoise as some kind of octopus - so many things appear to be happening at once. The album then leads into a waltz medley of two tunes, one classical, the second by Daithi Sproule, which literally flow around the room. Other material comes from the repertoire of pipers, fiddlers, from Canada and Ireland, and from the pen of Bill Whelan, as well as one of her own tunes along with, almost inevitably, a couple associated with Turloch O'Carolan.
The prospect of a 41-minute album of one instrument might not seem appealing to everyone, but Laoise's playing is involving and inviting, the choice of material generally spot on and the production warm and clear.
Laoise Kelly has made her mark playing on a number of recordings over the last few years, as well as with her band, the Bumblebees. She is probably the most important harper currently playing and this album only enhances her reputation. By taking a 'whole harp' approach to her music, she has produced a highly enjoyable album.” Jamie O'Brien
“Triplets made in Heaven”, Derek Bell of The Chieftains once remarked on hearing Laoise Kelly, not, of course, suggesting that Laoise had a couple of sisterly look-alikes, but simply describing the quality of her playing. Born in Westport, Co. Mayo, in 1973, Laoise studied music at Maynooth and University College Cork and has since become one of Ireland's foremost traditional harpers. Known in part through her membership of the Bumblebees, Laoise's solo career has encompassed a large number of recordings, including releases by Dónal Lunny, Sharon Shannon and the Ní Dhomhnaill sisters. She has also become widely known to television audiences through appearances in A River of Sound and Eurovision, played in Bill Whelan's Seville Suite with RTÉ Concert Orchestra and toured the US and Australia in performances of Charlie Lennon's Famine Suite. Building on the pioneering efforts of Máire Ní Chathasaigh, Laoise has redefined the harp's potential, moving it a step nearer its reinstatement as a traditional instrument. Through sheer talent and technical brillance she has transformed it into a conduit for her remarkable interpretations of her dance music. Her 1999 solo album, Just Harp, simply oozes flair and gaiety with sparkling melodic lines, resonant chords and a subtle use of the bass strings to create harmonic richness while maintaining an almost unstoppable rhythm. All of this is encapsulated in her extraordinary playing of the jigs “The Yellow Wattle/Trip to London/Trip to Brittany” where she plays a walking, syncopated bass line that some jazzers would die for. Just Harp - Stylish and stunning music from a truly original musician. The Rough Guide to Irish Music (Geoff Wallis and Sue Wilson)
“Kathleen Watkins, Deirdre O’Callaghan and all the dear Spinning Eileens may still be charming the blue-rinse Yanks and mead-swilling Eurotourists in stone castles, but Laoise Kelly is telling the true story around Galway and on her CD Just Harp.
Just Harp is exactly what is says it is, with no plethora of established musicians throwing their weight for support and ending up with that cliched 90’s trad sound. To boot Laoise is a fellow townie of mine from Westport, and it gives me a great sense of pride that she has achieved so much in such a short time.
Laoise has taken the harp, with a little help from one Máire Ní Chathasaigh, out of the castles and back to its rightful place in Irish trad music, where driving hornpipes like President Garfield’s sit alongside the beautiful Carolan’s Farewell. She reinvents the harp with impeccable ornamentation, walking bass lines, steady rhythms and wonderful harmonies. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in the set of reels The Trip, where reels are played at full speed with consummate ease. Princess Beatrice, learned from Siobhan Peoples, is a beautiful, stately piece that transcends the tradition, followed by the well-known Dowd’s favourite.
Just Harp is an album which should not be consumed all in one go. Instead the listener should dip in occasionally and sample the sheer brilliance in small doses. In this way one’s life will be prolonged and humanity will edge closer to solving the great mysteries of life.” Tony Reidy
“Laoise Kelly, from Co.Mayo, employs no guest musicians at all. As the album title tells us, it is Just Harp…or, more accurately, it’s just the most exquisite harp imaginable. Although still in her twenties, Laoise’s highly developed and individual style displays a remarkable maturity.
What characterises her approach, in particular, is her incredibly inventive left hand, which she uses to create wonderfully rhythmic and totally un-harp-like walking bass lines. She’s no slouch with the right hand, either, as she coaxes and caresses strong, but oh so gentle, melodies out of those strings.
From the opening set of slightly unorthodox hornpipes – Brendan Mulvihill’s Compliments to Sean Maguire, The Saratoga and President Garfield’s – you know you’re on to a winner. Much of the material is Irish in origin, though Laoise nods, occasionally, in the direction of Cape Breton with tunes like The lion and Charles Sutherland, which came from a collection published by Jerry Holland. Picking highlights is impossible; Laoise’s lights never dim and the wide variety – from Bill Whelan’s evocative Coast of Galicia, through her own Putting It Off to the more familiar Carolan’s Farewell – makes for a collection that holds the attention throughout.
Don’t Just Harp. Just get it! New talent like this is a rare commidity.”
Taplas (Keith Hudson)