'Manran' at Celtic Connections 2012

Mànran entertained us with a fun set of tunes at the Late Sessions stage for the BBC Radio at Celtic Connections 2012 on Thursday 2nd February. Manran is a young Scottish band whose style of playing incorporates Gaelic traditions, Scottish folk music and rock  The members of the band are Norrie MacIver (guitar/vocals), Gary Innes (accordion), Ewen Henderson (fiddle/pipes), Calum Stewart (flutes/uilleann pipes), Ross Saunders (bass) and Scott Mackay (drums). The band made No 6 in the UK indie chart and in the Scottish Singles chart with their first single Latha Math.  http://manran.co.uk/

Piper Fred Morrison performed at Celtic Connections 2012

Scottish piper Fred Morrison performed a very enjoyable set of Scottish tunes at Celtic Connections 2012, the Late Sessions stage for the BBC Radio on Tuesday 31st January with Tim O'Brien. Morrison plays the Great Highland Bagpipes, the bellows-blown reel pipes, the Irish Uileann pipes, and the low whistle. He is one of the world's leading pipers and is a renowned composer of music for the bagpipes. His father taught him through the traditional method of canntairachd, the sung vocables used to convey pipe music before notation. "I hear that singing in my head every time I play."  He has played with Clan Alba with Dick Gaughan and also with Capercaille. He co-arrange the music for the film Rob Roy.  In 2006 he formed the Fred Morrison Band with Paul Jennings, Duncan Lyall, Douglas Miller and Innes Watson. Morrison's album Outlands was released in 2009.http://www.fredmorrison.com/

Madison Violet at Celtic Connections 2012

Two Canadian girls took to the Late Sessions stage for the BBC Radio 3 show hosted by Mary Kennedy at Celtic Connections Glasgow 2012, on Tuesday 31^st January after their sold out ABC gig. They sang their song The Ransom off their 2009 third album No Fool for Trying, which won the John Lennon Songwriting Award. They spoke of what a fabulous event Celtic was and how lucky we were to have it. I was impressed with the quality of their songs and their bright artistic sound.
Their 2011 follow-up album The Good in Goodbye has received major attention.  http://www.madisonviolet.com/
http://www.celticconnections.com/ 

*Lana Del Rey - 'Born To Die' album Review

'Hollywood sex kitten siren via a very carefully grafted persona.' 

Lana Del Rey - 'Born To Die' album released Janaury 2012 review.

.. of Lolita glasses, flowered petticoat dresses, waved Rita Hayward hair and pouty red lipstick. Her image takes me back to those soft sell fifties days of high-winged Buicks, neat furniture and men in ties....

I'm all for imagery as an artist and many of the best musicians in the past (while not all!) have created art around their music - the best examples are the Beatles album covers, Dylan's freewheelin, Queen's opera, Radiohead's videos, more I am sure... 

Her music is full of cinematic strings and her distinctive caressing voice.  

Some good moments in her album Born To Die with songs such as Diet Mountain Dew, National Anthem, and her singles Video Games and Blue Jeans. Weaker moments too with the slightly soft pop of Carmen, Radio and Dark Paradise. Also in my view the production at times can be somewhat stitled and overdone.  

She shouldn't feel the need to emulate Amy Whinehouse as on Million Dollar Man. Her music works best when she has the sexy purr of Video Games and the slow husky voice she does so well. Plus there is no doubt that she has taken such a cool name! This is a good debut and I wish her well. ‘Born To Die’ is presently at No 1 worldwide. 

"Born To Die" is the major-label debut by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey was released on January 30, 2012 through Interscope Records and Stranger Records. Del Rey's first single from the album, “Video Games” received huge interest on Youtube, now with over 40m hits, and brought about the singer's popularity. Born to Die reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart and became one the fastest-selling albums of the year selling 116,745 copies, the biggest first-week sales of 2012.