Dónal Lunny
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| Dónal Lunny | |
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| File:Donal-lunny-the-basement-sydney-australia-24-03-06.jpg
Dónal Lunny, 2006
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| Background information | |
| Born | 10 March 1947 Tullamore, County Offaly, Republic of Ireland |
| Genres | Irish traditional music Celtic Folk Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bouzouki, bodhran |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Associated acts | The Emmet Spiceland Mícheál Ó Domhnaill Christy Moore Planxty The Bothy Band Moving Hearts Andy Irvine Paul Brady Coolfin Mozaik LAPD |
Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician. Lunny has been at the forefront of the evolution of Irish traditional music for more than 35 years and has participated within the renaissance of that genre during that period. He is the brother of musician and producer Manus Lunny.[1] Lunny plays string instruments left-handed.
Contents
Early life and career
Dónal Lunny was born 10 March 1947 in Tullamore. His family moved to Newbridge, County Kildare.
As a teenager, Lunny joined a band called Rakes of Kildare, with Christy Moore. Later he formed the group, Emmet Folk, with Mick Moloney. Players from Emmet Folk and Spiceland Folk joined forces to form Emmet Spiceland—what now would be described as Lunny's first "boy band". Their debut album, The First, was released in 1968. As a vocal harmony group, they had a number 1 hit in Ireland with the single "Mary from Dungloe", which had earlier been popularised in Dublin's folk clubs by Lunny and his Emmet Folk group confrere Mick Moloney. In 1971, Lunny played on Prosperous, Moore's second album.[1]
Performing career
Planxty
In 1972, four of the musicians who played on Prosperous—Lunny, Moore, Andy Irvine, and Liam O'Flynn—formed the group Planxty. Their first professional performance was in Slattery's Pub in Capel Street, Dublin in early 1972. The band became a leading proponent of Irish traditional instrumental music for the next ten years.[1]
Celtic Folkweave
In 1974, Lunny produced and performed on the album Celtic Folkweave by Mick Hanly and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, who had been supporting Planxty on tour. Hanly, Ó'Domhnaill, and Lunny were supported in the studio by O'Flynn on uilleann pipes and whistle, Matt Molloy on flute, Tommy Peoples on fiddle, and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill on harpsichord—players who would join Lunny in forming The Bothy Band, one of the most influential Irish tradition music groups on the 1970s.[1][2][3]
The Bothy Band
Also in 1974, Lunny left Planxty to form The Bothy Band, playing guitar and bouzouki. The Bothy Band quickly developed a reputation as one of the most influential bands playing Irish traditional music. Their enthusiasm and musical virtuosity had a significant influence on the Irish traditional music movement that continued well after they disbanded in 1979.[2]
Moving Hearts
After the Bothy Band disbanded, Lunny became a session musician on various projects, including Davey and Morris, the first album to feature Shaun Davey. In 1981, Lunny reunited with Moore to form Moving Hearts, along with a young uilleann piper, Davy Spillane. Following the example of the group Horslips, Moving Hearts combined Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound. The group disbanded in 1985. In February 2007, Moving Hearts performed a reunion concert in Dublin. In 2008 and 2009, the group performed several concerts in Ireland and the United States.[1]
Coolfin
In 1987, Lunny recorded a solo album titled Dónal Lunny (Gael-Linn 1987), which included many guest musicians playing his music and arrangements. In 1998, he produced a similar group project album titled Coolfin.
Mozaik
From 2002 onwards, Lunny has performed and recorded with a multicultural group called Mozaik, featuring Bruce Molsky, Nikola Parov, Rens van der Zalm, and ex-Planxty co-performer Andy Irvine.[1]
LAPD
On Friday, 20 January 2012, Lunny appeared on stage with LAPD, the latest grouping of players from Planxty; the moniker is made up from the first name initials of Liam O'Flynn, Andy Irvine, Paddy Glackin and Dónal Lunny. After a series of occasional concerts, LAPD disbanded and their last gig took place on Saturday 26 October 2013.[4]
Lunny continues to contribute tirelessly to contemporary music in Ireland, touring with many musicians, including Zoe Conway and Mairtin O'Connor.
Production career
When Moving Hearts broke up in 1985, Lunny diversified. He learned keyboards and mandolin and became a producer. He had already produced a 45-rpm single for Skid Row (featuring the then 17-year-old Gary Moore), and in 1975 produced an album A Silk Purse for electric folk band 'Spud' who went on to introduce Paul McGuinness to band management. He was closely involved in the establishment of a new Irish record label: Mulligan Records, and produced and played on many of its early releases, the first of which was from Pumpkinhead. He played on several Christy Moore albums, and was a producer & session musician on Kate Bush albums. He played bouzouki and bodhrán on Shaun Davey's Granuaile, and Fiddle on Midnight Well's "Saw you running". He composed the soundtracks for a Turkish film, Teardrops, and the Irish film Eat the Peach. He also played on the soundtracks of the film This Is My Father and the TV program The River of Sound. In 1989, he contributed synthesizer on Mary Black's breakthrough album No Frontiers.
He was the producer and music director of the soundtrack of Bringing It All Back Home, a BBC television documentary series charting the influence of Irish music throughout the world. He produced albums for Paul Brady, Elvis Costello, Rod Stewart, Indigo Girls, Sinéad O'Connor, Clannad, Maurice Lennon, Baaba Maal, and Five Guys Named Moe.[5] He appeared on compilation albums - Gathering (1981) and Common Ground (1996). In 1994, he produced Irish Australian singer/songwriter Mairéid Sullivan's first recording, Dancer[6] He pushed new boundaries with his band Coolfin (1998) which included uilleann piper John McSherry. He appeared at the 2000 Cambridge Folk Festival, and the album that commemorated it. In 2001 Lunny collaborated with Frank Harte on the album My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte. He produced the album Human Child (2007) by Faeroese Eivør Pálsdóttir, which is published in two versions, one English and one Faeroese.
As an arranger, he has worked for The Waterboys, Fairground Attraction and Eddi Reader. Journey (2000) is a retrospective album. During 2003-2005, Lunny was part of the reunited Planxty concert tour.
He also produced Jimmy MacCarthy's album entitled Hey-Ho Believe, which was released on 12 November 2010.
Influence
Dónal Lunny has some claim to popularising the bouzouki in the Irish music sphere after its initial introduction by Johnny Moynihan. Lunny ordered a custom-built bouzouki from English luthier, Peter Abnett (who still makes instruments to this day), with a flat back instead of a traditional Greek rounded back. This made it more comfortable to play. In 1981 he went one step further by creating an electric bouzouki, though this failed to catch on.
More recently, he invented an instrument designed to solve the problem of a bass/percussion instrument in Irish traditional music. The process of building and developing the instrument was featured on his 2010 RTE series "Lorg Lunny".
Personal life
Dónal Lunny is married to Japanese musician Hidebo Itami, a member of the musical group Soul Flower Union. The couple now make their home in Okinawa, Japan. They have a daughter, Sora Chan. He has children from earlier relationships: a son, the DJ Oisin Lunny (a former member of Marxman), by his first wife, Judy; a daughter, violinist Cora Venus Lunny and a son named Shane, born in March 2004, whose mother is Sinéad O'Connor.
In addition to his musical activities, Lunny is a skilled gold-and-silversmith, who trained at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, although he only practised the craft for a short time before devoting his energies to music.
Discography
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Filmography
- Planxty Live 2004 (2004), DVD
- The Transatlantic Sessions Series 3 (2007), DVD
- Moving Hearts Live in Dublin (2008), DVD
- Andy Irvine 70th Birthday Concert at Vicar St 2012 (2014), DVD
- Mozaik on Tour 2014 (2014), YouTube video
References
- Notes
- ↑ Patrick Street are Kevin Burke, Jackie Daly, Andy Irvine, and Arty McGlynn.
- Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Andy Irvine is still going strong in his seventies." in Irish Examiner, 5 February 2015. Retrieved on 1 March 2015.
- ↑ http://www.gamekult.com/blog/jackmarcheur/default.html?cat=11541
- ↑ http://www.maireid.com
