Irish Music Magazine

DERRANGED DARLINGS

Intrigued by one of the freshest albums to come out of Ireland this year, John O'Regan went in search of the madcap genius behind the phenomenon that is Beoga.

Lovely and madness are words that when bandied together sound incongruous. However when put in a traditional framework you have something else, you have a great CD title. 'A Lovely Madness' is the debut album from Beoga, a new traditional group from the North of Ireland. The album is both lovely and mad in equal turns, subtlety exists beside total mayhem. For a band that is just over two years old, Beoga's music has the authority of master craftsmen, unafraid to take chances and walk on traditional music's wild side. Everything is present from jazz elements to classical string quartets and Argentinean Tango steps meeting French Musette styles, all wrapped in an Irish tortilla… and that is just 'Prelude Polkas', the opening track. There are further exotic detours including the Parisian strains of 'Exploding Bow' and quieter nuances like 'August 27th' a divine slow air composed by accordion player and guitarist Seán Óg Graham.

Beoga is made up of accordionists Seán Óg Graham, who also plays guitar and bouzouki from Portglenone, Co. Antrim, Damian McKee from Dunloy, Co. Antrim, pianist Liam Bradley from Tobermore, Co. Derry and bodhrán player and percussionist Eamon Murray who hails from Toomebridge, Co. Antrim. Different addresses, but the geography is close. "Three of us are from Antrim, half an hour from each other and Liam is from the Antrim side of Derry, which is only 20 minutes away" Sean Óg told me in the confines of 'The Paddocks' in University of Limerick, where he is currently on year two of the BA in Irish Traditional Music and Dance programme at the Irish World Music Centre.

Beoga's line up is an adventurous one. I mean, who else does two button accordions, keyboard and bodhrán as lead instruments? Playing and writing 80% original material also makes them that little bit different. "It wasn't planned", Seán Óg Graham stated "it just happened this way and we thought we would have a bit of craic and see which way it would go."

Calling themselves 'Beoga' after the Irish term for lively they were off. From the outset, Beoga seriously wanted to put an individual stamp on things and form their own musical path. "We didn't want to be rehashing what other groups are doing. We were lucky to have Seán Óg and Damian in the band because they have composed a lot of the tunes, plus they have contrasting styles as well. Damian is the traditional backbone of the group, his tunes are more traditional in style, while Sean Óg has a few different influences, including jazz. The accompaniment reflects the tunes", keyboards player Liam Bradley explained.

Beoga first leapt to prominence in the North through a competition; Trad Stars 2002. They competed against an all girl band in the final and won. They also turned heads at Ballyshannon Folk Festival, "We did the outdoor stage in Ballyshannon. They include new bands every year, which is great as it offered us a chance to play for the Ballyshannon crowd. After the gig the organiser offered us one of the main stage gigs for this year." Eamon told me. Beoga also played a hometown gig at the Gig'n' the Ban in Portglenone this past September. This coincided with the launch of 'A Lovely Madness', that very weekend and it proved very handy for CD sales, "We shifted plenty of CDs and received an excellent response including standing ovations. It was a great gig to do," Eamon Murray said.

While they do a lot of border crossing in the course of 'A Lovely Madness' eleven tracks, Beoga's musical roots are solidly traditional, based in the twin dominions of Comhaltas Ceolteorí Eireann and Irish dancing. Damian and Liam play and have played as accompanists for dancers for many years. While Eamon and Seán Óg came through the Comhaltas scene starting in the local Crosskeys branch near their hometown of Portglenone. Damian also taught Sean Óg to play the accordion so the link goes back even further. "We were all basically friends one way or another for years. We formed at a session at the All Ireland Fleadh in Listowel. Eamon and I have been planning to start a band since we were ten years old, this was what we always wanted said Seán Óg."

The album 'A Lovely Madness' was recorded at Randalstown Studio and produced by Mudd Wallace. It took a year's work to put it together and the care is evident in the high quality of the recording and the musicianship. Had fate not intervened the original plan was different, "we had planned to record the album live and have it done within a week." Sean Óg told me. 'Then when Mudd heard the tracks he told us that it was the freshest sound he had heard since Planxty and that it would be better to take our time and produce something that we could stand over later."

“When producer Mudd Wallace heard the tracks he told us that it was the freshest sound he had heard since Planxty...

They took the advice and spent the next eleven months working on their material. Guest players like Zoe Conway, John Fitzpatrick and sax player Peter Tomelty came when needed. They worked hard, thought about the music, twisted and turned their tunes upside down and inside out until they finally arrived at a finished product with which they were fully satisfied. That was not an easy task as frustration often crept in and with two university students and two professional musicians in the band it wasn't easy to juggle recording around different time constraints.

"There were times when we would have long days in the studio and wouldn't get home till 5am in the morning and then I would try and study the next day." Eamon Murray confided in me. "And also you'd feel at times that it the album was good enough to release and we’d done enough work on it, but in the end it was worth taking the extra time do it properly."

The album title 'A Lovely Madness' came from a Donegal house session Sean Óg was playing in some years ago. It was a mad session and as the music got progressively wilder, the woman of the house said 'Sure isn't this lovely madness?'

Southern visits from Beoga have seen them play at the Carlow Fleadh and also at the Ennis Trad Festival this year. Beoga also sneaked in The Corofin Music Festival and Donegal Fleadh and they also managed to get out of Ireland for a while, playing in Canada and California to positive reaction. Damian McKee is pleased with the live feedback. "The reaction was amazing. It's hard to know how your music will go down to people who might not have heard the band before. And because we have the album out now, it means we have something to promote."

December 2004 will see Beoga touring Ireland with gigs in Limerick, Galway and Dublin, special guest Niamh Dunne from Limerick's renowned Dunne Family adds a new depth with her distinctive singing and fiddle playing. "Niamh is classically trained so she can play all the string parts and she is a fine singer and that adds something new to the performance." Plans are also afoot to have extra guest musicians on board from time to time depending on the situation.

Beoga are a lively bunch indeed as befits their name and 'A Lovely Madness' ought to be the start of something big. Is it worth forking out hard earned Euro for? You bet!