Ye Vagabonds have released two new tracks, I'm a Rover and The Bothy Lads, on a limited edition 7-inch vinyl on Rough Trade's imprint River Lea. We asked Diarmuid Mac Gloinn, one half of the brother duo, the BIG questions . . .
The new songs were recorded at Hellfire Studio, Dublin, by Lankum producer John 'Spud' Murphy, in March 2020.
Diarmuid and Brían Mac Gloinn, learned I’m A Rover from their mother when they were young, and believe it travelled from Scotland to her home of Arranmore Island, off the coast of County Donegal, becoming this distinctly unusual version of the song on its oral journey.
The Bothy Lads is a song Ye Vagabonds learned and honed at singing sessions, before becoming a highlight of their live shows.
"We first heard this from our good friends Luke Mercier and Anthony Mannion in Walsh’s Stoneybatter one night, and they introduced us to the singing of Cilla Fisher and Artie Trezise, from whom we learned this song." say the duo.
"We recorded both songs live within two or three takes. We're delighted with this snapshot we got at the end of the Before Time."
Tell us three things about yourself?
Three things about me . . . Well, I’m a singer who plays stringed instruments. I write my own songs sometimes but for the past few years I’ve been more focused on learning, researching and piecing together traditional songs. And I perform as part of a duo with my brother, who also does all of the above.
How would you describe your music?
I‘d say we sing in a style that’s connected to the Ulster singing tradition with harmonies that draw on American traditional music too and then throw in a bit of the 1960s folk revival, especially where it comes to instrumentation. That’s us more or less. If you’re less familiar with those styles then just think: brothers, old melodies, close harmonies.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Musical inspirations would include a lot of traditional singers who were never professional in the sense that maybe it wasn’t their main job. The likes of Róise Rua, Paddy Doran, Geordie Hanna, Elizabeth Cronin. Then obviously there’s the sixties crowd, Planxty and co. And then current day folks, many of whom are pals of ours like Lisa O Neill, Eamon O’Leary and Jefferson Hamer, Anna and Elizabeth and Sam Amidon. Also love Adrienne Lenker’s latest album.
How did you occupy yourself during the coronavirus lockdown?
During lockdowns I’ve been reading a lot of books, eating good food and drinking a lot of coffee, running in the park, playing a lot of mandolin, and working on different bits of writing. Also just enjoying time at home with my wife and rewatching Twin Peaks in its entirety.
What’s your favourite song right now?
My favourite song right now is Sister in Song by our buddy Eamon O Leary. He just put out a new album called The Silver Sun that I’m really enjoying. He writes great lyrics and I love the mellotron and nylon stringed guitar combo and the easiness of his vocal delivery.
Favourite lyric of all time?
My favourite lyric of all time might be considered a mistake by some. It’s in Paddy Doran’s version of The Maid Of Lismore. Instead of ‘we called for another full jorum’ he sings ‘come in and we’ll have a gilorian’ or something like that. Gilorian doesn’t seem like it’s a word but he makes it sound so enticing. You want to go in there and have one yourself. This is one of the secrets of traditional music that some people don’t realise. Mistakes are part of the creative process in an oral tradition. They produce gems. Also, things don’t have to make sense if they sound good enough.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life what would it be?
I’m going to imagine that the same power that forbids me from listening to any other songs also permits me to travel through time and relive an actual experience rather than just playing one song on Spotify forever and it would be, surrounded by friends, in the Teachers Club at the Góilín singing session, hearing Nelly Weldon sing Via Extasia, a love song which her husband Liam Weldon wrote for her.
Where can people find your music/more information?
In other times I would have said nothing beats hearing us in person. At a gig or a session, you could hear us tell stories and jokes, or join in on the choruses of songs. But these days we have a website and that’s a good place to start. We’re on all the social media platforms and major music platforms like Spotify, Apple Music etc. There’s lots of stuff on YouTube, particularly the videos made by Myles O Reilly. And this year we also started a Patreon where we offer some extras to our followers and fans.
