Linda Buckley: From Ocean's Floor

Release date: 25 September 2020

Linda Buckley is an Irish composer who has written extensively for orchestra (BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dresdner Sinfoniker, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra), and has a particular interest in merging her classical training with the worlds of post punk, folk and ambient electronica. She is 'one of the leading figures in the thriving Irish new music scene' (Christopher Fox, Tempo) with her work being described as 'fantastically brutal, reminiscent of the glitch music of acts such as Autechre' (Liam Cagney, Composing the Island).

In Ó Íochtar Mara (From Ocean's Floor), the most substantial work on this album, Buckley combines sean nós (an Irish ‘old style’ of elaborately ornamented solo singing) with string quartet and electronic drones. Iarla Ó Lionáird is one of the finest contemporary exponents of sean nós and the song-cycle is based upon Gaelic love poetry of love and loss, some dating back to the seventh century.
Discordia was commissioned by Joby Burgess for his Canna Sonora, an instrument assembled from tuned, vertical aluminium tubes that he strokes with rosin-impregnated gloves creating other-worldly sonorities. Also on the album is the shimmering, ethereal Exploding Stars for violin (Darragh Morgan) and electronics, Haza written for the ConTempo Quartet when Buckley was living in New York, the floating, glacial Fridur for piano (Isabelle O'Connell) and electronics, and the ambient, immersive Kyrie performed by the composer herself on vocals and electronics.

NMC’s Debut Discs are crucial calling cards, invaluable for showcasing composers to a wider public, giving them the opportunity to present a first full portrait album of their work. Debut Discs has to date supported 21 releases.

Iarla Ó'Lionáird voice
Darragh Morgan violin
Joby Burgess  percussion (canna sonora)
Linda Buckley voice, electronics
Isabelle O'Connell piano
Crash Ensemble
ConTempo Quartet

AUDIO

REVIEWS

GUARDIAN 10 BEST FOLK ALBUMS OF 2020

FOLK RADIO EDITOR'S PICK

GUARDIAN FOLK ALBUM OF THE MONTH

MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL RECORDING OF THE MONTH - JANUARY 2021

'The music is Irish, modern and worldly .. performed by an all-star line-up including Iarla O'Lionaird and Crash Ensemble, this comes very highly recommended from all of us here on the Sound Out team' Sound Out, RTÉ Lyric FM

'An excellent portrait of one of Ireland's most interesting composers' Journal of Music

'refined and distinctive.' Gramophone

'Buckley's music traverses a fault line between discomfort and great beauty. The works on this album are captivating; I couldn't tear myself away.' ★★★★ BBC Music Magazine

‘Here is somebody really, really special.’ Iggy Pop, BBC Radio 6

'I'm a big fan of Linda's music, and her ability to reduce a magnitude of emotions into a single phrase.' Hannah Peel, BBC Radio 3 Night Tracks

'What is particularly striking about Buckley’s work is the way in which the ear is seduced into these dark territories...the intensity of her work is irresistible - a generous portrait that is full of surprises and unsettling questions.'  Tim Rutherford-Johnson, The Rambler

'The Irish composer combines traditional séan-nos singing with an electronic soundscape, connecting past and future ... It’s clear how much Buckley deeply connects her past to her present, opening up possibilities for our mutual musical futures.' Guardian - Folk Album of the Month

'Music of mythic magic ... In Kyrie, this ecstasy is sublime as well as brilliant - it's summoned from the places between and beyond Linda's voice and these electronics, all taken out of themselves to find something richly and strangely powerful.' BBC Radio 3 New Music Show

'Linda Buckley is unquestionably one of the most exciting, prolific, and as mentioned elsewhere, 'ecstatic’ composers to come from Ireland in recent times.' Sean Clancy, RTÉ

'diverse and ultra imaginative work, intense and shimmering…' BBC Radio Scotland

'Intelligent, atmospheric and strangely beautiful.' ★★★★ Songlines

'...a soundtrack for filmic depictions of moodily dark, implacable landscapes.' The Irish Times

'a masterpiece in connecting the past and future.' Evening Standard

FUNDERS

With special thanks to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the Vaughen Williams Foundation for their support of this recording.

Thank you to the Trusts, Foundations and individuals who have invested in NMC’s Debut Discs series:

The John S Cohen Foundation
The Garrick Charitable Trust
Nicholas and Judith Goodison's Charitable Settlement
The Leche Trust
The Mercers' Charitable Foundation
Stanley Picker Trust
The Steel Charitable Trust
Terry Holmes
Robert McFarland
James and Anne Rushton
Martin Staniforth
Duncan Tebbet
Judith Weir
and everyone who donated through NMC's Debut Disc Appeal

RECORDING CREDITS