Well, it’s finally here!
I write this from on board the flight taking me to live in New York for eight months, where I’ll be concentrating on developing my songwriting skills and learning a new skill of instrument making.
I have been incredibly busy in the run up to this period, what with taking care of practical things related to leaving my life and flat in Edinburgh for a spell, but also finishing up some work which needed to be completed before I left. I just recorded a new album of traditional music from my home area of Dundalk in Ireland, with Oirialla. The band takes its name from the ancient province of Oriel, in South East Ulster and much of the music has been sourced from old manuscripts and given a new breath of life again. It feels very appropriate to have completed that recording, so close to my home and heart, and in a way, to have reaffirmed my own identity, before embarking on a new adventure across the pond.
Maybe our cultural identity is something which in the ‘old world’ we can sometimes take for granted, whereas the American people whilst forging ahead in their own culture are at the same time, deeply interested in the history and origins of their own families. New York of course is a famous landmark through the ages, for immigrants from many backgrounds, and the Irish workers in particular were influential during the evolution of New York as we know it today. I am looking forward to getting to know and explore the city, find out where the traditional music is happening, and get immersed in the amazing contemporary music scene there.
There is a great songwriting community based in New York, and as a fledgling songwriter myself, I am curious, and a little terrified of becoming involved in it! There continues a songwriters weekly meeting on Monday nights, which was started over 30 years ago by Jack Hardy. Jack was a fantastic writer himself, but also a huge inspiration to many American songwriters over the years, and he sadly passed away in 2011. He was in New York from 1972 and he was the founder of the ‘Fast Folk’ magazine and record label, credited with discovering such acts as Suzanne Vega, John Gorka and Lucy Kaplansky to name but a few. I was fortunate enough to meet Jack at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, in the Summer of 2009. He was a great character, great fun, and very non-precious about the music. I resolved to attend his songwriters meeting at that point, but it is only now, through the Get a Life Fund, that I have been afforded the opportunity. It is intimidating to think of singing your newly born song idea in front of other writers, hung out there for some hearty constructive criticism, but I remember Jack and his encouraging spirit and I am determined to give it my best shot. It’s Wednesday today, and the next meeting is on Monday night.
On a practial note, after much searching, I found an apartment to rent in a central area of Brooklyn, which I hope will be ready on the 15th December as promised. It will be Christmas time in New York, and this will be my first ever Christmas away from my family. I will miss them! A few close friends and family have already booked time to come and visit!
I have already been offered my first gig in Manhattan as well. It’s playing background music for a Christmas Party, but it’s blacktie and should be a good way to meet my first few bonafide New Yorkers!
My first trip back to the UK will be to perform at Celtic Connections International Festival in Glasgow, where I have four concerts during January. One of the concerts, at Glasgow Concert Hall on Friday 27th, is a special one-off performance of a commission I wrote for the 2007 festival. It brings together ten musicians including Daniel Lapp from Vancouver, Dana Lyn from Brooklyn, and Will Oldham from Kentucky as well as a host of wonderful Scottish artists. I am very much looking forward to that show, and, appropriately enough, it is composed on the theme of ‘Journeying’. The title of the piece is ‘Astar’ which is Scottish Gaelic for ‘Journey’ or ‘Distance’.
Yours with much excitement and a little trepidation,
Nuala
Posted by nualakennedy on December 9th, 2011.
