I spent the past year working on this album of acoustic covers of Irish tunes and Scottish ballads. Some of the tunes follow existing arrangements pretty closely, while others I wrote and recorded new string, horn, and guitar parts and tried to give the songs a new twist. I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out.
Liner Notes
I fell in love with Celtic music upon first hearing Enya’s “The Celts” at the age of fourteen. This album is my attempt to cover many of the favorites I’ve discovered over the years, using my own voice and fresh arrangements. My wife and children graciously contributed their own musicianship and encouragement along the way. This work is largely an homage to Jim Malcolm, John Doyle, Pierre Bensusan, and others. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Matt Jepsen: Guitar, vocals, harmonica, dulcimer
Erin Jepsen: Flute, whistle
Natalie Jepsen: Violin, vocals
Seth Jepsen: Horn, string bass
Track List
1. The Pure Drop
2. The Apprentice Boy
3. Be Thou My Vision
4. Matrix (Celtic Acoustic Mix)
5. The Return from Fingal
6. My Parents Reared Me Tenderly
7. Geordie’s Byre / Galway Piper
8. The Battle of Waterloo
9. Sheebeg an Sheemor
10. Pretty Saro
11. Glenlogie
12. How Can I Keep From Singing?
13. The Wild Geese
14. Sweet Afton
Availability
In addition to the full album as a single YouTube video here, you can find an individual playlist version. You can also find it on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and all the other usual suspects if you happen to subscribe to one of those. For a free/name-your-price download of the high-quality audio, head on over to Bandcamp. I also have a small handful of nice hand-made physical CDs for sale there.