Experimental folk trio to represent NI at global music industry festival

An experimental folk band which blends traditional Irish music with electronic sounds will represent Northern Ireland at a global music industry event in Manchester.

The Coras Trio will play the Horizons Stage at WOMEX 24.

The event, which takes place for three nights from October 24, brings together 2,600 delegates from 90 countries and features more than 50 live acts.

The Horizons Stage in the Albert Hall provides UK and Irish artists with an opportunity to gain international recognition and to meet leading industry professionals and secure touring opportunities.

Conor McAuley, drummer with the Belfast-based Coras Trio, said their music draws inspiration from Irish traditional sounds but leans heavily on improvisation with some “DIY electronics” thrown in.

He said: “Myself, Kevin (McCullagh, fiddle) and Paddy (McKeown, guitar), through the process of playing together and investigating tunes, have developed these ways of approaching the tradition from an improvisational perspective.

“We do have loose structures that we might adhere to, but you might not.

“It can be exhausting because every single gig that you do is completely different. You are not tied to anything.

“It forces us to find new ways to listen and new ways to play together.

“We get the best music when we listen to each other.”

He added: “From our early beginnings we weren’t sure how people would react to the way that we sound, but because there is so much in that (folk) tradition, even though we are drawing on those tunes, breaking them down and pulling them apart, expanding them and pushing them as far as we can, the connection is still there, the emotional connection is still there.

“Whether you are from a traditional background, a progressive background or just somebody who has wandered into the room, we all have a set of ears, we all feel. The reaction has been really warm.”

He said: “On top of our sounds we then have the DIY electronics.

“Kevin, he builds and designs his own (electronic) patches which will manipulate sounds in a certain way.

“We can send certain feeds into that patch. He can take the signal from the guitar player, he can go off his own fiddle, we have experimented with feeding the drums through it.

“It actively listens to what we are doing and then spits out its own response to the music.

“As a result of that we have very much generated our own sound.

“We are a trio but the electronics are like two other members of the band. It forces you to re-evaluate and listen harder.”

Mr McAuley said the opportunity to play at WOMEX 24 was exciting for the future of the band.

He said: “It is an industry gathering with showcases and performances, basically the whole world industry gathers in one place.

“It’s a fantastic festival. It is quite an overwhelming event, every corner of the world is represented.

“Who knows who is going to be standing there listening to what we are doing.”

The band’s participation at WOMEX is supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland with funding from the National Lottery.

Ciaran Scullion, head of music and opera at the Arts Council, said: “We are committed to providing valuable, meaningful opportunities for our artists to grow and reach their full potential, and the Horizons Stage offers artists not only the opportunity to connect with the UK-wide industry, but also to showcase the tremendous talent that is inherent to Northern Ireland on an international stage.”