- [Fiachna] This week on Tradfest from Dublin Castle, we have Luka Bloom with Moxie, Laoise Kelly, Tolu Makay, Enda Gallery, and Karen Casey.

[lively Irish folk music] [solemn violin music] Tradfest: The Dublin Castle Sessions are funded in part by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports, and Media.

[gulls calling] [playing lively Irish folk music] ♪ I'm a bogman ♪ I'm a bogman ♪ So many people look at the bog ♪ ♪ As a place that just lies dead ♪ ♪ Nothing to do for the body ♪ Nothing to give to the head ♪ Take me where the heather and the moss grow ♪ ♪ The turf lies row after row ♪ Out there in the sun to dry ♪ I breathe it as I pedal on by ♪ ♪ With the kids and the dogs mucking together ♪ ♪ Bringing in the turf ♪ No matter what the weather ♪ I'm a bogman ♪ Deep down ♪ It's where I come from ♪ A bogman ♪ Deep down ♪ It's where I come from ♪ I'd love to see Arizona ♪ Or the West Australian sands ♪ But my heart belongs to ♪ Those precious wetlands ♪ No matter where your traveling takes you ♪ ♪ Sure the bog will never leave you ♪ ♪ Some people look for God above ♪ ♪ Down in the bog ♪ I found love ♪ Where the heather and the moss grow ♪ ♪ The turf lies row after row out there ♪ ♪ In the sun to dry ♪ I breathe it in ♪ As I pedal on by ♪ With the kids and the dogs ♪ All mucking together ♪ Bringing in the turf ♪ No matter what the weather ♪ I'm a bogman ♪ Deep down ♪ That's where I come from ♪ I'm a bogman ♪ Deep down ♪ That's where I come from [continue playing lively folk music] [Moxie vocalizing] [Moxie continues vocalizing] ♪ You love a cup of tea by the turf fire ♪ ♪ Arms around your heart's desire ♪ ♪ The two of you looking out ♪ At the midland night ♪ And the shooting stars, the satellites ♪ ♪ Turf smell warms hearts ♪ The hugging and the kissing starts ♪ ♪ Bog love surrounds you ♪ A beautiful place to come to ♪ I am a bogman ♪ I am a bogman ♪ I am a bogman ♪ I am a bogman [Luka scatting] [Luka continues scatting] ♪ I'm a bogman ♪ I'm a bogman ♪ That's where I come from ♪ It's where I come from ♪ Yeah [continue playing lively folk music] ♪ I'm a bogman ♪ I'm a bogman ♪ I'm a bogman ♪ I'm a bogman - Fiachna O Brainain.

[speaks Irish] As I travel the world with Hothouse Flowers, it's my constant pleasure to share songs and stories with those I meet.

I'm delighted to be joined now by Tolu Makay, Enda Gallery, and by Laoise Kelly.

Laoise, will you kick us off?

You've got a few tunes for us?

- It's 350 years since the birth of the great Turlough O'Carolan, so I'll play one of his maybe lesser well-known.

It's got a big title, which I suppose drew me in.

It's called "Separation of Soul and Body".

[playing gentle harp music] [continues playing gentle harp music] [continues playing gentle harp music] [continues playing gentle harp music] [continues playing gentle harp music] [continues playing gentle harp music] [continues playing gentle harp music] [continues playing gentle harp music] [continues playing gentle harp music] - That was amazing.

If any room in the land is made for harp music, it's this room here.

Tell us a bit about the harp, it's so synonymous with who we are, and where we're from.

- It's a known- - That's well-known.

- It is, yeah.

Yeah, it's a load of baggage.

- Yeah.

[both laughing] - Besides being the most amazing musical instrument, but it really is, yeah.

To have it as our national symbol is really, yeah.

It's really cool when you go across.

Well I know a lot of people, when they're going to the airport, and they're here with their passports and tickets- - Yes, of course.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, yeah.

- But it's for a reason.

We've loved the harp and music for, like, since the Middle Ages.

Since before.

The harping is older than Christianity in Ireland, you know?

So it's humongous.

- [Fiachna] Yes.

Yeah, yeah.

- Yeah.

- Huge.

And I wanna come to you, as you're working on this idea of mixing hiphop with traditional music.

- Yeah.

- [Fiachna] Where has traditional music appeared kind of on your musical map?

- Yeah, I just had this conversation with Strange Boy who's a wonderful rapper from Limerick, where I was kinda thinking, hiphop is kind of like a, one of the sort of penetrating vibrations in the world right now, especially for the youth, it's very influential in their identity, you know?

And traditional music would have been that for many generations before, you know?

And I just had this vision of how we can really do our own hiphop would be to combine these two worlds, or not even to call it hiphop, like it's really gonna be something new.

There's probably many people who will say like, I don't think that's traditional Irish music.

But it's my, probably somewhat naive take on it.

And for me, that's okay.

It's a lot of fun.

- Oh, absolutely.

Well for me, traditional music can't stay alive without evolving.

- Yeah, exactly.

- Without growing, and it sounds exciting.

Tell me where you guys, Tolu, and you first came on my radar when you sent me a piece of music, I think, which featured Tolu singing on it.

- Oh yeah.

It's a crazy story about that song.

I went to Morocco for a 10 day meditation, and I had written this song about eight months before, but I had kinda forgotten about the song, to be honest.

And then on the fifth day of this meditation, I had this flying dream, and it was the only dream I've had where I was fully conscious in the dream, and in the dream, I was kind of picked up out of the bed where I was, and I was flown through the sky, and I was flown into a cathedral, and I heard the gospel choirs, and it sounded ecstatic, I mean, the feeling that I woke up with was like, wow, you know?

And it showed me how I was supposed to produce the song.

I actually wrote to a friend of mine who presents a radio show, John Barker, and I kind of told him a bit about the dream.

But he kind of sent me five or six people, and when I heard Tolu I was like, I think it's her.

I didn't consider anyone else, and I wrote to Tolu, and we met up.

It was actually really a dream production in a way.

- You wanna do a song for us?

- Yeah, well let's actually do that song, then.

- Yeah.

- Great.

- Flows in well.

[playing soft piano music] [continues playing soft piano music] ♪ Just hit the heights right now ♪ ♪ And it's got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ I would be wrong if I ♪ Did not reflect on the way ♪ All that has purified me ♪ And all that has led me astray ♪ ♪ I remember I refuse to call ♪ And now I shed tears ♪ 'Cause I've been thinking about how I'm living my life ♪ ♪ How many moments I've spent in my mind ♪ ♪ How long have I been afraid to die ♪ ♪ And afraid to live life right ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ And you got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ And you got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ Oh, oh ♪ There was so much temptation ♪ To give up when it got so hard ♪ ♪ But your revelations ♪ All that I wish I'd known from the start ♪ ♪ It made sense of everything ♪ Connect me again to my heart ♪ Connect me with everything ♪ Angelic ♪ Psychedelic ♪ I'm feeling inside me a love unconditional ♪ ♪ Feeling inside me a love so powerful ♪ ♪ Feeling a love so total ♪ That the goodness is hard to bear ♪ ♪ And you got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ Oh, oh ♪ And you got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ Oh, oh ♪ And you got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ And you got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ Oh, oh ♪ All I had ♪ To come from ♪ All I had to bear in my life ♪ Oh I never thought I'd get it off my soul ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ All I never knew ♪ Was waiting patiently here for me ♪ ♪ All my life, oh ♪ Oh, I've never known ♪ Something so good ♪ This is the greatest gift to see ♪ ♪ With the eyes of the almighty ♪ ♪ And you got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ Oh, ooh ♪ And you got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ Oh, oh ♪ And you got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ Oh, ooh ♪ And you got me feeling this way ♪ ♪ Oh, ooh ♪ All I need ♪ This is all I need ♪ This is all I need ♪ This is ♪ This is the greatest gift ♪ All I need ♪ This is all I need ♪ This is all I need ♪ This is ♪ This is the greatest gift - It certainly is.

Tolu.

- Yes?

- [Fiachna] Tell me a bit about where you've come from, and where you're going to.

You've had an amazing time in the last couple of months, haven't you?

- I have.

Honestly, it's been, I'm still taking it in, and I still don't know how I feel.

It's been a lot, but amazing.

- [Fiachna] Yeah.

- Where I come from.

[both laughing] My background, in terms of music, has been with gospel.

Yeah, that's where I started from.

Where am I going?

Everywhere.

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

That's where I'm going.

That's where I'm heading.

- Tell me a little bit, I'm just curious now to find out about your creative process, because you totally inhabited every word that you're singing.

- Yeah, you have to feel every word that you sing.

I think it's very important that you're able to do that, especially if you're singing such a meaningful song, it's important that you're able to feel it first so that you can translate that out.

- That's beautiful.

It's a deep thing.

Are you gonna do us a song?

- Yes.

The next song.

- [Fiachna] Wanna tell us a little bit about it?

- Is, I'll let you introduce it, if you want.

- Sure, okay.

And this song is called "Slow Your Attention".

- [Fiachna] Okay.

[playing soft piano music] ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪ Guess I knew from the start of it ♪ ♪ That I got to the heart of you ♪ ♪ Oh, guess we kind of false started it ♪ ♪ Honesty can put too much on show ♪ ♪ Although I know I know myself ♪ ♪ I can't help how the chemicals flow ♪ ♪ Without danger, how it turns ♪ The fire burns low ♪ So slow your attention my way ♪ ♪ You know you've got to keep my ignition warm ♪ ♪ You know you've got to keep it together ♪ ♪ Keep it together ♪ 'Fore we let this fall apart ♪ Still I feel there's a fight in us ♪ ♪ 'Cause there's so much right in us ♪ ♪ Oh, guess we kind of false started it ♪ ♪ I guess somehow we need that to grow ♪ ♪ Somehow we need the pain ♪ Somehow we need the games ♪ To appreciate it ♪ To appreciate it ♪ So slow your attention my way ♪ ♪ You know you've got to keep my ignition warm ♪ ♪ You know you've got to keep it together ♪ ♪ Keep it together ♪ 'Fore we let things fall apart ♪ ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪ Slow your attention my way ♪ You know you've got to keep my ignition warm ♪ ♪ You know you've got to keep it together ♪ ♪ Keep it together ♪ 'Fore we let things fall apart ♪ - Beautiful.

- Beautiful.

- Thank you.

- Beautiful.

That's such a gorgeous song.

- Thanks.

- Honored.

- Well, it's been a remarkable year for finding truth, and new truths, and surmounting the things that have kept us all apart, it's sort of brought us together- - Yeah.

- In a really magical way.

I know you've had lots of experiences with that as well, singing in various- - Yeah.

- Do you mind if we?

- I think, I mean for me, what I write, what I sing about, is my truth, my experiences, life.

And that's the most fundamental way to get through to another person, that you have no idea their history, or their background.

Yeah, authenticity is such a great way to spread positivity at the same time.

I mean, despite the situation, obviously, it's been quite amazing seeing how integral and how important music is to everyone.

Everyone's just kind of like itching for a live show.

Music, new content.

Something that they can celebrate with people.

And being able to add to people's joy in that manner, I will go anywhere.

Everywhere.

[both laugh] - Well, I mean I've had a real sense, and I know with Laoise, if you've had the same sense that people have been listening to music almost with kind of a heightened sense this the past year.

- Yeah, yeah.

- It's been really an important part of our lives- - Yeah, and because we've all become so vulnerable, we've got this music coming out of that space which is really beautiful, like.

- Pure space, yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, yeah.

We finish tonight's show with a song that couldn't be more appropriate for a room that's set at the center of power in Ireland for so long.

Karen Casey joined by Kate Ellis on cello.

Until next week.

[speaks Irish] - We're channeling history here in the room.

There were two great women called Julia Grenan, and Elizabeth O'Farrell.

Julia Grenan was in the GPO, and then Elizabeth O'Farrell, the love of her life, went out to surrender the flag, and so this song is about what Julia was feeling when Elizabeth went to surrender to the empire, and basically I suppose I'm trying to write women back into the narrative of 1916.

So it's called "Down in the Glen".

♪ I will meet you down in glen, my love ♪ ♪ Deep down in the glen ♪ My love ♪ The sunlight it will fall ♪ It will fall down at your feet ♪ ♪ When we meet, my love ♪ And I'll sing a rebel song for you ♪ ♪ All the rebel songs for you ♪ I'll sing them loud, I'll sing them proud ♪ ♪ Sing them long, and sing them strong ♪ ♪ All night long, my love ♪ I know you will appear ♪ As the evening shadows fade ♪ Down in the west, my love ♪ I know you'll take my hand ♪ And to my lips you'll press ♪ The kiss I love the best ♪ In all the land ♪ And I'll sing a rebel song for you ♪ ♪ All the rebel songs for you ♪ I'll sing them loud, I'll sing them proud ♪ ♪ Sing them long, and sing them strong ♪ ♪ All night long, my love [playing soft cello music] [continues playing soft cello music] [continues playing soft cello music] ♪ I know you must wait ♪ Before the end of day ♪ For your rebel heart you must depart ♪ ♪ I'll put all the stars out there ♪ ♪ For to dress your lovely hair ♪ ♪ And the moon will be the host of the air ♪ ♪ And I'll sing a rebel song for you ♪ ♪ All the rebel songs for you ♪ I'll sing them loud, I'll sing them proud ♪ ♪ Sing them long, and sing them strong ♪ ♪ All night long ♪ Till all the women are free ♪ Just like you and me ♪ My love ♪ And there like a pin ♪ In your hair ♪ The dark sing softly ♪ To the moon ♪ Ooh ♪ Ooh [no audio] [solemn violin music] - [Fiachna] Tradfest: The Dublin Castle Sessions are funded in part by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports, and Media.

[gulls calling] [exciting music] [bright music]