Folk music people often remind us of how composers of so called classic music frequently use old folk music – themes, motives, rhytms etc. – in their compositions, citing composers like Béla Bartók, Antonín Dvořák and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Too often, however, this conversation amounts to little more than a superficial reference to traditional sources, instead of a closer examination of how the folk material is actually employed. This is unfortunate since there clearly are successful, and then less inspiring ways of making use of folk music.
In Córas Trio’s new album Birth Is Upon Me, Death Is Upon Me the folk music origine – Irish/Belfast’s traditional music – is obvious throughout, but electronically and ‘randomly’ so modified that the roots are almost completely faded out in order to create space for something genuinely new music. This is the way to do it! To describe the music on the album as ‘improvised avant folk with a touch of experimentation’ hits the nail on the head.
What I liked about Birth Is Upon Me, Death Is Upon Me was that the sound of the violin (fiddle) was not that of a folk violin, which even laypeople recognize within three seconds, and that the music itself is not some worn-out invitation to dance endless polonaises. The music clearly challenges listeners’ expectations regarding traditional music, giving emphasis on experimentation and continuous transformation, the traditional part of the music remaining alive thanks to its melancholic overall expression and sonic world.
The Córas Trio comprises Kevin McCullagh (fiddle and electronics), Paddy McKeown (guitar and electronics) and Conor McAuley (drums), and is said to function without a compositional leader.
The new album Birth Is Upon Me, Death Is Upon Me by the Belfast-based ensemble, Córas Trio, due for CD / DL / LP release, will be released on Fri 30th October via Coracle Records. A single, ‘The Road To Tarbolton (‘radio edit), will be released ahead of the album on Fri 25th September 2026.
Credits
Kevin McCullagh – fiddle, electronics
Paddy McKeown – guitar, electronics
Conor McAuley – drums
Mixed and mastered by Seán Mac Erlaine
All tracks recorded and produced by Córas Trio
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