Ahead of the release of The World That I Knew – their highly anticipated new album featuring members of Lankum, John Francis Flynn, Junior Brother, Lemoncello and more – Dublin-based trad duo Lucie Azconaga and Consuelo Nerea Breschi, aka VARO, share the songs that have shaped them. From the hypnotic Les Filles de Illighadad to the rich textures of Lá Lugh and the old-time swagger of C.W. Stoneking, they explore the music that moves them.
The World That I Knew is out on 9th May. Pre-order it here.
Consuelo:
Les Filles de Illighadad – Imigradan
Over the last few years, I have discovered Les Filles de Illighadad, a beautiful Tuareg woman band whose founder, Fatou Seidi Ghali, is the first Tuareg woman to play guitar professionally. The hypnotic, repetitive sound that they have, creates a peaceful space where I can go when I feel stressed, it always instantly makes me feel good! Their music is almost a meditation, you can get lost in it and let your mind wander.
In their rhythms and melodies, you can feel their ancient semi-nomadic desert culture. It reminds me very much of the music I heard when I visited the Saharawi refugee camps in the middle of the Algerian Sahara desert. There, although living in very poor conditions, the whole village would unite, play, sing and dance to the most beautiful music every night. They only had a couple of electric guitars, a few metal tea trays that they used for percussion, their clapping hands and their voices. The sound they created was so powerful.
Lá Lugh – Bealtaine Song
I listened to Lá Lugh’s Senex Puer on repeat when I was in my late teens and had just started playing Irish music. Eithne Ní Uallacháin’s soulful and warm voice was an inspiration to me when I first approached Irish songs, there was an element of nostalgia in her voice that always struck a deep chord with me and often made me emotional. I got many fiddle tunes from this album from the great playing of Gerry O’Connor. The arrangements on both the tunes and songs were quite different to what I was used to hearing from other traditional bands at the time. Beautiful vocal harmonies, in some tracks reminiscent of Clannad, paired with fiddle, cello, guitar and synth layers created a deep, almost mystical sound with a medieval atmosphere.
I listened to this album a lot at the time, so at some point I had to step back from it! Only now, after not listening to it for at least 15 years, I realise how much it has influenced my musical tastes and choices, especially with VARO.
Lucie:
Juniore – Soudain
This is a French band led by singer/songwriter Anna Jean. I came across their music in 2023, I completely fell in love with it and I’ve been binge-listening to it ever since. They describe themselves as ‘Yéyé Noir’ which, on top of sounding very cool, is also perfectly accurate. The Yéyés was a French music style back in the 60s-70s, very uplifting and happy most of the time, but while managing to keep everything that made the essence of that music, Juniore adds a beautiful dramatic layer to it with a bit of a psychedelic touch.
Their music is quite cinematographic which is something I particularly love. When on the bus, or a plane, or just walking through Dublin listening to them in my headphones, it’s very easy to let the mind wander and start visualising some film scenarios that could just take place around you. I can imagine myself being in a quirky enigmatic black and white detective movie with ‘Christine’, or being a Frenchy lady in the 60s with a big hat on, strolling along the Mediterranée’s shores with ‘Grand Voyage’, or to jump back into the dark chaos of some love stories with a touch of cynicism with ‘Soudain’.
I can’t pick one record in particular as each album and EP they released contain incredibly beautiful songs like ‘Dans le Noir’, ‘Amour fou’, ‘La fin du monde’, ‘Drôle d’histoire’, ‘Je fais le mort’. When I listen to ‘Soudain’, for example, depending on my mood, it can give me such goosebumps that my skin seems to vanish in ecstasy, or it could just make me cry. The imagery of the lyrics is so poetic, the melody is beautiful, I love the contrast between the verses and choruses, the drums and bass driving it all with this great and defined personality, the choice of reverb on the vocals, on the voice of the singer which is calm but strong in the vein of Françoise Hardy, and on the subtil and so well thought out backing vocals, all this wrapped in the drama of the organ. I would recommend listening to Juniore 1000%, loud.
C.W. Stoneking – Jungle Blues
Tom Waits described C.W. Stoneking as “an artist who sounds like he’s 600 years old”. That’s so true. Although he isn’t that old and originally from Australia, his voice sounds like the one of an old black American man in New Orleans in the 1920s, so powerful and beautiful. This album was released in 2008 and is a mix of Blues, Calypso and New Orleans with, some hints of swing. All songs are equally brilliant. The brass section is old-fashioned and the general sound of the album is raw and authentic. I saw him play this album live in the Button Factory years ago, his charisma and presence on stage was insane. Dressed in a white, I think linen, suit and bowtie, telling stories about the songs with a great sense of humour, making the show a full-on experience. His skills with words are as brilliant in his lyrics as they are when he tells stories. Here again, you listen to him and you’re transported to past times, cosy, warm, colourful, heavy and light at the same time.
Lucie & Consuelo
Maxine Sullivan – Raggle Taggle Gypsies
We both love jazz. We often listen to Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and so many more together. Maxine is one of them. What makes her different though is the fact that she sang several folk Scottish and Irish songs in jazz style. The first time we heard it, we went ‘Wow, what is that, it’s amazing’. Her version of Molly Malone or Loch Lomond is so interesting and so cool. Another song on this album, ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsies’ is absolutely brilliant. The way she doubles the beat and flow of words when getting to the middle of the song, and then changes the verse from minor into fully major straight after that, are such inspiring ideas and work so well. Her voice is sweet and has that swing vibe, the brass section is subtle and beautiful throughout all the songs. It was quite a revelation hearing these songs in such a different approach, with such talent and taste.
