BAREFOOT ON THE ALTER - CHULRUA - $ 15
Audiophile CD of Tim Britton, Paddy O'Brien on accordion, and Pat Egan on guitar and vocals.
We recorded this album over four days just after the Summer solstice, the longest day of the year. In record heat with humidity to match, we drove from my home in Fairfield, IA, down to the little village of Bentonsport. Once a small but thriving river town, it wouldn't exist now but for the efforts of a few warm hearted artisans who keep it going as a reminder to the tourists who wander through of what life can be like. We were amazed to find that this community once sustained four churches. Two remain, one of which afforded us the combination of isolation, spacious sound, and availability our recording required. It also personified the unpretentious beauty that predominates the rolling farmland around it and the people living there.
Outside, bees buzzed, birds sang and fireflies danced late into the night. Inside, seated barefoot on the alter to minimize the reverberation of our foot stomping, we played the old tunes. But, like the irrepressible rhythms of Paddy's fingers, the gentle strength of Pat's voice, or the raw emotion of the pipes; like the laughter of children or the spirit of the people of Ireland and everywhere else; like the small green things that push their way through the pavement of progress; the foot stomping persists like a heartbeat.
Recording notes:
We recorded this live to two track, using only a modified Crown SASSP stereo microphone,
with a built in, custom made, minimalist mic pre-amp, both battery powered, through a two
meter pair of Mapleshade Omega Micro interconnects directly into a Sony DTC-A8 Dat
recorder with superbit mapping , AC line conditioned by Chang Lightspeed and Coherent
Music Systems, using no over dubbing, mixing, compression, EQ, or other artificial
enhancement.
In stark contrast to modern recording trends, this approach renders the music as it is, in all it's vulnerability, intimacy, and raw power. We feel this best serves the music as we know and love it.
Tim Britton
SONG OF THE CHANTER CD - $15.00
Song of the Chanter - Tim Britton on pipes, flute, whistle, and vocals; Carol Hunner on guitar and vocals; John Anderson on upright bass; Tony Block on bones and bodhran; and Mark Simos on fiddle and piano. CD 15
PIED PIPERS CALL CD - $15.00
Audiophile recording of Tim on pipes, whistle and flute; Mark Simos on guitar, fiddle, piano, Hammond B-3; Albert Alfonso on bodhran.
AT HOME IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (Brown Cow
Records) - SAGE - $15.00
Robert Reeder: guitar, harmonica, and vocals; Jimmy Moore: guitars, mandolin, and vocals;
Tim Britton: Uilleann pipes, penny whistle, mandolin, and egg; Daniel Sperry: cello
LIGHT THROUGH THE LEAVES (Rounder 6014) CD - $15.00
Traditional Irish wind instrumentals-anthology including Tim Britton, L.E. McCullough, Al Purcell, Bill Ochs, Mark Roberts, and others.