WB Yeats

Sunday Miscellany takes a trip to Yeats country

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The shadow of WB looms large in the lives of fellow-writers in his beloved Sligo

The shadow of WB looms large in the lives of fellow-writers in his beloved Sligo… For Sunday Miscellany on RTÉ Radio 1, listen to Yeats Country by Brian Leyden above.

Where the Drumcliff River in north Sligo empties into the sea, a conveniently placed information board at the water’s edge offers glossy depictions of the birds that favour these salty wetlands. I stand awhile, enjoying the tranquil sounds of their real-life counterparts in the estuary; waders and water-foul that plash, trill, dabble, and do what birds do to fill their day.

Across the channel, the shadowed slopes of the opposite headland stretch as far as the Lower Rosses. It was amongst the cottagers and fishing community of the Lower Rosses that the poet W.B Yeats gathered many of the folktales that went into one of his most significant early books, The Celtic Twilight – published one-hundred and thirty years ago in 1893.

Where the people of the Lower Rosses were concerned, said Yeats, this landscape was ‘choke-full of ghosts’, headless women, men in armour, shadow hares, fire tongued hounds, whistling seals…

LISTEN at: https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22337802/

 

Love & the Supernatural with Alex Roberts

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By Paul H Birch

Alex Roberts breathes new life into his album Love & Supernatural with a remix and remaster, plus all-new bonus tracks to boot. Out now, and laden with 17-tracks, what been called a “timeless LP” has been reimagined for a new decade complete with cutting edge production.

Fans of John Martyn, Jethro Tull, Fairport Convention and Renaissance and others among the folk-rock scene will find a similar appeal in Alex Roberts’s work.

Love & Supernatural explores the realms of romance and magic alike, inspired by the folk artist’s own magical practices, Listeners will hear twists and turns in aural narratives both grand and intimate, with shades of something beyond our known world. All weaved through Roberts’ raspy, emotive vocals, and intricate six-string arrangements.

Also available now, is the lead single, an opening album track, ‘Wandering Aengus’. Based on W. B. Yeats’ 1897 poem The Song of Wandering Aengus, medieval themes prevail, mirroring the bard’s tales with its construction but recontextualised by Roberts in a modern setting.

Roberts’ songwriting philosophy is “write your own gospel, love your own myth,” and a myriad of tales with a wide range of influences can be heard on Love & Supernatural – These range from ‘To Abeona’ written for the goddess of journeys and someone close to the artist who had gone missing, to ‘The Jolly Boat’ written in the throes of a wild storm, and the ode to Roberts’ old local Dorset pub ‘By The Stour’.

A self-professed enthusiast of magic, synchronicity and the ancient practices of pre-Christian Europe, Roberts enjoys life outside the confines of the modern rat race. These troubadour influences are placed front and centre across Love & Supernatural – An album described as “less your standard collection of songs and more an epic recounting adventures big and small”.

Originally released in 2013, those Love & Supernatural tracks have been remastered with an additional five live performance tracks added.  fans to enjoy. Available now from here. Alex Robert’s full discography is also now available across the major streaming platforms for the first time.

Source: Love & the Supernatural with Alex Roberts – RAMzine