Celt In A Twist:  If Solas are sounding the depths, seeking more converts to their brand of Irish music, they should be pleased with the echo that’s returning. The new album is called Waiting For An Echo and I’m backstage with a couple of members of the band to find out all about it. Why don’t you introduce yourselves and what you do in the band?

Winifred Horan:  I’m Winifred Horan, and I’m the fiddle player.

Deirdre Scanlan:  I’m Deirdre Scanlan and I’m the singer.

CIAT: Winifred, you and Seamus (Egan) have been associated with this project since what, 1995?

WH: Yeah, well that was sort of the first rumblings of putting the band together.  It would have been in New York in 1995.  But we started recording our first album late 1995.  It was released May of 96. The band really didn’t start touring until that first album was released.  So you could say the birth of the band actually happened after that first album was received, I guess as well as it was.

CIAT: There’s no doubt the creative chemistry is still there. What’s exciting you about Solas these days?

WH: Well, the fact that we’ve managed to stay together for so long and keep the musicality up.  You know, with all the changes in line-up over the years.  I’m really happy that we’ve managed to maintain what I regard as a superior line-up of musicians. And also just getting to work with people that I hold very dear to my heart.

CIAT:  Deirdre, each new Solas album brings a new emotion to the fore or fuses a new sound into the mix with the traditional Irish. What surprises do you have in store for fans on this disc?

DS:  I think they’re going to be really happy with everything hopefully, but especially in vocally wise.  Mick sings two of the songs on the album and Eamon our guitar player Eamon McElholm takes a song on the album as well, and there’s an awful lot of vocal harmonies incorporated into all the songs, an awful lot of layers to the songs within themselves.  I think fans will be really happy with that, it’s great from a singer’s point of view.

CIAT: I think they’ll be really happy with it, too. Tell me about the title and the cover. It looks like one of the monument heads from Rapanui?

WH:  I actually saw it for the first time last night.  We hadn’t seen it.  We’d seen some of the pictures.  A rough… I was going to say a rough mix of the album.  We’re really happy with it.  It’s modern, yet, I don’t know….

CIAT:  Ancient.

WH:  Yeah, ancient.

CIAT:  And Deirdre, what about the title, “Waiting for an Echo”, that’s very evocative, too.

DS:  It’s one of the lyrics.  It’s slightly changed form the Richard Shindell song, Fleur de Lys.  “We wait at the gate for an echo”.  So we changed it to “Waiting for an Echo”.  It’s kind of reflective of where we are as a band at the moment as well.

CIAT:  So what kind of an echo are you expecting back.

DS:  Hopefully a loud one! (Laughs)

CIAT:  You’ve got your Celt In A Twist and we’ve got Solas live at the Capilano College Theatre to talk about their new Shanachie release called Waiting For An Echo. You’ve drawn on some pretty special material from other writers on this disc like Richard Shindell and Antje Dovekot and added lot’s of original material from the band as well. Do you think that the more traditional Irish songs still have relevance in today’s world?

DS:  Absolutely, by virtue of the fact that they’ve survived, they’re relevant in every era.  They’re common themes written by the common people that lasted so they’ll always hit notes with people all over.  And the songs we’ve actually covered, the traditional songs that we’ve covered on the new CD are traditional American and American versions of songs that probably started in Ireland, England, or Scotland.  So they’re ones that have traveled with the common people who came over to America and have lasted through the years as well.  So you know I think they’ll always be relevant.

CIAT:  Resound through the ages, reflective of the immigrant experience, whether Irish or not, right?

DS:  Absolutely.  Yeah!

CIAT: Does the road ever wear on you or do you get inspiration from it?

WH:  It’s definitely a way of life, and you know the band’s been at it pretty hard core, we’re coming up on ten years.  Which is actually something we’re pretty excited about, that 2006 will be the tenth anniversary of the band.

CIAT:  Congratulations!

WH:  Thanks you! We can’t kind of believe it but we’re pretty excited.  We’ve only been on the tour, this particular tour now, for a week, and we’ve run into a few little … bumps if you will, just physical things like our tour manager blew her knee out, and there’ve been other little things, nothing serious.  I hope it’s not a sign of aging! But honestly I have to say, we were off for three months after we wrapped up our tour last year in Germany.  It was really good to have that time off, but I guarantee you everyone in the band would say we’re really excited to get out back on the road.  I can say this for sure.  The bus.  You know, the way we travel together.  We hang out together.  You know, we’re friends, we play pool, we bowl.  It’s becoming a way of life.

CIAT:  Sounds like a life that you were meant to lead, though.

WH:  I wouldn’t trade it in for the world, at all.  Like we were leaving the hotel today here in Vancouver, and we saw a guitarist singer/songwriter busking.  I turned to one of the guys and said “See.  Look how lucky we are.  We’re getting on a bus and we’re travelling over to a really nice theatre and we’re going to play stuff off our new album…”

CIAT:  And you don’t have to freeze your butt off on the corner.

WH:  Even though I will tell you probably all of us did that at one time.  And remember it well, and jeez we’re just so happy to be where we are.

CIAT:  Well deserved,  Are you finding new audiences for your contemporary vision of Irish traditional music?

DS:  Yeah, I think we are, definitely.  I think maybe we got a lot of people on when we brought out “The Edge of Silence”.  It was a huge departure from where the band had been, in say, “The Hour Before Dawn” was kind of very traditional – with a lot of contemporary elements  in it, of course.  But I think “The Edge of Silence” was probably the most contemporary material that we’d covered.

WH:  On that album that Deirdre's talking about, “The Edge of Silence” we brought in producer Neil Dorfsman, who has worked with Dire Straits, Sting…he actually heard of the band at a live show of ours when we didn’t even know he was ever there.  And when he was approached to produce the album he said yes, he could work with us in a studio situation because he had really enjoyed the live show. 

DS:  There was a lot of talk at the time of the staunch traditionalists, purists, not liking it.  But, no,  we held on to our crowd.  But I think it added maybe a larger audience that we have definitely hung on to over the years.

CIAT: We’re going out on what I think is the first pick from the disc, certainly the most accessible, that’s The Ploughman. But there’s kind of an Eastern twist to this tale as well in the arrangement. Tell us about it.

WH:  Anyone who has been listening to Solas from day one has commented on the fact that we incorporate, not just typical rhythmic patterns that exist in what would be considered traditional Irish music.  Like eastern European rhythmic patterns, stepping outside of your typical four/four and maybe going to a seven/eight in different rhythms.  And the boys, I have to say, Seamus, it’s pretty reflective of his compositional style.  I would think.  The same for Mick McAuley, the accordion player.  That’s definitely the trademark of his individual compositional style as well.  I always say this, it’s interesting that we get to travel so much and hear so many other musicians around the world and we’re turned on by that.  There’s such a common thread between some of our melodies and some of their melodies, and if you’re curious and passionate about your music you’re definitely going to try to incorporate things from other cultures. What’s in your ear is eventually going to come out in your playing.    The Ploughman has a really interesting little hook, I think.  It is sort of a belly dance tune.

DS:  OK, I’ll start belly dancing… (Laughter)

CIAT:  You heard it here first.  Deirdre Scanlan is going to do a belly dance at the next Solas show.  Deirdre and Winifred, thank you so much for your time.  Godspeed to Solas, and we look forward to seeing you tonight.