The Doors Forum

KARAN CASEY Irish folk/rock





Exiles Return
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03GUV_eTFt4

Karan Casey (born 1969) is an Irish folk singer, and a former member of the Irish band Solas.

Casey was born in Ballyduff Lower, Kilmeaden, County Waterford, Ireland. Her family encouraged her to sing in the house, in a church choir and at school. At Waterford Regional Technical College she studied piano then took music at University College Dublin in 1987. Having learned to copy Ella Fitzgerald's scat singing, she performed in a Dublin bistro several nights per week while still a student. At the Royal Irish Academy of Music she studied classical music and sang in a jazz band, then a folk-ballad band, then another jazz band. She also fell under the influence of Dublin folk singer Frank Harte. During this time she also formed her own band, called "Dorothy".

In 1993 Karan moved to New York City. There she studied jazz at Long Island University. When she began to frequent Irish traditional sessions in New York, she started singing Irish traditional music again. During this time she mostly sang in bars and local centres. During 1994, she sang with Atlantic Bridge before joining Solas. She sang five songs on their début album in 1996 while also performing jazz and folk material herself in Tramps club in Manhattan, accompanied only by a percussionist. In 1997, Karan recorded a solo album, Songlines, inspired by the novel of the same name by Bruce Chatwin. It was produced by Séamus Egan and included several members of Solas. The album featured both Irish traditional and contemporary folk songs.

Karan left Solas at the beginning of 1999 to pursue her solo ambitions. She then moved back to Ireland, although frequently travelled between her home in Cork and America. In 2000 Karan collaborated with several other vocalists on Seal Maiden: a Celtic Musical. It was a musical version of the film "The Secret of Roan Inish", designed for children. It concerned the mythical creature called the selkie (in this case, a seal-woman). Casey's songs were arranged by her friend and regular collaborator Iarla Ó Lionáird.

In 2001, Casey finished working on her second solo album, The Winds Begin to Sing (2001) which was well received by critics and propelled Casey into a stable solo career. She released Distant Shore in 2003 and toured extensively throughout the Americas and Europe. In 2005, Casey released Chasing the Sun featuring Irish traditional and folk songs which she learned from her mother and maternal grandmother. Chasing the Sun, included a number of songs written by Casey herself as well as songs by young Belfast musician Barry Kerr. The album was well received and was the last to be released on the Shanachie and Vertical labels so that Casey, husband Niall Vallely and other associated acts could release her music independently.

In 2006, Casey joined her previous band Solas to guest on their live DVD and album, Reunion: a Decade of Solas. On the recordings, Casey was joined by all of the band's past members and current members from the period. She joined Deirdre Scanlan (Solas vocalist 2000-2007) and Antje Duvekot along with the male vocalists from the band.


In 2008, Karan Casey and her husband set up Crow Valley Music to release Karan's latest album, Ships in the Forest in Europe. The album was released on Compass Records in the Americas.

Karan is married to Irish concertina player Niall Vallely and has collaborated frequently with the Vallely brothers and their bands. She has two daughters (Muireann and Áine) and currently lives in Coome, County Cork.




Solo albums

* 1997 - Songlines (folk album)
* 2000 - Seal Maiden (Karan Casey & friends)
* 2001 - The Winds Begin To Sing
* 2003 - Distant Shore
* 2005 - Chasing The Sun
* 2008 - Ships in the Forest

You Brought Me Up (To Forget)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z6uEcyn ... gtmYymt_BN

Who Put The Blood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6vzrKz8 ... gtmYymt_BN

Love Is Pleasing-live Folk Alley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbcOOXm0 ... gtmYymt_BN

Eppie Morrie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILU0RYhm ... gtmYymt_BN


Beat Of My Heart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwtN2NLwuNQ

The Flower Of Finae
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR634Xc6zXI

Karan Casey - The world turned upside-down!
Percussive genius

The Digger's Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCJIH4HCRa8

Lovin' this

I Once Loved A Lass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHPfOXJOgAE





JOHNNY I HARDLY KNEW YE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6bqTIQh1FI

Karan Casey & John Doyle: Exiles Return
--allmusicguide




The Bay Of Biscay...listen and read on...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d93v4zqqp4M

It's been a long time since Karan Casey and John Doyle played together in Solas. Now with both very much at the top of their game, the idea of a duet album seems like a no-brainer. It's certainly one of the loveliest Irish albums to come down the pike in a long while. Casey is a mesmerizing singer, full of delicacy on "Out of the Window" (a variant on "She Moved Through the Fair") and "The Flowers of Finae," and gleeful on the girl-dressed-as-soldier tale of "The Little Drummer Girl." Although Doyle doesn't show off his fretboard skills more than necessary, he's powerful on all things plucked, and demonstrates how his voice has improved over the years on the lovely "Sally Grier." A number of the songs deal with emigration, not just because it's an important part of the Irish tradition, but also part of the experience of both these artists. "The Shipyard Slips," "Sailing Off to the Yankee Land," "The False Lady," and more explore the theme lovingly. Two other musicians are featured, Dirk Powell on bass and (very sparingly) banjo, and Michael McGoldrick on flute and whistle. Thankfully, their contributions, wonder as they might be, are sparse, keeping the focus firmly on Doyle and Casey, who hold it gently, the pair working exceptionally well together. A glorious disc that exceeds every high expectation.

The Flowers Of Finae
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR634Xc6zXI

Exiles Return
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03GUV_eTFt4