Preview

Bohinta, fronted by Martin Furey of the famous Irish musical family, is currently making waves on the live Celtic and roots scene. Here is a unique and eclectic mix of original songs and tunes drawn from his own inherent song-writing skills and wealth of Irish music and Celtic-folklore.

One of the most exciting singer-songwriters around, with a voice that is hauntingly beautiful, this is music for the heart and soul that effortlessly blends the ancient with the new. Martin is a highly regarded multi-instrumentalist embracing uillean pipes, guitar, bodhran, whistles and flute, and performs here with the exciting Carlene Anglim, Young Tradition Award Winner on fiddle, and Greig Stewart on percussion.

With both the band and solo, he has performed at The Fleadh-London, Glastonbury Festival, the Phoenix and Dranouter Festival, Belgium, in addition to many folk festivals and extensive tours of the UK and Ireland. In 1999 he embarked upon an eight-week tour of Australia, wooing festival and theatre audiences with ease, producing immediate invitations for a speedy return. Musical accomplishments include reaching number 7 in the French charts, a number 5 in the Australian Irish Traditional charts and a number 7 in the U.S traditional charts.

Martin's playing on uillean-pipes and whistles, featured recently in the BBC TV production, 'Rennoch The Red Deer' and also on a production of Macbeth, which won the silver-screen award for the best sound-track. Martin's first solo offering is "Howl", which features, and is produced by, Martin Swan of Mouthmusic, was released in January of this year, attracting commanding reviews in The Independent and Daily Telegraph.

In February 2003 Martin completed a UK tour with Mouth Music. Martin was also the special guest on the 20-date UK tour with his father, the legendary Finbar Furey, opening shows and delighting audiences in large venues around the country.

‘Nobody's done music quite like this before... ...hints of Moving Hearts and an ethereal quality reminiscent of Enya, but comparisons will never do them justice, they need to be heard’ - Rock N’ Reel

Review

If you were touring around the Emerald Isle, and stopped off at a rural watering hole for food and a pint of dark, you'd probably be happy enough to find Martin Furey and his cohorts installed in the bar - as an aid to digestion and general ambience, their informal mix of original and traditional material would surely do no harm at all. In the more formal context of a Talbot gig, though, something was definitely missing - all the more disappointing, given the astonishing turn-out. Audience numbers were at least twice what we'd bargained or budgeted for, and we're well aware that some were left wondering why they'd made the effort.

First things first. Our criteria for booking artists must include reputation, favourable reviews, and a convincing CD. In all respects Bohinta filled the bill: the demo CD they sent us was (and still is) a thing of real beauty, fully meriting reported comparisons with Clannad and Moving Hearts; Martin Furey's familial track record is impeccable; and the concept of his alleged multi-instrumentalism and songwriting skills in a stripped-down trio format looked too good to resist ...

The late arrival of the fiddle player and the percussionist (not the ones on the CD) prevented us from conducting an ensemble sound-check, and the first set was consequently plagued by feedback problems - the eccentricities of the Uillean pipes are enough to exasperate the most patient of sound engineers. This apart, Bohinta's set-list was seemingly stitched together at the last minute, and mysteriously contained just one solitary number from their new CD (copies of which, perhaps significantly, were unavailable for purchase).

Martin Furey writes some neat songs, no doubt about it; and his voice is an emotional one, and has that requisite keening Irish quality, but it often lacks accuracy of pitch and clarity of diction. His skill on the notorious pipes is undeniable, but his guitar playing is oddly unsubtle on the whole, although it's functional enough when backing Carlene Anglim's energetic and authentic fiddling on the reels and airs. Greig Stewart's percussion, too, lent some light and shade, especially on the slower reflective material like the striking 'Strange Bird', but we felt it wasn't entirely insignificant that he only learnt about the gig the day before - after all, Bohinta were booked months ago.

A couple of encores were (sort of) requested, and duly performed, but we were left with a lingering sense of disappointment, especially as so many of you took the trouble to turn up - it gives us no pleasure at all here at HQ to send you off into the night anything less than delighted with what you've heard ... You have to admit that, as a rule, we get it right - looks like Bohinta were the exception that proves the rule.