Trá Pháidín's 'Cloch 's Claí' Builds an Irish-Language Record Out of Jazz, Afrobeat and Two Drummers
World of Echo is a record shop in London that also runs a label, and this is the sort of release that only a shop-run label puts out: six players, an Irish-language songbook, and a rhythm section that appears to have been assembled to solve a specific problem.
The Sonic Breakdown
The Production & Mix
The Low-End: The unusual structural fact here — and The Line of Best Fit is the source for the instrument breakdown, so take it from them — is that Pól Ó Lionáird and Ruairí De Búrca are both on drums, with Peadar-Tom Mercier on guitar. Two kits in one arrangement is a commitment: it either turns to mush or it splits the job, one player holding time while the other colours. Across these ten tracks it consistently does the second thing, which is why the record can move between jazz, Afrobeat and kosmische figures without ever sounding like it changed bands.
The Spatial Dynamics: Cal Cashin at The Line of Best Fit described the result as “an experimental patchwork, where disparate styles are stitched together unexpectedly” — and crucially, “The world Trá Pháidín create is totally immersive and sublimely colourful.” The full lineup is Conal Ó hAinmhuighe, Ultan Ó Labhradha, Peadar-Tom Mercier, Micheál Fitzgerald, Pól Ó Lionáird and Ruairí De Búrca.
Standout Performance
The band as a unit, which is a boring answer everywhere except here. Cashin: “The performances here are immense, and throughout, Trá Pháidín move as one.” For a group this large, playing material this stylistically restless, ensemble discipline is the standout instrument.
Why It’s Certified
Because it never lets the concept do the work the music should be doing. Klof Mag’s Thomas Blake put it precisely: “For all their conceptual nuance, Trá Pháidín never cut corners where musicality is concerned, or the atmosphere of a song, for that matter.” And The Line of Best Fit’s verdict: “Trá Pháidín are a band capable of subverting any and all expectations, and the remarkably consistent Cloch ’s Claí captures them at their very best.”
Titles like “An Béal Bocht,” “Anglicize Everything” and “To Hell or to Connacht” tell you the record has an argument. The playing is what makes you stay for it.