Thursday, December 20, 2012

Warren Malone took this photo at WFUV today when we were there to record for John Platt's Sunday Breakfast Show that will be broadcast on December 30. Also in the room were Erik Della Penna, Brendan O'Shea, Mason Ingram and Jason Sypher who will all be performing with me at 92Y Tribeca on January 5 next.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

"Absorbing from beginning to end, “Belong” is a trans-Atlantic marvel." Wonderful review from Chuck Campbell in Knoxville. http://www.knoxville.com/news/2012/dec/11/knoxville-music-susan-mckeown-review/

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Lisa Rollins features 'Belong' in her Americana music column in the Examiner...http://www.examiner.com/article/irish-born-americana-artist-susan-mckeown-releases-belong-cd

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Belong - Susan McKeown. November 7, 2012


The title track of my new album 'Belong' as performed at The Living Room November 7.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

'Belong' is released today


'Belong' is released today and it has been a busy and a wonderful release day. Here is a clip from last week's show at The Living Room. James Maddock joined me, as he does on the album, to sing this song 'Everything We Had Was Good'. We're accompanied by Brendan O'Shea on acoustic, Erik Della Penna on electric, Jason Sypher on Bass, Justin Carroll on keys and Mason Ingram on drums.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Cover

Here is the cover artwork for ‘Belong’. Chris Carlone took the photograph at the end of July when we were at Times Square to shoot a Pledge Music video, and the design, by Gregory Jacobson, was inspired by old scans of photos from the American Library of Congress.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Last Night at The Living Room

Last night at The Living Room on Manhattan's Lower East Side, in the midst of a snowstorm, we had a warm night and a great time playing the songs of 'Belong' for a lovely audience who braved the elements to be there. It was taped for broadcast on Sirius XM's 'The Loft' during the month of December. Brendan O'Shea, Erik Della Penna, Justin Carroll, Jason Sypher and Mason Ingram were the band and they were in fantastic form. Special guests James Maddock and Jimi Zhivago brought their talents to the songs 'Everything We Had Was Good' and 'Belong'. Katie Holten took this lovely photo.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Knock

Finishing the new album meant I worked through the summer and didn't go to Ireland, so I am here now with my daughter. We've been seeing family and friends, and had a very special family gathering last Friday in the church where my mother served as church organist for many years. We spent the weekend with our good friends Deirdre and Jorge where they live in County Sligo between the ancient burial cairn of Maeve at Knocknarea and the wild Atlantic. Yesterday we travelled to County Mayo and are staying at our favourite hotel which has a fine swimming pool and a 300-year-old Mulberry tree on the grounds. On our way we met with a woman and her sister who were going to the town of Knock for a midweek break. Knock is well known because many years ago on a typical rainy night, some people witnessed apparitions of some holy figures suspended in air outside the local church. Hundreds of thousands have flocked there since to pray and touch the wall where this is said to have occurred. They have built a cathedral, an airport, and many shops.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Belonging

Certain aspects of making an album can be likened to giving birth. There is a similar groaning that goes on inside when you're getting ready to let go and release into the world that with which you have formed an intimate connection, which has grown inside you, into which you have put so much of yourself. I was reminded of that this past week when, half way through the mix, that kind of feeling accompanied the realization that soon I will once again be sending out into the world these songs, expressing in words and music some captured moments of life experience that held deep meaning for me. It's been a long time coming - I did the first recording sessions in June 2008 - and it is very satisfying to be letting go. There are wonderful musicians and guests on this album and I'm feeling immensely grateful.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

New Album

Last week I woke up almost every morning with a melody in my head. I've recorded four new songs for the album and it's sounding beautiful. It was wonderful to work with Brendan O'Shea on guitar(himself a singer songwriter), Erik Della Penna on electric guitar, Jason Sypher on bass, and Justin Carroll on hammond and wurlitzer. We found ourselves back at Mission Sound and it was fitting as it is with Oliver that I recorded 'Bones' and 'Prophecy', not to mention most of my other albums. Not a lot left to do now in terms of recording apart from vocals and piano on a couple of songs before we move into mixing. I've been running a campaign at Pledge Music to fund the album: http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/susanmckeown/

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Rome

The Spanish Steps

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

"Useful Violence"

Came across this passage today in 'A Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland' by Samuel Johnson. "No faction of Scotland loved the name of Cromwell, or had any desire to continue his memory. Yet what the Romans did to other nations, was in a great degree done by Cromwell to the Scots; he civilized them by conquest, and introduced by useful violence the arts of peace. I was told at Aberdeen that the people learned from Cromwell's soldiers to make shoes and to plant kail. How they lived without kail, it is not easy to guess: They cultivate hardly any other plant for common tables, and when they had not kail they probably had nothing."

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Ireland

I took a trip to Ireland this month for a family wedding and had a lovely, peaceful visit. After performing on Charlie McGettigan's 'Saturday Connection' on Shannonside FM we headed northwest from Longford to where some good friends live between Knocknarea and the sea in Strandhill, Co. Sligo. It's a very peaceful place where I always feel at home spending time with these friends who have been very good to me. As it was raining and there was only a day to spend there, I spent most of the time in conversation rather than walking up Knocknarea. The last time I was there they took me to the Fairy Glen, a magical place where I first had to wash my face in the well beside the road before turning around and taking the gate into the glen. I had heard about this place years before in New York so it was lovely to finally find myself there.

A few days later I went to Strangford Lough in County Down. We took some walks in the hills nearby that are steeped in lore about St. Patrick and the establishment of his first church there at Saul, from the early Irish 'sabhal' for 'barn': Patrick is said to have converted the chieftain Dichu, who then gave him a barn in which to establish his church in Ireland. Walking up the steep St. Patrick's Hill could be seen dozens of dishevelled boiled eggs left over from the Easter Sunday celebrations of the previous week. We also visited Downpatrick Cathedral where Patrick is thought to be buried along with Ireland's two other patron saints Bridget and Colmcille. It's a high, peaceful spot in the town of Downpatrick which is accessed by an inclining path through a pleasant grove of trees where bluebells and daffodils were in bloom.

It was on then to Loughcrew, an even more ancient site near Oldcastle in Co. Meath for an ascent to sit on The Hag's Chair (that's where I am in the photo), to take in a splendid view of the surrounding countryside from a fine height.

Finally as this trip came to a close I unexpectedly found myself in Glendalough walking through the ruins of Kevin's monastic settlement and imagining the lives of the monks there and the imagery of much of my favourite Celtic nature poetry about the ascetic life.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Through the Bitter Frost & Snow

At last it's snowing in New York. On our way to her drama class my daughter didn't even want to take a bus or cab today but to skip in the snow and throw snowballs. When I was seven months pregnant and on tour in Ireland I remember finding it difficult to play guitar and then I more or less put it away. I took it up again a few weeks ago and have been playing regularly. About time as the child is now nine. Years.
Last week I had another recording session for 'Belong' at Excello Studios in Brooklyn with Ryan McGiver, Lindsey Horner, Erik Della Penna and Allison Miller. We recorded the basic tracks for two songs "Down By The Liffeyside" (not the traditional song but my own) and "I Could Be Happy". The chorus of the latter song still needs completion but music is there. There's another song that's been hanging around that I call "Bring Back the Dead" but I'm not sure that's what it ultimately wants to be called, and satisfactory lyrics beyond the one verse are not forthcoming, though it has withstood a few rewrites over the past decade.
I also had a recording session for 'Smarty Girl' the audiobook of my friend Honor Molloy's beautiful novel, her story of growing up in Dublin in the 1960s with her mother (an American writer), father (a well known actor) and siblings. Honor invited me to compose and arrange music for the audiobook which will be released by Simon & Schuster in the spring.
For that project Brendan O'Shea and Donie Ryan played guitar and banjo beautifully on melodies I wrote for Honor's lyrics of two songs "Dartinne" and "Goosetown". Brendan also laid down some harmonica. Next week Shahzad Ismaily is going to record some appropriate musical weirdness and Marta Cook will be recording harp.
In the meantime, I have a few songs to finish so that I can start into the home strait of recording "Belong".