About
ATLANTIC EDGE, The West Ocean String Quartet’s fifth album, marks our 21st anniversary. Since November 1999 it has been an endlessly fascinating journey of experimentation and collaboration, of seeking out other ways, of finding our own voice. Along the way we have shared stages and studios some of the very finest – Christy Moore, Liam O’Flynn, Stephen Rea, Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, Matt Molloy, Brian Kennedy, Cathal Ó Searcaigh, Eimear Quinn… great experiences all. Core to the journey has been the weaving of the quartet’s own tapestry, striving for ways to communicate through composing and arranging and producing what we believe in. A double (or maybe triple or quadruple) marriage over more than two decades is no dull jaunt. READ MORE…
Meet the Quartet
Reviews
“Atlantic Edge is an album that celebrates the majesty of our west coast, mining its geographical and musical landscape. ” – Siobhan Long
“….the playing is precise and pristine, the melodies are beautiful, and the arrangements are supple and imaginative… The West Ocean String Quartet succeeds in this bridging of Irish traditional and classical music through sheer artistry as well as a sensitivity to and familiarity with the demands of each genre.”
“Just about to leave Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin after hearing the West Ocean String Quartet play music from their forthcoming album “Atlantic Edge”. Stunning. Ceol galanta. Beautiful, beautiful music. Lucent, vital, timeless – like water shimmering through hills. The album’s out in March. I urge you to make room in your heart for this”.
One of Tradfest’s highlights was the premiere of Neil Martin and the West Ocean String Quartet’s new album, An Indigo Sky, in St Werbugh’s Church.
Cellist Martin, as West Ocean’s primary composer and arranger, infused the new material with a rich melancholia (albeit with a glint in the eye) , and hinted at the foursome’s capacity to straddle the centuries from Dowland to O’Carolan, Ó Riada, and now, Martin. Fiddler Seamus McGuire’s supple tone was a delight, particularly on Martin’s searing song suite, Oileán na Marbh (with sublime guest vocalist, Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill) , his instrument tracing shapes every bit as distinctive as anything John Coltrane, Ben Webster or Martin Hayes have created.
“The West Ocean String Quartet proposes an intriguing expedition on their fourth, magnificently elegiac recording”
Whatever it is these traditional airs have, so many of them are crafted to perfection.