Meitheal

On March 8th 2012, a solar storm was passing over the Earth. Three friends sat down to play together for the first time. A new trio, Meitheal, was borne out of charged particles and warm conversation. Meitheal is an acoustic trio of Mike Gangloff (Pelt, Black Twig Pickers), David Colohan (United Bible Studies, Raising Holy Sparks) and Vicky Langan, combining traditional song and drone. 

“Mike Gangloff is best known as a member of drone improvisers Pelt and Spiral Joy Band, as well as Appalachian old-time outfit The Black Twig Pickers. In March of 2012 he performed at one of Vicky Langan's Black Sun events in Cork, alongside David Colohan's Raising Holy Sparks, and the Cork Sacred Harp Singers, with which Langan is  involved. The three musicians played a short piece together to close the show. The trio, now named Meitheal, reconvened later that year to appear at Newcastle's Tusk Festival in October.

The material here is largely culled from the Sacred Harp tradition, with vocals backed by Gangloff and Langan's twin fiddles and Colohan's harmonium and shruti box drones. On the Tusk recording, each member sings lead in turn (culminating in what may be Colohan's finest recorded vocal to date). The unadorned, unaffected approach allows the musicians' characters, and the traditions that shaped them, to shine through. In this way the music effortlessly reunites the folk traditions of Ireland and the Southern United States, while being informed by the hillbilly drone of Henry Flynt. Songs that date from as far back as the 19th century are placed in an unusual yet sympathetic context, retaining their directness and emotional power. 

This release consists of both the Cork and Newcastle sets, as well as a rehearsal prior to the latter, and so contains Meitheal's entire recorded work to date.” - Fort Evil Fruit