Fort Evil Fruit

Meitheal tape sold out at source | Liminal TUSK review

MEITHEAL tape sold out: try @lokirecords @wingnutgalway or Into the Void if you missed it. Almost out of some others on.fb.me/13LALVx

— Fort Evil Fruit (@FortEvilFruit) March 9, 2013

And somewhat related to the tape, here's a teeny excerpt from a TUSK review that Rich Hughes did for the Liminal:

Antidotes to the noise came in the form of more rustic and acoustic artists that littered the bill. Meitheal (an Irish word for a work team or gang), a trio of Mike Gangloff, Vicky Langan and David Colohan, played folk songs, tinged with ancient lore. Prior to singing, Langan and Colohan passed between them an old folk songbook which they used for direct inspiration and the set had the feeling of something ritualistic, with each member taking the lead for one piece. The semi-improvised cries slow harmonium drones, while Gangloff’s violin was allowed to sweep and soar.

Photo by Andy Newcombe

MEITHEAL - Early in the Spring, Late in the Fall

in

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 last year 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 togethe

r to close the show. The trio, now named

Meitheal

, reconvened 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. 

Early in the Spring, Late in the Fall by Meitheal

Mike Gangloff - voice & fiddle 

Vicky Langan - voice & fiddle 

David Colohan - voice, harmonium & shruti box 

1.1: Recorded by Sam Grant, October 6th 2012 at the Tusk Festival in The Star & Shadow, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. 

2.1: Recorded March 8th 2012 at Black Sun in Plugd, Cork, Ireland during a solar storm. 

2.2: Recorded October 6th 2012 during rehearsals for the Tusk set. 

Artwork by David Colohan. 

Pan illustration from 1920 songbook of "The Quaker Singer", David Bispham. 

Thanks to Lee Etherington (Tusk), Sam Grant and Carapace.

Numbered edition of 100. Includes download code.