LOGICAL FLEADH

Back Story, Liner Notes

The Back Story...

Logical Fleadh is an album over a quarter century in the making. The initial flash of inspiration came in 1996, when Logical Fleadh bandleader Ethan Taylor Sellers and his father attended an early concert by Irish-American super-group Solas in Philadelphia. Amazed by Solas music's precision, speed, and beauty, Sellers was instantly a fan.

As a listener, Sellers subsequently followed the "family tree" of related projects to broaden his knowledge of traditional Irish, Scottish, and other Celtic music. Sellers also began penning a series of original compositions that reflected this influence, occasionally performing them with his rock band Tautologic.

After more than a decade of listening and co-curricular dabbling in Irish/Scottish music, Sellers decided to make a serious go of it with Character Fleadh in 2009. Starting as an exclusively-instrumental fiddle/guitar duo, Character Fleadh gradually expanded its line-up and learned hours and hours of traditional Irish/Scottish songs and instrumental repertoire, playing regional festivals, concert series, and private events.

After a few years, Sellers began to get the impression that some of his bandmates in Tautologic - Emily Albright (fiddle, vocals), Pat Buzby (drums, bodhran), and Nathan Britsch (bass) - wanted in on the action. Dana Joras (flutes, whistles, vocals) and Joe Kilroy (tenor banjo, mandolin, bouzouki) from Character Fleadh were both amenable to a "cross-over" collaboration. Logical Fleadh - a mash-up of Tautologic and Character Fleadh - was born.

Logical Fleadh gigged and rehearsed for nearly two years before recording most of the album in a 2-day session at Rax Trax Recording. Over the course of the next two years, Sellers worked around busy schedules and a pandemic to complete overdubs by each band member and an array of special guests, including Tautologic electric guitarist Jay Montana, violist Chuck Bontrager, Grammy-winning cellist Nick Photinos, Seán O'Riada Gold medal winner Seán Gavin, and Solas co-founder and accordionist John Williams.

Grammy-nominated engineer Rick Barnes mixed and mastered the album.

Logical Fleadh received funding from both the Illinois Arts Council and the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

The tracks on Logical Fleadh marry Irish/Scottish tunes/songs with a driving rock rhythm section - connecting tradition to the present day.

Tracklist/Credits

1. Lark In The Morning*/Gold Ring#/The Slammer+ (4:30)
2. Over the Moor to Maggie/Rakish Paddy/Flogging* (4:53)
3. Bridgeton Nod+ (2:28)
4. Called Home+ (3:07)
5. Fermoy Lasses/Noisy Curlew/Gravelwalk* (3:43)
6. Glasgow Smile+ (3:19)
7. Muirland Measure/Hoop Her and Gird Her# (2:55)
8. Rights of Man*/Foxhunter's Jig#/Morrison’s# (6:22)
9. General Bonhomie's Last Waltz+ (2:51)
10. Gary Bennigan's+ (1:35)
11. Banish Misfortune* (2:07)
12. The Pile+ (4:50)
13. White Petticoat# (1:46)
14. Jaggey Bunnet+ (2:01)
15. MacArthur Road^ (2:04)
16. Ballad of St. James+ (4:15)
17. Merry Blacksmith*/Swinging On The Gate# (3:21)

Produced by Ethan Taylor Sellers
Recorded by Rick Barnes at Rax Trax Recording and Ethan Taylor Sellers at home
Additional recording by Jay Montana, Nathan Britsch, Chuck Bontrager, and Seán Gavin
Mixed and Mastered by Rick Barnes at Rax Trax Recording

Logical Fleadh is:
Emily Albright (violin, vocals)
Pat Buzby (drums)
Nathan Britsch (bass)
Dana Joras (flutes, piccolo, whistles, vocals)
Joe Kilroy (tenor banjo, mandolin, bouzouki)
Ethan Sellers (acoustic guitar, keyboards, vocals)

With Special Guests:
Chuck Bontrager (viola, track 4)
Seán Gavin (uilleann pipes, tracks 2, 4)
Jay Montana (electric guitars, tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 14, andd 15)
Nick Photinos (cello, tracks 4 and 16)
John Williams (accordion/concertina, tracks 9, 16, and 17)

+ composed/arranged and © Ethan Taylor Sellers. Published by Turtle Down Music, LLC
* traditional/public domain, arranged by Logical Fleadh. The arrangements (not the tunes) © 2019 Ethan Taylor Sellers, Emily Albright, Pat Buzby, Nathan Britsch, Dana Joras, and Joe Kilroy. Published by Turtle Down Music, LLC
# traditional/public domain, arranged by Ethan Taylor Sellers. The arrangements (not the tunes) © Ethan Taylor Sellers. Published by Turtle Down Music, LLC
^ composed by Dave Richardson, arranged by Logical Fleadh. The arrangements (not the tunes) © 2019 Ethan Taylor Sellers, Emily Albright, Pat Buzby, Nathan Britsch, Dana Joras, and Joe Kilroy.

Thanks to everyone who contributed their time and talents to this project. Special thanks to our families and friends for their support and encouragement.

This album was made possible in part by generous financial support by the Illinois Arts Council and the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.