California Irish - The Mountains Are My Friends

Summoning the beguiling spirit of Laurel Canyon, employing analogue recording techniques, and recording songs in one or two takes to achieve something with a real human touch, California Irish are a new seven-piece group hailing from Belfast that working their own niche within the world of folk and Americana, and everything in between.

This new group with a unique sound formed from a combination of players that initially came together briefly to perform a Neil Young-inspired theatre show production called Re-Harvest, in which the musicians who now make up California Irish very successfully performed the classic albums Harvest Moon and Harvest back-to-back.

The brainchild of the group's lead singer and chief songwriter Cormac Neeson, the band were hand-picked by Neeson based on long standing friendships, as well as experiences with numerous musical projects within the thriving Belfast music scene.

The Laurel Canyon influence also extends to the band’s recording technique, adhering rigidly to the analogue 16 track recording method circa 1969: namely recording live straight to tape at the world-famous Middle Farm Studios under the watchful eyes and ears of producer Pete Miles.

The resulting sound of California Irish flies in the face of modern techniques that often lose the warmth of the original compositions. Instead, the group opted for a one off and unique shared human experience with musicians who feed off each other’s energy and create compelling four-part vocal blends around one single microphone in a warm alt-folk celebration. The creative process in turn led to an album's worth of
songs tentatively titled “The Mountains Are My Friends”.

Cormac states his reason for starting the band and wanting to harness this fabulous sound: This album is the opposite of boring AI generated no soul perfection. We recorded this album in a room together over four days allowing the music to breathe when it needed to, looking at each other for our cues and feeding off each other’s energy. It felt like a dream…but it’s the most real thing I’ve ever done in music. That Laurel Canyon sound of the late 60s, epitomised by the early Crosby Stills Nash and Young stuff, and the first few Joni Mitchell records, has always felt otherworldly and magical. On our album we’ve tried to access some of that beauty and create our own magic by combining brand new music with an old school recording process.

Tracklisting:
1. Live Fast Die Free 
2. Old Friends 
3. Julie Ann 
4. Side By Side 
5. Something Different 
6. Big Questions 
7. Can’t Let Go 
8. Sunday Morning 
9. Hard We Fall 
10. I Am Free

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