Máire Ní Chathasaigh & Chris Newman

It's finally done! Some three years in the making - on & off between tours - the first copies of FireWire have arrived from the factory. As things take so long to get into the shops it'll be officially released in January, but it's available right now on this site.

The album contains a couple of 17th century harp airs, an original reel from Máire as well as three other sets of traditional dance tunes. Máire sings a couple of songs - one each in English and Irish - and there are new compositions by Andy Hornby, Paul Buckley and me. I'm personally thrilled to have ace banjo-player Cathy Fink guesting on one track - she's long been a favourite of ours and it's great to have finally got her involved.

Máire's sister Nollaig once again adds her quite superb violin to the album, and we're also delighted to include a drummer for the first time, resulting in a somewhat different sound on a few pieces.

Reviews here