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in occasion of his 25th
anniversary, he had the honor to have a whole show, the "Late late show"
dedicated to him. One of the most followed Irish TV shows. But even
outside the boundries of the Emerald Ireland, Donal's fame shines with
an intense light.This is due in part to his past as leader of the marvelous Planxty.
But beyond doubt
it's mostly due to his latest productions: the music for the award TV series "A river
of sound", the work with Mark Knopfler, the anthology "Common ground", and
a authentic "must" of contemporary Irish Music, where, among others, appear:
Kate Bush and Sinead O'Connor, Elvis Costello and Bono, Christy Moore and Sharon Shannon,
we could go on forever...
Interview
Let's take a huge step back, Mr
Lunny. Could you explain to us how you began making music ?
" In a very casual way. In 1963,
when I was 16 years old - I was born in Newbridge, Kildareshire, in 1947 - I used to spend
almost every day with Christy Moore, my best friend at the time. Christy's mother, Nancy,
was the heart and the soul of all the musical events in town, anyone who dropped by her
house, she would force to sing. She also did it with me. I already had music in my blood:
since my mother, who is originary from Donegalshire, was a grat expert in Gaelic folklore,
so called "Gaeltacht". So you see, in the beginning, it wasn't very
difficult."
Ok. But you were also famous
for having introduced a tipical Arabic instrument, the bouzouki, in Irish Music. How did
it happen ?
"By chance, as well. One day I
went to visit a very close friend of mine, the musician Andy Irvine, whom I knew had
a wonderful collection of guitars and mandolins. I began to play them, until my eyes fell
upon an instrument I had never seen before; a bouzouki, in fact. When I tried it, I
discovered that it had a very particular sound; charming, extraordinaryly alien, and
"distant". I fell madly in love with it, to the point that Andy, seeing me so
enthusiastic, was so nice to give it to me. Since then...I never parted from it."
Right, the Planxty made
history also because of that magic bouzouki...
"True, and it's something that
gives me enormous pleasure. In fact, I was completely reluctant in using the guitar:
because, for me, the guitar had (and still has) an exquisit pop taste. I was searching for
something else, and the bouzouki fullfilled all my expectations. At the same time it
maintained a traditional contact and the complete separation of the same. It was an
extraordinaty union between past and present."
Nevertheless, after two
years of success, you decided to end with the Planxty, why ?
"Once again by chance - It was
1963, if I remember correctly - I happened to enter in a recording studio to help
out a producer, a friend of mine, and I was completely fascinated by the enormous variety
of possibilities hidden behind the relationship between the microphone and the
magnetic tape. So I said to myself, 'Donal, you can't limitate yourself to just being a
full-time musician. This is the real mission of your life.' So... here I am !"
Since then, you produced
almost every work of the Gotha in the Irish Music world: Paul Brady and Sharon Shannon,
Loreena McKennitt and Màire Brennan, The Altan and Mary Black, just to say a few names
that come to mind. Furthermore, you also founded another band, the Moving Hearts...
"That's right. And it was real
fun because, the main idea behind the Moving Hearts, was to bridge Irish tradition
with "Northern soul", sometimes underlined it with rock. And as luck had
it, playing with me, Chrity Moore and Davy Spillane, was Declan Synott, one of the
greatest rock guitarists I have ever met. I've learned a lot, or maybe everything, from
him on how to have two worlds, apparently so distant, coexisting. As you see, I'm a lucky
man, very lucky."
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