California Irish is a brand new psychedelic folk band, hailing from Belfast in the North of Ireland. As the name suggests, they draw inspiration from the California Laurel Canyon bands from the 1960s and 70s such as CSNY, Joni Mitchell and the Byrds. Their debut album “The Mountains Are My Friends” was recorded in May 2024 and is being prepared for release this Summer. Led by Cormac Neeson from The Answer and featuring seasoned musicians from the likes of New Pagans, No Oil Paintings and The Unholy Gospel Band, this alt-folk collective will be gearing up for the album release with a live show featuring some very special guests at The Belfast Empire on Friday 16th May.
The Laurel Canyon influence also extends to the band’s recording process, 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 flies in the face of modern recording techniques that often lose any of the soul the music had to begin with in a hail of auto tuned, click tracked and (Increasingly) AI driven sonic layers. Instead…California Irish opted for a one off and unique shared human experience with musicians who feed off each other’s energy and record their four part vocal blend around the one microphone in a warm alt folk celebration that is “The Mountains Are My Friends”.
For fans of Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young and Fleet Foxes.
Special guest support on the night will be MÚLÚ (Miadhachlughain O’Donnell). The 25 year-old singer and multi-instrumentalist from Castlewellan, Co. Down is a fluent Irish speaker with a great interest in curating and performing songs in Irish, and also a keen interest in the folk song tradition.
As a solo artist, she accompanies her husky voice with the shruti box – an Indian instrument similar to the harmonium – and sings traditional Irish songs in their language of origin. She is also a flute player (an All-Ireland champion at the age of 15) and adds this her repertoire when performing with her trio.
