http://www.alisonodonnell.com +  http://profile.myspace.com 

Born in Dublin, Alison O’Donnell made her first record for Simon Napier Bell and David Hemmings at the age of fifteen with the cult folk-rock band, Mellow Candle. The band played concerts with Genesis, Thin Lizzy, Donovan, The Chieftains and Steeleye Span amongst others. They signed to Decca’s Deram label in the early 1970s and gigged in Ireland and the U.K. 

Alison then moved to Johannesburg and together with the guitarist from Mellow Candle they formed the traditional group Flibbertigibbet. The band recorded an album on the Stanyan label and worked on national television and radio. 

When the band members moved on Alison freelanced on recordings for local singer songwriters and in addition she did session work for radio and television commercials. She also duetted with solo artistes and was invited to write occasional record reviews. 

Mellow Candle

During the early 1980s, together with a troupe of well-known actors and musicians, she helped to stage and perform a series of popular satirical revues. She toured with the musical ‘I’m Getting My Act Together’ and taking it on the road’, performed with a number of jazz and rock bands and recorded an album for writer/producer (Daydreamer), Terry Dempsey’s band, Plastik Mak. After this period she assisted in the running of a Johannesburg club venue, which gave a platform to anti-apartheid performers, where she also performed from time to time.
 
In the mid 1980s Alison joined a contemporary jazz group called Earthlings and co-wrote all of the band’s material with the other members. She then returned to London and spent a number of years in public sector administration whilst also acting as a promoter and publicist for the re-release and reissue of some of her earlier recordings.

 
In the latter part of 1997 she moved to Brussels, working with jazz and folk musicians and performing in pantomime in a leading role. She also recorded and choreographed the main principals’ solo songs for the January 1998 pantomime, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, and acted as voice coach for the following two annual productions. 
 
During 1998 she set up the traditional-style band Éishtlinn, incorporating her own songs, together with local musicians. Between 2000 and 2001 she regularly taught singing workshops.                 
 
Alison moved back to Dublin in 2001. She sings and plays bodhrán in sessions, festivals, gigs and charity events, and collaborates with other artistes including traditional singing clubs: The Goilín Singers Club and the Howth Singing Circle. She has finished writing a book to follow on from a recently aired documentary about her grandmother, filmed by the BBC for the series ‘Family Ties’ (2005)                                                                                                                                     
 

A multi-instrumentalist and tunesmith, Isabel was born and raised in the Gaeltacht area of An Fálcarrach, Tír Chonaill in Donegal, Isabel is a familiar figure at Dublin’s traditional gigs and sessions. Together with Thom Moore, Joe Dunne and George Staines she is a member of IAD, the Thursday night band resident at The Radisson Hotel. She also works with jazz and French café music singer, actress and former beauty queen Derby Browne. In the past she has worked with Major to Minor, Celtic Fusion, Eimear Quinn and Michele Ann Kelly. She plays keyboards, guitar, whistle and accordion with an agricultural twist.           

Respected Irish music writer John O’Regan described Isabel as “A multi-instrumentalist and composer whose influences span from traditional Irish music and folk styles to jazz ambience she can pen a jig or an air or dress an arrangement as easily as she smiles (which she does a lot).  Isabel plays accordion, piano, keyboards, guitar and whistles and adds a sturdy backbone to Alison's songs. Her musical experience is born of local traditional folk and jazz sessions and periods with bands like Major to Minor and Don O'Connor's Celtic Fusion. Her musical and arrangement skills make a subtle yet profound contribution to the Mise agus Ise project. Through years of playing, writing and arranging - Isabel Ní Chuireáin's talents have been preparing themselves for the right firmament in which to shine - this is it!

Discography                                                                                                                                                                 

Mellow Candle ‘Swaddling Songs’, Decca (See For Miles/Edison Records Japan/Soma Records Korea/Acme Records) 

                                                                                                                                                           
Flibbertigibbet ‘Whistling Jigs to the Moon’, Stanyan (reissue Kissing Spell)                                                                   

Colin Shamley ‘Born Guilty’, 3rd Ear Music                                                                                                                   

Roger Lucey ‘The Road is Much Longer’, 3rd Ear Music

Plastik Mak ‘Love Connection’, Flash Records  

Mellow Candle ‘The Virgin Prophet” (Unreleased sessions 1969-1970)’, Kissing Spell                                                 

Flibbertigibbet ‘My Lagan Love’ (live/demos), Kissing Spell    

Eishtlinn “’Eist Linn’, Kissing Spell (Spiral)  

Compilation various artists ‘Legends of Ireland’, Rhino Records (Mellow Candle)

Compilation various artists, Celtic-Medieval Collective 12” vinyl, ‘As She Was Crowned So Crowned Were They’,          Fossil Dungeon Mellow Candle

Deram compilation various ‘Legend of a Mind’, Decca Records (Mellow Candle)

 Alison O’Donnell & Isabel Ní Chuireáin ‘Mise agus Ise’, Osmosys Records www.terranovamusic.com 

Bibliography 

                                                                                                                                                             
Irish Rock, Mark J. Prendergast. The O’Brien Press 1987. 

                                                                                        
Irish Rock Tony Clayton-Lea & Richie Taylor, Gill and Macmillan 92

History of Contemporary Music of South Africa, Garth Chilvers & Tom Jasiukowicz, Toga Publishing 1994.

Irish Folk, Trad and Blues: A Secret History, Colin Harper & Trevor Hodgett.                                                                    

A Seeker’s Guide to the Rhythm of Yesteryear, Shiloh Noone. 

Beautiful Day: Forty Years of Irish Rock, Sean Campbell, Cork University Press 2005.                                               
 
Useful Sites

http://website.lineone.net/~geoff.burton/mellowc/mellowc.html

http://psychedelicfolk.homestead.com/MELLOWCANDLE.html

http://gnosis2000.net/reviews/mellowcandle.htm

I thought I would just give you an update at December 2008. I have an EP out now with The Owl Service, entitled 'Fabric of Folk' on the Static Caravan Label, which has been getting some good press and airplay. I also have a vinyl single on Fruits de Mer of a Nick Drake song and a Nico song: a double A-side with artwork by Aritomo - 'Day is Done' and 'Frozen Warnings'.

There are promo inserts on my MySpace page I have done a lot of collaborative work with other musicians: Mr Pine (a Mellow Candle homage), Agitated Radio Pilot, United Bible Studies and others. 

My own album is almost finished. It is an entirely collaborative work, mostly with the artists I have been recording with for their own projects over the past eighteen months or so. Then I should be recording an album with Greg Weeks of Espers in the U.S. next year. 

The forecast for the gig circuit here in Ireland for 2009 is very gloomy though. I have been doing most of my concerts in England and Wales. 

I wish you all very well for the Christmas season.

2007 & 8 has seen collaborations with Dave Colohan of Agitated Radio Pilot ('World Winding Down' double album), Syd Kitchen & Mike Dickman (South African CD), and Steven Paul Collins of The Owl Service (EP entitled 'The Fabric of Folk' now released on Static Caravan. 

An album of songs is written and being arranged by Greg Weeks of Espers, and Alison and Michael Tyack of Circulus are working on a song together for her solo album. A track for the new Mr Pine album, 'Rewilding', entitled 'Sleep of Ondine' has been recorded and Kevin Scott of ‘this Canadian band’ has co-written a song with Alison for her solo album. 

Australian rock homage (Aztec Energy) for the music writer, Colin Harper's album is now out on 'Freedom & The Dream Penguin' by The Fieldmouse Conspiracy. Alison contributed vocals to three tracks on the United Bible Studies album, entitled The Jonah and also performs occasional live improv with United Bible Studies.

The story of the EP, The Fabric of Folk, goes back to a brief exchange between Owl Service main man Steven Collins and Alison O'Donnell (of the legendary Irish prog-folk group Mellow Candle) on a social networking website in the Spring of 2007. "The Fabric of Folk" is a collision between two ages of folk-rock; Alison was intrigued by the sound of The Owl Service, 

Steven had been in awe of "Swaddling Songs" for many years and so a collaboration seemed inevitable. "Fabric..." contains two original Collins/O'Donnell compositions (one with lyrics penned by Dominic Cooper of the Straw Bear Band), a short instrumental interlude, and two traditional reworkings. 

The original songs bookend the EP in perfect fashion and Alison's treatment of the traditional material in between is masterful. From the ominous opening track "The Wooden Coat" to the epic finale "The Fabric of Life", the listener is taken on a journey through themes of life and death, all handled with a pathos and poignancy.

"A Fabric of Folk" was released on CD this summer by Static Caravan and will be out on vinyl this Winter by Hobby-Horse.

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