Michael McGoldrick - Wired

(October 2005) 12 tracks: Wired To The Moon * Gaelic Gavotte * The Hillsbrook Reels * Strange Journey * The Honest Bar * Famous Last Words * Paddy In The Smoke * Sophie's * The Jolly Tinker * The Desert Road * Glenuig Bay * Last House In The Village.

Master of flute, whistles and uillean pipes, Michael McGoldrick's second solo album Wired is the product of three years writing, recording, experimenting and perfecting his art. It is the natural successor to his seminal 2000 album Fused, only bolder and more captivating, incorporating alternative sounds to create a brilliant fusion at the cutting edge of traditional music, positively bursting with energy.

Other musicians involved in realising are great players from bands including Capercaillie, Flook! And Shooglenifty - Dezi Donnelly (fiddle), Ed Boyd (guitar), Jon Joe Kelly (bodhran), Donald Shaw (keyboards), Ewen Vernal (bass), Parvinder Bharat (tabla), Neil Yates (trumpet), Manus Lunny (bouzouki) and James Mackintosh (drums). John McCusker (fiddle), Alison Brown (banjo) and the Scottish String Ensemble also bring their unique sound to some tracks.

But it is McGoldrick himself who consolidates his reputation for creating ground-breaking music in this genre, with a recording that brings his lyrical and pulsating flute and pipe playing to the fore, against a musical backdrop of mesmerizing grooves, sounds and attitude.

"Some of the most exciting, inventive and sophisticated music you'll find anywhere..." (Sunday Herald)

"The natural successor to Fused, only even bolder and more captivating, incorporating alternative sounds into traditional music to create a brilliant fusion at the cutting edge of folk music, that positively bursts with energy..."