Andy Irvine & Dónal Lunny's Mozaik

Andy Irvine & Dónal Lunny's Mozaik [a.k.a. Mozaik] is a multicultural folk band consisting of Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Bruce Molsky, Nikola Parov and Rens van der Zalm. Created in 2002, the band have toured Australia, Europe, USA and Japan, and recorded four albums.

Andy Irvine & Dónal Lunny's Mozaik
OriginIreland, Bulgaria/Hungary, Netherlands, United States
Genres
Years active2002–present day
Associated acts
Websiteandyirvine.com
MembersAndy Irvine
Dónal Lunny
Bruce Molsky
Nikola Parov
Rens van der Zalm

History

In a 2005 interview, Irvine stated:

But now I have a new band called Mozaik. Not the M-o-s-a-i-c version of 1985 but the M-o-z-a-i-k version, and it's kind of exciting.

—Andy Irvine, Andy Irvine Interview by Fiona Ritchie[1]

The first 'Mosaic' (1984-85)

In the winter of 1984, Irvine gathered a collection of musicians from throughout Europe and formed 'Mosaic',[1] with a final line-up including Irvine himself, Dónal Lunny along with his former Moving Hearts associate, uilleann piper Declan Masterson, Danish bassist and singer Lissa Ladefoged, Dutch guitarist and singer Hans Theessink, and Hungarian singer Márta Sebestyén from Muzsikás.[2]:11

Their first public gig was in Budapest on 12 July 1985, followed by a further two gigs in Hungary and an appearance at the Dranouter festival in Belgium in early August, prior to their English tour.[2]:11 Their seventh gig was billed at the Southport Arts Center, which Chris Hardwick of Folk Roots reviewed with the following introduction: "Every once in a while the folk scene throws up a new permutation in which exceptionally gifted individuals come together to produce something so innovative and exhilarating that it goes way beyond the sum of the parts".[3]:42–43

Their set included: Stan Rogers's "Northwest Passage", an unspecified Macedonian dance tune ("one of Andy's 90 mph specials"[3]:43), a solo Hungarian love song from Sebestyén, a brooding cover of Eric Von Schmidt's Caribbean lament "Joshua Gone Barbados" from Theessink, the Irish three (Irvine, Lunny and Masterson) on a set of reels including "The Spike Island Lasses", and Irvine singing Andy Mitchell's "Indiana". However, the band lasted only that one summer.

A couple of years later,[4]:15 Irvine stated that he would have liked to try the experiment again by concentrating on the Irish and East European sound without bringing in the blues influence.

The second 'Mozaik' (2002-present day)

In early 2002, Irvine drafted some long-time musical friends and formed his dream band, consisting of himself and Irish musician Dónal Lunny, American fiddler Bruce Molsky, Bulgaro-Hungarian multi-instrumentalist Nikola Parov (Zsaratnok, the Riverdance band)[5][6] and Dutch multi-instrumentalist Rens van der Zalm (Fungus, Wolverei).[7] Their repertoire includes selections of Irvine's own compositions,[8][9] Irish traditional songs,[10] Southeastern European/Balkan folk music,[11][12][1] and Molsky's Old-timey songs and Appalachian fiddling. Between them, they play the following instruments:

Since their collaboration began in 2002, they have toured Australia, Europe, USA and Japan with great success.[13][14].

Recordings

Live from the Powerhouse

On 1 March 2002, Mozaik congregated in the seaside town of Rye, Victoria in Australia for six days of intensive rehearsals.[15] The Australian tour that followed culminated in two gigs recorded at the Brisbane Powerhouse on 30/31 March and released on the album Live from the Powerhouse[16] in 2004, under license to Compass Records.[15][17]

Changing Trains

In January and April 2005, the band rehearsed new material for Changing Trains,[18] their first studio album recorded in Budapest during November of the same year.[19] This album was initially released by the band in Australia in 2006 and, after additional re-mixing by Lunny at Longbeard Studios in Dublin, was re-released in the autumn of 2007 under license to Compass Records.[17][19]

Andy Irvine/70th Birthday Concert at Vicar St 2012

On 16 and 17 June 2012, two concerts took place at Dublin's Vicar Street venue to celebrate Irvine's 70th birthday.[20] He was joined onstage by Paul Brady[21] and various combinations of members of Sweeney's Men, Planxty, Mozaik and LAPD, plus brothers George and Manoli Galiatsos who came unexpectedly all the way from Athens for the concerts.[20][22] A CD and a separate DVD were released, each featuring a different selection of material from the concerts.[20][23]

Discography

Filmography
  • Andy Irvine 70th Birthday Concert at Vicar St 2012 (2014), DVD
  • Mozaik on Tour 2014 (2014), YouTube video clip

Bibliography
  • Planxty (Songbook) (1973). London: Mews Music.
  • Irvine, Andy (1988). Aiming For The Heart (1st ed.). Germany: Heupferd Musik Verlag GmbH. ISBN 39-2344-501-6.
  • O'Toole, Leagues (2006). The Humours of Planxty. Ireland: Hodder Headline. ISBN 03-4083-796-9.
  • Irvine, Andy (2008). Aiming For The Heart: Irish Song Affairs (2nd expanded ed.). Germany: Heupferd Musik Verlag GmbH. ISBN 978-3-92-344505-9.
  • Huntington, Gale; Herrmann, Lani; Moulden, John, eds. (2010). Sam Henry's Songs of the People. Athens, GA and London: The University of Georgia Press. ISBN 08-2033-625-4.
gollark: But the work would just adjust itself...?
gollark: It autoadjusts to keep time constant, bee.
gollark: Mineflayer.
gollark: It effectively did when they quintupled the time between blocks.
gollark: The economy is kind of extremely bees due to declining block value and the lack of fractions.

References
  1. Ritchie, Fiona. "Andy Irvine Interview: Life on the road, Balkan music, East Wind, Riverdance, Mosaic and Mozaik. (Perthshire, 2005)". Archived from the original on 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2015-02-28. Retrieved on 28 February 2015.
  2. The Euro-group: Mosaic, by Ian Anderson in Folk Roots No.29, November 1985.
  3. Live Reviews: Mosaic at the Southport Arts Centre, by Chris Hardwick in Folk Roots No.28, October 1985.
  4. Andy Irvine, by Chris Hardwick in Folk Roots No.46, April 1987.
  5. "Nikola Parov biography". last.fm. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  6. "Zsaratnok". cdroots.com. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  7. "Rens van der Zalm biography". andyirvine.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 3 April 2016..
  8. Irvine, Andy (1988). Aiming for the Heart. Germany: Heupferd Musik Verlag GmbH. ISBN 39-2344-501-6.
  9. Planxty (Songbook). London: Mews Music. 1973.
  10. Huntington, Gale; Herrmann, Lani; Dr Moulden, John, eds. (2010). Sam Henry's Songs of the People. Athens, GA and London: The University of Georgia Press. ISBN 08-2033-625-4.
  11. Heading East, by Colin Irwin in Folk Roots No.153, March 1996.
  12. Transnational..., by Geoff Wallis in Folk Roots No.295/296, Jan/Feb 2008.
  13. Mozaik schedule at Adastra website Archived April 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 28 February 2015
  14. Mozaik play at Vicar Street Retrieved on 28 February 2015
  15. Sleeve notes from Mozaik – Live from the Powerhouse, Compass Records 743782, 2004.
  16. Mozaik – Live from the Powerhouse, Compass Records 743782, 2004.
  17. Mozaik page at Compass Records website Retrieved on 28 February 2015.
  18. Mozaik – Changing Trains, Compass Records 744682, 2007.
  19. Sleeve notes from Mozaik – Changing Trains, Compass Records 744682, 2007.
  20. Andy Irvine 70th Birthday Concert at Vicar St 2012. CD Archived March 9, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 1 March 2015
  21. Andy Irvine and Paul Brady (Interview) (20 April 2012). Miriam O'Callaghan Meets – Paul Brady and Andy Irvine (Podcast). Dublin: RTÉ Radio 1. Retrieved on 1 March 2015.
  22. Andy's 70th Birthday Concerts – June 2012. Archived August 16, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 1 March 2015
  23. Andy Irvine 70th Birthday Concert at Vicar St 2012. DVD Archived 2015-03-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 1 March 2015
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