by Catherine L. Tully

Artist: Athas
Album: "Athas"
Year produced: 2007

This traditional Irish music trio hails from Milwaukee Wisconsin and this album is truly music to dance by. The CD includes five tracks that are designed for set dancers--so that they can "dance along to the Borlin set."

The band offers up a mix of both traditional and original tunes here, and they are all wonderful! There is just enough of a modern feel to the music to keep it fresh and interesting, but fans of the "bread and butter Celtic sound" will not walk away disappointed.

Between the three you'll hear the fiddle, viola, guitar, djembe, bodhran, wooden flute and spoons as they skip, hop and slide through each track with ease. Band mates Heather Lewin-Tiarks and Amy Richter both have championship wins under their belt for their playing and it won't surprise listeners one bit when they hear the songs here. The third member, Jeff Ksiazek rounds the trio out nicely with his expert play on the guitar and flute. Each of the band members contributes to the sound and it really has a live, polished feel to it--like you are sitting in on one heck of a good session.

The band's name "Athas" means joy and gladness, and the musicians share those sentiments with the people who listen to this CD through their songs. The energy is contagious.

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Catherine L. Tully is a freelance writer and photographer who specializes in the arts. She has written for American Style and Classical Singer, among other magazines, and reviews music for Marc Gunn's Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. You can reach her through her website at www.catherineltully.com.

Labels: cd_review_2007

Posted by Marc Gunn, Sunday, December 30, 2007.
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