Moya set for Grammy Award- by John Cutliffe

I knew this CD would be set for greatness when I first had a listen to it about a year ago. So it is a heartfelt congratulations to Moya and all her band and production team for the Grammy Nomination for Best New Age Album.

The Awards will be handed out in early February and we will have a rundown very soon of all those arists nominated who often grace the pages of our website. In the meantime have a read of my original review of Moya's Two Horizons.

Two Horizons- One Masterpiece - By John Cutliffe
I know I can be a little biased when someone from my own lovely Donegal makes something special. I grew up in Donegal and thankfully was brought up by parents who instilled a certain pride and sense of place in me that remains to this day. I listen to my local radio stations on the web and have the local weather on the start page of my browser.

Of course my pride is well placed. There are many great things about Donegal. Nestled at the top left hand corner of Ireland it is rugged and windswept and lovely. It is full of mystery and tall tales. It has pockets of Irish speaking areas steeped in a fiery history and yet is surprisingly cosmopolitan at times. The coast is lashed by high winds and rain often enough to keep everything feeling fresh and new while the culture and relatively little urbanization has kept the old world intact in many aspects of daily life. The people and music reflect this and Moya Brennan is no exception. She is one of the best and nicest people in this business, not to mention just how successful she and her family have been for the last few decades.

As a member of Clannad she was part of one of the most successful traditional Irish band of the 70s. They took Irish music to a whole new audience and a generation of people from Ireland and all over Europe embraced them and a handful of other bands who were one of Irelands few successful exports at that time.

With the success on the BBC of Harry's Game and Clannad's haunting theme (the dance version can still be heard today on US television for the Irish tourist board ads) hitting the charts they were suddenly catapulted into a whole new world. More success followed that with the Robin of Sherwood soundtrack and hits like In a Lifetime featuring that magical duet with U2's Bono.

Two Horizons is Moya's 5 th solo outing to date and is something of a concept album. Like all good stories it is about a journey and a quest and has the Hill of Tara and harps and some of the most accomplished musicians and technicians in the business all coming together to bring Moya's ideas to fruition. And indeed it seems to have worked. Moya herself is very happy with the result.

"I think it's the best thing I have ever done" she said "I'm loving it. I've never heard my voice sound the way it does now. The production is fantastic and the harp sounds amazing, which is very much part of what the record is about."

The thanks for the production goes to respected producer Ross Callum who had previously worked with many top international acts. He has taken Moya's music and voice and given it a new fresh layer and contemporary sound. Moya's own band added to the sound while guest musicians from Martin Carthy to Anto Drennan came in and gave even more joy to the project.

Two Horizons was a huge project for Moya and is set to be repaid with huge success. It will certainly be well received and hailed by the critics. Hopefully that will be reflected in some decent sales in these uncertain times for music. No matter what it will be another milestone for one of our great ambassadors and a feather in the caps of those of us who still get a huge rush at seeing one of our home team with another winner.

Check out Moya's lovely website at http://www.moyabrennan.com