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Artist:BEOGATitle:BEFOREWECHANGEOURMINDReleaseDate:10thFebruary2017
C a t a l o g u e N o : B E O G A 0 6 B a r c o d e : 5 3 9 1 5 2 4 0 3 4 3 0 1 w w w . b e o g a m u s i c . c o m
EdSheeranhasdisclosedthatIrishbandBeogalivedandjammedwithhimwhilstworkingonhisupcomingthirdalbum.
Whilstworkingwiththeglobalsuperstarthebandwerealsofinalisingthemixoftheirown5thstudioalbum,Beforewe
changeourmind,whichhasjustbeenreleasedtogreatcriticalacclaim.
SpeakingonBBCRadio1,Sheeranannounced“They’recalledBeoga………whenIwashangingoutwiththeseguysI
realised…folkmusicisinallofus”.Speakingofthecollaborationhesaid“I’vealwayswantedtodothisbutI’venever
reallyknownareallygoodfolkband….They’reFoyVance’smatesfromNorthernIrelandandtheycameandstayedatmy
house….It’samazinghavingmusiciansofthatcalibrelivinginyourhouse”“They’realwaysplayingmusicandtheyalways
wanttohaveajamandsitroundanddrinkBushmillswhiskey,andfiddle,it’sreallyspecial…..they’rereallygood”
LimerickfiddleplayerandvocalistNiamhDunnesays"WedidtwosongswithEdbutIcan’ttellyouanymore!I’msworn
tosecrecy!Wejammedononesongandweco-wroteanotherwhichwasamazing.Thewholethingcametogethervery
naturally.I’dsaythesongscouldbedescribedasfolky.”AccordingtoBodhránplayerEamonMurraytheopportunityto
recordcameaboutquiteorganically“OurpalandfellowNortherner,FoyVanceisonEdSheeran’srecordlabelandthey’d
beenlisteningtoacoupleofourtracksontour.Whenitcametomakinganewalbum,Edhimselfreachedoutandasked
ifwe’dliketobeinvolved,andwesaidaye!”
TheAntrim-basedfivepiece,whohaveplayedshowsallovertheworld,joinedSheeranathisrecordingstudiosinSuffolk
lastJunetorecordtwotracks,oneaboutGalwayandoneaboutWexford,whereEdhasstrongfamilyroots."Wewent
overandtheweatherwasgorgeousandwejusthadagreattime,"saidNiamh."Wehadafewbeersandjusthungout
anditwasjustveryrelaxed.WhenwefirstmetEd,itwas`ohmygod!'becausehe’ssorecognisablebutafterthat,itwas
justlikegettingtoknowafellowmusicianreally.Hewasgreatcraic.”
Sheeranisalreadywell-knownforhis
loveofIrishtradandfolk.Hehassaid
thatoneofhisearliestmusicalmemories
islisteningtotheIrishHeartbeat
albumbyVanMorrisonandThe
ChieftainsandheisalsoafanofThe
BothyBandandPlanxty.Frontman
EamonMurrayisalsokeepingschtum
aboutthereleasedateofSheeran'snew
recordanddownplayedthefactthat
Beogaareabouttobeabigpartofwhat
issuretobeaNumberOnealbumacross
theworld.
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“Wejustfeelmassivelyprivilegedtohaveabreaklikethis.We’vealwaysmadealivingfrommusicsowhoknowswhere
thiswilltakeus.”hesaid.Co-hostingtheBBCRadio1BreakfastShowonFridaylast,Sheerandescribedthealbumas
“schizophrenic”with“lotsofdifferentsounds”andconfirmedtohostScottMillsthatanIrishfolkgroupfeatureonthe
record.“They’recalledBeoga,”saidSheeran.“They’refromNorthernIreland;theyarereally,reallytalented.Theycame
tomyhousetostayandwemade
somesongs.Twoofthemhave
madetherecord.It’sjammy,it’s
folky.”Inarecentinterviewhesaid,
"I'veactuallygotasongonthenew
albumwhichIthinkisreallygonna
explodeinIreland.Itwouldbe
somethingtodowithcounty
Galway.
ThebedrockoftheBeogasoundlies
firmlywithintheIrish
tradition.However,theyarenot
afraidtoincorporateothergenres’
nuancesintotheirmusic.From
bluesyriffstoAstorPiazzola
stylejazz,toaraunchyNewOrleans
jamboreevibe,theirmusicalways
returnstoawonderfullybouncy
Irishsound.
BeforeWeChangeOurMind,their5thstudioalbum,isarecordthathassurelypositionedthematthearcofIrish
traditionalmusic’snewwave.UnderthestewardshipofproducerMichaelKeeney(FoyVance&EdSheeran,Lisa
Hannigan&BonnieRait),recordingwasundertakenwithlivetakeswherepossible,resultinginarefreshingandebullient
feel,whilelosingnoneofthepolishorveracityofpreviousefforts.
“Afterplayingtogetherfor13years,wetriedanewcreativeprocessthistimeanditworkedgreat…we’redelightedwith
thewholealbum”saysNiamhDunne.
Confirmingtheirreputationforinnovation,allseveninstrumentalsonthealbumareoriginalcompositionsfromthe
band.Inadeparturefrompreviousrecordingsthesongsdrawmoreonthefolksongtraditionwith‘TheBonnyShipthe
Diamond’drawnfromthevastrepositoryofthegodfatheroffolkEwanMcColl,alongsidetheTommyMakemclassic
FarewelltoCarlingfordandWexfordTown,asonglongassociatedwiththetravellingsingerPeckerDunne-incidentallya
relativeofNiamh’s.“It’sfiveyearssinceourlaststudioalbumandthematerialfeelsstrongwithanewsenseofbalance”
saysEamonMurray
WithguestappearancesfromsuchluminariesasStephenMcCartney&RachelCoulter(Farriers)andTheArcoString
Quartet(Villagers,DukeSpecial)it’snosurprisethatthesoundthathasbeenachievediseuphonic,tuneful,cinematic,
evensymphonicattimes,yetitneverlosesthatuniqueBeogavoicewhichwasforgedallthoseyearsagoattheFleadhs
andsessionsinCountyAntrimandfurtherafield.
“ThebestnewtraditionalbandtoemergefromIrelandthiscentury”–WallStreetJournal
“Top-drawer…someofthebestmusicintheworldtoday”–IrishMusicMagazine
BeforeWeChangeOurMindistheir5thstudioalbumcomingonthebackofcriticallyacclaimedandcharttopping
previousreleases;Liveat10(2013),HowtotuneaFish(2011),TheIncident(2009),Mischief(2007),AlovelyMadness
(2004).
PRESSCONTACT:OonaghDerby–[email protected]+447894871288
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Contact:
OonaghDerby
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T:+442890314981
M:+447894871288
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