WOMAD

Liam Ó Maonlaí

From Ireland (Irish Republic)

Born in 1964 Mount Carmel Hospital. His mother Eithne Lydon was a trained pianist and Actor from Galway. Her father was also a passionate piano player who bought his own piano at the age of 19. Liam grew up with this piano in the house. It was on this piano he discovered a deep sense of musical satisfaction. Liam’s father taught him to sing in his native tongue . 'He transmitted a love to me that no book or teacher could' the love was of humanity expressed through culture. Liam recognises the huge importance of culture in the development of the human species. 'We are connected. It has been said again and again and again. God knows the ecstasy that lies ahead. When the penny drops and we realise the wealth in music and culture the world over. The flowering of all life.'In 1981 he won the all Ireland final as bódhran player under 18. He has been a finalist on the tin whistle, piano and as a singer many years over. In Athlone he entered a group of dancers and led them to victory in a set dancing all Ireland. In Ennis in 1985 he and Fiachna Ó Braonain ,with the enchanting presence of Maria Doyle Kennedy won a music award called Gradam Shlogadh. They had put together a rhythm and blues group with all songs written in Irish. This was the seed beginning of Hothouse Flowers, which went on to be one of Ireland’s most successful rock bands and released seven albums.All through the Hothouse Flowers years, Liam remained faithful to his traditional roots. 'Traditional music does not belong to me. I belong to it. The same as the land.'Liam as been involved in the Nuclear Free Future movement for some time. In 2001 he helped host the same ceremony in Carnsore point and Wexford town. At the end of 2006 he will attend the nuclear free future award ceremony in Navajo country. In 2004 he was a guest of the barefoot college, Tillonia, Rajisthan India. He played at the university in Jaipur in the company of the finest regional musicians around. Liam recorded the album Rian with his close friend, renowned producer John Reynolds in 2002. It will be released in Ireland November 2005 and is also being released America, Canada, Japan, UK and Europe. He is releasing the album through Rian Records his own label.Liam went to Mali in January 2006 where he played at the renowned Desert festival with Uillean Piper Paddy Keenan and participated in the making of a documentary. Himself and Paddy played with musicians from the greater region from very well known artists to local tribes people. It was an amazing experience of communication between distant people and races through the medium of music, and he learnt of the close relationship the Irish harp and the African Kora.Liam has also travelled extensively in Australia, Japan, America, Europe, Scandinavia, Morocco and India and has played and continues to play with the traditional players of these places. 'I believe the style known as séan nos, carries a sense of the soul of the land and the people who are awake in that land. I feel, when in the company of other cultures, the singing of this style opens a window into what it is that connects us. Every country has it's own séan nos.''Words, particularly English words, are not enough. They have been used to lie on a grand scale. They continue to be used to manipulate and confuse. Music has a purpose that remains to be seen. The potential is beyond imagination.'Biography supplied by WOMAD España, 2006:Liam Ó Maonlaí es uno de los más brillantes intérpretes de la música tradicional irlandesa. El público ha sabido de él como miembro de la formación ALT, en la que también colaboraban Tim Finn y Andy White, con la que a finales de 1995 giró por Estados Unidos. Aquella experiencia le permitió experimentar ccon dos de los estilos que más le han influido profesionalmente: el rock´n´roll y los aires tradicionales de su país. Asimismo, Liam ha integrado el aclamado trío dublinés Hot House Flowers junto a Peter O´Toole y Fiachna O´Braonain, que propugnan una mezcla personal y única de rock, blues y folk desde los escenarios.A finales de 2005, Liam publicó su primer disco en solitario, Rian, grabado bajo la producción del renombrado John Reynolds y con la colaboración de algunos brillantes amigos, como Justin Adams (guitarras y ngoni) y Caroline Dale (violonchelo). El álbum contiene una colección de canciones interpretadas con el inimitable estilo de Liam, que ha echado mano de la tradición irlandesa a la que se siente tan íntimamente unido.Después de veinte años derrochando energías sobre los escenarios y llevando el rock a todas partes, Liam ha decidido refugiarse en sí mismo y en sus reflexiones y entregar un trabajo íntimo, repleto de complicidades, definido por aquellas canciones y sonidos que han sido como la luz del sol en su vida.