NOTIFY

Anyone who figured they had the measure of the concertina would do well to visit this latest, original collection from Pádraig Rynne. A veteran of Guidewires and Triad, Rynne has never shied away from pointing his compass in unexpected directions, and Notify marks another intriguing signpost in his circuitous journey.
Saddling up with American arranger, guitarist, keyboardist and percussionist Tyler Duncan (a member of The Olllam), Rynne forms Notify into a raffish, lateral-thinking delight.

1980s funk intersects with freewheeling improv to often startling effect, with the concertina proving its mettle as an able dealer in a world where groove is king. Drummer Mike Shimmin and bassist Joe Dart (also Olllam regulars) underscore Notify's confidence in this up-front and down-low world, where there is surprisingly generous space between the myriad arrangements. - The Irish Times

Notify seems to be both the title of the album and the group of musicians Padraig has pulled around him to record said beast. You may recognise Padraig's name from appearing in acts as Flook, Altan and Guidewire. He's joined by a core of musicians, Tyler Duncan, Mike Shimmin, Joe Dart and Jeremy Kittle and leads them down a path that whilst traditional in nature is also heavily wrapped in keyboards and samples.
That infusion of modern textures give the more traditional aspects of the instrumentation a real framework to grab hold of, particularly as most of the rhythms on the album are as old as the hills and also eminently danceable to and where they're not that dance feel tends to be replaced by drama.
Whilst a lot of the tunes are titled for personal connections, there are also pieces that have been inspired by events as diverse as corruption and the migration of a pack of wolves, with all of the pieces coming from the pen of Rynne himself, leading to an album that feels it's been put together by artists that feel their role is to contribute to the tradition, rather than just draw on it.
Rynne is not afraid to deliver a modern album, which "Notify" most certainly is, but he's also not going to throw the baby out with the bath water. There are definitely traditionally inspired albums that are way to the left of the field this one walks in, but often they are also the ones that rely on a lot of work, this pushes the boundaries without ever losing sight of the shore and proves to be very enjoyable for it. - Fatea Magazine

N 1967, Chess Records released “Electric Mud” by music legend Muddy Waters. Produced by the young Marshall Chess, it was an album that had blues at its core, but in execution and production style it drew heavily on the psychedelic rock ideal that was popular at the time. It was immediately panned by blues purists on its release.

However, the album proved inspirational for rock artists like Jimi Hendrix and bands like Led Zeppelin, who saw value in Waters’s modern efforts. The album may have even caught the attention of Miles Davis, who subsequently included Pete Cosey, one of the “Electric Mud” session players, in his performing group for many years. Waters, with the guidance of his producer for better or worse had challenged the notion of purity and created something that suited an audience receptive both to tradition and to radical experimentation.

There have been a number of great musicians and bands that have explored new sounds in traditional Irish music in a variety of different ways (Planxty, the Bothy Band, the Horslips and Moving Hearts, just to name a few). More recent efforts have included Dana Lyn and Kyle Sanna’s vastly underrated “The Hare Said a Prayer to the Rainbow,” which drew inspiration from innovative narrative and studio techniques, David Doocey’s “Changing Time,” on which a crisp modern sensibility is complemented by jazzy chord voicings on electric piano, and even The Gloaming, whose self-titled debut makes deep musical heritage the box outside of which each of its members willingly think.

Now there’s Pádraig Rynne with his new album “Notify.” On it, Rynne has flown his concertina square into a world
of progressive rock built around traditional (and on occasion, not so traditional) Irish dance rhythms. The music he’s come back with is innovative, modern and exciting to listen to. It would surely be transcendent live.
Rynne himself is an extremely well established player. All-Ireland titles and international tours as a teen were building blocks for major projects with Guidewires (Paul McSherry, Sylvain Barou, Tóla Custy and Karol Lynch), Triad (with Sylvain Barou and Dónal Lunny), Atlantic I/O (Tyler Duncan, John McSherry, Jeremy Kittel, Joe Dart, Mike Shimmin and Michelle Chamuel) and Ryan McGiver.

Here, he’s blazed a creative trail with Tyler Duncan (tylerduncanmakesmusic.com; theolllam.com), who not only played on the album, but who produced it and doubtlessly played a major role in the album’s overall sound and direction. Duncan is a groundbreaking musician with a strong, diversified vision. A graduate of the University of Michigan’s Jazz Studies program, he was admitted as a low whistle player and has a long working relationship with Rynne. On this project, the two work with Joe Dart, Mike Shimmin and Jeremy Kittel, familiar names from other of their projects, which surely contribute to the album’s sense of cohesion.

“Notify” is an album of completely original music – Rynne wrote all the tunes, the oldest of which dates to 2009. Of the album’s 11 tracks, eight are grouped as dyads and become epic journeys that exchange thematic material and take careful listeners somewhere they haven’t been.

There is a lot of interesting music here and “Lost in an Idea” is a fantastic example. The basic tune has three parts and is in a very untraditional 5/8 time. While Rynne’s concertina flows brilliantly throughout the track, part of the game is played in the subtle accumulations and transformations of mix. It’s the music you might expect if Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh and Pink Floyd’s David Glimour got together in a pub and thought about tunes over a pint.
All the dyad groupings have their own sense of internal logic, but perhaps the best of them is “The Lookout Pack,” which comprises the tracks “The 100 Kilo Case” and “The Lookout Pack.” The first of these tracks features a bright and optimistic polka in a fairly standard contemporary indie rock setting. Towards the end of the track, however, a funky synth begins to insinuate itself into the musical fabric. When the bass enters (which signals the change in track), we’re in a new headspace featuring a contrasting polka in an arrangement reminiscent of a 1980s TV show crime chase scene with Rynne at the wheel. It’s cinematic in scope and attractive to hear.

I think “Notify” is a great record – there is a lot to like there. Like Muddy’s “Electric Mud,” it is not only forward looking, stylistically adventuresome and musically well-executed, it challenges received notions of Irish traditional musical purity. This is precisely what the curmudgeonly out there will refuse and resist, but that’s okay – nothing’s for everyone. Besides, I can easily imagine how this album might illuminate and inspire people, and do it in ways that are hard to predict. Check it out and judge for yourself. It’s well worth hearing. Learn more at padraigrynne.com. - Irish Echo