La Nua - LUNASA

L�nasa celebrate the arrival of a new decade with L� Nua (�new day�).

L�nasa recorded L� Nua on location in the beautiful and historical Cooley mountain region of northeast Ireland, which inspired much of the creativity and writing on the album. Widely-known for their original compositions and double bass-driven rhythms, L�nasa upholds the traditional instrumentation of pipes, fiddle and flute.
Of the band, legendary Irish fiddler Kevin Burke says, �Maintaining the unique, intimate qualities of a musical tradition while at the same time meeting and fulfilling the demands of the contemporary music world is a difficult juxtaposition to achieve, yet L�nasa have managed to accomplish exactly that.�

L�nasa is composed of Kevin Crawford (flutes, low whistles and tin whistles), Trevor Hutchinson (double bass), Paul Meehan (guitar, bouzouki and mandolin), Se�n Smyth (fiddle and low whistle) and Cillian Vallely (uilleann pipes and low whistles).

The band began to take shape in 1996 and were an immediate sensation while in Australia at the Blue Mountains Festival in Katoomba, Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald picked up on the excitement, calling L�nasa, �The most exciting band to emerge from Ireland in a long, long time.�

The band is also known for their energetic live performances and have previously toured and performed with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Rosanne Cash, and Billy Bragg, among others. Three U.S. tours, a much-covered performance at Glasgow's Celtic Connections festival, and the Coeur Miroir award at the Quebec City Summer festival in 2003 confirmed the band's reputation as masters of modern Irish music. The band is now one of the featured collaborators on Natalie Merchant's forthcoming album Leave Your Sleep.