CORMAC MCCARTHY
"Cormac is an incredible musician. He is world class."
— Martin Hayes
‘The music is a selection of tunes I have written over the past few years. Some were written with solo piano in mind, others for larger ensembles which I have reimagined for this project. For a long time, I have been encouraged to record a solo piano record. It's an intimidating prospect and I never felt quite ready. It was only when I realised I would never be ready that I decided to go ahead and just do it. I didn't know what form or structure many of the pieces would take when I went into the studio and knew I only had two days to get it all down. So there was an element of risk and adventure to the whole thing.’
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Cormac McCarthy in the words of long time collaborator Martin Hayes, (The Gloaming, The Common Ground Ensemble), ‘is an incredible musician. He is world class.’ McCarthy’s upcoming release ‘On The Other Hand’ is a bald, unadorned showcase of this talent and undoubtedly lives up to Hayes’ praise. An ambitious work of solo piano, there really is nothing to hide behind where McCarthy’s composition and technical skill speaks for itself.
‘On The Other Hand’ follows on from Cormac’s 2015 release ‘Cottage Evolution’ described as ‘the Gem of the Year’ by RTÉ Lyric Fm’s Carol Corcoran. Though the thread of McCarthy’s own unique composition style and playing is common throughout both records, that is where the similarities end. ‘On The Other Hand’ is a starkly different project as Cormac is the sole performer. Speaking about this departure McCarthy says:
‘The music is a selection of tunes I have written over the past few years. Some were written with solo piano in mind, others for larger ensembles which I have reimagined for this project. For a long time, I have been encouraged to record a solo piano record. It's an intimidating prospect and I never felt quite ready. It was only when I realised I would never be ready that I decided to go ahead and just do it. I didn't know what form or structure many of the pieces would take when I went into the studio and knew I only had two days to get it all down. So there was an element of risk and adventure to the whole thing.’
Although there are no other musicians on this record. It is not without its collaborators. The concentrated two days of recording in the MTU Cork School of Music Recording Suite saw Kate Ellis (Crash Ensemble) as producer alongside McCarthy. Another key player was Eduardo Moreira who recorded, mixed and mastered these tracks. Cormac goes on to say:
‘Both Kate and Eduardo perceive music very much the same way I do and I really had to trust their judgement as it's difficult to have a clear perspective when you are deep in an exploratory and improvisational headspace.’
I think any musician will agree that bringing a solo work into the world is daunting, the resulting work a raw unaccompanied expression. This was very real for Cormac as he went about this project. He concludes with:
‘I believe that most musicians find it hard to listen to their work, not to mind their own solo version of it. The deciding factor for creating this project was that I had to think about what I look for in other people's music. It's not perfection that moves me, it’s the happy accidents. To me, ‘On The Other Hand’ isn't something perfect but I do think it's real and it's an honest expression of where my music is at right now.’
‘On The Other Hand’ will be released on December 9, 2022. It will be available for digital download on Bandcamp, to stream, and physical copies are available to order on https://www.cormacmccarthymusic.com/.
On the other hand
9th December 2022
CAOIMHE'S TUNE
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