Andy Irvine

Born in St John’s Wood, London in 1942, Andy Irvine has over the decades established himself as a central voice of Irish folk, while maintaining a broad anchoring in English, Scottish, American and Balkan repertoires. Initially a child actor, he turned to music in the early 1960s after settling in Dublin, where he attended the nascent folk scene and then co-founded Sweeney’s Men in 1966. His work on the mandolin, mandola and especially the bouzouki, whose integration into Irish music he helped promote, subsequently shapes the aesthetic of Planxty, the group formed in 1972 with Christy Moore, Dónal Lunny and Liam O’Flynn. Andy Irvine develops there a melodic and contrapuntal style, as well as a repertoire filled with traditional songs and his own compositions such as ‘West Coast of Clare’ or ‘Thousands Are Sailing’. His trips to Eastern Europe in the late 1960s, notably to Bulgaria and the Balkans, permanently influence his rhythmic and modal approach. Parallel to his solo career, illustrated among other works by Rainy Sundays... Windy Dreams (1980), Rude Awakening (1991), Rain on the Roof (1996), Way Out Yonder (2000) and Abocurragh (2010), Irvine has pursued a multitude of formations and collaborations, from Patrick Street to Mozaik, including duos with Paul Brady, Dick Gaughan or Rens van der Zalm, continually moving between Irish tradition, song tradition and openness to Southeast European musics.