Irish harpist, Joy Shannon, is currently preparing to release her new album, An Chailleach, due on November 1st, 2024. Ahead of this, she has offered up her single “Heather,” featuring a collaboration with Ohio neo-folk duo, Osi and the Jupiter. Check out the video for the new track (directed by Shannon) and more below.
Speaking about “Heather” Shannon has said:
““Heather,” a haunting duet between Irish folk singer Joy Shannon and guitarist and vocalist Sean Kratz from dark nordic folk band Osi and the Jupiter, puts to song, the Irish myth of lovers Gráinne and Diarmuid. Gráinne escaped an arranged marriage to the legendary, but elderly, Fionn, to seek true love with Diarmuid. It is said, as they escaped Fionn’s pursuit, wherever the lovers hid, heather grew. Heather, that grows on the hills of Ireland, is now known as the symbol of soulmate love. This song imagines what Gráinne would have sung during this time, rejecting riches for soulmate love: “The only crown I can wear is the crown of love, made of heather”.”
The title, An Chailleach, which is Irish for the crone or elder goddess, sees Shannon delving into the lore of the dark wintertime goddess of Ireland, with stark and stunning compositions. On this album, Shannon collaborates with the dark folk band Osi and the Jupiter, the ambient artist Leila Abdul-Rauf, singer and guitarist Jessica Way from the ethereal metal band Worm Ouroboros, the folk metal band Aerial Ruin, the haunting singer and songwriter Emily Jane White and throat singer and shamanic practitioner Kai Uwe Faust of Heilung.
An Chailleach tracklisting:
01 Corr Bán
02 Cailleach (feat. Jessica Way)
03 The Crone of Loughcrew
04 The Spell (feat. Emily Jane White)
05 Mo Corra
06 Caer Ibormeith (feat. Osi and the Jupiter and Leila Abdul Rauf)
07 Airmid (feat. Leila Abdul Rauf)
08 Heather (feat. Osi and the Jupiter)
09 The Cannon Fire (feat. Aerial Ruin) (music and lyrics written by J. L. Fox of Fox and the Red Hares)
10 The Cailleach Well
11 Stupstock (feat. Emily Jane White)
12 The Flood
13 Leaving (feat. Leila Abdul Rauf)
14 Song of My Father
15 Corr Bán (Tar Árais Dom) (Feat. Kai Uwe Faust of Heilung)
More from Joy Shannon:
Joy Shannon is an Irish harpist and singer whose ethereal and haunting songs come from depths of Irish folklore. Her melodies evoke images of witch’s lairs in dark woods or the distant echoes of the voices of spirits in the ancient places of the Irish countryside. To date, Joy Shannon has released several notable albums: Mo Anam Cara (2015), Aes Sídhe (2017) and The Cave (2020).
Joy’s 2015 album Mo Anam Cara, or Irish for soulmate or spiritual teacher, follows the ancient Celtic calendar, with a song for every pagan holiday. Songs like “Imbolc Invocation to Brigid”, resurrect the old traditions of how the Irish used to honour the goddess of light Brigid, with offerings of song and hospitality.
Shannon’s 2017 album Aes Sidhe, Irish for “the spirits of the other world”, leads the listener through a musical journey through the Irish afterlife, from entering the dark of the burial mounds to the glorious peace of the Irish afterlife lands of “Tír na n’Óg”. On this album’s song “A Pause”, Shannon worked with guest artist Xasthur, the black metal project.
In 2020, Joy Shannon released a sublime album called The Cave. This was recorded with producer Christopher Juul of the incredible band Heilung. The Cave was inspired by the ritualistic use of caves in ancient Ireland, where they were used as meditative places to connect with the gods and face one’s fears. The songs are, at times, droning and mesmerising and, at other times, they pulse with the heartbeat of the earth.