BEOGA

With an adventurous spirit and a passion for charting the road less travelled, Beoga have never
been ones to sit still and throughout their journey they have shown that Irish traditional music
can continually take fresh new directions. 

Their creative connection continued into performing together in a multitude of live settings –
both in intimate pub settings and on some of the biggest stages in the world.

Emboldened by the experience, Beoga have taken some of that influence into their own music
and this was most present in the mini album “Carousel” released in 2020. Key to that new
approach was identifying the collaborators who could help Beoga continue to explore fresh
territory. They called on some old friends (the Grammy-nominated producer Jonny Coffer,
Northern Irish artists Foy Vance and Ryan McMullan, plus regular touring partner Niall McCabe)
alongside some fresh creatives in the shape of Lissie and Devin Dawson. Beoga put together a
wealth of new material during sessions at Foy Vance’s studio in the Highlands, at multi-
instrumentalist Seán Óg Graham’s home studio in County Antrim and at Angelic Studio in
Northamptonshire.

Accordionist Damian McKee notes, “We were making music like we’d never done before. It was
like starting again from scratch.”

The result saw Beoga step into new musical territory uniting the worlds of American and Irish
contemporary folk, alongside embracing elements of pop production into their sound – as seen
on “Carousel” singles “Matthew’s Daughter” ft. Anderson East and “In A Rocket” ft. Lissie.
“We’d been skirting around with sequencers and programming for the past few years and then
teaming up with Jonny’s pop wizardry,” explains Murray. “It’s a healthy progression for us
because we were starting to run out of road making acoustic instrumental music together. If it’s
done sensitively you can marry the two worlds, but it’s a delicate balancing act between being
Clannad or Bewitched. People can feel if your intentions are right.”

‘Aurora II’ is the best example of those two worlds colliding. Based upon a regular staple of
Beoga’s live set, it was reconstructed and infused with dynamic electronic elements by Jonny
Coffer. He also contributed to ‘We’re Blood’, a multi-layered mix of organic live instrumentation,
Foy Vance’s haunting vocals and an explosive drop inspired by EDM. And yet Beoga also excel
when stripping things back to their roots. It's a trait that's particularly evident in the songcraft
and jazz leanings of closing track ‘Homebird’.

“There’s a certain thread running throughout the mini-album,” summarises Murray. “There’s a
draw to the places that you’re from, your family and the things that we care about. It’s not in any
way political, but we’re all in agreement over the stuff that’s important: friends and home.”
The mini-album is completed by ‘Carousel’, which also proved to be a fitting choice of title track.
In recent years, Beoga have navigated the murky waters of the music industry, signing and then
escaping two recording contracts before teaming up with AWAL. “'Carousel' felt like the right
thing to call it,” smiles Murray. “With everything we’ve done to get to this point, it felt apt.”
‘Carousel’ added a new chapter to a story that goes back more than two decades. The band
were formed when Eamon Murray met future bandmate Séan Óg Graham through childhood
classes at the Irish music institute Comhaltas. Graham played the accordian, later with tuition
from Damian McKee, and also took up the guitar in his mid-teens. Soon enough, Murray,
Graham and McKee connected with pianist Liam Bradley, who had been inspired to play tin
whistle and then the piano through a background in Irish dancing.

The band will say it was a good opportunity to travel and have fun, but it was clear that
something special was emerging. Before joining the band on fiddle and vocals, Niamh Dunne
was already a fan. “Their first album [2004’s ‘A Lovely Madness’] was its own thing,” she
remembers. “They weren’t trying to be like other bands that were around. They were breaking
new territory and it was exciting.”

In the years that followed, Beoga toured the world, released several albums and experienced
things they’d never dreamed of doing, such as performing at BBC’s Proms in the Park. The Wall
Street Journal even heralded them as, “The most exciting new traditional band to emerge from
Ireland this century.” At times, says Graham, their leftfield take on the sound didn’t fit the
biggest Irish-American festivals, yet the connection with Ed Sheeran ultimately helped to make
their singular style not only viable but rewarding.

Now they’re poised to take that talent to a whole new audience. Beoga’s latest release “Phases”
arrived right on the cusp of the band being given their biggest opportunity yet – to join Ed
Sheeran for 30 minutes every night during his set on stadiums all over the world.
Phases’ also arrived at a time when the band felt hugely excited by the music they were making
as a 5 piece. After several years of working on their own individual and diverse musical projects
they are energised to be back as Beoga.

On Phases, the band revisit their traditional roots and original, classic sound scape, whilst
continuing to explore new ground in production and instrumentation.
As Murray concludes, “It felt at times like we were knocking our heads against the wall, but
looking back at it now we realise we are being more creative than we’ve ever been. We know our
strengths and that’s a fortunate position to be in.”

Regarding the Irish music scene today Niamh Dunne of Beoga commented: “There is a wealth
of incredible Irish musicians on the scene right now and it’s a very exciting time for traditional
Irish music. It’s really great to be back making new music and adding our own voice to the
cannon, and I really feel like this album [Phases] is a reflection of who we are as a band, and an
amalgamation of all the different influences we have encountered and explored in the last 2
decades.