Michael McGoldrick - Arc

Don’t be deceived by Michael McGoldrick’s scant solo output: instead, be excited - be very excited - at the arrival of his new album, Arc: his first since 2010, and only his fifth in 22 years. Such unhurried intervals make any McGoldrick release an auspicious event, with each both cementing and extending the flautist, whistle player, uilleann piper and composer’s repute as one of today’s towering instrumental talents.

His solo work’s slow distillation is directly symbiotic with McGoldrick’s prolifically freewheeling collaborative career, across multiple genres, impelled by a seemingly boundless appetite for - and delight in – the music-making he’s pursued since childhood. Listing all the notable bands, projects and recordings his playing has graced would take up much of this document.

Heavily edited highlights include co-founding both Lúnasa and Flook; numerous guest appearances with Afro-Celt Sound System, Kate Rusby and Julie Fowlis; a linchpin role in legendary percussionist Zakir Hussain’s globe-trotting Pulse of the World project, and eight years’ touring and recording with Mark Knopfler. Alongside his 21-year membership of Scotland’s iconic Capercaillie, and his annual turn in The Transatlantic Sessions, McGoldrick also joins Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Paddy Glackin and John Doyle in new Irish supergroup Usher’s Island.

“Michael is in a class of his own – it’s always a joy to share a stage or a studio (or a beer) with him”
MARK KNOPFLER

 

“One of the greatest flute players in the world”
BBC MUSIC