This is my conversation with Cara Dillon. It took place in April 2024 from her home in Ireland.
Born in Dungiven in 1975, surrounded and infused with the rich cultural heritage of her native County Derry, Cara has risen to become one of the finest exponents of traditional Irish song anywhere in the world. Possessing a rare and unique voice that has been lauded since winning the All Ireland singing trophy aged only 14, together with her husband and musical partner, Sam Lakeman, she has successfully steered an eclectic musical path defying the typical pigeonholes that hinder most artists in her genre. Celebrated for entwining traditional and contemporary elements, she has earned both commercial success and astonishing critical acclaim.
Recent years have seen her return wholeheartedly to her Irish roots creating fresh interpretations of traditional folk standards with stunning results. Her reach is truly global, with fans to be found all over the world. Her clear, Northern Irish voice has seduced giants such as Disney who, in 2010, asked her to sing the title song to the animated movie Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue. She’s won countless awards and accolades including Album Of The Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, The Meteor Music Award for Best Irish Female, and Tatler’s Woman Of The Year in Music, and has appeared in prestigious concert halls and at festivals the world over. Always looking to introduce her voice and music to new listeners, Cara has topped the charts with dance remixes, guest appearances and presented her songs with full orchestral backing, bringing her music to an entirely new audience.
Whether she's singing her native traditional songs of lost love and emigration, or original compositions, you will be hard pressed to find a more emotive and captivating performer. Cara Dillon is at the very top of her field and one has the feeling she'll remain there for a very long time.
Only a year later, Cara and Sam released her most stripped back album to date. In 2017, Wanderer was released to yet more critical acclaim and entered the UK Indie Album Chart at Number 1, adding a beautiful set of songs to Cara’s already stunning catalogue. Based around tales of emigration and the longing for home, the album features the self-penned ‘The Leaving Song’, which is based on the very stories Cara’s elderly mother had told her over the years about her memories living among the rural hills of Glenullin in County Derry in the early 20th Century and the ‘living wakes’ that occurred when a family member was emigrating. Cara was once again nominated for Folk Singer Of The Year in 2018 (her fifth time) and toured extensively with Sam performing more intimate venues to give her audience a closer and more relaxed performance.
Interspersed within their musical journey together, Cara and Sam have had the privilege to be asked to guest on some remarkable projects and have chosen to explore some surprising avenues. In the late nineties, they worked on tracks with the likes of Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), Richard Hawley and Robin Millar. Cara recorded the lead single, ‘Man In The Rain’, on Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells III and was a featured vocalist alongside Sinéad O'Connor on the Ghostland album.
She guested on the title track to the hit movie Keeping Mum, starring Rowan Atkinson, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze, and sang live to a televised audience of several hundred million at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Ryder Cup. A remix of ‘Black Is The Colour’ became a hit on the dance music chart and was voted the #1 Trance track of 2006 in Mixmag. Cara also sang the lead single on DJ Judge Jules' first solo album.
In 2010, she was asked to record the title track to Disney’s Tinker Bell and The Great Fairy Rescue in Abbey Road Studios and also narrated the opening sequence of the movie. Cara and Sam recorded a lullaby for the end credits of the movie called ‘Come Flying With Me’ and it has become a favorite in their live set. Again, for Disney, they recorded an original song to be played at the close of the night-time spectacular show, ‘Disney Dreams’, in Disneyland Paris entitled ‘Come Dream A Dream’. More recently Cara and Sam have performed live with orchestras as they explore and introduce new flavors to their back catalogue. To date they have shared the stage with the prestigious Scottish Symphony Orchestra, The Ulster Orchestra, The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, The BBC Concert Orchestra and their own creation, ‘The Orchestra of Ireland’.
21 апр 2024
