LUKA BLOOM - REFUGE
(BigSky Records)
Amongst the many artists who visited me on the Blue of the Night Sessions
broadcast on RTE lyric fm, one very intimate experience was with Luka Bloom.
Luka spent an hour with me – guitar in hand, voice in resonating wellness.
And I thought to myself – this is magic!
Now, hot on the heels of his ‘Frugalisto’ release, Luka shares intimate
moments of magic a la that night on ‘Blue’. His latest release ‘Refuge’
is indeed that… a refuge from the noise, the anger, the confusion and the fear
that surrounds us so often in this turbulent 21st century.
We are treated to a rare privilege – privy to the private conversations between
a voice and a guitar. An intimate performance of some new tunes and some
not-so-new.
Tracks include a reworking of Luka’s own City of Chicago, breathing new life
into a song masterfully recorded most famously by his brother Christy Moore.
A tribute to his ‘teacher’ Leonard Cohen and a haunting performance of
Wayfaring Stranger are matched by new songs that deal with
subject matters ranging from war, death, loss, Native American protests,
a musical tribute to cellist Jaqueline Du Pre, an uplifting story of an Australian
indigenous artist and activist Miriam Rose and my favourite,
I Still Believe in Love – a sublime conversation between Luka’s
honey coated voice and the distinctive (and beautifully recorded)
Lowden guitar.
This IS a refuge …. and a special place that I hope to visit often.
CARL CORCORAN
Formerly Presenter/Curator The Blue of the Night
Currently Course Director MA Songwriting Irish World Academy
The Irish Times - March 2018
LUKA BLOOM - REFUGE
The very embodiment of the folk singer, Luka Bloom has that deep sense of
social justice with an uncanny ability to distil contemporary life into the pithiest
and most alluring combinations of lyrics and melody lines.
Last year’s album, Refuge, put a finger on the fractured nature of so
much of what’s happening in our world today, from homelessness to
war to climate change.
His voice is still as open and honest as it was over 30 years ago, and his
guitar finds chord combinations that are all his own. Passion, playfulness
and pause for thought: a hearty combination in any gig.
SIOBHAN LONG
The Irish Times.
