Davy Spillane
Davy Spillane | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Celtic Folk Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instrument(s) | Uilleann pipes, low whistle |
| Years active | 1970 – present |
| Labels | Burrenstone music |
| Website | Davy's Official Website |
Davy Spillane (born 1959) is a songwriter and a player of uilleann pipes and low whistle.
Davy was born in Dublin in 1959 . At the age of 12 he started playing the uilleann pipes. His father encouraged him and inspired him with his love of all music genres. For the next three years he played at sessions and met many prominent Irish musicians At the age of 16 he played in Ireland, Britain and Europe. He starred as a gypsy in Joe Comerford's film "Traveller". In 1978 he began to write his own music.
Moving Hearts and solo albums
He was a founder member of Moving Hearts, along with Christy Moore and Donal Lunny in 1981. Although each member had a strong pedigree of Irish folk music, the band played mostly original compositions, sometimes with a political edge and a folk-rock sound. Their final album The Storm (1985) was purely instrumental and had several slower pieces written by Davy. He then made the surprise move of joining up with American musicians Béla Fleck, Albert Lee and others to record a "Davy Spillane" debut album of his new compositions and bluegrass and original blues, Atlantic Bridge. There was a promotional touring band which also recorded Out of the Air in 1988, essentially a live version of Atlantic Bridge. Davy then gathered together a new set of musicians, including Rory Gallagher and Kevin Glackin to record Shadow Hunter, an album of various rock and folk styles. This was followed by Pipedreams in 1991.
Collaborations
Davy played as special guest soloist in orchestral work in 1992 called "The Seville Suite", describing events in 1601 in Irish-Spanish history. , Whelan then worked for Davy Spillane and Andy Irvine on the music album EastWind in 1994, that inspired Riverdance in 1995. Davy was a special guest soloist in Riverdance.
Film Music
In 1992 Spillane composed music for Peter Kosminsky's film Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights and in 1995 reached a larger audience with the film Rob Roy. Other compositions and guesting he has done includes Kate Bush's Sensual World (1989), Mike Oldfield's Voyager (1996), Bryan Adams' MTV Unplugged, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello. Other films include Eat the Peach and The Disappearance of Finbar. Paul Winter's album Journey With The Sun (2002) Davy was awarded a Grammy and also nominated for second one. Davy served his apprenticeship with pipe maker Dan Dowd and Johnny Burke and now makes all his own instruments. In 2000 he recorded his only album of traditional tunes Forgotten Days, together with Kevin Glackin.
Discography
Solo Albums
- Atlantic Bridge (1987)
- Shadow Hunter (1990)
- Pipedreams (1991)
- EastWind (1992)
- A Place Among The Stones (1994)
The title track, 'A Place Among The Stones' features on solo albums by both Moya Brennan and Davy Spillane. The song is most commonly credited Máire Brennan featuring Davy Spillane and appears on Moya (Máire) Brennan's Misty Eyed Adventures album. The only difference between both tracks is that Spillane's has an extra second of silence. - The Sea Of Dreams (1998)
- Forgotten Days (2001)
- Deep Blue Sea (2004)
Davy Spillane Band
- Out of the Air (1988)
Davy Spillane and Kevin Glackin
- Forgotten Days (2000)
Andy Irvine and Davy Spillane
- EastWind (1994)
Soundtracks
- Lamb (1986)
- Eat The Peach (1986)
- The Ballad of the Sad Café (1991) - Flute
- Wuthering Heights (1992)
- Rob Roy (1995) - Uilleann Pipes & Low Whistle
- Michael Collins (1996) - Uilleann Pipes & Low Whistle
- The Disappearance of Finbar (1996)
- Dancing at Lughnasa (1998) - Uilleann Pipes & Low Whistle
- Xenosaga (2002) - Uilleann Pipes & Low Whistle
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