The Underground of Happiness

You could have been in Eastern Europe at times. If you stared up at the renovated church ceiling, you could have been back in time by a couple of hundred years, such was the antique quality of the music*. This was Ryan Francesconi playing at Triskel Christchurch in Cork last Friday, a sublime match-up of artist and venue, if ever there was one. Before saying any more about the gig, here's a few lines from a review of his current album that caught my eye. " Skirting any obvious models, this is an attempt to establish his own original voice on the instrument ... These are polished and meditative pieces, given to frequent pauses and moody moments. On the title track Francesconi can flight out sparkling ornaments that recall Toumani Diabate's kora ... The music is sophisticated, but there's an escape from the urban, a sort of West Coast Buddhist romanticism. That's not meant as a snide comment - this is a beautiful album, carried off with poetic aplomb ....