Kyle Carey

There is a real and rare elegance to the music of Kyle Carey, rich in the sounds of Appalachian poetry that has been distilled through Irish prose to give a hint of Celtic running through an album that draws a lot on American folk history. There is something in Carey's voice that almost feels at odds with the content of the songs and yet is the ideal compliment, almost like a wayward daughter being lead off the beaten track in her quest for inspiration and kindred spirits. "Monongah" a sheer delight of an album, strong songs, great muscianship and a voice that delivers free spirit. - FATEA

Kyle Carey is drawn to stories, ones that may come from people who stand a bit at an angle to the immediately obvious. The title cut of her album Monongah talks of the lives of the wives and children of miners who died on an early twentieth century West Virginia mine disaster, while the rider on her Orange Blossom train sees the trip as a journey not only to warmer climes but to better times. It’s a journey taken with a bluegrass country Celtic melody, too, but a very different one than the bluegrass classic Orange Blossom Special, a choice that adds depth a perspective to the tale. In addition to her love for American folk music, Carey loves the music of the Celtic lands, too - especially Scotland and Cape Breton. Those landscapes are included on Mononagh through a song in Scottish Gaelic, Gaol ise gaol e, and The Star Above Rankin’s Point, inspired by her time on Cape Breton in the Canadian Maritimes. Musicians who join Carey on the album include producer Donogh Hennessy on guitar, Aoife Clancy and Pauline Scanlon on backing vocals, and Rosie MacKenzie on fiddle. - Kerry Dexter

n de wereld van de akoestische muziek is Kyle Carey een geheel nieuwe naam. Deze zangeres en songschrijfster van Keltische en Amerikaanse folkmuziek debuteert met haar album “Monongah”, geproduceerd door de Ierse gitarist Donogh Hennessy.

Enkele gevestigde waarden in dit genre leverden hun instrumentale bijdrage af aan de opnamen van deze cd, waaronder fiddlers Rosie MacKenzie en Cleek Schrey en bassist Trevor Hutchinson (van ‘The Waterboys’).

Door middel van de negen nieuw gecomponeerde, maar zeer klassiek klinkende nummers op “Monongah” reizen we samen met Kyle Carey langs de Appalachen, Cape Breton en Schotland en leren we kennismaken met de muziek die in deze regio’s nog dagelijks te horen valt in clubs en pubs, maar ook op de officiële radiostations. We krijgen voornamelijk rustige, akoestisch gebrachte songs te horen waarop Kyle Carey haar vertellingen en verhalen zingt, terwijl ze zichzelf op akoestische gitaar begeleidt.

De titeltrack is geïnspireerd op een gedicht over de grote mijnramp in Monongah, West Virginia waarbij 362 pas naar Amerika geëmigreerde mannen het leven lieten. “Devil At Your Back” gaat over dagdagelijkse dingen in het leven die mede bepalen of iemand veel of geen geluk mag ervaren. “Resurrection” beschrijft hoe de wereld er zou uitgezien hebben als hij door een vrouw zou zijn gecreëerd. “Orange Blossom” gaat over hoe een jonge vrouw de beroemde ‘Orange Blossom Special’-trein naar het Amerikaanse zuiden neemt om daar terug te keren naar haar jeugdige vrijheid.

In de song “John Hardy’s Wife” bezingt Kyle Carey hoe de vrouw van deze beroemde Amerikaanse outlaw tegen het ruwe leven van haar man aankijkt. De enige coversong op deze cd is “The Star Above Rankin’s Point”, een nummer geschreven door Angus MacLelland, de laatste bewoner van de lichttoren op het eiland Rankin. “Adenine” gaat over het lot van een achtergebleven weeskind van ouders die zich omwille van hun bijgeloof opzettelijk lieten bijten door een ratelslang omdat predikanten beweerden dat ze daardoor zouden worden gered door de gratie van de almachtige God.

Zoals u kunt lezen krijgen we op “Monongah” vooral niet-alledaagse poëtische verhalen te horen, in een modern kleedje gebracht op de tonen van een historisch klinkende folkliedje. Het is vooral het liefelijke zangwerk van Kyle Carey die van deze debuutplaat een aangenaam beluisterbaar album heeft gemaakt.

(valsam) - Rootstime

The Isle of Skye in Scotland, the west coast of Ireland, the Appalachian mountains, New Hampshire, New York Sate, Cape Breton: Kyle Carey has spent time in all of these places, and one way or another, they all find ways into her music.

Carey’s album Monongah makes it clear she has been thinking about people, history, landscape, and what stories they may tell through time. The title track, for example, comes from the story of the men and the women and the children affected by a 1907 West Virginia mine disaster. Carey began thinking of this upon reading Appalachian writer Louise McNeill’s poem about the events of that time, and the song shows Carey’s gift for distilling emotion into a few brief words and a melody which helps make that essence clear.


McNeill’s poetry and the landscapes of the southern mountains come up again through the album. Carey has a voice well suited to this, with a warmth that invites the listener in and a sense of phrasing that hints that there is more to these stories beyond the verses that she sings. In Orange Blossom, Carey is thinking about that train which is the subject of a well known bluegrass tune, but her protagonist sees the journey on the train as an escape, a return, perhaps, to warmer places and times. John Hardy’s wife takes a look at things from the point of view of a woman who receives just a few passing words in other songs. What was she like, and what happened to her, Carey wondered, and came up with intriguing answers.

There’s a strong connection between Appalachia and the Celtic countries in Europe. That comes up on Monongah, too. Carey is well versed in Scottish Gaelic, and teaches it in fact. She’s spent time studying in Cape Breton in Atlantic Canada, and in Scotland. So it is natural for her to include these experiences in her work, which she does with the song Gaol ise gaol i, a love song she sings in Scottish Gaelic. From Cape Breton comes The Star above Rankin’s Point, a lighthouse keeper's lullabye of sorts which captures the sea swept feeling of life along the North Atlantic.

There a Cape Breton tinge to the playing on this collection as well, coming by way of Cape Breton native Rosie Mackenzie, who sits in on fiddle for several songs. Carey has invited a number of musical friends along on this journey, a journey she took to the west of Ireland to produce the recording with Donogh Hennessy, known for his work with Lunasa. From Ireland also Pauline Scanlon added harmony, and Trevor Hutchinson played bass. Among the others supporting Carey, from Ireland and New England, Aoife Clancy sang harmony as well, and from New York state John Kirk played banjo and mandolin.

It is Kyle Carey's poetic take on story, landscape, emotion, and language which center things here, though, and her engaging storyteller’s way of singing that opens the door to her stories. Gospel twined with Celtic notes, banjo leading into Scottish Gaelic, miner’s stories traveler's tales of loss, change, and recognition, Monongah is a varied journey, one worth the taking. - Music Road

The Isle of Skye in Scotland, the west coast of Ireland, the Appalachian mountains, New Hampshire, New York Sate, Cape Breton: Kyle Carey has spent time in all of these places, and one way or another, they all find ways into her music.

Carey’s album Monongah makes it clear she has been thinking about people, history, landscape, and what stories they may tell through time. The title track, for example, comes from the story of the men and the women and the children affected by a 1907 West Virginia mine disaster. Carey began thinking of this upon reading Appalachian writer Louise McNeill’s poem about the events of that time, and the song shows Carey’s gift for distilling emotion into a few brief words and a melody which helps make that essence clear.


McNeill’s poetry and the landscapes of the southern mountains come up again through the album. Carey has a voice well suited to this, with a warmth that invites the listener in and a sense of phrasing that hints that there is more to these stories beyond the verses that she sings. In Orange Blossom, Carey is thinking about that train which is the subject of a well known bluegrass tune, but her protagonist sees the journey on the train as an escape, a return, perhaps, to warmer places and times. John Hardy’s wife takes a look at things from the point of view of a woman who receives just a few passing words in other songs. What was she like, and what happened to her, Carey wondered, and came up with intriguing answers.

There’s a strong connection between Appalachia and the Celtic countries in Europe. That comes up on Monongah, too. Carey is well versed in Scottish Gaelic, and teaches it in fact. She’s spent time studying in Cape Breton in Atlantic Canada, and in Scotland. So it is natural for her to include these experiences in her work, which she does with the song Gaol ise gaol i, a love song she sings in Scottish Gaelic. From Cape Breton comes The Star above Rankin’s Point, a lighthouse keeper's lullabye of sorts which captures the sea swept feeling of life along the North Atlantic.

There a Cape Breton tinge to the playing on this collection as well, coming by way of Cape Breton native Rosie Mackenzie, who sits in on fiddle for several songs. Carey has invited a number of musical friends along on this journey, a journey she took to the west of Ireland to produce the recording with Donogh Hennessy, known for his work with Lunasa. From Ireland also Pauline Scanlon added harmony, and Trevor Hutchinson played bass. Among the others supporting Carey, from Ireland and New England, Aoife Clancy sang harmony as well, and from New York state John Kirk played banjo and mandolin.

It is Kyle Carey's poetic take on story, landscape, emotion, and language which center things here, though, and her engaging storyteller’s way of singing that opens the door to her stories. Gospel twined with Celtic notes, banjo leading into Scottish Gaelic, miner’s stories traveler's tales of loss, change, and recognition, Monongah is a varied journey, one worth the taking. - Music Road

A bright new face to the Celtic music scene, Kyle Carey released her debut album, Monongah, a refreshing collection of originals which blend Carey’s own Appalachian and Irish roots. It is clear on the record that Carey’s youthful excitement feared no combination of folk influences, taking from the Breton, Scottish and Irish traditions.

Recorded in the west of Ireland early this year, Monongah features a slew of expert musicians anchored by Carey’s guitar and honey sweet vocals. Aoife Clancy lends harmony vocals to the tracks, an added dimension too often shied away from in modern Celtic interpretations. “Orange Blossom” is perhaps the track which best emphasizes the lyricist in Kyle Carey. It tells the story of a woman losing her love to drink. It resonates easily with the singer-songwriter audience while “Gaol Ise Gaol I” showcases her love and knowledge of the Celtic tradition. Carey explores a great many worlds within folk tradition in this promising debut record. Here’s hoping there are more ideas and eagerness to come from Carey in the future. - Irish America Magazine

Our Fulbrighter of the Month for May is Kyle Carey (2008-2009). Following her Fulbright year in Cape Breton, Kyle has had tremendous success as a musician and has just released her debut album
( www.kyleannecarey.com )! Kyle spent the past year in Ireland working on her album and will head out on tour this fall to promote it across the northeastern United States. After completing her exchange from Skidmore College to Cape Breton University, Kyle set out to pursue her passion for music and Gaelic, and in an interview with Fulbright Canada she described her latest project and how it relates to her Fulbright year.
“When I was in college I was interested in old-time American music, particularly Appalachian music. Following that, I went to Cape Breton Island on my Fulbright grant to study traditional music there. Their fiddle style and their Gaelic singing were kind of interesting, because it correlates with the music of the Appalachian region in the United States, an area that was originally settled by Scottish-Gaelic speakers from the Highlands of Scotland.” Kyle says her year in Cape Breton brought out her love for Gaelic, and led her to pursue in-depth studies of the language. “It was just an amazing year, but it was challenging! I sing in Scottish-Gaelic on my album, and there’s a song called Star Above Rankin’s Point, which is based on a short story by a Cape Breton author named Alistair McLeod. It was something I wrote when I was in Cape Breton. There is certainly Cape Breton influence on the album, and there is a Cape Breton fiddler on the album, Rosie MacKenzie, and she’s actually going to be coming on tour with me in the fall.”
The music style of Kyle album is notable for its uniqueness, and she admits her sound is a mixture of many influences. “Rosie says that I’ve invented a new genre of music. Because you know it’s kind of Appalachian, but then there’s Gaelic, and it’s produced by an Irish guy, and there are a lot of other Irish players on there, but it’s still very distinctly Americana. So it’s exciting, doing something that I haven’t encountered anyone else doing, and I’d say that is probably the most exciting thing about the project, just feeling like we’re doing something entirely new.”
I’ve been really lucky, and there is a lot of that if you try to do music. There are so many talented people out there; so, at the end of the day, it really just comes down to luck, and being in the right place at the right time, and I think that’s what happened to me this past year.”

Video: A spootiskerry in Jerry Holland's kitchen, featuring Kyle Carey
Kyle says her Fulbright award and her time in Canada served as a catalyst for her album, helping her make the shift from research to practice. “When I was in Cape Breton I realized that I wasn’t quite cut out to be an ethnomusicologist, and that it wasn’t really my passion. But playing music, and meeting people, and writing creatively, is my passion – oh, and Gaelic of course! So it was really great having that year in Canada to figure out the things I really love, and it’s really incredible now to be going in the direction of being able to make a life out of those things.”
When she found out about being granted the award, Kyle says she was actually in a music lesson with John Kirk, a friend and teacher who is also featured on her album: “I was thrilled. I was just ecstatic. It was really ‘a dream come true’. If I hadn’t done the Fulbright I wouldn’t have made this album.”
Kyle says one of her favorite moments from her Fulbright experience was getting to know famous Celtic fiddler Jerry Holland, who has since passed away. “Spending time with him, and playing music with him, is one of my fondest memories of being in Cape Breton. It was just another friendship I made there that really struck a chord, and resonated with me.”
Having had the opportunity to immerse herself in the Cape Breton music scene, and the corresponding culture, was another important aspect of Kyle’s Fulbright, and she says getting to participate in Milling Frolics, a Scottish tradition, was particularly special to her. “It’s not a living tradition anymore, it is done symbolically, but in the Highlands of Scotland people used to walk tweed and hit it on a table. It was women’s work, and they would sing these very rhythmic songs while they were working to get the fabric to tighten. They are beautiful songs, and one of the songs in Gaelic on my album is actually this type of a ‘waulking’ song.”
Kyle says that having the time for these experiences also played an important role in her personal growth, as she learned a lot about Canadian culture. “In Canada, people seem to retain their cultural identity from the country they come from, or from where their ancestors came from, and I definitely picked that up in Cape Breton. I became sensitized to the fact that Canada is different – culturally different and geographically different – and I’m more attuned now to the danger of generalization - Fulbright Canada

Our Fulbrighter of the Month for May is Kyle Carey (2008-2009). Following her Fulbright year in Cape Breton, Kyle has had tremendous success as a musician and has just released her debut album
( www.kyleannecarey.com )! Kyle spent the past year in Ireland working on her album and will head out on tour this fall to promote it across the northeastern United States. After completing her exchange from Skidmore College to Cape Breton University, Kyle set out to pursue her passion for music and Gaelic, and in an interview with Fulbright Canada she described her latest project and how it relates to her Fulbright year.
“When I was in college I was interested in old-time American music, particularly Appalachian music. Following that, I went to Cape Breton Island on my Fulbright grant to study traditional music there. Their fiddle style and their Gaelic singing were kind of interesting, because it correlates with the music of the Appalachian region in the United States, an area that was originally settled by Scottish-Gaelic speakers from the Highlands of Scotland.” Kyle says her year in Cape Breton brought out her love for Gaelic, and led her to pursue in-depth studies of the language. “It was just an amazing year, but it was challenging! I sing in Scottish-Gaelic on my album, and there’s a song called Star Above Rankin’s Point, which is based on a short story by a Cape Breton author named Alistair McLeod. It was something I wrote when I was in Cape Breton. There is certainly Cape Breton influence on the album, and there is a Cape Breton fiddler on the album, Rosie MacKenzie, and she’s actually going to be coming on tour with me in the fall.”
The music style of Kyle album is notable for its uniqueness, and she admits her sound is a mixture of many influences. “Rosie says that I’ve invented a new genre of music. Because you know it’s kind of Appalachian, but then there’s Gaelic, and it’s produced by an Irish guy, and there are a lot of other Irish players on there, but it’s still very distinctly Americana. So it’s exciting, doing something that I haven’t encountered anyone else doing, and I’d say that is probably the most exciting thing about the project, just feeling like we’re doing something entirely new.”
I’ve been really lucky, and there is a lot of that if you try to do music. There are so many talented people out there; so, at the end of the day, it really just comes down to luck, and being in the right place at the right time, and I think that’s what happened to me this past year.”

Video: A spootiskerry in Jerry Holland's kitchen, featuring Kyle Carey
Kyle says her Fulbright award and her time in Canada served as a catalyst for her album, helping her make the shift from research to practice. “When I was in Cape Breton I realized that I wasn’t quite cut out to be an ethnomusicologist, and that it wasn’t really my passion. But playing music, and meeting people, and writing creatively, is my passion – oh, and Gaelic of course! So it was really great having that year in Canada to figure out the things I really love, and it’s really incredible now to be going in the direction of being able to make a life out of those things.”
When she found out about being granted the award, Kyle says she was actually in a music lesson with John Kirk, a friend and teacher who is also featured on her album: “I was thrilled. I was just ecstatic. It was really ‘a dream come true’. If I hadn’t done the Fulbright I wouldn’t have made this album.”
Kyle says one of her favorite moments from her Fulbright experience was getting to know famous Celtic fiddler Jerry Holland, who has since passed away. “Spending time with him, and playing music with him, is one of my fondest memories of being in Cape Breton. It was just another friendship I made there that really struck a chord, and resonated with me.”
Having had the opportunity to immerse herself in the Cape Breton music scene, and the corresponding culture, was another important aspect of Kyle’s Fulbright, and she says getting to participate in Milling Frolics, a Scottish tradition, was particularly special to her. “It’s not a living tradition anymore, it is done symbolically, but in the Highlands of Scotland people used to walk tweed and hit it on a table. It was women’s work, and they would sing these very rhythmic songs while they were working to get the fabric to tighten. They are beautiful songs, and one of the songs in Gaelic on my album is actually this type of a ‘waulking’ song.”
Kyle says that having the time for these experiences also played an important role in her personal growth, as she learned a lot about Canadian culture. “In Canada, people seem to retain their cultural identity from the country they come from, or from where their ancestors came from, and I definitely picked that up in Cape Breton. I became sensitized to the fact that Canada is different – culturally different and geographically different – and I’m more attuned now to the danger of generalization - Fulbright Canada

Kyle Carey is a modern folk artist, with just the hint of an Irish accent. Her arrangements feature her beautiful alto voice and her fine guitar playing. Her songs tell stories in an Irish manner, but her subject matter is American, with particular emphasis on the South. The exception to this is one song sung entirely in Gaelic. Monongah is a town in West Virginia where a mine explosion took the lives of 362 men and boys in 1907. The song is set in a present day that is haunted by these long ago events, and Carey captures the emotions of this perfectly in her performance. - Oliver di Place

‘S ann à Newhampshire ann an Ameireagaidh a tha Kyle Carey agus bho aois gu math òg bha i mothachail air cànain agus ceòl, ‘s i air a cuairteachadh le na cànain Yupik a bh’ air am bruidhinn le muinntir Alaska. As dèidh dhith ceithir bliadhna a chur seachad san oilthigh a’ dèanamh Litreachas ‘s Ceòl, thànaig I gu Sabhal Mòr Ostaig ann an 2009 airson an Cùrsa Comais a dhèanamh. Bhon Eilean Sgitheanach, dh’fhalbh i a dh’ Èirinn gus Gaeilge ionnsachadh ann an sgìre Dingle agus b’ ann fhad’s a bha i an sin a thòisich rudan dha rìribh a gluasad dhith a thaobh a cuid ceòl.

Aig aois 17 thòisich Kyle a‘ sgrìobhadh na h-òrain aice fhèin, ‘s i mar thà a’ cluich an guitar. Bha i air clàraidhean a dhèanamh a bha ri fhaighinn air loidhne, agus as dèidh do chompanaidh ciùil iad sin a lorg, dh’ fhòn iad thuice ‘s iad airson ‘s gun dèanadh i clàr còmhla riutha fhad’s a bha i an Èirinn. ‘S e Donogh Hennessy, a b’ àbhaist a bhith anns a’ chòmhlan aig Sharron Shannon, am fear a riochdaich an clàr bhon stiùideo aige ann an Dingle agus ‘se cuideachd a chluich air. Thòisich iad a’ clàradh aig toiseach na bliadhna agus thug e còig mìosan an clàr a chuir ri chèile agus fhaighinn deiseil airson a reic. Am measg an luchd-ciùil eile a bha a’ cluich air, bha Pauline Scanlon, a tha ainmeil airson cluich na fìdhle, agus Trevor Hutchison, a b’ àbhaist a bhith anns a’ chòmhlan The Waterboys ach a tha a nis anns a’ chòmhlan Lunasa.

Tha Kyle i fhèin ag ràdh gur e clàr Bluegrass a th’ ann am Monongah, le measgachadh de cheòl Ameireaganach agus buaidh na Gàidhlig a’ tighinn troimhe cuideachd. Agus abair gu bheil an clàr air molaidhean fhaighinn ann am beagan ùine. Air a’ mhìos a chaidh, dh’ ainmich Song Writers Universe aon dhe na h-òrain air a’ chlàr mar òran a’ mhìos agus a’ bharrachd air an sin, ‘se clàr na seachdain a bh’ ann do Celtic Music Radio ann an Glaschu. Tha i a dol air chuairt san t-Sultain le Neil Fitzgibbon, a phrìomh neach-guitar air a’ chlàr agus Rosie Mackenzie à Ceap Breatainn, a chluich an fhidheall, agus bidh iad a’ dol mu chuairt ear thuath na Stàitean. Tha barrachd fiosrachaidh air an làraich aice http://www.kyleannecarey.com/

Gheibh sibh eisimpleirean bhon a chlàr aig Kyle gu h-ìosal. - Sabhal Mòr Ostaig