Xenophile Records | |
---|---|
Parent company | Compass Records |
Founded | 1992 |
Founder | Wendy Newton |
Distributor(s) | Ryko Distribution |
Genre | World music |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | Nashville, Tennessee |
Official website | compassrecords |
Xenophile Records is a Nashville, Tennessee based sublabel of Green Linnet Records that specializes in world music from Madagascar, Nigeria, Haiti, Chile, Argentina, Finland and other countries. The label was started in 1992 in Danbury, Connecticut by Wendy Newton as a subsidiary of Green Linnet. [1] In 2006, Newton sold Green Linnet and Xenophile to Digital Music Group, an aggregator of downloadable music. DMG sold the rights to manufacture and distribute Green Linnet and Xenophile physical compact discs to Compass Records. [2]
Artists released under the Xenophile label include Inti-Illimani, Värttinä, Boukan Ginen, Sabri Brothers, Chief I. K. Dairo MBE, Dembo Konte, Milli Bermejo, Daniel Diaz (musician), John Santos, Conjunto Céspedes, Boca Livre, The Klezmatics, Simbi and Tarika. The Xenophile catalog remains available through Compass/Green Linnet, which is based in Nashville.
Altan are an Irish folk music band formed in County Donegal in 1987 by lead vocalist Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and her husband Frankie Kennedy. The group were primarily influenced by traditional Irish language songs from Donegal and have sold over a million records.
Green Linnet Records was an American independent record label that specialized in Celtic music. Founded by Lisa Null and Patrick Sky as Innisfree Records in 1973, the label was initially based in Null's house in New Canaan, Connecticut. In 1975, the label became Innisfree/Green Linnet and Wendy Newton joined Null and Sky as operating officer. In 1976, Newton took over control of the now Green Linnet label and moved it to Danbury, Connecticut in 1985. Newton became sole owner in 1978. Newton's love of Irish music had been sparked during a visit to Ireland where she heard traditional music for the first time in a small pub in County Clare.
Celtophile Records was a Danbury, Connecticut-based sublabel of Green Linnet Records that specialized in budget compilations of Celtic music. The label was started in 1997 in Danbury, Connecticut by Green Linnet owner Wendy Newton. It operated until 2006, when Newton sold Green Linnet to Digital Music Group, an aggregator of downloadable music. DMG in turn sold the rights to manufacture and distribute Green Linnet to Compass Records, which still markets the Green Linnet catalog.
Lúnasa is a traditional Irish music group, named after Lughnasadh, an ancient harvest festival. They tour and perform internationally, and have recorded a number of albums of both traditional and contemporary Irish instrumental music.
Niall Vallely is an Irish musician, born 1970 in Armagh, Northern Ireland. In 1966 his parents, Brian and Eithne Vallely had founded the Armagh Piper's Club, but he chose to learn the concertina instead, from the age of seven. His brother Cillian plays the uillean pipes and low whistle, learning from Mark Donnelly. Another of his brothers, Caoimhin, plays classical piano, tin whistle and fiddle. In 1990, Vallely founded the group Nomos, which released two albums before breaking up in 2000. In 1992, Vallely completed a degree in music at University College, Cork.
Compass Records is an independent record label founded in 1995 by musicians Garry West and Alison Brown that specializes in folk, bluegrass, Celtic, jazz, and acoustic music.
Cillian Vallely is an Irish musician, born in Armagh, Northern Ireland. He plays traditional Irish music on the uilleann pipes and low whistle, and studied at the Armagh Pipers Club with his mother and father, Brian and Eithne, and then with the late Armagh piper Mark Donnelly. His brothers, Niall and Caoimhín, also play traditional music.
Ad Vielle Que Pourra was a Quebec-based music group which performed original compositions in the style of the French, Québécois, and Breton folk music traditions. The band's name came from the vielle, an instrument which features prominently in their music.
La Musgaña is a Spanish folk music ensemble, founded in 1986 by Enrique Almendros, José María Climent and Rafa Martin. The band incorporates various instruments such as the dulcimer, fiddle, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, flutes, guitar and bass, and performs traditional music from the Iberian peninsula, mostly from the Spanish regions of Castile, Zamora, Leon, Extremadura and La Mancha. La Musgaña means "water-rat" in Spanish.
Martin Hayes is an Irish fiddler from County Clare. He is a member of the Irish-American supergroup The Gloaming.
Otherworld is an album by Lúnasa that was released 1999 on Green Linnet Records. It is the band's second major release. Although the album displays the band’s traditional Celtic sound, it features techniques and styles unusual to the genre, such as occasional double-tracking recording and occasional instances of instruments that differ from Celtic music, such as cello, electric bass and flügelhorn, leading Allmusic to say the album "yields a sound that is unique to the group and yet clearly in touch with tradition". The album has been described as innovative, with The Georgia Straight citing several tracks' usage of multiple woodwinds as an example.
Redwood is an album by Lúnasa that was released in 2003 on Green Linnet Records. It was their fourth major release, and their last album on Green Linnet Records. The band conceived the album in October 2001 whilst staying in a Californian lodge; the band aimed to record an album that would capture the band's live feel whilst at the same time retaining the sonic quality that the band feature on their albums. The band took a ten-day break from their February 2002 American tour to record the album at Prairie Sun Recording Studios in California. It is characterised by a more relaxed sound than previous albums, and less guest musicians.
Brooks Williams is an American acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter. His style combines roots, jazz, blues, classical, and folk. He has released albums of contemporary folk music, blues music, and of instrumental guitar music. In addition to his solo recordings and tours, he has frequently recorded and toured with many other musicians over the years, including Boo Hewerdine, Jim Henry, Guy Davis, Hans Theessink, Steve Tilston and Sloan Wainwright.
The Brock McGuire Band is an Irish Folk group fronted by Paul Brock and Manus McGuire. Residing in County Clare, button accordionist and melodeonist Paul Brock and fiddler Manus McGuire are two of Ireland’s most celebrated traditional musicians and have been at the forefront of Irish music for many years: They are joined by acclaimed composer Denis Carey on piano and dancer Dave Curley on banjo, mandolin and vocals.
Liz Carroll is an Irish-American fiddler and composer. She is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship Award. Carroll and collaborator Irish guitarist John Doyle were nominated for a Grammy Award in 2010. She is considered one of the greatest contemporary Irish fiddlers.
Manus McGuire is an Irish fiddle player born in Tullamore, and grew up in County Sligo, now residing in County Clare. In 1970, he won Sligo's prestigious "Fiddler of Dooney" competition, at age 14. He is a founding member of "Buttons & Bows", "Moving Cloud", and "The Brock McGuire Band". Both brothers were medical doctors; Seamus lives in Donegal.
Manus Lunny is an Irish producer and multi-instrumentalist from County Donegal, Ireland, best known as a member of Celtic supergroup Capercaillie. He is the brother of multi-instrumentalist and producer Dónal Lunny.
Robbie O'Connell is an Irish singer songwriter who performs solo, as well as with The Green Fields of America. He also appears with Dónal Clancy (cousin), Dan Milner, and fiddler Rose Clancy. O'Connell has also toured and recorded with The Clancy Brothers, being their nephew. For over 20 years, he has conducted small cultural tours to Ireland with Celtica Music & Tours and, for more than ten years, WGBH Learning Tours. Married with four grown children, he now spends his time between Bristol, Rhode Island and Waterford.
Oisín Mac Diarmada is an Irish fiddler.
Seamus McGuire is an Irish fiddle player born in County Sligo now residing in County Donegal. In 1966, he won Sligo's prestigious "Fiddler of Dooney" competition. He is a founding member of "Buttons and Bows", as well as "The West Ocean String Quartet". The quartet reflects his classical training and his love of exploring spaces where classical and traditional musics can meet. Like his younger brother Manus McGuire, another renowned fiddle player, he is a medical doctor.