Clannad

Clannad在傳統(tǒng)Celtic音樂和現(xiàn)代音樂間架起了一道橋梁。他們的專集經常能夠在迷人的流行音樂的形式下不留痕跡地融合各種元素。這種融合已經贏得了全球各地一大批歌迷的頂禮膜拜。他們樂隊的名字來自蓋爾語中的“家庭”，Clannad樂隊在1970年成立，當時，Brennan家族的Maire(人聲，豎琴)，Ciaran(人聲，吉他，Bass,鍵盤)，Pol(吉他，打擊樂器，長笛，人聲)在他們父親Leo的酒館里面和他們的兩個舅舅Padraig Duggan(吉他，人聲，曼陀林)，Noel Duggan(吉他，人聲)一起演出。不久，這個小組開始嘗試演奏愛爾蘭民間的節(jié)日歌曲，他們在1973年發(fā)行了同名專集，但是他們直到1975年在德國巡回演出后才獲得了成功。值得一提的是，Moya的妹妹Enya，在80-82年短短的兩年里，也曾是CLANNAD樂隊的成員，負責的是鍵盤和一部分人聲。
 
在1984年為英國的電視節(jié)目“Robin Sherwood”進行音樂制作時，CLANNAD才透過持續(xù)的廣播，被介紹給美國的觀眾。1992年在美國發(fā)行了他們越過大西洋的首張專輯《ANAM》之后，成為家喻戶曉的團體，大放異彩，《Theme from Harry's Game》也引起無可抵擋的回響，而且還獲得了Billboard音樂獎中的“年度世界音樂”(World Music Song Of The Year)。
 
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
 
Clannad bridged the gap between traditional Celtic music and pop. Usually, their results were an entrancing, enchanting form of pop that managed to fuse the disparate elements together rather seamlessly. Such fusions have earned the band an international cult of fans.
 
Taking their name from the Gaelic word for family, Clannad formed in 1970 when the Brennan family — Maire (vocals, harp), Ciaran (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Pol (guitar, percussion, flute, vocals) — began playing at their father Leos tavern with two of their uncles, Padraig Duggan (guitar, vocals, mandolin) and Noel Duggan (guitar, vocals). Soon afterward, the group began playing folk festivals in Ireland. They released their self-titled first album in 1973, yet the band didnt earn any widespread success until they toured Germany in 1975. Maires sister, Enya, joined the group in 1979, yet left in 1982, just as the group was beginning to come into some pop success in the U.K. Clannad recorded the theme song for the television program Harrys Game; the single hit number five on the charts and won the band an Ivor Novello Award. The band recorded the soundtrack to the television production Robin of Sherwood in 1984; it won a British Academy Award for best soundtrack the next year. Clannads success continued in 1986, when U2s Bono was featured on the Top 20 hit In a Lifetime. The band continued to release albums into the 1990s, building their pop following without losing their folk audience. Landmarks, was issued in early 1998.