Thieves and Robbers: Clannad and "Strange Land"

From the soundtrack to a British TV series called Robin of Sherwood comes today's random song. The music to this series was provided by Clannad, an Irish band whose music draws from Celtic, traditional Irish, new age, folk and folk rock. The band was formed, according to local story, when Ciarán, Pól, and Máire Brennan were performing late at night in their uncle's pub and a police sergeant walked in - they feared a summons for excessive noise but instead he had a form to participate in a music contest. After winning a local folk festival, they scored a record contract. Subsequent years saw them shooting to fame, and providing music for television and film and collaborating with superstars such as Bono. They are considered pioneers in the fusion of Celtic and new age music, creating an earthly yet spiritual sound. This song, Strange Land, is from their 1984 album Legend, which is all of the music from the British TV series about the famous outlaw.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clannad

Wearing a Medieval Hoodie: Clannad and "Robin (The Hooded Man)"

Today's random tune is from the soundtrack to a British TV series called Robin of Sherwood. The music to this series was provided by Clannad, an Irish band whose music draws from Celtic, traditional Irish, new age, folk and folk rock. The band was formed, according to local story, when Ciarán, Pól, and Máire Brennan were performing late at night in their uncle's pub and a police sergeant walked in - they feared a summons but instead he had a form to participate in a music contest. After winning a local folk festival, they scored a record contract. Subsequent years saw them shooting to fame, providing music for television and film and collaborating with superstars such as Bono. They are considered pioneers in the fusion of Celtic and new age music, creating an earthly yet spiritual sound. This song, Robin (the Hooded Man), is from their 1984 album Legend, which is all of the music from the British TV series Robin of Sherwood.

Witchy Woman: Hekate and "Morgan le Fay"

Today's random tune is called Morgan le Fay and is by Hekate, a band from Koblenz, Germany that was founded in 1991 as an experimental atonal project. The band combines music from other historical periods with modern styles. The band is named after the Greek goddess of necromancy and ghosts. Hekate performs music from the folk, classical and medieval genres and combines them with modern electronic sounds using percussion, historic instrumentation, guitars and synthesizers, and the lyrics often reference myth and legend. They sing in multiple languages, including French, English, Yiddish and German. You can find Morgan le Fay on their 2004 album Goddess (Luxus Edition).

Into the Mystic: Clannad and "Ancient Forest"

Today's random tune is from the soundtrack to a British TV series called Robin of Sherwood. The music to this series was provided by Clannad, an Irish band whose music draws from Celtic, traditional Irish, new age, folk and folk rock. The band was formed, according to local story, when an underage Ciarán, Pól, and Máire Brennan were performing late at night in their uncle's pub and a police sergeant walked in - they feared a summons but instead the sergeant had a form to participate in a music contest. After winning a local folk festival, they scored a record contract. Subsequent years saw them shoot to fame, provide music for television and film and collaborate with superstars such as Bono. They are considered pioneers in the fusion of Celtic and new age music, creating an earthly yet spiritual sound. This song, Ancient Forest, is from their 1984 album Legend, which is all of the music from the Robin of Sherwood series.

Legend: Clannad and "Robin (the Hooded Man)"

Today's random tune is from the soundtrack to a British TV series called Robin of Sherwood. The music to this series was provided by Clannad, an Irish band whose music draws from Celtic, traditional Irish, new age, folk and folk rock. The band was formed, according to local story, when Ciarán, Pól, and Máire Brennan were performing late at night in their uncle's pub and a police sergeant walked in - they feared a summons but instead he had a form to participate in a music contest. After winning a local folk festival, they scored a record contract. Subsequent years saw them shooting to fame, providing music for television and film and collaborating with superstars such as Bono. They are considered pioneers in the fusion of Celtic and new age music, creating an earthly yet spiritual sound. This song, Robin (the Hooded Man), is from their 1984 album Legend, which is all of the music from the British TV series Robin of Sherwood.

Turkish Tragedy: Zi Punt and "Sunset From Maiden's Tower"

Sunset from Maiden's Tower, by Zi Punt, is a little interlude song that is our random tune for today. Zi Punt is a Turkish group made up of Oguz Kaplangi, Chi K. and Orange who mash up electro and rock. Oguz Kaplangi produces Zi Punt as well as other groups and gives concerts in Turkey and abroad. Chi K is originally from Turkey but she spent five years in New York City singing at Bard College. Orange is the stage name of Istanbul based, New Zealand born musician and video artist Reuben de Lautour. He studied music at Princeton and DJ'd in New York and New Jersey before moving to Istanbul. He is on the faculty of the Istanbul Technical University. Sunset from Maiden's Tower can be found on the 2007 compilation Istanbul Calling Vol. 2.

The title refers to an Istanbul landmark. The Maiden's Tower legend is that a Turkish emperor consulted an oracle and learned that his daughter would die from a snake bite on her 18th birthday. To protect her, he built the tower, which sits on a small island about 200 feet from land, and kept her there. On her 18th birthday, the emperor brought a basket of fruit to his daughter. Delighted, she reached in to get some fruit and was bitten by an asp which was hiding under the fruit in the basket. She died in her father's arms, thus fulfilling the prophecy.