Clann Zú
Encyclopedia
Clann Zú was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 band that formed in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 in 1999.

Biography

The forming members drew inspiration from an eclectic mix of musical styles, such as punk, rock, folk, electronic, and classical. Their fusion of Celtic folk
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...

, electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

, and rock has created a unique epic soundscape full of powerful atmospheric sounds and off-beat instrumentation. Their songs are bilingual, utilising both Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 lyrics.

Before the band's breakup, it was signed to G7 Welcoming Committee Records
G7 Welcoming Committee Records
G7 Welcoming Committee Records is a Canadian independent record label started by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky of punk band Propagandhi, and their friend Regal in 1997...

, an independent record label established by Chris Hannah and Jordan Samoleski—of labelmates Propagandhi
Propagandhi
Propagandhi is a Canadian punk band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba....

—and Regal in 1997.

Clann Zú's second album, Black Coats & Bandages
Black Coats & Bandages
Black Coats & Bandages is the second full length album by Irish-Australian band Clann Zú. This album has much sparser instrumentation and less electronic influence than Clann Zú's previous album, Rua, and a heavier use of the Irish language....

, was released in June 2004. This saw a move away from the traditional Irish and folk influences which had characterised their first LP, Rua
Rua (Clann Zú album)
Rua is the first full length album by Irish-Australian band Clann Zú. The album contains themes of resistance and desperation. The songs are sung mainly in English, though there is some use of Irish Gaelic...

. Despite this stylistic departure they retained and indeed increased their use of the Irish language, with two songs ("T-éan Bán" and "An Deireadh Scéal") sung entirely in Irish.

The animated video for the song "Five Thousand More", created by vocalist de Barra, was featured in various festivals and online film and animation sites worldwide, including the 47th Cork International Film Festival. They subsequently released an animated video to accompany an Irish version of "Crashing to the Floor" in mid-2003.

Clann Zú released the following statement, announcing their break-up, on their website http://www.clannzu.com in May 2005: "Clann Zú regret to announce that it is no longer continuing to tour or record. Such is the life of a band. Benjamin and Liam will continue to tour and record with My Disco
My Disco
My Disco is an Australian rock band.-Background:Formed in Melbourne, Australia in 2003, their first public appearance was performed at The Good Morning Captain, a cafe in Collingwood, a suburb of Melbourne...

 on the Crashing Jets label http://www.crashingjets.com/ and Declan de Barra
Declan de Barra
Declan de Barra is an Irish musician and writer.-Music:de Barra emigrated to Australia in 1998 and started playing in various bands while studying fine art in Perth, Western Australia. He toured the country for a number of years with his group Non-Intentional Lifeform on Dutch label Roadrunner...

 http://www.declandebarra.com/ will continue with his own solo project."

Russell Fawcus recently joined The Black Hundred, with former members of Oneironaut, Season
Season (band)
- Name :After the band had their first show booked for 14th Dec 1998 they had no name to promote the show with. Lookinginto his college bag, Matt pulled out a CD by Northern Irish rockers 'Ash',...

, and The Grand Silent System. The Black Hundred are set to release their first album by January 2009 on 9" vinyl and CD.

Discography

  • Clann Zú EP (2000, self-released)
  • Demos For Black Coats & Bandages (2002)
  • Red-Emitting Light Organ EP (2003)
  • Rua
    Rua (Clann Zú album)
    Rua is the first full length album by Irish-Australian band Clann Zú. The album contains themes of resistance and desperation. The songs are sung mainly in English, though there is some use of Irish Gaelic...

    LP (2003, G7 Welcoming Committee Records
    G7 Welcoming Committee Records
    G7 Welcoming Committee Records is a Canadian independent record label started by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky of punk band Propagandhi, and their friend Regal in 1997...

    )
  • Black Coats & Bandages
    Black Coats & Bandages
    Black Coats & Bandages is the second full length album by Irish-Australian band Clann Zú. This album has much sparser instrumentation and less electronic influence than Clann Zú's previous album, Rua, and a heavier use of the Irish language....

    LP (2004, G7 Welcoming Committee Records)

Members

  • Benjamin Andrews – electric guitar
    Electric guitar
    An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

  • Russell Fawcus – electric violin
    Electric violin
    An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...

    , keyboard
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

  • Declan de Barra
    Declan de Barra
    Declan de Barra is an Irish musician and writer.-Music:de Barra emigrated to Australia in 1998 and started playing in various bands while studying fine art in Perth, Western Australia. He toured the country for a number of years with his group Non-Intentional Lifeform on Dutch label Roadrunner...

     – vocals, bodhrán
    Bodhrán
    The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...

  • Liam Andrews – bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

  • Lach Wooden – sound manipulation

External links

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