Lorcán Mac Mathúna was born in Cork in 1976 into a family with a passion for traditional music and singing. Much of his singing has been passed to him by his father Séamus and were passed to him by masters of the tradition from places like Cúl Aodha, where he lived at a time when the nation seemed to discover its rich heritage through people like Seán Ó’Riada.

The influences on Lorcán’s style have been diverse and all of them deeply personal. Sean Nós is a soulful and emotionally expressive style of music and when it strikes a resonance with the listener it can have a dramatic and revelatory effect. Lorcán’s greatest influences have been such moments and each song he has learned started as a singularly striking performance in some personal encounter with the tradition, such as one beautifully fluid and uplifting rendition (or telling as they say in the Irish tradition) of an Clár Bog Déil in a tiny cramped bar in Mayo. From this he has developed a style, confident in his empathy with the tradition, which is controlled and exciting and which expresses the feeling of his songs and connects the listener to the emotions of the songs creators.

Lorcán’s take on Sean Nós combines a deep interest in stories with a deep appreciation of music. He realises that the music and the stories (the lyrics) of Sean Nós are entwined inseparably. It is a deeply expressive form of music and it is that expressiveness which Lorcán emphasises when he pushes the conventional boundaries of Sean Nós. In exploring the potential for this aspect of Sean Nós he has collaborated with traditional (both Irish and others), and classical musicians, and is working on a jazz collaboration. Collaborations of these sorts give differing pastiches on which to lay his singing and allow explorations of melody, harmony, and pulse which give a deeper understanding of the music in Sean Nós and embellish the listener’s appreciation.

This present phase in Lorcán’s musical development brings the Sean Nós style of singing into a new realm. One where the unaccustomed listener can readily recognise the musical quality of the songs without having to “acquire a taste.” To cultivate a taste for these soulful and passionate melodies is a fulfilling journey in itself, but a little help from sympathetic instrumental development of the melodic lines of the tunes puts a thrill into the experience and brings a whole new dimension to the experience. Musicians such as Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Mick O Brien are no strangers to innovation when it comes to music and their intuitive playing on his album Rógaire Dubh are an experience to be relished.