Moundabout - An Cnoc Mór

Moundabout’s glorious second long player is named after Cnoc Mór na nGaibhlte (or The Big Hill Of The Galtees) an imposing
sandstone and shale peak in Munster, from which vantage point the horizon retreats to impossible-seeming distances. Paddy Shine, of
psychedelic powerhouse GNOD, and Phil Masterson, of cult groups Los Langeros, Damp Howl and Bisect, chose this as base camp
for their latest expedition into a new form of psychedelic Irish folk music. Getting lost in liminal zones, at thresholds, where boundaries
merge is key to the Moundabout sound. The Galtees is an Irish mountain range where the counties Tipperary, Cork and Limerick
amalgamate, Shine adds: “We seem to have found ourselves recording and finishing albums in places where the boundaries have
become blurry.” The set up of Shine on acoustic guitar, Masterson on electric guitar, both on vocals and sparse electronic
accompaniment from antique Hammond drum machine Shine found in his auntie’s attic and old analogue synth, plus field recordings,
remains the same as their debut but this time the pair push further out on tracks such as ‘Step In Out Of That’ which calls to mind
Egypt-based free psych trio The Dwarfs Of East Agouza and reaches its apogee on the glorious, sunburst of New Weird Éirana
‘Instinct, Eye And Mind’ which treads in the footsteps of Michael Chapman at his most ragged and echoes the borderless fourth world
guitar peregrinations of Mike Cooper. If the voyage that Flowers Rot took us on was one out of modernity into a vibrant megalithic
antiquity, it feels like An Cnoc Mór is taking us even further back. Masterson says: “These hills were hills long before homo sapiens set
foot on them, gave them names and stories and insulted them with egotistic concepts such as ‘conquering them’.” The pair agree that
getting out into the environment is an essential ingredient in the Moundabout process. Moundabout has always been about getting out
in the surroundings, hiking, swimming, chatting and experimenting with certain substances. An Cnoc Mór was recorded with all those
influences… just minus the substances.” Sun, snow, hail and wind, there was no choice but just to be out in it & be inspired. “Enjoy
Moundabout’s strange argot, let it wash over you like the tide.” Album of the Week / The Quietus “A deep sense of devotional
wonder.” Electronic Sound “A musical contemplation of the megalithic.” Terrascope “A lesson in neolithic ritual and otherworldly
transcendence.” Louder Than War Tracks: 01. The Hills Hum Hymns 02. Step In Out Of That 03. Sacred & Profane 04. Living To Give
05. Instinct, Eye And Mind 06. The Torrent