Frankie & Tom Mulcahy

After a long break from recording, renowned accordionist and composer Frankie Mulcahy has released his new album “The Way of the Dreamer”, available now at www.frankiemulcahy.com.

Boasting original songs written by brothers Frankie and Tom Mulcahy, the album is a collection of tunes inspired by Irish traditional music, Native American, Eastern European and Scandinavian rhythms. The duo has a long history of writing and performing together and grew up immersed in musical culture.

In 1992, the brothers, along with Mary O’Regan, Marco Smith and Jimmy Canty formed the group “Draiocht” and soon released two critically acclaimed albums, “The Druid and the Dreamer” and “When the Smoke Had Cleared”. They received a 4-star review for The Druid and the Dreamer from Q Magazine, the well-known UK music bible. The band toured Europe extensively building a particularly loyal Swedish fan base, appearing on Swedish television many times, and recording with Swedish artists, Kayo and legendary guitarist Lasse Wallander (previously of ABBA). Finding great success, the Mulcahy brothers made Sweden their home for several years.

Draiocht eventually went their separate ways and Frank continued his musical adventures, touring Europe with Bill Whelan’s Riverdance production, playing with musical stalwarts Eoghan O’Neill, Joe Csibi, Ray Fean, Kenneth Edge, Declan Masterson, Noel Eccles and Albert Niland. Frankie moved on to team up with renowned Galway singer, Sean Keane, touring together for three years. Most notably, Frankie was featured on Sean Keane’s recording “Seansongs”, and regularly appeared with other artists of caliber, Arty McGlynn, Nollaig Casey and Mick Hanley. In 2008 Frankie toured the United States and Ireland with the 8 member band, The High Kings.

Frank and Tom’s musical experiences inspired them to return to Frank’s home studio in Kerry for a long overdue follow-up to their 90’s recordings. Although the brothers recorded most of the tracks themselves, they collaborated with guest artists Kevin McConville, Steve Hogan and Luke Cosgrave.

“The Way of the Dreamer” is the culmination of numerous songwriting collaborations from the Mulcahy brothers, drawing from their traditional roots background and adding contemporary elements. With instrumental and vocal songs, the album is a triumph of songwriting, musicality and partnership.

2012 was an exciting year for the Mulcahy clan as a whole. Murt Mulcahy (brother) released a short film “Skint”, in which Frank’s compositions were used as the musical score. Michael Hilliard Mulcahy’s (brother) play “Beyond the Brooklyn Sky”, directed by Peter Sheridan, launched at the Dublin Theatre Festival in September, achieving a 4-star review in the Irish Times.