Muireann Bradley // I Kept These Old Blues LP / TAPE / CD

This is the debut album by 16-year-old Irish blues guitarist Muireann Bradley, released on the American folk label Tompkins Square in December 2023.

The classic songs of yesteryear will be brought back to life with her guitar and voice.

*If you would like a digital sound source, please feel free to contact us.

Below is her explanation.

"This is my first album. Most of these songs were originally recorded by the great bluesmen and blueswomen who were making records in the 1920s and 1930s, and in some cases into the early 1970s. It is also inspired by the playing of musicians who began recording this music after the 1960s. Many of these guitarists were inspired by the blues revival of the 1960s and the country blues that followed. played a pivotal role in the ``rediscovery'' of great musicians.
I grew up immersed in these old blues on the outskirts of the town of Ballybofey in County Donegal, in the hills overlooking the valley of the River Finn. My father would always play this music at home, in the car, and wherever he went, and he would talk about it endlessly, whether or not anyone was listening, and it would be like legends, myths, the evening news, about musicians. He was talking about life.
When I was little, I remember watching my father play the guitar and thinking, ``I want to be able to play like that.'' When I was 9 years old, his father decided to teach me and bought me my first small travel guitar.
I worked hard to learn to play, but as time went on, I found myself getting more and more involved in the martial arts I was training and competing in regularly, and found myself having less and less time to practice. Masu. Then, in March 2020, the first corona lockdown occurred and all contact sports were shut down. I was lost for a while, but soon found my way back to the guitar. I was listening, playing, and practicing the guitar with new strength and focus. In a very serious moment, I wrote out a list of songs I was going to learn. The first song on that list was "Police Dog Blues" by Blind Blake. I don't know now how long it took me to come up with that arrangement, but when I was ready, I took a video of me playing it and uploaded it to YouTube. I remember my parents being pretty shocked too, and Tompkins Square contacted me shortly afterwards...and here we are!
Each track on this album was recorded live in a studio, with me singing and providing guitar backing at the same time, all in one take. It's mostly first or second takes. Nothing was added or removed, no overdubbing or modern recording tricks were used. In at least some aspects, this album was recorded in the same way as the classics of the 1920s and 1930s.
I hope you enjoy this record. "

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Tracklist:

1. Candyman 03:48
2. Richland Woman Blues 04:26
3. Police Dog Blues 03:14
4. Shake Sugaree 05:48
5. Vestapol 05:12
6. Stagolee 02:52
7. Green Rocky Road 03:53
8.Frankie 04:00
9. Police Sergeant Blues 03:12
10. Buck Dancer's Choice 03:40
11. Delia 03:21
12. Freight Train 03:31

Muireann Bradley is a young blues, ragtime, roots and folk guitarist and singer based in Ballybofey in County Donegal Ireland.

Muireann Bradley:

"This is my first album. Most of these tunes were originally recorded by the great blues men and women who were making records from the 1920s and 1930s right up in some cases to the early 1970s. I have also found inspiration for the renditions recorded here in the playing of some of the musicians who began recording this music in the 1960s and later, and who in some cases learned at the feet of the greats. Many of these guitarists played pivotal roles in the 1960s blues revival and subsequent “rediscovery” of many of the greats of country blues.
I grew up steeped in these old blues in the hills overlooking the valley of the River Finn just outside the town of Ballybofey in County Donegal. My father would play this music constantly at home and wherever we went in the car and talk about it endlessly whether anyone was listening or not, telling stories about the lives of these musicians as if they were legend, mythology or the evening news.
My father could of course play all this stuff on guitar, I remember watching him when I was very young and thinking “I want to be able to do that”. When I was nine he agreed to teach me and bought me my first little travel guitar. I worked hard to learn how to play but as time wore on I seemed to have less and less time to practice as I became more and more invested in the combat sports I was regularly training and competing in. Then in March 2020 the first Covid lockdowns happened and all contact sports were shut down. I was lost for a while but soon found my way back to the guitar. I was now listening, playing and practicing with a new intensity and focus. In a very serious moment I wrote out a list of tunes I was going to learn. The first tune on that list was Blind Blake's “Police Dog Blues.” I'm not sure now how long it took to get that arrangement together but when it was ready we videoed me performing it and posted it on YouTube. It ended up getting a lot of attention, I remember my parents being quite shocked and soon after that Josh Rosenthal got in touch… and here we are!
Each individual track on this album was recorded live in the studio and represents one entire take with me singing and backing myself up on guitar simultaneously. Most are either first or second takes. Nothing has been added or taken away, no overdubs or modern recording tricks of any kind have been used at all so at least in some respects this album has been recorded in the same way as those classics of the 1920s and 1930s.
I hope you enjoy the record."

May 2023 

Artist: Muireann Bradleyn

Label: Label: Tompkins square