Seán Whelan is much in demand as both a studio and live musician. He has played guitar through a cross-section of styles from Traditional Irish Music to Jazz to Gypsy and has established himself as a forerunner in Acoustic music by the passion, creativity and versatility of his playing. In 1991 Seán moved away from the city environs into the rural peacefulness of Irelands West Cork where he began to compose his own music, (while also keeping a small farm!). The inspiration inspiration provided by the scenic beauty of this area is reflected in his compositions on his debut album End of Autumn, the music of which has been regularly used for television documentaries. A former member of
Irish Jazz group Hotfoot and having recorded on their debut album, (Mystery Records) Seán went on to tour with blues singer Mary Coughlan
and also with Irish fiddle talent Máire Breatnach. He has recorded on two albums by Scottish
singer Lorraine Jordan: "Inspiration" (KRL CDLDL 1205) and "Crazy guessing
games" (KRL CDLDL 1212) and has also featured on songwriter Sonny Condell’s
acclaimed album "Someone to Dance with" (STARC SCD 295). He has toured
extensively with various artists including Faolán, Niamh Parsons and Seán Keane in Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Eastern Europe and North America. His involvement with the Celtic Guitar Celebration was a unique opportunity to play with the cream of Irish Guitarists including Arty McGlynn and Steve Cooney. At the end of 1998 Seán, with mandolinist/fiddler Paul Kelly, formed Faolán, a five piece acoustic band which explores not only music from the Irish tradition but regularly features arrangements of tunes from Scandinavia, Brittany, Italy, Eastern Europe and elsewhere. The band continues to play to enthusiastic audiences across Europe. Seán's first solo recording End of Autumn, is available on Malgamú Music, an Irish owned record company which specialises in working with Irish traditional and acoustic musicians to create new sounds and "amalgamate" the different styles of music that are heard in Ireland in the millennium. |
