Between May and July I was Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Musician-in-Residence. On August 20th the music I composed during this residency will be premiered online in the form of pre-recorded videos. I composed a two movement piece for multiple guitars called ‘Dún Laoghaire Guitars’. In advance of this premiere I’ve prepared Spotify and Youtube playlists of some… Continue reading Dún Laoghaire Guitars Pre-Premiere Playlist
Category: News
Eric Sweeney (1948-2020) – A Tribute and a Rant
The recent, sudden passing of my Irish composing colleague Eric Sweeney got me thinking that it’s such a shame that the media only tends to give less famous artists a big PR push when they pass away. It happens all the time and it’s very strange! So I’ve decided I’m going to do a weekly… Continue reading Eric Sweeney (1948-2020) – A Tribute and a Rant
Dave’s Favourite Classical Composers, played on Guitar
As my Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown music residency comes to its conclusion I thought I’d share a final playlist featuring some of my favourite classical composers, as they have been played on guitar. Prior to the 20th Century, very few of the ‘great’ classical composers composed for guitar. Two great 19th Century composers, Schubert and Berlioz, were guitarists, but… Continue reading Dave’s Favourite Classical Composers, played on Guitar
Dave’s Textural Guitar Heroes
In a previous blog post I mentioned how influential Andy Summers, from The Police, was to me. This post is about a group of guitarists who could be classified in the same category as him, ‘textural’ guitarists. They are more interested in finding the right sound for a song than showing off with virtuoso solos,… Continue reading Dave’s Textural Guitar Heroes
Dave’s Jazz Guitar Heroes
At the peak of my heavy metal teen years I remember once telling my Mum, “I hate jazz!”. A few years later I heard Django Reinhardt and changed my mind. Jazz is the kind of music that takes a while to understand. Those who take the time to explore the genre usually end up loving it. It… Continue reading Dave’s Jazz Guitar Heroes
Dave’s African Guitar Heroes
Some of the best guitarists I’ve ever seen or heard are/were from Africa. There are a huge variety of guitar styles across the African continent. In this blog post I explain a bit about some of these styles and some of the great musicians from Africa who have influenced me. Some of their music is… Continue reading Dave’s African Guitar Heroes
Dave’s Guitar Heroes Pt. 5 “Celtic Guitars”
Traditional Irish music has been present in my life since childhood. My Mum had tapes of The Chieftains and Planxty which she played a lot, and my Dad was a huge fan of Christy Moore, whether he was singing old folk ballads or modern songs. When I was very young I heard a lot of… Continue reading Dave’s Guitar Heroes Pt. 5 “Celtic Guitars”