Dana Masters - (part 1 of 4)

David A Dunlop was born and raised in north Antrim; he divides his time between there and his home in west Donegal. He spent many years in education, both as a teacher and as a school leader; in those roles he exercised his passion to bring together young people from across the various political and religious traditions in Ireland, north and south, so as to encourage a shared understanding of their history and culture.  His six novels, as with a number of musical dramas he wrote and produced during his career in Limavady High School, have historical and cross-cultural themes, and draw on his experience of performance in various musical genres.The podcast includes an excerpt from David's song "Covenant" sung by his daughterCiara Young. 

Eilidh (pronounced EYElee) is a warm, engaging singer songwriter of startling clarity.  With songs that cut straight to the heart, delightfully accurate guitar playing, and crystal clear vocals, Eilidh immediately connects with audiences everywhere. Having released 5 studio albums and an EP to date, Eilidh (from Derry, N. Ireland) is a hard-working independent artist who is driven by her desire to connect with people.  This desire has seen her perform regularly across Northern Ireland and at festivals such as SxSW in Austin TX (3 times), Folk Alliance in Memphis TN, and Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland.  Over the years she has worked with established artists in the folk scene both in the studio and on stage, most notably with Beth Nielsen Chapman.  Regularly appearing on TV and radio, Eilidh has taken part in many live broadcasts and programmes for BBC NI and her music is played on radio stations across the UK and Ireland. https://eilidhpatterson.com/

Steve Stockman in conversation with Zach Trouton The trú was a mythological trio of poet-musicians in ancient Ulster. They were revered throughout the Celtic world, some believing their songs and stories came to them from the future. Others maintained that the trú were possessed by spirits during performance. As such, they were considered gatekeepers to the Otherworld.It’s here where this Northern Irish trio draws their inspiration. Zachary Trouton,  Michael Mormecha and Dónal Kearney grew up with different musical palettes, but also came from distinct cultural identities as children of the Peace Agreement in Northern Ireland. The trio has mixed heritage (British-Ukrainian and Irish Nationalist) and together they have fostered an unusual and fruitful collaborative ethos based on respect and exploration. Leaning into their individuality, an eclectic repertoire of influences (from Clannad to Nine Inch Nails via Joni Mitchell and The Beatles) makes for an intriguing chemistry.

The final part of Steve's conversation with Dana Masters at the 4 Corners Festival in Belfast. Recorded in February 2023"It was an amazing evening with Dana sharing about her life growing up in the Southern States of the USA and how she ended up in Dromara. Indeed part 4 is for sure the climax of the whole evening. It begins with Dana taking a northern Irish boy home for his first southern Christmas and what her aunt who didn't allow white boyfriends says. From romance we find faith and hope and dreams as Dana ends the evening in a near sung epilogue of what she hopes over us in our wee place that she now calls home. It is powerful stuff"Steve Stockman

By nature, Duke Special (aka Belfast’s Peter Wilson) is a curious person. He is curious about music, theatre, books, poetry, art, love, life, redemption, death and 78RPM records. All of this is evidenced by the variety of musical adventures throughout his career. He has released 16 albums and EPs, toured all over the world and has been involved in a diverse array of other projects.His new album, ‘Blood for Ghosts’, is the result of an encounter with an archive of old sheet music from the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco. The collection was bought by Princess Grace in 1977 from a Michael E. O’Donnell from Philadelphia and comprises over 1000 song sheets dated between 1840-1970. The ten songs chosen for the album were recorded at Bannview Studio in Portglenone by Séan Óg Graham and were mixed at Echo Zoo in Eastbourne by Dave Lynch.

In this part Dana speaks of being brought up in the southern States where she said,  "blackness is bad and ugly and ignorant". Dana goes on to talk about how family, faith and music helped her to deal with the racism that wasn't so much about the colour of her skin as never feeling pretty. 

From the north coast of Ireland, ferna (pronounced fear-na) aims to tell the stories that otherwise get lost in the noise. On a mission to amplify quiet sentiments and background characters, ferna delivers a sound that merges the organic and the electronic, filled with mixed emotions, fragile beauty and powerful hooks. ferna cut her teeth on the Belfast music scene, under her own name, Hannah McPhillimy, where she appeared alongside artists such as SOAK, Foy Vance and The Gloaming and performed in RTE’s Other Voices as well as SXSW. She completed a Masters in Music Composition at the University of Michigan (2017 – 2019), before returning home. She launched ferna in September 2021 and released her debut album ‘Understudy’ in February 2022. The track ‘Wasting’ from the Ferna debut album won the Northern Ireland Music Prize – Single of the Year 2022!

The Soul Surmise Podcast Autumn 23 series carries on with part 2 of the Dana Masters' interview at this year's 4 Corners Festival. Those who filled Fitzroy that night will remember an amazing evening of conversation about music and faith and social justice. For me it was a riveting conversation with someone who was gifted artistically but also insightful and articulate. Here in Part 2 (of 4) we look at how singing is pastoral or "almost like intercession"... singing with Kanye...singing with Van Morrison

Claire Mitchell is a writer and researcher from Belfast. A former sociologist in Queen's University Belfast, her current writing continues to dwell on people and everyday politics in Northern Ireland, using interviews, memoir, archives and storytelling. Author of three books and a wide range of journalism, essays and prose. www.clairemitchell.net

Dana was born and raised in South Carolina where her family, particularly her Grandmother were involved in the Civil Rights movement. She then moved to Minneapolis to study music and actually sang with Prince before another move to where everyone makes the big time, LA. There she met and fell in love with Andrew Masters which brought this amazing voice to Northern Ireland.As well as her solo gigs giving off a jazz ‘n soul sound, she was vocalist alongside Van Morrison for many years. This conversation was recorded at the 4 Corners Festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland in February 2023. This is part 1 of a 4 part series