Ahead of her appearance at this year’s Eats + Beats festival we caught up with Cáit Ni Riain, an Irish musician whose life has been steeped in music from a young age.
Her earliest musical memories are that of being in her father's arms as he sang Percy French's 'The Darling girl from Clare'. Her dad would leave some words out, prompting her to fill in the gaps.
Chatting to Cáit, it is clear that growing up in a pub with a vibrant traditional Irish music scene played a significant role in shaping her musical identity.
“I grew up in Jim of the Mills, a Tipperary pub with great singing and traditional Irish music, so I don’t really remember a time without music as a part of my life. My bedroom was above the main session room so there were always tunes and songs going on as I drifted to sleep. I learned so many songs that way, listening, lots and lots of listening.”
Her musical influences are as diverse as the environment she grew up in. The people who frequented the pub where she was raised, like Tom Joe Spillane, her Dad, and Paddy Lacey, all left a lasting impression. She describes them as not only talented singers but also captivating characters.
On car journeys to music lessons, her mother would play a different genre’s of music, exposing Cáit to artists like Tom Waits and Dolores Keane. Local traditional musicians like Martin Hayes and Joe Heaney were also influential figures in her musical development.
Describing herself as “having a heart that lies with traditional songs and tunes” she also acknowledges the influence of artists like Tom Waits and Joni Mitchell in her own song writing. When pressed to describe her genre, Cáit says, "I wouldn't put myself in any box, but if I'm pushed to I'd say traditional/folk/singer-songwriter-ish!"
She admits the creative process as being deeply connected to her emotions and often, common themes and messages reappear.
“When I’m going through something deep - be that deep sadness, or deep love, deep desire, deep beauty, they are the places that draw the music out of me. If I’m sitting down to write songs at the piano, I’ll bring a moment/a person/ a place that inspires that great feeling in me - and let it flow from there. It has to be connected to emotion for anything to happen.”
“When it comes to specific themes I would say nature features heavily, the beauty of the natural world, the place of women as stewards of Earth Magick and Wisdom, the need for us to decolonise mind, body, spirit, culture, love, the power of love, the ecstasy of love. I’m also very attracted to yearning as a theme.”
One of Cáit’s biggest challenges in her musical career has been gaining confidence in her own abilities. However, she has grown over time to trust her creative instincts and the music that flows from them. The most rewarding experiences come from those moments of deep connection with her fellow musicians.
“Those simple and profound moments when I’m playing with another musician I love, when all parts of the musical jigsaw fit, and you enter that deep flow state, where every breath, every note, every tone is free and beautiful and just right! It’s a hard feeling to beat. Real magic.”
That human connection is also found in her other work. In between writing and performing music, Cáit works in the space of the healing arts, teaching sacred sexuality and holding spaces for women to reconnect with their bodies, their womb and their sexuality, something she would probably be doing more of if she wasn’t so busy with the music.
We discussed at length the impact of technology, and in particular phones, on the music industry, with Cáit expressing concern about how constant connectivity is shortening our attention spans and is making it difficult for artists to enter the deep state of focus required for true creativity.
“It’s a massive sadness (perhaps the greatest), that they are making us very distracted and caught in loops of checking behaviour….texts, whatsapp, notifications. Our attention span and ability to enter deep presence is deeply affected by having the phone around - this is a nightmare for getting into the creative space where any really good and beautiful work can come from. So I feel a lot of peoples innate creativity is being murdered by the machines. On the other side, they are a very helpful tool to share your work with a large audience - especially if you are an artist like myself who is living in a rural area, I want to live deep in the country but yet want a place to share my music and news of shows etc. So it’s to use it as a tool, and be very aware of how it can subtly take a lot of your awareness and presence”
Discussing festival season Cáit reminisces about her favourite experience to date while outlining her plans for the next few months.
“My favourite festival ever was Fire on the Mountain in Wales with my band ‘The Weaving’. What a beautiful festival”
“I’m touring with The Weaving this summer, we’ll be playing at different venues around Ireland, then a couple of solo gigs in August and of course the Eats + Beats Festival which I can’t wait to get down to. I’m also in the process of working on my first album of traditional songs and my own newly composed songs. The Weaving are also working on our first album together.”
“Outside of that, I run an epic 6 month journey for people interested in the sean nós singing tradition, where we go into the embodiment of song, and we travel to various places in Ireland to connect in with the tradition and songs of that area. It’s one of my favourite things in the world, watching people explore, unpack and build their relationship with their voices, and fall in love with the songs.”
Cáit with be joined on stage at Eats + Beats with Ed Dwan and special guests Niamh O’Brien & Aisling Urwin. Many other musicians, bands and DJ’s are also booked for the August festival. For news and updates follow on Instagram @eatsandbeatskerry. For tickets head over to www.eatsandbeatskerry.com
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