Martin Tourish is an acclaimed accordionist, composer and producer from county Donegal. His debut album, Clan Ranald, was listed in the top 20 albums of 2005 by Earle Hitchner, a track from which now features on The Rough Guide to Irish Folk Vol. 2. In 2008, he was TG4’s Young Musician of the Year, and completed his BMus, 1st-class honours, also winning the Anne Leahy award for the highest academic mark for his thesis. In 2010, he presented an episode of the traditional music show Geantraí, and was a guest with the National Symphony Orchestra in their Naxos album, Music for Great Films of the Silent Era. In 2011, he was one of the musicians invited by the President of Ireland to produce and perform a Galician / Irish concert with Carlos Nunez in Madrid as part of a visit there by President McAleese. In 2013, Martin had a number of articles published in the Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland. Later that year, he orchestrated a piece he co-wrote with Ciaran Tourish for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, featuring traditional instruments. He recently completed a PhD, and has also just released his latest album, Under a Red Sky Night, to critical acclaim.

These relaxed, interview-style sessions allow you to listen to, and talk to, a recognised master musician in the living Gaelic tradition, chosen for their rare and authentic style of music-making. Question them about their background, training, influences, style, and their opinions on what is important in performing traditional music well. Some sessions instead introduce you to recordings of masters from the past. The deep, embedded knowledge, and ingrained style, of all these master musicians, will hopefully help you to make your own music sound more authentically Gaelic.