BLOOM,LUKA - Refuge (Sealed) (CD)

Amongst the many artists who visited me on the Blue of the Night Sessions broadcast on RTE lyric fm, one very intimate experience was with Luka Bloom. Luka spent an hour with me – guitar in hand, voice in resonating wellness. And I thought to myself – this is magic! Now, hot on the heels of his ‘Frugalisto’ release, Luka shares intimate moments of magic a la that night on ‘Blue’. His latest release ‘Refuge’ is indeed that… a refuge from the noise, the anger, the confusion and the fear that surrounds us so often in this turbulent 21st century. We are treated to a rare privilege – privy to the private conversations between a voice and a guitar. An intimate performance of some new tunes and some not-so-new. Tracks include a reworking of Luka’s own City of Chicago, breathing new life into a song masterfully recorded most famously by his brother Christy Moore. A tribute to his ‘teacher’ Leonard Cohen and a haunting performance of Wayfaring Stranger are matched by new songs that deal with subject matters ranging from war, death, loss, Native American protests, a musical tribute to cellist Jaqueline Du Pre, an uplifting story of an Australian indigenous artist and activist Miriam Rose and my favourite, I Still Believe in Love – a sublime conversation between Luka’s honey coated voice and the distinctive (and beautifully recorded) Lowden guitar. This IS a refuge …. and a special place that I hope to visit often