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Fresh from the release of their debut album ‘The Mountains Are My Friends’, California Irish, the folk-rock act fronted by Cormac Neeson, have won the Single Of The Year Award at the Northern Irish Music Prize with their delicate single ‘Julie Ann‘. 

After fighting off stiff competition for the title, the band scooped the prestigious award with their wonderfully warm, laid-back single, which evokes the spirit of the Laurel Canyon scene of the 1960s, and one that gained critical acclaim across the board, receiving substantial airplay worldwide. 

Cormac states: “We are delighted with this award, and the fact that the people of the North of Ireland voted for our song just means the world to us. Peace Agus Love – and up the Cali Irish!”

The California Irish album ‘The Mountains Are My Friends’ is out now. 
Order physical copies of the album here: https://eyesoremerch.com/california-irish/
Order the album here: https://ada.lnk.to/Mountains

CALIFORNIA IRISH is the new band featuring The Answer’s Cormac Neeson. The band tips its hat to the wonderfully melodic and free-spirited sound from 60s America, a sound that reaches back into a gentler, more empathetic time and their album ‘The Mountains Are My Friends‘ is out now. 

Summoning the beguiling spirit of Laurel Canyon, employing analogue recording techniques, and recording songs in one or two takes to achieve something with a real human touch, California Irish are a seven piece group hailing from Belfast that working their own niche within the world of folk and Americana, and everything in between.

The brainchild of the group is lead singer and chief songwriter Cormac Neeson. The band were hand-picked by Neeson based on long standing friendships, as well as experiences with numerous musical projects within the thriving Belfast music scene.   

Cormac states his reason for starting the band, and wanting to harness this fabulous sound: “This album is the opposite of boring AI generated no soul perfection. We recorded this album in a room together over four days allowing the music to breathe when it needed to, looking at each other for our cues and feeding off each other’s energy. It felt like a dream…but it’s the most real thing I’ve ever done in music.
That Laurel Canyon sound of the late 60s, epitomised by the early Crosby Stills Nash and Young stuff, and the first few Joni Mitchell records, has always felt otherworldly and magical. On our album we’ve tried to access some of that beauty and create our own magic by combining brand new music with an old school recording process.” 

The Laurel Canyon influence also extends to the band’s recording technique, adhering rigidly to the analogue 16 track recording method circa 1969; namely recording live straight to tape at the world famous Middle Farm Studios under the watchful eyes and ears of producer Pete Miles. The resulting sound of California Irish flies in the face of modern techniques that often lose the warmth of the original compositions. Instead, the group opted for a one off and unique shared human experience with musicians who feed off each other’s energy, and create compelling four-part vocal blends around one single microphone in a warm alt-folk celebration. The creative process in turn led to an album’s worth of songs titled ‘The Mountains Are My Friends’, out now.

The band: 
Cormac Neeson (vocals, acoustic guitar, psychedelic cowbell)
Susy Coyle (vocals and percussion)
Donal Scullion (acoustic, electric guitar, vocals)  
Chris Kelly (lap steel, mandolin, acoustic, electric guitar, vocals)
James Doone (bass) 
Simon Templeton (piano, hammond, Wurlitzer)
Conor McCauley (drums)

https://www.facebook.com/californiairish
https://x.com/CaliIrish69
https://www.instagram.com/californiairishband/
https://www.californiairish.co.uk/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXtkoLAjS3HSCikPPPQWlsQ