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Brendan Power : State of the Harp
© Brendan Power 1990
My first commercial album, recorded in 1989 and released in 1990 by Jayrem Records. My dad lent me most of the money to record it, for which I'll always be grateful. It was a chance to bring in some favorite players from the local Auckland music scene of the time; there was a lot of talent around, especially in the young Polynesian musicians, and it was a privilege to work with them in the studio. Check out in particular the scary playing of the young Cook Islands guitarist Tere Ngaeruaiti (18 years old at the time).
The excellent sound quality and production on the album are down to engineer and co-producer Steve Garden, who also played drums and did the Hockney-esque photo montages on the front and back covers. Steve is a real perfectionist in everything he does, a pleasure to work with in the control room. We have great arguments.
I have a lot of affection for State of the Harp, not just for the music, but because it represented a leap of faith that paid off, and led to all the subsequent albums. Thanks to James Moss of Jayrem for taking it on.
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Brendan Power : Lament for the 21st Century
Harmonica
A beautiful collection of recordings by UK-based New Zealander Brendan Power. Power is acknowledged by many as one of the most creative, skilled & versatile harmonica players around today.
Brendan Power : Tradish
Harmonica (UK Import)
This is a brand new 15 track CD over an hour long. It was recorded over a period of eight years as I toured with the Riverdance show, and afterwards. The length of time it's taken means that some tracks have parts recorded from different years and several different countries. But I have taken a lot of care to make sure it all hangs together.
Andrew White : Brendan Power : Live in Ireland
Folk / Celtic (UK Import)
This album was recorded live at various venues on the Feb 2000 Power & White tour of Ireland. It comprises 14 tracks, about equally divided between original tunes and songs written by Andrew and Brendan Power, basically the best of the recorded stuff from the various gigs.
There is an 'X Factor' that you get when hearing a recording of a live gig, which is generally missing in even the best studio albums - and this one has it in spades. It is as raw as it comes: no added effects, EQ or overdubbing - it's just as it was on the night, as testified by the enthusiastic and sometimes raucous crowd reaction.