Kilkenny song to feature in Crankie Island Project

Musician Cathy Jordan has identified 32 songs from each county in Ireland and put together an album plus videos (with a difference) for each calling it the ‘The Crankie Island Project’ .

For each recording, an accompanying video was created using the Crankie box. The illustrations for the Crankie Island Songs have been beautifully drawn by a collective of artists tasked with making their own crankie box with a visual story for the song.

Each unique Crankie box with its own style, interpretation and texture was recorded on video and is part of the Crankie Island performances.

Renowned for her stirring performances and expressive voice, Cathy is lead singer and percussion player with traditional powerhouse Dervish.

“Our songs are a part of our folklore; they ignite our memory and give us a sense of place. They are messages from our ancestors that evoke powerful imagery of landscape, mythology and connect us with the strife and struggles of generations who have walked our common paths,” said Cathy.

Cathy has collaborated with over 50 musicians and numerous illustrators from all over the country to capture and record some of the many songs from past generations.

The Crankie box is a quirky story-telling device dating back to the 19th and early 20th centuries where an original illustrated scroll is wound onto two spools in a specially made box with a viewing screen. While the song is playing, the long scroll is hand-cranked and stretched across the viewing platform, providing an evolving visual depiction of the song. Crankie boxes can range from match box size to full stage dimensions and can be up to 12 meters in length.

Kilkenny’s song chosen and recorded by Cathy is ‘Buried in Kilkenny’ dating back to the 17th Century, the song is told through the eyes of a man who has been poisoned by his sweetheart. The method of poisoning varies from eels, snails, frogs, poisons beans! See www.crankieisland.com.