cara dillon goes "99% traditional" on new album

November 22, 2008 by Alan Pedder in Blog

First independent release due in January

County Derry’s finest daughter Cara Dillon has been selling her forthcoming album Hill Of Thieves directly to fans attending her recent tour of the UK and Ireland, which finished on Wednesday in Brighton. It’s officially out in January, so here’s some info. The album takes its name from the English translation of Benbradagh, the hill the surrounds her native town of Dungiven, and the title track is the only non-traditional song among the eleven songs. Recorded at home in England with husband Sam Lakeman, Hill Of Thieves will be the first release on the spouses’ own label, Charcoal Records.

“It was a real pleasure to make this album,” Cara told The Irish News last month. “It’s the first time we’ve been free of record label pressures, because up until now we’d been with Rough Trade…We were able to do it in our own time and people could just come and stay in our house and record. It was just really relaxing and we knew exactly what to do and we’re really pleased with the outcome. So we hope that other people like it too!”

Hill Of Thieves
01 Hill Of Thieves
02 Johnny, Lovely Johnny
03 The Parting Glass
04 Spencer The Rover [feat. Seth Lakeman]
05 False, False
06 Jimmy Mo Mhile Stor
07 She Moved Through The Fair
08 P Stands For Paddy – Lament For Johnny
09 The Verdant Braes Of Skreen
10 The Lass Of Glenshee
11 Fil, Fil A Run O

Alan Pedder

FREE MP3: Cara Dillon, ‘Hill Of Thieves‘ [live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast, July 2008]