Chutzpah and bravado propel piper Seán McKeon's solo debut. His is a muscular, sculpted sound, characterised by notes chiselled out of thin air with laser-sharp precision and a rhythmic intensity that confidently underscores the shape of each tune. Daring in his choices, McKeon marries Frankie Gavin's Josie Begley's with a finely pitched reading of Building Up and Tearing England Down, a ballad associated with the late Frank Harte. To the City comes into its own when he saddles up alongside fiddler Liam O'Connor for the west Kerry air Beauty Deas an Oileáin, the rich textures of the playing suggesting a far wider palette than just pipes and fiddle. John Blake lends characteristically subtle guitar and bouzouki accompaniment. To the City pushes the boundaries of piping while reinforcing their position at the heart of the tradition. cdbaby.com/cd/seanmckeon
Download: Maurice Scanlon's, The Flax in the Bloom