Originally aired last month as part of Roadburn Redux and ‘premiered’ via YouTube this past weekend, ‘Dream Awake’ brings an hour-plus live set from Tau and the Drones of Praise celebrating the band’s past, present and future. I was fortunate enough to interview guitarist/vocalist Seán Mulrooney for the Roadburn ‘zine, the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch, and the way he described it was, “It’s like the hero’s quest, the return home, and infinite possibilities. It’s a set of three parts. It’s the hero’s quest, the return home, the cosmos: infinite possibilities.”

Not wanting for scope, then, and fair enough given the sonic breadth — and breath, since this music is very much alive; the changes can be seen signaled between bandmates with sometimes urgent glances — that comes across in the 68-minute offering. And yet it is very much tied to the land and the spirit of the land that comes through in Irish folklore, from the inclusion of Pól Brennan of Clannad — who marked their 50th year in 2020 — to the paeans to ancestors and culture that are born in melodies and arrangement as well as lyrics and themes that perpetuate in the songs. It is a beautiful music, and by no means restricted to Irish influences, but every outward journey begins somewhere.

I was enthralled earlier this year when Tau and the Drones of Praise posted a live set from Dublin in support of their 2020 EP, Seanóirí Naofa (discussed here), and I knew going into Roadburn Redux that this was my gotta-see set of the entire affair. I am glad that as other exclusives have begun to trickle out to the greater public, this one has not been left to languish, because it deserves no less than to catch as many eyes and ears as possible with its transportive atmosphere and resonant emotional foundation, human and otherworldly at once.

Enjoy:

Tau and the Drones of Praise, ‘Dream Awake’

Full concert recorded exclusively for Roadburn Redux.

So glad you can be here now. Thanks so much Global community.
Donate here to help us record 3rd album.
paypal.me/taufornow

Thanks so much Global community.

Subscribe to the Tau YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TAUMUSICA?

Listen to and purchase all music on BandCamp:
https://tauofficial.bandcamp.com/
Tau and the Drones of Praise:
Seán Mulrooney – guitar/vocals
Ruarí Mac Néill Aodha – guitar
Bob “Wildman” Glynn – percussion/vocals
Iain Faulkner – bass/vocals
Ken “Moon” Mooney – drums/percussion

Tau and the Drones of Praise, Seanóirí Naofa (2020)

Tau on Instagram

Tau and the Drones of Praise on Thee Facebooks

Tau and the Drones of Praise on Bandcamp

Filmed in December, the following audience-less livestream from Tau and the Drones of Praise was shot in Dublin and premiered this past weekend. I have no idea if the video is going to remain public or if it will be taken down at some point, but while you can see it, you should.

I’ll readily admit to being a late convert to Tau, not really digging in until I heard 2020’s Seanóirí Naofa EP (discussed here), which was preceded by a 2019 self-titled full-length from Tau and the Drones of Praise that’s no less righteous in its definitively-Irish-in-its-nationlessness, heathen-without-being-masked-white-supremacist psychedelic folk, taking elements from traditions Asian, American and European and fusing them together in this a fashion at once inevitably of the earth and ready to depart from it. Flutes were had, y’all.

The stream took some from the album — “It’s Already Written,” “Craw” — and some from 2016’s Tau Tau Tau — “Mother,” Spanish-language closer “Espiral” — one from 2015’s Wirikuta EP — “Huey Tonantzin” — and three of the four from Seanóirí Naofa — the title-track, the cello-laced “Speak Your Truth” and “Mongolia.” All of this, plus the song of the land, “Éist Le Ceol An Chré,” and the stream makes a surprisingly effective sampling of Tau and the Drones of Praise past and present while filtered through a singular performance.

That performance, by the way, is gorgeous. There’s a bird. That might be Nibbles, I don’t know. The bird introduces the band, and the band unfurls 50 minutes of casual brilliance, filmed like it’s a BBC special from the year 1QX6, varying instruments and personnel here and there along the way, but keeping a steady core with Seán Mulrooney‘s guitar and vocals running throughout.

I know you’re way cooler than I am and way down with all this stuff already, but this is the kind of set that, even if you don’t know all the material, you’re going to put on and be stuck there for the duration. Between the engaging delivery itself and the ethereal spirit that surrounds the songs, there’s little to be done except appreciate, sing, maybe dance. If there’s any justice in this wretched universe, it’ll be a live album by the next Bandcamp Friday.

Have at it and enjoy:

Tau and the Drones of Praise, Live From Dublin

Thanks so much Fuinneamh for presenting our online gig tonight.

The premier airs tonight. The great gig in the sky, the great and freaky unknown. We haven’t a clue what to expect but it’s exciting.

We are playing Fuinneamh festival this September. Everything they do they do with love and energy. Fuinneamh means energy in Irish.

Setlist:
Huey Tonantzin
Mother
It’s Already Written
Mongolia
Speak Your Truth
Craw
Seanóirí Naofa
Éist Le Ceol An Chré
Espiral

Tau and the Drones of Praise:
Seán Mulrooney – guitar/vocals
Ruarí Mac Néill Aodha – guitar
Bob “Wildman” Glynn – percussion/vocals
Iain Faulkner – bass/vocals
Ken “Moon” Mooney – drums/percussion
Gabriele Dikciute – cello

Tau and the Drones of Praise, Seanóirí Naofa (2020)

Tau on Instagram

Tau and the Drones of Praise on Thee Facebooks

Tau and the Drones of Praise on Bandcamp

I’m not gonna claim to be any kind of expert on the work of Tau or any of the various incarnations the Irish-rooted frontman Shaun Mulrooney has of it. I saw something so I’m saying something while I bother to investigate further. Tau and the Drones of Praise issued the four-song Seanóirí Naofa EP last month, and they would’ve been at Roadburn this year, but blah blah blah I’m tired of talking about the pandemic. The EP’s tracks vary somewhat in personality, but with the title-cut, there’s a particularly deep dive into Celtic folk and nature-worshiping psychedelia. And antlers. Lots of antlers. I don’t even mean just in the video. The song itself has antlers. How did they even do that?

Well, that’s the magic I guess, and that’s why I’m posting the video, because it’s easy to get swept up in it, and while this may not be the kind of heavy fare one expects around here all the time, consider the weight of Ireland’s history and consider the breadth of atmosphere being conveyed here and maybe that’ll give you some sense of where I’m coming from. Or maybe it won’t and it doesn’t really matter either way. If you dig it, dig it. If you don’t, well, I post five times a day most days and there are at least a hundred thousand other shitheel blogs out there, so do the math and you’re bound to find something that meets your stringent standards sooner or later.

Sorry. That one kind of took a turn.

Anyway, expand your horizons a little and get into it:

Tau & the Drones of Praise, “Seanóirí Naofa” official video

Title track Seanóirí Naofa (Sacred Ancestors) from the EP, Seanóirí Naofa out now.

Video is a collage and homage to the beauty of Ireland and our Sacred sites. Additional shots on tour in France and at La Briche Audio

Edited by Kyle McFerguson
Filmed by Haile MArie & Leo Lee

Seanóirí Naofa is the lead single from an EP of the same title by Tau & And The Drones of Praise.

This is the follow up to their second album released in February 2019, which garnered widespread acclaim.

In a flash of Imbas (inspiration) Seanóirí Naofa was written and recorded by the Berlin/Ireland based ensemble in just a few hours which gives the track its raw/ archaic immediacy. Opened stringed tunings and old instruments like the hurdy gurdy contains that signature Tau drone while maintaining a confident and contemporary, folky feel.

The mountain on the cover is Queen Maeve’s Cairn at Knocknarea, Co Sligo. The photograph was taken on Spring Equinox 2020, just as the world went into lockdown. The fiery warrior spirit and sovereignty which Goddess Queen Méabh represents so inspires the band, and is a reminder of our own inner fire and our own sovereignty.

Here, frontman Shaun Mulrooney retraces his ancestors’ footsteps, as his surname originates in County Sligo which is a stone’s throw from where he currently resides. Rory Nelson Mckee’s traditional guitar playing being at the helm on Seanóirí Naofa gives this work Tau’s most Irish sounding feel to date.

Tau and the Drones of Praise, Seanóirí Naofa (2020)

Tau on Instagram

Tau and the Drones of Praise on Thee Facebooks

Tau and the Drones of Praise on Bandcamp