Peter Broderick — „The Wind That Shakes the Bramble“ (Sept. 10, 2021)
★⊇  „Proplétá se celým naším venkovem, hraje důležitou roli při držení půdy pohromadě, a také se dostává do našich měst a množí se i v tak hyperměstských prostředích, jako je Londýn. A zatímco většina moderních lidí ztratila schopnost identifikovat divoké rostliny rostoucí kolem nás, ostružina zůstává běžně pěstovanou rostlinou po celém světě. Je to, jako by čím více jsme se domestikovali a čím více nás naše technologie oddělovala od přírodního světa, tím si ostružina našla cestu do srdcí a myslí nás lidí a připomnělo nám, odkud pocházíme.“ — Peter Broderick
★⊇  “It weaves itself all through our countryside, playing an important role in holding the soil together, and also makes its way into our cities, proliferating even in such hyper urban environments as London. And while most modern people have lost the ability to identify the wild plants growing around us, the Blackberry remains a commonly foraged plant all around the globe. It’s as if the more domesticated we become and the more our technology separates us from the natural world, the Blackberry finds its way into the hearts and minds of us humans, reminding us where we come from.” — Peter Broderick
★⊇  It’s the mid 1800s in Ireland, and a local poet from Limerick by the name of Robert Dwyer Joyce has written a ballad called ‘The Wind That Shakes The Barley’:
★⊇  A bullet pierced my true love’s side In life’s young spring so early
And on my breast in blood she died While soft winds shook the barley... (excerpt)
★⊇  The recurring imagery of the barley standing tall amidst the breeze was meant to symbolise the resilience of Irish people amidst oppressive British rule. In 2006, the song title and its theme served as the inspiration for a powerful and heart~breaking film starring Cillian Murphy. Now, in 2021, Ireland~based singer~songwriter Peter Broderick pays homage once again, weaving this motif into his latest EP, The Wind That Shakes The Bramble.
★⊇  Broderick’s obsession with and devotion to the blackberry plant go well beyond his music. Last year, along with the release of the new album, he shared an eight~part video series titled The Blackberry Diaries in which he demonstrated all the different uses of this incredible, ubiquitous plant — everything from blackberry jam to weaving baskets and hats with the bramble vines, from making tea of out the young leaves to making artwork with late~season berries past their prime.
Location: Galway, Ireland
Album release: Sept. 10, 2021
Record Label: Erased Tapes
Duration:     36:19
Tracks:
1. Some People Don’t Have Gonads   3:47
2. A Year Without Summer   3:22
3. What Happened To Your Heart (Bing & Ruth Rework — Part I)   3:45
4. What Happened To Your Heart (Bing & Ruth Rework — Part II)   3:26
5. The Wind That Shakes The Bramble   21:59
Credits:
★ 1 & 5 written by Peter Broderick, published by Erased Tapes Music 3 & 4 written by Peter Broderick & David Moore
★ 2 written by Shel Silverstein
★ 1~4 recorded and mixed by Peter Broderick
★ Additional recording and remix on 3 & 4 by David Moore
★ 5 recorded and mixed by Dave Bianchi at OpenLab Barcelona Dry Town Studios  
★ Mastered by Barry Grint at Alchemy
★ Bramble baskets & photographs by Peter Broderick
★ Design & layout by Robert Raths
★ Bramble baskets & photographs by Peter Broderick
★ Portrait photograph by Aoife Light
★ Design & layout by Robert Raths
Review
by Alex Gallacher 〉〉 21 July, 2021
⊇  Robert Dwyer Joyce was a poet and collector of Irish traditional music. Of his own works, the most well known is probably The Wind That Shakes the Barley. In his poem, the barley standing tall amidst the breeze was meant to symbolise the resilience of Irish people amidst oppressive British rule.
⊇  …In 2006, the song title and its theme served as the inspiration for a powerful and heart~breaking film starring Cillian Murphy. Now, in 2021, Ireland~based singer~songwriter Peter Broderick pays homage once again, weaving this motif into his latest EP, The Wind That Shakes the Bramble.
⊇  Following on from his 2020 album, Blackberry, Broderick shares some additional work from the same sessions, as well as a beautiful two~part rework from Bing & Ruth and the new 22~minute title track; an expansive and meditative ambient odyssey, a balm for the baffling chaos of the current era.
⊇  Broderick’s obsession with and devotion to the blackberry plant go well beyond his music. Last year, along with the release of the new album, he shared an eight~part video series titled The Blackberry Diaries in which he demonstrated all the different uses of this incredible, ubiquitous plant — everything from blackberry jam to weaving baskets and hats with the bramble vines, from making tea of out the young leaves to making artwork with late~season berries past their prime.
⊇  He draws attention to the fact that the blackberry plant itself is an incredible symbol of resilience. “It weaves itself all through our countryside, playing an important role in holding the soil together, and also makes its way into our cities, proliferating even in such hyper urban environments as London. And while most modern people have lost the ability to identify the wild plants growing around us, the Blackberry remains a commonly foraged plant all around the globe. It’s as if the more domesticated we become and the more our technology separates us from the natural world, the Blackberry finds its way into the hearts and minds of us humans, reminding us where we come from.”
⊇  https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2021/07/peter-broderick-the-wind-that-shakes-the-bramble/
Label: https://www.erasedtapes.com/release/eratp145-peter-broderick-the-wind-that-shakes-the-bramble
BC: https://peterbroderick1.bandcamp.com/album/the-wind-that-shakes-the-bramble