BRT Presents: Ímar

The Glasgow-based five-piece band, Ímar, stands out from the crowd by taking things back to basics. With a line-up featuring members of Talisk, Mànran, Mec Lir, and RURA, and an impressive collection of top awards – including a 2018 BBC Radio 2 Musician Of The Year, 2016 BBC Radio Scotland Young Musician of the Year, BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award, Young Folk Award, nine All-Ireland and eight All-Britain titles – the group’s formation embodies a personal reconnection with its members’ formative years, dating back long before their recent camaraderie around Glasgow’s justly celebrated session scene.

Mohsen Amini (concertina), Ryan Murphy (uilleann pipes), Tomás Callister (fiddle), Adam Brown (bodhrán), and Adam Rhodes (bouzouki), share a strong background in Irish music – although only Murphy actually hails from Ireland; Rhodes and Callister are from the Isle of Man, whilst Amini is a Glasgow native, and Brown is originally from Suffolk. But it is these foundations which underpin many of Ímar’s distinctive qualities, in both instrumentation and material.

The band’s unmistakable synergy centers on the overlapping cultural heritage between Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. All three places once shared the same Gaelic language and a similar kinship endures between their musical traditions. “It’s definitely more of a pure-drop trad sound than most of the other bands we’re involved in,” adds Cork-born piper, flutist and whistle player Ryan Murphy (Mànran), “but I think that’s partly why it feels so natural. We’re going back to the music we started out playing when we met as teenagers through Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann – which is ultimately the reason why we’re all here as musicians.”

“Genuinely jaw-dropping collective virtuosity.” – The Scotsman