IONA

I am finding it hard to believe that here I am in 2022 writing about an album which was released in 2013, yet there is not a single review for it on ProgArchives. Recorded at different venues in the UK and Holland, here we have a double CD set capturing one of our finest prog folk bands in their natural environment, live on stage. I first came across them nearly 30 years ago with their second album, 'Book of Kells', and by the time they got to this recording there had been some significant line-up changes, but multi-instrumentalist Dave Bainbridge is still there, along with singer Joanne Hogg (acoustic guitar, keyboards) and drummer Frank Van Essen (also on violin) who was a guest back then, with the current line-up completed by Phil Barker (bass, electric double bass, darbuka) and Martin Nolan (Uilleann pipes, low and tin whistles). Strange to think that both Nick Beggs and Troy Donockley were involved on that album all those years back, wonder whatever happened to them''?

When a band contains a genuine multi-instrumentalist like Dave Bainbridge, it allows the band to have incredible breadth and diversity in what they are playing, here always steeped in the Celtic tradition of the Western Isles along with the Christian message which made the isle of Iona such a focal point for centuries. There is something very special about those islands, as anyone who has ever been will attest to, with powerful communities and a feeling of being in a place removed from much of modern life, and being all the better for it. This is what Iona bring with their music, changing mere notes into something magical and transformative. Whenever I listen to their music I am back on the islands, up in that area of Scotland where my father was raised and retired to.

Joanne has a wonderfully clear voice, similar in some ways to Annie Haslam or Christina Booth, while beneath her we have music that is often built on an incredibly powerful rhythm section with Dave and Martin guiding the melodies. While it is Celtic, it has much more direction and passion than the likes of Enya, and while it can indeed go into the dreamstate, there is a great deal going on and this never falls into the background. There are times when this really rocks, times when we all want to reel, and plenty of others when all we can do is listen and be taken away. This is complex music, with complicated arrangements, yet there is also a sense of space and fresh air within it so it never smothers but instead lifts the listener.

Containing music which does indeed go all the way back to 'The Book of Kells', more than two hours long spread over two discs, this is the perfect introduction to Iona for anyone, and is a delight from beginning to end.

Another one of my cherished top 10 concert videos, the joy of seeing these virtuosi perform their amazing compositions live is something I am ever so grateful for. Though I stumbled upon them (thanks to PA) with their 2000 album "Open Sky"--my favorite album of that year and one of my all-time favorite Prog Folk albums ever--seeing this amazing concert with the high level of skill and compositional complexity of all of their work, made me finally take the plunge to dive into all of their backlog of music (including their 2006 release, The Circling Hour)--and, boy! am I glad I did. A band with few peers over the past 30 years (just ask Robert Fripp and Nick Beggs!) Check out this video--you will be glad that you did. And check out all of the wonderful music that is IONA. They are AMAZING!

"Holy Spirit come"

There was a time when I was easily irritated (to put it mildly) by Christian lyrical themes and I would avoid such bands. My heart has changed much in the last years for reasons from personal grief to discovering the beauty of the Tridentine Mass and sacred music. Now I can embrace messages like Iona's "Another Realm" and they help to buffer the horror of watching the world burn in the hands of our current, disastrous leadership. Unlike some fellow reviewers who bristled at it, I came to Iona's latest work with a hope to hear more of their positive message rather than have it simply hinted at. I was not disappointed.

While I've been aware of Iona I'm pretty much a noob in terms of checking them out. I resisted the urge to go back and start at the beginning of a discog because I read about the inspirations behind "Another Realm" and was fascinated. I wanted to hear this album now. After their previous album the band had a period of contemplation about their future no doubt catalyzed by some personal struggles, and it was possible that it could have ended. Both Bainbridge and Hogg tell compelling stories of prophecy and inspiration that birthed this album. The band felt alive with renewed purpose and it affected the writing and recording process very much.

"...a man I'd never met before prophesied an incredible word over me concerning my future and in particular the future of the band. At the time I accepted it and made sure I had a written copy to consider, but couldn't see how it could possibly come to pass with the band, as I'd almost come to the point of laying Iona down and moving on. However God, it seems, had other plans! Looking back now I can see just how accurate this prophetic word has been already..." -Dave Bainbridge, to Derek Walker of The Phantom Tollbooth webzine

The calling they felt to create this long, elaborate album seems to have found its way to me as a listener too. While researching Iona and going through my listening phase I craved returning to this one, something that is not always a given. In fact the whole Celtic New Agey vibe is not typically my thing, I usually like much heavier and aggressive music. But these songs speak to me, they vary in many interesting ways, and they are engaging. Whereas the last couple of Iona albums seemed more passive with longer instrumental passages and less emphasis on vocals, here there seems to be an urgency for a human connection, for intimacy and celebration from a band with renewed purpose.

Sprawling over two CDs I was never bored with "Another Realm." There are nice little touches like related intros and outtros and a longer epic track that anchors each disc. The first CD's epic track is a 3-part suite called "An Atmosphere of Miracles" which for me was very much the highlight of the entire album. So much color and space, a wide open palette that is not rushed--quite gentle in mood but profound in impact! Like several tracks on Realm and much more than in their past, the band used "inspired improvisation" to coax truly special performances. Essentially bringing themselves to heightened spiritual awareness before rolling the tape and seeing where things went. For both the musicians and Joanne's vocals this was so fruitful. During the vocal on this track she let herself go and was said to be in tears at the end of it. (The Phantom Tollbooth has an interview where this process is discussed, if you wish to google it and read more.)

The rich musical treasures continue on disc two's opener "Ruach", a stunning violin/keyboard improvisation of immense beauty. The side builds up to the second long track which is called "White Horse." Bass/drums/guitar just tear it up in this song proving that Iona is capable at any moment to switch from relaxing to rocking. Joanne employed another tactic on Realm that changed her performance. She let go of the worry of performance expectation or of hitting a high note perfectly and instead sang for the Lord alone, if I understand correctly. This meditation if that's the right word, gave her a new freedom and daringness in her vocal that you can hear. By relieving her anxieties about being perfect, by letting go, the result was even more power and creativity. She sounds amazing on this album, they all do.

"Another Realm" is engaging and dynamic despite its beauty, it relaxes but also rocks, it has floating keyboard but also grand guitar solos and animated, energetic drumming, bass, and pipes. Several songs even carry pop sensibilities and catchiness. I'm not sure how prevalent that has been before. So you have a mixture here of Iona folk-symph instrumental jamming, sort of the traditional Iona feel but here infused with a bit more songs-based pop-rocking and earnest lyrics. There is no coasting on the laurels of past successes with this album, they sound like a band putting out a long labored-over debut. For people well into midlife they sound like young hearts again, ripe with enthusiasm. I hope they can continue to chase their muse while staying more toward the progressive rock musically, and not shift too much to safer songs-based territory. I think the mix feels about right here.

Without question this Iona is a different Iona, a refocused band looking for the passion of their early days with an eye on spiritual futures. For that reason some longtime fans feel let down by some of the results of their new mission. For me as a new listener without expectations forged of long associations with their other albums, the embrace of "Another Realm" was an unexpected and immediate pleasure. Quite frankly I was blown away by a band I didn't expect to dig very much. And I got a healthy dose of age-old positive Christian messages to help blunt the daily assault of this [&*!#]ty modern world we are trapped in. That their faith is a bit different than my own was not a problem.

"Realm" seems to be a wide ranging expression of spirituality covering much ground. Life is much more than what we see around us despite the naysayers. It may not be an easy message but it is presented here with such joy that you can't help but be touched by the embrace of Iona.

is Celtic prog Folk (and Christian) artist IONA's breakout album though it is their second release. The distinguished crystalline voice of Joanne Hogg is on full display for all to hear, thanks to the fairly sparse instrument arrangements--especially in prolonged intros and outros. The other half of the band's core, Dave Bainbridge is also present on keys and guitars. This band seems to always be comprised of members who are all virtuosos on their respective instruments and this album is no exception. What changes in the future, however, is that bass/Chapman stick player Nick Beggs (KAJAGOOGOO), percussionist Teri Bryant and reeds player David Fitzgerald move out to make room for future mainstays Phil Barker (bass), Frank Van Essen (drums, percussion, & violins), and Ullilean pipe and whistle virtuoso and future star in his own right, Troy Donockley-- who happens to make his debut as a guest musician here. Though the synth washes are full and rich throughout and the percussion/rhythm team is at full power, The Book of Kells is a much more sparsely instrumented album than Iona's successive releases, but there are always plenty of gorgeous and glorious instrumental sections throughout all Iona albums. Also, as might be surmised from the album's title, which is is taken from the famous illustrated Christian texts of the New Testament that was created around 800 AD and then preserved in Ireland's Abbey of Kells, this is a concept album. What results from this mix of personnel is an album with such seamlessness, such depth and complexity of textures, as to astound even me who had already been a tried and true Iona fan for several years before going back into their early catalogue to discover this one. I didn't think that any Iona album could be better than Open Sky but the amazingly intense whole-goup focus on this concept album may have done it. What's more, this music and presentation is to my ears a prime example of all that is essential and at the core of prog: great story, great instrumental performances, great songwriting drawing from many traditions, great album art, all gelled into a powerful display of great human emotion. "Matthew - The Man" (11:53) (10/10) may be the best prog epic of the year but, heck! The whole album is like one continuous prog epic! Amazing! Beautiful! Another piece of man-made art that makes me proud to be human.

Iona albums offer alternate very strong pieces, full of fervor and passages soothed, comfortable and moving songs with folk arrangements "mainstream", interspersed with floats "new age". A slope that might not be the most popular with fans of hardcore prog. If Open Sky (2000) had two or three more titles like this, too smooth, it is no longer the case here. And if The Circling Hour is in the tradition of its predecessors (no stylistic revolution), it is also much more lively, more raw, more dense, free of any incentive to sleep or sentimentality. it prefers the more ambitious side of the group like the song "Empyrean Dawn," which recalls the most hectic times of the first Waterboys. Even the more accessible songs, those that can sing in the shower, have something to bite them moving away from the simple refrain. Martial battery, like a heart beat and pulse shaking. "Strength" is well in his time, without kowtowing to the supposed credibility infuriating rock. A line of low aerodynamic, which darkens gently, is melodic, took singing without losing its dark resonance , "Wind off the Lake" is a kind of helping hand to the music of U2, a symbol of timeless modernity . With "Sky Maps," as explosive signed Troy Donockley we speak well of bravura set pieces if there were none at all over the record, marching without downtime. It is not bravery, it's temerity. In fact, the most "big" piece is called "Wind, Water and Fire," and listening, a real pandemonium of rhapsodic fantasies comes at your fingertips. I just desire to describe these synth sounds, both short and wide as muffled; describe the contact fingers Dave Bainbridge on guitar strings, neither stroke nor caress, a touch, an outcrop that seems to come from so far away, when he embraces the guitar body; describe the vehemence deployed to love God, so close to universal human thoughts; describe this force and what force! In his own hesitations, repetitions. In this profound and incomprehensible song that raises this desire, this desire to go to God. Uncover the mystery. "Wind, Water and Fire" is the kind of music to cross border some mysterious deep in ourselves to sneak through a door that leads to the most secret chambers of the heart to fill to the brim with her radiant presence. This record makes them happy but not smug, plunges us into our own euphoria. Let's be clear: this is the end of the great musical depression, the death of compulsive shopping too quickly regretted listening to the first CD. As in the music of Iona in the lower notes, the most rhythms in melodies, songs that seem to climb towards freedom, we perceive a given time frame love and the space life. A poignant love as it does not deny the link that weaves the love of God and that God attaches to the point of not talking about nothing else. Musically, The Circling Hour has enough assets to touch you, resonate with you forever, even if you are not particularly sensitive to the mystery of the Holy Spirit. And if there has only two kinds of music, as claimed many musicians, this bright new album is part of the student who unleashed souls and feet when we play and when we listen.

By the summer of 1990 Nick Beggs had joined Iona as a permanent bassist and a few days later Dutch drummer Frank Van Essen took his place behind the drum kit.In early 91' the band started working on two different projects.One of them was dressing with music and lyrics the 8th century illuminated manuscript ''The book of Kells''.With Van Essen based on The Netherlands things did not work the right way and, although he joined the group on several stage performances, a more proper solution had to be found.This was Terl Bryant, who had also played with Iona as a guest musician.By the dawn of 92' the album had been recorded with Troy Donockley on pipes and whistles, Fiona Davidson on celtic harp, Frank Van Essen on percussion and The Peter Whitfield Strings ensemble as guest appearances, and it was eventually released in July 92' on What Records.

Iona had become masters on producing ethereal, Celtic-influenced music with Rock tendencies and ''The book of Kells'' shows a band on the rise, creating monumental, ancient soundscapes, flashed with modern tunes and echoes via the use of electric guitars and the rhythm section.Crossing the territories of MIKE OLDFIELD and KATE BUSH was more than expected, as the music is performed with plenty of cinematic keyboards in the background, series of acoustic parts and an angelic voice like the one of Joanne Hogg, which is pretty similar to the crystalline chords of ENYA with bits of MAGENTA's CHRISTINA BOOTH.The smooth performances on guitar, bass and drums are accompanied by a mass of instruments like sax, bagpipes, whistles, flutes and percussions, the result is an album full of Ethnic images and Folk tastes, executed under a contemporary sound.Extremely atmospheric material, lacking some sort of energy, but containing a great lyricism and some beautiful, dreamy melodies.Moving a bit further, Iona appear to have adapted some influences from the twisting Neo Prog sound of MARILLION circa-''Holidays in Eden'' and later ''Brave'', music with an electroacoustic sound, some poppy sensibilities, clean and expressive voices and use of cinematic synthesizers.Actually if ''Brave'' was a Celtic-influenced album, I could see it sounding a lot like ''The book of Kells''.

Calm, ethereal and gentle Celtic/Folk-based Prog/Art Rock with a fantastic female singer.Great listening late at night, highlighted by the combination of light electric tunes and traditional, mostly acoustic instruments.Recommended.

Completely blown away by this DVD! To date I have not heard any of IONA's albums. This DVD was given to me as a present a while ago, but reading up on the band's Christian, Folk, Celtic leanings, I've put it away, wrapper intact to be perhaps disposed off at some stage.Big mistake!

Well, I am a Christian by nature, but not through religion and Folk is not really my preference, whilst feeling somewhat saturated with Celtic offerings. A recent less than favourable review of one of IONA's albums reminded me of this gift and I gave it a spin, expecting of letting it go afterwards.

Somewhat of a veteran of the Prog scene, I am now rather hard to please with new offerings these days. This performance has become a rare exception. It only took the first few notes for me to realize that I was in for an experience. A powerful opening reminiscent of better moments of Genesis is followed by a mix of pastoral approaches speckled with breathtaking shredding in a truly complimentary way. Just how do you mix Fire and Water? These people can do it.

Exceptional talent is on display here and the skillful blending of traditional instruments with powerful Prog deserves accolades, nothing like cliched, folksy, annoying stuff. And the best part is that it's all performed live.

There are some moments of a bit of lull here and there, but the overall performance deserves the highest rating. Recommended!

A Bearded View On Progressive Rock #2

Iona are a Christian folk rock band, I get that, but it should be possible for them to talk about their music, as well as their beliefs, shouldn't it?

OK, for the members of this band their music and faith might be so closely connected they consider the music they make an extention of their personal beliefs, but I don't think I'm asking for too much here, am I?

My expectations going into this may not have been the best, I see that now. Prior to picking up this DVD in a used CD/DVD shop in downtown Oslo some 7-8 months ago, and seeing it for the first time, I had very little experience with the music of this band. And 7-8 months later I still have very little experience with their music. Other than the tracks on this DVD, I've heard a couple of tunes from their "The Book of Kells" album, but that's it.

I thought, however, that this DVD would be a good starting point for further exploration of the band's music, and a nice way to get some background information on them at the same time. How wrong was I? Well, I got some background information, but I already knew they were a Christian band. What about the music itself? What were their thoughts about that? Apart from a little about the story behind their song "Flight of the Wild Goose", and that they want their listeners to become curious about Christianity when hearing their music, there's no answers to those questions to be found here, sadly.

On the back of this DVD it says, "Filmed in 1990..., this unique documentary shows the band in its very earliest days, soon after the release of their first self-tiled album, in conversation and rehearsing ideas for their follow up album 'The Book of Kells'." This DVD does indeed show the band in its earliest days, and there's a good amount of conversation on it, but not much about the music. Mostly, or should I say, almost exclusively, the conversation concentrates around the individual band members' personal faith.

Although I'm not religious, I see myself as a pretty open minded guy (not necessarily opposites, I know, he-he). However, the amount of conversation about each band member's personal beliefs displayed in this short (30 min.) documentary leads me to question the band's motives for making, not only this documentary, but also music in the first place. Is it simply to convert people to Christianity? OK, a bit harsh perhaps. As I've said, I'm not very familiar with this band, so I may have got the wrong impression, but when hearing what they have to say in these interviews it sounds to me that the members of Iona are Christians first, musicians second.

Between the conversations with religious topic there are, however, some interesting features, though they're few and far between. The film starts by showing the band out walking on windy Iona, the small island in the Inner Hebrides from which the band has taken its name, with the band's music playing in the background.

The island's raw, untouched nature of fields and rocks, and captivating surroundings of sky and a seemingly endless ocean, could've set the tone for an interesting half an hour of nature footage and music in perfect harmony. Due to the footage's poor 80's quality however, and that someone thought it was a good idea to edit the sky and ocean's appearance, changing their colours from their natural blue and white to a purplish/pinkish red, and thereby creating a cheap and out of place psychedelic effect, it fails to do so.

From there we go to the band in concert at an unspecified location (again with poor 80's quality footage), and then back to the island for some more walking on Iona's rocky shores and subsequent interview with the band's singer and keyboardist, Joanne Hogg. She talks a little about a certain St. Columba, of how he came from Ireland to Iona, how he founded a monestary there, and how his story was an inspiration for her as a Christian. Later on, saxophonist/flutist David Fitzgerald elaborates on the story of Columba and his arrival at Iona. These are the highlights of the interviews as far as I'm concerned.

The rest of the interviews I feel you have to be a Christian to enjoy. It's all talk of personal beliefs, at almost annoying length, and next to nothing about the band's music or history. The drummer, Van Essen, in a short clip from a band rehearsal, talking about how he joined the band, and a little about how they work on new music together, is the sole exception.

Throughout the documentary we go back and forth between interviews on the island of Iona and seeing/hearing the band in concert, and sometimes the two segments are mixed together. This gives the documentary a good flow, which is one of its few redeeming qualities.

The songs/pieces on this DVD are all taken from Iona's self-titled debut album. The music overall is nice enough, but there isn't very much Celtic folk to be heard here, and certainly not progressive folk. Iona may have developed a more Celtic folk feel to their music later on in their career, but here they sound more like a new agey happy-Christian band, like a cross between Enya (in her solo world music years) and The Kelly Family, than a Celtic folk band. Fitzgerald's sax, often resembling the sound of the sax in Dire Straits' "Your Latest Trick", is very much in focus, and you could almost say it goes perfectly hand in hand with the 80's quality of the video footage.

Watching this film hasn't put me off wanting to investigate Iona's music further, 'cause I think the few tracks I've heard off the "The Book of Kells" album showed the band could do much better than what's on offer here. That said, I'm not in any great haste to continue the exploration.

I do not recommend this DVD as a starting point for exploring Iona's music, but I'm pretty sure fans will find it interesting. It wouldn't hurt being a Christian when trying get something of value out of watching this DVD though, 'cause it's as much a film where the main objective seems to be promoting Christianity as it is a music documentary.

2 stars.

Ethereal. Breath-taking. Soaring. These are three words that help describe Iona's "The Book of Kells". This prog folk band outdid themselves with this stunning tribute to Celtic history and the Bible.

This album contains a variety of songs that range from instrumental movements to folksy ballads that feature incredible female vox. The range of variety here is really great, and you never will feel bored as you join this spiritual journey.

I have to admit my interest was perked for this album because of my love for "The Secret of Kells", the best animated movie I've ever seen. This album digs into some of the same musically territory as we experience a true sense of spirituality through the emotive vocals and the wildly appropriate instrumentals for each of the Gospel authors. "Mark (the Lion)", for instance, is very regal and stout---rightfully so. This band knows how to compose for certain themes, and I immensely enjoyed this album.

This is the latest album from Iona, coming out in 2011 and comes in a wonderful double CD digipak. Like their music, the artwork is immediately evocative and takes the observer to a different time and place. For those who are unaware, the band name is taken from a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. Although I have never visited the island itself, it is an area that I know fairly well as my grandfather was District Officer Coastguard for the Western Isles, and my father was brought up in (and has now retired to) a tiny village next to the Mull of Kintyre, called Southend. St Columba (one of the twelve apostles of Ireland) first landed at Southend (where his footsteps can still be seen) before moving to Iona and whenever I listen to their music I find myself transported to a land where the weather and scenery are rugged, the people incredibly friendly, and while life is hard there is a real feeling of mysticism and a closeness to religion. This is also very true of the very Christian nature of the band's songs, yet even if you view yourself as a non-believer this is never in your face enough to cause offence.

Thanks to their musical style, combined with Joanne Hogg's vocals, these guys will always find themselves compared to Enya and Kate Bush but in many ways that is unfair as they don't really sound like the latter and there is way more complexity and layers than the former. The current line-up is Joanne Hogg (vocals, vocal loops, piano, keyboard, beer shaker), Dave Bainbridge (electric & acoustic guitars, bouzouki, piano, keyboards, autoharp, beer shakers), Frank van Essen (drums, percussion, violins, violas, electric violin, vocal, glockenspiel, keyboard), Phil Barker (bass guitar, electric upright bass) and Martin Nolan (uilleann pipes, low whistles, tin whistles, vocals). Together they produce music that is timeless, folk and prog coming together to wrap around the listener and create a world that in many ways is far away from the present day.

If ever there was music that should only be played on headphones this is it, as to get the full benefit one needs to play this without distraction, preferably at night with a glass of Springbank Malt in hand, just sitting looking at the stars and drift away into their world.