Mark Kelly’s earliest musical inspiration were rock and jazz. Born and raised in Dublin, his mother was a jazz singer. All members of the band listen widely to other musics, in Mark’s case, Steely Dan, rhythm and blues and country in particular, but Mark brings more of those subtle and sometimes adventurous influences from other traditions to his actual work on guitar arrangements for Altan.
It was the O’Brien family of Coolock whom Mark met on holidays in 1975 in the Connemara Gaeltacht of Tir an Fhia who first sparked Mark’s interest in Irish traditional music, from which he was led to the challenges of bringing what he already knew to creating new arrangements for the old music.
Discography
* Horse with a Heart (Green Linnet 1095, 1992)
* The Red Crow (Green Linnet 1109, 1992)
* Harvest Storm (Green Linnet 1117, 1992)
* Island Angel (Green Linnet 1137, 1993)
* The First Ten Years, 1986-1895 (Green Linnet 1153, 1995)
* Blackwater (Virgin 41381, 1996)
* The Best of Altan (Green Linnet 1177, 1997)
* Another Sky (Narada 48838, 2000)
* The Blue Idol (Narada 11955, 2002)
* The Best of Altan – The Songs (Virgin, 2003)
* Local Ground (Narada, 2005)
* Altan: 25th Anniversary Celebration (Compass Records, 2010)
* Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen (Compass Records, 2012)
* The Widening Gyre (Compass Records, 2015)
* The Gap of Dreams (Compass Records, 2018)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
