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Michael O'Shea
One day in London town Gilbert and Lewis of Wire followed their ears tothe source of an incredible noise like none they'd ever heard before.The buzz in their ears led them to a busker wearing high heels,stockings, white skirt, blazer and turban.The late Michael O'Shea was a free spirited instrument inventor andmusician who eschewed the trappings of fame and fortune to live hislife day by day as he pleased. He found an old wooden box and made ithis friend... With a few hammerings Mo Cara (Gaelic: My Friend) wasborn, a new instrument based on a hybrid of hammered dulcimer, sitarand an Algerian instrument he'd played on his travels, the Zelochord.Mo Cara had seventeen main strings underpinned by six more stringswhich gave it a profound resonance. Michael's playing was as muchinfluenced by his interest in tabla rhythms and time spent learning thesitar whilst recovering from illness as his early infatuation withIrish folk stalwarts the Chieftans. His compositions are transcendentand evocative of magic and mystery. Gilbert and Lewis recorded thealbum on a day when Michael's horoscope was propitious and everyone inthe studio was moved to tears by the album opener 'No Journey's End'.This became the second non-Dome release on the Dome label, and now withsix additional tracks is the twelfth and (almost) final WMO release andis a wonderful ending for the Wire related reissue / rarity label.
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