Ballyvaughan Musician Makes Semi Finals Of Sky One Reality Show

Arts and Entertainment - Music

Tuesday, 24 August 2010 10:23

Written by Denise Lyons

Avant garde violinist Daithí O’Dronai from Ballyvaughan has made it through to the live semi-finals of Sky One television’s ‘Must Be The Music’ show.

Hosted by Fearne Cotton, the eight week series on Sky 1 HD  hands back control to the artists themselves, provides creative support, promotional advice and a cash fund of GBP100,000 to kick start their career.

The final will be held live at Wembley Arena, where the finalists will be performing on the same stage as the show's prestigious judges in front of over 10,000 members of the public.

Alongside their tracks being available for download, the acts will also have merchandise available to purchase on their own tailored websites and on Sky.com.

Daithí is one of the most unusual performers in the competition playing his own unique style on the fiddle utilizing a Korg synthesiser, a bow, plectrum and loop pedals to extract previously unheard sounds from his mighty fiddle.

He started his musical career at a young age playing traditional fiddle in Ballyvaughan, actively encouraged by his grandfather Chris Droney, the well known concertina player, and by his fiddle teacher Aine McGrath. His early teenage years were spent playing bass guitar and has played with local band Keepsake and more recently with The Shackletons.

The last year has seen O’Dronai return to playing the fiddle - but now in a unique way, using loops and sound layers to create original pieces of music. His main interest is listening to and playing music and his influences come from a broad range of musical styles.

Sunday 1st of August 2010, Daithí O Dronaí includes two improvisation tracks in his Castle Palooza set, using a Kaoss pad 3 as a loop sampler for a fiddle, while using an alesis drum machine to introduce beats.