BY SEÁN P. FEENY
Singing sensation Hayley Griffiths has just released Celtic Rose that features a cover Enya’s Academy Award-nominated song May It Be.
“I decided it would be fitting to include an Enya track on my new album, as she was such a huge influence whilst co-writing my debut album Silver Screen.
“For its dramatic soundtrack quality, we encompassed elements of Classical and Celtic Music and laced it with more heavy percussion, synth sounds, dramatic melodic progressions and R&B style vocal harmonies and layering.
“Enya’s cinematic style and soaring vocal lines were a massive influence on the album, which I’m very proud to say went on to win Classical Crossover Album of the Year 2010.
“May it Be seemed the perfect choice for the new album, straight from Lord of the Rings it seemed to nicely follow through with the cinematic theme of Silver Screen.It’s a very strong, yet still emotive piece, which I’m delighted to have included,” said Hayley.
Celtic Rose is the London beauty’s thank you to all her fans who have seen her perform in Riverdance, hand-picked by Michael Flatley himself to play Erin The Goddess in Lord Of The Dance, Feet Of Flames all over the world over the past seven years.
It features a winning combination of traditional and contemporary Irish songs such as My Lagan Love, Carrickfergus, You Raise Me Up and the wonderful I Know My Love.
What will make this album stand out will not just be Hayley’s beautiful voice, but also the fantastic musicians featured including Conal Early (Producer), Garry Ó Meara, Connor Smith, Brian Garvin and Seána Davey.
Performing on so many big shows Hayley has made many close friends from Donegal, including the Gallaghers, the well-known Irish dancing family from Carrick and it also lead her to being invited to join another renowned show by a Donegal man.
Last September Hayley joined the famous live Irish Music and Dance Show Ragús, produced by FOM Productions and managed by Meenacross man Ronan Brennan.
She said: “Ronan asked me to join the cast of Ragús in September last year and I went on to tour Holland, Belgium and China with them before our current summer residency at The Burlington Hotel this summer and I’ve been having a great time with the show.
“In November we are touring in Japan, which I absolutely cannot wait for! I last toured Japan in 2008 with Riverdance and just loved the place, the food and the culture.”