In an interview in The Wire 459, Dublin born Glasgow based violist Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh discusses her focus on the textural and tonal qualities of her instrument's sound. “I’m really interested in overtones,” says the composer and improvisor, speaking to Clive Bell, “and you get more out if you distort. Those gut strings have a lot more natural overtones – with certain techniques they come up clearer with more gain or amplification.”

As well as experimenting as a solo artist, Nic Oireachtaigh also performs with bands Cian Nugent & The Cosmos and Woven Skull, has toured with Josephine Foster and Circuit Des Yeux, and has performed the works of Cornelius Cardew with percussionist David Lacey and harpist Rhodri Davies.

Here, Nic Oireachtaigh shares a new track titled “Waunceiliogau”, soon to be released by Rhodri Davies on his own label Amgen. The track will feature on a new compilation, for which Davies invited 18 musicians to respond to one track each from his 2020 album Telyn Rawn, and to reinterpret the music by imagining missing links. “It's a kind of ‘speculative fiction’ approach to framing creative responses to source materials,” he says.

Read more about Nic Oireachtaigh's music and future projects in The Wire 459. Wire subscribers can also access the article via the digital magazine archive.