“Beside Trawbreaga Bay, in Co. Donegal, on the north coast of Ireland, in an old schoolhouse, with a suitcase full of hired recording gear, Oisin Leech strums gently on an acoustic guitar and watches the tide pull the water away from this ancient inlet. Oisin’s voice soothes the old world room as the sound waves bounce around in the land where his ancestors still live and still wander.” This is a scene from the makings of Oisin Leech’s first solo album ‘Cold Sea’ released March 2024 via Outside Music and Tremone Records produced and recorded by Steve Gunn. After a musical history that led Leech from the street punk bands of yesteryear through an ongoing seven-album stint with folk duo The Lost Brothers, he found himself for the first time working on songs to sing alone. The thought of performing songs with no accompanying harmony and minimal arrangement led Leech to soul-search for new expressions and ways of playing. Several songs on ‘Cold Sea’ feature contributions on the upright bass by Bob Dylan band stalwart Tony Garnier. M. Ward plays guitar on “October Sun” and there are strings by Roisín McGrory and bouzouki by Irish folk legend Dónal Lunny throughout. With this firm sense of setting, Cold Sea carries a somber and comforting tone that rolls over the listener in healing waves. Both Oisin and Steve Gunn do not hesitate to use the word 'magic' when describing both what happened in Donegal and the music that resulted. There is no other way to put it. (Bio by ZB)