Andrew Finn Magill's new album "Courting The Sun"

Last week, violinist and composer Andrew Finn Magill released his new album Courting The Sun, a set of original tunes written at different times in his life. The music is based on Irish traditional style, but also includes other sounds that influenced Finn along the way, like Breton music and some playful fiddle lines.

The album features just fiddle and guitar, which gives it a clean and open feel. It immediately reminded me of the music of Liz Carroll and John Doyle — two musicians Finn looked up to when he was younger, and eventually got to play and record with. One track, The Littlest Doyle, was written for John and his daughter, and also appears on Finn’s 2005 album Drive & Lift.

Though Finn is from North Carolina, he lived in Brazil for a few years. That’s where we met — about ten years ago in São Paulo, through the Irish music scene. We played a few tunes together at sessions and concerts. I remember it took me a moment to realize he wasn’t Brazilian — his Portuguese was spot-on. And that same attention carried over into his music. Finn knows Irish music well, but he also plays Bluegrass, Jazz, and Choro comfortably — and all of that comes through in this album. Many of the tracks are inspired by people or moments in his life, and the tunes feel like reflections of those memories.

One tune I have to mention is Tunes for Gus, which Finn wrote almost as a gift to my old band, Oran. Our percussionist, Gustavo Lobão, was preparing for his final recital at music school and asked Finn to send over a set for us to play. Finn responded with three tunes — Danny, Mila, and Gus — each one carrying a bit of our personalities.

The album is available on Bandcamp, where Finn also shares background notes on each track. I’d say make yourself a coffee, put on your headphones, and give Courting The Sun a listen.