About
'Sean agus Nua' was conceived as a localised project focusing on multiculturalism in early 2004. Its primary aims were to create a lasting documentation of Galway at a hugely important period in its history, on entering and adapting to its new cosmopolitan era. The project also actively involved itself in promoting the celebration of both individual ethnic cultures and interculturalism at every given opportunity. To date, a series of more than one hundred interviews of individuals of diverse backgrounds and circumstances who have established home in the area in recent years has been compiled. Interviees, who hail from in excess of sixty countries scattered throughout most regions of the world, speak on such matters as; aspects of their cultures, their individual reasons for coming to Galway, hopes and expectations they held on arrival, and how their lives have subsequently developed in the area. Some interviews with members of the local population are also featured.
"this is a more compelling mix of music from many nations than that bloody Eurovision
Hot Press, 16th of June, 2007
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The seeds of this CD, "Sean Agus Nua: Éagsúlacht!", were sown when the Sean Agus Nua Project interviewed Shay Leon of Israel, who happened to run a recording studio in the area. Shay's Studio subsequently donated several months of free studio time to bring this celebration of multiculturalism to fruition. The CD attempts to showcase the quality and diversity of World Music that is now available in the Galway area. As the various elements of Galway's new society intermingle, the region finds itself on the verge of a new era that crosses several cultural boundaries. Nowdays, on a typical night out to the pubs and clubs of Galway one is as likely to encounter African, South American or Continental European live music as a traditional Irish music session. Included on this unique CD are more than sixty Galway-based musicians from in excess of twenty countries spread across four continents performing both traditional arrangements and original interpretations of their regions' music and songs. The positive energy field that was created on bringing such diverse musicianship and cultures together on the making of this CD was absolutely awe-inspiring.
In addition to serving as a unique and lasting detailed snapshoot into Galway's almost overnight transition from mainly homogenous society into the broad multicultural environment it has become in recent years, information accrued from the "Sean Agus Nua" project is also being made available to any organisation or body that can use it for the common good of the overall community. (Brian McNamara, June 2007)
(Diversity!)