"Only once have I shared a stage with Brian Hughes, but it's not a night that I'll forget." John MacKenna, Irish playwright & poet. "For whistle players and lovers of bare-boned tunes alike, this collection mines a rich seam, well worth exploring." Siobhán Long, review in The Irish Times. The Beat of the Breath (CICD192) is Brian Hughes’s second album on the Cló Iar-Chonnacht label. The first, Whirlwind (CICD164), was released in 2006 to widespread critical acclaim and built on the early reputation that he garnered with his first album, Whistle Stop (CEFCD178), released on the Gael Linn label. As on Whirlwind, Brian Hughes is joined again by guest musicians, Donnchadh Gough and Garry Ó Briain. New collaborators, the guest musicians, Seán McElwain and David Day, join Brian on this latest album. The Beat of the Breath (an excerpt from the poem that inspired the title of this album, by John MacKenna) ... 'Táimse im' Chodladh,' 'The Primrose Lass,' 'The Dirty Trettles' and 'The Pleasures of Hope' - Names skip like dancing shoes Lazarus tunes that bring the dead to life for one more round of the kitchen floor ... A little bit about Brian Hughes Brian Hughes is originally from Athy in Co. Kildare, Ireland, and he still lives in the town with his wife Ber and his two kids Gráinne and Pádraig. Brian, who also plays flute and uilleann pipes, has had many varied influences through the years from groups and solo musicians alike. Brian’s earliest introduction to music was through his grandfather Christy Bracken, a noted bagpiper. Over the years to come Christy was a constant source of encouragment, and a major influence on Brian’s music. Brian has always had a keen interest in the uilleann pipes and in his youth was a regular visitor to the Pipers’ Club in Henrietta Street, Dublin, Ireland and the Willie Clancy Summer School in Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare. He has a particular passion for the flowing legato style of piping often known as the ‘travelling’ or ‘open’ style of piping. The music of Johnny Doran and Paddy Keenan in particular always impressed him, and he was also influenced by the tin whistle playing of Mary Bergin and Denis O’Brien. Brian has always been an avid collector of tunes, old and new, many of which are included on this album. His repertoire is wide and varied with tunes from many different regions sitting comfortably alongside a number of recent compositions.