What the critics say... "..the manifold beauties of Wilkinson's second solo outing insinuate themselves into the subconscious....Longevity guaranteed." Siobhan Long - Irish Times 24/10/2001. "Moody air-based flute selections that push from squeak to rich classic tones. This engaging album challenges genre - it is simply about flute." Fintan Vallely - Sunday tribune - 09/09/2001. "..lonesome yew flutes floats over the drones of the shruti box...Desi Wilkinson has produced a thoughtful, almost spiritual collection of tunes in Shady Woods." Pat Ahern- Irish Examiner - 04/10/2001. " The selection of tunes and their arrangements..make Shady Woods an atypical Irish flute album....thanks to Wilkinson's mastery of his instrument and the cosmopolitan strengths of his material." Geoff Wallis,-Folkroots- December 2001 " Shady Woods contains music for the mind and heart, and is simply unmissable.." John O Regan,-Irish Music Magazine- January 2001 " Un album dépouillé oú la flûte tient le rôle principal et pratiquement unique…..Un travail de spécialiste pour le plaisir de tous.." christophe ganne,- Le Trégor no 943 Janvier 2001 Who is Desi Wilkinson..... Well, he's mostly an Irish Traditional musician even though he doesn't come from Co. Clare or even the west of Ireland. He comes from a northern, non-rural, and sometimes-harsh place called Belfast; that does not stop him loving the splendour of nature and mysterious wind-swept things however. "Desi Wilkinson is one of our finest musicians, his playing of dance music has a rhythmic, emphatic style based on the Sligo-Leitrim tradition. He is an articulate and humorous presenter of the music...deeply committed to exploring genres and traditions beyond Ireland. If traditional music is about searching, absorption, retention and change, so is Desi." (Ciaran Carson, poet and writer) Selected Recordings Title Company and year Cosa gan bhroga Gael Linn (LP/cassette 1986) The Three Piece Flute Spring (CD/ cassette 1987) The Crooked Stairs/Cran CBM ( CD/ cassette 1992) Hent St Jakez Shamrock records ( CD 1993) Night Owl(Dolores Keane) FXCD187 (CD1997) Black, Black, Black/Cran Claddagh records (CD 1998) Lover's Ghost/Cran Black Rose records (CD 2000) Shady woods Deas records (CD 2001) Sounds from the North Liekedeler (CD 2001) Music from the edge of the world/Cran Black Rose records (CD 2002) Selected Publications Title Publishers 'Celticisms' in Studies in European ethnomusicology 2003, M. Stokes Ed Scarecrow press London Breton Dance Genres in Companion to Traditional Music 1999 F.Vallely Ed,. UCC press The flute in Sligo/Leitrim in Companion to Traditional Music 1999 F.Vallely Ed, UCC press Various titles 2003 Encyclopaedia of Ireland, Gill and Macmillan Euro-Paddies 2002 Journal of Music in Ireland In Memoire oralite , culture 2003 (PUR) Presses Universitaire de Rennes Presses, 2008 France