
Produced by John Reynolds, Lumiere’s latest album My Dearest Dear is a unique musical journey into a world of pure beauty.
Emerging from a rich traditional vein of singers from Ireland’s County Kerry, Lumiere is something wholly rare and reaffirming in these often troubled times. Theirs is a musical beacon of hope, a shot across the bows of mistrust and misguidance, a pairing of authentic voices in an age of inauthenticity.
The singers, Pauline Scanlon and Éilís Scanlon, delight in the intimate act of singing. Their songbook draws from a well of spirituality, looking to past generations for present guidance, and resurrecting a deeper understanding and experience of life. Gatherings and friendships, saying goodbye and letting go, worlds colliding and seasons turning, lovers meeting and parting and meeting again – all the heights and depths of human experience are celebrated in this uplifting new album.
‘We’re singing songs that our families have passed on to us, that we ourselves have picked up along the way,’ says Pauline. ‘The only other pre-requisite is that the songs speak to us emotionally.’
‘Where we come from, traditional music is vibrant. There’s a wealth of songs we are constantly discovering,’ adds Éilís.
In the current global economy, songs of excess and materialism ring hollow. Lumiere offers something more holistic and true: real music by real singers communicating real emotions. Lumiere takes something that is sacred and age-old and re-imagines it simply and beautifully, reclaiming beauty, truth and trust for the modern age.