A shared pulse: Minnesota musicians unite West African and Irish traditions
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In a St. Paul rehearsal space — far from Conakry or County Clare — a Minnesota band is weaving djembe rhythms and Celtic melodies into a shared sound, now captured on its first release, “Badenya.”
The group’s name, Canadh Croí, is pronounced the same as Conakry, the capital of Guinea, while in Irish it translates to “singing of the heart.” The coincidence reflects the band’s cross-continental blend, linking West African rhythm with Celtic melody in both sound and name.
“I was at a West African music and dance performance several years ago,” said Sean Egan, the band’s founder. “Just listening to the rhythms, it struck me that those rhythms would be very compatible with the rhythms of Irish dance music.”
The music of Canadh Croí features drums from West Africa, including the dunun and djembe, which provide a grounded rhythmic base, while Irish flute and fiddle trace bright melodic patterns across it. Egan’s clarinet and bass clarinet supply a lower tonal layer, expanding the sound beyond the conventions of either West African or Irish music.
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“It's not dissimilar from, say, a bagpipe or an accordion in kind of a reedy sound,” Egan said. “The bass clarinet is like an octave lower. It's much different. There's no other instruments in the tradition that really are playing down low like that.”
To perform with him, Egan pulled together a group of musicians familiar with West African and Celtic music. The band received partial funding from state and arts organizations.
Onstage, the blend of clarinet, West African percussion and Celtic melody comes together through careful coordination. Beneath the surface, the musicians are working across different rhythmic systems.
“The way they count, and the way we count, sometimes it's different,” said drummer Fodé Bangoura, explaining how he watches Egan’s feet for cues and gives big hand movements to lead in the other musicians.
Because the members balance other musical work, Canadh Croí gathers only occasionally. The new album “Badenya” offers a way to hear the group outside those rare performances.
“The name of the album is Badanya … and that is a term from West Africa that refers to community, solidarity and harmony,” Egan explained.
“Badenya” is available on music streaming platforms now.
