For

Describing herself as ‘a harper, composer and sound artist,’ Úna Monaghan holds a degree in astrophysics from Cambridge University and a doctorate from Queen's University in her native Belfast. She explores new technologies and experimental performance practices in contemporary Irish traditional music; blending the ancient harp with cutting-edge technology and ambient recordings; there isn’t anyone else quite like her currently at work in Ireland.

Her debut album For finds her pushing, with considerable elegance, against the boundaries of the harp repertoire. The opening set of jigs, ‘Tubaiste agus Taisceadán’, uses motion sensors and pitch detection to trigger subtle electronic accompaniment, while ‘Réalta’ juggles harp improvisation over electroacoustic textures to atmospheric effect. ‘The Choice’ blends live electronics, by turns agitated and epiphanic, into a hallucinogenic meditation on addiction, with crisp, koto-like chimes rising out of turbulent percussiveness. Composed in memory of singer Éamonn Ó Faogáin, ‘An Dearcadh’ is an epic collage of ambient sounds, featuring children playing, a whistling kettle, fireworks and a passing ship's horns in Belfast Lough, through which the harp weaves its way with charming delicacy. No less evocative is the Morse code, radio transmissions, rumbles of distant storms and birdsong in ‘The Bodélé Project’, in which the harp is conspicuously absent. A beautifully crafted, intelligently assembled and altogether rewarding album.