Cé muid féin? Huar we?
Huartan are a Belfast based, high energy, Tradtronica group who sing in the Irish language. The band consists of three skilful trad musicians/singers, Stíofán Loughran, Catriona Gribben and Miadhachlughain (Múlú) O’Donnell. Our goal is to take ancient and endangered Irish traditional songs and put them in the context of electronic dance music to share them with a modern audience. Huartan is a word from the Ogham language meaning ‘the magical tool of the Hawthorn tree’ which embodies ‘horror and harmony’. Our aesthetic is haunting and otherworldly, we perform with pagan style masks, such as a rams skull, to remain mysterious and connect with nature and with our dancers dressed as síogaí (fairies / shapeshifters). The front women singers represent “the light and the dark” and the tense relationship between these energies that dwell inside us all.
Huartan aspires to connect people across different cultures by reaching beyond manufactured divisions and connecting at a base level through shared history, music and dance.
“When you hear Huartan, you start to wonder why people haven’t been putting traditional music and electronica together more: there’s an element of trance about both when done right.” – Eleanor Gilmore, dig with it magazine
Venue information:
