Irish singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Dani Larkin presents her new double A-side, adding to her exploration of the diverse terrain of modern folk. On this record, she presents her take on the traditional Irish ballad “She Moved Through The Fair” and her original song “Morning.” Larkin’s rendition of “She Moved Through The Fair” is nothing short of a masterwork of silence and touching expressiveness.
Her voice hovers in the studio, intimate yet intense, deeply down-to-earth and otherworldly at once. The melody, which will sound familiar to many fans of Irish folk heritage, gets a refreshing turn in her delicate arrangement, with atmospheric production underscored by fragile acoustic timbres. What makes her performance so special is the intensity of her subdued narration, in other words, she doesn’t interpret traditional songs, instead, she continues to tell the story. Her gentle, loving tone makes the listener feel assured that she is a stakeholder in a fragile secret of tradition. It is this balance of tenderness and honesty that connects Dani’s work to the past and the present.
In “She Moved Through The Fair,” she continuously refers to the roots of Irish folk music without seeming too bored or eager. Dani Larkin’s excellent edition is a reminder to her fans that she is one of the most believable and sage voices in the world of modern folk, putting the new and the traditional into a neat, aching box.