This is a reissue of the seminal 1983 ambient album "Boglands", created by the composer Tony Quinn, who was an integral part of the Kilkenny Electroacoustic Research Laboratory throughout its later period.
Miúin are delighted to finally reissue this album in its entirety. Remastered from the archived original tapes and approved of by the composer himself.
At long last we can listen to this music in the way that it was always meant to be heard - with the bass frequencies significantly boosted, a wider stereo image on higher frequencies, and on either ahigh fidelity compact disc, or as a downloaded mp3 or just streaming it off your phone, who even cares anymore.
CD liner notes:
"Tony Quinn joined the Kilkenny Electroacoustic Research Laboratory in the early seventies as a studio engineer and later became the operational manager of the organisation. While not regarded as a ‘serious’ electronic composer by other key members of K.E.R.L, Quinn saw potential in using the lab’s facilities to make work for more commercial ventures, in the hope of creating more sustainable revenue streams for both him and the studio itself.
His first foray into this more commercial usage of the studio was a short-lived collaboration with the Irish supermarket chain L&N. We have included a track from this collaboration on the previous volume (Vol. 2 – Raidió na hEorpa) of Kilkenny Electroacoustic Research Laboratory Anthology, which was released on Miúin in October 2023 and is available in all good, reputable and respected record stores. Much of the material from this early collaboration was repurposed into what became Boglands.
During the early 80’s Quinn was introduced to Eastern Philosophy and several new forms of spirituality which were spreading throughout Ireland, by fellow K.E.R.L. composer Kenny Phelan. With a newfound appreciation for the benefits of guided meditation and a recognition of a growing market for such ideas, Quinn would use the laboratory during off-hours to make the musical work which would become Boglands.
This album became the only profitable music made in the Kilkenny Electroacoustic Research Laboratory throughout its 24-year existence. Quinn saw the music as a way to “bridge a gap between a traditionally Irish communal connection to nature and the rise of a sort of middle-class consumerism”, but primarily he saw it as a way of making money from exploiting a growing Irish subculture.
Ironically, years later Tony would lose a significant amount of money after two of his grandchildren became involved in a self-improvement centred new religious movement, which arrived in Kilkenny from New Zealand soon after the COVID-19 pandemic ended. The organisation would attempt to isolate members from their families by encouraging new members to request large loans from their loved ones, which would inevitably lead to conflict and further isolation of the member from any outside support network. Sadly, none of the money earned from this reissue of Boglands will go to Mr. Quinn, as we here at Miúin were pretty savvy when purchasing the back catalogue and intellectual rights of the Kilkenny Electroacoustic Research Laboratory, though we do wish him and his family all the best for the future. Thanks Tony!
We at Miúín are delighted to have finally reissued this album in its entirety. We have painstakingly remastered the entire work from the archived original tapes and this remaster is broadly approved of by the composer himself.
At long last we can all listen to this seminal Irish music in the way that it was always meant to be heard - on high fidelity compact disc, or as downloaded mp3s or by just streaming it off your phone, because who even cares anymore.
Lead experience curator for Miúin,
Neil P. Quigley"
--- Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental. ---
Remastered by Neil P. Quigley and Nixie Audio Mastering Ltd.
Cover image by Kenny Phelan.
Cover Design by K. Phelan and T. Quinn.
Reissue Design by Neil P. Quigley.
Miúin 010
