About
The Short Version:
Beltaine’s Fire is a five-piece Celtic Hip Hop Fusion project based in the San Francisco Bay area. The music blends melodies inspired by the music of the Irish and Scottish diasporas with funk, rock, and hip hop elements to create a totally unique sound.
The Long version:
There is a space where the protest ballads of the Irish and Scottish Rebel Bards and the directness and passion of conscious hip-hop music intersect. Beltaine’s Fire occupies that space.
American roots music was born out of fusion between african and celtic musical traditions, and that fusion is at the root of all american music - from bluegrass to the blues, jazz, rock, and hip hop. Beltaine’s Fire taps into that same fusion in a totally new way with a sound that is both deeply rooted in tradition and history and completely original.
Lineup:
- Lynx started rapping on the playground when he was 12 years old and has been writing and performing poetry and hip hop ever since. He has released 5 independent solo albums since 2001 and he’s rocked clubs, bars, raves, and riots all over the USA, Ireland, and the UK. He provides rap vocals and production. His website is emceelynx.com.
- John worships irony - especially understatement. He fixes plugs and cables for the band, and also plays clawhammer banjo.
- Kater (K8R) plays Cello and Mandolin. He is one of a small number of cellists who are working to free the cello from its traditionally orchestral ties - playing everything from bluegrass and roots music to traditional tunes to jazz.
- Laura rocks funky melodic basslines with lots of jazz chords and backup vocals. She released her first album, Less the Relevance on March 1 2008 and it is currently available, along with her paintings and animation, on her website - dazedangel.com
- Todd, aka Cozy T, got his start as a drummer playing marching songs and traditional Irish music for civil war reenactments on the east coast as a kid. Since then he’s played with several bands and projects including GroundSick Productions, an ongoing project that ‘presented world music and funk through electronic music and turntablism, enhanced by live drums.’ His approach is heavy on hip-hop, funk, and jazz but his influences are wide ranged.
History of the Band:
Beltaine’s Fire began as a five-piece celtic rock / hip hop fusion band in September of 2005 but quickly reformed as a progressive hip hop trio featuring Emcee Lynx on vocals, Laura on bass, and Chris on drums. We spent the first year and a half writing songs and just doing the occasional show, but mostly just playing for fun.
That began to change in November of 2006 when we recorded our first demo, with some help from Michael Mullen of Tempest and Greenbridge on the fiddle and John Dougal on the Banjo. In January of 2007, John officially joined the band and Beltaine’s Fire once again became a Celtic Hip Hop fusion project. In July of ‘07 we made our first all-out assault on the local music scene, playing 19 shows in 9 cities in the next five months, including a live performance on KKUP 91.5 FM.
In October of 2007 Chris left to pursue other interests, Todd took over on Drums, and Kater joined on the Cello and Mandolin. Our first album, The Weapon of the Future, was released Dec. 10, 2007.
About the Name:
The name ‘Beltaine’s Fire’ is a reference to Beltaine, the Gaelic festival which marks the beginning of Summer and is a sacred time of rebirth and renewal. The festival is traditionally associated with the cleansing power of fire and flame, creation out of destruction.
Under English colonial rule celebrations of Beltaine were heavily repressed for centuries - but never successfully eliminated - by Christians hell-bent on eradicating the old pagan traditions. Beltaine can also be spelled Beltane, Baeltain, Beáltaine, or Bealtuinn. It’s a Gaelic word, not English, and there is no one “correct” English spelling.
Starting in the 1890’s, Beltaine was reborn as Mayday, aka International Workers Day. Mayday began during the worldwide campaign to stop the executions of the Haymarket Martyrs - Anarchist labor organizers who were framed and murdered by the state of Illinois for their involvement in the fight for the 8 hour day. Since then it has become a celebration of defiance by working class people all over the world against Capitalism and Authoritarianism; despite attempts by Marxists to appropriate it and turn it into a celebration of the authoritarianism that the Haymarket Martyr’s died to oppose.