Open Ears

Open Ears Podcast – Season 4, Episode 2In each episode of Open Ears, podcast host and producer Alain McFadden invites a guest to listen to a recording from Crash Ensemble’s catalogue. Together, they share first impressions, personal reflections, and explore the ideas, emotions, and stories the music inspires.For the second episode of Season 4, Alain is joined by acclaimed musician and composer Peter Broderick. Together, they listen to ‘Invitation to a Journey’ by Deirdre Gribbin. The piece was a co-production by Crash Ensemble, CoisCéim Dance Company, and Fishamble: The New Play Company, for their theatre piece of the same name, which showcased the life and work of Eileen Gray. Gray is one of Ireland's most important artists as an architect and furniture designer and a pioneer of the Modern Movement in architecture. The piece was performed at the Galway International Arts Festival and released August 11, 2021.Deirdre is an award-winning composer who was born in Belfast. She is a graduate of Queen’s University, Belfast and Guildhall School of Music, London. She received her doctorate from the University of London. She subsequently was a Visiting Arts Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge and in 2013 was awarded a Sir Winston Churchill Fellowship for research on arts and disability programmes in the USA and Canada. She is a Fulbright Fellow and studied at Princeton University (USA).Deirdre has always been interested in the juxtaposition of drama and concert music. Find out more about:Peter Broderick ~ www.peterbroderick.net Deirdre Gribbin ~ www.deirdregribbin.com Crash Ensemble ~ https://www.crashensemble.com/aboutPresented by: Alain McFaddenMusic featured: Invitation to a Journey (2021), by Deirdre Gribbin, performed by Crash EnsembleHost: Alain McFaddenGuest: Peter Broderick

In each episode of Open Ears, podcast host and producer Alain McFadden invites a guest to listen to a recording from Crash Ensemble’s catalogue. Together, they share first impressions, personal reflections, and explore the ideas, emotions, and stories the music inspires.For the first episode of Season 4, Alain is joined by acclaimed musician and songwriter Sam Amidon. Together, they listen to Drones, Variations, Ornaments by Nico Muhly, taken from Crash Ensemble’s album Ghosts (2017), released on Bedroom Community.Drones, Variations, Ornaments unfolds gradually, accumulating restless energy until it sails along on the kinetic rhythms of American postminimalism. A striking coda reveals the chamber orchestra lurking beneath the brash new music ensemble.Nico Muhly is an American composer whose wide-ranging output includes orchestral works, chamber music, sacred music, and music for the stage.Find out more about:Sam Amidon ~ https://www.samamidonmusic.com/Nico Muhly ~ https://nicomuhly.com/biography/Crash Ensemble ~ https://www.crashensemble.com/aboutPresented by: Alain McFaddenMusic featured: Drones, Variations, Ornaments from Ghosts (2017) by Nico Muhly, performed by Crash EnsembleHost: Alain McFaddenGuest: Sam AmidonWith thanks the Bedroom Community

On this episode of Open Ears, the sixth and final episode of Season 3, Alain chats with Kate Stables of This Is The Kit. Together, they listened to Aleksandr Nisse's Pleonexia. 

Aleksandr Nisse, Titular Organist of St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, is a composer of Russian and French descent based in Ireland.  He has written for Hochschule der Künste Bern and Crash Ensemble, with notable works including áiséirí (2019) and NOTINTUNE, which explores the impact of digital distractions on society. His compositions, The Eve of St Agnes and Francis Bacon’s Studio premiered in Dublin’s Hugh Lane Gallery in 2022.
Pleonexia was one of five works, written for 10 performers and organ in collaboration with Crash Ensemble in 2025 as part the Crash Works programme. Pleonexia features on Crash Works II which was released on Crash records in September 2025.

Find out more about Kate Stables/This Is The Kit at: thisisthekit.co.uk

This episode is presented by Alain McFadden
Music: 'Pleonexia’ from Crash Works II by Aleksandr Nisse
Host: Alain McFadden
Guest: Kate Stables

In this fifth episode of Open Ears, Alain McFadden talks to Dani Larkin. Together they listened to Chrysalism by Linda Buckley.
Linda Buckley is an award winning Irish Composer who creates electronic and acoustic music, and has a particular interest in working across many disciplines, most notably film and in the realm of drone and dark ambient music. Chrysalism features on the album Crashlands alongside works from Irish and international composers that premiered in rural locations across Ireland during 2017.
Find out more from Linda Buckley here: https://www.lindabuckley.org/about/
And Dani Larkin at: https://www.danilarkin.com
This episode is presented by Alain McFadden
Music: 'Chrysalism’ from Crashlands by Linda Buckley
Host: Alain McFadden
Guest: Dani Larkin

In this fourth episode of Open Ears, Alain McFadden talks to Tolü Makay. Together they listened to Disequilibrium by Amy Rooney.
Amy Rooney is a composer from Co. Down. She read music at Queen’s University Belfast, where she completed a PhD in Composition. Her preference is for music which involves some degree of co-creativity; this can present itself through an interactive score, where various decisions assigned to the player produce music that is nuanced, natural and flexible. Disequilibrium was one of the five works, written for 10 performers in collaboration with Crash Ensemble in 2023.

Find out more about Amy Rooney at: https://www.cmc.ie/composers/amy-rooney and more about Tolü Makay: https://tolumakayofficial.com/
This episode is presented by Alain McFadden
Music: 'Disequilibrium' from Crash Works by Amy Rooney.
Host: Alain McFadden
Guest: Tolü Makay