The turning
A first encounter with the world and music of the Celts; the search for Scots-Irish roots begins.
Photograph from the artist’s own archive.
Biography
Leading on a breathtaking voyage around the globe
Jillian LaDage is the fresh voice of Celtic and world music. Fans describe her as “the new Loreena McKennitt” and her songs as “a new wave of Celtic mythology.” Her soaring, ethereal and mystical voice takes you on a journey through the pages of centuries long gone, to where mystery and legend await.
Her debut private-label release, The Ancestry, garnered international acclaim, five-star reviews and a distribution deal with the world-beat label Prikosnovenie. It featured string virtuosi Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines (Sting, Carrie Newcomer) and Grammy-winning percussionist Todd Hammes, and was mastered at the legendary Gateway Mastering Studios — the room where Loreena McKennitt’s records were finished.
In the autumn of 2015 Jillian released Enchanted Winter, the much-anticipated Celtic seasonal album with both new songs for the season and reimaginings of the old. Her most recent release, the single An Samhradh (St. John’s Eve), arrived in the summer of 2016 and brings to life the fire festival and the Irish / Scottish summer-harvest celebrations.
The long way round
Heritage, hiatus, and the work that continues
Jillian’s heritage is Irish and Scottish by way of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, where some distant ancestors first landed ashore in North America. Music, as she puts it, chose her rather than the other way round — as if it were always in her blood and there could be no other outcome.
She has taken the Celtic world by storm, achieving success as a touring artist, a recording artist, a songwriter and a voice coach. She is currently on hiatus from touring after struggling with chronic illness and being diagnosed with Lyme disease. She plans to tour again one day but is unable to say when. For now, she continues to focus on her healing, on songwriting, and on helping other vocalists achieve vocal freedom.
It means the songs are written for a chamber-orchestral palette rather than a folk band: harp and piano at the centre, strings and woodwind carrying the counterlines, and a percussion section that borrows the Irish bodhrán and the Middle Eastern tabla, riq and frame drum in the same arrangement. The melodies and modes come from the Celtic and Byzantine traditions; the scoring habits come from film and classical music.
Because it is the hinge the whole catalogue turns on. In the eleventh century, as the Byzantine Empire declined and the Normans invaded the British Isles, the Mediterranean world and the world around it came to a crossroads. Following the migration of the Celtic tribes through Galatia and back out again turns “Celtic music” from a regional label into a road that crosses continents.
Yes — teaching continued through the touring hiatus and is now the larger half of the week. Lessons run online worldwide and in person in the Fargo–Moorhead area. See Ethereal Voice Coaching for formats and availability, or write directly.
Across the catalogue: Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines (violin, viola, cello, mandola), Todd Hammes (percussion), Mark Wyse (drums, mixing and mastering on the 2016 single), and a rotating circle of pipers, clarinettists and hurdy-gurdy players. Recording has happened at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, and mastering at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, Maine.
Selected press
In print
“Jillian LaDage’s voice is breathtaking.” Catherine L. Tully — Celtic MP3’s Music Magazine
“Provocative songs that demonstrate the timelessness of Celtic, classical and Middle Eastern music … placed in the capable hands of a talented independent artist.” Michael Swanger — CityView, Des Moines, IA
“LaDage’s love of the historical world leads us through ancient times, places and customs…” Adolf ‘gorhand’ Goriup — FolkWorld, Germany
“Blends Celtic and Middle Eastern music together in a self-produced CD sure to be enjoyed by many.” James A. McQuiston — Celtic Guide Magazine
Timeline
Milestones
Tarith Cote founded
A one-artist world-music company and record label, built on four tenets: meditation, healing, transmutation, change.
The Ancestry
Debut album, recorded at Smart Studios and mastered at Gateway; European distribution through Prikosnovenie follows.
Winter & fire
Enchanted Winter arrives for the season; An Samhradh is lit at midsummer with support from The Arts Partnership and a Jade Presents grant.