MyWoollyHat.com started off in 2001, with the release of a 19 track CD called ‘A Psychedelic Prayer’.
This CD was made up of a collection of various recordings from over the years, both songs and instrumentals, with a variety of musicians, as well as solo recordings. There wasn’t a whole lot tying those recordings together other than the fact that the material was written by me, Marcus MacDonald. It just felt like after twenty years writing music, there needed to be something out there. It was a first step into self-releasing music and seemed like a step forward.
It was followed a year later by a 5 track EP called ‘A Private Sky’. This EP was My Woolly Hat’s first release where all the songs were recorded at the same time as part of one single recording project. There was a greater consistency and it felt like a self-contained release that stood up on its own. I was able to expand the instrumentation by taking time with the multi-tracking, and it had a fuller sound as a result. The look of the album itself was quite professional due to the quality of my buddy Ian Picken’s photographs.
It was recorded by Mike Black and featured the musicians Zamo Riffman, Andy Mc Donald and Bryan Quinn. The EP had a mix of full-band and solo performances. We recorded it over the course of one full day.
The EP got reviewed on RTE’s website, and Harry Guerin wrote;
“The only thing you’ll have to forgive about this band is the name. Get past it, and there’s much to enjoy..all the tracks here will grow on you, as will the feeling that it’s a shame you can’t walk into a shop and throw your money over the counter for them, as it’s only available only over their dotcom site.“
In 2002, another 5 track EP called ‘Darner of the cosmic sock’ was released and this release also had a mix of full-band and solo performances. Following this release, Ian Wilson invited me in to do a ‘Fanning Session’ in RTE which was a lot of fun.
Darner… was recorded by Rob Sexton, and again featured Zamo Riffman, Andy McDonald and Bryan Quinn. Although this was also done in a day, we seemed to have more time on the band songs, and we fleshed them out a bit more. Zamo and I worked closely on these, Andy, as previously, would come in and nail all his complex bass lines in one take before leaving myself and Zamo to it. Worked for him and worked for me, but in hindsight, it would have benefited from more involvement from an incredible musician like Andy.
In 2004 we released ‘Secret Societies’.
A lot of thought and preparation went into writing and recording this five track EP, and it felt like a real release. There was some excitement – particularly myself and Zamo – that we had actually managed to pull off something really great. The title track – at least to our ears – sounded absolutely awesome. We did a video, and put the track and accompanying Video out on DVD.
Bill Blackmore replaced Bryan Quinn on trumpet for ‘Secret Societies’. Bill is a fantastic player, and although we missed BQ’s presence in the studio, Bill was up for the challenge of coming in and getting down lines in one take. That’s what the Hat was all about; one take wonders. Time was of the essence; can you come in and nail it down in one take?
My uncle Tony also featured on trombone, although Jazz is more his thing. As he was recovering from some serious health problems at the time, recording was really difficult for him, but he made the trip to Ashtown Gate studios and put down some fat notes.
The EP was produced and mixed collectively by myself, Zamo Riffman, Mike Black and Rob Sexton. It was mastered by Mike Black. The re-mastered version of the track ‘Secret Societies’ that was released in 2020 was re-mastered by Declan Quinn.
After that EP, Zamo and I both took a long musical intake of breath. We let things drift, and that break then turned into years, as breaks so often do.
But Zamo played a huge part in my musical story, and I am very grateful to him for his talents on electric guitar, drums, backing vocals, creative inspiration and good vibes. He is an absolutely unique person and I am so grateful to him for sticking with me as I wrote, recorded and released those three EPs. We did our best, Eamo!
I am also very grateful to Andy Mc Donald, Robbie Sexton, Dermot Lambert, Mike Black and Graham Holiday for their involvement and interest in my music during this time. Our recordings resulted in My Woolly Hat being finalists in Hot Press magazine’s Song of the Year competition three years in a row.
After ‘Secret Societies’, I concentrated on writing and recording at home, releasing songs, and the occasional instrumental, via youtube.
And then, in early 2017, I got back in touch with Kealan O’Reilly, a singer who I had collaborated with during the mid 90s. Soon enough, Kealan’s wife Emma (who I discovered had an equally stunning voice) was joining us and singing along. I found myself in the company of two singers with beautiful, extraordinary voices, and I wanted to record and release some music again!
In August 2017 we played live at Castlepalooza, where we got to test a lot of material in a live environment, and by April the following year we had released the very warmly received ‘Wolf at the Door’.
In 2019, we released our second full album, ‘Tilting at Windmills’ and we were given some really wonderful support in terms of feedback from journalists as well as receiving national airplay on RTÉ which is so very welcome. Some of the critical feedback is featured elsewhere on this site.
And then the pandemic hit us in 2020… and with everyone social distancing and stuck at home, I took the opportunity to go back to basics and record solo again, apart from my sister Elizabeth who was in my bubble, and was able to contribute vocals to the songs I was recording. Liz had already contributed vocals to the song ‘Can’t buy back those words‘ on ‘Tilting at Windmills‘. I am so thrilled to have been able to record these songs with my sister Elizabeth, who has been my strongest supporter for many, many years.
Although the year was so very challenging, at least the work was fruitful, and as 2021 begins, there are two albums ready to go. The first to arrive is ‘Goldenrods’, an album of instrumental music which has been a joy to record.
On June 4th, 2021, there is an album of songs called ‘Ferris Wheel’ coming which has been mixed and mastered by Declan Quinn, who mixed and mastered the two track single ‘The Boxer who never fought‘ / ‘Secret Societies‘ released mid-2020. Declan is a phenomenal musician, engineer and producer, and has worked with some of the biggest names in the Irish music industry, having played keyboards with one of our most original ever bands; The Republic of Loose.
Track listing for ‘Ferris Wheel’:
1 – Ferris Wheel
2 – Out of the cage (and into the night)
3 – Desert Sun
4 – Hysterical Love
5 – Ember
6 – Chosen for broken
7 – Winning Streak
8 – Normal People
9 – We can catch a thought
10 – Overcome
Hopefully as things get back to normal in 2021 and beyond, collaborations will be back on the table. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this music as much as I have loved making it.
The AIchemist
I also write instrumental music, in fact I have written instrumental music ever since I first sat at a piano. During the pandemic, I took the opportunity to dig out some old tape recordings and work my way through them, picking some of my old favourites and recording them. That project grew and grew, and in the end there are ten volumes of short instrumentals, as well as a 19-track collection of my absolute favourites called ‘D’ALMAINE DAYS’. D’almaine is the type of upright piano we had in our home growing up. In fact, it’s that very same D’Almaine piano on the front cover of the album.
You can listen to this music on all the streaming services [here]. Please note it is a capital I at the start of the name, not an L. It’s AI, (as in artifical intelligence), not AL (as in Al Capone). Some elements of AI were incorporated into the release of this music. I hope you enjoy it.
Here is what people said about ‘Tilting at Windmills’ by My Woolly Hat:
“An emotional, free floating, genre defying masterpiece.”
Declan Murphy (The Four of Us)
“Marcus MacDonald seriously knows how to put a song together. This album is bewitching, assured, polished and on repeat. “ Jim Lockhart
“I’ve been listening to ‘Tilting at Windmills’ all week – it is a thing of beauty.” Lilian Smith (RTE Radio 1)
“There is a wonderfully smart cross-section of classic pop and blissed-out rock on Tilting At Windmills, the second album from My Woolly Hat. With influences ranging from the likes of Mamas & Papas to Talk Talk, from post-psych Pink Floyd to a beefed-up Fleet Foxes, the songs on this vastly underrated album deserve (actually, strike that – need) to be heard. Seek out, listen, learn to love it.“ Tony Clayton-Lea
“…an utterly luxurious album of rich textures, sticky melodies, sharp lyrics and great vocals. Deserves the widest audience possible.” Michael O’Shea (Lir, Pugwash, Velo Records)
“Beautiful sound, beautiful album. I just wanted to jump in a camper van and head off on a road trip listening to them over and over again.” Garry Kelly, Galway Bay FM
“Especially in ‘I can be the battlefield’ and ‘Tilting at Windmills’ – the trademark emotional punch that I find so often in the work of My Woolly Hat” Roger Doyle
“Powerful vocals, most enjoyable and engaging original music and lyrics. A great album by a great trio of Irish Musicians. 5 stars.” Pat Coldrick
“…early Coldplay, U2, Villagers, Fleet Foxes…even Bowie with the fun and darkness. This album is a beautiful thing.” Adam Hogan, The Eoghan McDermott Show [RTE]
“My Woolly Hat are skilled songwriters and musicians of quality and ‘Tilting at Windmills’ should garner major radio playlist action.” Pete Holidai
“I love the breeze that comes into the room when I put it on. Very refreshing! Compares to some of the finer moments from Prefab Sprout.” Dermot Lambert (RTE 2XM)
“Fragments of Pink Floyd and Daniel Lanois float around matured lyrical concepts” Film, Music & Art producer David Bickley of Alchemy Electronic Arts (Celtic Songlines)
“Great songs, great riffs, great production. What else could you want from an album.” Ger Griffin (Rollerskate Skinny)
“An expansive cinematic sound…beautifully structured melodies deserving of a large festival audience.” John O’Donnell (Straydog Films)
“Contemporary acoustic music with sharp lyrics, imaginative instrumental arrangements and a lovely attractive vocal style.” ÁINE HENSEY (RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta)
“Crosby, Stills and Nash meet up with The Blue Nile.” Michael Garland (Grand Pictures)
“Do your ears a favour and get this album!” Roddie Cleere (KCLR FM)