Celtus @ Tune-in Tuesday

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“Free-falling morning star, like the leaves upon the wind, Silvery moon above I follow you…”

I first heard the band Celtus while listening to one of the Celtic/Irish radio stations on Live 365. The song I fell in love with was the wonderful and inspiring tune, The Pilgrim. Once I managed to get the name of the song and the band, I went out scouring the net for more information on the music, just as I always do when I’m captivated by a sound. I found myself in for quite a journey, just like the Pilgrim in the newly-found song… because there was so little to find about Celtus. Even ordering their CD was difficult — the one that I discovered that I wanted, Moonchild, I ended up having to import from Amazon UK (though it’s now offered here in the US as well).

Anyone that knows me well enough knows my love for good, Irish/Celtic music. I’m fond of traditional works straight on up to contemporary — maybe it’s the Irish blood in me? I’ve listened to a lot of Celtic music in my life… so when a certain band stands out, then I know I’ve found something very special. And I knew from the start that Celtus was a very special band.

Dream sweet dreams,
A voyage in time
Under purple skies
Your story unfolds…

Celtus was formed in 1996 by brothers Pat and John McManus, after the passing of their brother Tommy, due to leukemia. Previously, all of the brothers had played together in a band known as Mamma’s Boys. Their history is a sad and touching story of deep brotherhood, all which led up to the creation of music under the name of Celtus.

The music itself is brilliant — Celtus knew how to weave a contemporary rock into the delicate traditional folk roots of a Celtic sound. Electric guitar and tin whistle can be heard side by side… and somehow it all mixes into a musical culture all its own. I’d wager that a wide range of people could come to enjoy Celtus simply because within their songs, the magic of folk-music has joined with the best inspiration of late 90’s rock.

Ocean blue will follow you on
As the motion of the waves
Call your name…

Sadly, the members of the band eventually chose to go their own ways, and Celtus was disbanded. But you can still find many of their CDs on order through places like Amazon.

It’s difficult to find video representation of the band, even on YouTube. But I did luck out and discover on video that drops you straight into the second half of Celtus performing the song Portrait… which is probably my favorite song by them overall:

There is also still a dedicated MySpace fandom online that has videos, snippets of their music and probably the largest collection of photos, aside from Celtus’ homepage, that can be found. So check it out here: