Inversions showcases Belinda's abilities as a composer and pianist with many of the piano pieces inspired by the songs and tunes her father inherited from a long line of male musicians from Monalea up in the Ox Mountains in the West of rural Ireland. With the passing of her father in 2017, Belinda; the first woman to be handed the tradition, has found the freedom to express the music of her ancestors in her very own, unconventional way, evolving and migrating into something you could describe as an inversion: a reversal of the norm.
Gently nurtured, produced and recorded by Heidi Tidow at MOMA Wales, the mountains, valleys and landscapes of Snowdonia also provide the backdrop to a trio of pieces; Cadair Idris, Felingerrig and Heidi's towering composition, Aran Fawddwy; each celebrating a deep love of the nature and wildlife of this breathtaking part of Wales.
The Swallow's Tail was the signature reel of Belinda's father. The tune; absorbed into Belinda's blood features here in a more exuberant, rebellious form to the original. Dilin O´Deamhas; a children's lap rhyme is given a contemporary reworking by Belinda, originally learned from the singing of Monalea resident and renowned musician Colm O'Donnell.
Michael McGoldrick offers sensitive Uilleann pipe and whistle accompaniment to the powerful post Famine song Skibbereen whilst Belinda provides all other accompaniment on the album including accordion and piano percussion.
The central point of the album, and the only vocal piece; Hawkward explores the necessity and newly found freedom achieved by breaking free from an oppressive situation. The Bonny Boy was the song Belinda played at her father's funeral. It was from this piece and Belinda's reworking of it that Inversions began.
Two spoken word pieces bookend the album; the first, Inside a Soul explores the role that nurturing provides in the actualisation of childhood dreams and the other, My Father's Reel is a deeply personal exploration of patriarchy and the family; both featuring tender piano accompaniment Inversions encapsulates the essence of an artist truly at one with her instrument.
