Michael Coleman & Irish Music's Early Cultural & Sonic Fidelity: A Creative Remix Project

Abstract

Michael Coleman, the preeminent Irish fiddler of the 20th century, profoundly shaped the landscape of traditional Irish music through roughly 80 commercial recordings produced between 1921 and 1936. These pioneering works, though revolutionary for their time, are marred by sonic imperfections—hiss, pitch wobble, and jarring accompaniment—that risk veiling his virtuosity from modern ears. This thesis unveils a creative project dedicated to restoring both the auditory brilliance and cultural integrity of Coleman’s oeuvre. Employing advanced AI stem-separation techniques, I meticulously extracted his fiddle tracks from their oft-discordant accompaniments, overlaid them with historically informed piano parts of my improvisation, and remixed the recordings to achieve heightened clarity and fidelity. Informed by my expertise as a world champion accompanist and my deep-rooted Irish-American heritage, I curated a selection of pivotal tracks for enhancement, aiming to amplify their educational and cultural significance. The outcome is a collection of revitalized recordings that pay homage to Coleman’s enduring legacy, proving AI stem separation can be a useful tool to correct recording limitations of the past while rendering music more vibrant and accessible to contemporary listeners. 1