Post Description

Folk, Gaelic.

Doe de gordijnen dicht, steek je haarvuur aan, neem plaats in een warme fauteuil en neem kleine slokje van je single malt. Cubaantje erbij? Beter nog. Man, man, wat mooi. En bekijk vooral de video in de link. Dan begrijp je waarom ik soms tijd doorbreng in Schotland. Echt waar, beter wordt het niet voorlopig.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb5rZ7Yz1ls&t=10s

Review:

As with many of the members of many a Scottish band, multi-tasking is the norm, and Ewen Henderson is no different. So, as well as being a co-founder of Mànran, in 2010, barely a year later he was also in the Battlefield Band, 2011-2014. Similarly, since 2016, he has also been part of Afro-Celt Sound System, that association leading to other Simon Emmerson related projects, such as Lush Fresh Handmade Sound; indeed, the past month has seen him feature on a release by each. 2018 saw him produce 2 low-key solo releases, a further larger scale disc, Steall, following in 2020 album, this therefore being number 4. If he treads, which he does, a meandering spectrum between the trad and neo-trad, in all the many possible variations, this is probably slotted fairly solidly at his more orthodox wing.

Best known for fiddle, here he is unafraid to apply his expertise also to piano and whistles, if not, sadly to bagpipes, yet another instrument with which he is adept. He sings too, in Gaelic, that being the language he grew up with, in Fort William. The concept behind this project is to compare and contrast the mood of various geographical settings, first from imagination and then again from experience and exposure. As such the tracks swap between “solo” pieces, made in lockdown isolation at his home studio, he playing everything heard, and live tracks, taken from a subsequent Celtic Connections concert, with a band. Quite an undertaking to even explain, it is best to dive straight in and let his music do the the talking.

Opening with Òran Do Rùm, it is piano and his voice first heard. This is pure and unadulterated Gaelic song, be warned, quite a switch from his group involvement. The first clue that this may be a live track comes with a female voice slotting in beside him, that point otherwise impossible to otherwise guage, that is until the applause. That fact allows explanation that the accompaniment is provided by Su-A Lee on cello, Iain McFarlane on whistle, Innes Watson on guitar, with his sister, Megan, on fiddle and that second vocal. (We know her from Breàbach and her own solo work.) This means the piano is his. Song for Rhum, as it is in English, becomes a real grower, soon sticking fast, once the initial starkness and straightness is overcome.

An ode to a memoried perception of the island for the studio track, it gets followed by the post immersion reality, a slow lament, led by whistle. Fiddle swiftly takes up the melody, evocative of the misty day he visited Kinloch Castle. A beautiful tune, the piano remains a constant, before Henderson starts to sing. The lyrics are available, as heard and in a translation, as well as some explanation. Altogether a good start.

It is the imagined that again comes first for the instrumental Coire Mhic Fhearchair. Dual fiddles, whistle, cello, piano and guitar again the accompaniment, with, this time, Hamish Napier taking over at the piano. and McFarlane on the fiddle, allowing Henderson to now lead on whistle. A delicate air, it reflects his remembrance of Beinn Eighe, a rocky part of Torridon, and the fatal aircrash there, long before, in 1951. The reality version is a completely different kettle of fish, as his visit there coincided with his bro-in-law, also in Breàbach, Ewan Robertson’s participation in an extreme triathlon, acting as his support. (Hence the name, Beinn Eighe/Ewan Robertson, Celtman.) This makes for a vibrantly uplifting and energised track, some handy snare drum, uncredited, underpinning the assault. It too is live.

Nuallan has him back in the studio. And if he doesn’t play the pipes as such, there is certainly a plaintive pipe drone to frame this slow fiddle tune. The progression of notes was deigned to mimic the sound of rutting stags, roaring on the hillside, something he was all too aware of being unable to be witnessing that year in person. Nuallan means lowing, and, as whistle picks up the theme, the sense of longing is deep and rich. When the later trip to an applicable locale, Coire Gabhail, the hidden valley at Glencoe, and the name of the track, again the stag sounds became reliant on imagination, such the volume of human traffic that day. The group provide it as similar fare, the drone transposed to cello and harmonium, the latter from Henderson, as is the whistle, carrying an equivalently plangent mood.

Eadar An Dà Bràigh is a further song, commemorating the massive conservation work in the Creag Meagaidh, between Lochaber and Badenoch. Set largely to Napier’s piano, his sister adding harmonies, and McFarlane more, gradually seep in the strings and whistle, building toward a climactic ensemble finale. For the physical iteration, Creag Meadhaidh Part 1: Doire Nan Dearcag/Foreboding, that title gives part away the game. A glorious Autumn day on the Doire Nan Dearcag (or grove of the berries) had given way to the not unusual ability for weather to give a totally different side to the story. This studio depiction therefore starts as a gentle piano and fiddle promenade, ahead breaking, midway, to a doomier feel, as whistles augur in the titular sense of foreboding, for a bleak few minutes of majestic horror.

We are stuck in the Creag for the next two items, parts 2 and 3, respectively. And, rather than continuing the theme of imaginary, real, imaginary, real etc, these are two further documents of the day, and follow on from Part 1. Remaining part of the studio content, Part 2 explores further the trail around from the cliffside to the small loch to their side, Allt Coire Àrdhair/Lochan. This is a rolling reel that is now positively joyful, reflecting the burn as it bubbles toward the peace of the wider water, with the music slowing appropriately. Part 3, Dìreadh/The Plateau, is a further step change, a syncopated march to the top, where the geology becomes of another world and the feel of the play becomes decidedly Nordic. The three sections together make for an instrumental highlight to the album.

A surprise is probably the last thing expected, at least this far in, but surprise is definitely given by Glory To The Hi-Hi, with even that title sending the listener off to the explanatory liner notes with the disc. A paean to a distant hey-day of Scottish football, and, in particular, the long defunct team, Third Lanark Athletic, this rollicking number reeks of a White Heather Club Hogmanay ceilidh, with fiddle and that rolling, rhythmic piano so typical of the idiom. It’s blimmin’ wonderful, and, by golly, the audience at the Celtic Connections show really loved that one, the applause long and lasting! (Hi-his? That’s the nickname for the one time club.)

Complete contrast comes with Henderson’s actual visit to Cathlin Park, the home of the Hi-his. Whilst this addresses his sense of witnessing or sensing ongoing magic, in the now deserted stadium, I guess my ignorance around the sport sent such thoughts way over my crossbar, the tune, to me, more a summation of the celebration of again being allowed out and outdoors again. As a mood, that works and worked well for me, even with the sound of the crowd evoked by a passing train, a found sound brought into the mix.

This is a thoughtful and thought provoking project. It may come as a surprise to those expecting something less cerebral, it undoubtedly needing time set aside to immerse. Shutters drawn, a comfy armchair, a warm fire and whatever you prefer to imbibe under such circumstances, that should do it!

Tracks:
01 - Òran do Rùm
02 - Rum - Kinloch Castle _ Tìr nan Daoine 's Tìr nam Beathaichean
03 - Coire Mhic Fhearchair
04 - Beinn Eighe _ Ewan Robertson, Celtman
05 - Nuallan
06 - Coire Gabhail
07 - Eadar an Dà Bhràigh
08 - Creag Meagaidh Part 1. - Doire nan Dearcag _ Foreboding
09 - Creag Meagaidh Part 2. - Allt Coire Àrdair _ Lochan
10 - Creag Meagaidh Part 3. - Dìreadh _ The Plateau
11 - Glory to the Hi-Hi
12 - Cathkin Park

Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster. Laat af en toe eens weten wat je van het album vindt. Altijd leuk, de mening van anderen. Oh ja, MP3 doe ik niet aan.