featuring new works of music and words by Amble Skuse, Ailie Robertson, Mike Vass, Sophie Cooke, Angus Peter Campbell, Charlotte Murray and Rebecca Sharp
Wed 12 March 2014, Summerhall, Edinburgh 7.30pm
Tickets available online and on 0845 874 3000
Fri 14 March 2014, Plockton High School, Ross-shire 7.30pm
Tickets available from Kyle Pharmacy, Lochan 01599 577 296, School 01599 54470
Robertson/Sharp For the bees Vass/Murray After Niall Sgrob Skuse/Campbell/Cooke Clachan Beò
Presenting seven of Scotland’s creative artists as you’ve never seen them before…
Four new works are interwoven with beautiful traditional repertoire and poetry, creating a performance that captures the riches of our cultural history through music and words with live instrumental, vocal and electronic sound.
Scottish traditional musicians and composers Amble Skuse, Ailie Robertson and Mike Vass have teamed up with writers Angus Peter Campbell, Sophie Cooke, Rebecca Sharp and Charlotte Murray to create new works of music and words inspired by the archive at The School of Scottish Studies, housed in the University of Edinburgh. The archive is a treasure trove of recordings of songs, music, tales, verse, customs, beliefs and oral history.
The Summerhall gig also features a world premiere performance by the Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin’ of a new work by Ailie Robertson.
Remembered/Imagined is produced by Amble Skuse in partnership with Mr McFall’s Chamber, The University of Edinburgh School of Scottish Studies and Hands Up For Trad’s Distil. It is supported by Creative Scotland, The Robertson Trust, PRSF Women Make Music, Highland Council, National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music, An Lochan and Summerhall.
NOTES
Follow the artists as they blog about the creative process by clicking here Read their full biographies by clicking here
Rural Design Concept is a piece of music I wrote for Distil in 2011, and this is my first ever animation! (Not the most advanced animation but I hope it makes you smile!) The string section on this recording is the very talented Patsy Reid.
My idea of the Rural Design Concept is that a new building in a rural area must approach the site and the landscape with absolute respect so that it is not intrusive but sensitive to it’s environment. Musically I have explored space through the chords, the rhythm, the textures and the harmony, leaving the melody as a later consideration to be anchored thoughtfully into the rich rural environment.
This piece of music was recorded on my latest 5 track ep, “Maggie West’s” and is available to download here http://mairearadgreen.bandcamp.com
Cycles is a series of repeating phrases that builds using first fiddle pizzicato, and then guitar, tenor guitar, glockenspiel and piano. It is inspired by cyclical rhythms in nature, and particularly seasonal changes.
I performed it live for the first time in December 2013 as part of the DecemberWell live tour. I used a Boss loop station to build the piece phrase by phrase. The challenge of performing it was trying to make each phrase very rhythmically tight so that they fitted together well, whilst also clicking foot switches at a fast rate, and remembering to have the glockenspiel nearby!
Cycles is track 9 from my 2012 release ‘DecemberWell’, which you can buy here.
We are about halfway through the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow and deep in the Showcase Scotland weekend where delegates from all over the world come to see and book acts. There are informal events all over the place, but having an official showcase is invaluable. This is a video of Fiona Hunter and the band performing at the Scots and Gaelic Showcase, for which we are indebted to Creative Scotland for setting up.
Yesterday was the Showcase Scotland trade fair, and this year was Unroofed’s first time exhibiting. We weren’t sure what to expect, but our memories from WOMEX reminded us that stall dressing is very important, as is having something people can take away with them.
Here are a few tips we picked up:
– it was worth putting effort into making a compilation of all the artists represented at the stall, and a homemade CD was fine.
I’d been concerned that our origami CD sleeves and computer-burned CDs would look unprofessionally cheap, but people pointed out that delegates collect a lot of CDs and these can get heavy. They really appreciate something light to carry and I suspect the specifically chosen tracks will seem more relevant when it comes to listening back. (We also had proper copies of albums on hand for any serious prospects, but the general supermarket sweep CD collectors could come away with something too without bankrupting us.) We included a simple front cover with the names of all the artists, their websites, and their representation details. On the back we put the track list. We got the template from here and the finished thing looked a bit like this. Another great idea Fi Vass (who was sharing our stall) was using was to provide printed postcards covered in image and blurb, with a free download code for the appropriate album attached. That eliminated the need for a physical CD at all, and certainly meant less late-night folding!
– it’s worth putting an effort into your performance outfit
People really liked the FHBand ‘team colours’. It was something people commented on at both WOMEX and Showcase Scotland, and even when we tried it out (in purple this time) for the Archive Project album launch. We feel that it makes a huge difference to the way people see a band and their professional look if they have made an effort with what they wear.
– an official showcase is really valuable, but informal ones are also effective.
The fact that Fiona had showcased the day before really benefited us as people came specifically to find us, recognised the team, and since we were organised enough to film the performance, we had something to show at our listening station. Because people were attracted to our stall for the Fiona Hunter effect, our other artists got to benefit from the attention as well. Fi Vass’s artists also benefited from working hard at the late night delegates’ sessions as Fi was able to make connections with people she had already met and consolidate potential bookings.
– the pop-up stand was worth the money
We hadn’t been sure about buying a Fiona Hunter pop-up stand as it was quite an expensive thing to invest in, but in the end it was definitely worth it. It looks lovely, and gave the whole set-up a much more professional feel. A lot of other stalls had them as well and I think it made the difference in how well-dressed the stalls looked.
– go for bribes on your table, but maybe not whisky and shortbread
Whisky at the stand seemed like a great idea at WOMEX where there was really only one Scotland stand, but here everyone had whisky and shortbread so it lost its novelty effect (except for those on the Showcase Scotland equivalent of a pub crawl). It was a great thing to have at the table, as it meant people would stand and talk to us as they finished their drink. Next year we might try something a bit different though. And possibly not alcoholic. Hair of the dog may have suited some of the delegates but it was still 10am!
– take-away blurbs are also worth the printing effort
I battled for hours with photoshop to put together a blurb sheet for all my artists, but it meant that delegates had all the information they needed to take with them, which will hopefully pay dividends later.
It will take a little while to see what benefits our Showcase Scotland exploits have had, but it was loads of fun and Fiona is already looking forward to some new gigs because of it. Tonight she and Mike are performing in the ‘Women of the World‘ concert alongside some fantastic singers from India and Australia.
Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin’s Archive Project (in partnership with the School of Scottish Studies Archives and supported by Creative Scotland) has been shortlisted for the Voluntary Arts Epic Award. This is exciting for us as it is the first project the both of us (Mike and Charlotte) worked on together (Charlotte as co-ordinator and Mike as musical director) and the album that was produced is the last release on Unroofed’s predecessor, Rusty Squash Horn Records.
The School of Scottish Studies, established in 1951 and featured in a recent BBC documentary, houses a treasure trove of recordings including traditional songs, music, and stories. It’s a fantastic resource and an important asset to Scottish heritage. EYG wanted to inspire new people to use the Archives and break down barriers young people and the wider community might have with visiting or using them.
The aim of the Archive Project was to encourage young people to get a meaningful understanding of the content of the Archives and the context of the recordings, and then creatively respond. We picked 7 young traditional musicians aged 16-23 who explored the recordings and photographs in order to build material for their first professional album. We encouraged them to look beyond looking at the archives as a simple source for repertoire, but to find new creative angles to developing their own material.
The young musicians worked with mentors Alasdair Roberts, Mike Vass and Matheu Watson, as well recording with David Gray at the Sound Cafe. They also wrote and arranged a track for EYG’s Big Band to perform, worked with a design student from Napier University to put together the cover (featuring fabulous images from the photographic archives and original artwork from Conrad Molleson), and some of the music was then taken on and re-arranged to be performed by the Tinderbox Orchestra.
What resulted was an excellent album full of new music: songs inspired by anecdotes and practices described in interviews, instrumental music inspired by photographs and recollections, new melodies for collected poetry, found voices, and fresh arrangements of traditional material. There was even a music video.
You can find out more about the project here, buy the album here (all proceeds go to support Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin, a youth music charity specialising in traditional music) and vote for the project here.
Monday 2nd Dec – The Outhouse – Edinburgh 7.30pm
Thursday 12th Dec – The Acoustic Music Club – Kirkcaldy – 7.30pm
Friday 13th Dec – The Ceilidh Place – Ullapool 9pm
Saturday 14th Dec – The Sailing Club – Nairn – 7.30pm
Wednesday 18th Dec- Folklub – Glasgow – 8.00pm
There will also be an online broadcast on 20th December through Concert Window.
Award winning Composer Mike Vass takes his sounds of the Scottish winter on tour throughout Scotland in December 2013. DecemberWell was released in 2012 to rave reviews and Mike subsequently received the prestigious ‘Composer of the Year’ award at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards.
DecemberWell was conceived during one sleepless night in October 2011, and culminated in the recording of Mike’s most ambitious project to date. He set out to write and record a full length album in one month, inspired by the Scottish Winter.
Mike’s trio will feature previous Composer of the Year Award winner Mairearad Green, who will showcase some material from her forthcoming ‘Maggie West’s’ EP in the first half of each concert.
Mike’s reputation as a composer has been growing steadily in 2013. He wrote and performed the soundtrack for Gavin Robinson’s ‘Hart’s Desire’ animation which recently received a Scottish Bafta, and ‘Cavers of Kirkcudbright’ (which won the inaugural Niel Gow composition award) has recently been recorded by artists from Scotland, Ireland, France and the USA.
‘a master of the contemporary Scottish music scene’ -Alasdair Maclean, Scots Magazine
‘Vass has an inimitable and distinctive sound that rings clear throughout Decemberwell’ -Adrian Holden, Artree
‘Decemberwell’ is an instrumental meander through various moods, all themed around the month of December; evoking the Caledonia frost and hail, the dark short freezing evenings, the Christmas lights and the warm inviting indoors.’ -Ian Fildes, AmericanaUK
‘exceptional control, enchanting melodies and exemplary arrangements.’ -Alex Monaghan, The Living Tradition
We are over the moon that Gavin Robinson’s animation Hart’s Desire (which Mike wrote and performed the score for) has won a Scottish Bafta for Best Animation. Congratulations Gavin, and congratulations Mike! Here’s Gavin’s reaction:
“Winning the BAFTA Scotland Award for animation is all rather surreal, and I’m not sure that it has quite sunk in yet. Since this was my degree film from Edinburgh College of Art, all that I was really hoping from it was that I would graduate! So to have been honoured with this award is just fantastic.
I have to congratulate my fellow nominees Claire Lamond and Ross Hogg and thank them for making the awards ceremony extra entertaining! I’m proud to be part of such an exciting group of short animation filmmakers in Scotland right now.
And of course the film wouldn’t be what it is without the fantastic job that Mike has done with the soundtrack, so a huge thank you to him! I hope that we may continue to collaborate in the years to come.”
Andrew Greig has been called ‘Scotland’s Renaissance writer ‘ by journalist Mariella Frostrop and has been at the forefront of Scottish poetry and literature since the mid- seventies. He is the author of six acclaimed books of poetry, two Himalayan mountaineering expedition books, and several novels including That Summer, When They Lay Bare, InAnother Light (Scottish Book of the Year) The Return of John Macnab and Romanno Bridge. His last non-fiction book At The Loch of The Green Corrie is already seen as a contemporary classic.
His recent collection Found at Sea was adapted for the stage by David Greig and performed to sell out audiences at The Traverse Theatre in Feb 2013. His latest novel Fair Helen published by Quercus Books is set in the Scotland-England Borderlands in the 1590’s. Greig’s vital prose renders the Border Ballad Fair Helen of Kirkconnel Lea as a breathless romance, as stirring adventure, and a memento mori. Gutsy atmospheric and wry as ever, he shines a candle light on the dark days of a lawless land, land and the real woman behind the legend often called the Scottish Romeo and Juliet.
‘What sets Fair Helenabove the usual run of historical novels, aside from Greig’s extraordinarily deft use of language, is its moral depth, its acute sense of the intricacies of the Border feuds and of the Byzantine intrigues of King James’s VI inner circle and, most poignantly, the helplessness and determination of those characters who would live decent lives, if only “feckfu’ gentry” would allow it…’ The Guardian
The first half of the evening will consist of a selection of readings from Andrew’s published works including Fair Helen with musical interludes from the Fiona Hunter Band.
The second half will feature an hour set from Fiona Hunter with her band Mike Vass, Gillian Frame, Innes Watson and Euan Burton who will be celebrating the release of Fiona’s debut solo album.
After nearly a decade as vocalist and cellist of award-winning folk band Malinky, Fiona Hunter is stepping out on her own and gaining a deserved reputation as one of the finest young singers on the Scottish folk music scene today, with her fresh interpretations of songs of her native Glasgow and of the Scottish Travellers. In pursuit of the latter she has worked with members of the Fetterangus Stewart family, the last tradition-bearers of this celebrated folk song dynasty. Her academic qualifications in the field are of the first order – a BA in Scottish Music from the Royal Scottish Academy and studies at the Smithsonian Institute in the USA – but it’s her passion and natural ability to inhabit her material that sets her apart.
“Hunter’s strengths lie in a vocal tone that she varies to suit the mood of the song while always sounding like the real deal and her ability to project a genuine empathy with the characters she’s singing about.” Rob Adams
“It’s a beguiling tapestry of sound which leaves you wanting more.” Matthew Linley
Nominated for Scots Singer of the Year in the 2013 Traditional Music Awards and participant at the 2013 Womex Festival
We’re very pleased to announce that Fiona Hunter has been nominated for Scots Singer of the Year at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards 2013. They take place in Aberdeen on the 7th December at the Aberdeen Music Hall. The aim of the awards is to highlight Scotland’s wonderful traditional music in all its forms. You can take part by voting here.
We received an exciting bit of news this week. Earlier this year Mike composed the soundtrack for a short animation by Gavin Robinson. It ended up being accepted into the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and has now been nominated for a Scottish Bafta! You can listen to the full OST here.
Wed 12 March 2014, Summerhall, Edinburgh 7.30pm
