Below is a series of album notes from the chat-box from our listening party on 23rd August 2024.
All the melodies come from the Gaelic song tradition
Track 1 IOM
We were specifically searching for rowing songs (me being completely boat mad) and found this version of Iomairibh Eutrom Hò Hò from James MacDonald
(question about track names) The track titles eg 'IOM' are the first three letters from the Gaelic song title.
I already knew the song, having worked on a version with Brian O'headhra and Fiona Mackenzie on their album Tìr that I produced.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4ulV5EuucgK9g64c0K0dh1?si=5f52ef8a1bed4a2e
Maeve Mackinnon has also recorded a great version
https://open.spotify.com/track/339QYCb1wNyWXu0DkY9KUr?si=5bede6bc12694ad8
shout out to English electronic producer and auteur Jon Hopkins whose dark beats inspired us to push IOM in the direction we did.
Track 2 MAR
We knew we'd struck gold when we discovered Mary Morrison on Tobar an Dualchais. Can't even remember how we stumbled upon this gem, but we drew huge inspiration from the sound and energy of her amazing Canntaireachd. We realised early on that 'MAR' would be 'the single' as it were (even though we released no single for the project) - MAR is the track that has connected most with a live audience. The infectious groove of Mary's canntaireachd is what lifts the albums opening after the darkness of IOM.
https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/104429?l=en
(question re tuning) We were able to match the synths to the pipes. they all have tuning knobs on the them, the analogue ones, even the software synths do these days!
Mary Morrison who we learned this tune from is who lends her name to the album!
props to Irish electronic innovator Max Cooper who influenced our synth chord part which plays a starring role there in track 2 'MAR'
Track 3 OGA
(question re tuning) We were able to match the synths to the pipes. they all have tuning knobs on the them, the analogue ones, even the software synths do these days!
Mary Morrison who we learned this tune from is who lends her name to the album!
props to Irish electronic innovator Max Cooper who influenced our synth chord part which plays a starring role there in track 2 'MAR'
Track 3 OGA
I LOVE this melody so much. I first found this version when I was researching a commission for Blas festival during 2020. It took me a while to recognise that this is the same melody (different setting) that Julie Fowlis recorded on her debut album https://open.spotify.com/track/4JohAJSt0lpd4fXxBDfmUd?si=4214c2fa1fec4bfe
We loved this melody but was actually quite challenging to settle on a harmony that we both felt really delivered. We experimented with various ideas over a few weeks, but eventually settled on what you hear now which is maybe unorthodox but we think builds the ending really well. Just sitting on one chord for a full cycle of the melody and changing the baseline until it finally resolves on the final time. Mairearad improvised (happy accident) the wee turn into the repeated last phrase on a really early demo version and we loved it so much that she relearned it for the final Bagpipe tracking session.
Track 4 CAD
Track 4 CAD
This is our version of Cadal cha dean mi - I can't get any sleep. It's been recorded many times and there are many great versions out there. One of my favourite trad albums of the last 10 years or so is Karen Matheson's Urram - it's a modern classic of the genre, and her version of Cadal is great https://open.spotify.com/track/0fxsth693fa71C6o9tVZdl?si=dc67d1f81fed47c8
I'd already recorded a version of this with Fiona Mackenzie singing which I think turned out really well too, check it out when you get the chance! https://open.spotify.com/track/2TERetBZz2xx2FkK3oTHFe?si=ab5e8ab7859c4891
We ALWAYS KNEW the Scottish small pipes would blend perfectly with the electronics. It's such a rich sonic palette in its own right, with sweetness, depth, rich overtones and enough hi-mid frequency information to really cut through a dense mix, plus the added bonus of the drones. the small pipes open CAD and then give way to Mairearad's minimal piano figures and the two swap roles and begin to interact and the electronics swirl around them for the duration. A lot of the 'bleeps and bloops' (technical electronic music terminology) are actually our own samples of the small pipes repurposed and processed in various way. Likewise some of the drums are programmed drum machine sounds, and some are samples recorded in Gloworm, including various pillow snares, tom sounds from instrument cases etc.
Track 5 'S_
'S Mise a Chunnaic An-diugh an t-Iongnadh The centre piece of the album, and maybe my favourite track on the album... and not just because it's the only track with some fiddle on it!! An absolute cracker of a melody. So, so simple, but so catchy - anthemic even?
We ALWAYS KNEW the Scottish small pipes would blend perfectly with the electronics. It's such a rich sonic palette in its own right, with sweetness, depth, rich overtones and enough hi-mid frequency information to really cut through a dense mix, plus the added bonus of the drones. the small pipes open CAD and then give way to Mairearad's minimal piano figures and the two swap roles and begin to interact and the electronics swirl around them for the duration. A lot of the 'bleeps and bloops' (technical electronic music terminology) are actually our own samples of the small pipes repurposed and processed in various way. Likewise some of the drums are programmed drum machine sounds, and some are samples recorded in Gloworm, including various pillow snares, tom sounds from instrument cases etc.
Track 5 'S_
'S Mise a Chunnaic An-diugh an t-Iongnadh The centre piece of the album, and maybe my favourite track on the album... and not just because it's the only track with some fiddle on it!! An absolute cracker of a melody. So, so simple, but so catchy - anthemic even?
Learned from Anna MacDougall from Barra also on kist of riches website https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/52517?l=en
We were thrilled to hear this track played on BBC Radio Scotland Travelling Folk (starts 1hr10) back to back with Tain fiddle player Laura Wilkie's brilliant treatment of the same waulking song on her new solo album. Amazing that these ancient melodies are inspiring such diverse creativity in 2024
Track 6 LAT
Track 6 LAT
Latha fiadhaic ann an Rònaigh - a storm blew up over Rona. I played my brother Martin a clip of an early demo version and he instantly recognised the melody from somewhere but couldn't put his finger on it for a few days. Eventually messaging me to say it was the theme from the hollywood movie the piano. Even Michael Nyman has drawn on the Gaelic song tradition for his blockbusting sound tracks!
The end of this track has my favourite little production trick of the whole album, the pipes, piano and electronics are swirling together heavily by the climax of the piece, in widescreen stereo, then at the drop to the solo piano, i summed the whole thing to mono so it goes from this big cinematic emotive feeling of white out in the storm to this intimate little upright piano as if in someone's cosy living room, before the electronics start swirling around it again in the outro.
Track 7 DHE
The end of this track has my favourite little production trick of the whole album, the pipes, piano and electronics are swirling together heavily by the climax of the piece, in widescreen stereo, then at the drop to the solo piano, i summed the whole thing to mono so it goes from this big cinematic emotive feeling of white out in the storm to this intimate little upright piano as if in someone's cosy living room, before the electronics start swirling around it again in the outro.
Track 7 DHE
Dheannain sugradh. This was the first track that once we had a solid demo of it, we knew we were onto something, and that if we chipped away at it we'd be able to achieve what we set out to with this album. We were loving the groove and the builds and the drops of this, and the structure didn't change much from the original demo, just lots of refining of the sounds. Lots of tuning of the chanter for this one using lots of electricians tape, but Mairearad can tell you more about that.
(Mairearad) I just put some tape on the C# note of the chanter to flatten it to C natural for this one.
I first heard this song years ago on Alyth McCormack's groundbreaking record from the year 2000 'An Iomall' - I hadn't heard it for years until Travelling folk were doing a segment on innovative production in the trad world and Alyth's version of Dheannain Sugradh was featured (and Alyth was interviewed by Anna Massie), reminding me of what a great record that was, to listen again nearly 1/4 century on with fresh ears, and inspired our version. https://open.spotify.com/track/5ArDrU7AJOKIztK0vDEiZz?si=3eddde867d75412a
Track 8 AN_
(Mairearad) I just put some tape on the C# note of the chanter to flatten it to C natural for this one.
I first heard this song years ago on Alyth McCormack's groundbreaking record from the year 2000 'An Iomall' - I hadn't heard it for years until Travelling folk were doing a segment on innovative production in the trad world and Alyth's version of Dheannain Sugradh was featured (and Alyth was interviewed by Anna Massie), reminding me of what a great record that was, to listen again nearly 1/4 century on with fresh ears, and inspired our version. https://open.spotify.com/track/5ArDrU7AJOKIztK0vDEiZz?si=3eddde867d75412a
Track 8 AN_
I found a version of An T-iorram Niseach (Ness rowing song) when I was researching my Blas commission in 2020 and subsequently invited singer and tradition bearer Margaret Stewart from Lewis to collaborate on the project, eventually recording Margaret's version with students from the various Scottish Fèisean for their online festival that year. I loved working with Margaret on these songs. Margaret's singing inspired this and the closing track of the album. Here's Joan Mackenzie's version I originally found on Tobar an Dualchais. (I don't know if Margaret herself has actually recorded a version of this song?) https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/22290?l=en
Track 9 UAM
The OTT drums here were painstakingly made by firstly recording our own home made drum samples (down in glow worm studios) then making a pattern out of them in logic (DAW) and then processing that pattern multiple times with loads of different chains of effects (plugins) and then chopping those all up and then pasting them back together into this wild and irreverent drum part. Very much inspired by Scottish genius of the genre Aphex Twin.
Uamh an oir. The Cave of Gold. We learned this from a recording of Margaret Stewart from her seminal 'Fhuair mi pog' album recorded with duo partner Allan Macdonald and absolutely loved it. At the time we meticulously transcribed it so that every rhythmical and melodic variation was there a 'complete' and 'definitive' version if you will. In the end, two quite different versions of the melody ended up on this closing track, but the inspiration was very much Margaret's singing.
Uamh an oir. The Cave of Gold. We learned this from a recording of Margaret Stewart from her seminal 'Fhuair mi pog' album recorded with duo partner Allan Macdonald and absolutely loved it. At the time we meticulously transcribed it so that every rhythmical and melodic variation was there a 'complete' and 'definitive' version if you will. In the end, two quite different versions of the melody ended up on this closing track, but the inspiration was very much Margaret's singing.