The Making of Fragments in Time: The Debut Album from Rhona Stevens & Joseph Peach

📷 by Orla Stevens Our album ‘Fragments in Time’ has been out for just over a month now, which after three years in the making, is still quite hard to fathom! We took the very first steps towards the project way back in May 2020. A couple of months into the first of the Covid-19 … Continued

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THE VALUE OF TRADITIONAL ARTS – by David Francis

As cuts to culture funding continue to hit the headlines it’s worth reflecting on the importance of the traditional arts to communities and to Scottish culture in general.  Folk arts are the source of human creativity and value worldwide, but the living flow of traditional song, music, dance, and story enjoys a prominent place in … Continued

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FIXED ASSETS – by Seán Gray

📷 by Hamish Macleod “Digging into the Politics and Poetry of Ayrshire Mining Communities.” Fixed Assets is an album collaborating with Lallans Scots poet Rab Wilson and explores the lives of Ayrshire coal miners. The idea for the album came about in 2016 after I was commissioned by Celtic Connections to write a piece of … Continued

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AN IRISH-SCOT LOST IN THE BALKANS – by Chris Lyons

📷 by Chris Scott for Hidden Door Festival I will be playing Bayan-accordion and possibly some other instruments at the Bulgarian-Scottish fusion dance and music event Thistles and Sunflowers on 22 August at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. As an enthusiast of Bulgarian musical culture, being involved in this event is extremely interesting for me. Like … Continued

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LAND OF EDEN – by Lucie Hendry

Land of Eden – Debut Album Released 16th June 2023 📷 by Justyna Krzyżanowska For years I have dreamed about recording a solo album but never could I have told you that it would turn out like it has! Land of Eden is the fulfilment of past visions and dreams, and the beginning of new … Continued

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BRAVING THE FREELANCE LIFE – by Amy Laurenson

📷 by Nicky Murray This year life took a turn as I won BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2023 award. Fresh out of RCS last June, the time leading up to the competition was spent juggling working in a pub, teaching and working on music projects. Just a week before the … Continued

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… And along came two in quick succession! – by Iain Fraser

📷 by Somhairle MacDonald Kōterana When the Rev. Norman McLeod set sail on the Barque Frances Ann from Ullapool heading to Cape Breton in 1817, he couldn’t have known that he would end his long life in New Zealand having led one of the nineteenth century’s largest privately organised emigrations. I came across his story … Continued

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CAOIR: Making an Album in Covid Times – by Joy Dunlop

📷 by Euan Robertson My name is Joy Dunlop and I’m a Scottish Gaelic singer and broadcaster. I grew up in the small village of Connel, outside Oban. I was brought up immersed in the traditional music scene of Argyll but also, listening to pop music on Radio 1 and Atlantic 252! I think that … Continued

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DIALOGUES – by Su-a Lee

📷 by Elly Lucas “Dialogues” – Debut Solo Album release – December 2022 Having been a professional musician for 30 years, many people have asked me why it has taken me so long to make a solo album. Quite simply, playing solo has never been my thing…I like playing with other people and collaborating. I … Continued

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THE DAWNING – by Graham Mackenzie

📷 by Somhairle Macdonald January 2020 and rehearsals had begun for my second studio album ‘The Dawning’ in the living room of my Glasgow flat. The music was coming together nicely, the studio was booked and I had finally cracked the availability code of five extremely busy musicians. And then we know what happened… Fast … Continued

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