Br - The Reeling [CD]

Following the tremendous success of Lisa O'Neill's 'Heard A Long Gone Song' LP, River Lea is excited to be releasing the debut album by exceptional Skye musician Brìghde Chaimbeul. The Reeling was recorded live without overdubs in the historic East Church in Cromarty, on the Black Isle. These largely traditional Scottish and Bulgarian tunes were performed by Brìghde on the Scottish smallpipes (with the addition of an ancient harmonium found in the church.) She was joined on the recording by violinist Aidan O'Rourke from experimental folk trio Lau, who also produced the album, Radie Peat from the Dublin band Lankum on concertina, and the pioneering 82-year-old singer and piper Rona Lightfoot contributing canntaireachd (a phonetic singing tradition used to teach pipe tunes – the word means "chanting" in Gaelic.) Hearing Rona play gave Brìghde her initial inspiration to take up piping when she was just four years old (she began studying the instrument three years later). Working closely with Aidan O'Rourke, Brìghde has devised a completely new way of arranging for pipe music that emphasises the rich textural drones of the smallpipes; the constancy of sound that creates a trance-like quality in the tunes. While the recording process, overseen by Iain Hutchison, allowed for every integral breath, click and creak of the instrument and its surroundings to become part of that sound. The result is an album that's uniquely beautiful, exhilarating and strange. "Some of these tunes I've known since I was little and some are new to me, previously unrecorded and sourced from collections of old manuscripts and archive recordings. I've been inspired by the deep-rooted connection between piping, Gaelic song and canntaireachd, and the global connections of piping and the folk who sing and play to tell stories." - Brìghde Chaimbeul. The release of The Reeling will be marked by a concert at Glasgow's Celtic Connections on January 18th. Brìghde and Aidan are also honoured to have been asked to perform at the festival's opening gala at the Royal Concert Hall on January 17th. Brìghde Chaimbeul is a Scottish Gaelic name pronounced Bree-CHU (as in "church") Campbell.