Tag Archives: debut album

This week’s featured artist: singer-songwriter, Mark Neal – debut solo album out now

Album reviews, Folk music, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

Cool Waters is the debut solo album from singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Mark Neal. While he’s been playing and recording as part of the Scottish traditional music scene for many years, this is the first time he’s worked solo.

Based in Helensburgh in the west of Scotland, Neal is mainly a guitarist and singer but ever since he started playing music as a young child he’s enjoyed the challenge of picking up and learning new instruments and different musical styles. Having a keen interest in science and technology (having studied a degree in Physics and a PhD in musical acoustics) he has always enjoyed the technical side of music. He’s been heavily involved in sound engineering and recording since his university days and is co-owner of the Edinburgh recording studio ‘The Sonic Lodge’ with fellow musician and producer Phil McBride.

Mark Neal: “I have been writing songs for many years and over 2023 I decided to take a bit more time to do more writing and ended up completing this collection of songs. This album started as a solo songwriting project but as it developed it seemed like a nice idea to make the whole album completely solo with me playing all the instruments, producing, recording and mixing.”

“The songs are mostly all based around my acoustic guitar playing but move away from the trad/folk style that has been a feature of most of my recording and performing and pulling in influences from jazz, pop, rock and classical music which I also love. Much of the songwriting has been inspired by nature and many of these songs come from thoughts that have popped into my head when wandering around the land and seascapes in the West of Scotland.”

Cool Waters is a highly enjoyable album with some lovely guitar, both acoustic and electric. Although Mark Neal’s musical background is very much in Scottish traditional music, this album is much more in the gentle, laid-back singer-songwriter vibe. Think of a Scottish James Taylor and you won’t go far wrong. Beautifully written and performed and well worth checking out.

Photo credits: Gordon Russell

Cool Waters available on CD via Bandcamp and released on all major platforms from 1st November 2024

Visit website here

This week’s featured artist: Church Street Shuffle – debut album ‘The Five Day Weekend’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , , ,

A contemporary Scottish fiddle and guitar duo featuring fiddle player, Neil Ewart, and guitarist, Ali MacQuarrie, the pair came into one another’s orbit through the bustling live music scene in Inverness and the band’s name pays homage to that, where it’s not unknown for in-demand musicians to play up to three venues in one night, shuffling up and down the city’s Church Street as they do so.

Church Street Shuffle: “Recognizing a shared vision, they embarked on a collaborative effort to blend Neil’s multilayered fiddle loops and chops with Ali’s intricate guitar work, bass lines, and beats. Despite their modern approach, they remained steadfast in honouring the timeless traditions of Scottish music, infusing each track with authenticity and reverence.”

The inspiration for the album’s name, meanwhile, harks back to an old expression about a musician’s typical lifestyle during the winter months, where the weekends would extend beyond the conventional working week.

Neil Ewart’s musical journey began at the National Centre for Excellence in Plockton, where he honed his skills before pursuing a degree in Applied Music at Strathclyde University. His innovative and daring compositions are deeply entrenched in the rich heritage of Scotland’s west coast. Echoing the creative spirit of pipers from centuries past who improvised variations on Gaelic airs, Neil breathes new life into the genre by infusing it with contemporary harmonic structures and rhythmic complexities.

Ali MacQuarrie’s masterful guitar playing and infectious grooves, meanwhile, are also a key feature of each track. He continues to refine his craft at the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, enriching his musical repertoire with classical training. His reputation as a sought-after guitarist in the Highlands continues to soar, which has seen him share stages with acts such as Calum MacPhail and Cala.

Recording the album, the pair joined up with established recording engineer and producer, Barry Reid, who also plays synths and percussion.

A contemporary and fresh-sounding take on Scottish traditional music, the duo have created an instrumental album that’s both fizzing with innovation yet also feels like the warm embrace a familiar old friend. The Five Day Weekend is an impressive debut.

Released: 17 May 2024

https://www.churchstreetshuffle.com/

News: The Roke – debut album from Scottish piper Ross Miller

Folk music, Music news, , , , , ,

The Roke is the town tune of the Ancient and Royal Burgh of Linlithgow where Ross Miller was brought up and where he is the official Town Piper. The Roke is also the title of Miller’s debut album, released on 9th March – his 25th birthday.

“This album has been years in the making,” Ross Miller tells Darren’s music blog. “I’ve been writing tunes and putting sets together for years with a variety of different groups but I felt that the time had come to record my music and release it into the world. The recording process was spaced out over three months and the sound evolved so much into what you hear on the CD. I am over the moon with the way it has turned out and I am hugely grateful to everyone who has supported me through the process either musically, financially or just generally being there to listen to my constant thinking out loud!”

A finalist in the 2019 BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year and a Celtic Connections award winner, Miller has also won the World Pipe Band Championships and an array of Solo Piping prizes in his career so far. The tunes on this instrumental album are all either Miller’s compositions or his personal favourites to play. The music ranges from tunes he has played in pipe bands that have been given a new twist to modern Reels and Jigs. The album features full band arrangements as well as more stripped back solo performances and even includes a pipe quartet where Miller performs all four parts.

Co-produced with Craig Irving,  Ross Miller has assembled a strong cast of musicians for the album:

Ross Miller – Bagpipes
Craig Irivng – Guitar (a BBC Young Folk Award winner and former member of Scottish bands Manran and Talisk)
Charlie Stewart – Fiddle, Double Bass (BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2017)
Rory Matheson – Piano (Fara)
Callum Edwards – Drums, percussion, marching snare drum (Red Hot Chilli Pipers)
Craig Baxter – Bodhran (Gnoss)

The Roke by Ross Miller is released on 9th March 2020 by Avontoun Records.

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Photo credits: Martin Venherm

https://www.rossmillermusic.com/

Folk: album review – Rachel Croft ‘Hours Awake’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , ,

This review was originally published in the Spring 2019 issue of fRoots magazine

Celtic-influenced melodies, lush instrumentation and pure yet ever-so-sensual vocals serve to make Hours Awake a highly attractive debut album from the York-based singer songwriter. The album collects together songs that Croft has been creating over a three-year period between 2014, when she first started writing, and 2017.

Only Dreams, which was also released as Croft’s debut single back in 2017, is one of the standout tracks on the album. Beautifully atmospheric instrumentation combines with powerful lyrics and captivating vocals in a Sandy-Denny-meets-Kate-Bush sort of way and showcases Croft’s considerable vocal range. Opening track, the moody and haunting Old Climbing Tree is another stunner. In addition to Croft, herself, on acoustic guitar a group of talented musicians contribute to making this album something special. The playing of Emlyn Vaughan on double bass, Rachel Brown on cello and Emily Lawler is particularly noteworthy.

Nicely packaged and beautifully illustrated the inside cover-art features some of Croft’s own striking black and white pen and ink work.

The album is not quite perfect. Some slightly weird production mars the second track Hear Me somewhat and the final track Can’t Replace Your Perfect, a big, soulful, gospel-tinged number stands up perfectly well on its own and certainly helps demonstrates the vocalist’s versatility but seems a little out of place here. Nonetheless, Hours Awake is a beautifully impressive debut from a talented vocalist, musician and songwriter.

Released: 8th February 2019

https://rachelcroftmusic.com/

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