MAEVE MACKINNON - Strì
Private Label MM003
A busy woman is Maeve Mackinnon, from her Gaelic singing career and her involvement in the touring group Stepcrew. Growing up in a socially conscious family in Partick, singing was an integral part of the domestic fabric and it gradually acquired a deeper significance during regular family holidays on the Hebridean island of Jura.
Stri, her third album, comes on the success of her previous recordings. It is based on the themes of work and exile, predominantly in Gaelic but with some English songs included. Musically, it centres on traditional songs with complex, sometimes ambient arrangements, with trip hop elements (as in Iomaraibh Eutrom and Dh’fhalbh Mo Rùn Air An Aiseag) which bubble and pop brightly this side of Capercaillie; whilst Paul Mounsey and Colour Of Amber’s ambient ethereal pools inhabit Moch An Diugh, a fine example of modern mouth music.
However, amongst these lies a version of Roísín Dubh which, with Irish ears, excites the most: a beautiful retake of the Irish song caressed within the Scots Gaelic canon – here the experiments are rested in favour of a restrained soulful interpretation, brimming with emotion. Accompanied only by keyboards and Jarlath Henderson’s eloquent uilleann pipes, it is one of the finest vocal performances to cross my ears, and a masterful track. Similarly restrained is Ailean Duinn, O Hì Shiùbhlainn Leat, accompanied by an earthy cello and Ali Hutton’s low whistle. The gently lilting Ceann Tràigh Ghruinneart, with Hutton’s bagpipes, adds a carefree strain.
Strì maintains a careful balance between deftly arranged Gaelic waulking songs doused in dense contemporary coatings and luscious ballads delivered with conviction and zeal. Maeve Mackinnon’s voice stokes the fire of emotional attachment and contemporary nous. Strì is her finest hour - no less no more.
www.maevemackinnon.com
John O’Regan
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Many CDs we review are available from The Listening Post. Check to see if this CD is available. The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 124 of The Living Tradition magazine. |