Mike Vass – Notes From The Boat
Self Released – 27 July 2018
There must be any number of ways to prepare for a 2,500 mile sea journey, but perhaps only Mike Vass would prepare by recording an album. From Nairn, in Morayshire, composer, multi-instrumentalist and Scots Trad Music Award nominee Mike Vass is also a keen sailor. His 2014 album, In The Wake Of Neil Gunn, was inspired by the sea voyages of one of Scotland’s finest writers. Since then Mike has followed a similar dream to that of Neil Gunn, having bought himself a boat (an 11m Dutch beauty named Sweet Harmony) and moved aboard. After fitting out the boat as a combined living space and recording studio, Mike invited various friends aboard to record some music – and the delightful result is his latest album – Notes From The Boat.
Fiddle player Gillian Frame is the first of Mike’s guests to appear on board. A typically entrancing Vass fiddle melody follows the metronomic pizzicato opening of Last Day, then there are flashes of colour to remind us even more of the singular approach Mike has to his music. Enchanting tenor guitar picks out highlights, short bursts of sound that seems to emanate from India, and Gillian’s soft voice spelling out a message in phonetic alphabet … Lima, Alpha, Sierra…
The album was recorded while Sweet Harmony was moored at Inverkip on the Firth of Clyde, where a series of friends joined Mike before he set sail with his brother Martin on a 2,500 mile journey to the Canary Islands. Another family connection was a visit from Mike’s sister, Ali Vass. After a hypnotic opening and the weaving of a gentle melody from Mike’s tenor guitar, Ali takes to the melodica for Bright Kirk (Sweet Harmony‘s hatch being too slender for her piano). Featuring Paul Cavers‘ melody Cavers of Kirkcudbright the track is steadily driven along by guitar, percussion and, of course, fiddle. With fiddler Tomás Callister (Ímar, Barrule) at the helm, the sprightly Inver gets caught by a bracing sea breeze and hurtles along at a rate of knots. Innes White makes the most of Ewing with mandolin and tenor guitar and Mairearad Green‘s accordion takes Teen for a delightful turn around deck.
There are mellow moments too, of course. Anna Massie builds on her recent successful outings as the new face in fiddle quartet RANT with Wed; an elegant waltz, written by Mike for Ali’s wedding. Wed enjoys ample space for both guitar and fiddle, and even a pair of fiddles, to take centre stage. The noble, even archaic, tone of Duncan Chisholm‘s fiddle opens Speeches, another wedding celebration penned by Mike. The melody is afforded a sense of gravitas that could only come from Duncan’s uniquely sensitive hand on the bow, but also benefits from the experimental tuning in Mike’s second fiddle. Both these tracks were, reportedly, recorded during some particularly heavy weather.
The guest list grows ever longer, as Corrina Hewat‘s harp charms and delights on Voices, and Conal McDonagh (Assynt) uses the latent power of his whistle to full effect for Mike’s melody Coming Home, before the album closes with a visit from long-time collaborator Innes Watson on fiddle and guitar for Mike’s spirited Arthur’s Jig. A captivating, toe-tapping close to the album.
Throughout the album there are the small signature touches that help make Mike Vass’ music so special – ethereal keys and a snatch of sampled, spoken, vocal; a rusting thumb piano; or even Sweet Harmony‘s hydrovane sail creating a wind-powered bass drum – the spices that enhance the combination of Mike’s melodies and his friends’ skill as performers. Notes From The Boat offers a feast of musical delights. Warm, engaging melodies and sparkling performances combine with Mike’s peerless skills as an arranger for a truly delightful album.
Order Notes from the Boat via https://mikevass.bandcamp.com/album/notes-from-the-boat