Scottish folk musician, composer and tutor, Hamish Napier, has announced that his third solo album, The Woods, is to be released on 20th March 2020. The release follows on from his first solo release ‘The River’ and his 2018 release ‘The Railway’ on which Neil McFadyen concluded in his review:
Hamish Napier could write an album about an empty field and it would still impress, but writing music about his native Speyside definitely seems to bring out the very best. The Railway really is a truly delightful journey. As expected, this is music that makes the heart sing.
The album forms a pentalogy of music inspired by his native Strathspey, and a further two albums, The Hill and The Sky are planned for 2022 and 2024, respectively. He described each album as representing “one of the ‘classical elements’ – water, fire, earth, wind and aether. They were believed to be the building blocks of matter and the natural world by numerous ancient cultures (Greece, India, Persia, Japan, Tibet and others).”
Talk about dedication to a vision; his epic musical journey will end up taking a decade to complete, which he optimistically enthuses “I’m pleased to say I’m now more than halfway there!”
The Wood is epic on all fronts, containing 20 tracks which run for 1 hour 6 minutes. “It contains exclusively my own material (25 new original folk tunes). It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever made, taking 11 months to research, compose and arrange. I interviewed local wildlife experts, foresters and their families, and delved into some great old local history books and tree guides. It took over three hundred hours in the studio to record and mix. I’ve incorporated sounds recorded in the forest: wind, water, birds, axes, saws, roaring stags and sparring capercaillies. It features a stellar cast of musicians: Ross Ainslie, Jarlath Henderson, Innes Watson, Su-a Lee, James Lindsay, Calum MacCrimmon and Steven Byrnes. It was co-produced and beautifully recorded by maverick soundsmith Andrea Gobbi.”
He went on to explain what the album is about:
“For THE WOODS, I have used the Scottish Gaelic alphabet, which is centred around Scotland’s native trees, to explore the folklore, natural and social heritage of Strathspey. I’ve composed tunes for all 18 Gaelic letters. There’s also music for the people who lived in the woods locally, and who explored, worked, foraged, mused, trained, flourished and died there. I explored the flora and fauna of the Caledonian forest, riparian woods, montane scrub and other woodlands, in particular, the properties and uses of our twenty or so native trees.”
“THE WOODS is sponsored by Cairngorms Connect, a partnership of neighbouring land managers, committed to a bold and ambitious 200-year vision to enhance habitats, species and ecological processes across a vast area within the Cairngorms National Park. My music marks the beginning of this momentous nature project, and I am very proud as a local artist to play a small part in the epic goal of Cairngorms Connect. You can read more on their amazing website here.”
Ahead of the official March release date, the unreleased CD will be available exclusively for a limited time only at Celtic Connections festival: at the live performance of The Woods on 19th January at the Mitchell Theatre (tickets) and then in the festival CD shop at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, up until 2nd February.
The CD can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp here: https://hamishnapier.bandcamp.com/music
It includes a 28-page, 6000-word booklet with native tree facts and Highland folklore; a beautifully detailed drawing of the Caledonian forest by Somhairle MacDonald; and stunning landscape photography by David Russell at Highland Wildscapes.
A series of digital download singles are also to be released in the three months prior to the album’s release. There’s a track for every letter of the Scottish Gaelic tree alphabet, amounting to about half of the full album.
Hamish explains that fans who download all the singles of the series before 20th March will receive:
– a free extra limited edition bonus track, featuring Duncan Chisholm, entitled ‘The Tree of Eternity’ dedicated to the yew tree. This track was recorded live in Eden Court Theatre’s Bishops Chapel in August 2019.
– a 20% discount on a new tune specially commissioned by you (including a signed, framed score and mp3 studio recording) perhaps as a gift to a friend, spouse or family member. You can contact him via his website here if interested.