December sees the release of Sounds Like Knockengorroch (out 6 December, pre-order from 20 November), a lockdown album that pays tribute to one of Scotland’s longest-running greenfield festivals and the artists and musicians who have been a part of it. What was founded in 1998 as a folk festival has grown over the years into a very popular world and roots music festival or as most folks call it…a World Ceilidh in the hills – the hills being the beautifully secluded Carsphairn hills in south-west Scotland.
The festival doesn’t restrict its endeavours to their annual event either, they also have an Off Site programme. In 2018, we covered their Oran Bagraidh (Song of Defiance) residency which was produced by Katch Holmes for Knockengorroch. The residency involved award-winning Scots/ Gaelic singer Josie Duncan, lauded Irish song archaeologist Lorcan Mac Mathuna, former Welsh poet laureate and singer Gwyneth Glyn, celebrated Irish Sean-Nós singer Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde, Belfast fiddler Conor Caldwell, ancient instrument virtuoso Barnaby Brown, poet, singer and performance artist MacGillivray, widely published poet Rody Gorman and medieval Welsh duo Bragod. You can read more about it here.
Below, taken from Sounds Like Knockengorroch, is the track Roll On by Scottish folk musician and singer songwriter Ewan McLennan who has been a regular on the Knockengorroch festival bill. Roll On will be released as a single on Friday 6 November, inspired by Ewan’s experiences of Knockengorroch over many years and recorded at Ben Capp Studio in Bristol.
Ewan tells us:
“Roll On is the amalgamation of experiences I’ve had at Knockengorroch over many years. I first started going when I was 18 and the people I met, the music I heard and the experience of that place, all spilled into this track. The track is stripped back but there’s also harmonica on there and I’ve used a slapback technique on the guitar to help create more of an upbeat, festival feel.
“I was really pleased to be asked to be on the Knockengorroch lockdown album and I think it’s a great idea, particularly when there are no gigs in sight at the moment. We’re all longing for festivals to return so it’s special to have something that pulls on our memories of these gatherings and great times. It was a privilege to be asked to be part of the compilation and I was very happy to donate this song as part of the album.”
Knockengorroch Festival organiser, Liz Holmes, said:
“We’re so grateful to Ewan for contributing this beautiful track to the Knockengorroch lockdown compilation and to unveil it as the first single from the album. Sounds Like Knockengorroch is all about championing the artists and people who make the festival what it is and to share the sounds and feelings of the event with our loyal audiences. We can’t wait to share more of it with you all in the coming weeks.”
Roll On is also our Song of the Day.
Roll On will be one of 20 tracks on the festival’s lockdown album recorded remotely by artists who are loved by Knockengorroch audiences or performed at Virtually Knockengorroch – an interactive livestream of the festival held in May 2020.
2020 would have been the 34th edition of the event which first launched in 1998.
The 20-track double CD will include recordings from an inspiring mix of folk, world and electronic music acts, with more details to be unveiled soon.
Roll On will be available to download and stream on Friday, 6 November. The Knockengorroch Lockdown Album will be available for pre-order from 20 November.
www.knockengorroch.org.uk / www.ewanmclennan.co.uk
Photo Credits: Festival Photo by Douglas Robertson Photography