Dreamy yet thought-provoking at just the right moments, Still As Your Sleeping is an earnest and embracing soundtrack. Thoroughly warm-hearted and beautifully life-affirming. A genuinely gorgeous and magical duet.
Karine Polwart & Dave Milligan – Still As Your Sleeping
Hudson Records – 1 October 2021
Karine Polwart and Dave Milligan’s new release, Still As Your Sleeping, is a stripped-back recording focusing on the dialogue between Polwart’s warm voice and Milligan’s soothing piano. Polwart is well known as one of the most compelling and inspiring Scottish singer-songwriters, possessing a tender yet formidable voice in equal measure. Milligan is perhaps better known as a jazz pianist but here demonstrates a sensitive and knowledgeable ear for folk and traditional influences, although there are still many jazz touches and flourishes filtered through Still As Your Sleeping.
It is a beautifully simple yet enormously absorbing listen. The intimacy between voice and piano utterly beguiles you, drawing you warmly into the duo’s confidence. The pair live close to one another, in Pathhead, a Midlothian village roughly eleven miles south of Edinburgh, and have known each other for several years. Consequently, this trust and familiarity is palpably felt in their music, a tangible bond between the two musicians. As Polwart says, “One voice and one piano can hold a lot of space, a lot of feeling.” On Still As Your Sleeping, this is deeply felt.
The ten tracks on the album include some self-penned songs and a few well-chosen traditional songs. ‘Craigie Hill’ introduces the album, a light, sparkling romance opening with rising piano; it effortlessly welcomes the ear and sets the scene for a rather gorgeous listen. It’s a song with a long history and was previously recorded by Paddy Tunney, Dick Gaughan and Cara Dillon, here though, Polwart and Milligan smoothly make the song their own. It is a fresh interpretation, Polwart’s soft, mellow vocals perfectly accompanied by Milligan’s light touch.
Alasdair Roberts’ song ‘Old Men of the Shells’ is about home, age and the sea: “To find my home in the ocean swells / And follow the old men of the shells” sings Polwart over the heartbeat pulse of Milligan’s piano. On the other hand, ‘Siccar Point’ plays with the spoken words, creating an intimacy between listener and voice with Polwart moving between song and spoken poetry. It’s a song with a fragile message, but an eternal one too: “Only one thing is sure”, she states before whispering, “Everything dissolves and disappears.”
It’s a treat too to hear a song by the much-missed Michael Marra. ‘Heaven’s Hound’ is delivered with a gentle sensitivity that contrasts to Marra’s original rawness whilst the poignant ‘The Parting Glass’, a song about friends and family, of loss and longing, is sensitively rendered through Polwart’s soothing burr.
‘The Path That Winds Before Us’ is a comforting, reassuring listen—an encouragement to recognise better days ahead and have faith in the future. “Don’t worry. Don’t hurry / The seed will take its time to grow,” sings Polwart over Milligan’s gentle piano. It is a simple message but a potent one: “One step and then another is the only place we have to go.”
The duo also deliver an effective rendition of Richard Fariña’s ‘The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood’, set to the Irish air ‘My Lagan Love’. It works incredibly well, with what sounds like added strings and synth accompaniment but is in fact Dave Milligan using the insides of the piano encouraging a larger, almost more orchestral sound, in contrast to the simplicity of the rest of the album.
Kate McGarrigle’s ‘Talk to me of Mendocino’ picks up the pace slightly, taking us across the Atlantic and through the seasons. It’s a confident version and perfectly illustrates Polwart’s power as a vocalist.
A particular favourite is the penultimate track, the self-penned ‘Travel These Ways’, where Milligan accompanies Polwart on vocals. The song was commissioned for Luminate, Scotland’s festival of creative ageing, to help those with dementia and encourage participation in Luminate’s Dementia Inclusive Singing Network. It is a simple song but one with a powerful message: “Wherever we go / Wherever we bide / Whatever the wind and weather / Wherever we go / Wherever we bide / We’ll travel these ways together” repeat Polwart and Milligan. It is a song about family, and care, support and love. Bittersweet but filled with quiet affection.
Still As Your Sleeping was conceived and written during the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, an uncertain period when solace and assurance were actively sought. It was also recorded less than ten minutes from Polwart’s own home, an important decision: “It’s never felt more important to me to make music,” notes Polwart, “and tell stories, from exactly where I am, with the people I live alongside, my friends and neighbours.”
The album concludes with the duo’s interpretation of ‘Ae Fond Kiss’. It sometimes feels that every Scottish musician has to include this Burns song on their album. It’s a testament to the talents of the duo that their version is both contemporary and respectful. Polwart and Milligan know the true heart of the song – evident in the soft, touching core of their delivery; Polwart’s vocal and Milligan’s piano tenderly skirt around each other, delivering a pleasingly refreshing take on a familiar favourite. It’s a fine closure to the album, a poignant and heartfelt sentiment.
For Polwart, the assembly of songs on Still As Your Sleeping exists on the edge of things. Summing up the collection, she notes: “People say goodbye to what they know, to loved ones, and perhaps even to life, whilst others are pulled back to the world of the living. There’s a deep sense of time too, both of those who went before us, and those who’re still to come”. And that sense of timelessness and time passing is profound in the selection of songs on Still As Your Sleeping. Most of the songs have a personal connection for Polwart and Milligan, ensuring the album has an immediate and emotional power.
Karine Polwart and Dave Milligan have crafted an elegantly uncomplicated listen. Dreamy yet thought-provoking at just the right moments, Still As Your Sleeping is an earnest and embracing soundtrack. Thoroughly warm-hearted and beautifully life-affirming. A genuinely gorgeous and magical duet.
Still As Your Sleeping is released today (1st October) via Hudson Records (Signed CD, Artwork Prints, Digital)
The Vinyl LP release date is currently 10/12/21; however, Hudson Records tell us that they are pushing to move this forward if possible; it will be well worth the wait!
Order Still As Your Sleeping here: http://smarturl.it/stillasyoursleeping | https://hudsonrecords.co.uk/product/karine-polwart-dave-milligan-still-as-your-sleeping
Karine Polwart Trio are on tour now. For full details, visit: https://www.karinepolwart.com/gigs
Dave Milligan: http://davemilligan.co.uk
Signed Artwork
Hudson Records also have specially printed and signed artwork from Jenni Douglas of the cover image of ‘Still As Your Sleeping’; the print will be signed and numbered by Jenni! These are limited to 250, so grab them quick! Order here. Find all about Jenni here – https://www.jennidouglas.co.uk