Having just won the Gaelic Singer of the Year Award at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards over the weekend, Kim Carnie also recently launched a Kickstarter Campaign for debut album “And So We Gather” which includes a number of special guests. The first few announced include Julie Fowlis, Kathleen MacInnes, Karen Matheson and Clockwork Sessions Orchestra.
Raised in Oban with strong links to Perthshire’s Glen Lyon, Kim was a BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2017. Prior to this she also wrote for Folk Radio, interviewing the likes of fellow Gaelic singer Mischa MacPherson and reviewing a number of albums. She has worked as a session vocalist with producers including Jim Sutherland, Ged Grimes and Donald Shaw. She is featured on Netflix’s Outlaw King (2018) and the computer game soundtrack for Black Mirror, as well as The Bard’s Tale (2019), alongside Deacon Blue’s Gregor Phillips. As well as her solo career, she is also a member of Mànran whose latest album Ùrar, was one of our recent Featured Albums of the Month (reviewed here) and Staran whose debut album was reviewed here. On top of all this she is also a regular TV Presenter on BBC Alba.
Of her debut album, she told us: “We are in the final stages of the process now. We have a couple of guests still to lay down their parts but have started mixing the rest. Then it will head for mastering, print and PR before release! I’m over the moon with how it is sounding. It’s been a real privilege recording with this team. I have been overwhelmed with the support so far, and I really am very excited to share it with you soon.”
You can help her by supporting her crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kimcarnie/debut-album-and-so-we-gather
And So We Gather
On her Kickstarter campaign page, Kim told supporters:
When the pandemic hit, and our worlds crashed down around us, I did what I have always done best: I ran home. I ran for the hills. I spent 14 months between Glenlyon and the Isle of Skye, singing, writing, finding old songs new to me. I poured more of myself into song than I have ever done before. I made a plan, all under the title ‘For When We Gather’. I readied myself to put my first album together, and here I am now, so almost ready to share it with you!
‘And So We Gather’ brings together some of my favourite musicians, but most importantly, some of my favourite hearts and minds. It has been a real privilege putting this music together – to hearing what others hear in both my songs and the songs of our ancestors.
The album features over 40 artists, with around 15 more minds working on the project – from composers and engineers to conductors and PR teams. Donald Shaw (Capercaillie / Celtic Connections) is producing the album, with Innes White, James Lindsay (Breabach) and James MacIntosh (Capercaillie / Shooglenifty) are the delicious core band.
The guests make up the other 40+ musicians. And while I want to keep some guests a secret for now, it is a HUGE honour to tell you that Julie Fowlis, Karen Matheson and Kathleen MacInnes are some of the singers on the album, as well as the incredible Clockwork Sessions Orchestra (eeeeep).
Today, supporting independent art is an intentional act, and while not everyone is in the position to do this financially, sharing the project far and wide with your own following, or friends and family, is a crucial – and hugely appreciated – intentional act.
You can support Kim here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kimcarnie/debut-album-and-so-we-gather
Photo Credit: Elly Lucas