Brìghde Chaimbeul, Ross Ainslie and Steven Byrnes Haberlin have teamed up on the collaborative album LAS. The album is out Friday 2 September; the self-penned instrumental album is the first album of double C smallpipes to be released in the world.
In 2019, the multi-award-winning Skye piper Brìghde Chaimbeul delivered a stunning debut album titled The Reeling. Prior to that album, Brìghde was collaborating with acclaimed Scottish traditional musician and composer Ross Ainslie and Irish guitarist and drummer Steven Byrnes Haberlin, the results of which Ross shared on Youtube in 2017. We were so blown away by it that we featured it as a Tune of Day. Here’s a Bulgarian Set from that session:
In 2020, in an interview about his album Vana, Ross Ainslie told us that an album with Brìghde Chaimbeul was in the works and that they’d been doing some work for a couple of years but had not yet managed to record it. The wait is nearly over.
LAS was recorded live and consists of a mixture of original compositions, traditional Scottish songs, and tunes from Bulgaria, Spain and France. Ross was inspired to collaborate with Brìghde when he heard her performing at the Radio 2 Folk Awards and, after teaming up with Steven, found the three artists made a harmonious partnership.
Brìghde Chaimbeul said: “It was brilliant to finally get into the studio after a two-year delay. Recording live meant we could capture the energy of the moment and it was great to do so after the last couple of years.”
Ross Ainslie said: “It’s unusual to hear the smallpipes played in the key of C so when I heard that, I knew I wanted to work with Brìghde. We met up a year later and started putting some tunes together and got Steven on board as well. Once we had everything in place the recording happened quite quickly. Making this album felt like going back to our roots in a way, it has been a very refreshing album to create and the main focus is definitely the pipes – it’s a very unique sound.”
Steven Byrnes Haberlin said: “We all spoke about how we’d like to record this album away from all distraction and to fully immerse ourselves into the project. That’s why we chose Sean Og’s studio, it’s in a remote location and we had no time restrictions. Some of the best moments are captured in the small hours and we had the luxury to do that on this album.”
Watch the album trailer below:
Brìghde Chaimbeul won major media plaudits and five-star reviews for her 2019 debut album, The Reeling, featuring her completely unique arrangement of smallpipe playing. She also performed for world leaders and listeners across the globe at the opening ceremony of COP26 in 2021.
Ross Ainslie is one of Scotland’s finest traditional musicians and composers, dubbed “ridiculously talented” by The Herald for his playing of pipes, whistles and cittern. In 2020, Ross released Vana, for which he was Folk Radio UK’s Artist of the Month. Billy Rough described the album as “a confident, considered, and accomplished release from one of Scotland’s finest and most exhilarating musicians.”
Steven Byrnes Haberlin is a guitarist and drummer from the southeast of Ireland who has recorded, collaborated and performed across the UK, Ireland and Europe with folk artists like Kate Rusby, Damien O’Kane, The Treacherous Orchestra and Hamish Napier.
The record includes standout tracks like the powerful majestic sounding Green Light Set, the cheery and light-hearted tune Dod’s and the dramatic and fast-paced Strathspeys and Reels.
Their album was recorded at Bannview Studios in Northern Ireland and mixed and mastered in Glasgow at GloWorm Recordings by Andrea Gobbi. Every track was recorded live, with the musicians positioned close to one another to give a session-like experience.
LAS will be available to buy on CD, stream and download on all major digital platforms on Friday 2nd September 2022.
Websites: http://www.rossainslie.com/ | https://www.brichaimbeul.com/ |