Neil McFadyen
Neil McFadyen
Lives with his wife and kids in the shadow of the small and perfectly formed Ochil Hills, near Stirling. Earns his crust as a map geek. Stays sane by listening, reading, writing, walking and having his horizons widened.
★★★★★ With more than forty years at the forefront of American music Ry Cooder’s latest release ‘Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down’ sounds like a cue for a couple of characters from Steinbeck’s Tortilla Flat to kick back with a jug of cheap wine. But there’s far more on offer than some slick slide guitar and paisano chivalry.
★★★★★ Robert Doyle’s fingerstyle guitar playing, and the guitar’s mesmerizing tone, are the main draws of ‘Life In Shadows’. His guitar style benefits from the influence of his former tutor, French-Algerian guitarist Pierre Bensusan and his emotional vocal performances owe much to the Sean-Nos style.
★★★★★ June Tabor and Oysterband have provided far more than a heady mix of traditional ballads and contemporary songwriting. The album raises the spirit and tears at the soul in turn. It takes all the artists involved in new directions, each and every one of them revelling in the exploration of uncharted territory.
Tassili offers existing fans of Tinariwen more of what they love while embracing influences that are sure to bring them to a wider audience. In returning to their desert roots, Tinariwen have succeeded in shaking off the two most potent symbols of their origins – the gun and the electric guitar, yet still affirm their right to exist as a desert people.
Music has been used to spread messages; political, romantic, historical, for hundreds, probably thousands of years. It’s an effective medium and the musical traditions we’re so proud of owe their very existence to this fact. The trouble is, of course, that almost any message is open to interpretation. This CD, and the Folk Against Fascism movement it supports, have come about because of the misappropriation of British folk music and …
Seasick Steve heads a posse of top acts for the third annual Southern Fried Festival of American Roots Music in Perth, Scotland. The festival takes place in Perth Concert Hall, Perth Theatre and a variety of other venues nearby. All the roots music bases from blues and country to rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, soul and R&B will be covered in this packed weekend of song, dance, food, workshops, kid’s events …
An intimate setting in Stirling’s Tollbooth theatre was the location for a double bill featuring Cormac Cannon, a Uilleann piper from Galway and a performance of Jenna and Bethany Reid’s The Shetland Bus Cormac Cannon is one of a talented group of young Uilleann pipers in Ireland today. Learning music from an early age, his influences include Galway pipers Eammon O’Broithe and Tommy Keane. He has avidly imbibed the techniques, …
Duncan Chisholm has released Canaich, the second instalment in his Strathglass trilogy, on Copperfish Records. This follows on from Farrar, the award-winning first album in the trilogy, inspired by the highland landscapes populated by his ancestors. In 1988 Duncan Chisholm was a founder member of Wolfstone; within two years the band had become a full-time job and one of Scotland’s most talented musicians was at the start of an impressive …