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Greetings, everybody, from my home in
that most beautiful of Scottish Border villages, Denholm. Outside it’s bitterly
cold, the wind is blowing a gale and the snow is thick on the ground – yes, it’s
April! While the rest of you are enjoying bright Spring sunshine, Tommy, Judy
and I are huddled round a blazing log fire trying to keep warm. It’s so cold
we’ve even been forced to drink whisky (what a hardship), but if you lived here
all year round you’d understand why the Scots invented it!
Anyway, this time of year is
traditionally associated with new beginnings and looking to the future, so what
better time to launch our new album “BORDER SKIES”, our fourth C.D., and
although it’s always hard to top what’s gone before we think it’s our best yet.
We’re particularly excited to team up with our great friends FIONA CUTHILL and
STEVIE LAWRENCE for this recording, no strangers to most of you who will have
seen these two brilliant musicians join us on stage many times. Fiona is one of
the best fiddlers to emerge from the blossoming Glasgow scene and along with
Stevie plays with the highly acclaimed Rallion. Stevie was a founder member of
Iron Horse, and since then the list of performers he has collaborated with reads
like a Who’s Who of folk music. He is an amazing multi-instrumentalist, and on
this album he plays percussion, bouzouki, guitar, whistles, bass and even
Scottish small pipes. Is there no end to this man’s talent? It kind of makes you
wonder what the hell he’s doing playing with us! (Actually, I’ve got some photos
of Stevie in a very compromising position with a troop of Lancashire clog
dancers).
As the title suggests, the 11 track
album includes several songs from both sides of the Border. “Shake Loose The
Border”, a call to arms for the Reivers, and “Bonny At Morn”, the haunting
Northumbrian anthem, are big production numbers which contrast with the
simplicity of “Elibanks And Elibraes” and the heart-stopping “I’m Looking For My
Own Lone Ranger”. Other highlights include Irish songs “Once I loved” and “Red
Is The Rose”, while Judy’s ever-popular rendition of “Water Of Tyne” is included
here for the first time. All in all we hope everyone enjoys our latest offering
as we launch the new album over a series of special concerts in May.
Before that, Fiona will be joining us on
our annual tour of Germany, which starts on 17th April. She speaks
fluent German, so that will make a change from our feeble attempts, and a huge
improvement on Tommy’s only three words, “Eine bier bitte”! In fact, these are
the only three words Tommy has managed to learn in any of the many countries
we’ve toured over the past six years…funny, that…Other European adventures in
the offing are a summer return to Norway (really looking forward to that one),
our biggest tour yet of Denmark in the Autumn, and into 2009 a tour of Holland
in January that will include the biggest and best venue on the circuit there,
the Folkhook in Sevenum. Our favourite Folk Festival, Saltburn, is also in the
diary for August, so if you fancy a terrific weekend of brilliant music in a
beautiful location with a friendly and intimate atmosphere, don’t miss it. You
can also catch us in the Borders at Innerleithen and at F in the Garden in
August.
So, that’s it for now. We’ll up-date you
later in the year with our news. Maybe we’ll team up with the clog dancers –
we’d probably get a big fat grant from the Arts Council for that one!
Hope you enjoy the album.
Cheers,
Kenny.
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