Newsletter - April 2018

22/4/2018

Newsletter | Cuairt-litir

You are receiving this newsletter as you have been in contact with either Brian Ó hEadhra or Fiona Mackenzie in the past. Please unsubscribe below if you do not wish to receive any future mailings.

TÌR - Highland Life & Lore

TÌR - Highland Life & Lore is a new musical and visual arts project lead by Highland based duo Brian Ó hEadhra & Fiona Mackenzie. The duo is currently collecting and writing songs from the Highlands & Islands dealing with both traditional and contemporary subject matter which is still relevant to life in the Highlands today.

The subject matter will include customs, beliefs and folklife, engagement with our natural environment, emigration and immigration, land reform, and sustainable living.

Recording | Clàradh

Ó hEadhra & Mackenzie will record an album of twelve songs and work with Keith Morrison of the Wee Studio in Stornoway and acclaimed musician/composer Mike Vass, along with other artists, and launch the final work at the end of summer 2018.

Visual Art | Ealan Lèirsinneach

The visual elements of the project will be created by the talented Highland artist - Rachel Cush of Crafty Martin Art who will create bespoke project branding and artwork responding to each song.

Kickstarter

A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign will be launched in late May '18 which the duo hopes will draw attention to the project and get worldwide audiences enthused about the project. There will be lots of great offers with this campaign too!

Fiona says "We have been researching and thinking about this project for a number of years and are very excited to be able to finally bring it to fruition. The Highlands and islands are a huge inspiration to us and we are delighted to be working with other artists from this beautiful and culturally rich area of Scotland."

Brian continues "The work will have rich layered vocals and interesting sounds and arrangements which we hope will reflect the subject matter and sense of living in the Highlands today. Most of the work will be in Gaelic but we also will sing in English and Latin. We want to present the region as an amazing place to live but not shy away from difficult social, environmental and political issues."

Album demo of the song Iomraibh Eutrom. The footage was taken by Brian in Lewis and Uist.

The duo will also perform in Leeuwarden in Friesland, Netherlands in June as part of the city's European City of Culture 2018 celebrations. Future performance dates are currently being arranged.