THREE is proving to be the magic number for rising Gaelic singing trio Sian. The power contained in these young women’s harmonies gives an already exciting traditional music scene yet another new outlet.
Comprised of Ellen MacDonald, Eilidh Cormack and Ceitlin LR Smith, Sian’s stunning vocals have most recently been showcased on the title track from the new Niteworks album Air Fàir an Là. Their combined vocal talent is as refreshing as it is traditional – and the trio promise there is more to come.
All accomplished singers in their own right – MacDonald with Dàimh, Cormack and Smith as winners of gold medals at the National Mod – the three were brought together as part of an initiative instigated by the Blas festival back in 2016.
“We all kind of met through the Mod, although I knew Eilidh from a Gaelic choir we were in at high school,” says MacDonald. “We knew of each other just through the Gaelic singing world.
“But we were first brought together – along with Innes White – as part of a project for Blas which focused on songs by female Gaelic bards. So we did a couple of gigs at Blas in 2016 and it just kind of went on from there.
“We really enjoyed singing with each other. Personally I’d done a lot of singing when I was younger like vocal harmony singing and choirs but I hadn’t done it for so long and after we’d come together for that project it was so nice. I also thought our voices worked really well together.”
From there, the three were asked to perform at Celtic Connections and following on from that determined to keep the project going as Sian.
“We just all really enjoyed singing with one another,” says MacDonald.
For now, though, the plan is to launch a small tour at the end of this year and begin to collect songs which will form the first Sian album.
“We’d love to record together so we’re working on being able to do that,” says MacDonald. “We’re all fairly busy with other projects and jobs just now but it’s definitely what we’re working towards.”
And, having been formed in part to give greater voice to the female Gaelic bards of old, Sian have no intention of deviating from that path.
“That’s a priority for us to keep that theme going,” says MacDonald. “And it kind of makes sense. When we’ve been sourcing new material for gigs we’ve always sought out female bards so we’ll try and keep that going.”
By focusing on female songwriters, Sian are hoping to bring lost songs to a new audience and to raise the prominence of female Gaelic bards, some of whom were shunned during their lives simply for being women.
The writer of Air Fàir an Là, for example, the 17th century Skye poet Màiri nighean Alasdair Ruaidh, was shunned by her community and, on her death, buried face down as punishment for her “sin” of writing.
“It’s obvious we enjoy performing songs that are well known and people love hearing those songs, but it’s also important for us to find songs that aren’t as well known or that people aren’t so aware of,” says MacDonald. “To try and bring them back and allow people to hear them. It’s important to us to keep songs from dying out.”
The three are well placed to continue their quest for forgotten songs. MacDonald, although brought up in Inverness, has strong ties to North Uist, while Cormack is from a famous family of Gaelic singers from Skye – her father is Arthur Cormack, and Smith is a native of Ness on Lewis.
However, even with such backgrounds, the trio are also able to call upon online resources such as the Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches website which is an incredible online archive of Gaelic (and Scots) folk songs.
“We have all individually brought songs to Sian,” says MacDonald. “And even though we were all brought up with Gaelic song, we have all grown up with different tutors and inspirations.
“Ceitlin went to the Royal Conservatoire while Eilidh’s family also have a wealth of song for her to draw upon. And I went to Sabhal Mor Ostaig and got loads of songs from Christine Primrose there.
“So through all of our different musical upbringings we’ve all got different songs, or versions of songs, and it’s good that we all have different people we can go to when we’re sourcing songs.
“And with the online resources, there are hundreds of old recordings of songs and stories we can all use and we do use it regularly.”
The recent collaboration with Niteworks is an extension of MacDonald’s work with the band – she has been their de facto lead singer for live gigs for the past couple of years – and is one of the standout tracks on a sensational album. Such is the successful melding of Sian’s harmonies with the delicate electronica of Niteworks that future collaborations appear almost a certainty.
“We sang Air Fàir an Là I think at Skye Live last year and Innes [Strachan from Niteworks] heard us and said afterwards that it would work perfectly as a Niteworks track,” MacDonald explains.
“So we just took our exact arrangement to the boys and they’ve adapted it but they’ve been really respectful of the song and it feels like it was a perfect fit.”
However, the interplay between the three women’s voices is of such beauty and power that the trio seem destined to be flooded with further offers of collaboration.
“The reason I love Sian so much is that you can do so much with just voices,” says MacDonald. “You can come up with really cool sounds with just voices.”
And those voices will be making their mark at this year’s Mod in Dunoon in October where Sian will be performing before, hopefully, a tour towards the end of the year.
The problem for Sian, as with so many traditional acts, is finding time to tour and record. MacDonald, for instance, will be heading off to north America tomorrow with Daimh, while Smith works with MG Alba and Cormack, as well as being a National columnist, works for the Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic at Glasgow University.
“We’d all ideally like to be doing more Sian gigs,” admits MacDonald, “so we’re working on ways to make that happen.”
Let’s hope Sian find the time as these three young women – MacDonald is 24, Smith is 25 and Cormack is 22 – are just the latest in a new wave of female traditional musicians who are confidently, assuredly and unapologetically changing perceptions of what has long been regarded as an overly macho scene.
Sian play the National Mod which is being held in Dunoon from October 12-20
Niteworks’ Air Fàir an Là featuring Sian is available now
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here