EDINBURGH Tradfest has released a brand new recording and video of a popular Scottish/Irish folk song after the festival was cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The project was released yesterday, marking the day the annual festival should have kicked off and launching a fundraising campaign its 2021 event.
36 artists from Scotland, Ireland, England, California, Nova Scotia and Norway have recorded and videoed themselves at home for the release of Wild Mountain Thyme, including festival headliner Eliza Carthy, Fiona Hunter (Malinky), Rachel Newton (The Shee), James Mackintosh (Shooglenifty), five leading Shetland fiddlers including Catriona Macdonald and Chris Stout, accordion player Phil Alexander (Moishe’s Bagel), and Irish folk-singer Daoiri Farrell.
Traditional Artist in Residence (University of Edinburgh) Mike Vass arranged and produced the recording, while Edinburgh videomaker Ruth Barrie took on the task of editing the videos.
The choice of song was made by Jane-Ann Purdy, Edinburgh Tradfest's producer, and Dr Lori Watson from the Department of Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh.
Purdy said: “We were looking for an uplifting Scottish folk song with a summer vibe, no easy task! Wild Mountain Thyme is very popular and, like many other traditional tunes and songs, is claimed by both Scotland and Ireland.
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"It’s also well known in North America and around the globe with many, many versions recorded over the years.
"However, ours is the first to include a mass band from Scotland, Ireland, England, California, Nova Scotia and Norway!
"We are hugely grateful to everyone who has united to create this new recording and hope that it will bring some joy to music fans worldwide, during these difficult times.”
Vass added: “This was quite an unusual but amazing project to work on. Like everyone else I was gutted to have my Tradfest performances cancelled but this has been a really positive thing to put my energy into whilst confined to my Glasgow flat.
“Last week I watched in awe as the emails with vocals and instrumental parts came flooding in from around the world. I ended up with 72 tracks to mix, by far the biggest thing I’ve ever produced. It’s a behemoth!
”One of the main challenges was that not everyone has state of the art equipment to work with so recording was handled on everything from smart phones in front rooms to professional quality kit in sound-proofed booths. Making everyone’s recordings sound like they belong together took some work but I’m really happy with how it turned out. It’s a big sound, and very joyful.”
Watch the video below:
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