Aidan O’Rourke with Kit Downes – 365: Volume 1 (Reveal Records, 2018)
365: Volume 1 is a truly exquisite double album of instrumental music composed by Scottish fiddler Aidan O’Rourke. He’s joined by Kit Downes on piano and harmonium.
365: Volume 1 was inspired by the short stories of James Robertson, one of Aidan O’Rourke’s favorite Scottish authors. Robertson wrote a short story each day for a year, and every story had exactly 365 words. Aidan O’Rourke decided to do something similar and composed a tune every day for 1 year, each one connected to a story from James’s collection.
Although the plan is to record all 365 tunes, 365: Volume 1 features the first set of highlights. The musicianship is superb. The wonderful music is rooted in Scottish folk music tradition, although Aidan O’Rourke goes beyond, incorporating classical and jazz elements.
The nicely-packaged two CD set includes a booklet with all the stories that inspired the recordings and the date they were composed.
Aidan O’Rourke is the founder and fiddler of acclaimed Scottish band Lau. His other solo albums include Sirius (2006), An Tobar (2008) and Hotline (2013). The Lau albums are Lightweights and Gentlemen (2007), Live (2008), Arc Light (2009), Race the Loser (2012), and The Bell That Never Rang (2015).
365: Volume 1 is an impeccable contemporary Scottish folk music album featuring exceptionally expressive violin performances.
Buy 365: Volume 1
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
