Transfixing Scottish Music Inspired by St. Kilda

Garefowl – Cliffs (Penny Fiddle Records, 2020)

Scottish multi-instrumentalist Ewan Macdonald put together Garefowl, an international collective of talented musicians. The group recorded Cliffs, a superb progressive folk album that masterfully combines acoustic Scottish folk music, trance-like performances, hypnotic drones and electronic ambience. The music selection includes recreations of traditional tunes and new compositions.

Cliffs is a fascinating cinematic work crafted in relation to St Kilda, a now uninhabited island in the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Outer Hebrides. The island was evacuated 90 years ago partly due to the effects of the infant tetanus virus. The island was also the home of a 75 to 85 centimeters (3 feet) tall flightless penguin known as the great auk.

Sadly, the auk or garefowl seabird was hunted to extinction for its feathers by northern Europeans. In the case of the St. Kilda great auk, the last bird was killed for superstitious reasons by Lachlan MacKinnon, an ancestor of Ewan Macdonald. Ewan and his father Munro came up with the project to manifest this difficult part of the family history.

All recordings made for Cliffs were made during the Coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown, with musicians collaborating remotely.

The lineup includes Ewan Macdonald on vocals, fiddle, viola, harmonium, bowed banjo and synthesizer; Chris Jones on banjo, mandolin and concertina; Jess Whelligan on cello, synthesizer and vocals; Nathan Bontrager on viola da gamba, erhu and vocals; Stuart Graham on bouzouki and vocals; Richard O’Flynn on synthesizer, vocals, and percussion; and Spiff Wiegand on jaws harp.

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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.