Through perceptive experimentation and with undeniable confidence, Mouth Music combined the ancient puirt-a-beul vocal tradition of Gaelic Scotland with the powerful rhythms of Africa and cutting edge electronica. Puirt-a-beul is the vocalization of instrumental music.
The Edinburgh-based group’s haunting and sensual compositions seamlessly combined vocals and acoustic instrumentation with synths and samples.
On Mouth’s Music debut album, fiddler Martin Swan and vocalist Talitha MacKenzie developed their distinctive mix of “mouth music.” Swan and MacKenzie based Mouth Music on traditional Gaelic source materials much of which MacKenzie first discovered when she traveled to Edinburgh to study Scottish and Gaelic culture in depth. “There’s something about ancient Gaelic songs that’s different….straight from the heart and very intense,” said MacKenzie.
Jackie Joyce replaced Talitha MacKenzie in 1994.
Mouth Music’s third release, 1995’s Shorelife, which reached #1 on Billboard’s World Music Chart, was powered by the ever-evolving musical vision of founder Martin Swan and the passionate voice of Jackie Joyce.
Although Mouth Music sound delved deeply into sounds with dance floor pleasing beats, Seafaring Man returned the group to a more primal state with passionate vocals. Seafaring Man vocalists included Michaela Rowan and Gaelic singers Ishbel McCaskill and Martin Furey.
Mouth Music disbanded in 2005.
Discography
Mouth Music (Triple Earth/Rykodisc, 1990)
Blue Door Green Sea, EP (1992)
Mo-Di (Triple Earth/Rykodisc, 1993)
Move On, EP (1994)
Shorelife (Triple Earth/Rykodisc,, 1995)
Seafaring Man (Meta 4/Nettwerk, 2001)
The Scrape (Skitteesh, 2003)
The Order of Things (Skitteesh, 2005)
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.
