Julie Fowlis
Alterum
Machair
Records Ltd
Don’t
be put off by the still life effect of the cover, its Latin title (Other,
another, otherness), or that most of the album is sung in Gaelic. Let me assure you that these diverse rhythmic
stories are easily understood through the pitch and timbre of the delicate
vocals and the melodies provided by the understated instrumentation. The pipes,
flutes and whistles are pared down to provide a softer acoustic sound and the guitars,
including those of her husband Éamon Doorley, cellos, and double bass benefit
accordingly. The faster foot-tapping dance music accompanied by the technical
fast rap delivery style of Gaelic, is astonishing with the clarity of stresses
and syllables. Yet it’s the more
powerful slower tempo songs that impress the most in their emotional
interpretations, that include two in English, Windward Away and Go Your Way,
that contains the line “May the West Wind speed your travels and the sun be on
your hair” which seems a much nicer sentiment than the hurt and anger expressed
in Fleetwood Mac’s similarly titled Go Your Own Way! Julie’s voice is the bright star of this
album. She can match the exact tone of
the instruments playing alongside, including a bouzouki and flute and pipes and
it creates real ambience with nuances that perfectly capture the landscape and peoples
of the Highlands and Islands, from where she was brought up in North Uist.
NE
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