PRE-ORDER RELEASED 05/07/24
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Laura Jane Wilkie
Vent
Released 5 Jul 2024
Laura Jane Wilkie
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With the SUPER fan bundle you get.
- Signed CD or LP (Orange/Blue or Black)
- Limited (9) Handwritten Tunes from the album by Laura.
- Our gratitude and thanks for supporting Laura and Hudson Records in the making of this music.
Hailing from Tain in the Highlands, Laura is a highly sought after musician who has garnered praise and respect for her unique style of playing – which has roots in the Highland fiddle tradition but influence from an eclectic range of genres.
Vent is centered around waulking songs – ancient women’s work songs which were sung for hundreds of years by women in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. They were often sung whilst waulking the tweed, the process of beating tweed to shrink and soften it before use. A laborious process, waulking songs were used in a practical sense to keep the rhythm of beating, but also as a social occasion, acting as an opportunity for women to catch up on local news and gossip.
Laura studied these songs to adapt them for the fiddle, immersing herself in the Scottish archives and working with friend, tradition bearer and one-woman-ceilidh: Rona Lightfoot. The album explores the melodies of these ancient waulking songs and how they have individually and communally provided a sense of safety, shared knowledge, power, love, humour and freedom to not only rural working women’s communities, but to Laura as a non-Gaelic speaker.
“Hearing and learning these songs began in my early teens with the wonderful Maggie MacDonald - she encouraged everyone to engage and take joy, meaning and a sense of belonging from the Gaelic traditions, particularly as I got older and started becoming involved with teaching traditional music. She was wonderfully generous and kind. I had so much fun working with her. As did so many throughout her life.”
“I decided to call the record Vent – as in to vent – mainly because as I was exploring these songs, the recurring themes were the difficulties and struggles that a lot of women were having at the time. Usually grievances with landlords, husbands, men in their lives. And they used the workspace and the singing and these melodies to get things off their chest – to vent. Whilst going through these archives I felt a real connection with and relation to this music – songs which come from women and speak to the universal idea of womanhood.”
Having searched the archives of Tobar An Dualchais Laura was drawn to a collection of waulking songs by Kate MacDonald (the mother of Rona Lightfoot). Being inspired by these melodies Laura has created an album of poignant arrangements that present this music in a way that no one has ever heard before, as instrumentals.
“Delving deeper into the source recordings and learning the stories from the brilliant wit and knowledge of Rona Lightfoot empowered me to take ownership of this music, be inspired by it and want to share its power further.”
Vent features an array of amazing talent including: Ian Carr on guitars/harmonium; Sarah Hayes on keys/flute/vocals; Joe Rattray on bass; Rachel Sermanni on vocals; Hannah Read on electric guitar; and Alice Allen on cello as well as improvised vocal samples by Pippa Blundell, Hannah Findlay, Gillian Fleetwood, Rona Lightfoot and Imogen Macleod.
Laura has toured internationally with various projects including; Kinnaris Quintet, Ian Carr, Ross Ainslie, Niteworks, Claire Hastings, Beth Malcolm and Siobhan Miller. As a founding member of Fat-Suit, Laura has been inspired to play with elements of improvisation in different styles, making her a versatile influence on each project. Collaborations include with; Shooglenifty, Man of the Minch, Rachel Sermanni, Elephant Sessions, Paul Towndrow’s Keywork Orchestra, Fatherson, The GRIT Orchestra and many more.
Tracklist
- “I am Sad in the Braes of the Glen”•
- Lift Up My Love•
- I’m Not Alone•
- Mermaid•
- A New Story•
- A Man Ran Off•
- Albatross•
- The Sailor Has Good Chat•
- Try
Credits
- Laura Wilkie and Sarah Hayes Producer
- Stuart Hamilton Engineer
- Andy Bell Mix
- Sam Proctor Master
- Louise Bichan Artwork
- Robin Beatty Design
- Laura Jane Wilkie Fiddle
- Ian Carr Guitars/Harmonium & additional engineering
- Sarah Hayes Keys, flutes, vocals & additional engineering
- Joe Rattray Bass, additional engineering
- Rachel Sermanni Vocals
- Hannah Read Electric guitar
- Alice Allen Cello
- Pippa Blundell, Hannah Findlay, Gillian Fleetwood, Rona Lightfoot, Imogen Macleod Improvised Vocal samples
