awrc@lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk (Al Crawford) (06/14/91)
Mouth Music Mouth Music Triple Earth TERRACD 109 10 Tracks Total Running Time : 36 min 44 sec 1. Bratach Bana 2. Co Ni Mire Rium? 3. Mor A'Cheannaich 4. Martin Martin 5. Chi Mi Na Morbheanna 6. I Bhi A Da 7. Seinn Oi 8. Mile Marbh'Aisg Air A'Ghaol 9. Air Fail A Lail O 10. Fraoch A Ronaigh This album is something a little special. All but one of the tracks on this album are traditional Scottish Gaelic "puirt a beul" (mouth music - a style of vocal music intended for dancing). Most are old, dating from last century or early this century. However, this isn't an album of traditional music by any description. A couple of the tracks, short pieces of less than a minute are vocal only - Talitha Mackenzie's strong, clear vocals are easily up to the task. However it's in Martin Swan's instrumental arrangements that make this album stand out. They're very varied, ranging from subdued synths that give a sound rather reminiscent of Clannad (but not very - Mackenzie's voice is too strong and the overall sound is considerably gutsier) to the stunning "Seinn Oi" which combines an 1856 piece of mouth music, a dance beat and samples from Yello's "The Race". The end result is extremely different and quite compelling. One, possibly two, of the tracks are penned by Swan (one has no attribution and it's difficult to tell if it's contemporary or traditional, given the way the two sounds are fused). Both are instrumental and combine traditional instruments (block flute, violin, pipes) with modern (synths, guitar). Again the results are fascinating. This isn't an easy album to describe, especially in such a way that readers who haven't heard at least some traditional Gaelic music (ie most people) can understand. I can't really equate it with Clannad - while there are some similarities in places they are only superficial. The album veers between really traditional pieces (the pure puirt a beul) and much more unusual material. My own reference points from which to place this album are also rather weak - I don't speak Gaelic (translations are included in the insert!), I haven't heard a great deal of traditional Scottish music and most of what I heard I didn't have much enthusiasm for. So my opinions on this album may not count for much to an enthusiast. However I do know that I really like this album and that's what counts. Give it a listen, you might like it too. Erland Rating : +3.5 -- Al Crawford - Al_Crawford@edinburgh.ac.uk "Click Click Drone"