Greentrax Recordings

Shoormal - Turning Tide (CD)

CDTRAX301 (released October 2006)

category: groups

Shoormal (Shetland dialect for 'where the shore meets the sea') are Shetland's unique vocal group who first performed at the 1997 Shetland Folk Festival. They have recorded two critically acclaimed albums - Indigo Skies (on their own label) and Migrant (CDTRAX247) - and been nominated for the Best Newcomer at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Joyce McDill, Freda Leask and Donna Smith sing primarily in three part harmony and these stunning harmonies have become key to the Shoormal sound. The remaining five members, some of the finest musicians from Shetland, synergise with the singing to provide rhythm and counter-melody - Trevor Smith and Gordon Tulloch play acoustic guitar, Gregg Arthur plays piano and accordion, while Jonathan Ritch (Fiddlers' Bid) and Archer Kemp complete the rhythm section on bass and drums.

The original songs on Turning Tide are collaborations between Freda Leask, Joyce McDill and Trevor Smith, covering a wide variety of subjects.

Their second album Migrant, giving a unique slant on their own island culture, created an opportunity to participate in the Folk Alliance Convention in Austin, Texas in 2006, leading to a signing with an American agency.

'Shetland's best-kept secret...'

'Richly melodic, polished folk-pop... A mightily impressive calling card'