http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/ {tagline} en me@kennyfraser.com Copyright 2012 2012-01-06T18:25:40+00:00 http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/far-far-from-ypres-to-feature-at-celtic-connections-2012/ http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/far-far-from-ypres-to-feature-at-celtic-connections-2012/#When:18:25:40Z Far, Far From Ypres - From A Scottish Perspective - will be presented in The Strathclyde Suite of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall at the Celtic Connections festival, from 8pm to 10.30pm on Saturday 21st January 2012.  Read more about the concert and book tickets online here, or you can book through the Celtic Connections box office. The unique project Far, Far From Ypres (Songs, Poems & Music Of World War One) was undertaken by Greentrax in 2009, and a double CD album was then released. The album was critically acclaimed and is played widely on radio, especially around Armistice Sunday each year. The album sells extremely well, including Army Museums and WW1 Visitor Centres and Museums in Belgium and France. Read more about the CD recording. Far, Far From Ypres was one of four popular themed sections within the Greentrax 25th Anniversary Concert in October 2011 at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh.  Shortly afterwards, it was confirmed as a featured stage presentation at Celtic Connections, to be directed by Ian McCalman.  Ian has once again committed himself totally and rehearsed a cast of many, including Barbara Dickson, Dick Gaughan, Ian Bruce, Stevie Palmer, Stephen Quigg, Donald Hay, Tom Ward, the groups Sangsters, Soopna and Ragged Glory, plus Iain Anderson of BBC Radio Scotland. Peter Heywood will provide overhead projection. This will be a remarkable and unique stage presentation and something not to be missed. The album resulted from an idea by Des Brogan and Jim Paris of Mercat Tours, Edinburgh, who regularly tour the WW1 battlefield sites and cemeteries of Belgium and France. After such a tour, Ian Green of Greentrax invited Ian McCalman to record the marching and trench songs of the soldiers, plus the popular music hall songs of the time for CD1, while Ian Green compiled mainly retrospective songs, poems and music for CD2. Both Ian McCalman and Ian Green committed themselves totally to the project and a classic double album resulted, which both are extremely proud of. The album was described in reviews as: ‘A masterpiece’; ‘A very special compilation’; ‘A stunner’; ‘Beautiful songs from terrible times’; and ‘Contains powerful, poignant and entertaining performances’. In a remarkable development, a copy of the CD ended up in the hands of a family in Australia where a 92 year old lady, recognised her father, John Hastings, as one of the soldiers on the front cover. John Hastings, who was born in Glasgow, was in the 51st Highlanders during WW1. He fought in France and experienced the Christmas truce – when the soldiers came out of their trenches all along the line and shared drinks, food and photos of family with the enemy – as depicted in a recent film Joyeux Noel. John shared many of his memories with his family, telling them of life in the trenches. Not all soldiers were able to speak about their experiences and this connection with John’s family gives us a rare living link through folk memory back to the trenches of WW1. John Hastings’ daughter also has another interesting Scottish link, this time to WW2. She emigrated to Australia as a WW2 war bride, after meeting an Australian bomber pilot who was billeted to her home in Glasgow in the latter part of the war. John’s other daughter, now a sprightly 97 year old, also lives in Australia. His grand-daughter, Anne Wilson, is a secondary school teacher in Australia and she took a group of students to the Western Front a few years ago. The memories clearly live on and as a result of the CD and the concert, we expect more stories to unfold. 2012-01-06T18:25:40+00:00 http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/bbc-alba-broadcast-of-gordon-duncan-tribute-concert/ http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/bbc-alba-broadcast-of-gordon-duncan-tribute-concert/#When:18:36:42Z BBC Alba TV broadcast two wonderful tributes to Gordon Duncan in early January. Dha Gordon a-mhain (Just for Gordon) was a documentary about Gordon’s life, and his tunes which became a mainstay of the Scottish traditional music repertoire.  It featured the musicians that knew and played with him, and those who continue to be inspired by his music, particularly his own pupils. Cuirm-Ciuil dha Gordon Duncan (A National Treasure) featured performances from the fourth concert held in Gordon’s memory, in Perth in 2010, from Seamus Begley and Tim Edey, Willie MacCallum, Old Blind Dogs, Galician piper Xose Manuel Budino, The Pitlochry and Blair Atholl Pipe Band and the Gordy Duncan Jr Band. 2012-01-05T18:36:42+00:00 http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/forthcoming-releases-in-2012/ http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/forthcoming-releases-in-2012/#When:19:44:35Z Strathblane singer Alistair Ogilvy - a finalist in the 2011 BBC Young Trad Musician Of The Year competition - has been recording for Greentrax.  The album is now recorded and mixed and will be mastered early in 2012 for 1st March release.  See Alistair perform on the BBC Celtic Connections website. Greentrax have also signed the young band 2011-12-13T19:44:35+00:00 http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/mg-alba-scots-trad-music-awards-2011-nominations-and-gala-concert/ http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/mg-alba-scots-trad-music-awards-2011-nominations-and-gala-concert/#When:19:41:38Z Congratulations go to all Greentrax artists who won at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards 2011. The Awards took place at Perth Concert Hall on 3rd December, and included a Gala Concert and Festival Club.  Winning an award at the glittering ceremony, hosted by Mary Ann Kennedy and Tony Kearney, is one of the biggest accolades on the traditional music scene. Greentrax artists performing on the night included Barbara Dickson, Peatbog Faeries, The Paul McKenna Band, Rura, Salsa Celtica, Cathy Ann MacPhee, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas. Winning Greentrax artists were: Siobhan Miller - Citty Finlayson Scots Singer Of The Year - Siobhan is a member of a duo with Jeana Leslie, and the pair have two albums to their credit on Greentrax. Siobhan is regarded as one of the best singers of her generation. She hails from Penicuik. Rura - Up And Coming Artist Of The Year - Rura were signed by Greentrax early in 2011 and currently the six lads are recording their debut album. Outstanding instrumentalists, they have a young singer to match. Norrie MacIver (of Bodega) - Gaelic Singer Of The Year - Norrie was a member of the young band Bodega who recorded two albums for Greentrax. Norrie sings in Gaelic and Scots. Mairi Campbell (of The Cast) - Music Tutor Of The Year - Mairi is a member of The Cast, who are probably best known for their singing of Auld Land Syne in the film Sex And The City. Greentrax artist nominations also included: Steele The Show – The Songs of Davy Steele - Album Of The Year - a celebration of the life and songs of the late Davy Steele of Prestonpans. The idea came from Davy’s widow, Patsy Seddon, who is compiling a book of Davy’s own songs and suggested an album sung by friends. The album was recorded by Ian McCalman and includes singers Kate Rusby, Karine Polwart, Sally Barker, Patsy Seddon, Siobhan Miller, Andy M Stewart and Dick Gaughan. A concert of the same title was featured at Celtic Connections in January 2011, and was later included as a themed section in the Greentrax 25th Anniversary Concert. Brian McNeill - Citty Finlayson Scots Singer Of The Year - Brian is best known for being a founder and long-time member of The Battlefield Band. Since leaving the band in 1991 he has recorded several albums for Greentrax and added singing/songwriting to his already mighty reputation as a multi-instrumentalist, as well as author and producer. The Paul McKenna Band - Scottish Folk Band Of The Year - with two albums on Greentrax, this young band have previously won the Up And Coming Artist Of The Year award and currently the band is gaining a huge reputation on the European and North American touring circuits. Calum MacCrimmon (of Seudan) - Composer Of The Year - Calum is a member of the piping group Seudan (pronounced Shaytan) whose album of the same title was released by Greentrax in September, to quite astonishing acclaim. Our congratulations go to all these award winners (and nominees) and we wish them good luck for the future. See the complete list of nominees and the list of winners. 2011-12-13T19:41:38+00:00 http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/greentrax-on-facebook/ http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/greentrax-on-facebook/#When:13:24:01Z We’ve added some Facebook features to our website - hope you like them! You can now comment on our news articles and albums using your logged-in Facebook, AOL, Yahoo! or Hotmail account.  You can Like any page, or Send it to share with a friend. Visit Greentrax on Facebook to be our Friend and post on our Wall. Also, our website should look a lot better if you are browsing on your mobile phone or tablet computer.  Try it, and let us know what you think! 2011-10-28T13:24:01+00:00 http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/greentrax-25th-anniversary-showcase-concert/ http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/greentrax-25th-anniversary-showcase-concert/#When:10:26:59Z Greentrax Recordings celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a Showcase Concert on Saturday 15th October 2011, 7.30pm at The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh.  The concert included Barbara Dickson, Patsy Seddon, Siobhan Miller, Margaret Stewart, The Cast (Dave Francis & Mairi Campbell), Mairi MacInnes, Fiona J MacKenzie, Archie Fisher (compere), Dick Gaughan, Brian McNeill, Robin Laing, Alex Hodgson, Ian Bruce, Nick Keir, Stephen Quigg, Jamie Steele, The Paul McKenna Band and The Haddington Pipe Band. The concert had four themed sections: Gaelic - with three of the best Gaelic voices Far, Far From Ypres - a reprise of the ground-breaking album of World War 1 Steele The Show - an excerpt from the Celtic Connections concert Fuzz To Folk - in celebration of Ian Green’s autobiography published in 2010. This concert followed the hugely successful 15th and 20th Anniversary concerts, which attracted press and media from all over the UK and abroad.  Greentrax is regarded by many as Scotland’s leading traditional music record company, and is one of the largest independents in the UK. At twenty-five years, Greentrax continues to lead the way with wide-ranging releases, from the very traditional to the most contemporary. In that time the company has released 468 albums, and the current Greentrax catalogue contains an amazing mix of Scottish and other music.  Another exciting project to celebrate twenty-five years is a double CD compilation album Music And Song From Scotland. It consists of twenty-five tracks, many of which have played a significant role in the development and progression of Greentrax Recordings, plus two bonus tracks. The compilation includes a recording of ‘June and Ian Green’s Golden Years’, composed by Phil Cunningham and recorded by Phil and his buddy Aly Bain. A new 44-page 25th Anniversary Catalogue is now available, and a Souvenir Brochure is being prepared by Peter Heywood and John Slavin, illustrating the history of Greentrax in text and photos. Read Ian Green’s Scotsman preview of the concert. 2011-10-06T10:26:59+00:00 http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/greentrax-25th-anniversary-catalogue/ http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/greentrax-25th-anniversary-catalogue/#When:10:52:00Z The Greentrax Recordings 25th Anniversary Catalogue (pdf) is now available to view or download.  A full colour paper version of the catalogue is also available from Greentrax on request - please let us know your mailing address. The catalogue is released as part of the anniversary celebrations which include a 25th Anniversary Showcase Concert at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh on Saturday 15th October, and release of the double CD compilation album Music And Song From Scotland. 2011-10-05T10:52:00+00:00 http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/the-poozies-tour-dates/ http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/the-poozies-tour-dates/#When:08:34:01Z The Poozies are out on tour this Autumn with, arguably, the strongest line-up of their 20-year history. In true Poozie tradition they will preview new and unrecorded tunes and songs alongside those from the current CD Yellow Like Sunshine, and old favourites. For more info on the band go to http://www.poozies.co.uk or email sallybarker@mac.com Get your tickets for the following dates – they’re selling fast! SEPTEMBER Thurs 22th Sept LIVINGSTON Howden Park Centre Howden, West Lothian EH54 6AE box.office@westlothian.gov.uk 01506 777 666 Sat 24th Sept BIRNAM The Fiddle Tree @ Birnam Arts Centre tickets: http://www.thebooth.co.uk Birnam CD (01350 727158) OCTOBER Sat 1st Oct TERRINGTON Village Hall nr Malton, N Yorks YO60 6QB 01653 648 488 or 01653 690 530 or ian@backoftheshop.co.uk http://www.backoftheshop.co.uk Tues 4th Oct GRANTHAM Guildhall Arts Centre St Peters Hill, Town Centre NG31 6PY 01476 406 158 http://www.guildhallartscentre.com Wed 5th Oct BIRMINGHAM Red Lion Folk Club Vicarage Road Kings Heath B14 7LY http://www.redlionfolkclub.com Thurs 6th MUCH WENLOCK Edge Arts Centre Farley Road, TF13 6NB 01952 7289 http://www.edgeartscentre.co.uk Fri 7th REARSBY, Leics Manor Farm Barn 40 Brookside, Rearsby LE7 4YB tickets : £12 tel : 01664 424 239 / 01455 552592 e : sallybarker@mac.com Sat 8th COLWALL Village Hall Mill Lane, WR13 6EQ 01684 540366 adrian@uktouring.org.uk 2011-09-22T08:34:01+00:00 http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/the-poozies-daimh-edinburgh-fringe-performance/ http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/the-poozies-daimh-edinburgh-fringe-performance/#When:09:48:57Z The Poozies will be performing at The Queens Hall, Edinburgh, during the Fringe, in a double bill event with all-male Gaelic supergroup Dàimh. Book tickets here for Wednesday 17th August, show time is 7pm until 8.45pm, tickets are £16 and £14. “Two of the most exciting and uplifting folk super-groups together in one breathtaking show. The classy ‘first ladies of fusion’ take you on a sparkling, spine-tingling journey to folk utopia, with their five voices blending in heart-wrenching harmony, and their instrumental sets bursting with joyful energy. From there, Dàimh command the ship, in an exhilarating fiddle and pipe-led assault! From pyrotechnic reels to achingly poignant ballads they run the full expressive gamut of folk music at its best. Finally an exclusive, impressive collaboration will leave you in a shinier, brighter world.” 2011-08-05T09:48:57+00:00 http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/concert-cairdeas-nam-piobairean-the-pipers-club-of-scotland/ http://www.greentrax.com/music/news/comments/concert-cairdeas-nam-piobairean-the-pipers-club-of-scotland/#When:15:36:35Z Sunday 7th August 2011 at 1pm - Hamish Moore is delighted to announce a wonderful acoustic concert of traditional piping in the beautiful setting of The Grand Hall of Lennoxlove Castle, Haddington, East Lothian EH41 4NZ. Tickets are £10 and available on the door, or prebooking by emailing Hamish Moore. The concert will celebrate the wonderfully diverse and rich music of Scotland’s piping culture, represented on this occasion by four of the world’s top pipers, each offering their own unique style and mastery of their instrument: Allan MacDonald (Highland Pipes), Angus Nicolson (Reel Pipes), Paul Roberts (Border Pipes) and Iain MacInnes (Scottish Small Pipes). A bar for refreshments and fine wines will be available. 2011-08-01T15:36:35+00:00