An Afternoon with Aonghas Grant [OTHERLANDS: Scotland]

Описание: This recording is the ninth in a new multi-episode project by Casey Driessen titled - OTHERLANDS: A Global Music Exploration.

LOCATION: Fort William, Scotland
DATE: December 10, 2019

CREDITS
Songs: The Coolin (Traditional Irish), Mo Mhàthair (Neil MacLean), The Westcoaster / The Mariner (Aonghas Grant), Soldier's Joy (Traditional)
Music Arranged by: Casey Driessen & Aonghas Grant
Fiddle: Aonghas Grant
Fiddle & Audio/Video: Casey Driessen

SPECIAL THANKS:
Drew & Kirsten Harris
Emma Weir
Sarah Winnington-Ingram

EQUIPMENT
The following Shure microphones were used in the making of this collaboration. If you’re interested in learning more and/or purchasing one, please use the links below. This helps to support the music I make. Thank you.

Shure KSM141 [small diaphragm condenser] (https://amzn.to/3bjbQ1U)
Shure BETA 181 [cardioid capsule] (https://amzn.to/2vcNdU1)
Shure A53M [shock stopper] (https://amzn.to/2Ox3hqx)


ABOUT THIS COLLABORATION
*To learn more Aonghas, please visit: (http://www.scottishfiddle.org/angusgr...)

I spent a special afternoon with Scottish Highland fiddle treasure, Aonghas Grant. Interwoven between our conversations are many tunes - hornpipes, airs, reels, jigs, and strathspeys, along with the occasional bluegrass number at his request. Aonghas would either just start a tune or start a story that leads to a tune. I'd listen, usually once through, and then try to accompany and hold on. Sometimes my gut for the chords is right, sometimes it's not. I wish that I knew more tunes, or that I was faster to pick them up, but he doesn't seem to mind.

ABOUT THE TUNES
“The Coolin”
Aonghas mentioned that this is an old Irish air. Although it has flow to the phrasing, it is not played “in time.” When he first played the melody, he played the A part once and the B part once, and I could not follow what was happening. I asked if he could repeat the parts so that I could start to get the melody in my head and hunt around for chords.

“Mo Mhàthair”
When Aonghas brought out his grandfather’s 1771 fiddle, he handed it to me. Even though I could only squeak out a few left-handed notes, I could hear that the instrument had something special. I handed it back and asked to hear him. The first thing he played was an old Scottish song air by Neil MacLean called “Mo Màthair.” For a fleeting moment I considered trying to play along, but I decided against it to just enjoy Aonghas and his family instrument.

“The Westcoaster / The Mariner”
If I understood correctly, “The Westcoaster” was the first tune that Aonghas wrote, sometime back in the 1980’s, he thought. It was a tune that just came to him. He named it after the people from the western Highlands, which is where he has spent most of his life. It’s a tune that has caught on and it can be heard in sessions. “The Mariner” was also written by Aonghas and has a bit of a story. One night, a friend of his got drunk and a few days later, received a summons for the Navy. Apparently, he met a recruitment officer and signed on for 10 years of service, although he didn’t remember doing so. When his service finished, he had found his calling and signed back up with the merchant Navy to work on hydroelectric schemes. His nickname became “The Mariner.”

“Soldier’s Joy”
At one point in our afternoon, we talked about how tunes migrated from Scotland to America. One of the examples that Aonghas brought up was “Soldier’s Joy.” It’s one of the early tunes that I learned, and it seemed to be such a standard in America, that I never had thought about it having other origins. It hails from Scotland, and we enjoyed playing our versions of the melody for each other.

If you’d like to read more about our collaboration, please visit:
http://www.caseydriessen.com/blog/an-...


To follow along the OTHERLANDS project, please visit:
OTHERLANDS Webpage (http://www.CaseyDriessen.com/Otherlands)
Instagram (  / caseydriessen  ,
Facebook (  / caseydriessen  ,
or this YouTube channel.


ABOUT THE PROJECT
OTHERLANDS: A Global Music Exploration follows GRAMMY-nominated 5-string American fiddler Casey Driessen as he travels with his family to various countries across the globe to meet with local acoustic-based musicians with roots in their own traditions. Musical exchanges and travels are documented via audio, video and photography elements with collected materials released over the course of the project via his website and social media outlets and official musical releases likely to come at the end of travels.

OTHERLANDS is an independently designed and produced project that is self-contained with a small collection of audio and video equipment. All engineering and recording, including any post-production, can be set up, operated, and completed by Casey wherever on the globe he happens to be.

For more information and to follow the project, please visit — http://www.CaseyDriessen.com/Otherlands