Tuath: Songs of the Northlands

Brian Ó hEadhra and Fiona Mackenzie have been working together for 25 years now, notably in the bands Anam and Cruinn, blending their native Irish and Scottish Gaelic traditions and taking them forward into the ages of indie rock, rave culture and electronica. As with their previous project, TÌR, they have joined with go-to producer Mike Vass to create a variety of electroacoustic settings and sound-worlds for songs they have written themselves, discovered in ancient manuscripts or gathered in their travels.

Material from Norway, Denmark and Galicia sits naturally alongside poems from the Gàidhealtachd. The duo have contrasting, yet complementary voices and singing styles, his tending towards hushed, calm gravitas and hers being lightsome and more freely expressive, as on the ebullient ‘Cantigas de Santa Maria: No 10, Rosa das Rosas’. If, on early plays at least, Tuath doesn't make quite the same impact as their work with Cruinn or on TÌR, the energy on ‘Chan Eil Mi Gun Mhulad Orm’ and the lovely ‘Sìne Bhàn’ suggest that repeated listens will pay dividends.