Post by Joe on Apr 26, 2006 4:55:33 GMT
This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #124 (June/July 2006).
The Cottars
Celtic With a Twist
by Kerry Dexter
Forested mountains and windswept shoreline, isolation and warm welcome, silence and music: Cape Breton holds all these contrasts gracefully from its position at the far northeastern part of the province of Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada. These, and one other: For all that, it is a modern-day island with the benefit of Internet connections and the trials of a resource-based economy in the age of electronics. It is also a place where heritage, the history of family, the history of Cape Breton, and the history of those who traveled from Scotland and Ireland are living and well-loved parts of daily life -- in the traditions, in the stories, and in the music.
Fiona MacGillivray, Ciaran MacGillivray, Roseanne (Rosie) MacKenzie, and Jimmy MacKenzie, who have joined together to form the band called the Cottars, know that music well, and that landscape, and those silences and family welcomes, and the contrasts. Although none of them has as yet reached 25 years of age, a few moments' conversation with any of the four reveals an accomplished, thoughtful, and mature musician with a good sense of humor about being still in the stage between being taken seriously for what they have to say musically and being regarded as a kids' band. Get them playing together and there's no doubt that these are confident artists, full of fire and joy, respect and love for their heritage, a willingness to put their own stamp on that knowledge, and an eagerness to see what's next on their musical paths.
They formed the band about six years ago. "Cape Breton's a pretty small place," Jimmy said, "and everybody runs into everybody. So we were both playing, me and my sister, and the other two, as duos. We met at this festival and kinda hit things off, got along great, and things rolled along from there."
The four musicians have strong backgrounds in the Scots history of Cape Breton music. They chose their band name, for example, from an old Scots term for workers or small farmers, many of whom came to Cape Breton to settle during the Highland clearances in 17th-century Scotland. The band's recorded work and its live shows reach out from that powerful base, though. There are songs from many parts of Ireland, as well as covers of such contemporary writers as Tom Waits, Dougie MacLean, and Karine Polwart. Without bending or breaking any of these traditions, to each song the Cottars give their own stamp. "Contemporary with a Celtic twist, I like to say," Ciaran said.
This was an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #124 (June/July 2006).
The Cottars
Celtic With a Twist
by Kerry Dexter
Forested mountains and windswept shoreline, isolation and warm welcome, silence and music: Cape Breton holds all these contrasts gracefully from its position at the far northeastern part of the province of Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada. These, and one other: For all that, it is a modern-day island with the benefit of Internet connections and the trials of a resource-based economy in the age of electronics. It is also a place where heritage, the history of family, the history of Cape Breton, and the history of those who traveled from Scotland and Ireland are living and well-loved parts of daily life -- in the traditions, in the stories, and in the music.
Fiona MacGillivray, Ciaran MacGillivray, Roseanne (Rosie) MacKenzie, and Jimmy MacKenzie, who have joined together to form the band called the Cottars, know that music well, and that landscape, and those silences and family welcomes, and the contrasts. Although none of them has as yet reached 25 years of age, a few moments' conversation with any of the four reveals an accomplished, thoughtful, and mature musician with a good sense of humor about being still in the stage between being taken seriously for what they have to say musically and being regarded as a kids' band. Get them playing together and there's no doubt that these are confident artists, full of fire and joy, respect and love for their heritage, a willingness to put their own stamp on that knowledge, and an eagerness to see what's next on their musical paths.
They formed the band about six years ago. "Cape Breton's a pretty small place," Jimmy said, "and everybody runs into everybody. So we were both playing, me and my sister, and the other two, as duos. We met at this festival and kinda hit things off, got along great, and things rolled along from there."
The four musicians have strong backgrounds in the Scots history of Cape Breton music. They chose their band name, for example, from an old Scots term for workers or small farmers, many of whom came to Cape Breton to settle during the Highland clearances in 17th-century Scotland. The band's recorded work and its live shows reach out from that powerful base, though. There are songs from many parts of Ireland, as well as covers of such contemporary writers as Tom Waits, Dougie MacLean, and Karine Polwart. Without bending or breaking any of these traditions, to each song the Cottars give their own stamp. "Contemporary with a Celtic twist, I like to say," Ciaran said.
This was an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #124 (June/July 2006).
