Norman MacKinnon (vocals) with a little help from Rod Buchanan (whistles, mandolin rain stick); Micheal McQuilkin (uillean pipes, bodhran); Les Oman (guitars, keyboard, piano, bouzouki); Archie McAllister (fiddle); Nick Turner (bass).
Failte gu MySpace and thanks for calling by.
I sing mostly in the Gaelic language with just the occasional song in English to keep everybody on their toes. Although brought up in mainland Argyll, my family ties are with the isle of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides and the small township of Glenelg in Inverness-shire. My repertoire comes from all parts of the Scottish Gaeltacht but I am particularly drawn to the bardic tradition of my father’s homeland of Tiree.
Since winning the Gold Medal for solo singing at the National Mod in Dunoon in 1994, I have performed at concerts and ceilidhs, large and small, all over Scotland, the north of England and in the USA. I have also made a number of radio broadcasts, including an appearance on the legendary Robbie Shepherd’s “Take the Floor” programme on Radio Scotland, recorded three albums under my own name, contributed two songs to a charity CD, “The Jewels of Kintyre” in aid of Saddell Abbey Trust, and was priviliged to contribute backing vocals to a song on Gaelic super-group Runrig’s “In Search of Angels” album.
The musical settings on my first album, “Tir a Mhurain” (1995), are mostly a combination of piano and fiddle from the late Murray McKillop from Oban (piano and wonderful arrangements) and Campbeltown legend Morris Duncan (fiddle). However, on four tracks, I took the opportunity to explore more a folkier path with a couple of friends, Rod Buchanan and Les Oman who provided me with a fairly radical contrast to the work of Murray and Morris.
For “Tir nam Beann” (1997), I continued to explore the folk idiom once more in the company of Rod and Les, along with their colleague Micheal McQuilkin, all from the band Gun Ainm and the wonderful clarsach playing of Lisa MacKinnon (no relation) from Barra. Producer Nick Turner also joined in to underpin some of the songs with his bass guitar.
By the time of the third album, “Western Promise” in 2003, I was doing the occasional gig with Gun Ainm and we were developing a more rounded group sound. For the recording, we were augmented by the extraordinary talents of Archie McAllister, one of Scotland’s finest fiddlers, and Northumbrian Pipes virtuoso, Adrian Schofield. Nick once again joined us with his bass. The additional depth created by Archie and Adrian’s playing still surprises me to this day.
At the time of writing I am new to this MySpace malarkey, so I’ll see how it all goes. However, it is my intention to rotate the songs in the player in the hope that you will return frequently. With regard to my recordings, I have a few copies of “Tir a Mhurain” and “Western Promise” available to purchase if you want to send me a message. However, I’m afraid that "Tir nam Beann" is out of stock at present, although I am toying with the idea of making it available to download. Watch this space as they say!
Once I get the hang of this a bit more, I will post some info about the songs in the Blog. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your visit, and would be delighted if you would leave a comment even if it is just to say Hello!
Hello Norman, many thanks for the add and a warm welcome to Cal support. It's really great and a pleasure to have you here! All the best, have a nice week ahead and many greetings.
Hi Norman, thanks for your support. I'm just preparing for when the Campbeltown to Ballycastle Ferry gets going again. Next time your in Ballycastle, the Guinness is on me! :-) Cheers, Dick
Hello Norman, We are featuring your entire CD "Western Promise" on the Friday night CD showcase, you will appear in the third slot. Here is the complete line up for the show: 1)Wil Maring - The Calling (Bluegrass) 2)Saor Patrol - Full Throttle (Scottish historical/Rock) 3)Norman MacKinnon - Western Promise (Scottish Gaelic/Traditional)
This show starts at 6 pm (PSDT) I beleive that is around 2 am your time.
These are 3 EXCELLENT examples of the new artists we feature on IRFT day in and day out. This show will last 3 hours long!
Here is your chance to hear it before you buy it! we have even made it easy by adding a page on our main website HERE Look on the left sidebar for the "Purchase from the artists" link, this will take you to a page that will link you to all of the new artists that we have full CD's from. Click on the cover you are interested in and you will be taken directly to THEIR purchase page, we don't make a dime from this, it is just our way of saying "Thank You" to all of the folks that have contributed music to the station!
Sean Owens IRFT Celtic Radio Celtic Music....with a twist!
You should be in your bed lad! I'll get back to you on that e-mail link over the weekend if that's okay? On Kate's machine just now so I don't have it to hand
Norman, We received both "Tir A' Mhurain" and "Western Promise" today. both CD's are incredible! I have loaded them on the station and you can be heard in "The New Artists Showcase" "The Gaelic Sets" and, "The Folk Hour" as well as throughout the day. Thanks again for the great music! Sean Owens IRFT Celtic Music....with a twist!
