Viva Brighton Issue #59 January 2018

MUSIC
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Julie Fowlis
Gaelic flair
I was raised in North Uist and later in the
Highlands; the Outer Hebrides is the last place
in Scotland where you’ll hear the Gaelic language
spoken on a par with English. You’re surrounded
by at least two languages and everyone was encouraged
to sing. It was the gift of growing up on
a rural island – I just remember one day sitting
with a chanter in my hand, learning to play the
pipes. Leaving the island at a formative time impacted
me; on the mainland, I was struck by the
lack of connection to music and language.
When I went back as a teenager, to learn
traditional Gaelic songs, these amazing singers,
like my neighbour Hugh Matheson, were still
living in North Uist; they represent a way of life
and link with the past that is almost gone now.
And they had an incredible skill for remembering
hundreds of songs. So each was like a parcel, gifted
from one singer to another. They were kept
alive because characters like Hugh cared for them
so much. He used to play one that I’d rewind
over and over until I could sing every word, do
every rhythm exactly as he did it. It’s an epic song
called Moladh Uibhist (In Praise of Uist), one of
the greatest songs I’ve ever learned. That stays
with you. Many of those people are gone now,
but I feel very lucky to have learned with them.
There’s a depth and honesty about traditional
songs: they documented politics, funny things
that happened in communities, but also tragedies
– drowning and loss. Coming from a country at
the edge of Europe, dependent on the sea, they
were part of the coping process in terrible times.
Because of that you feel a connection to those
feelings and a responsibility carrying it forward,
being true to those words – interpreting them in
a sympathetic way.
Alterum, my latest album, has a few songs in
English, one in Galician and of course many in
Gaelic. Ever since becoming an artist there’s been
enormous pressure to sing in English, which I
was pretty stubborn about; I think I made it my
mission to do the exact opposite! There’s this
idea that audiences can’t access something that’s
a little challenging, but I don’t accept that. If
you give people a way into a song – go to great
lengths to tell its story, they can appreciate it and
take something away.
I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with
amazing people. Mary Chapin Carpenter, James
Taylor… I lost the power of speech when he
walked in the room! But when I got the call from
Pixar about Brave, I thought it was a prank; I had
to google the person to make sure it was real!
They’d come to Scotland to explore the music,
to take inspiration from castles and grass and
heather. The music team bought loads of CDs
and came to a unanimous decision to ask me; it
was a huge great honour to work with enthusiastic,
creative people. As told to Amy Holtz
Ropetackle, Shoreham, 18th Jan, 8pm, £20
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