Roddy 'R S' MacDonald - Good Drying

(September 2003) 11 tracks: Good Drying * Bullet Train * The King Danced at Dawn * Last Tango in Harris * I'll Paco Grande * Harbour View * Abercromby Place * Departure * Meal Fuar-Mhonaidh * The Famous Fourth * Ruth Grant * Shonah.

No ordinary solo piping album, and can equally be enjoyed by the young and old - exciting stuff!

R S MacDonald (Roddy), originally hails from the Scottish town of Inverness. His father is the renowned player, judge and composer of music, William MacDonald (Benbecula) and his grandfather, Donald MacDonald, was Pipe Major of the 1st Battalion the Highland Light Infantry.

Roddy’s music has been recorded by a variety of artists and bands, including The Vale of Atholl Pipe Band, The Black Watch, The 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, The Scots Guards, Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, Shooglenifty, The Tannahill Weavers, MacUmba, Ceolbeg, Slainte Mhath, Martyn Bennett, Gordon Duncan and many more.

He was originally taught by the late John Hunter, tutor with the Inverness Boys Brigade Pipe Band, an ex-Cameron Highlander and veteran of the Somme. After the Boys Brigade, Roddy played with the Inverness British Legion, Invergordon Distillers and British Caledonian Airways Pipe Bands. He also played for many years with the Balmoral Highlanders showband in London and toured extensively with them under the direction of his lifelong friend Pipe Major Willie Cochrane.

In 2001 Roddy left London after a 26 year stopover and currently resides in Australia and Japan where he is employed as a professional musician. He has been writing tunes for over 30 years and enjoys considerable international success with compositions ranging from Ceol Mor and Ceol Beag to salsa, techno funk(!) and anything else that sparks his musical genius. His passion for all types of music is reflected in his library collection which includes everything from piobaireachd to Pavarotti.

In 2001 Roddy was commissioned by the Piper and Drummer Magazine and GHB Communications of Toronto to compose a modern Piobaireachd. The piece was entitled Lament for Kenneth Alexander MacLennan of Connon Bridge and was published later that year.

This album is a compilation of Roddy's lifetime musical excursions, and was recorded and produced by fellow-piper Murray Blair in Australia.