James Duncan Mackenzie - Sromos

CD

(February 2018)

11 Tracks: Sromos * Lazy Beds * Plough On The Cross-Beam * Stornoway Waltz * Land Raiders * Next Tide * Walk Home * Langavat * Tormod * Leverhulme * Every Little Detail.

A second solo album from Breabach piper and flautist James Duncan Mackenzie from the Isle of Lewis.

The album consists entirely of self-penned melodies which showcases his superb skills as a composer and multi talented instrumentalist.

The album Sromos is named after an abandoned settlement on the banks of Loch Seaforth and one of many townships cleared in the 19th century to prioritise land for sheep farming and deer forests.

James, who is a member of award-winning folk group, Breabach, is a leading exponent of the highland bagpipe and wooden flute in Scotland and a tune writer, although his compositions are firmly rooted within the traditional idiom, they are equally at home in a more modern setting amongst electric instrumentation.

Mackenzie invited some of Scotland's finest traditional and jazz musicians to join him on this album and you can expect James' typical melodic flair and instrumental prowess coupled with groves and multi-layered textures.

James Duncan Mackenzie (highland bagpipes, border pipes, wooden flutes), John Lowrie (drums, percussion, piano, rhodes piano, harmonium), Allan Nairn (electric guitar, melodeon, banjo), Innes White (acoustic guitar, mandolin), James Lindsay (bass), Alasdair White (fiddle), Jack Smedley (fiddle).

"I'm delighted to be releasing my second solo album, Sromos, five years after my debut album. I've been writing tunes for this album over the last couple of years and have gained inspiration from the landscape and history of Sromos, a place that was once a small, but thriving community of people who worked and lived off the land. I worked closely alongside co-producer John Lowrie (Adam Holmes and Embers/Blue Rose Code) and together we've drawn on a wide range of influences and created a sound that I'm extremely proud of. It was a pleasure to be joined in the studio by some great friends and fantastic musicians who were invaluable in helping me bring my tunes to life." James Duncan Mackenzie.