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24 July 2008


Karen Matheson - Autumn 2008 UK Tour Dates

Sept:

Wed 3rd: Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline 01383 602 302
Fri 5th: Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan, 01239 621 200
Sun 7th: Buccleuch Centre, Langholm, 013873 81196
Thu 18th: The Stables, Milton Keynes, 01908 280 800
Fri 19th: The Arts Centre, Southport, 01704 540 011
Sat 20th: The Irish Centre, London, 020 8563 8232

Oct:

Thu 2nd: The Arts Centre, Swindon, 01793 614 837
Fri 3rd: Coliseum Theatre, Aberdare, 01685 881188
Sun 5th: City Varieties, Leeds, 0113 243 0808
Thu 9th: Eastwood Theatre, Glasgow, 0141 577 4970
Fri 10th: Rep. Theatre, Dundee, 01382 223530
Fri 24th: The Met, Bury, 0161 761 2216
Sat 25th: The Dome, Morecambe, 01524 582 803
Sun 26th: The Sage, Gateshead, 0870 703 4555


Nov:

Fri 7th: Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, 0131 665 2240
Sat 8th: The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, 01224 641122

1 July 2008

The Karen Matheson Band will be performing at the Innerleithen Music Festival on 15 August.


The support act will be Sandy Brechin & Ewan Wilkinson

3 June 2008

The Karen Matheson Band will be performing at Oran Mor on Friday 20th June at 8pm as part of the Glasgow West End Festival.

Support comes from Alastair Savage.

30 April 2008


2008 Tour Dates

• 3 May - The Tolbooth, Stirling, doors 7.45pm, starts 8pm

• 18 May - Crear with Donald Shaw (piano), James Grant (guitar), Ewen Vernal (doublebass), Lise Aferiat (violin), Brian Schiele (viola) and Su-a Lee (cello) and nine players from the RSAMD performing traditional Scottish songs arranged by Donald Shaw. 3pm

• 23 May - Festival Club, Wellington Square, Ayr, on stage 11-12pm

• 20 June - West End Festival, Glasgow

• 10th July ‚ Landernau ‚ Festival  Kann Al Loar, Brittany, France

• 11th July ‚ Saint Quay Portrieux‚ Open Air ‚ free show, Brittany, France

• 15 August - Innerleithen Music Festival

27 March 2008

The new Capercaillie studio album featuring Karen Matheson on lead vocals is now available via www.verticalrecords.co.uk for £10 + p&p.

Credited with being at the forefront of the renaissance in folk/roots music over the last 20 years, Capercaillie, Scotland’s finest celtic band, return with a brand new studio album “Roses and Tears”. The album features many songs sourced from the Gaelic song archive at the School of Scottish Studies, new songs and reels penned by Donald Shaw and a beautiful rendition of John Martyn’s anti-war song “Don’t You Go”.

12 February 2008

Karen will be performing at The Tolbooth, Stirling on 3 May. Doors 7.45pm (starts at 8pm)

12 July 2007

Karen's 2007 tour dates.

• 1 Sept. 2007: Blas Festival. With Scottish Ensemble. St Andrew's Cathedral, Inverness.
• 2 Sept. 2007: Blas Festival. With Scottish Ensemble. Dornoch Cathedral
• 3 Sept. 2007: Blas Festival. With Scottish Ensemble. Ballachulish Village Hall.
• 29 Sept. 2007 Brechin Arts Festival

9 February 2007


Hi guys

Just to say thanks to those of you who attended my gig on Thursday at the
City Halls and indeed any of the many wonderful gigs over the course of the
festival.  As I am sure you will be aware, the festival has been deemed a
mighty success, with tickets up 30% on any other year, and I am living with
one very relieved man!  Donald only took up the position of artistic
consultant in June, so it's been a bit of a whirlwind time, but he is
delighted with the outcome.

Back to my City Halls gig. Due to a programming misunderstanding by the
festival. (ie Donald!) A BBC recording in the city halls which would
normally go on till 4 o'clock, ended up finishing at 5.45, making it nigh on
impossible for a stage turn around  for a 7.30 start. We are VERY sorry about
the lengthy delay before the show  and disappointed to hear that people were
not kept abreast of the situation. We had asked for announcements to be made
in the foyer and have since discovered that the tannoy system is ineffective
and so the information did not filter through to many of the crowd. This has
saddened me very much as we did everything in our control to speed up the
proceedings and contrary to some opinion had virtually no sound check in
order to get people seated as quickly as possible.  Indeed, my own wee frail
mum was one of the crowd, and the last thing we would have wanted was people
being disgruntled.  I was suffering from a head cold also, so the odds were
against us!.  However, I was very grateful to the guys on stage for their
support, Anna running around getting me hot drinks, Frazer rubbing tiger
balm on my forehead, James with his never ending encouragement, poor Patsy
who had driven down from Kingussie for a rehearsal to find me asleep on the
sofa. Michael who had driven up from Manchester and raced down from playing
at Neil Yates gig in the Strathclyde suite to join me for track number 4!
Ewen and James Mac who had had to send someone else to set up his drum kit,
as his sound check with the string sisters had run late. The glorious string
players who had only the opportunity to hear 1 song before being thrown in
at the deep end, and of course, the lynchpin, Donald, who, even when we
thought things were going to come to a complete halt, still managed to
remain positive and enthusiastic - they are a beautiful bunch of people and
I feel very fortunate to have them around me.  I am sorry Debs that we had
no new material for you - what with the shortage of rehearsal time due to
people's other commitments, we decided to stick to a tried and tested set
list and what with the problems that cropped up, it was probably a wise
decision.

The final fling on Sunday night at Transatlantic sessions was a blast, and I
was totally blown away by Darrell Scott and The Wailin' Jennys. Wow, how
inspiring were they? Music is just the most uplifting, exhilarating,
soothing, wonderful thing and I'm away now to reflect on all the brilliant
gigs I have taken in at this festival.

Take it easy and may god bless ya

Karen xxxxxxxxxx

On a sadder note, have just returned from the funeral of the late Billy
Kelly. I'm sure you have all heard of Billy's work with Mayfest and the Big
Big World Festival here in Glasgow. He was an inspirational guy, humble and
self effacing and gave many acts who are now household names their first
gigs here in Glasgow.  Myself and Donald were just remembering returning
from a tour of the US back in 89', Capercaillie being virtually unknown at
the time, to do a gig at the Old City Halls for Mayfest and peeking out from
backstage to an 800 strong crowd pulled in by Billy.  He brought in unknown
acts from all over the world, always insisting that musicality was paramount
and not popularity. Manys a call for help Donald made over the years to
Billy, and always a solution was found.  He will be sorely missed by all who
knew him, and our thoughts go out to his wife Anne and their two boys. May
he rest in peace.

16 January 2007


Hi folks

Hope you all had a happy, peaceful festive and are managing to stick to your
new year's resolutions!

Ours was fun and it was nice to catch up with our families up north. We
always head home to Argyll for christmas, it's the one time of year we all
manage to get together and with two new babies in the family it was very
special. My only disappointment was that it didn't snow - the Argyllshire
hills are so very beautiful when white-capped, we did however try to get out
walking to blow away the excesses of food and drink and despite the mild
weather Ben Cruachan still looked glorious sloping down to Loch Awe.

New Year was a major disappointment as the celebrations we were supposed to
be performing at in Edinburgh were cancelled as I'm sure you all know which
was a major blow to all concerned. We did manage a sound check around 6ish
while there was a small let-up in the gales, and despite being told at
regular intervals that Edinburgh WOULD go ahead, that it was going to blow
itself out, we got the call at 8.30 to say all was off.  There wasn't really
a plan B, and after all the preparations nobody really felt like going home,
so we headed back to the hotel to bring the bells in and had a wee session
in the library till the wee sma' hrs!  It was nice, but we were very sorry
not to be able to play for the people who had braved the conditions in the
hope that it would go ahead, and we hope that ye all found some craic
elsewhere in the capital.

Gearing up for Celtic Connections now and looking forward to performing as
well as attending some of the brilliant gigs on offer. Apart from the ones
listed in the programme, I have also been invited to perform at the Barra
Night on the 19th Jan, and the Burns Mela on the 28th which sounds like
fantastic fun (and a curry is included in the price of the ticket!)

I hope this year brings you all you wish for and more.

Le gaol

Karen xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

12 December 2006


Hi again me lovelies

I am very excited to say that we have a new computer set-up at home
which means that I have easier access than before (fighting with
Donald and Hector for the lap-top!) so I am hoping to keep you all posted on
a more regular basis, and not just once a year (sorry Debbie!).

We were in Edinburgh at the beginning of the week for the "Spirit of
Scotland Awards" in Prestonfield House, which was fun and Glenfiddich
did us proud with great food and plenty of drink! Donald was
nominated for an award in the " Best Musician" category alongside
Paolo Nutini, The Fratellis and the lovely Gary Walker from the RSNO.
How on earth can you compare musicians from such a diverse range
of music. All excel within their own genre but have very different
disciplines. Anyway, we had a ball and wee Lorraine from GMTV kept
us amused with her couthy charm!

Back through in Edinburgh a couple of nights later to support the
"Scottish Love in Action" charity which was established in 2000 by
nine people who felt commited to supporting a group of destitute
children in Tuni, Andhra Pradesh, South East India. Many of these
kids are Dalits, which are at the bottom of the caste system and
considered 'untouchable' and have only survived by scavenging in
rubbish tips and begging. Vast numbers of these people are still
ostracised by Indian Society and denied basic human rights and the
story of how this group of people from Edinburgh had dramatically
changed the fate of these children was an inspiration. Donald, Anna
and James played with me for the event, and we were delighted to help
bring awareness to this brilliant charity.

Rehearsals at the end of the week for St Andrew's concert with RSNO
and Phil and Ally on Saturday night in the Royal Concert Hall, which
was great fun, the highlight being when Phil announced that both
Donald and Anna had won their categories at the Trad Music Awards and
presented them with bouquets of flowers on stage! When I arrived for
rehearsals in the afternoon Phil had told me that they had won, but
asked if I could I keep it a secret so that he could make the
announcement mid gig - what a cruel thing to do, I was DYING to tell
them but I managed to 'button it' - not easy for a yap like me!
Anyway Donald was absolutely thrilled ( though quite surprised when
up against the likes of Karine etc) to take the crown from Charlie
(last years's winner) and thanks all who voted for him. Seems like
the night very much belonged to Fort William. I believe Simon and Co
did a sterling job and everyone we spoke to raved about it . I was
delighted to see Kathleen win best gaelic singer, "Og Mhaduinn
Shamhraidh" is a seminal piece of work, and delighted also to see
Kenna Campbell and Robbie Shepherd installed in the `Hall of Fame'.
As a wee girl I used to love listening to the Campbells singing.
Kenna's late sister Mary and her husband Kenny lived in Taynuilt where I
grew up and Kenny taught my brother's and Donald to play shinty.
An early memory of mine is being dragged off by my father to watch
the Cammanachd Cup in Fort William and then back to Taynuilt to sing
for the ceilidh to celebrate the big win by Cruachanside! I think
Kenna's work at the Academy has inspired many young singers today and
it's great to see her rewarded in this way.

This week I've been rehearsing with Phil, Eddi Reader and John McCusker
for his xmas concerts in the Queens Hall Edinburgh on 22nd and 23rd
December. Looks like being a load of fun and I think Phil may even
give a wee song which in itself is worth going along to see! One of
the highlights of this year has been having Eddi join me to sing Ae
Fond Kiss, both at Turnberry with the RSNO and at the Cambridge Folk
Festival. She is passionate and lovely and so musically generous,
it's a joy to work with her. I'm frantically trying to learn some
xmassy things - not a jot in my current reportoire, but I think the
emphasis will be very much on having a good time and leading you all
into that lovely pre-xmas calm that follows all the frantic shopping
and general running around.

Can I just say a HUGE THANK YOU again for all your support and
positive energy over the last year, it means a lot to all of us and
next year is shaping up to be a biggy so I hope we can produce some
good work, and keep you all interested and enthused!

Hope you can make it to my Celtic Connections show in the beautiful
City Halls on the 1st Feb.The full band will be there (James G, Ewen, James
Mac, Michael, Donald and Anna) and a string section which I'm really
looking forward to.

May you have the happiest, most peaceful festive.

Nollaig chridheil agus bliadhna bha ur

Karen xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

5 December 2006

Tour Dates

22nd/23rd December 2006: Queen's Hall Edinburgh as the guest of Phil Cunningham

31 December 2006: w/ Capercaillie playing the Edinburgh Hogmanay Ceilidh, Princess St. Gardens, tickets from 0131 473 2000.

1 February 2007: Celtic Connections City Halls, Grand Hall.  Tickets £16

21 November 2006

Hiya ye all,

Feeling very guilty about the lack of correspondence of late after promising
a more active site earlier in the year. Co-dhuidh,what can I do but
apologise and try a little harder!

Have been doing mainly weekend festivals over the last while with Capers and
its been great fun, the band being in cracking form, which is just as well
as Donald is starting to make noises about studio time in December to start
recording for next album - cripes! Need to get me skates on and find some
good songs, so anybody out there got any ideas just send em in! No really,
we do have some material in the offing and I'm really looking forward to
some serious jamming and getting ideas together.

Donald has been drowning in Celtic Connections madness over the last while
and has put together a brilliantly eclectic mix of music for the festival.
Charlie has become a father again to little Cailean so was a little frayed
round the edges when last seen in Milan at the weekend, but we are all v
excited about the forthcoming album and I think in a very good place
musically, so bring it on I say!!

I'm doing RSNO St Andrew's night concert in Concert Hall Glasgow with Phil
and Ally (2nd December) and then xmas concerts with Phil in Queens Hall,
Edinburgh on 22nd and 23rd Dec.

Capers are playing in Princes Street for Hogmanay - yes, we do like to
suffer for our art and the lure of the nice warm studio with free bevvy was
not enough to tempt us this year. Live gigs are where we are at just now
(albeit balmy european festivals a bit more conducive to outdoor
performance!) but hey,a bit of frostbite never did anyone any harm did it?
And planning a bit of a special show for my gig at Celtic Connections with
strings etc.Hope you can make it
http://www.celticconnections.com/celtic/index.cfm?&pid=600&EvNum=51788

I'll sign off now as this is just a quickie, but promise to write again
before xmas - gigs coming in thick and fast for next year!

Bless ya

Karen xxx

Ps Some of you had asked for O.B.E. Photos. Donald has had a computer crash
and we have lost all photos at present but are in the process of trying to
retrieve them!!

6 February 2006

Karen Matheson Tour Dates:

• 17th Feb, STIRLING Tolbooth - 01786274000
• 18th Feb, ABERDEEN Lemon Tree - 01224 642230
• 4th March, PARIS, Espace Prevert
  
• 9th March, KENDAL Bewery Arts Centre - 01539 725133
• 11th March, INVERNESS Farr Halls - 01808 521333
• 12th March, EDINBURGH Queen's Hall - 01316682019
• 29th March, BRIGHTON Komedia - 01273 647 100
• 30th March, LONDON Dingwalls - 0870 771 2000

10 January 2006

Bliadhna mhath ur!
Happy new year everybody. I hope it was fun, and you are all refreshed and
ready to face 2OO6! We had a ball - xmas with a five year old is a
blast. Santa rules in our house and although Donald still refuses to do
his shopping till xmas eve, even he manages to get into the swing of
things and relaxes for oh, all of 2 days!!  That said, I am delighted
it is now officially over, and with the last of the cards and
decorations stored away for next year we are preparing for the next
onslaught of over indulgence and late nights in the form of Celtic
Connections.  The festival is awash with brilliant shows again this
year, and I am trying to narrow it down and realistically see how many
I can attend without the authorities having us up for neglect! Apart
from the Capercaillie show on the 25th and my own in the Fruitmarket on
the 16th I am also involved in the Transatlantic Sessions, Cherish the
Ladies and Bagad Kemper.Donald is playing Mike's gig Harvest, Eddi
Reader, Master and apprentice with Garry Innes and James Grant. All in
all a veritable feast of music and craic!

I can't  go on without mentioning the strangest phenomenon of 2005/6  -
  yes ..... the O. B. E!!!   Officer of the Order of the British Empire!
     WOW!!!!
When the letter came through the post mid November I actually thought
it was something to do with a grant for re-roofing our house which I
had enquired about. The document looked official and even although the
lower right hand corner read "PRIME MINISTER", I didnt clock that till
much later, It was addressed to Mrs Karen Shaw, a name until Hector
started school I didn't even recognise, so I had no reason to believe
it contained anything to do with work. I did, however rip it open,
excited at the idea of not having to mop up yet another flood pouring
through the light this winter and BLOW ME it was indeed from Downing
Street and, well, the rest is history.  I was gobsmacked, and all I
could think was, How on earth could this be? I'm just a wee lassie fae
Taynuilt  that sometimes sings on the "Hugmanay" Show (which a taxi
driver said to me once).  Anyways, once I got over the initial shock,
and accepted the fact that it was unlikely that Lizzie went around the
Palace with Delirium on her I-pod, and was more likely to have been
some kind of public vote, I felt so elated and proud. Proud for the
band, for Donald, for gaelic culture, and for celtic music as a whole
to be recognised in this way. To have been even a small part of this
vibrant, exciting time in Celtic music,  to have travelled the globe
with it, to have met such wholly awesome musicians and to have had such
a BALL!   I feel lucky, privileged and indeed humbled, and I thank you
all from the bottom of my heart for your support, encouragement,
enthusiasm and energy over the last 22 years. It is thanks to you all
that we can continue our journey and honour what is the at the root of
all this - A DAMN FINE TRADITION!!

God bless ya!

pogan mor,   Karen xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

20 December 2005
other news:

Karen was the guest on the Janice Forsyth Show on Radio Scotland on Saturday. This show is available via the BBC Listen Again service until next Saturday (24 Dec).

Karen will be recording a Celtic Connections radio performance of Downriver at The Fruitmarket in Glasgow on 16th January 2006 at 5pm. It will be transmitted on Radio Scotland on Sunday 22 January at 6pm. Tickets are free but should be booked in advance via the Celtic Connections website.

Karen and Michael McGoldrick will be playing a joint album launch gig at FNAC in Madrid on 7 Feb.

20 December 2005
Downriver - Irish Times CD of the Week

Tributaries interweave noiselessly on Karen Matheson's third and most down-home recording to date. With husband and fellow Capercaillie lynchpin Donald Shaw by her side, Matheson never wrongfoots it as she gathers around her a sinuous collection of songs from her youth in Argyll. Her languid vocals are the epicentre of every track, not so much bolstered as comforted by Shaw's arrangements. Dónal Lunny tiptoes in with bodhrán and bouzouki, all the better to underscore the sense of time and place embedded in the music.

Gleann Baile Chaoil carries echoes of Ae Fond Kiss in its genes, a genteel, guttural ode that hammocks Matheson's lonesome vocals perfectly and Michael McGoldrick's pinprick precision piping somehow manages to create even more space inside the lyric. Roibainean Riomhach / O Mhairi's Tu Mo Mhairi is a pastoral bubble of sound bursting with gentle percussion beneath Matheson's unapologetically playful encounters with the raplike syllables. This is where Shaw's intuitive touch is at its most freewheeling, turning cartwheels inside and around the rhyming couplets. Linguistic mischievousness lurks elsewhere, too, in the midst of Puirt A Beul or Mouthmusic, where Matheson's unforced vocals are perfectly poised on top of an excitable lyric, voice and words jousting with delight at the challenge of retaining some semblance of equilibrium.

Downriver is aptly christened: Matheson's voice repels any hint of stasis, but revels in the fluid movement promised with every song. A glorious capturing of a singer in her prime.

Siobhán Long ****

30 November 2005
Downriver Album Reviews

30 November 2005 - Karen Matheson - Downriver - Sunday Herald ***** Review

The greek philosopher Heraclutis's famous assertion that "you cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters are continually flowing in". has long been a popular quotation on the progressive wing of the folk scene. Much of the same idea seems to be implied in the title of Karen Matheson's third solo release, the fulfilment of a longtime wish to record an album centred on the traditional Gaelic songs with which she grew up.

Since that West Highland childhood, of course, Matheson has taken those songs to almost every corner of the world as lead singer of Capercaillie, the band she formed 22 years ago with accordionist and keyboard player Donald Shaw, now her husband, while still at Oban High School. Gaelic material has always formed the backbone of Capercaillie's repertoire , its innate melodic and rhythmic strngth often supplying the framework for the band's inventive experimentation.

Here though, the arrangements are resolutely stripped back and acustic, produced by Shaw and featuring her longtime collaborators James Grant, o guitars, banjo and mandolin, percussionist James Macintosh, and capercaillie colleagues Ewen Vernal, on bass, and Michael McGoldrick on uilleann pipes. They're joined on bouzouki and bodhrán by Irish music legend Donal Lunny, plus Aidan O'Rourke on fiddle, Stuart Nisbet on dobro, and an eight piece string section borrowed from the Scottish Ensemble. As you'd expect from such a line-up, the instrumental musicianship is of the highest standard.

Matheson has described the album's contrast with its two predecessors' more pop-inclined approach as a return to the Capercaillie sound of two decades ago. But the experience accrued during that time makes this much more than your standard-issue back-to-roots project. First and foremost, like most singers, Matheson keeps getting better with time - having begun with the head-start of what Sean Connery once called "a throat surely touched by God".

She has said that she's most comfortable performing in Gaelic, and the recording process also benefited from a stunningly conducive environment, taking place at Crear Studios in Argyll, overlooking the Sound of Jura, and largely comprising organic, collaborative, session-style workups. the outcome is that Matheson's voice has never sounded simultaneously so much at ease and in command. The ensemble dynamic among her core accompanists, and their sensitivity towards her singing, demonstrate a similarly long-seasoned élan.

The Opening Chi Mi Bhuam (I See Afar) sets the tone, the vocals unfolding over nothing more than Shaw's sparse, jazz-accented piano chords and the faintest whisper of strings - all the better to appreciate Matheson's minute, yet wholly unforced concentration on every nuance of every phrase. The same exquisite finesse and expressive fluency shine through each successive song, be it in the Puirt A Beul set, with Matheson's lightning quick vocls skipping twinkle-toed over a punchy blues/funk backing; the subtle rhythmic cross-currents she weaves through the waltz-time lilt of Gleann Baile Chaoil (Ballachulish Glen), or the sunny surface and resonant, pulsing depths of the paired waulking songs Cronan Bleoghainn/'S moch an diugh gun d'rinn mi eirigh.

Downriver draws on both the traditional and contemporary Gaelic repertoire, including a nod over the water in the closing lament Crucan Na Bpaiste (Burial Place Of The Children), by the Irish composer Brendan Graham, a final sublime exemplar of Gaelic music's ability to communicate from a place beyond catharsis. There are also a couple of fine newe songs (in English) from Grant: the wistful, winsome Singing In The Dark, and the bitterly ppoignant I Will Not Wear The Willow, deftly referencing folk-ballad idioms in a vivid evocation of grief and denial.

*****
Sue Wilson

25 October 2005
Hi guys, I am delighted to say that the album is now complete and winging its way to the pressing plant as I write this. It all started in June when we headed for Crear Studios in Kilberry. The most tranquil and beautiful environment I have ever recorded in. The views across to the sound of Jura were breathtaking and we knew on arrival that it was going to be a special few days. Donal Lunny had just flown in from Japan for the session and within a few hours we knew that we had made absolutely the right choice in inviting him to guest on the album. As I'm sure you all know, Donald has produced albums for Capercaillie in the past and myself and Donald have worked with him in France on the Heritage des Celtes project, but it was brilliant to start the songs from scratch and have his input in such an organic way - just sitting around singing them (he had'nt heard any of the tracks before arriving). Himself and Donald have always had a good working relationship, and very quickly James just slotted in and they were bouncing off each other (not literally) as if they had been playing together all their lives. I have to say James has played a blinder on this album also. There were some hilarious moments when he was heard to scream "where the f*** is the one?" (the first beat!) Coming from a different genre of music, the unusual rhythms of the waulking songs were in his own words "challenging" at times. James Mac joined us for some brilliant percussion also, and AnnJanine (james G's wife and professional photographer) took some ace photos which will be added to my website shortly to let you see work in progress. The rest of the work was completed at PawPaw in Glasgow in between bouts of gigs and we brought in Aiden O' Rourke (excellent fiddler from near our home town of Oban to play on three tracks. Our own Ewen added some subtly exquisite bass and the Scottish Ensemble weaved their magic through three tracks recorded at the Academy of Music. All in all, it has been an absolute joy to work on and Donald has excelled as ever in the beautiful arrangements and immaculate production. He has worked tirelessly on this album and shown incredible patience at my rantings! I cant thank him enough and you guys for your support and enthusiasm. As I've said before I enjoy reading the message board and we are currently updating my own site so that you have access to info quicker. We have been remiss with it of late but that is about to change (honestly). I hope you enjoy the album as much as we enjoyed making it guys - it's for you!

Leis gach deagh dhurachd

Karen xxxx