Scotland's Music: Laws of Motion from Karine Polwart, Inge Thomson, and Steven Polwart

Through the songs on her album Laws of Motion,. Karine Polwart considers migration, refugees, climate change, war, childhood, uncertainty, trust, and many other things along the way. That catalogue of ideas and questions may suggest that it’d be a grim sort of journey. It’s not. Polwart’s songs are very likely to raise ideas that will stay with you though.

In the song Ophelia landscapes, waters, and skies shift and change -- much as they did in the natural world when Storm Ophelia, to date the word’s easternmost hurricane, brought wild winds, high waters, and in its aftermath Saharan dust filling the skies with haze and strange light, to Scotland and other parts of Europe. Though the song’s name might recall a specific event, Polwart’s poetic imagination takes things beyond one place in time, as does the hauntingly quiet atmosphere she and her long time musical collaborators Inge Thomson and Polwart’s brother Steven bring through backing vocals, guitar, accordion, and other instruments.

Human lives tossed about by the winds of political and social change are the threads with which Polwart weaves the stories in the title song, Laws of Motion. Adults and children on the run for many reasons, seeking safety, seeking hope. Troubles and dangers, yes, but anchor lines of love and light, and hope. As the trio sings, “Who doesn’t want another chance?”

There is change, there is questioning, and there is a recognition of the lasting power of nature to reframe and connect -- these are threads that run through the sound and the ideas on Laws of Motion.

In Cassiopeia, Polwart mixes memories of her childhood preparations for nuclear and other disasters (she grew up in Stirlingshire near Grangemouth) with recordings of official instruction of how to prepare, and takes note that when the grid goes down and human made light goes out, it’s still possible to see the stars. In Cornerstone, she visits the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth through three lives centuries apart, with thoughts on stillness listening, and time. Vivid images and intertwining music make this one of the poetic songs from the trio, on an album well filled with poetry of both lyric and musical sort.

There’s not much stillness to the current US president, that’s true. Polwart addresses this by having a conversation with the ancient rock of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, the place where the president’s mother was born. I Burn But I Am Not Consumed is the title of the song, and his mother’s clan motto. The song was written just as he was coming not office; it still rings true, and to my mind is one of the best, if to the very best, song which has been written about the man and his ideas and actions.

Each song on Laws of Motion (there are more than I’ve spoken of here) is well worth your listening; news depths of ideas and music will unfold as you listen again.

Karine Polwart. comes from a background which includes degrees in philosophy and the teaching of that subject to children, and experience as a social worker. Before setting out on a solo music career she sang with the Battlefield Band and with Malinky. Her own work has won awards; her songs have been recorded by other artists, she’s written music for film and created her own stage project, Wind Resistance, which later became an album, and collaborated on a children’s book, A Wee Bird Was Watching. Music, social justice, Scotland’s landscape, and ideas from the natural world are of deep interest to her in all her work: she’s been part other collaborative ventures, among them the Darwin Song Project and The Lost Words: Spell Songs.

Word has just come at this writing that Laws of Motion is on the longlist for the SAY Awards, one of Scotland’s top awards for album of the year.

Photograph of Karine Polwart courtesy of Borealis Records.

You may also wish to see
Eight Songwriters and a Scientist: a story about the Darwin Song Project at Perceptive Travel
Scotland’s Music: Karine Polwart: Traces.
Scotland’s Music: Hamish Napier: The River

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Scotland and New Zealand: Inge Thomson and Maisey Rika

Fair Isle, Scotland, is a small place, lying about half way between Orkney and Shetland to the far north of mainland Scotland. North Island, New Zealand, is quite a bit larger in area and ar distant from Fair Isle, lying as it does at the opposite end of the world in the southern hemisphere off the coast of Australia. Both places, though, are connected and bound to sea and weather and distance. Those things arise in and influence their music, as well.

Perhaps that is one of the reasons the music of Maisey Rika, who is of the Maori people indigenous to North Island, and Inge Thomson, who comes from Fair Isle, seemed to resonate one with the other on a winter evening in Glasgow.

The two artists did not perform together at their concert at The Tron, which was part of Celtic Connections. Yet there was resonance.

Rika began the evening with a song in Maori telling of the legends of the sea and how the Maori people came to be in New Zealand. Many of her songs through evening were in Maori -- she has won many awards for her work as a songwriter and a tradition keeper in that language -- and, recognizing that however international the audience at Celtic Connections concerts often is, not many would be fluent in Maori, she gave gracious and thoughtful and occasionally witty insights into the meaning of the words she sang. Sharing several songs she has recorded in English showed another side of her music, a more easy listening sort of sound. While listeners at The Tron enjoyed both aspects of Rika’s music, it was the music of her native language and the stories told with that music that clearly kept the audience engaged. Rika also often shared the spotlight with her supporting musicians, stepping aside as they took lead voice or instrument, and at times supporting them with harmonies as well. It was, however, Rika’s powerful voice and engaging storytelling through music which anchored the time -- and the audience enjoyed her inclusion of swirling the traditional poi, as well.

Rika’s most recent recording at this writing is Whitiora with all songs in the Maori (Te reo) language, which includes a song referencing the earthquake in Christchurch and that song telling of Maori legend with which she opened her Celtic Connections concert, called Tangaroa Whakamauta.

For her part of the evening, Inge Thomson focused on the music of her project Da Fishing Hands.

Inspired by consideration of the geography, natural environment, and stories of Fair Isle, the music she and her bandmates offered readily evoked wind, water, sea, northern travels, and the interconnection of these things. Thomson herself sang, in a light soprano, and played accordion as well as the occasional bit of electronic addition to the atmosphere, which fit in surprisingly well with acoustic instruments and human voices. The songs she offered, with lyrics of her own and also ones by her cousin poet Lise Sinclair, who passed away as they were working on the project together, included Wind and Weather/The Fishermen and The Sea, The Snowstorm, Dark Stacks, and Here We’ve Landed.

As Rika did in her set, Thomson also made the music a truly collaborative journey with her supporting musicians, who included Sarah Hayes on flute and vocals, Fraser Fifield on sax, pipes and other instruments, and Steven Polwart on guitar and vocals. Thomson, who was perhaps best known to most of the audience as member of songwriter Karine Polwart’s band, delivered music and stories creative, thoughtful, and unusual, and showed that she is well able to carry a concert in her own right.

Both Maisey Rika and Inge Thomson offered music that draws from their home lands and their knowledge and love for the stories told in word, music, landscape, weather, and change drawn from those lands. Stories of an island in the South Pacific and one the North Sea: differing one from the other, but connected by experience of water, weather, time, and music. Indeed, this concert offered just the sort of thoughtful and unexpected -- and not so likely to occur elsewhere -- connection and resonance that marks out Celtic Connections as one of Europe’s top music festivals.

At this writing, World Oceans Day is on the near horizon. Listening to the art of these two talented musicians would be a good way to celebrate.

“From a cultural point of view the sea has always been a life giver to the island, it is so important we look after our marine resources for future generations.” ~ Inge Thomson in an interview with Folk Radio UK.

Photographs are by Kerry Dexter and were made with permission of the artists, the festival, and the venue. Thank you for respecting copyright.

You may also wish to see
Julie Fowlis: Every Story
Laws of Motion from karien Polwart, Inge Thomson, and Steven Polwart
Scotland's music: Capercaillie: At the Heart of It All

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Celtic Connections 2015: images

Celtic Connections is perhaps Europe’s best winter festival -- it is certainly one of the world’s best music festivals. Held in Glasgow, Scotland, in the latter part of January each year, the festival hosts concerts of music both traditional and not, from the many traditions of Scotland and the Celtic lands, from the Commonwealth countries, and from other traditions such as, in recent years, those of Malawi, Mali, and Mongolia.

Events are held in venues across the city center, ranging from the Royal Concert Hall to the repurposed church that is now Oran Mor, from the National Piping Centre to City Halls to the Old Fruitmarket to The Tron Theatre. There are exhibits of visual art, late night song and music sessions and an after hours festival club, as well as competitions for rising stars and live radio broadcasts.

Here is a bit of what some of the events looked like this winter past

... and there will be more to come.

Photographs are by Kerry Dexter and were made with permission of the artists, the festival, and the venues involved. Thank you for respecting copyright.

You may also wish to see
Celtic Connections: 20 Years of Extraordinary Music at Wandering Educators
Celtic Connections 2014: reflections, part one
Celtic Connections 2013: Images

-->Your support for Music Road is welcome and needed. If you are able to chip in, here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this. Thank you.