Skyedance: Way Out to Hope Street

Alasdair Fraser (fiddle, viola)
Eric Rigler (Great Highland Bagpipe, uilleann pipes, Scottish small-pipes)
Chris Norman (wooden flute, piccolo)
Paul Machlis (piano, organ, keyboards)
Mick Linden (fretless bass)
Peter Maund (percussion)

Featuring virtuoso instrumentalists who were brought together by top Scots fiddler Alasdair Fraser during the recording of his Indie Award-winning album Dawn Dance. Virtuosity meets vision as the six members of Skyedance unite their considerable creative spirits in original compositions which push the envelope of the Scottish tradition. Way Out to Hope Street presents music ranging from exquisitely expressive airs to rampaging reels.

"The sound of expertise - a sound to behold ...   fiddle, pipes, flute and bass working tightly together, with lyrical rippling piano and the most considerate and imaginative of percussionists."
The Glasgow Herald

1	Way Out to Hope Street (Alasdair Fraser) Something as mundane as an exit sign in a busy railway station can be unusually signficiant to a group of musicians during the gestation of a new album. This particular Hope Street is in Glasgow, but every city and every heart should have one.
2	Walking the Plank (Eric Rigler) A reference to 'traditional' pipe compositions and the occasional edge on which one can live life.
3	Donostia (Paul Machlis) The lovely Basque city of Donostia, known also as San Sebastian, is the home of Syntorama, our gracious hosts and tour organisers in Spain. With thanks to Mikel, Cruz and all.
4	Year's Turning (Paul Machlis) The title is inspired by Dylan Thomas' 'Poem in October', which closes with 'O may my heart's truth, Still be sung, On this high hill in a year's turning.'
5	Midnight on Raasay  *   The Braemar Cappuccino (Alasdair Fraser)
6	Dizzy (Mick Linden) Written in celebration of, and recuperation from, a unique and potent beverage called Txakoli, which has its own festival in the Basque Country.
7	Stoney Run (Chris Norman) In honour of a beautiful stream that meanders through Baltimore.
8	The Lupine (Chris Norman)
9	Dark Jewel (Paul Machlis)
10	Tathaich nam Fonn (A Song-Haunted Place) (Alasdair Fraser) The Isle of Skye, off mainland Scotland, is surely one of the loveliest places in the world. Since 1987, Alasdair has led a summer fiddle and dance course there, at Sabhal Mor Ostaig College, helping to revitalise a rich indigenous tradition which was nearly destroyed by repressive church and economic forces. This air reflects the feeling of the old stone hall when the week is over and the musicians have all gone home.
11	The Skyedance Reels (Ruilleadh Cailleach  *  The Bird's Nest  *   Harris Dance) (traditional Scottish) A new version of a medley originally recorded by Alasdair and Paul for their first duo album Skyedance, which was released in 1986 and named for a whole body of Gaelic song and dance tunes collected on Skye in the 1700's.
12	Skerray (Chris Norman) This tune is named for a place in the remote north-western tip of Scotland where the band played in the village hall in 1995.
13	Reel de Flores (Alasdair Fraser and Mick Linden)
14	Bannockburn (Alasdair Fraser) In tribute to the spirit of freedom wherever it exists, but particularly in the heart of King Robert the Bruce, who centuries ago united Scots in the cause of independence and self-determination. Scotland is currently surging with a sense of its own culture; the spirit of Bruce lives on.
	All compositions arranged by Skyedance. All compositions administered by Culburnie Music (BMI).