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Press
Iain Morrison & Daibhidh Martin ‘Haunted Bird’ 4 stars.
The effect is of a layering of sound and emotion, steadily building a feeling deep down in the pit of the stomach that is moving and satisfying. This is best heard on ‘The Sky Throws You’, ‘Greatest Painter of Night’ and the exquisite ‘Taketori’, a song of flight and transformation that seems to sum up the whole project. As the Japanese-Scottish mix of this track demonstrates, there is a measured, delicate and considered clarity to this album. The ten tracks never linger too long, nor try too hard. Subtly uplifting stuff.
Nathaniel Handy. - Songlines Magazine April 2011
Sounds like: modern, lushly orchestrated folk/pop with a twist...the thick brogue spoken sections followed by sung choruses nods, in a way, to hip-hop's mix of rhymes and melody //
What we like: the pairing of Martin's surreal lyrical imagery with Morrison's strummed backing and sweet tenor, particularly on "Ghost" and the kaleidoscopic chamber folk "Taketori", the lovely backing vocals from American alt-folker Anais Mitchell on "The Sky Will Throw You"...A - Direct Current Music USA
The penmanship and musicality of "Haunted Bird" are of the highest order, but the thing that really sets it apart from many of it's contemporaries is the spoken word sections delivered by Daibhidh Martin. He's got a voice that demands you pay attention to his Scots accent and absorb every word he delivers, be it in English or Gaelic. The majority of the album is Martin working with Iain Morrison and his guitar/vocals, but another highlight for me is when the duo added the vocals of Anais Mitchell into the mix, taking the good to the sublime. March 2011 - Fatea Magazine
The Year Of Open Doors. New Writing Scotland review - 'What I'll retain from it is the name Daibhidh Martin, whose piece shows real talent, a willingness to be askance and a poetic sensibility'. - The Scotsman - August 2010 - The Scotsman
MAVERICK MAGAZINE. MAY 2011 - Interesting and unusual mixture of music and verse in an
alt.folk setting from the Northern Isles. This album is a beguiling mixture of song and prose over a bed of acoustic guitars, cello and harmonium. - John Jobling.
- Maverick Magazine
Morrison curls over the microphone and tears his songs straight out of his heart; it’s hard to keep a dry eye during “Angel Wings in the Closet”. The presence of most of the Hidden Lane Choir in the audience helps considerably when he asks for vocal help on a chorus. “You are the only one”, sings the audience. It’s true – there is only one Iain Morrison.
Jennie MacFie - January 2011 - Hazy Recollections
Discography
'Haunted Bird' Album Release March 2011
'The Sky Throws You' 3-track Single release June 2011
'Drops of Grace'
'The Sky Throws You Re-mix'
Photos
Bio
The debut collaborative album from Iain Morrison & Daibhidh Martin. Haunted Bird’s soundscape remains rich in roots, warm and glowing, with the songs sparsely crafted and open, cast around unforgettable, natural melodies. Surreal fables, myths, micro-fiction and fragments of balanced and crafted words that chart their brief moments of intense life. Their songs reflect an on-going journey; a shared upbringing on an island with everything but isolation: vast land and seascapes; the bite of the elements; the abundance of light and darkness and the array of off-beat characters they’ve met on the way.
Iain is the winner of the Scots Trad Music Award 'Composer Of The Year' 2010.
Iain Morrison is one of Scotland’s most inventive and acclaimed contemporary musicians; a piper from the Gaelic tradition; a guitarist and composer with a golden ear for strong melody, and an engaging, expressive singing voice.
Iain's projects have included bands as diverse as Glasgow indie favs' Crash My Model Car to the highly acclaimed 2010 Celtic Connections commission 'Ceol Mor / Little Music', about which The Scotsman said: 'Morrison concocted a spellbinding admixture of rock, folk and even classical stylings, by turns heart-rending and uplifting, at once timeless and modern...these were songs you instantly wanted to hear all over again.' 5/5
Daibhidh Martin writes poems and stories in short forms: a flow of iconic sometimes surreal fables, myths, micro-fiction and fragments of balanced and crafted words that chart the brief moments of intense life. Daibhidh has been a major part of many of Iain's critically acclaimed projects during which, the partnership that has now produced 'Haunted Bird', has come into sharp and vital focus.
Haunted Bird features two tracks with acclaimed US alt folk singer-songwriter, Anais Mitchell.
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