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Dates Appearing: August 19 - 24 Current Release: Suas e! Favourite Colours: Green, though I invariably seem to wear black. Pets: None, I'm not home enough to keep a house plant alive. Home: note sure...born in Kingston, On, but also lived as a child n Pointe Claire, Quebec, Sarnia, ON, Sydney, NS, Brookville, ON, and finally Monreal, Quebec. I now live in Inverness Co., CB. Favourite Tour Pastime: Beside going home??...Singing, but the other 96% of the time in the road I like to read or be silly with the band. Birthday: November 5 Favourite Album: North Shore Gaelic Singers Favourite Movie: Don't have one but I'm a big fan of German director Wim Winders. |
With her stunning A&M Records release Suas e! (su-ess-ay), Mary Jane Lamond has emerged at the vanguard of a Celtic cultural renaissance, successfully reclaiming and reinterpreting an age-old tradition. Singing exclusively in Scottish Gaelic, Lamond simultaneously fuses pop and funk, with hand-made percussion, Highland bagpipes, Irish bodhran and cello. The result is a meeting of two distinct and dynamic musical cultures. The effect is nothing short of stirring.There is no one more suited to bring this most unique form of world music to the public than Mary Jane Lamond. The east coast region she now calls home has yielded a wide and rich musical palate, with artists ranging from such altmusic faves as jale and Sloan, to more stalwart traditionalists Rita MacNeil and Anne Murray.
Lamond's formative years were spent moving between Quebec and Ontario, but she soaked up the Gaelic heritage over many summers spent visiting her grandparents in Cape Breton, where she now resides. It was there that she first remembers hearing Gaelic songs, her initiation took place at a “milling frolic,” where a heavy woolen cloth is repeatedly beat against a table and people gather to sing and rhythmically keep time. The power of that experience and the music that emanated captured Lamond’s imagination. “I was so taken by it, I became determined to learn and sing Gaelic myself,” Lamond recalls.
Lamond returned to the east coast to attend Antigonish’s Saint Francis Xavier University. Before graduating in Celtic Studies, Lamond had released her first album, the beautiful Bho Thir Nan Craobh (From the Land of the Trees). It consists entirely of traditional material and also features a young and at the time, little known, Ashley MacIsaac. Unbeknownst to both, this was to be the beginning of a highly creative professional collaboration.
MacIsaac recorded a reworked version of an arrangement penned by Lamond and Gordie Sampson (a native Cape Bretoner), called Sleepy Maggie. The song appeared on MacIsaac’s debut A&M album, “Hi, How are you today?” with Lamond (or, as MacIsaac always proudly introduced her in concert, ‘Cape Breton’s disco diva’) featured on vocals. The song went on to become a staple at contemporary hit radio, garnering numerous awards. Lamond hit the road with MacIsaac and The Kitchen Devils as they toured with Melissa Etheridge, The Chieftains and the Crash Test Dummies.
Lamond's affection, understanding and deep regard for the people and culture of Cape Breton are evident in every aspect of Suas e! The material has been lovingly researched and rendered, and several tracks were laid down outside of the recording studio. Air failirinn is a milling song recorded in Lamond’s own home. Horo Ghoid Thu Nighean (Stepping Song) combines electric instrumentation, traditional fiddle and the sound of eight step dancers beating the floor at the West Mabou Sporting Hall.
With adept stewardship from producers Philip Strong and Laurel MacDonald, Lamond has succeeded in weaving an unabashedly ancestral Gaelic motif into the fabric of a decidedly modern aural tapestry. “I do think you have to be solidly based in the traditional culture,” Lamond says, “but I believe in experimentation. I don’t have a problem integrating such disparate elements as long as the music stays true to its roots.”
The varied musical styles are played out with contributions from Toronto urban progressive jazzoids Bass is Base and Glenn Milchem and James Gray from the much-revered Blue Rodeo. MacIsaac and his Kitchen Devils once again make an appearance to inject some solid funk into Bog a’Lochain, one of Cape Breton’s most popular strathespeys.
Mary Jane Lamond has burst onto the worldstage at a time when audiophiles hunger for “new” music, and pundits yearn for the values of days gone by. On Suas e! Lamond proves she possesses a formidable spirit of innovation and a deep respect for the rich heritage of the Gaelic culture.
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