It may only be May, but the summertime is coming.
To judge by this correspondent’s hayfever, the trees are blooming. And in the back green, the wild urban garlic grows as we’re treated to the next-door neighbour’s booming blether.
Despite all the uncertainties, frustrations, and sadnesses that accompany it, we’re in a mood to celebrate the positives of this peculiar once-in-a-lifetime interlude that is lockdown.
And to do so we enlist the help of remotely assembled musicians from Edinburgh Tradfest, which, under normal circumstances, would have kicked off on the 1st of May.
Producer Jane-Ann Purdy writes: ‘We were looking for an uplifting Scottish folk song with a summer vibe, no easy task!
‘Wild Mountain Thyme is very popular and, like many other traditional tunes and songs, is claimed by both Scotland and Ireland. It’s also well known in North America and around the globe with many, many versions recorded over the years.
‘However, ours is the first to include a mass band from Scotland, Ireland, England, California, Nova Scotia, and Norway!
‘We are hugely grateful to everyone who has united to create this new recording, and hope that it will bring some joy to music fans worldwide, during these difficult times.’
The 36 artists on the recording include: acclaimed folk musician and this year’s festival headliner Eliza Carthy; Fiona Hunter (Malinky), Rachel Newton (The Shee), James Mackintosh (Shooglenifty), five leading Shetland fiddlers including Catriona Macdonald and Chris Stout, accordion player Phil Alexander (Moishe’s Bagel), and Irish folk-singer Daoirí Farrell among others.
You can enjoy them HERE!
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