Platform, the arts centre at the heart of Easterhouse, is to be part of Celtic Connections once more – January and February 2020 brings some brilliant, varied and diverse music from across the world.
Alasdair Roberts og Volvur / Fri 24 Jan
Singer and guitarist Alasdair Roberts is one of Scotland’s most idiosyncratic folk musicians and has released over ten records in his own name, most of them on the esteemed Chicago-based label Drag City.
Kicking off the first of the Celtic Connections run at Platform the Scotsman joins with Volvur – a band of like-minded multi-instrumental spirits from Norway for a concert of his songs, Scots ballads and perhaps a cover version or two.
Two waves of euphony meeting in the middle of the North Sea; the purling tones from this gang will both enthuse and astound you!
Irmin Schmidt // Sun 26 Jan – performed at City of Glasgow Studio at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Experimental German keyboardist and composer Irmin Schmidt joins us for part two of our Celtic Connections line up. Best known as a founding member of the now legendary German band CAN in 1968, Schmidt’s sound-journeys combine what is usually opposed: rock, pop, jazz, classic, electronic, ambient, drum ‘n’ bass, waltz and oriental. He is a true musical alchemist.
Schmidt conducted the Orchestra of the Schlossfestspiele and presented a selection of his work to great critical acclaim. He has scored more than 40 films and television programs, including Knife in the Head (1978) and Palermo Shooting (2008) and recorded a few solo albums and written an opera, Gormenghast, based on Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast Trilogy.
In November 2018 Spoon Records released Irmin’s new piano solo album 5 Klavierstücke.
Alex Rex album launch – featuring special guests Mike Heron, Lavinia Blackwall and Stilton, Cath and Phil Tyler and Boss Morris // Sat 1 Feb 2020
Following on from two critically acclaimed solo albums, Alex Rex returns to Celtic Connections 2020 for the exclusive launch of his new album ANDROMEDA. The founding member of Trembling Bells will perform songs of love, loss and loathing and is joined by special guest Mike Heron (Incredible String Band).
ANDROMEDA is a game of emotional snakes and ladders. It’s the product of two years spent in therapy, the gym and on Tinder. It opens with the voice of folk legend Shirley Collins in ”Song of Self Doubt” – a sparse assemblage of spoken words layered on bright chimes and birdsong. And from there we wander down corridors of cruelty, recklessness and recrimination.
Other guests include:
Lavinia Blackwall is well known for her previous work in Trembling Bells, who released seven albums, all met with critical acclaim. She has also worked as a performer and arranger with Nick Garrie, Kaleidoscope, Mike Heron and Bonnie Prince Billy. Her new solo material is a rich tapestry of lyrical melodies and beautifully arranged song smithery ably accompanied by ‘Stilton’, the talents of Marco Rea ( The Wellgreen, Euros Childs) Jim McGoldrick (The Wellgreen) and Seb Jonsen(Helicon and The Tomorrow Syndicate).
Cath & Phil Tyler play Anglo-American folk music using guitar, banjo, voice and fiddle. Cath was a member of the band Cordelia’s Dad in the 1990s when she lived in Massachusetts, USA. Phil, from Newcastle upon Tyne has played in various folk, rock and ceilidh bands for many years. Coming together musically through a shared love of traditional narrative song, full voiced sacred harp singing and sparse mountain banjo, they have performed on stages great and small, from the Royal Opera House in London to the Morden Tower in the old city walls of Newcastle.
Boss Morris is an all female Morris Dancing side that sprang up out of the five valleys of Stroud, Gloucestershire in 2015. The ten-strong group of dancers now regularly hop and perform across the UK with their unique take on the traditional English Folk dance.
Move – Gluasad // Sun 2 Feb 2020
Inspired by ancient keening rituals, Move~Gluasad is a multi-story performance about migration, loss and the common human experience of grief. Weaving together multi-lingual storytelling, choral soundscape and Gaelic song, five women build a picture of the ebb and flow of people across the globe through the ages.
Incorporating musical styles as diverse as Gaelic psalm singing, Swahilli lullabies, Epirus Polyphony and Canntearchd Move~Gluasad celebrates humanity and mourns a loss of kinship across cultures. Move~Gluasad is written, directed and performed by Julia Taudevin with a cast that includes Mairi Morrison, Nerea Bello and Beldina Odenyo.
This is the first production by Disaster Plan, a new company led by award-winning theatre makers Julia Taudevin and Kieran Hurley whose previous collaborations include Beats, Chalk Farm, Rantin, Heads Up, and Blow Off.
All audience members are invited to an optional pre-show singing workshop where the cast will teach some of the songs and singing techniques used in the show.