Bold, tender, full of old truths and distilled modern wit, 365: Stories and Music is an epic built on the beauty of the miniature. It’s a collaboration between artists steeped in tradition but constantly breaking new ground.
In 2013, James Robertson – one of Scotland’s leading authors – set himself the challenge of writing a short story every day for a year. Each story was to be 365 words, no more, no less. It became an enchanting, roaming collection of fairytales and memories and provocations published in 2014 by Penguin as 365: Stories. That was only the beginning.
In 2016 Scottish fiddler and composer Aidan O’Rourke (of Lau) wrote a tune every day in response. The result is a major new body of 365 tunes – a significant addition to the Scottish traditional music canon. O’Rourke’s fiddle tunes are sparse and emotive; his playing is renowned for its lyricism, here paired with kaleidascopic harmonies from Mercury-nominated Kit Downes on harmonium and piano, guitarist Sorren Maclean and harpist Esther Swift.
The album 365: Volume 1 was released in May 2018 and 365: Volume 2 was released in August 2019.
INSTALLATION
Robertson’s stories and O’Rourke’s music now form a touring installation designed by inventor Yann Seznec in collaboration with design team Old School Fabrications. The installation is a piece of art in itself, beautifully crafted from wood and brass with no digital screens in sight encasing the spoken-word recordings of all 365 stories: Robertson reads many himself, and other storytellers provide rich and varied accents from artists, actors and young people around Scotland including; Gerda Stevenson, Cathy Macdonald, Matthew Zajac and Kate Molleson.
The free to enjoy installation, which allows up to six people at a time to browse through all 365 stories and listen through headphones, was commissioned by the Edinburgh International Book Festival supported by Creative Scotland and PRSF, and launched in August 2019 and now embarks on a tour to Linlithgow Palace, Scottish International Storytelling Festival, Shetland Word Play Festival, Orkney Library, Celtic Connections and Huntingtower.
LIVE TOUR
Aidan O’Rourke will also be embarking on a live tour to perform music from 365 with pianist and harmonium player Kit Downes. The tour will run from 10 October stopping at The Black Isle, Island of Hoy, Turriff, Barton on Humber, Oxford, Sheffield, Brighton, Bournemouth and Lerwick.
James Robertson said:
I love the way the 365 project has built new layers of creativity and performance on my original collection of stories. It’s been a total joy and privilege to work with these talented musicians, and I am still astonished that my words have provoked such a rich range of responses in Aidan’s compositions. Then there is the installation, a thing of beauty in itself, and all the readers who have lifted the stories off the page, adding such a range of voices and moods. It’s been a huge collaborative effort but also great fun, and I am just grateful to be part of it.
Aidan O’Rourke said:
This project was never meant to be quite so… public! Nobody was necessarily going to hear any of it. That wasn’t the point. My 365 tune cycle started as an entirely personal writing exercise – to see what might happen if I imposed a daily writing ritual upon myself. I read James’s stories; I felt a tangible connection. I loved how succinct and emotive he could be with his words. I appreciated the power of his understatement, of saying less in a world when everyone seems to be shouting more. I wondered whether there might be a musical parallel.