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Exciting collaborative duo A.D.A.M are set to release an innovative new electronic-influenced albumEverybody Wants to be Like Mary on Friday 23 August 2024.
A.D.A.M, which stands for ‘a day a month’, is an exciting long standing collaboration between esteemed multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Mairearad Green, and award-winning composer and producer Mike Vass.
The pair have been writing music together under the moniker A.D.A.M for over a decade and their latest boundary-breaking release, Everybody Wants to be Like Mary, is a genre-defying dialogue between ancient Gaelic song melodies and the world of contemporary electronic and ambient soundscape.
As part of the project, the highly sought-after duo transcribed Scottish Gaelic songs, capturing all the nuance and inflection of the singers, including recordings from living tradition bearers and material from the School of Scottish Studies archives.
The melodies were then set for bagpipes and arranged with innovative electronic production from Mike Vass, one of the most creative forces within the Scottish music scene. Drawing inspiration from the vanguard of instrumental electronic producers including Jon Hopkins, Dominic Eulberg, Kiasmos, and Max Cooper, Mike set about creating the unique soundscape of the album.
The album title was inspired by the remarkable Mary Morrison from Barra, whose incredible canntaireachd – Gaelic for ‘chanting’, a complex oral notation used by Scottish pipers for centuries to teach repertoire and performance style – had a significant influence on the project.
The album artwork includes bespoke designs by Mairearad Green as she combines her two passions – art and music. Having grown up in the West Coast Coigach peninsula of the Scottish Highlands, an area steeped in culture and local traditions, Mairearad’s impressionist painting style is a visceral response to her homeland, which paired with her dextrous bagpipe playing makes for a beautifully modern take on Scottish life and heritage.
Mike Vass said: “Part of the challenge with this album was that we wanted to cut no corners, to keep pushing ourselves further, to learn more, grow, refine techniques, abandon all reason and deeply explore the possibilities of blending the bagpipe with synthesisers and drum machines. This is far and away the best album we have made so far in our musical lives. We poured everything into it, pushing ourselves daily, and leaving no stone unturned in the quest for sonic excellence. The internal rhythms and cadence are all so unique to the Highlands of Scotland, and yet still so accessible to everyone.”
Mairearad Green said: “Women are currently underrepresented in the bagpiping world so fronting a project like this on the pipes like this is a powerful thing. Mike and I are both really inspired by contemporary electronic music and we wanted to blend production techniques while showcasing the traditional music we both grew up with. We feel like we finally cracked the code with this album. Our melodies are from Gaelic songs, some of which have never been heard before in this context, so it’s an extremely special opportunity for us to be able to showcase this.”
The duo will perform live at Ceòl Cholsa on Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides on 20 September 2024.
Everybody Wants to be Like Mary will be available to download, stream and purchase on 12’ double vinyl from Friday 23 August 2024, complete with original artwork by Mairearad Green. Visitwww.adamsounds.com.
Artist website: http://www.adamsounds.com/
Single title: Lomraibh Eutrom
Album title: Everybody Wants to be Like Mary
Release Date: 23/08/2024
Single artist: A.D.A.M
Single duration: 4:03
Record Label:
Catalogue No: UR009
Writers: Mike Vass / Mairearad Green
Publishers: PRS / MCPS
Explicit?: No
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