Capercaillie - ReLoved
Celebrating 40 years in 2024, Capercaillie have announced Re-Loved, an album of new symphonic arrangements recorded with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. With new arrangements from Greg Lawson (Grit Orchestra), Donald Shaw, and Kate St John, the album will be released on double vinyl and streaming platforms on 31st May 2024.
Widely respected trailblazers of Celtic music, Capercaillie are credited with being the major force in bringing Gaelic music to the world stage and inspiring the great resurgence so evident today. From their homeland roots of Argyll in the highlands of Scotland, the band’s musical journey has seen them tour 30+ countries, sell over a million albums, perform in Rob Roy (1995) alongside Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange, and enter the pop charts with Coisich a Ruin – the first Gaelic single to reach the Top 40. The band named themselves after the Capercaillie (a large, rare, and very beautiful Scottish bird) to symbolise a winning battle against extinction, an echo of their proudly distinctive Gaelic repertoire.
Despite their roots in traditional Scottish music, Capercaillie have explored musical terrains from electronica and sampling to jazz and global music influences. However, this will be the first time that they have fully realised their dream of creating full symphonic arrangements for their music – an apt and rewarding moment for their 40th year.
Comprising of material from their much-loved repertoire, Re-Loved encapsulates the spirit of Capercaillie – with strident waulking songs collected from the Hebrides such as Hi Ri’m Bo and Mile Marbhaisg; hypnotic groove infused instrumentals; epic modern ballads such as Manus Lunny’s Servant to the Slave; and poignant love songs like Iain Ghlinn Cuaich.
Donald Shaw said:
“This project has been a long time coming for us, maybe even since schooldays when we sat in the school orchestra and experienced the beauty and dynamism of an orchestral setting. It was therefore an incredible experience spending time with the great BBC SSO and hearing our music come alive with the power and eloquence of their players. It is well recognised that the great symphonic composers of the last few hundred years were influenced by folk melodies (including Beethoven who even arranged Gaelic songs himself early in his life), so it’s felt like a very natural journey to take with these traditional songs and tunes.”