The Island Tapes

Like many of the best things in life this project came about by accident. Scottish Guitarist David Allison was asked to write music for a series of DVDs of silent black and white documentaries held by the Scottish Screen Archive. One of them, the soundtrack for "St Kilda – Britain’s Loneliest Isle", ended up being reviewed as "a great musical score" by Empire Magazine. It made sense to pursue things further.

Premiered in January 2006 at Celtic Connections in Glasgow, “The Island Tapes” features original live music to five silent films recording life on St Kilda, Harris, Skye, Orkney and Shetland in the 1920s and 30s. Alongside David was Scotland’s foremost classical guitarist Allan Neave, the Berlin-based fingerstyle maestro Ian Melrose and the superb Gaelic singer Alyth McCormack. “It’s amazing seeing faces from so long ago up there on the big screen. The films all have a story to tell, so it’s important to let that come through in the music”, says David. “But we are where we are now, and this is definitely not simply a nostalgia trip.”

Celtic Connections’ Colin Hynd made the project his “Director’s Choice” and the Sunday Herald picked it out as one of the ten shows you must see. BBC Four TV filmed a performance of the St Kilda film and the premiere sold out on the night And the critics gave it the thumbs up:

"A full 90-minute show of the highest quality, brilliantly executed by top-class performers." Robert Dawson Scott, The Times

"David Allison's project, combining first-rate playing and singing with vintage film of Harris, Skye, Orkney, Shetland and St Kilda, made for an engaging evening." Jim Gilchrist, The ScotsmanBiogsDavid Allison: "Painting with sound" is how the Scotsman newspaper described David Allison's unique looping technique in which he records and layers his performance in real time to make a truly cinematic experience. When it came out on DVD last year Empire magazine called his soundtack to "St Kilda - Britain's Loneliest Isle" as "a great musical score".

"I stood at the back of a packed Nashville auditorium and saw a crowd of hot-shot guitar pickers and hard boiled session musicians rise to their feet in a spontaneous tribute to the brilliance of David Allison's playing." Sheena Wellington, The Living Tradition.

Born and raised on the Isle of Lewis, singer Alyth McCormack was immersed in the music, poetry and drama of her native Scottish Western Isles from a very early age. She's one of the most exciting talents in the world of Gaelic song and is known for her solo career and for her work as an actress.

"Nothing short of riveting was Gaelic singer Alyth McCormack, whose voice soared from the outset in a beautifully poised sequence of mainly Gaelic material". The Scotsman

“Alyth McCormack…a heartbreak in every cadence.” The Times

www.myspace.com/alythspaceIan Melrose:Ian Melrose's early influences were the giants of the "British school" of guitar-playing such as Davey Graham and John Renbourn. Since moving to Berlin in 1981, he has made a name for himself on the German acoustic scene as a solo fingerstylist and as a number of successful projects including Norland Wind, Talking Water and the Scandinavian-Celtic duo Kelpie (with Kerstin Blodig). He became lead guitarist with Clannad ten years ago and plays on their Grammy-winning album "Landmarks" and on the recently-released live album. He is also in demand as a producer: recent albums include the "Rubicon" (Duggan brothers of Clannad), Vicki Genfan (NY) "Up Close & Personal".

"One of the best Celtic-based fingerpickers on the scene today." Acoustic Guitar (USA)

Allan Neave studied at the RSAMD and the RNCM between 1984 -1988 and performs at many of the worlds leading musical events including the Sonorities, Bath and Cheltenham Festivals. He has worked with many influential musicians and composers including Nikita Koshkin, Eddie McGuire and James Macmillan.

'One of the foremost performers amongst today's classical guitarists' The Observer

The Island Tapes is now available as a CD-DVD double pack for
£16.99 GBP including worldwide post and packing. It features the full soundtrack as an audio CD and all six "Island Tapes" films with soundtrack on the DVD, plus extra features including interviews, live concert footage and tour blog. With more than 70 minutes of amazing music on the audio CD and 150 minutes of extraordinary video footage on the DVD, “The Island Tapes” really is a must-see, must-hear package
"This is a very important recording." - Living Tradition Magazine'

"A magical musical tour "- Stornoway Gazette

The doublesided DVD is 16:9 widescreen, region-free, with UK PAL on one side and North American NTSC format on the other.

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