Aidan O‘Rourke‘s Best of 365
The end of 2020 marked the finishing of a ‘gargantuan' mission for Scottish fiddler, composer and producer Aidan O’Rourke.
The Best of 365 featuring 30 tracks is the culmination of a project that has taken Aidan, who has roots in Oban and Seil, four years to complete and is being hailed as a masterpiece of new Scottish fiddle music.
Reveal Records issued a deluxe double CD featuring highlights on December 18.
Steeped in tradition, restlessly breaking new ground, Aidan is renowned for the rich grain of his fiddle sound, for the stripped-back lyricism of his phrasing and for penning boundary-defying tunes full of ancient truths and off-kilter wit.
In this project, Aidan collaborated with celebrated jazz pianist/harmonium player Kit Downes. The Best of 365 also sees Aidan going back to traditional depths with Edinburgh harpist Esther Swift and Mull guitarist Sorren Maclean. Additional recording on the album came from An Tobar's Gordon Maclean.
The album is a showcase of artful fiddle playing and distilled musical storytelling.
In 2013, Scottish author James Robertson wrote a short story every day for a year. What began as a personal writing exercise, with each story also containing exactly 365 words, became a collection of fairytales, memories and provocations, published by Penguin.
When James and Aidan met at Celtic Connections, there was mutual appreciation and the 365 project was born – although it came with a warning from James that to take on a project writing a daily tune throughout a year in response to his tales could be dangerous to health and sanity.
‘His response was don't do it!' said Aidan. Committing to a daily task could take him to some extreme places, he was told.
A couple of years later, Aidan – who described reading James' short stories as a daily gift to himself like a three-minute meditation – had matched the storyteller's endeavour and the end result has had a huge impact on his playing and composing.
Aidan said: 'This "Best of" is the culmination of a gargantuan four-year mission which has pushed me in so many new directions. Working with Kit, Sorren and Esther has teased out multiple aspects of my playing. James Robertson's way with words – his wise concision, his tenderness, his rootedness in old Scottish folk tales and deftness as reworking them – has been an endless source of inspiration. I’ve emerged out the other end of this project a different player and composer, no question.
'Certainly I’ve gained a strong instinct that less is more – ironic, yes, given the absurd number of tunes, if not in quantity, in terms of the power of brevity. Perhaps James’ writing encouraged me to leave more space around notes. And for me, that space has provided an essential antithesis to the noisy political backdrop we find ourselves in.’
Creative Scotland got on board with funding to develop the 365 project and all the music with the short stories is online at www.365.net as a free piece of public art.
The tracks on this latest release were whittled down by Reveal Record's chief who is a big fan of the 365 project. There have been two previous volumes released from it.
'But this is the best. I'm really proud of it,' said Aidan.
Lockdown has seen Aidan holed up in Edinburgh Old Town with the only gigs impromptu doorstep performances for neighbours. He said the inability to plan ahead has been frustrating. There had been hopes for a gig in January in Belfast and a cancelled tour moved twice now from 2020 with 30 to 40 dates has been pencilled in for May/June 2021, but Covid will have the eventual say on that.
Looking further into the future, Aidan says he has 'high hopes' for Oban's new Rockfield Centre to bring a burst of energy to the town's music scene: 'It would be really exciting to play in Oban again,' he said.
In his early years growing up in the town he would play to hotel guests in the town for a fiver and entertain older folk. Growing up in Soroba before the family moved to Seil, lessons in Oban were had from George McHardy and Morris Duncan with links to the Oban and Lorne Strathspey and Reel Society.
To see Aidan in action, regardless of Covid, check out Celtic Connection's 2021 online offering.