Strathnaver Museum & Mackay Country Community Trust Moving Times & Museum Tales
A Northerly Land
Iain Copeland - Dùthaich Mhic Aoidh Artist in Residence
Iain is a prolific artist and producer in Scottish music. He has appeared on over 30 albums of Scottish based music and has been responsible for producing over 12 albums of nationally recognized musicians, these include:- Peatbog Faeries, Session A9, Blair Douglas, Andy Thorburn and many others. Iain also runs a recording studio and has been responsible for the recording of some 20 CDs in the Highland area. These have included many community based projects both within the Gaelic, and English mediums. His principal current musical endeavours are his own band Sketch and as drummer with Babelfish.
Iain’s Residency
This was the first Artist Residency that I have ever been awarded. My experience can only be described as a revelation. Being able to concentrate on my own creative thinking and being allowed the artistic freedom to explore avenues of thought without the constraints of having to be constantly aware of earning money has actually allowed me to grow considerably as both a writer and a producer. I think the Mackay Country Board are to be congratulated for having the foresight and wherewithal to award a Residency to an artist such as myself - an artist whose work is the creation of music as a facilitator and ‘producer’. This is an oft used but little understood word in the music business. Suffice to say that it has allowed me to explore this side of my talents to an even greater extent than even the commercial work that I am known for.
As part of my residency for Mackay Country I undertook to research the area and its’ musical heritage. I took part in and oversaw an audio recording project in 2 schools in the area, Kinlochbervie High School and Farr High School. As a professional producer in many different musical forms I hosted an electronic music production workshop in Skerray on the north coast. I recorded fellow artist George Gunn for inclusion in the CD that I am producing. I also recorded local storyteller Essie Stewart and spent a day with her travelling around the area discussing and recording anecdotes about her experiences as a traveller. I interviewed various people and gathered anecdotal evidence relating to the main thrust of the project: attitudes and perceptions of the experience of hostelling. Throughout the Residency I provided technical support and advice to the oral history and research team. I have written many new pieces of music inspired by the area and the project.
Some of the new work that has emerged from my residency is a video collaboration with George Gunn on his poem ‘A Walk In Strathnaver’. George originally asked for a backing track for an appearance at ‘Nue! Reekie!’ in Edinburgh. It became obvious that audio was not going to be enough and in keeping with the creative juices that were flowing I set about gathering video of Mackay Country for projection during the performance of the poem. It was received to tumultuous applause at the event. ‘Nue! Reekie!’ is a very prestigious monthly arts event which delivers an arts programme in Central Scotland and enjoys the involvement of the big names in Scottish cultural production and creation. Co-ordinator Kevin Williamson states ‘With Neu! Reekie! myself and co-curator Michael Pederson try to showcase some of the finest and most cutting edge Scottish culture – although not limited to Scotland – as we fuse poetry, theatre, animation & film, with live music .' This is in fact only one ‘new work’ that has emerged from the Residency, inspired by my research and the interviews I conducted with Mackay Country inhabitants. I have considerably more material than I would need for the production of one CD and suspect that this material and the inspiration for it will continue to appear in many of my future works.