Eilean Mor

"Heard an Australian band called Eilean Mor at the Ceilidh Place. An eclectic mix of jazz bass, lyrical guitar, fiddle that has a touch of Klezmer and a fair bit of Grappelli and a fine singer who brings a bluesy edge to Gaelic and Scots song and her own self penned numbers. I had no idea there was so much of a Gaelic tradition in Oz though I suppose common sense should have told me that it had its fair share of cleared Gaels. Highlights for me were a beautiful Australian Gaelic elegy written by a 19th century immigrant and a jazzy version of Charlie is My Darling. Don't know the exact dates of their gigs but look out for this very entertaining and informative crew."

(Sheena Wellington, www.footstompin.com, 17 July 2006).

“A fine lineup of Canberra musicians presented a varied and exciting program for members of the audience at Tilley’s Café in Lyneham last Wednesday when Ruth Lee Martin launched her CD Mine Alone is the Land. The Scottish-born composer, performer and scholar lectures in music studies at the Canberra School of Music at the ANU and her scholarship and command of the Scottish music genre shone through the entire evening as her compositions were interspersed with traditional Scottish songs and tunes.

The concert opened with an evocative ‘soundscape’, the first of three, with background recorded early one morning at an Isle of Skye harbour. Voices over, some in Gaelic, set a beautiful scene for the evening, which just got better with songs written by Ruth with titles such a The Long Flight Home and White Sails as well as the title song of the CD. Tunes composed by her were superbly arranged as you might expect from a musician of her calibre.

Mention mouth music and many will recall the hilarious send-up of folk collectors by Peter Sellers many years ago, or the Bothy Band’s Fionnghuala, but this can be serious stuff. It was particularly prevalent in Scotland long ago when bursts of Presbyterian zeal banned and even destroyed musical instruments. It has a real charm when well done, as it was by Ruth.

A formidable lineup of instrumentalists (Eilean Mor) provided strength and variety to the evening in different combinations of ensemble. Highlights were the strong Scottish fiddle playing of Catherine Fraser and the versatile guitar work of Bill Grose, currently guitarist with Canberra band Annie and the Armadilloes. Ruth herself added to the instrumentals with her very competent bodhran playing

The concert concluded with some women’s waulking songs (to do with cloth stretching not perambulation) sung a capella with Fantoosh, a vocal group itself comprising some well-known Canberra musicians.

The concert was so well received that a repeat of it is planned in the near future, also at Tilley’s and on a Saturday. Look out for it and don’t miss it if you would like to hear an evening of delightful composed and traditional tunes in the Scottish idiom. Oh, and don’t forget to buy a CD. It’s just as captivating.”

(John Millard, ArtSound, 2005).