What a glorious piece of music to start a new week of with – and it’s a blend of traditions with the Shetland fiddle tune ‘Deltingside‘ being married with the tune ‘Squirrel Hunters‘ at the suggestion of Ethan Setiawan who as well as playing mandolin, octave mandolin and octave tenor guitar was producer on Louise Bichan’s new album ‘The Lost Summer‘, which will be released on April 5th. Alongside Louise Bichan’s own lively fiddle playing there’s the drops of silver notes of Simon Chrisman’s hammered-dulcimer (an instrument we just don’t hear enough of) and Brad Kolodner’s inspired claw-hammer banjo. Louise Bichan says of the inspiration for the pairing that “I’m always so interested in the ways that music travels and changes. On more than one occasion in lessons at Berklee, Bruce Molsky would start playing a tune and I’d immediately be reminded of one from back home.”
Growing up in the remote but culturally rich Orkney islands, a place where creativity abounds and playing music has been a part of the social fabric for centuries, gave Louise a solid grounding in music. She started playing fiddle at the age of 7 after witnessing the magic of live music: “I remember the butterflies in the tummy feeling when watching concerts at the Orkney Folk Fest as a kid, wanting to be a part of it all.” The sense of community and belonging it gave her was infectious; she pestered her parents to let her learn.
In the years since, she has honed her craft, first amongst the cream of Scottish folk at Glasgow’s renowned session scene and performances with talent like Orkney group Fara and award-winning singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni, before a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, Boston, where she developed her style further.
As well as the previously mentioned musicians, ‘The Lost Summer‘ also features Conor Hearn on guitar, his brother Brendan Hearn on cello, and fellow Orcadians Jennifer Austin on piano and Alice Tait (Bichan’s cousin) on fiddle, and Ali Levack on whistle.
