10 July 2010

Royal Palm Stage

//   18:45

Julie Fowlis

(Groot Brittannië)

Julie Fowlis (zang), Eamon Doorley (bouzouki, fiddle), Duncan Chisholm (fiddle), Tony Byrne (gitaar), Martin O'Neill (piano, keyboards, bodhran)

Als er één Schotse muzikante van de huidige generatie snel en terecht carrière maakt, dan is dat Julie Fowlis wel. Ze is een getalenteerde zangeres die in het Schots-Gaelic zingt, wat erg uniek is, daar het nog slechts door 1% van de Schotten wordt gesproken. Julie Fowlis speelt ook highland pipes, small pipes en whistle.

Julie won de 2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Music Awards na drie opeenvolgende nominaties. Ze werd ondertussen overstelpt met eerbewijzen en prijzen, maar de titel waar ze waarschijnlijk het meest trots op is, is die van Ambassadeur voor Schotland Gaelic “Tosgaire na Gàidhlig”, uitgereikt door het Schotse parlement in 2008. Zij is ook de eerste persoon die deze eer te beurt viel.

Zij trad op bij Jools Holland (gerenommeerd live muziekprogramma op de BBC). Beroemdheden als Ricky Gervais en Phil Selway (Radiohead) behoren tot haar fans. Onder haar ontelbare muzikale samenwerkingen vinden we namen zoals Bill Whelan (Riverdance), James Taylor, Stuart Duncan, Liam O’Maonlai (Hothouse Flowers), Maireád Ní Mhaónaigh (Altan), … Verder presenteert ze nu al twee jaar haar eigen radioprogramma, “Julie & Folk”, op BBC Radio Scotland.

Met haar uitzonderlijke stem en zangkunst, hoort zij nu reeds bij de elite van Gaëlic zangeressen.

www.juliefowlis.com

In de pers:

Gardensessions, (20/01/2008): Fowlis herself left the impression that if she had more hands she could have been a one woman show. She impressed on the whistle, small pipes, pibroch mhor, box and of course when she sang. Fowlis has the rare ability to hold an audience captive whether she is singing a slow Gaelic air, a walking song or a more contempory piece. She sang through a range of traditional Gaelic songs as well as incorporating a few from her new album. She skilfully gave a little background information on every piece she offered, engaging the largely English speaking crowd. Fowlis’s gentle Highland accent and sense of humor charmed the crowd. She had three standing ovations and the crowd would have been there all night if she had continued to play.

Whispering and Hollerin, (30/03/2007): Whatever your assumptions and ideas are surrounding folk's deeply-rooted traditions, this was a spellbinding performance from the genre's latest UK sensation JULIE FOWLIS. For there was absolutely no questioning the immense power of what proved instantly to be a drop-dead gorgeous set from this supremely talented Outer Hebredes' artist and a triumph of her chosen medium for singing songs that washed over any remaining shred of doubt. Tradition's choice really I guess, but even the deep-down truth that every genre of music can be illustrated with both good and bad examples left me unprepared for my compulsive and instantaneous attraction to this sensual and gravity-defying performance.

Evening Standard (29/03/2007): There are some voices that carry much more than a melody. They transport you to another place, give you goose flesh and make magic out of thin air. Julie Fowlis has just such a voice - and last night the Scottish singer left her audience spellbound with her supreme vocal talent.(...) This brilliant performance was made the more exquisite by her seeming unawareness of her virtuousic talent. Unpretentious, committed, musical and on the cusp of greatness - it doesn't come much better than this.

Living Tradition magazine: “Her vocal beauty and her passionate, engaging stage presence are such that the listener doesn’t need to understand the words to be able to enjoy her music”.

Folking.com: “The sincerity and passion with which Julie sings, goes beyond any language barriers and reaches through the depths of your consciousness to unearth the most intuitive of sentiments”.

The Observer: “Though Fowlis voices tales of intense rivalries between North Uist and South Uist, she could be singing about Rawlplugs for all we know . . .”

Daily Telegraph: The third highly anticipated solo album from “the first Scots Gaelic singer to truly cross over”