They are songs of longing and loss, heartbreak, murder and tragedy, rooted in days gone by and lovingly kept alive for generations. Many of the north-east’s so-called ‘bothy ballads’ and lilting songs, sung in Doric and rich in story, were memorised and shared by a pivotal figure in the area’s culture, farmer John Strachan. Handed down from one generation to the next and shared on his travels, Strachan’s huge repertoire of haunting and poignant ballads told evocative tales of the landscape, history and people.
They were captured by legendary culture collector Hamish Henderson and others, usually on small, handheld recorders, so when he died in the 1950s he behind left a body of work that otherwise might have been lost forever. Electronic sound artist Fiona Soe Paing has merged north-east ballads with electronic music and visuals for a new production (Image: Isla Goldie) Now some of the traditional Doric songs he shared, unaccompanied at ceilidhs or at gatherings around rural Aberdeenshire, have been given an electronic twist for the 21 st century by one of his own descendants. Aberdeenshire-born Scots-Burmese singer, producer, and performer Fiona Soe Paing has reworked some songs that Strachan helped keep alive after discovering a long forgotten family link with the balladeer.
As well as bringing a new dimension to centuries old ballads, it has brought the former punk rock musician turned sound artist a fresh connection to the music, poetry and Doric of her roots. I.
