2001-PRESENT GALAXIE Celtic Channel
Music Consultant/Programmer
2003 DRUM
Composer/Music Consultant/Co-Producer
2001 Nova Scotia Kitchen Party
(Syndicated Radio/Internet Program) - Host
2001 “Sigh and a Wish”
(NFB documentary on Dr. Helen Creighton)
Composer/Producer Soundtrack
2001 Celtic Colours International Festival
(Gaelic Consultant)
Ongoing Gaelic Language Workshop & Classes
>> NEWS
November 8, 2005
MARY JANE LAMOND RECEIVES TWO NOMINATIONS FOR THE FIRST
CANADIAN FOLK MUSIC AWARDS (www.canadianfolkmusicawards.ca)
Nominations for the first Canadian Folk Music Awards,
announced at the end of last week, include two for Mary Jane
Lamond and her marvelous new recording, Storas (Fusion111).
Lamond, nominated in the Best World Artist – Solo, and Best Singer – Traditional categories, has some worthy opponents including Alpha Yaya Diallo, Soraya Benitez, Enoch Kent, Michael Jerome Browne and Jean Hewson.
The awards will be handed out at a Gala dinner on
December 10, 2005 at Ottawa’s Canadian Museum of
Civilization, the country’s repository of all things folk.
The event, hosted by Connie Kaldor and Gilles Garand, will
feature performances from, among others, Mary Jane Lamond,
Le Vent du Nord, Ember Swift and David Francey.
Mary Jane Lamond’s Storas, her first collection of new
studio material since 1999, is receiving tremendous response
for it’s uncompromising integrity toward the Gaelic
tradition:
"Lamond continues to impress… …remains the most innovative and exciting Celtic artist…" -- New Brunswick Reader
"Mary Jane Lamond offers a new musical treasure. The Gaelic word for 'treasure', Storas features hypnotic vocals, heartfelt delivery…as Lamond breathes new life into the Scottish Gaelic songs…" -- Cape Breton Post
"Lamond’s voice is pure and clear, infused with a stream
of life experience that gives character to every song. …one
of the best known Gaelic singers in the world, putting
beautiful contemporary arrangements to the ancient
traditional songs of Cape Breton.”
Halifax Daily News
"Singer Mary Jane Lamond arranges the traditional Gaelic songs of Cape Breton with flair and reverence. …it’s the most eclectically arranged album Lamond has made to date and every bit as appealing as her glorious, groundbreaking Làn Dùil…" -- Penguin Eggs
www.canadianfolkmusicawards.ca
Further information and interviews, contact:
Jane Harbury
Jane Harbury Publicity
90A Isabella Street, 2nd Floor
Toronto ON M4Y 1N4
416-960-1568
jane@harbury.ca
August 2005
Ear on the east: Life experience brings character to songs
MARY LANE LAMOND: STORAS ****
Storas (Turtlemusik/Fusion 3)
MacDonald, Sandy - The Daily News (Halifax)
It's been 10 years since Mary Jane Lamond rocketed
into the Celtic world as the hypnotic Gaelic voice behind
Ashley MacIsaac's unlikely pop hit Sleepy Maggie.
Three solid solo albums and scores of live concerts later, Lamond is one of the best known Gaelic singers in the world, putting beautiful contemporary arrangements to the ancient traditional songs of Cape Breton.
Lamond has just released Storas, her first collection of new studio material since 1999's Làn Dùil.
"I was kind of stalled, wondering what else to do," confesses the singer, over lunch at the Shoeshop. "But I love sharing the songs and working with these musicians."
The Ontario-raised Cape Breton resident generally worked
with studio musicians on her previous recordings. But this
time she wanted her touring band front and centre, and she
wanted arrangements that could be played live
onstage.
"I always have to have a little philosophy before I start recording," says Lamond. "Otherwise, it's all too wide open. Where do you go (with the music), especially where I'm not writing the songs? There are thousands of songs to choose from, so you must have a path."
Lamond says she chose to support her vocals mainly with acoustic guitars and simple percussion. The result is an intimate, pared-back CD that nicely frames the ancient Gaelic tunes - no electronic dance tracks or pushy electric guitars here.
"To compete in the Celtic world, you sometimes feel your music has to be foot- tomping," she says.
She resisted that pressure this time around, letting the
songs find their natural rhythms.
Lamond's voice is pure and clear, infused with a stream of
life experience that gives character to every song. Like the
peat and the heather that gives the highland water it's
flavour.
Aside from her core band (Corrigan, fiddler Wendy MacIsaac,
percussionist Geoff Arsenault and bassist Ed Wordsworth),
Lamond brought in the Blue Engine String Quartet for three
songs and the Cape Breton band Beolach for a tune.
All the songs are once again traditional Gaelic tunes,
gathered in Cape Breton from older Gaelic singers or from
written collections.
"Mostly I'm attracted by the melody of a song," says Lamond,
who fuelled her interest in her ancestral heritage while
enrolled in the Celtic studies program at St. F.X.
University in the late '80s.
Lamond is unique in this country in recording all-Gaelic
songs with a contemporary band. "It's an homage to the
tradition," she explains.
Most of the 11-song album puts the focus on the songs and
the music. And
that's just fine with Lamond, who sees her work in Gaelic as
bit of a
mission, exploring the rich body of songs that are still
there for the
picking.
Lamond says she's not been tempted to record in English.
"Maybe if I wrote songs, I'd be tempted. But I'm too
lazy. I prefer to go visit people to get the songs. That's
better than struggling to write a song."
© 2005 The Daily News (Halifax). All rights reserved.
August 20, 2005
Lamond mixes it up: Cape Breton singer teams up
with Beolach, Blue Engine for Storas, giving her Gaelic
ballads a 'here and now' feel with progressive arrangements
By STEPHEN COOKE, Chronicle Herald
Slowly, but surely, listeners are learning that Cape Breton singer Mary Jane Lamond's latest release Storas has hit store shelves.
It was a surprise to some when it surfaced on merchandise tables at the Celtic Feis festival held in Halifax in early June, in advance of its official launch, but now that it's out the elfin Gaelic balladeer is keeping "as busy as I like to be" to get the word out about the haunting recording and its modern paean to ancient traditions.
"This isn't pop music, for sure," says Lamond, who has little fear of one of her records becoming dated within months of its release.
"The recording was done for a while, it took so long to get the rest of it done, or rather I took so long to get the rest of it done. My brother Bruce was in a record store in Brockville and just saw it there, and thought, 'Hey! A new CD, I didn't know . . .'"
Meeting for coffee in a window seat above the Blowers
Street Paper Chase, Lamond is fresh from appearing at the
St. John's Folk Festival, now in its 29th year, where she
was one of a handful of mainland guests. While Lamond spent
much time marveling at the differences as well as
similarities between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Celtic
folk traditions, it was hard to not be drawn in by one of
the festival's main events, where a world record was set
when roughly 1,000 accordions played at once.
"The security people were wearing these T-shirts - I guess they were prepared for anything that might happen - that said on the back, 'Accordion Revolution Security Enforcement'," laughs Lamond, noting the acronym the name spells out.
"I asked one of the guys who you'd have to kill to get one of those shirts, and he said it'd be more likely you'd get killed by one of 989 accordion players all wanting that shirt."
There are no accordions on Storas, but there is a wide variety of acoustic textures supporting her clear, supple voice, including her own touring band - fiddler Wendy MacIsaac, guitarist Chris Corrigan, bassist Ed Woodsworth and percussionist Geoff Arsenault - members of the Cape Breton band Be˜lach, Blue Engine String Quartet, cellist Anne Bourne and Slainte Mhath/Barra MacNeils piper Ryan MacNeil.
In a way, Storas breaks Lamond's pattern of alternating between straight traditional records like From the Land of the Trees and Gaelic Songs of Cape Breton, and more contemporary productions on Suas e! and Lan Duil. While Storas isn't all tricked out with drum loops and synth pads, Lamond gives her Gaelic ballads a "here and now" feel with progressive arrangements.
"Lan Duil was basically a continuation of what I did on Suas e!," she says. "But I didn't want to do another completely traditional record either. A lot of this stems from performance, actually. I was feeling onstage that I didn't want to have electric guitar or a full drumkit anymore, and I'd been feeling that way for a while. I went to sing at the Frog Island Folk Festival, outside of Detroit, and they didn't want full band, so I went with Brian Bourne, and his Chapman Stick, and guitarist Chris Corrigan and Wendy MacIsaac on fiddle, and I thought it was going to be more difficult, but I realized that it wasn't. I found I enjoyed having all that space that you have when it's a little bit quieter.
"Staying away from the electric guitar and the traditional drumkit, you get away from falling into that pop sound, which is what I wanted. I still wanted to have arrangements, all that layering and different things, but I wanted it to be less 'poppy' and (on the CD) I wanted to work with the musicians I'd been touring with."
Lamond's current stage configuration works extremely well, as evidenced by her appearance at the Stan Rogers Folk Festival in July, with Arsenault on a percussion setup that relied more on hand drums than the usual sticks and kick drum for a sound that Lamond feels is "more earthy" and comes across as evocative without being overpowering on the CD.
Another strong presence on Storas is Halifax's Blue Engine String Quartet, recorded at The Music Room for three tracks, with Lamond adding her vocals in Toronto with producer Philip Strong.
She'd previously worked with Blue Engine on the soundtrack to a Helen Creighton documentary, plus they both appeared on the Quartette Christmas Special, so a collaboration on record seemed almost inevitable.
"I was partially inspired by the CD Eddi Reader Sings Robert Burns, which was really beautiful with strings and acoustic guitar, and I just thought it was great," says Lamond.
"I think what I did is a little different, but it's the same sort of concept. I thought it was really nice.
"And I've always enjoyed singing with the symphony, I've always liked that texture. But I couldn't really have a full symphony on there. I love the Blue Engine String Quartet though, they're very open minded, and if your score isn't exactly perfect, they'll have suggestions on how to improve it. They're not the least bit elitist."
The involvement of globe-trotting quintet Beolach also seems like a natural choice, given that fiddler Wendy MacIsaac does double duty with both acts. It was picked to back up Bal na h-Aibhne Deas (Ball at Southwest Margaree), the portrayal of a Saturday night dance, and who better than the band whose Gaelic name translates as "lively youth"?
"Usually on every CD I have something like a milling frolic, or something that puts you in the place of Cape Breton," Lamond explains. "I really wanted to work with Beolach, and this seemed like a really good choice of a song because it is about a party. It has that feel about it, and of course Beolach is very lively, so they went very well together.
"It's not normally something I would choose to sing, I chose it more because it fit in with what they do because it's about a party, and they always sound like they're having one."
Continuing her desire to bring the Gaelic language to a new audience, Lamond's next endeavour is taking part in the Highland Village at Iona's teen program Eilean nan ñg, designed to introduce young people to Cape Breton's traditional culture. Then of course there's the many activities of Celtic Colours, taking place around the Island Oct. 7 to 15. But something she's really looking forward to is a boundary-busting instalment of CBC Radio's OnStage featuring Lamond, Shahib Ali Khan and Kiran Ahluwalia (labour dispute permitting).
"We're going to do a concert in December called East Meets East. So it's going to be me with a fiddle player and a piper, plus two harmonium players and a sitar, so it should be really interesting. We actually start rehearsing in October.
"I've wanted to do something like this for a while. Kiran and I have talked about collaborating before, so maybe the next CD might be in more of a 'world music' vein. That's my plan, do that or win the lottery and retire. One or the other," she chuckles.
March 22, 2005
Songs from the Heart: A Concert
for Canso
CANSO, NS - In 1990, the Town of Canso made headlines nationwide when the Atlantic groundfishery hit turbulent times. Now, Canso is facing a financial crisis that threatens the forced dissolution of one of Nova Scotia's oldest towns. The Stan Rogers Folk Festival is stepping forward to help the town by working with it to organize a mega-concert, April 24 at the Millennium Centre in Antigonish.
The Province of Nova Scotia has given Canso an ultimatum: balance your budget or dissolve. The people of this 400-year-old town are standing firm and striving to find solutions. Mayor Ray White leads a large and unified group of residents, businesses and friends of Canso who are mounting a fight for Canso's survival. In a recent plebiscite on the issue, 82% of residents voted in favour of remaining a town and seeking alternatives.
"This is not just about Canso. It's about standing up for rural Nova Scotia. Canso wants to be a town. They want to achieve a turnaround in their economy and being a town is critical to achieving this success. They want government to work with them to find solutions and not pull the plug after 400 years. This is what we elect governments to do. We want this concert to educate people about the real facts of the situation and give people an opportunity to stand behind Canso in demanding a solution," says White.
Songs from the Heart: A Concert for Canso, will bring together some of the East Coast's brightest stars for a wonderful evening of music and solidarity.
The four-hour concert will feature Newfoundland's 'Man of a Thousand Songs' Ron Hynes, Cape Breton songstress Mary Jane Lamond, multi-award winning Pictou County singer-songwriter Dave Gunning, MacCallum Settlement bluesman Charlie A'Court, Cheticamp multi-instrumentalist and songwriter J.P. Cormier, New Brunswick guitar-slinger Matt Andersen and Guysborough County's own Carl Bond and Steve Wright. A special multimedia aspect of the show will add to the evening, with supporters from all over voicing their support via technology.
"It's been incredible how
supportive the artistic community has been. Canso is my home
- and home is worth fighting for. I've chosen to bring up my
three children in the same safe, supportive environment I
enjoyed growing up here. There is no cause that is closer to
my heart. I believe government has the ability and resources
to work with us at the community level to turn around this
situation. So many times we see government rally to support
multi-national companies. This is one of Nova Scotia's
oldest and proudest towns. Canso doesn't want hand-outs,
they want a hand up. We have a strategy, we just need a
focused and efficient response from federal and provincial
partners. The festival is a testament to the integrity and
determination of the people here." says festival Artistic
Director Troy Greencorn, who has volunteered to produce the
concert.
St. Francis Xavier University and a whole host of businesses in the region have been incredibly supportive and are on board as sponsors. The concert and other fundraisers are profiled on a special website called www.friendsofcanso.com. Funds raised will be used to create a Turnaround Fund, which will be used to fund the lobby necessary to resolve the current stalemate, and to fund the community's economic development efforts.
"I'm hopeful that this project
will make it clear to government that we need them to work
side-by-side with us to craft a turnaround plan.
Amalgamation is not the low-cost alternative, nor is it what
the community decided in the January plebiscite. There are
other solutions, and the people of our region need to know
that. Our community has been extremely important in the
economy of Eastern Nova Scotia for many years. This is a
chance for those communities to show their support for us.
We hope people get angry and voice this anger to their
elected officials. Let's demand better for rural Nova
Scotia." states Concert Chairperson Buzz Lumsden, Deputy
Mayor of Canso.
March 21, 2004
Province picks lament for ad campaign (CBC News)
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia has a launched a $7.7-million tourism campaign with a song about its "miserable" shores.
Tourism officials chose an old Gaelic tune sung by Cape Breton performer Mary Jane Lamond for television ads to air in Ontario and New England.
Written by an unknown songwriter in the 1830s, the tune is about Scottish immigrants coming to Nova Scotia. In the last line, the singer says that if she had a boat, she "wouldn't be oppressed by this miserable land."
"It's kind of a desperate song, in some ways it's a lament. It talks about the pain they felt leaving Scotland and coming to start in a new place," said Lamond, at Monday's official campaign launch.
E Horo (What's on my Mind)
When I stand in the doorway
I see the forest above my head
My eyes begin to weep
My courage is overwhelmed
É ho ṛ, the subject of my
thoughts
Great tonight is my mourning
Ill ù ill ̣, I love you deeply
Although I didn't win you for myself
I had three brothers
Who I will forever recount
It's a pity that I wasn't at the quay
When they bid us farewell
When we arrived at the Table
My entire family was there
My sister and brother-in-law
Without a strip of clothing on their backs
A scraped cow's hide
Fixed on my back
And I was starving with the hue
Of death coming over my face
If I had a creel and a sickle
The low seaweed and my own boat
My children wouldn't be eating gruel
And I wouldn't be oppressed by this miserable land
"It does seem ironic, but it is appropriate because it is a song composed in Nova Scotia."
Tourism Minister Rodney MacDonald defends the use of the song in the tourism campaign, saying it went through extensive focus-group testing.
"We do extensive research to ensure that the people we are attempting to reach to come here to Nova Scotia we are reaching. And this song is doing so," he said.
The Gaelic tune will not be heard in Nova Scotia. A song by local performer Matt Mays is part of the tourism campaign in the Maritimes. Mays' song, in English, describes the province as a good place.
Both songs are used as background music in the television ads. Actor John Dunsworth, who plays Mr. Leahy on the show Trailer Park Boys, does the voiceovers.
This year's tourism marketing campaign is the most extensive one yet, including tv, magazine and online elements. It's also the first time the province has planned major TV campaigns in Ontario, Quebec and New England.
The province recently announced a $1.4-million campaign to rebrand Nova Scotia as a place to "come to life." However, that tag line isn't included in this tourism campaign.
January 17, 2005
Christmas Island Firehall
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage Rodney MacDonald will announce the first projects to be funded under the new Gaelic Activities Program on Monday.
The announcement will be made at 11 a.m. at the Christmas Island Firehall.
MacDonald will be joined by representatives of several of the communities and organizations that will receive funding.
Traditional Gaelic entertainment will be provided by Mary Jane Lamond and others.
May 31, 2004
'Ciamar a tha thu', province asks (CBC Radio)
IONA, N.S. More Nova
Scotians may learn to speak Gaelic under a new
long-term plan to revive the language.
The 20-year strategy, which was announced Monday in Cape
Breton, includes
$100,000 this year to help promote Gaelic and teach people
to speak it.
There are an estimated 500
native Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia, down from
50,000 about 100 years ago.
"I think we have to make the
opportunities for people and make it a little
bit more accessible," says Mary Jane Lamond, co-chair of the
Gaelic Council
of Nova Scotia, which worked on the report.
Lamond's group polled people
around the province and found many want to
learn Gaelic. She says a system is needed so both children
and adults can
learn the language easily.
"Certainly this can be done,"
she says, citing examples in Scotland and
Northern Ireland. But she knows it will be a challenge.
A challenge ahead
Gaelic teacher Geoff MacDonald
agrees, pointing to the influence of English
TV and pop culture. He learned Gaelic at a Celtic studies
course at
university and is now trying to teach his three-year-old son
Gaelic songs.
"One day I got him singing it
and he leaned backwards and hit the Barney
doll," MacDonald says. His son quickly switched to English.
"That's just a
little synopsis of what you're fighting."
Rodney MacDonald, minister of
tourism, culture and history, sees parallels
between the comeback of the fiddle and the effort to
preserve Gaelic. He's
a well-known Scottish fiddler who helped make the Cape
Breton fiddle
popular with a younger generation.
"The fiddlers put their minds
to it 30 years ago and rose to the challenge
that was put forward. I think we're going to start rising to
the challenge
for Gaelic," says the minister.
Mary Jane Lamond speaks with
Maritime Noon's Costas Halavrezos
Click here to listen to the interview in Real Audio format.
December 5, 2003
Language of Lamond
By Mike Bell - Calgary Sun
In this day and age of highly portable telecommunication, you never know where someone will be when they choose to call.
They could be stuck in traffic or at the gym. You could even hear the tell-tale porcelain echo of someone who's talking while tinkling.
Or, there's East Coast artist Mary Jane Lamond, who chooses to dial while sitting with a shopping cart full of possible purchases at a Halifax Winners.
"I can either stand around and wait to try on my clothes," Lamond says laughing, "or I could call while I was trying on my clothes, and I didn't feel comfortable doing that."
No, certainly not -- we're not yet ready to take that step.
Maybe after a few initial interviews from a coffee shop, or while she's at the movies.
And until we get to that point, there's a lot to talk about, a great deal to catch up on.
The vocalist has been out of the national spotlight for much of the past two years, after the release of her fourth recording of traditional Gaelic music, Orain Ghaidhlig (Gaelic Songs of Cape Breton).
Some of that time has been spent touring the U.S. And the past year and a half, she says, has been spent working on "Drum, a multi-cultural musical variety show that's going to be on CBC in the New Year.
"I was co-arranging the music which combines Acadian ... Gaelic and African-Nova Scotian music together -- that's been kind of keeping me busy."
There will also be a disc of the project released in 2004, which she co-produced.
As for her own music, Lamond, who performs tonight at Brew Brothers, is just getting to work on another album.
"It's just in the baby stages," she says. "I'm very slow to get started on these things. I have to ruminate on it a lot before I make any moves. I think and think."
That doesn't mean those attending her show tonight won't hear anything fresh from the artist.
Her and her band have been working on some seasonal material to mix in with the rest of her songs.
"It's not going to be familiar because it's Gaelic songs," she says before laughing.
"I'm actually just going to do a bunch of songs and tell people they're Christmas songs."
February 2002
Congratulations to Mary Jane
on winning the East Coast
Music Award For "Roots/Traditional Solo Artist of The Year"
!
December 8, 2001
Mary Jane Nominated for an ECMA!
Mary Jane has been nominated for an East Coast Music Award for "Roots/Traditional Solo Artist Of The Year" !
As well, Mary Jane's webmaster, Cheryl Smith, of Gigs & Reels Productions Inc, has been nominated for an ECMA Industry Award for 'Graphic Artist of The Year'.
As one of the biggest music
industry events in the country, the four-day conference and
awards show will draw delegates from Atlantic Canada and
around the world. ECMA 2002 celebrates Atlantic Canadian
contributions to the music industry.
The awards will be handed out Sunday, February 3, 2002 at the Gala Awards Show televised live from Saint John, New Brunswick. The Industry Awards are handed out during the East Coast Music Association Industry Awards Brunch on February 1, 2002 in Saint John, NB.
August 22, 2001
Mary Jane has just been contracted to program Galaxie's new Celtic Channel which is due to launch early in 2002! Visit Galaxy's website
July 11, 2001
Inverness Oran
Roddie MacInnis's Gaelic contribution recognized:
Jim Watson, Roddie MacInnis and Mary Jane Lamond sing Gaelic songs at the Glendale Concert on Sunday afternoon.
Father Allan MacMillan, pastor at Judique, and Alice Freeman of Inverness also joined in the songs.
March 15, 2000
Mary Jane Lamond knows she will never be a pop star. But that doesn't bother the Cape Breton-based Celtic artist, who has found a comfortable niche in the world music market.
"For me, it's always been a slower build," says Lamond, 39, whose hypnotic vocal work on Ashley MacIsaac's Sleepy Maggie brought her national attention in 1997.
"I never really thought too much about being a pop music star. This kind of music is for music listeners and fans of folk and world music and stuff like that. It's a smaller audience, but they're a music listening audience."
As with her previous albums Bho Thir Nan Craobh (From the Land of the Trees) -- which was released while she was still in Celtic studies at Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S. -- and the acclaimed 1997 major label debut, Suas e!, Lamond's latest release, Lan Duil, features a collection traditional Gaelic songs from the East Coast and the U.K.
"I'm always finding songs," says Lamond, who performs tomorrow night at Quincy's.
"Just when I think I've heard all the milling songs that have been popular in the last 100 years, I discover another one on tape somewhere. There are thousands and thousands of songs on tape. I'm not going to run out of songs to find, that's for sure."
Because of this vast library of material at her disposal, Lamond isn't particularly interested in writing original music for herself.
Rather, she has become quite adept at "fiddling around" with music.
"I just arrange traditional songs," she says.
"I really like working with instrumental music and doing the arrangements for the songs. I wouldn't say I'm a songwriter, really. I've always just loved to sing."
Lamond admits she had never considered music as a career option until about four years ago. She had intended, instead, to get a PhD in Celtic studies and become a university professor before she was lured away by her love of singing.
"I think nowadays I'm more interested in a grassroots position to promote the Gaelic language," she says. "I'd like to work more in community development and Gaelic cultural programs at home. That interests me.
"But I've been so busy in the past year and a half that I haven't been able to do much of that."
And it doesn't look like Lamond's work load will lighten any time soon.
In addition to touring, Lamond is planning to release a live concert recording of traditional a cappella songs featuring veteran Cape Breton Gaelic singers. She also hopes to start writing and arranging music for films.
Lamond doesn't know where this will all lead her musically, but she's pretty sure it won't be to the top of the charts.
"I'd like to explore the soundscape idea.... If anything, I'll probably go less popular than more popular."
