John Carnie has long been involved in the music scene in Scotland - both traditional and blues. Leaving Edinburgh in 1985 to move to Aberdeen to take up a job, he CD features an eclectic mixture of old and new traditional tunes from Shetland, the West Coast, the Borders and the North-east. John Carnie adds: "I've absorbed a lot of influences over the years and even taken up the fiddle to give a deeper understanding of fiddle tunes. Many great guitarists have been flatpicking jigs and reels for years and I wanted this one to have an entirely Scottish feel to it. The tunes come from the treasure trove of reels, pipe tunes and harp tunes that form the backbone of the Scottish musical heritage"
Media Reviews
an exposition of fleetfingered flatpicking
Title:
an exposition of fleetfingered flatpicking
Source:
Scotland on Sunday
Review:
The universal folkie totes an acoustic guitar, but it's usually strummed. Not here. Carnie plays jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas and even an air or two from the Scots and Irish traditions on his wire-strung instrument, in an exposition of fleetfingered flatpicking. The Scot sometimes doubles on mandolin, with tasteful accompaniment from jazz bassist Brian Shiels, second guitarist Dave Moir and Spider MacKenzie on harmonica. Sandwiching the 30 tunes, the opening Jim Sutherland hornpipe swings like a cat, and the album reels out on the self-penned 'Hillhead', and the riffy blues of his 'Web of Life'....Norman Chalmers http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sos-review/Album-review-John-Carnie.4259314.jp