0:00:02 > 0:00:04THEY SING IN GAELIC
0:00:12 > 0:00:15It's hard Gaelic to sing, and it's hard Gaelic to listen to!
0:00:15 > 0:00:18THEY LAUGH
0:00:32 > 0:00:37If that's the best you've got, then I don't think that's good enough.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06THEY SING IN GAELIC
0:01:34 > 0:01:37It was a new style that was just coming out,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39they just hit it right on the head.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42HE SINGS IN GAELIC
0:02:08 > 0:02:09- Na h-Oganaich. - APPLAUSE
0:02:35 > 0:02:36Good to see you.
0:02:46 > 0:02:47What do you do with this?
0:03:21 > 0:03:24GUITAR BEING TUNED The tuner's not quite...
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Of course, we have been meeting up and performing occasionally,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32although we haven't done any recordings, um,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35other than a bit of television work. So this is quite different.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38But it does bring back happy memories,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40because back in the early '70s,
0:03:40 > 0:03:42when we were creating the music,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44um, these were heady times. Exciting times.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46And it brings a bit of excitement back.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51- Headphones are still a wee bit dull. - Are they?- Yeah.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53'When we recorded them in the early '70s,'
0:03:53 > 0:03:55the recording business was quite different.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Standards have improved immensely since then,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01so we're trying to have a more modern standard
0:04:01 > 0:04:03of the recording process.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Basically, it's all the same, it doesn't matter
0:04:26 > 0:04:29whether it's heavy rock, Celtic music, what kind of style it is -
0:04:29 > 0:04:36the function of me involved in it is just to make it work comfortably.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53OK, shall we try and take one?
0:04:53 > 0:04:55Ooh, no. Oh, no.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16'It was my girlfriend, Mairi, who'd suggested,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20'"You should come and see this lot playing in Glasgow."'
0:07:20 > 0:07:21She raved about them for years.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24"Na h-Oganaich, they were great at their time,
0:07:24 > 0:07:25"they were really cutting edge."
0:07:25 > 0:07:29THEY SING IN GAELIC
0:07:31 > 0:07:35I was really struck by the harmonies and the vocals,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37particularly the unaccompanied ones.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40And I thought, "I'd like to get involved with that."
0:07:47 > 0:07:52Our childhood... Big family, mother from South Uist, dad from Barra,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55and their generation, I think, music was massive.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00No TV, entertainment, no this... Not the stuff today.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04So, singing songs in the house was a major deal in our family.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07And I think it was the early days of that that encouraged my mother
0:08:07 > 0:08:10to insist that we all go and learn an instrument.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15Unfortunately, for my sins, the accordion was strapped to my back!
0:08:17 > 0:08:21I'll thank her today for it, but I wouldn't have thanked her back then!
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Since I moved in here, I probably made about ten albums.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31All different styles,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35although I'm kind of focusing towards the Celtic, my old roots.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39I mean, I can laugh about it and think it was funny at the time,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42but I really feel it's in my blood - Celtic music. It always has been.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44I ignored it for a long time.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Those years of the '80s when it was, like, just blaring,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52you don't know what that racket is!
0:08:52 > 0:08:55So, I'm beginning to appreciate it more,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58I'm trying to work more on things like that,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00which probably got me hooked onto Na h-Oganaich.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05THEY SING IN GAELIC
0:09:05 > 0:09:08I do this job because I really like it.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11And I do it because I think I can contribute to it.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14And that's what I thought, "Give me the vocals, nice and clean,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16"and we'll see what I can do with them."
0:09:43 > 0:09:45See, like, the other one, the a cappella one,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49it's got no backing, when you say, "Let's really focus on that
0:09:49 > 0:09:52"and make these harmonies absolutely perfect,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55"so there's no mistakes."
0:09:55 > 0:09:57And we take you individually, one at a time,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01and get it right and track it up and do three, four takes of each of you,
0:10:01 > 0:10:03make it sound massive.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Perfect pitch, fix all the bits that are a problem.
0:10:09 > 0:10:10I think it'd be worth it.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13I think you could come up with something totally unique.
0:10:13 > 0:10:14And it would sound amazing.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17And it does sound good just now, it sounds like you guys,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20and you've kind of matured over time, or whatever.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It'd be nice to do one. Maybe...
0:10:23 > 0:10:27- We could try.- We have to do... Yeah. - We could try that.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Have a think about it,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32we'll have to come back to it and we'll look at it and just...
0:10:32 > 0:10:35If you feel excited enough about that, yeah.
0:10:35 > 0:10:36- I think it would be great.- OK.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37We're willing.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41That was the secret at the time, the harmonies.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Everyone said, "What's this? It's different."
0:10:44 > 0:10:48Even... Especially with the non-Gaelic speaking people.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Yeah. People would say, "Have you heard the new Na h-Oganaich album?
0:10:51 > 0:10:55"It sounds really good." Or, "Have you heard that new album?"
0:10:55 > 0:10:57LAUGHTER
0:10:57 > 0:11:00You know, it's either pure duff, "Have you HEARD that?!,"
0:11:00 > 0:11:03or it's really, really good.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06- Where did you record THAT? - LAUGHTER
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Who did that?!
0:11:09 > 0:11:11SHE SINGS IN GAELIC
0:11:52 > 0:11:56THEY SING IN GAELIC
0:12:53 > 0:12:56THEY SING IN GAELIC
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Well, we used to have a band at, um...
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Well, early days of high school, didn't we?
0:13:33 > 0:13:37A covers band, almost, called The Etives, pre-Capercaillie.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40And we just used to listen to the Na h-Oganaich records
0:13:40 > 0:13:42and copy them, virtually.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46- I wanted to be Margaret MacLeod. He wanted to be Donnie.- Yeah, yeah.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Classic records that we'd have at home, like,
0:13:53 > 0:13:54um, Calum Kennedy,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57or Alasdair Gillies or people like that -
0:13:57 > 0:13:59great, but you'd find they'd be
0:13:59 > 0:14:01quite pompous and grand.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Na h-Oganaich were much cooler than the other kind
0:14:04 > 0:14:07of Scottish music we'd listened to up to that point.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Much more appealing to a younger audience.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52LUSH CHORAL MUSIC PLAYS
0:15:30 > 0:15:31Put the vocal in.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41Tight.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47OK?
0:16:28 > 0:16:31- Are we good with the direction? - Yeah.- Aye, OK.- Yeah, love it.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34- I'll do roughs on Noel and we'll... - Yup. Send them up.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37I just hope Noel likes them as well. That's great. Yeah.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Smashing. You've worked hard at that.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Well, you can vibe Noel up before he gets here!
0:16:42 > 0:16:44He says, "What is this rubbish?!"
0:16:46 > 0:16:47Ah!
0:16:50 > 0:16:54'We're at the stage where we're batting it backwards and forwards,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57'to come to some sort of middle ground.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59'They've managed to capture that comfort zone
0:16:59 > 0:17:04'of delivering the songs, still, 30 years on, or whatever it is.'
0:17:04 > 0:17:07I think they've managed to capture that.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11I can go anywhere with that if you've got another idea for it.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12Yeah. Um...
0:17:12 > 0:17:15- I'm really open with that one.- OK.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19I'm impressed with the sound, the vocals, you know?
0:17:19 > 0:17:23The idea of the....the track there.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26The thing is, we would just maybe have to wait and see
0:17:26 > 0:17:30what Noel would think of that one, because he might have an extra...
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- Yeah.- ..um, opinion on that, to be quite honest.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38Because I remember he enjoyed, from the first album...
0:17:38 > 0:17:41The strings were the one. It was the strings that...
0:17:41 > 0:17:45- That's the track that stuck out... - Yeah.- ..out of all of them.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49That was the best track. So I don't know why I've totally avoided it!
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Well, that's what's good about it, that's what's interesting.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Because if we're just going to...go that way,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59I mean, there's three tracks already that are totally different.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41In the early '70s, we had no say whatsoever in how it was sounding.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45We just were simply in a room, in the studio, we performed,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48they played it back, um, and that was it.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51That was it, we never heard any more
0:19:51 > 0:19:54until the actual final product came out.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57But nowadays, it's much more hands-on.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59We can contribute a lot more ourselves.
0:19:59 > 0:20:05So I'm able to do some backing tracks to help the process along at home,
0:20:05 > 0:20:06bring them into the studio
0:20:06 > 0:20:10and we can use that as a kind of foundation to work from.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Speaking personally,
0:20:25 > 0:20:31my main concern is for the people who remember the old recordings,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35maybe have... Maybe their old records are played out or they've lost them
0:20:35 > 0:20:37or they broke them.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41And of course, we haven't had any records, any recordings available now
0:20:41 > 0:20:43for, certainly, about 20 years.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47So my first concern is for these people, that we can...
0:20:47 > 0:20:50We can let them hear something similar to the original recordings.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52But maybe a fresh take on them.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55But not too different from the original recordings.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59So that's the first concern. Um, we'll see what happens after that.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Um, the rest, we'll just have to wait and see.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06But I think our main potential audience at the minute
0:21:06 > 0:21:09is the older generation of people
0:21:09 > 0:21:13that maybe want to do a bit of reminiscing or a bit of nostalgia.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Like ourselves.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18THEY SING IN GAELIC
0:23:18 > 0:23:22He was very much in the mould of traditional island singers,
0:23:22 > 0:23:26so his renderings would be slow and lots of grace notes in them.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30And we would sort of strip that out and take the bare bones of the song
0:23:30 > 0:23:31and put guitars to it.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31GAELIC SINGING
0:25:06 > 0:25:09So, what's the song about, Mick?
0:25:09 > 0:25:12There's not room for a breath in that,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15I thought I could grab one in halfway.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18I was desperate to have a...
0:25:18 > 0:25:20The verse.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26The verse is in a minor key, but the chorus is in a major key.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30Full of surprises, typical of Murdo MacFarlane.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41'I've got a feeling it's the MacFarlane stuff
0:25:41 > 0:25:44'that's really dragged me in here.'
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Cos they're tunes that... They sound familiar,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49but you've not heard them before. That kind of feel, you know?
0:25:49 > 0:25:52And when there's something that makes you feel good,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56something that sounds familiar, you feel comfortable with it.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59THEY SING IN GAELIC
0:26:07 > 0:26:08I didn't feel there was enough punch in...
0:26:08 > 0:26:10SHE SINGS IN GAELIC
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- One of them was fine.- Where? - Just the last two verses.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16The last two, Mick.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18That's the last verse, that's the last chorus.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21In there. The beginning of that one.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24I'm out.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28I don't come in in time there or something.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Let me check out the other take.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33SINGING TRACK PLAYS BACK
0:26:33 > 0:26:35- That's all right.- That's better.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37- That one.- Aye, that's better.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40- Use your bit from the other take. Where was the other part?- Um....
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Just check it here.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37HE PLAYS PIANO TONE ON KEYBOARD
0:27:38 > 0:27:41# Doo, doo-doo, doo, doo, doo-doo, doo, doo, doo... #
0:27:41 > 0:27:45That's it. HE SINGS IN GAELIC
0:27:47 > 0:27:49That's it, spot on.
0:27:49 > 0:27:50Try it together?
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Aye. I've just been doing it wrong for 30 years.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56- Ready?- Yup.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01THEY SING IN GAELIC
0:28:48 > 0:28:50TRACK PLAYS BACK LOUDLY
0:29:07 > 0:29:09I need to do the beginning of my verse again,
0:29:09 > 0:29:12it's a hard thing to sing.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15It's hard Gaelic to do.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19MARGARET SPEAKS IN GAELIC, NOEL COPIES
0:29:20 > 0:29:23It's hard Gaelic to sing, and it's hard Gaelic to listen to!
0:29:23 > 0:29:26THEY LAUGH
0:29:30 > 0:29:33THEY SING IN GAELIC
0:30:07 > 0:30:10We did, eh...we did lots of shows,
0:30:10 > 0:30:14and by then, literally, the entertainment side of what we did
0:30:14 > 0:30:17was subsidising the paper,
0:30:17 > 0:30:20and I think it was very much their view as well
0:30:20 > 0:30:25that that was a double good reason for...for working with us.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30And we did them mainly in the paper's heartland,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33in Skye and in the outer isles,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37but we also did...I remember going to Portnahaven in Islay with them,
0:30:37 > 0:30:39and we did all the halls.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43Give me a village hall any day over an arts centre, just for atmosphere.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06I've got a couple of wee stabs in there to highlight different sections
0:33:06 > 0:33:08and bring out a bit of colour.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10It's that sort of wee "Juunk!"
0:33:10 > 0:33:12BURST OF MUSIC PLAYS
0:33:12 > 0:33:16And that sort of bang. I'm going to take the vocal out of that.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18BURST OF MUSIC PLAYS
0:33:19 > 0:33:21So that's it on its own.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27Add a bit of percussion in, maybe some timpanis, get a nice roll-up.
0:33:27 > 0:33:28We've got a sort of...
0:33:28 > 0:33:31PERCUSSIVE ROLL, THEN BURST OF MUSIC
0:33:33 > 0:33:37There they go! Huuba, huuba, huuba!
0:33:37 > 0:33:41Off we go! And we can just work the arrangement round that.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45I would just have a few wee bits of that maybe on its own.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Think it sounds quite good. And then bring the vocals in.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54VOCALS BEGIN
0:34:05 > 0:34:09I'm no' sure whether one of them is so crazy
0:34:09 > 0:34:11about where I'm going with this!
0:34:11 > 0:34:13I don't know.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15Maybe... We'll see.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18Maybe I'm making a complete arse of it. I don't know.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20HE LAUGHS
0:35:12 > 0:35:15MARGARET SINGS IN GAELIC
0:37:13 > 0:37:15MICK: Ready?
0:37:19 > 0:37:21HE SINGS IN GAELIC
0:38:02 > 0:38:06If you mix two tracks in one day, you're doing well,
0:38:06 > 0:38:12- so...there's 20 days, just to mix it. - Mm-hm. Mm-hm.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15The first ten tracks or thereabouts.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19I mean, a lot of them maybe will go faster than that.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22- So...we need to get our finger out. - Right. Uh-huh.
0:38:22 > 0:38:28# The sun was setting in the west... #
0:38:33 > 0:38:37# All nature seemed inclined for a rest... #
0:39:45 > 0:39:47And they said, you know,
0:39:47 > 0:39:48"Would you be interested?"
0:39:48 > 0:39:51Would I be interested?!
0:39:51 > 0:39:52You know, I dashed out
0:39:52 > 0:39:53and got my passport ready.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59They'd sing to me the pieces we were going to do
0:39:59 > 0:40:04and I would write them down phonetically, as they sounded to me,
0:40:04 > 0:40:08go away and work on them and come back, and then we rehearsed them.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12Apart from the singing, I ended up playing whistle, bodhran,
0:40:12 > 0:40:14mandolin and guitar,
0:40:14 > 0:40:17but no' all at the same time, of course!
0:40:32 > 0:40:35What I liked about it, it wasn't the kind of kitsch image of Scotland.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38It was a really good image of Scotland.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41And particularly with things like a band like Na h-Oganaich,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44who were a very progressive...er...
0:40:44 > 0:40:48sort of visionary band as far as Gaelic culture goes,
0:40:48 > 0:40:50we were bringing them something
0:40:50 > 0:40:52they probably wouldn't have seen otherwise.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48SONG PLAYS FROM MIXING DESK
0:42:23 > 0:42:26It's the general... HE LAUGHS
0:42:26 > 0:42:30..general plot that I've come up with for this one.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34- You don't look too convinced, Noel. - It's good.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37I mean, it's a brilliant arrangement,
0:42:37 > 0:42:41but it's awfully, awfully different from the way we do the song.
0:42:41 > 0:42:46That's the problem...MY problem with it, it's so, so different.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50I'll play some of the mixes that I've got...
0:42:50 > 0:42:52SONG PLAYS
0:43:03 > 0:43:08I think that Mick's got this kindred spirit with Murdo Macfarlane,
0:43:08 > 0:43:12you know, all that sort of stuff.
0:43:12 > 0:43:17I think he's got this kindred-spirit thing going, you know. Erm...
0:43:17 > 0:43:19SHE LAUGHS
0:43:20 > 0:43:22SONG PLAYS
0:43:28 > 0:43:32Noel's just a wee bit reserved about where this is going to end up,
0:43:32 > 0:43:33and I don't blame him.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37I mean, I can totally appreciate what he feels it should be like.
0:43:37 > 0:43:42He seems to be a main contributor in the actual sound of the harmonies
0:43:42 > 0:43:46and really involved in the whole sound of the band,
0:43:46 > 0:43:48with the instruments, and...
0:43:48 > 0:43:54Maybe he feels that I've sort of put a stop on his contribution to it,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57because all I've been really asking Noel to come with is,
0:43:57 > 0:44:00"Give me the vocals, please, and...don't play!"
0:44:00 > 0:44:03HE LAUGHS So I would be upset.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05SONG PLAYS
0:44:05 > 0:44:08Can you get... Can you find that original bass again?
0:44:41 > 0:44:44You think that's good enough? NOEL'S REPLY IS DROWNED OUT
0:44:44 > 0:44:46MUSIC STOPS What?
0:44:46 > 0:44:50You're not meant to sit and admire it, it's just a basic rhythm.
0:44:50 > 0:44:55This is a recorded piece of audio file. This is a recording.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57I wouldnae sit and edit that.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59Listening to that would do my head in.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04All the time, round and round for four and a half minutes,
0:45:04 > 0:45:08it's too much. I'm sitting here working on this for days on end,
0:45:08 > 0:45:12on files that quite frankly don't cut it, trying to make them sound good.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15It sounds awful. It's out of time,
0:45:15 > 0:45:17it's out of tune and it's badly performed.
0:45:17 > 0:45:22And at the end of the day, that's where I'm going to come from.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24Whether you feel we're moving forward with this
0:45:24 > 0:45:27or whether it's going backwards, it doesnae really matter.
0:45:27 > 0:45:28What matters to me is
0:45:28 > 0:45:31we get something really good coming out of those speakers,
0:45:31 > 0:45:33and I don't care where it comes from.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35That's my problem.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38So, if you want to get it the way you used to do it,
0:45:38 > 0:45:42give it to me, and we'll do it, but right now, we've no' got it.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Unless you give it to me, I'm going to go ahead and do something else,
0:45:45 > 0:45:48because I don't like that.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51- Sorry.- I'm with you. I'm with you, every word you say.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53Sorry. I'm with you.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56The old sound, today, 30 years on,
0:45:56 > 0:45:59is not good enough at all.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01And exactly as you said there...
0:46:01 > 0:46:04it isn't good enough. We've moved since then.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07It was good 30 years ago, it isn't...
0:46:07 > 0:46:09What we had...
0:46:09 > 0:46:11isn't good enough to put out 30 years on.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15- I'm sorry.- All the recordings I'm playing back, you've played....
0:46:15 > 0:46:19Anything that I've no' played, you've played it.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23If you like it and you think it's good enough, well, you say that,
0:46:23 > 0:46:25but I'm saying it's not.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27Well, I mean, if that's...
0:46:29 > 0:46:31At the end of the day, Mick,
0:46:31 > 0:46:34it's got to be... We've got to go along with you.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37- Well, unless you can do... - I hear what you're saying.
0:46:37 > 0:46:38You do it, show me it.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43Er, anyone I've said to that we're doing it,
0:46:43 > 0:46:47er, I'll say, "But it's going to be down another road,"
0:46:47 > 0:46:50everyone has said, "Great." That's been the...
0:46:50 > 0:46:53- That's what they expected.- I agree.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56We progress as the years go on. Everybody wants to progress.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00We don't want to look back every year as far as 30 years, surely.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04I'm in a diff... I'm in a slightly different position,
0:47:04 > 0:47:06because I live in Stornoway,
0:47:06 > 0:47:10and on the island of Lewis, people do revere what we did 35 years go.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14I know in the mainland it probably doesn't mean a lot anymore,
0:47:14 > 0:47:15but it does mean a lot in Lewis.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17You'd better move out of Lewis fast!
0:47:17 > 0:47:19- No, I cannae do that! - MICK LAUGHS
0:47:19 > 0:47:23But, you know, really I'm trying to speak up for the people I know.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25They keep on stopping me,
0:47:25 > 0:47:29"You're doing an album? Great! When are we going to hear it?"
0:47:29 > 0:47:32They're looking forward to hearing something they recognise,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35and I don't mind giving them lots of contrasts and ideas as well,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38but I do want to visit some songs that they can say,
0:47:38 > 0:47:39"Yeah, that's Na h-Oganaich."
0:47:39 > 0:47:42They've still got the original words,
0:47:42 > 0:47:46they're still the correct Gaelic, the old Gaelic,
0:47:46 > 0:47:49and it's married with the new sound of music.
0:47:49 > 0:47:51I think...and it's a great...marriage.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54Murdo Macfarlane would just be over the moon
0:47:54 > 0:47:57with what he's hearing in some of his songs. In ALL of them.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59No, I agree with you.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03I've told you already I think Oran Cladaich is great.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06If there are people in Lewis that are going to point the finger at us
0:48:06 > 0:48:09and say, "It's not what we expected from you," so be it.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11Have we got anything to lose?
0:48:11 > 0:48:13There's maybe other people that'll come in
0:48:13 > 0:48:16and maybe think that we've given them the wow factor.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19- And that's certainly what I feel. - SONG PLAYS
0:48:22 > 0:48:25Whatever we do, it's not going to be
0:48:25 > 0:48:28the way people imagined we were 35 years ago.
0:48:28 > 0:48:33So I don't know if it's...if it's going to alienate the audience.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35It may take a bit of getting used to.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39It's taken US a bit of getting used to, some of the new directions.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41We'll just have to wait and see,
0:48:41 > 0:48:43but I think we are sticking to
0:48:43 > 0:48:46exactly the same songs that we sang 35 years ago,
0:48:46 > 0:48:48so that's a good start.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51Er, OK, some of them are going to sound a bit different,
0:48:51 > 0:48:54some of them will be recognisable,
0:48:54 > 0:48:57I hope, and others will be, shall we say...erm...
0:48:57 > 0:49:00wearing new clothes.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48SONG PLAYS
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Everything's going through this TG desk.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05This has kind of been here since, like, 1972, '73.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09I'm hoping we'll add a final kind of sheen to the mixes,
0:50:09 > 0:50:11and it's the last stage,
0:50:11 > 0:50:15or the last chance for us to kind of alter the sound.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38I'm trying to find a bit of presence around the vocal,
0:50:38 > 0:50:40because the bottom end's really nice on it.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40I think there'll always be a place for a new Na h-Oganaich album.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44I think there'll be a place for a LOT of new Na h-Oganaich albums.
0:51:57 > 0:52:03There's a substantial audience that remembers them with great fondness,
0:52:03 > 0:52:06and I hope it goes well.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09I will rediscover my youth, listening to them again
0:52:09 > 0:52:12and others will come to them the first time and be enthused,
0:52:12 > 0:52:16so if I were a betting man, I'd put money on a really successful album,
0:52:16 > 0:52:17and I really want to hear it.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36SONG PLAYS
0:53:57 > 0:53:58I hadn't heard the finished tracks,
0:53:58 > 0:54:02and of course the great majority of people here hadn't,
0:54:02 > 0:54:04so nobody knew what to expect,
0:54:04 > 0:54:05so you could tell there was
0:54:05 > 0:54:08a kind of atmosphere of uncertainty about it.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15I was a bit worried about coming straight into the heart
0:54:15 > 0:54:19of the stronghold for Na h-Oganaich here, their hometown.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21Obviously they know the original band a lot more than I did,
0:54:21 > 0:54:24and if they didn't like it, they wouldn't be slow in saying,
0:54:24 > 0:54:26"Mick, you've made an arse of this."
0:56:15 > 0:56:18It's fab. It's really good for, like, our generation especially,
0:56:18 > 0:56:21as I'd only heard of Na h-Oganaich when they were performing live,
0:56:21 > 0:56:23and as someone who loves traditional music,
0:56:23 > 0:56:26it's really nice to hear it up to date and modern.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50Mick did each of the songs in a fresh way,
0:56:50 > 0:56:53and I think it's worked out pretty well, on the whole.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55I was quite pleasantly surprised
0:56:55 > 0:56:59to hear one or two little cues of the original arrangements
0:56:59 > 0:57:01in Mick's arrangements,
0:57:01 > 0:57:03so he hasn't totally neglected the original...
0:57:03 > 0:57:06kind of sound and the original instrumentation and so on,
0:57:06 > 0:57:11but he has added to it, he's come up with some fresh ideas of his own,
0:57:11 > 0:57:14and at the end of the day, I think there's probably
0:57:14 > 0:57:15something for everybody in it,
0:57:15 > 0:57:18so...no, I think it's worked out very well.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52We're still young and the world's still our oyster, you know?
0:57:52 > 0:57:53There's plenty of singing in us yet.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:23 > 0:58:25E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk