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“Alyth loves singing, and lets you know that with out telling you. You can hear it in her voice. She may be from lewis, sings (but not all exclusively) in Gaelic, and often performs with harp and fiddle - but she’s not a folkie. Her musical education and influences are too wide to sit in that, or any other, ghetto, minimalists like Reich, the sweeping eclecticism of Adams, sophisticated rock, modal jazz and role models like June Tabor or Marta Sebestyen have taken her down a path where she can sing unaccompanied in a Hebridean hall one day and with a metropolitan fusion samba band the next. She is at home on stage and brings to her music - whether with the close harmony vocalists in Shine or full jazz/rock rhythm section in Sunhoney - a still centre"
(Norman Chalmers - the List - August 2003)
News
The year is getting off to a flying start...
SOLO ALBUM
First there is the new album – People Like Me – recorded in both Scotland and Ireland and which is being released in America in this Feb. Its theme is songs of love and conscience, songs to make you smile and songs to make you think. There are some great new songs recorded for the first time, written by writers such as Boo Hewerdine, Brendan Graham and Justin Currie and great old ones – if you think 1715 is old that is? Wonderful players firstly Jonny Hardie on guitar and fiddle and Brian Mcalpine on piano, keys and box - who’ve worked really hard and helped me all the way.
Other players are: Aidan O’Rourke on Fiddle, Ewen Vernal on Double Bass, Fraser Fifield on Saxophone and Whistles, Gerald Peregrine on Cello and Noel Eccles on Percussion. It is still more acoustic than the last album but fuller sound and I’m very happy with it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
UK TOUR
Then there was the UK tour supporting Irish legends Moving Hearts www.movinghearts.ie
We played Liverpool Philharmonic, The Royal Festival Hall and Scotland’s own Eden Court amongst others. I was very happy at Moving Hearts playing in Scotland was only disappointed that we left in the rain at 6 am. Such is touring; such is the Highlands!!
THE CHIEFTAINS
There were the gigs at Celtic Connections where a very positive response was received to the new material both from audiences and reviewers and now the American tour with The Chieftains Feb18th - March 17th. (For info check out Tour Dates on the music page)
TOUR BLOG
I was hoping to keep a tour blog here on my website but the wonders of UPS failed to deliver the software on time so I’ll be keeping said tour blog on my myspace page. Please log on to www.myspace.com/alythspace To catch up on what we’re doing how the gigs are going and photos.
SPONSORSHIP
For the Chieftains tour I have received support from CNES, SAC, HIE, Hi-Arts and have also been sponsored by Harris Tweed Textiles,www.harris-tweed.co.uk, Edinburgh based Thistle and Broom, www.thistleandbroom.com and designers Mccoll and Clan, http://www.mccollandclan.com
For details please read the article below.
Genuine Harris Tweed to Debut at Carnegie Hall
February 2008
Dublin and Edinburgh - New York’s Carnegie Hall is a long way from the Isles of Harris and Lewis but come March native daughter Alyth McCormack and the hand woven Harris Tweed of Donald John Mackay will be appearing front and centre on the world famous stage. Joining the likes of Chris Capaldi and Darius Danesh, Alyth, as she is generally known, has just become the newest spokesperson for Edinburgh-based sustainable luxury goods purveyor Thistle & Broom. Thistle & Broom will be providing Alyth with her wardrobe for her upcoming concert dates and for touring with the Irish folk group The Chieftains which is how both the Tweed and the Gaelic chanteuse and actress will be found at Carnegie Hall.
For obvious reasons Alyth is a little partial to the thistle pink Dichotomy Gown she first wore at the American Scottish-Foundation’s Burns Night Supper held at a private club in New York City and at Celtic Connections in Glasgow.
“The gown is a dramatic departure from the common perception of Harris Tweed. People are astonished when you tell them what the gown is made of. Understandably ‘sexy’ is not a word generally associated with Harris Tweed but this may be what is required to save this precious cultural icon and the livelihood of my neighbours”, said Alyth from Dublin as she readied for her tour with The Chieftains. “To be able to explain that I am actually wearing the fabric tied to the waulking song I am about to sing, to have the magic of the Hebrides come together so completely for an audience is an extraordinary gift.”
“Our island culture is intimately bound to every metre of Harris Tweed, and as everyone knows there’s been a lot of uncertainty around its continuation of late. Alyth and Thistle & Broom have, in their own unique ways, been driven in preserving our heritage and I think they make a dynamic team which will certainly heighten awareness and appreciation,” said Donald John Mackay who developed the stunning thistle pink Tweed used for the Dichotomy Gown Alyth will be wearing. “I can’t help but see a bit of irony in this debut. In the concert hall named for the son of a Scottish weaver who became the driving force for philanthropy related to education and culture will come a rethinking of, and hopefully increased demand for our Scottish icon – genuine hand woven Harris Tweed.”
Alyth’s wardrobe spans Scotland geographically with bespoke fashions made of Scottish textiles made in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Isle of Mull, Whalsay in the Shetland Islands and the Isle of Skye. Alyth summed it up by saying, “I am so fortunate to be able to wear Scotland on my sleeve. Thistle & Broom is doing something truly remarkable in creating a luxury brand that is focused upon sustainability and Fair Trade and doing so exclusively from within Scotland’s borders.”
About Alyth:
Hi-Arts Jennie Macfie 24.0.08
“She is here(Celtic Connections) to launch her new CD which focuses on themes of love and conscience and on the strength of the songs we hear tonight will be coming to an iPod near you very shortly. Blessed with a voice of great beauty and purity, any composer must rejoice to hear Alyth sing his work.
Names like Boo Hewerdine, Jim Malcolm, Brendan Graham and Del Amitri's Justin Currie are checked in the introductions and Hewerdine 's "A Smuggler's Prayer" about the plight of drug mules is particularly moving….. The CD's title track ‘People Like Me’ is a heartfelt plea for tolerance in today's Scotland, penned by Currie. Compellingly catchy even on first hearing, it provides a stirring end to the set and should, if there is any justice, be sung by festival crowds for a very long time to come.”
About Thistle & Broom :www.thistleandbroom.com
Edinburgh-based Thistle & Broom is the world’s first geopolitically specific and Fair Trade modeled luxury goods purveyor. Established in 2004, the online retailer offers an extraordinary collection of bespoke clothing, Edinburgh hallmarked precious jewellery and home furnishings sourced exclusively from within Scotland’s borders. “
