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“Alyth loves singing, and lets you know that with out telling you. You can hear it in her voice"
(Norman Chalmers - The List )
NEWS
UPDATED JULY 2010
EVENTS
It's been an eventful year so far. Alyth's Celtic Connections performances with Ry Cooder were followed by an American Tour with the legendary Chieftains who Alyth now regularly performs with and then an additional American tour with The Step Crew who are a high energy dance group fusing Tap, Irish Dance and Ottowa Valley Step Dance the dancers also boast three world renowned fiddlers backed by a 5 piece band.
She'll be touring again over the Summer with The Chieftains in Cantabria in Northern Spain and also Tonder in Denmark and again over to American to a state she's not played before Kentucky.
She workshopped a new play based on the life of Belle Stewart of the Traveler family The Stewarts of Blair entitled 'The Queen Among the Heather' and in April Alyth began rehearsals for 'Whisky Kisses' a new musical that was originally part of Cameron Mackintosh's 'Highland Quest' competition. It was a fun packed 6 weeks. Alyth played the lead role of Mary Macgregor the heir to the run down and in debt whisky distillery 'Glenigma'. In a bid to save the distillery and give some money back to the local community Mary decides to auction off the last bottle of the famous 100 year old 'Glenigma'. Buyers have to come to the distillery in person and when one arrives from New York and the other from Japan culture clashes and fun a games ensue.
**** "genuinely classy and riotously good fun..... and a terrific cast, led by the lovely Alyth McCormack. " Robert Dawson Scott The Times May 2010
**** "it boasts a tremendous touring cast...with the beautiful silver-voiced Alyth McCormack as Mary." Joyce McMillan The Scotsman May 2010
For more information and rehearsal and touring photos and footage please check out Rightlines Productions.
Alyth was also nominated for the Best Female Singer in the Spiral Earth Awards 2010.
She is also preparing for more a week teaching at The Globasl Music Foundation Jazz Summer School in Certaldo, Tuscany, Italy and has also signed on with a new acting agency so more exciting new to follow. Click here for updated tour dates.
2009 ROUND UP
Alyth finished off the year performing Christmas gigs with Anuna in St Ann's Church in Dublin. She is working on a project with Michael McGlynn - Anuna's Artisitc Director - where they will explore the great voal traditions of their two cultures. She also toured Ireland with The Chieftains on their Irish November tour in addition to an Irish tour with her won band beforereturning to Scotland for her own gigs there and a well overdue trip home to Lewis.
She toured in Italy with Liam O'Flynn and also Belgium where she was performing in the glorious Sonic Cathedral in Mons with Musiques Nouvelles the Orchestra of the St Kilda Opera. A highlight of the year was performing the Opera at the Edinburgh International Festival. The Opera was a great success for reviews St Kilda Reviews and there is interest from other countires such as America, Australia and Estonia so we'll keep you posted. For more information on the Opera please click here and to read an interview with Alyth about it please see St Kilda Interview.
She also had a great week teaching with the Global Music Foundation in Italy and had fantastic gigs performing there with Jazz musicians Ed Simons (Venezuela), Gilad Atzmon (Israel), Duncan Hopkins(Canada) and Stephen Keogh (Ireland). It was a very exciting week and she hopes to work with them again.
PROJECTS
Alyth has taken part in a project with a host of other artists from a multitude of media called the 7sails project ; it is a creative Chinese whisper between artists of different disciplines at northern latitudes. check where it's afloat....http://www.studiolog.heriot-toun.co.uk/7sails_5_intro.php
and has recorded a piece for a multi media exhibition by photographer and musician Iain Shaw called 'Jesus has left the building' which is currently on display in An Lanntair, Kenneth St, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis.
ALBUM NEWS
Her album 'People like me' got a 5 star Review in Rock n Reel and you can read it at the bottom of this page. Recently she recorded an interview with Ian McMillan for BBC Radio 3's The Verb and supported Moving Hearts at the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival in Belfast. She has also been touring America with The Chieftains reviews of this tour feature in LIVE GIGS There are further reviews of Alyth's new album 'People like me' ALBUM REVIEWS and for a taste of life on the road you can read Alyth's tour diary in AMERICA 09.
PLUS - see the video of the opening track 'Nuair bha mi og' from 'People like me' recorded for Horo Gheallaidh
'People like me' released on Navigator Records
Alyth's new solo album 'People like me' was released on Navigator Records www.navigatorrecords.co.uk . It includes traditional and contemporary songs in both English and Gaelic. Songwriters such as Boo Hewerdine, Justin Currie, Brendan Graham and Jim Malcolm feature along with top class musicians such as Jonny Hardie (The Old Blind Dogs), Brian Mcalpine (Session A9), Noel Eccles ( Moving Hearts), Aidan O'Rourke (Lau), Ewen Vernal (Capercaillie), Fraser Fifield (The Fraser Fifield Band), Donal Hay (Mystery Juice) and Gerald Peregrine.
Alyth ***** ‘People like me’ (Navigator Records)
It was by mere accident that. Late one night I tuned into BBC Radio nan Gaidheal and caught the latter half of an exhilarating arrangement of the traditional ‘Chaidil mi raoir air an airigh’ in the assured soprano of an artist that hitherto had meant nothing to me. So vastly attractive was it that I had to procure the associated album.
Because I spun ‘Chaidil mi raoir air an airigh’ over and over again before approaching the other dozen items, it took a while for the likes of the a cappella ‘Mo ghaol oigfhear’, ‘The Queen and the Soldier’ , A Mhairead Og’ – hinged on a riff reminiscent of ‘Shakin all over’ - and the majestic title track to attain comparable familiarity. Nevertheless, I was able to appreciate immediately that there’s been lively imagination at work among Alyth McCormack’s accompanists - as exemplified by percussionist Noel Eccles’s incorporation of daraburka, marimba, meditation balls and further exotica into the proceedings.
Finally, while I still can’t let a waking hour go by without a shot of ‘Chaidil mi raoir air an airigh’, it’s but one aspect of a fabulous, modern folk-music recording and one that could appeal to a mainstream pop audience.
Alan Clayson
