Session A9 to release new CD when they play at Celtic Connections in Glasgow at the weekend
A NEW CD by Session A9, whose line-up includes Wick fiddler, Gordon Gunn, will be released this weekend when the band play at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow.
The CD, called The Magic Roundabout was named after a very large roundabout in Swindon where the band once got lost and not after the famous children's television programme, said Gordon.
It features eight tracks, with the bulk of the material penned by the group as well as friends and associates although it also includes a couple of songs by such well known musicians as Tom Waits and Robbie Robertson.
Two of Gordon's compositions – The Tenor Reel and The Opinionated Gents – are on the release. He said: "I bought a four-string tenor guitar and it inspired me to write The Tenor Reel which was the first tune I wrote on it. I don't write a lot on the fiddle. It tends to be on the keyboard and the tenor guitar."
He explained that The Opinionated Gents was based on the two Muppet Show characters Statler and Waldorf who sat in the balcony and expressed their cantankerous opinions and enjoyed heckling the cast.
"It relates to people in real life," said Gordon who added: "We recorded and produced the CD ourselves. We planned this album to mark our 20th anniversary as a band which was in 2021 but Covid scuppered that. We have done four studio albums and two live ones but this will be our first in nearly 10 years. We live in different parts of the country and Kevin Henderson who is from Shetland lives in Norway. We are involved in different projects and play in different bands as well so it can be difficult to get us all together but we are revving up again now."
Asked what he hopes the new album will achieve, he replied: "We just want to get the new music out there and go on tour to help promote the CD."
Session A9, which features Charlie McKerron (fiddle); Gordon Gunn (fiddle and mandolin); Adam Sutherland (fiddle); Kevin Henderson (fiddle); Brian McAlpine, piano and backing vocals; Marc Clement guitar and vocals and David "Chimp" Robertson on percussion and backing vocals, have become regulars at Celtic Connection events.
After their performance there at the weekend, they plan to go on tour and have a number of Scottish dates lined up in April, including a week in Skye where they will be playing but also undertaking workshops and teaching classes at the Sabhal Mor Ostaig, the national centre for Gaelic language and culture.
"People come from various parts parts of the world to take part, including from Scotland, Germany, Canada and America," added Gordon.
The new album will be available to buy, download / stream from next week at https://bandcamp.com
