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Paul Mounsey does it again, 23 Jan 2006 Reviewer: A music fan The fifth Paul Mounsey release doesn’t disappoint. If you have any of the “Nahoo” recordings in your collection you will love this! It doesnt suffer from being a commissioned recording and in fact if anything appears to benefit from the musical links appearing from time to time. You dont need to speak Gaelic to appreciate the beautiful female vocals on this recording (and in deed if you dont the label will forward you English translations)- but the highlight has to be the almost trance like track “Time” read by poet Kevin McNeil where you almost look over your shoulder to see if indeed it is catching up on you! Lets have more of this from the traditional music world. Amazon.co.uk

Alyth – vocals Mary Macmaster – vocals & electroharp Corrina Hewat – vocals & electroharp “an album that’s breathtaking, haunting, beautiful and innovative and full of a magic that simultaneously encapsulates and challenges the essence of Scottish music”. Smooth Operations

Aidan O’Rourke – fiddle Alyth – vocals Kevin Mackenzie – Guitar Quee Macarthur – Bass Fergus Mackenzie – Drums Donald Hay – Percussion “Sunhoney produce a very polished product without rubbing away the spirit of their music…….. a truly impressive CD, one of the best recent attempts to blend traditional and mainstream musics: you should try it.” FolkWorld

Savourna first met the Chemiranis when recording for Radio 3 All Night Live at Real World Studios at 5 o’clock in the morning. A spontaneous session with the Iranian percussionists sparked off a collaborative friendship inspiring the idea of blending Middle Eastern music and poetry with the Celtic tradition and Gaelic language. New songs use text from Kahlil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’ which has an international and a universal appeal, and Savourna has chosen his words on Marriage, Children, Time and, with a Gaelic translation by the Scottish poet Aonghas MacNeacail, Gibran’s thoughts on Joy and Sorrow. “mesmerizing” The Scotsman

Featuring the musicians: Alyth – vocals Jonny Hardie – guitar & fiddle Brian Mcalpine – keyboards Rory Campbell – pipes, whistles& vocals Eilidh Martin – cello Aidan O’Rourke – fiddle ‘a delight…’ Living Tradition

But again, it’s the arrangements which take the songs to another level. At times disturbing, at times amusing, but always moving. I am reminded of some of the work by the Kronos Quartet or the Beatles at their most adventurous…creating a compulsive recording that I play over and over. There is a handful of performers…who, while deeply involved in tradition, make relevant connections with alternative styles. Alyth is one of this handful”. What Alyth say’s: Having been brought up in Lewis I was immersed in a very strong musical culture. Because of this I was inspired to go on and study music; to be creative. These songs are not romantic and neither is living in the islands. The weather is bad, life can be tough. people wrote about what they experienced and I sing it the way I experienced it. I’m a story teller. This is part of my story.

Rock ‘n’ Reel Review Alyth ***** ‘People like me’ (Navigator Records) “McCormack’s voice combines the purity of Joan Baez and the power of Martha Sebestyen, on arrangements that are at times lush but never pompous, enveloping the senses with warmth and splendour….. (and) In spite of the diverse nature of the song sources, there’s a cohesive and unified tone to this record. The music is exquisitively produced and sung with heart. By tastefully and effortlessly transcending genres, this fresh recording should win the hearts of listeners across the globe. Gerry Quinn. Irish Examiner Review 09 **** Alyth People like me (Navigator Records) **** MAVERICK MAGAZINE Alyth – People like me A partly Gaelic / Celtic folk, acoustic subtle and charming album, modern and trad songs combine to great effect.

Artistic Director of Open Secrets, Josep Ramon Jove, writes this: ‘Art is a way of communicating truth and beauty. For those of us who are convinced that beauty can only come out of the truth, the effort involved in shaping an artwork is an intemse and deeply satisfying experience. Open Secrets was made in ths spirit, with an honesty embedded in each note and each word; with a pulse woven through each verse; with the timeless essence of jazz and the influence of our ancestors as evoked through Celtic Folk music….’