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Stornoway studio to offer Gaelic musicians unique recording opportunity

Gaelic artists encouraged to apply for professional home recording grant 

A Stornoway recording studio is giving 10 lucky Gaelic singers and Celtic musicians the chance to professionally record music from the comfort of their home as part of a new project promoting Gaelic language and culture.

Funded by Creative Scotland, the Clàradh san Sgòth (Cloud Recording) initiative run by Keith Morrison of Wee Studio will develop traditional Scottish musicians and aims to create a growing platform for Gaelic artists.

Successful artists will have the chance to record on top of the range equipment, which will be delivered to their homes, and benefit from the studio team’s extensive professional experience.

Artists will be supported remotely and offered hands-on experience recording tracks as if they were in a room in the studio. The tracks will then be mixed in-house at Wee Studio.

The final tracks will be collated for a digital release via Wee Studio Records and represent a breakthrough in new, cost-effective ways to produce artists in remote areas.

Gaelic and traditional Celtic musicians can apply now by submitting a video of either a rough track recording or a live performance by 11:59 hours on Monday 4 October, with the final judging taking place Monday 11 October.

Wee Studio founder Keith Morrison said: “Clàradh san Sgòth is an innovative remote recording project that aims to bring more focus and attention to music from the Highlands and Islands. Gaelic culture is underrepresented in the modern-day music scene and the language is in danger of dying out if we don’t work to protect it and use it.

“Music and song has long been a proven way to promote language and culture and this project will allow Scottish musicians in remote locations to record new music exactly as if they were in a recording room within a professional studio.

“Cloud Recording is creating a new avenue for a wider demographic of musicians, producers and mixing engineers to release new music and I would urge artists across the region to put themselves forward for this opportunity. Good for the environment, good for collaboration and a cost-effective solution to create and sustain the music business using technology for the whole industry.”

A panel of three industry judges will select 10 musicians and deliver all the equipment needed to produce professionally recorded tracks in their own homes.

Each artist will gain experience using modern recording equipment, building their knowledge base for future at-home recording and introducing them to working with a professional studio.

Artists will be able to watch and engage with Keith during the mixing process via rented laptops and professional-quality headphones, provided as part of the at-home package.

The project is the brainchild of Keith Morrison, who established Wee Studio in 2007 with the goal of being the leading recording studio in the Western Isles, producing audio quality to match rival mainland studios.

He has produced acts such as Peat and Diesel and is a professional musician and multi-instrumentalist in his own right, playing for over 15 years including as the frontman and founding member of Celtic band Face The West.

Musicians can apply for the Clàradh san Sgòth (Cloud Recording) grant now at: www.claradhsansgoth.co.uk