Well, that's Brave finally out and into the world and I am able to speak a wee bit more freely about my involvement in the film. Not that there was any great secrecy with it to start with, but you can't be too careful when it comes to spoilers! I got a phone call in November to see if I would be available to arrange and record some pipe parts for Disney Pixar's latest potential blockbuster. The composer, Patrick Doyle, had tried to get in touch with my friend and Chilli colleague Stuart Cassells, but he was unavailable and passed the opportunity onto me. At the time, it could have simply been a few bars of pipe music for all I knew but I was still very excited! Stuart let me know he had passed them onto me, so I anxiously stared at the phone for days after. "A watched phone never rings" so they say as I discovered when I left it in my room while having dinner to discover a couple of missed calls from a London number. Doh! However, after trying not to seem to desperate in phoning back I managed to get through to the composer's people who explained the part. The tunes were composed and I had to arrange them onto the pipes, do a little bit of trouble shooting with keys and notes and then perform them. Some of the tracks represented four onscreen pipers, so I was asked to sort out another three pipers to join me. Friends from the Red Hot Chilli Pipers were the obvious choice.
So, Sibelius files trickled through and I got to work on them - perfect examples of Scottish music in an orchestral context; jigs, strathspeys, laments, marches - they were all there! And so, a few weeks later we were off to London by train with the sheet music and electric pipes out doing some last minute perfecting. It didn't take long for us to get off the train and along to the studio. Air Lyndhurst Studios to be precise - where some of the greatest albums and soundtracks of all time were recorded. And where, as I found out from Doctor Who composer Murray Gold, the soundtrack to the Christmas special was being recorded the next day. As if things weren't exciting enough. This session was making use of all 4 pipers, so we quickly got to work tuning up. We did some takes and, understandably, Patrick wanted a more rawer and wilder sound. Realistically, I don't think pipers in medieval Scotland would be fixed with moisture control systems and HBT2 Tuners! So we roughened the sound, and loosened the playing a little bit to sound a bit more like a classic older pipe recording. I think we did that well now I listen back. We played some tracks just as pipers and some with the London Symphony Orchestra - Amazing! We also spent some time fooling about to get some comic noises for incidents in the film that I won't spoil for you. Director Mark Andrews and Producer Katherin Sarafain were also in the session and Mark was particularly hands on when it came to getting the comedy sounds he was after. The session was finished early and we had some time before the sleeper train home, so we spent a little while chatting with the team. Such amazing passion for their work and love and appreciation of Scotland. A day that I was terrified off turned into one of the most enjoyable days ever! A few months pass and it's now getting into 2012 and the email comes through from Patrick's people again for another session. Of course, I am once again excited! The same process begins with files being swapped, arrangements made and tunes learned and we're off to London again! Again, the sets were done early, and I even had time to do a little bit of improvisation in "Song of Mor 'du" led by Billy Connolly which I'm ecstatic to hear made it to the final soundtrack! So that was it, a few months wait until the film is released while catching small glimpses of the movie and clips from the soundtrack from various promotional sites.
Last weekend in June now and, after performing the longest Orcadian Strip the Willow ever (unofficially, at 67 mins) at the Gigha Music Festival and I'm now off to the Premiere in Edinburgh with an unnerving amount of ferry/bus/taxi connections! I made it OK and in good time, get changed and enjoy watching the celebs roll in. Kelly MacDonald, Robbie Coltraine (who gave me a wink and a dance), Kevin McKidd, Craig Fergusson and Patrick Doyle. Patrick even clocked me and introduced me to the autograph hunting crowd, what a gem! An odd day turns even more surreal when I'm requested to go visit the First Minister, Alex Salmond! Of course I did, and had a lovely evening with him and his family.
Next Day, it's the Inverness Highland premiere and I finally get to see the complete movie. 3D glasses at the ready, with a stunning warm up from Julie Fowlis who sings the two main songs in the film. As expected, Julie has done a great job with the songs and is a fantastic ambassador for Gaelic music. So the film, wow - amazing, great story, warm characters, funny, witty, sad, moving, it's all there and it's very much set in Scotland. I'm sure people may even recognise the inspiration in certain parts of the film. The opening sequence took my breath away, and even a few days after the screening I'm still not sure if I've got it back enough to play my pipes again! Go see it!
Some of the scores we were working from.
So, Sibelius files trickled through and I got to work on them - perfect examples of Scottish music in an orchestral context; jigs, strathspeys, laments, marches - they were all there! And so, a few weeks later we were off to London by train with the sheet music and electric pipes out doing some last minute perfecting. It didn't take long for us to get off the train and along to the studio. Air Lyndhurst Studios to be precise - where some of the greatest albums and soundtracks of all time were recorded. And where, as I found out from Doctor Who composer Murray Gold, the soundtrack to the Christmas special was being recorded the next day. As if things weren't exciting enough. This session was making use of all 4 pipers, so we quickly got to work tuning up. We did some takes and, understandably, Patrick wanted a more rawer and wilder sound. Realistically, I don't think pipers in medieval Scotland would be fixed with moisture control systems and HBT2 Tuners! So we roughened the sound, and loosened the playing a little bit to sound a bit more like a classic older pipe recording. I think we did that well now I listen back. We played some tracks just as pipers and some with the London Symphony Orchestra - Amazing! We also spent some time fooling about to get some comic noises for incidents in the film that I won't spoil for you. Director Mark Andrews and Producer Katherin Sarafain were also in the session and Mark was particularly hands on when it came to getting the comedy sounds he was after. The session was finished early and we had some time before the sleeper train home, so we spent a little while chatting with the team. Such amazing passion for their work and love and appreciation of Scotland. A day that I was terrified off turned into one of the most enjoyable days ever! A few months pass and it's now getting into 2012 and the email comes through from Patrick's people again for another session. Of course, I am once again excited! The same process begins with files being swapped, arrangements made and tunes learned and we're off to London again! Again, the sets were done early, and I even had time to do a little bit of improvisation in "Song of Mor 'du" led by Billy Connolly which I'm ecstatic to hear made it to the final soundtrack! So that was it, a few months wait until the film is released while catching small glimpses of the movie and clips from the soundtrack from various promotional sites.
Last weekend in June now and, after performing the longest Orcadian Strip the Willow ever (unofficially, at 67 mins) at the Gigha Music Festival and I'm now off to the Premiere in Edinburgh with an unnerving amount of ferry/bus/taxi connections! I made it OK and in good time, get changed and enjoy watching the celebs roll in. Kelly MacDonald, Robbie Coltraine (who gave me a wink and a dance), Kevin McKidd, Craig Fergusson and Patrick Doyle. Patrick even clocked me and introduced me to the autograph hunting crowd, what a gem! An odd day turns even more surreal when I'm requested to go visit the First Minister, Alex Salmond! Of course I did, and had a lovely evening with him and his family.Next Day, it's the Inverness Highland premiere and I finally get to see the complete movie. 3D glasses at the ready, with a stunning warm up from Julie Fowlis who sings the two main songs in the film. As expected, Julie has done a great job with the songs and is a fantastic ambassador for Gaelic music. So the film, wow - amazing, great story, warm characters, funny, witty, sad, moving, it's all there and it's very much set in Scotland. I'm sure people may even recognise the inspiration in certain parts of the film. The opening sequence took my breath away, and even a few days after the screening I'm still not sure if I've got it back enough to play my pipes again! Go see it!