Grasping the prize

The year 2004 got off to a memorable start for JAMES GRAHAM when the 23-year-old Gaelic singer from Lochinver scooped the Young Scots Traditional Musician of the Year Award in Glasgow. KENNY MATHIESON caught up with James in the throes of preparing to reap the rewards of his win.

JAMES GRAHAM became the first male as well as the first singer to take the prestigious award at Celtic Connections in January, and added a host of new admirers in the process. I had been alerted to his qualities only the previous day, when he sang in a Gaelic Song concert at The Piping Centre (appropriately enough, since that is his second instrument), and it was no surprise when he won over the judges on the night. He looked calm enough at the time, and confirmed that impression.

 “I wasn’t nervous on the night, probably more so in the lead up to it. On the night it didn’t really feel like a competition. It was a very relaxed atmosphere, and most of the songs I was singing I had known for years. I was really looking for variety more than anything when I picked them.

 “I decided that I was only going to sing. For the semi-final the time was shorter, and I thought it would be better to concentrate just on voice. A lot of people said to me I was making a mistake, that I should play the pipes as well, but I had made my decision and I was happy with it.”

James’s aplomb in the face of competition should come as no surprise, given that his introduction to public singing came via the competitions at the Mod. He was nine when he had his first taste of the competitive arena.

“I wouldn’t say it was exactly compulsory at school,” he laughed, “but Lochinver Primary have always done really well at the Mod, and you were strongly encouraged in that direction! My parents encouraged me as well, and I think I won whatever I was in for that year, and never looked back.”

“Gaelic singing and Gaelic language is definitely something I feel I really want to do, and would have done anyway, whether I had won the competition or not.”

ALTHOUGH HIS MUM plays accordion and his dad is “a good singer, but not in public”, neither were Gaelic speakers. Their parents were, however, and James was aware of the tradition from an early age through the previous generation, notably his great aunt, Seordag Murray.

“I remember hearing it at ceilidhs in the house from a young age,” he recalled, “but I didn’t really take an interest until the Mod came around.”

James studied with the great Kenna Campbell at the RSAMD in Glasgow, and still has lessons with her. The Academy also provided valuable performance opportunities.

“There wasn’t really much locally, other than village ceilidhs, but at the Academy there were lots of concert opportunities, and we had the chance to play in America and in Denmark as students.”

James is about to begin reaping the rewards of his win, initially with an opportunity to perform at festivals in Canada, and subsequently with the making of his debut recording for Foot Stompin’ Records in Edinburgh. He is currently hard at work with his band, featuring James Ross on piano, and Donald Brown on whistles, flutes, and step dance, (although, like James, he also plays pipes).

“We’re really busy rehearsing for Canada – we are off on 1 July, and are doing festivals in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Mission, so we have to get a set together. We’re not going to record until August, and it will be that band at the core of it, and probably a few guests. We’re doing the record at Watercolour Studios in Ardgour, and it’s all really exciting.”

Thereafter, James will be a student again for another year, this time at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, where he will start the one year immersion course  in Gaelic language in October. I wondered if he felt any sense of responsibility in advancing the cause of Gaelic song?

“Not really a sense of responsibility, I wouldn’t say, but Gaelic singing and Gaelic language  is definitely something I feel I really want to do, and would have done anyway, whether I had won the competition or not.”

© Kenny Mathieson, 2004 

Related Link

•  Foot Stompin’ Records website