Supergroups 4 Descendants of the Dal Riada Celts.... ... its Scotland!

  Supergroups ...from Scotland ...? Yep, here's another celtic nation that can turf out astounding musicians on a regular basis... But just to ease you in to the awesome sounds of the Scotts we'll kick off with yet another truly excellant and smooth piece of sound mastery, engineering and enigmatic production that managed with a professional ease to draw out a crystal clear and perfect recording of the songs of Scotlands John Keenan. John is one of Dundee's sons and, in a true jacobite tradition, he has been successfully (and singlehandedly) invading England for the past two years with his music. He also managed to push alot further into the lands of the Sasanac than those brave ancesteral invaders, as the last we heard of him placed his musical invasion force in the heart of Cornwall ( on Englands south coast) . His music is a strong melodic blues, all orientated with a very laid back yet contemporary rock feel. John has released two exceptional albums so far, both of which carry incredibly high standards of mixing and sound quality wich are entitled 'Hell No' (2005 on Titbit) and 'Fools Crusade' (2007) - two carefully constructed musical journeys that will draw any listener along with every note , even if they think they might hate 'blues' music. Johns vocals not only transcend the musical genre but they also seem to be in their prime with every utterance and expression.

  To emmerse yourself in John Keenans musical journey visit his MySpace here...

Before we blast your 'lug 'oles' off with some serious Scottish rock we're going to soften things a little bit while we take you to the Hebridees - those ancient island crossroads of the celtic empire for thousands of years. The bare feet of the Celtic kings of the Dalriada rested themselves on hebridean soil many at time while passing backwards and forwards between Ulaidh (Ulster) and the new lands of the Scottish prince .Many poets, songwriters and artists have been transfixed and inspired by those landscapes and the sounds of the spoken toungue that has remained unaltered for thousands of years.

  Only 60,000 people are thought to be fluent in Scotts Gaelic in the world (many of those live in Nova Scotia and Canada) it's not only one of the oldest languages in the world but is also one of the most travelled (see more on the Tale of Two Amy's and International Emmergency pages). It's dialects and prose carry a whole wealth of expressions that are simply not available in any other language in the world and just as the Hebridees are one of Scotlands priceless jewels so too are those ancient words and expressions that are now being carried on into the next millenium by the beautiful songs and voice of Julie Fowlis. 2008 has seen Julie's special voice awarded as the BBC2's 'Folk Singer of The Year' . Her deep songs of Hebridean traditions that are now fading into the past, have also earned her another title, that of being only the second ever female vocalist to ever manage to bring a tear to our eye because of the hidden, unexpected beauty of their lyrics and the way they've been delivered from the heart (the other was Sinead O'Connors 'Theology' album - see 'Swimmimg Against the Tide). As a parental advisory aimed for parents.... If you've got a heart and value your Scottish (or Irish) ancestry then please don't be surprised if you suddenly find yourself crying for no tangeable reason. The beautiful Gaelic songs of Julie Fowlis can be found here...

  Our next supergroup has been repeatedly tipped by a number of national and international music critics, papers and magazines as Scotlands best new band of the millenium ever scince we spotted them over a year ago on their fellow Moonfruit site (you may well have noticed them on our Potential Supergroup page over the past year). Annoyingly, an opportunity for mass media exposure at the 2007 T in the Park festival denied the band of their well earned international spotlight when Al Gore decided to hold his own international music event on the same day! Despite the disappointment , the boys of The Draymin have continued to tour continuosly and are in the process of recording and releasing what promises to be another excellent set of songs on their forthcoming ep. 2008 still sees The Draymin as our top pick of all the upcoming bands from Scotland and their comitment and drive for making top quality rock and pop will no doubt see them as Scotlands top live act for many years to come...and yep!...we've added those excellent two Draymin tasters here all over again, 'I'm There' (taster 1) and 'Don't Fade Away'(taster 2). To hear more on the new Scottish giants visit the following links.We've issued a 'caution due to the occaisional 'moon' and four lettered word....

  Here's another band using some exceptional riffs and vocals while slicing through the cutting edge of Scottish rock like a hot knife through butter...Playtone. Glasgow have found themselves another world class contender in the Playtone sound AND delivery, so Amy MacDonald (and Snow Patrol) could soon find themselves being a 'supporting' act at a Playtone gig in the not too distant future. Funily enough, if you happen to be in Glasgow on the 18th October 2008 you'll be able to find their tones being played at the very aptly titled 'Carlings Next Big Thing'....a few bars into their opening song will probably prove that tag an undisputed fact. Playtone are one of the most professional and dedicated bands to have caused mass jawdropping throughout Europe in the past year....and one of those collapsing jaws just happened to have been attatched to the face of War of the Worlds music creator Jeff Wayne. For music with passion, character and a musical depth that stands out in the crowd then either take a good long listen at the link or, better still, go and see them live...

  The other next big thing to emmerge from Glasgow is Year Zero with some classic tunes and hooks which, even though modern, hold many twists and turns along their riotous musical journeys, containing within them the hidden traces and moments of former 'Dal Riadan' pioneers such as (as in the track Communication) vocal styles and segments which draw out memories and snippets of comparrison with Midge Ure's more 'rocked up' incarnations - or even the occaisional smattering of a slight Jim Kerr. Another more recent celt to compare with for a seemingly similar flair, interest and energy underpinning in lyrical style to Year Zero would be Irelands Primrose (see Supergroups one)..but Year Zeros works are also underpinned, as are Playtone, by some exceptional, inteligent and creative drumming phases adding to and steering the mood in the gathering momentum of fresh and compulsive riffs. Year Zero are being nicely set in stone within their own unique, yet somehow familiar 'diamond' cutting edge of sound.'Sit you down' and 'Savior' are two more highly polished tunes currently found on their MySpace player...you can hear them all here...