Gaelic trio in tune for Hebcelt concert

Their shows bring together three of Scotland’s finest Gaelic singers, but SIAN are in harmony on and off stage.

The trio joined forces originally for a project developed by Fèisean nan Gàidheal for the Blas festival in 2016, but have remained together since and are now working on their debut album.

All outstanding solo performers, the group’s collective work has also included an appearance at Celtic Connections and a collaboration on Niteworks’ single ‘Air Fàir an Là’, released last summer. Alongside multi-instrumentalist Innes White, they will be performing at the award-winning Hebridean Celtic Festival from 17-20 July.

“We really enjoyed putting the sets together for the Blas project and the three of us had never really been involved in something quite like it”, said Eilidh Cormack, who with Ellen MacDonald and Ceitlin Lilidh, makes up SIAN. “We became close very quickly and it was really when we then got asked to perform at Celtic Connections the following January that we realised that people really liked it, and that we really liked it too – and so SIAN was born.

“We make an effort to get together quite regularly, even if it is just for a coffee. Outside of gigging, we usually manage to meet at least once a month, whether it be for a catch-up or to share new material and rehearse.”

Eilidh, from Skye, is a former An Comunn Gàidhealach Gold Medal winner at the Royal National Mòd who contributed to music for the recent video game ‘The Bard's Tale IV’. Ellen, originally from Inverness, graduated from the traditional music course at the Gaelic college Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and also performs with trad music giants Dàimh. Ceitlin, from Lewis, is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is also a winner of the Traditional Gold Medal at the Mòd and a Danny Kyle award.

SIAN devote their concerts to showcasing the strength and beauty of Gaelic song and, in particular, those of female Gaelic bards: “That is absolutely our driving force and we continue to only sing songs composed by women”, said Eilidh.

“We're very fortunate to continue to learn songs from some amazing women in the Gaelic world, such as Kenna Campbell, Ishabel T MacDonald, Christine Primrose and Eilidh Mackenzie, and so those songs are largely from a woman's perspective.

“It's great to have three heads to bring songs to the table, and we're lucky to also have these women who so generously share the songs they have with us.

“We try to be respectful when dealing with the material, so we don't like to play too much with it. We each have our own strengths in terms of types of song, and our voices are all very different. So even if we come to the group with a song, we might give it to someone else who suits it better.

“Innes White is a dream to work with in terms of backing the song and giving it a folky feel, in the most complimentary way, so we're very lucky to have him.”

HebCelt is a home gig for Ceitlin, but it is also very familiar territory for the others, who have been attending the festival since they were children.

“We're all big fans of the festival, and it's a great feeling to be taking to the stage there this year”, Eilidh enthuses. “We're working on a new chunk of material which we'll get to try out over the summer, so they will certainly feature on the setlist.

“We also have some other great festivals lined up for the rest of the year. In the long run, we're just going to continue to enjoy making music and harmonising together.”