Nòs Ùr

NÒS ÙR (Empire & OneTouch Theatres, Eden Court, Inverness, 19-20 June 2009)
    
23 June 2009

FIONA MACKENZIE is heartened by the prospects for the future incursion of Gaelic music into the mainstream

NÒS ÙR, or New Style, is the name given to the weekend event celebrating the minority languages of Celtic Europe and the growing numbers of singers and bands performing in those minority languages. A partnership between GoEvents and Anam Communications, the event is in its second year and is one of a series of international song contests in Europe, designed to highlight the fragility and cultural worth of these minority tongues.

The final will be held in 2010 and it is hoped that this major event will also take place in Inverness. I had the opportunity to experience different elements of the Festival this year, both from a performers point of view and an audience member. Here are a few , I hope interesting, observations!

Friday afternoon saw myself in the Eden Court restaurant meeting the Gaelic youth vocal harmony group Fionnar, who were performing that evening, as the Scottish representatives in the Nòs Òg, or ‘Young Style’ strand of the weekend. In contrast to the Saturday nights entertainment, Nòs Òg is entirely non-competitive and designed to showcase some of the best up-and-coming musical talent in the minority language countries – in this case, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

Fionnar were given the chance to premier the Gaelic songs they had written themselves over the past six months in their Sgoil Roc project, which gave them the opportunity to work with professional Gaelic writers and mainstream rock musicians to produce their own EP of new style Gaelic music. Their set of three songs, written about topics as diverse as Bebo, Facebook and the decline of minority languages when faced with celebrity news, made for a beautiful and arresting performance slot.

The Stilletoes from Wales are a self-described “pop punk rock” group and their set was indeed a stark contrast to Fionnar – demonstrating how far ahead of Gaelic the Welsh language is in terms of normalising mainstream music. Likewise, The Temporary from Ireland gave a different slant to the face of Youth Music from another Celtic nation.

The groups, although so entirely different, were all great examples to other young people of how to reach contemporary audiences with contemporary issues and styles. Fionnar’s nerves were not helped by the fact that a team from the BBC Rapal” music show tailed them during the afternoon…

Saturday morning saw me attend a music industry seminar at Eden Court to discuss the topic “To be successful you have to sing in English”. This seminar was run in conjunction with the Voices of the West conference which also took place within Eden Court. The seminar did indeed provoke a lively discussion amongst the few who attended, and the emerging agreement was that the topic could be answered by the question “depends on what you define as success…..”

The afternoon saw me make a swift departure to sing with Inverness Gaelic Choir in the Inverness Provincial Mod (who won the main competition of the afternoon against stiff opposition from Dingwall Gaelic Choir). The tartan stilletoes were much admired but had to be removed before the evening stint…

The main event of the weekend was the competition element, which took place in the Empire Theatre but could perhaps have filled the OneTouch more effectively. Opened with a Gaelic song by Inverness choral group Canntaireachd, and compered by actor Tony Kierney and singer/songwriter Karine Polwart, the programme consisted of ten bands and singers from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Brittany and Cornwall who had all battled it through the selection rounds to represent their countries.

I doubt whether a more diverse selection of styles could be found anywhere else in the world. From Gaelic rock, Breton rap, traditional Ulster Scots, Cornish punk to Gaelic punk, we were given the gamut of musical and cultural innovation.

In a noticeable departure, the Scottish Gaelic entries were much more upbeat and contemporary than last year when the entries, whilst of a very high standard of musicality and style within their genre, were much less ‘nòs ur’. Mary Ann Kennedy certainly provided audience members with a style rather different from her usual but she looked and sounded equally at home as a “rock chick” rather than oa “Rodel Chick”… .

After the voting process which, in true Eurovision style had its technical difficulties, the winners of the house and web vote were announced as Stornoway band Sunrise Not Secular, which delighted the teenage girls from Canntaireachd. Sunrise” have been gradually establishing themselves as the front runners in new wave Gaelic rock music and they, together with Irish singer Fiach, go forward to represent their respective languages at the Liet Lavlut 2009 final in Friesland in October.

Nòs Ur is expected to move elsewhere in 2010 but here is no doubt that wherever the host country is next year, they will have learned from the experiences of Inverness organiser Brian Ó hEadhra, who himself participated in the event in Europe a few years ago. It is encouraging to see the diversity of the minority cultures and the strength of feeling, particularly amongst the young performers who are passionately proud and defensive of their languages.

There may be a long way to go until the mainstream totally accepts a minority language as chart material, but with young bands such as we saw in Inverness this weekend, we can be hopeful that it will come eventually.

© Fiona MacKenzie, 2009
Links

    * Nòs Ùr
    * Fiona MacKenzie

Last Saturday night two young acts were chosen to represent the Celtic & Scots languages at the Liet International Song Competition for European minority languages.  Ten acts from the various Celtic and Scots languages travelled from far and wide to Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Scotland, to perform in front of an enthusiastic audience.  The event was also broadcast live over the internet.

The live audience as well as the global internet audience voted for their favourite act and ultimately chose the young Isle of Lewis rock act Sunrise Not Secular singing their song Lasair an t-Oidhche (Flame of the Night) in Scottish Gaelic.  Lead vocalist, David Nicolson said David said "Nòs Ùr was one of the most incredible experiences to date for Sunrise Not Secular.  Winning the vote was incredibly humbling, a great victory for the Gaelic language and a testament to the fans' overwhelming support. We couldn't be happier."

Five independent jury members, representing the various language groups, decided to give the jury winners prize to the respected Dublin singer-songwriter Fiach who's song was titled Sea Táim (So I) in Irish Gaelic.

The event was hosted by TV star Tony Kearney and acclaimed singer-songwriter Karine Polwart who enthralled the audience after the intermission with her own newly composed song in the Scots tongue.

Micheal Russell MSP, the Minister for Culture, External Affairs & The Constitution, gave a rousing speech at the prize-giving stating “In Scotland, we need to make sure, in every circumstance, that Gaelic and Scots is spoken, particularly on stage, in music, for audiences who wish to hear it.  The songs you heard tonight are a celebration of all the Celtic and Scots language nations.”

Event organiser, Brian Ó hEadhra said “Nòs Ùr grows year on year and the positive feedback from the audience and artistes has been incredible.  The event challenges old fashioned notions some folk have about minority language speakers and we aim to demonstrate that there is a vibrant and healthy future for our indigenous languages.”

This weekend Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, will be a hive of Celtic and Scots language activity with a number of events celebrating new song-writing and developments in these ancient tongues.

The main event is Nòs Ùr on Saturday night which is a new song competition for all the Celtic and Scots languages.  There are ten selected acts travelling to Inverness who will perform a diverse range of music from rock, rap, pop and folk.  The local Gaelic youth group Canntaireachd will perform before the competition and Michael Russell MSP, Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution, will be present to officially launch the competition.  The MC's for the evening are acclaimed singer-songwriter Karine Polwart (who will also perform with Kim Edgar after the intermission) and television star Tony Kearney.

For those who are not lucky enough to be able to be present at the competition, Nòs Ùr will be broadcast live over the internet from 7:30pm British Summer Time.  www.nos-ur.eu.  The audience  will be able to vote in the hall and the public will be able to vote online.  These results will be combined to select the public winners of Nòs Ùr.  An international jury will select the jury winners of the competition who, along with the public winners, will perform at the pan-European minority language song competition – Liet International, in Friesland in October.  Entry to Nòs Ùr is free for under 16's.

On Friday night three teenage bands have been chosen to play at Nòs Òg which showcases young up-and-coming acts.  They are Fionnar from the Highlands of Scotland singing in Scots Gaelic, The Stilletoes from North Wales singing in Welsh and The Temporary from the west of Ireland singing in Irish Gaelic.  This event starts at 7:30pm is free entry.

To augment the Nòs Òg and Nòs Ùr events on Saturday morning there will be a music industry panel discussion controversially titled: “Do you have to sing in English to be successful?”  Start time 11:30am at Eden Court.

Event organiser Brian Ó hEadhra says: “We are very excited about this second year of Nòs Ùr.  We have added the Nòs Òg event as well as the industry discussion and there has been a lot of interest from home and abroad.  There really is something for all the family at this hugely entertaining event.”

Finally, on Saturday (daytime) in Eden Court, UHI Millennium Institute is hosting a  conference called Voices of the West with the theme “Politicising Minority Languages”.  This will draw senior academics and language enthusiasts from far and wide.  The keynote speakers are: Michael Russell MSP, Minister for Culture, External Affairs, and the Constitution; Lesley Riddoch, presenter on BBC Radio Scotland; Dr Mike Cormack, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI; Prof. Kenneth MacKinnon, University of Aberdeen.

Ends.


Note to Editors:

Entry into Nòs Òg and the panel discussion is free of charge.  Under 16's get free entry to Nòs Ùr; over 16's entry is £8.00.  Tickets can be booked from Eden Court Box Office 01463 234234 or online at www.eden-court.co.uk

Nòs Ùr and Nòs Òg are staged by goEvents (in association with Anam Communications) which promotes and develops creative arts in the Highlands and Islands.

Nòs Ùr and Nòs Òg are supported by:
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Highland Council, Colmcille, Scottish Arts Council, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Inverness Common Good Fund, Udaras na Gaeltachta.

The acts performing at Nòs Ùr are:
Àdhamh MacLeòid.     Language: Scots.         Song: Jist The Graith
Fiach.                             Language:     Irish.                 Song: Sea Táim
Iwan B.                         Language: Breton.         Song: Fulenn
Malachy Duffin.             Language: Ulster Scots.     Song: I Dinnay Gie a Hoot
Mary Ann Kennedy.     Language: Scots Gaelic.     Song: Mise Fhuair
Na Gathan.                     Language: Scots Gaelic.     Song: Claigeann Damien Hirst
Phil Innes & Josie Boucharde. Language: Cornish. Song: Kernewek Ov Vy
Sunrise Not Secular.     Language: Scots Gaelic.     Song: Lasair An t-Oidhche
Masters in France.         Language: Welsh.         Song: Y Rhai Gwyllt
Enda Reilly.                 Language: Irish.         Song: Mol an Aimsir


See sites:
www.nos-ur.eu
www.anamcommunicaitons.com
www.goevents.info
www.eden-court.co.uk

NEWS RELEASE

Issued: Wednesday 20 May 2009

For immediate use

CELTIC TEEN BANDS TO PERFORM SHOWCASE CONCERT AT EDEN COURT

Next month three young bands from Scotland, Ireland and Wales are to perform in their own languages at a showcase concert at the One Touch Theatre in Eden Court, Inverness.  The concert is on the 19 June and acts as the opening event to the Nòs Ùr Celtic & Scots languages song competition which has 10 musical acts hoping to win a place at the pan-European minority language song competition – Liet International, in Friesland, Netherlands in October.  

“The teen event, called Nòs Òg – meaning 'young style' in Scottish Gaelic aims to encourage young people to perform in their own languages as well as expose their music to a wider audience” states event director Brian Ó hEadhra.  “There is a wealth of talented youngsters out there making music and we hope that this event will demonstrate that writing & singing in your indigenous language is a positive, worthwhile experience for young artistes.”

The three bands chosen to play at Nòs Òg are Fionnar from the Highlands of Scotland singing in Scots Gaelic, The Stilletoes from north Wales singing in Welsh and The Temporary from the west of Ireland singing in Irish Gaelic.  Each act has written their own music and hope to impress the audience with their contemporary approach to writing songs in their own languages.  

Fiona J. Mackenzie who has been developing the Scots Gaelic group Fionnar for the past few years says “the group are really looking forward to performing at Nòs Òg and meeting the other acts.  If fits in well with a project we are currently working on called Sgoil Roc which encourages young singers to write their own new and contemporary Gaelic song.”

To augment the Nòs Òg and Nòs Ùr events, there will be a music industry panel discussion on the Saturday morning of the 20 June at Eden Court which will talk about the practicalities and possibilities for groups performing in their native tongue.  

Brian Ó hEadhra concludes “We are encouraging students from schools, colleges and anyone interested in languages and new music to attend these exciting events.  Last year's event was a great success and we anticipate this year to grow even bigger through both a local and live internet audience.”

Entry into Nòs Òg and the panel discussion is free of charge.  Under 16's get free entry to Nòs Ùr; over 16's entry is £8.00.  Tickets can be booked from Eden Court Box Office 01463 234234 or online at www.eden-court.co.uk

Ends.


Note to Editors:

Nòs Ùr and Nòs Òg are staged by goEvents (in association with Anam Communications) which promotes and develops creative arts in the Highlands and Islands.
It is supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Highland Council, Colmcille, Scottish Arts Council, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, MG Alba, Inverness Common Good Fund, Udaras na Gaeltachta.


See sites:
www.nos-ur.eu
www.anamcommunicaitons.com
www.goevents.info
www.eden-court.co.uk

Ten finalists singing in various Celtic and Scots languages have been chosen by jury to perform at this year’s Nòs Ùr song competition in Inverness in June.  

Nòs Ùr, meaning 'new style' in Gaelic, is a Celtic and Scots language competition which will see performers vying for the honour to perform at a grand European final - Liet International minority languages song competition in The Netherlands in October.  First they must win the regional final being held on June 20th at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness, Scotland. Judging is done by experts and via public vote on the night and on the internet.

Event organiser Brian Ó hEadhra said: "The number and diversity of submissions was amazing.  We received songs in Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scots, Ulster Scots, Welsh, Cornish, and Breton.  

“People often think that songs sung in these languages have to be folk or traditional in nature but this competition challenges this preconception.  We have all styles of music in the final including rock, pop, rap and acoustic from singers and bands across the Celtic and Scots regions.

“I think anyone who comes along on the night will be blown away at the level of musicianship and professionalism of the bands.  It certainly gives the Eurovision and the X Factor a run for their money!  

“A new aspect of the competition, in this its second year, is that under 16’s get in to the event for free.  This is to attract a young audience and hopefully encourage them to start writing in their native tongue, whether it be Gaelic, Scots or whatever. 

Other related events on the day will include a conference on minority languages hosted by UHI Millennium Institute, and a number of music industry workshops for teenage bands singing in minority languages.

The event is being staged by goEvents which promotes and develops creative arts in the Highlands and Islands. It is supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Highland Council, Colmcille, Scottish Arts Council, Bòrd na Gàidhlig and MG Alba.

The finalists for Nòs Ùr 2009 are:

Àdhamh MacLeòid. Language: Scots. Song: Jist The Grain
Fiach. Language: Irish. Song: Sea Táim
Iwan B. Language: Breton. Song: Fulenn
Malachy Duffin. Language: Ulster Scots. Song: I Dinnay Gie a Hoot
Mary Ann Kennedy. Language: Scots Gaelic. Song: Mise Fhuair
Na Gathan. Language: Scots Gaelic. Song: Claigeann Damien Hirst
Phile Innes & Josie Boucharde. Language: Cornish. Song: Kernewek Ov Vy
Sunrise Not Secular. Language: Scots Gaelic. Song: Lasair An t-Oidhche
Masters in France. Language: Welsh. Song: Y Rhai Gwyllt
Enda Reilly. Language: Irish. Song: Mol an Aimsir  

All songs can be heard on the Nòs Ùr myspace site: www.myspace.com/nosur

Ends.

Call for new songs for the 6th edition of minority language song contest Liet International in Ljouwert, The Netherlands

On Saturday October the 31st 2009 the Frisian capital of Ljouwert (Dutch: Leeuwarden) will host the sixth edition of the European minority language song contest Liet International, the one and only songcontest for singers and bands who sing in a European minority language. The organisation therefore calles upon bands, singers and cultural organisations throughout Europe to submit new songs in minority languages for the sixth edition of our songcontest. The song contest will consist of 10 to 11 singers or bands who represent European regions where a minority language is being spoken and sung. The song contest will take place in city theatre De Harmonie, one of the largest theatres of the Netherlands. Bands or artists are invited to send in newly composed music and lyrics in any of the lesser used, regional or minority languages in Europe until the 1st of May 2009. The organisation of Liet Lavlut will announce the selection of the songs for the final in June.  

In previous contests, we have had songs in languages such as Basque, Breton, Catalan, Cornish, Corsican, Frisian, Friulian, Gaelic, Galician, Manx, Mordvinian, Northfrisian, Occitan, Romani, Sámi, Sorbian, Votian and Welsh. The Sámi have won the festival the last three times, but the last edition in Luleå, in Swedish Lapland, was won by the Corsican singer Jacques Culioli.

Liet International, a Frisian initiative, collaborates closely with various other song contests in minority languages throughout Europe such as the Frisian songcontest Liet 2009, the Sámi Grand Prix in Kautokeino, Norway and last but not least Nos Ur, the first Celtic & Scottish songcontest in Inverness. The winners of these events automatically qualify for Liet International. Songs submitted to us in one of the languages of these songcontests will be immediately forwarded to our partners. This means e.g. that Liet International will forward a Breton entry to our Celtic partner Nos Ur. However, entries in other minority languages from France, such as Corsican and Occitan, are most welcome and will be considered seriously. We see the other songcontests as semi-finals of Liet International. 

All in all the semi-finals send 5 to 7 bands to Liet International. This means that we have 4 to 6 open places for bands who sing in other minority languages in Europe. The selection process is done by a small and completely independant selection jury in late May 2008. Qualification criteria for the committee are the following: quality and uniqueness of song and music, languistic, geographical and musical diversity, gender and age.

The lyrics and music should be new or newly written and composed, socalled traditionals are not accepted. Send your songs on a CD to the address below. A committee comprising musicians representing all partners of Liet International will select the 4-6 best songs to go forward to the song contest. Qualification criteria for the committee are the following: quality and uniqueness of song and music, language, geographical spread, gender and age.

The singers/groups chosen will be invited to take part in the contest. Liet International encourages participants to seek financial support for the travels expenses from the nation they represent. We take care of hotel and living expenses.

Two prizes are awarded: one voted for by the international jury and the other voted for by the public. The panel of judges comprises a representative from each participating region. It is also our intention to arrange a live broadcast on the radio and the internet, which offers listeners the possibility to vote by SMS-text or on the internet. Of course the audience in the concert hall will be also be able to vote.

Liet International will be registered for television.Liet International usually attracts a lot of media attention. 

Liet International is organised by Foundation Liet International in collaboration with its international partners Arlef (Udine, Italy), Nos Ur (Inverness, Scotland) and Sweblul (Stockholm, Sweden).

Liet International is supported and sponsored by e.g. the Provinsje Fryslân, the Municipality of Ljouwert/leeuwarden Luleå municipality as well as a number of other sponsors.

Please let us have your songs not later than May 1.

Send you songs on CD to Liet International in Ljouwert (Leeuwarden). For the submission of other details please use the form on our website http://www.liet.nl. We kindly ask you to approach our form with the explorer. Unfortunately our form does not work well with other browsers.

For more information and in case of queries, please send your questions to: 
submit@liet.nl

Adress to send a CD with the song you want to submit:
Liet International
c.o. Onno Falkena
Huzum Doarp 
NL 8934 BS LJOUWERT 
The Netherlands
e-mail: submit@liet.nl

We have put on The Event page the winning song by Jacques Culioli (Corsica) in Liet Lavlut 2008.  I'm sure you will agree that he and the band were worthy winners. 

The closing date for accepting entries for Nòs Ùr - The Celtic & Scots Languages Song Competition is Saturday 28th February (i.e. the end of this month!).  

Languages welcome:

Brezhoneg - Breton
Cymraeg - Welsh
Gaeilge - Irish
Gaelg - Manx
Gàidhlig - Scottish Gaelic
Kernewek - Cornish
Scots (from Shetland to the Borders)
Ullans - Ulster Scots

It is free to enter (one entry per artist) and if chosen to perform at the final in Inverness on 20 June, you will receive a travel grant and accommodation.  

To submit an entry please visit www.nos-ur.eu and download an application form.  Once you have filled this out please return to b.oheadhra@gmail.com along with an mp3 of your song as well as the lyrics and a translation into English.  Postal submissions are also welcome. 

Please pass this message on to anyone you think may be interested.  Good luck!