Matheu Watson & Luke Daniels, commissioned by Gael Music
About the commission
An outstanding international quartet representing four countries from the Commonwealth; Scotland, England, Canada and Australia. The project explores the many drove roads or tracks set deeply into the Scottish countryside and the long-vanished trade of Scottish cattle-droving through it’s hardy highland cattle drovers and their wider connections to the New World.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to explore what for me is a fascinating subject and to work alongside Matheu who, as a Gaelic speaker from the North of Scotland, has strong a connection to the highland drovers and their routes that still exist close to where he grew up.” Luke Daniels
“Gael Music is delighted to be selected for New Music Biennial, we aim to musically celebrate the original ethos behind the Commonwealth through some of its earliest adventures and beneficiaries. Hardy-highlandlers who took traditional arts handed down from generations and used them to shape the economics of the New World.” Gael Music
More about the composers
Matheu Watson
Since the age of sixteen, award-winning multi-instrumentalist Matheu Watson has clocked up thousands of air and road miles in touring, contributed to more than twenty albums and appeared on television and radio alongside some of the UK’s greatest musicians. Matheu began playing fiddle at the age of nine and soon afterwards taught himself to play guitar and whistle. He is now the master of more than twenty instruments.
Although only in his early twenties Mathue already has formidable body of work already behind him, including two critically acclaimed solo CDs.
Luke Daniels
Luke Daniels is a contemporary composer and songwriter coming from a background of folk and traditional music, though he is most widely known as a button accordionist. Since winning the BBC Young Tradition Award in 1992 he has worked with The English National Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Riverdance the Show and The London Philharmonic Orchestra.
His educational projects for young people are run through his charity Gael Music and supported by Arts Council England, Youth Music and PRS for Music Foundation. Solo projects include Histories Rhyme, Lost Music of the Gaels and Islands with performances in the Royal Festival Hall, at the London Jazz festival and for BBC Belfast’s Blackstaff sessions and on Radio 3’s In Tune programme. He performs regularly with Cara Dillon and recently played on the soundtrack of the new Hobbit movie.
