|
|
|
Picture by John Haxby |
John Morran
Vocals/Guitar |
| With his richly expressive, subtly poignant voice, John
Morran is widely recognised as his generation's leading exponent of
Scots song. Hailing originally from the Ayrshire ex-mining community
of Muirkirk, with the nearest town in any direction being ten miles
away, the village remains a stronghold of the Lowland Scots language
which inspires much of John's singing, whether in Burns ballads or
contemporary compositions from the region. In January 2000 he performed
with Sheena Wellington (who sang at the opening of the first Scottish
Parliament in nearly 300 years) in the BBC’s celebration of
Scotland’s National Poet, Robert Burns. He is a featured artist
in Dr. Fred Freeman’s prestigious “Songs of Robert Burns”
and “Songs of Robert Tannahill” series. Over the past
seven years he has performed and recorded as a guest player with internationally
acclaimed Scottish singer-songwriter and fiddle player, Dougie MacLean.
He has played in the Aileen Carr band, teaming up with Stuart Morison
and Iain MacInnes (both Ossian) to provide accompaniment for this
highly respected traditional singer, and formed a song-based trio
called Raverie with Steve Byrne (Malinky) and Chris Wright (ex-Kick).
Teaming up with Fred Freeman and Marc Duff (ex-Capercaillie), 2001
to 2002 saw a series of Burns workshops in every school of East Ayrshire
(nearly 60 in total) and he regularly performs the Songs of Robert
Burns with Wendy Weatherby, Sandy Brechin, Angus Lyon, Marc Duff and
Fred Freeman. He recently added new strings to his bow by producing
the Malinky albums “3 Ravens”and “The Unseen Hours”
and has adjudicated at the New Song competition at the Newcastleton
Festival in the Scottish Borders. In 2007 John will release an album
of songs from his home village. He has set music to poems written
by local authors whose collective lifespan ranges from 1721 to the1980s.
The album is called “Garan Sang”, Garan being the original
name of Muirkirk, and is produced by John McCusker (ex-Battlefield
Band). This project has been the recipient of a Creative Artistes
Bursary from the Scottish Arts Council.
|
|
