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Mary's Meals Music, Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Friday 29th october 2010

Maryís Meals and Celtic Connections present a very special one-off gig featuring a top line-up of Scottish musicians taking to the stage to raise awareness for the work of the charity. Jon Fratelli, Eddi Reader, Colin MacIntyre, Tommy Reilly and Roddy Hart will appear in Maryís Meals Music, with more special guests still to be announced!

Maryís Meals feed over 412,000 of the worldís poorest children each school day in 15 countries, feeding and educating the needy so they can lift themselves out of poverty as adults. The price of the ticket is the same as the annual cost of feeding 2 children in Malawi, and all proceeds from the concert will go to the charity.

Box Office: 0141 353 8000; www.glasgowconcerthalls.com

1 April 2008

Hi y'all

At last we have officially launched the new album. I know many of you already have copies through the website, but for those of you that have not I do hope you enjoy it. It has been a tough one to get right for many reasons, both personal and professional but we are very pleased with it and I feel it kinda sums up the last few years of working together. Ewen, Che and Chimp have become a solid backline and the album is hugely groove based as a result. That and the fact that the frontline lads are sounding more 'gelled' than ever ( I LOVE the instrumentals on this album) I think makes for a great sound. The songs come in the main from the School of Scottish Studies (asides from John Martyn's "Don't You Go" and Donald's "Soldier Boy") and we've had a ball researching and learning them. The full texts and translations should be up on our website by the time you read this. Karen from the office should be able to print the upcoming gigs by the end of this week too, to keep you up to speed. We're off to Kuala Lumpur for gigs in May if any of you fancy a wee Indonesian trip! Played in Jakarta a few years back and then went on to Bali for a wee break - wow, amazing place, food, people, attitude, so looking forward to being in that part of the world again. I'm doing a concert with the SCO in the very fabulous Kilberry studio where I recorded íDownriverí and also playing for the 'Burns and a' that' festival again in Ayr - both in May. Festivals throughout the summer as ever and Iím doing a solo tour of UK in October. Working with James at the moment on some new material, so will be airing that then. Charlie's new album with Session A9 is out now and is fab, so if you donít already have it - go get!! Mike is about to go into the studio with Donald to start a new album too, so things never really slow down in the life of the Caper!

Hope the Easter bunny was good to you and that the extra hour of daylight inspires! We spent Easter weekend snowed in, in a magical lodge at the head of Loch Glass. Spectacular scenery, lovely walks in the crisp winter sunshine and thankfully a thaw before the whisky ran dry!

Shall pop in again soon. As always, thanks for your support.

Le durachdan

Karen xx

4 January 2008

Well here we are again, my annual apology for not messaging you guys more often!

It's been a strange year, full of highs and lows and we were very disappointed not to be able to deliver the new album in time for the tour. It is however, in the final stages of mixing and sounds fantastic! Really looking forward to Celtic Connections and getting the chance to play even more of the new material from it. The British tour saw lots of great gigs and we managed to air much of it then, but still have a few gems up our sleeve for the Fruitmarket gig on the 2nd Feb!

The strangest places surprise you on these tours, and one of the highlights for me was Morecambe. Who would have thought anybody would want to hear Celtic music in a seaside resort such as this, but the atmosphere was brilliant, and the sound was particularly good allowing us to deliver the material the way we want to with plenty dynamics. London was fun, as the venue was beautiful, complete with xmas trees, but the sound was diabolical and in these situations you really feel you are performing blind. The audience were brill again though, something to do with it being 'St Andrew's' night maybe? Many more good gigs too, and Manchester still to come in February as the reschedule of one of the cancellations.

Had fun doing Phil's xmas songbook again this year in Edinburgh with Eddi Reader, John McCusker and Kris Drever. Big success and hoping to extend it to Glasgow next year - it's a lovely way of relaxing and finding the spirit of xmas when you are bogged down with shopping, cooking, cleaning etc!

The official Capercaillie myspace page should be up and running by the time you read this, and there are two tracks to whet your appetite before the album is released. It will be in a basic form at the moment, but we have more to add to it when organised.

Can I just thank you guys AGAIN for your loyalty and support over the last year and here's hoping you have all had a beautiful, peaceful xmas and that the new year brings good things!

Bliadhna mhath ur

Karen xxxxxx

14 August 2007

www.whfp.com/

24 April 2007

Have just spent a wonderful 4 days up at Crear in Kilberry (where I recorded Downriver) rehearsing like fury. When Donald suggested we all go there to work out some new material I have to say I had my reservations. No pub, no telly nothing but sheep, and the ocean, and views of Jura and Ireland, and food to die for, and peace and tranquility! My idea of paradise, but thought the lads would get cabin fever pretty quickly. I was wrong and the atmosphere was amazing, the creative juices were flowing ( or was that the wine!). Anyway we managed to put together 17 new numbers, and more to come. Donald had spent some time at the school of Scottish Studies in Edinburgh doing some research and writing, and then him and I went over to Donegal to do some prep with Manus - (working holiday, beautiful trips to the beach with the kids). We are now planning the next stage in Glasgow for some serious recording in the next few weeks and hopefully the whole process will be quicker this time as we plan to create as much of a live sound as possible, as that is where we feel our forte is at at the moment. I will keep you posted of our progress and meanwhile here are some pics for your perusal.

Le durachdan

Karen xxxx
The beach @ Donegal

The beach @ Donegal

Capercaille playing in Bercy - this show was filmed and will be released.

5 December 2006

Donald was the recipient of the 2006 Scots Trad Music Composer of the Year award at Saturday's ceremony. Thanks to everyone who voted for him. More information can be found at handsupfortrad.co.uk

Capercaillie are about to start recording a brand new album for release summer 07. There will be a full UK tour in support of the CD in October/November 2007, dates are currently being confirmed.

Karen has posted a new message on her website - check www.karenmatheson.com.

2 November 2006

Apologies for the lack of news.

Donald has been nominated in the music section of the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards which is great! We'd love it if you could go to the website and vote for him. Full details at http://uk.glenfiddich.com/events/spirit-of-scotland/2006-awards.html. Thanks!

15 February 2006

Congratulations to Michael McGoldrick for winning the accolade of Musician of the Year at the BBC Radio 2, 2006 Folk Awards. Well deserved!

Capercaillie have a few dates coming up in Scotland and Ireland (see the tour page for details). They will be going into the studio in the spring to record a new CD for a autumn release. This will be followed by a full UK tour.

10 January 2006

Bliadhna mhath ur!

I can't go on without mentioning the strangest phenomenon of 2005/6 - yes ..... the O. B. E!!! Officer of the Order of the British Empire!
WOW!!!!

When the letter came through the post mid November I actually thought it was something to do with a grant for re-roofing our house which I had enquired about. The document looked official and even although the lower right hand corner read "PRIME MINISTER", I didnt clock that till much later, It was addressed to Mrs Karen Shaw, a name until Hector started school I didn't even recognise, so I had no reason to believe it contained anything to do with work. I did, however rip it open, excited at the idea of not having to mop up yet another flood pouring through the light this winter and BLOW ME it was indeed from Downing Street and, well, the rest is history. I was gobsmacked, and all I could think was, How on earth could this be? I'm just a wee lassie fae Taynuilt that sometimes sings on the "Hugmanay" Show (which a taxi driver said to me once). Anyways, once I got over the initial shock, and accepted the fact that it was unlikely that Lizzie went around the Palace with Delirium on her I-pod, and was more likely to have been some kind of public vote,I felt so elated and proud. Proud for the band, for Donald, for gaelic culture, and for celtic music as a whole to be recognised in this way. To have been even a small part of this vibrant, exciting time in Celtic music, to have travelled the globe with it, to have met such wholly awesome musicians and to have had such a BALL! I feel lucky, priveledged and indeed humbled, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support, encouragement, enthusiasm and energy over the last 22 years. It is thanks to you all that we can continue our journey and honour what is the at the root of all this - A DAMN FINE TRADITION!!

God bless ya!

pogan mor, Karen xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

1 January 2006

Congratulations to Karen Matheson for being awarded OBE in the New Year's Honours list for her services to Scottish Music.

8 December 2005

Trad Music Awards.

Congratulations to Charlie McKerron for winning Composer of the Year in the Scottish Trad Music awards.

12 October 2005

Message from Karen

Hi guys, I am delighted to say that the album is now complete and winging its way to the pressing plant as I write this. It all started in June when we headed for Crear Studios in Kilberry. The most tranquil and beautiful environment I have ever recorded in. The views across to the sound of Jura were breathtaking and we knew on arrival that it was going to be a special few days. Donal Lunny had just flown in from Japan for the session and within a few hours we knew that we had made absolutely the right choice in inviting him to guest on the album. As I'm sure you all know, Donal has produced albums for Capercaillie in the past and myself and Donald have worked with him in France on the Heritage des Celtes project, but it was brilliant to start the songs from scratch and have his input in such an organic way - just sitting around singing them (he hadn't heard any of the tracks before arriving). Himself and Donald have always had a good working relationship, and very quickly James just slotted in and they were bouncing off each other (not literally) as if they had been playing together all their lives. I have to say James has played a blinder on this album also. There were some hilarious moments when he was heard to scream ìwhere the f*** is the one?î (the first beat!) Coming from a different genre of music, the unusual rhythms of the waulking songs were in his own words ìchallengingî at times. James Mac joined us for some brilliant percussion also, and AnnJanine (James G's wife and professional photographer) took some ace photos which will be added to my website shortly to let you see work in progress. The rest of the work was completed at PawPaw in Glasgow in between bouts of gigs and we brought in Aiden O' Rourke (excellent fiddler from near our home town of Oban) to play on three tracks. Our own Ewen added some subtly exquisite bass and the Scottish Ensemble weaved their magic through three tracks recorded at the Academy of Music.

All in all, it has been an absolute joy to work on and Donald has excelled as ever in the beautiful arrangements and immaculate production. He has worked tirelessly on this album and shown incredible patience at my rantings! I can't thank him enough and you guys for your support and enthusiasm. As I've said before I enjoy reading the message board and we are currently updating my own site so that you have access to info quicker. We have been remiss with it of late but that is about to change (honestly). I hope you enjoy the album as much as we enjoyed making it guys - it's for you! Leis gach deagh dhurachd Karen xxxx

7 September 2005

Vertical Records have 2 new releases in October both of which we're very excited about.

10 October: Michael McGoldrick "Wired" - the product of 3 years writing, recording, experimenting and perfecting his art, it is the natural successor to his seminal album ìFusedî from 2000,only even bolder and more captivating, incorporating alternative sounds into traditional music to create a brilliant fusion at the cutting edge of folk music that positively bursts with energy.

The musicians involved in realising this project read like a who's who of traditional music's great players from bands like Capercaillie, Flook! and Shooglenifty including Dezi Donnelly (fiddle), Ed Boyd (guitar), JonJoe Kelly (bodhran),Donald Shaw (keyboards), Ewen Vernal (bass), Parvinder Bharat (tabla), Neil Yates (trumpet), Manus Lunny (bouzouki) and James Mackintosh (drums). Also John McCusker (fiddle), Alison Brown (banjo) and the Scottish string ensemble bring their unique sound to the tracks.

Mike will be touring in support of this album, see tour dates for details.

14th November: Karen Matheson "Downriver" - The album is inspired by traditional songs she grew up with and reunites her are with Capercaillie's producer Donal Lunny who plays guitar, bouzouki and bodhran. The album is a mainly acoustic affair, leaving space for the voice which has mesmerized audiences throughout the world during her career. Recorded in the serene setting of Crear Studios on the West Coast of Argyll, the album evolved from live sessions with James Grant (guitar), James Mackintosh (percussion), Donald Shaw (piano/accordion), Ewen Vernal (double bass) and Donal Lunny.

12 July 2005

The re-release of Cascade has been postponed. We apologise for the delay - it is ready, however for contractual reasons the release has been held up. It will be out very soon however, so check back for details.

10 May 2005

Michael McGoldrick is putting the finishing touches to his new solo album due for release in September. Many of the same musicians from his greatly loved album "Fused" (Vertical's top-selling album) appear again on this project including Donald Shaw, Manus Lunny, Ewen Vernal, James MacKintosh, Ed Boyd & Dezzie Donnelly. Watch this space for free preview MP3 downloads.

Karen is also working on her long-awaited solo album on which she will be re-united with Capercaillie producer (of Secret People, Delirium and Sidewaulk), Donal Lunny, along with many other formidable musicians. Released October 2005 (honest!)

Capercaille's debut album, Cascade (from 1984!) will be re-released on CD with some interesting photos(!) on July 11th.

1st March 2005

Welcome to the new, revamped Capercaillie website!

As you will see, wee have had a complete re-design, with brand new photos and new biographies, but all the usual features including news, discography and the forum are still here.

The band celebrated their 20th anniversary with the release of the Grace and Pride double CD anthology last year, and it felt like a good time to update the site, especially now Vertical and Survival are co-hosting.

We hope you enjoy it and find it useful.

Anne-Marie Heighway (Survival)