Aberdeenshire musician Fiona Soe Paing’s avant-folk compositions have been hailed by punk icon Iggy Pop.
Former The Stooges front-man Pop praised Soe Paing’s material as “advanced and beautiful” when playing tracks from her album Sand, Silt, Flint on his BBC Radio Six Music show.
Sand, Silt, Flint combines traditional song with experimental electronic production to explore the folk tales and landscapes of North East Scotland.
Soe Paing will perform tracks from the mesmerising project at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen on Friday, February 28.
She said: “Shortly after the album came out I had an article in The Guardian.
“Iggy Pop is seemingly a Guardian reader and read the article then played a couple of my tracks on his BBC Radio Six Music show.
“It was such a thrill.
“BBC Radio Six Music also made a wee promo video with a picture of my album cover and Iggy talking about it.”
Sand, Silt, Flint is a unique twist on tradition with its contemporary reworking of traditional North East ballads.
Melding electronic and traditonal music
Each track is linked to a specific location in the North East and its story.
Sand, Silt, Flint includes contributions from some of the North East’s leading musicians.
They are Paul Anderson (fiddle), Alice Allen (cello) and Joanna Nicholson (clarinet).
Also performing on the album are Irene Watt (clarasch), David McKay (drums) and sound artist Thee Manual Labour.
The Aberdeen show will meld live vocals, electronica and archive recordings with traditional Scottish instrumentation.
Evocative films from artist Isla Goldie will accompany Soe Paing’s live voice and music during the show.
Soe Paing said: “The music is a cross between traditional folk ballads from the North East and electronic music.
“I previously did purely electronica.
“However, when I returned to Scotland after a lot of travelling I wanted to get back to my roots a bit more.
“So I started combining Scottish music with the ambient electronic music I had been doing.
“As I don’t have a band I didn’t want to stand on stage on my own so I teamed up with Isla Goldie who is an amazing photographer.
“Isla has done a whole set of videos to go with each song.
“So it is more like a cross between a live gig and a film.”
Sand, Silt, Flint was sparked by Soe Paing’s discovery she is related to one of the region’s original ballad singers, John Strachan.
Tracks linked to specific locations
Strachan was the first singer to record the legendary ballad The Bonnie Lass O’ Fyvie
Locations linked to the album’s tracks include Bennachie, Inverboyndie Beach, Auchindoun Castle and Gardenstown/Portsoy.
There are also tracks linked to Forvie National Nature Reserve, Udny Green, The Lecht, Fyvie and Forglen.
The album is also presented via geo located sound-walks in the Echoes mobile app.
This allows listeners to experience the music in the environments that inspired it
Soe Paing said: “It really came about when you were only allowed to go out to walk for an hour every day during the Covid lockdown.
“I would put on my headphones to listen to a playlist and go stomping around.
“There were limited places you could go so I went to Banff beach a lot and also Forglen Estate and Fyvie.
“Being able to get outside and walk while blasting music was the highlight of the day and allowed me to destress.
“I had started to dabble in writing electronic versions of Scottish ballads.
“I thought it would be great to somehow incorporate music with walking and my project.
“With the Echoes app when you come to a zone linked to one of my maps it will trigger the audio.
“I have a walk for each song.”
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