Fiùran
Fiùran | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Ottawa, Canada |
| Genres | Metal,Hard Rock, Celtic Folk, Scottish Gàidhlig |
| Years active | 2016-present |
| Website | https://fiuran.com/ |
| Members | Gil Waugh Krista Grant Rik Livesey Stephen Dick (Drums) |
| Past members | Andrew Plant Dave Mandel Mike Wetmore Nathaniel Waugh Kimberley Dunn Murray Webster Stacey Matthews Olga Waugh |
Fiùran (Scottish Gaelic: Gàidhlig for “Sapling”) is a female-fronted Canadian Celtic hard rock band based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada known for writing, recording, and performing original and traditional songs in Scottish Gàidhlig and English using electric and traditional instruments (bagpipes, Irish whistles, fiddle, accordion) fused into rock arrangements.
The band, formed in 2016, has recorded 3 studio albums and won an Independent Music Award (IMA) for their song 10 Feet Tall (from album Faoinsgeulan)[1]. The group has been featured on several special hour long profile pieces on Celtica Radio in Wales, UK [2]CKCU FM in Ottawa, ON,Canada[3]and CFBX FM in Kamloops, BC, Canada and has dedicated fan-bases in several countries.
In 2018, Top40-Charts summed up the band by saying “Don’t be fooled; although their music is rooted in the traditional space, Fiùran demonstrates their genre-crossing ability with their big sound and clever integration of rock and traditional sounds, putting a heavier spin on what is normally considered to be a lighter genre. ” [4].
History[edit]
Fiùran was formed in the spring of 2016 as a project band to record an album of original material and compete in the 2016 JUNO awards. The core of the band was Randy Waugh, Steve Dick, and Dave Mandel, who had toured together in the late 1970s, and Krista Grant, with whom Randy had collaborated with throughout the 2000s, along with backup singers Stacey Matthews and Olga Waugh. Guitarist Zach Stuckey was hired.
Prior to recording their first album, the band decided to move forward with a leaner more straight-forward vocal sound and parted ways with Stacey Matthews and Olga Waugh.
Members[edit]
Fiùran’s original members brought a wealth of musical talent and experience to the band.
Gil Waugh (Randy Waugh)[edit]
Role: Bass, Bass Pedals, Great Highland Bagpipes, Scottish Small Pipes, Irish Whistles, Vocals, Songwriter/Composer/Author, Creative Director.
Randy originally formed Fiùran to fuse Scottish Highland music styles and instrumentation with hard rock. He has been a musician, composer and author associated with CAPAC (now SOCAN) since the mid 1970s. He won a gold medal at the US National Mòd in Ligonier, Pennsylvania for his poem “Nuair a bha mi òg” and his choir, Ar n-Òran, was invited to perform two of his original Scottish Gàidhlig compositions (Òran Feasgair and Cumha Oighrig) at the crowning of Lewis MacKinnon, the first Canadian to be crowned bard at the Royal National Mòd in Stornoway, Lewis, Scotland in 2011. (Associated acts: Sauron, System, McNaull & Brown, Elle, TWNJC, Ar n-Òran Gàidhlig Choir)
Stephen Dick[edit]
BMus Berklee College of Music, Boston in Performance (1980). Role: Drums and Percussion.
Associated Acts and accolades: Associated jazz acts at Roy Thomson Hall, The Toronto Jazz Festival, The Vancouver Jazz Festival, and the Beijing & Vancouver Olympics. He has performed with Michael Bublé (for Bill & Melinda Gates), Jeff Healey, John McDermott, Jackie Richardson, Jane Bunnett, Pat LaBarbera, Miles Black, and Gabriel Mark Hasselbach.
David Mandel[edit]
BMus Berklee College of Music Film Scoring and Performance (1980). Role: Piano and Keyboards, Arrangement.
Associated acts and accolades: Dave Mandel Trio (1988-2004) which was active in the Toronto Jazz scene and has appeared on many recording sessions. He is well known for his work in composing/arranging including: Scores Plus Music Productions, Music for CTV W5, CBC Mr. Dress up; Music for Sheridan Collage Animation Dept. (Cartoons), Arrangements for a host of Big Bands.
Krista Grant[edit]
Role: Lead and backing vocals, Fiddle, Great Highland Bagpipes, Irish Whistles, mixing engineer, film composition.
Associated acts and accolades: gained international recognition for singing in Scottish Gàidhlig and won gold medals at Mòd Chanada and the US National Mòd.
Zach Stuckey[edit]
Humber College Music Degree Program. Role: Guitars.
Associated acts and accolades: The National Youth Jazz Combo, the Toronto Jazz FM 91.1 Youth Big Band, Received an international Downbeat Magazine award for outstanding performance as well as the Jeff Healey award presented to a student at the end of the year for Humber's award ceremony.
Murray Webster[edit]
Keyboardist, Murray Webster (associated acts: Silver Zipper [Stony Plains Records]) was hired by the band, and filling out the line-up were drummer Mike Wetmore (associated acts: FIST, Shake the Ghost, One to One), guitarist Nathaniel Waugh, metal guitarist Pedro Remiz (associated acts: The Autist [Portugal]), and guitarist
Rik Livesey - Role: Guitarist, Composer.
Associated acts and accolades: Rockin' Horse, Intruder, Dorian Grey, Rush cover band Hemispheres, and was involved at Atkinson Film Arts and Crawley films working on projects such as Heavy Metal: The Movie [1981]).
Albums[edit]
Debut album[edit]
The band’s debut album, Faodail (Scottish Gàidhlig for “A Lucky Find”)[5] was recorded after the band was together for just 3 weeks and was released in September 2016 in time to be considered by the JUNO awards committee.
The album was recorded at Audio Valley Recording Studio (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) and was engineered and produced by Steve Foley (known for working with many high-profile JUNO and GRAMMY award winning artists and labels. Associated acts: Kellylee Evans, J-Cole, Flo Rida, Big Boi, Brock Zeman, The Cooper Brothers). The album was met with enthusiasm across domestic and international markets (notably, Brazil and Russia)but with little commercial success. It was launched publically at the Robert McGlaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, ON. [6]
Throughout 2016 and 2017, the Fiùran rehearsed in Kingson, Ontario and performed at an array of venues in Toronto and Ottawa. In the fall of 2017, the band decided to part ways between the Ottawa- and Toronto-based musicians due to changing life circumstances.
Krista and Randy decided to keep the spirit of the band together and moved forward by continuing to write new music and seeking out new band members to record Fiùran’s second studio album.
Second Album[edit]
Fiùran’s second studio album, Friochd (Scottish Gàidhlig for “A Second Drop”) was released in April 2018.[7] The album was recorded at Audio Valley Recording Studio and was engineered and produced by Steve Foley. The album was again met with domestic and international enthusiasm with increased press, internet streaming, and traditional radio play around the globe.
With the release of their second studio album and as a result of international uptake of their music, the band started talks with and was subsequently added to the roster of South American and European metal promoter Mathias Prill (associated acts: Slayer, The Ramones, Suicidal Tendencies, Sepultura, The Smiths, Nuclear Assault and more).
Third album[edit]
As the band prepared to write its third studio album and wanting to take the band in a heavier direction, the band parted ways with Murray Webster. Guitarist/Composer Rik Livesey was hired by the band. Fiùran’s third studio album, Faoinsgeulan (Scottish Gàidhlig for “Legends”) was released in July 2019.[8] The album was recorded at Audio Valley Recording Studio and was engineered and produced by Steve Foley. Fiùran hired Ottawa-based classical pianist/keyboardist Kimberley Dunn to play on a couple of tracks, and Steve Foley played drums on the tracks.
Late in 2019, Fiùran hired Ottawa-based drummer Andrew "Lou" Plant - Role: Drums and percussion, backing vocals. Associated acts: Monkey Rock, Big Band Ottawa and Machine Messiah).
Throughout 2019, the social themes and improving sound of the band resonated with listeners, including their song 10 Feet Tall which was nominated for and won a fan generated 2020 Independent Music Award (IMA, New York City) in the metal/hardcore category. In addition, Fiùran was invited to showcase a set of their music at Canadian Music Week (associated with the Canadian Music Hall of Fame) in Toronto in 2020.
Due to the international COVID-19 pandemic, all performances were moved to 2021, and the invitation from Canadian Music Week was extended to Fiùran for Canadian Music Week 2021. During the COVID-19 period, Fiùran recorded Live@Home videos and began work on new singles (tentative release dates starting in the Fall of 2020).
Discography[edit]
Studio Albums[edit]
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Faodail (A Lucky Find)
|
| 2018 | Friochd (A Second Drop)
|
| 2019 | Faoinsgeulan (Legends)
|
Singles[edit]
| Year | Single details |
|---|---|
| 2018 | An t-Sèine (The Chain - Fleetwood Mac cover)
|
Awards and recognition[edit]
- 2020 won an Independent_Music_Awards_(IMAs) award for 10 Feet Tall in the Metal/Hardcore category
- Fiùran was invited to perform at the 2020 Canadian_Music_Week festival in Toronto, Ontario. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the event has been postponed and they will appear in the 2021 lineup.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Fiùran wins 2020 IMA award for 10 Feet Tall in Metal/Hardcore category". Independent Music Awards. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
- ↑ "Fiùran featured with host Dave Cook in Profile on Celtica Radio, Wales, UK". Celtica Radio. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
- ↑ "Music from the Glen". CKCU FM, Ottawa. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
- ↑ "Canadian Celtic Rock Group Fiùran Releases A Wonderfully Refreshing & Haunting New Album". Top40-Charts.com. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
- ↑ "Fiùran, Faodail album review, Shorts". RnR Magazine Vol. 2, No. 68 (Joan Baez issue). Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ↑ ""Music, Culture, Love - Fiùran"". Robert McGlaughlin Gallery, Oshawa. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- ↑ "Fiùran, Friochd album review". RnR Magazine Vol. 2, No. 71 (The Proclaimers issue). Retrieved 2018-10-01.
- ↑ "Fiùran, Faoinsgeulan album review, page70". RnR Magazine Vol. 2, No. 79 (Peggy Seeger issue). Retrieved 2020-02-01.
