James Graham
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| June 2004 Feature: James Graham |
The year 2004 got off to a memorable start for JAMES GRAHAM when the 23-year-old Gaelic singer from Lochinver scooped the Young Scots Traditional Musician of the Year Award in Glasgow. KENNY MATHIESON caught up with James in the throes of preparing to reap the rewards of his win. |
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JAMES GRAHAM became the first male as well as
the first singer to take the prestigious award at Celtic Connections in January,
and added a host of new admirers in the process. I had been alerted to his
qualities only the previous day, when he sang in a Gaelic Song concert at The
Piping Centre (appropriately enough, since that is his second instrument), and
it was no surprise when he won over the judges on the night. He looked calm
enough at the time, and confirmed that
impression.
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“I wasn’t nervous on the night, probably more so in
the lead up to it. On the night it didn’t really feel like a competition. It was
a very relaxed atmosphere, and most of the songs I was singing I had known for
years. I was really looking for variety more than anything when I picked
them.
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| “I decided that I was only going to sing. For the
semi-final the time was shorter, and I thought it would be better to concentrate
just on voice. A lot of people said to me I was making a mistake, that I should
play the pipes as well, but I had made my decision and I was happy with it.”
James’s aplomb in the face of competition should come as no surprise, given
that his introduction to public singing came via the competitions at the Mod. He
was nine when he had his first taste of the competitive
arena.
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“I wouldn’t say it was exactly compulsory at school,”
he laughed, “but Lochinver Primary have always done really well at the Mod, and
you were strongly encouraged in that direction! My parents encouraged me as
well, and I think I won whatever I was in for that year, and never looked
back.”
“Gaelic singing and Gaelic language is definitely something I feel I really
want to do, and would have done anyway, whether I had won the competition or
not.”
ALTHOUGH HIS MUM plays accordion and his dad is “a good singer, but not in
public”, neither were Gaelic speakers. Their parents were, however, and James
was aware of the tradition from an early age through the previous generation,
notably his great aunt, Seordag Murray.
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| “I remember hearing it at ceilidhs in the house from a
young age,” he recalled, “but I didn’t really take an interest until the Mod
came around.”
James studied with the great Kenna Campbell at the RSAMD in Glasgow, and
still has lessons with her. The Academy also provided valuable performance
opportunities.
“There wasn’t really much locally, other than village ceilidhs, but at the
Academy there were lots of concert opportunities, and we had the chance to play
in America and in Denmark as students.”
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| James is about to begin reaping the rewards of his
win, initially with an opportunity to perform at festivals in Canada, and
subsequently with the making of his debut recording for Foot Stompin’ Records in
Edinburgh. He is currently hard at work with his band, featuring James Ross on
piano, and Donald Brown on whistles, flutes, and step dance, (although, like
James, he also plays pipes).
“We’re really busy rehearsing for Canada – we are off on 1 July, and are
doing festivals in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Mission, so we have to get a set
together. We're not going to record until August, and it will be that band at
the core of it, and probably a few guests. We’re doing the record at Watercolour
Studios in Ardgour, and it’s all really exciting.”
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| Thereafter, James will be a student again for another
year, this time at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, where he will start the one year immersion
course in Gaelic language in October. I wondered if he felt any sense of
responsibility in advancing the cause of Gaelic song?
“Not really a sense of responsibility, I wouldn’t say, but Gaelic singing and
Gaelic language is definitely something I feel I really want to do, and
would have done anyway, whether I had won the competition or not.”
© Kenny Mathieson, 2004
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