Paul Maguire's Music
This recording is the result of a personal ambition to record a solo album. After a little over a year of occasional sessions in my studio, I have now seen that ambition become a reality and here it is.
It is called Dancers & Lights, which refers to the regular sightings here in Orkney of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. The Merry or Meerie Dancers is an Orcadian term for this amazing natural phenomenon and was the inspiration for the first two tracks, The Dancers and The Lights, two instrumental pieces I wrote here. The first track, The Dancers I wrote when I was visiting in 2017. I had also booked into a studio, Starling Studios to record a couple of tracks while I was here but ended up just recording the idea so I could work on it when I got back to Cambridge. I was so inspired by this curious and spectacular archipelago of islands I began house hunting as soon as I had returned and early the following year made to the move up.
The first thing on the list was to build a studio and for once there was plenty of space for one in the house rather than having to use an outbuilding. The house, Taftingus boasts 6 bedrooms and two lounges downstairs and I chose the smaller of the lounges for the studio. Minimal sound proofing was needed and settled for sound deadening. I met a few musicians pretty quickly, the drummer Adrian who fitted in recording sessions between jetting off around the world on tour with some of the world’s top rock artists. Then the bass player Tal who drives busses and is a local tour guide, and has already published albums of his own. Finally a friend told me about Abbie, a 19-year-old art student from the capital city of Kirkwall who was keen to do some vocal work.
The third track, Orca in the Flow refers to the regular visitor of orca to the area. The Flow, is Scapa Flow, one of the largest natural harbours in the world and a strategic area used by the navy in both world wars. It is surrounded by some of the 70 islands. Four of the islands are linked by the Churchill Barriers, which were built to block U Boats sneaking through following the sinking of the Royal Oak. From the mainland the first barrier takes you over to Lamb Holm. It is uninhabited but home to the famous Italian Chapel and an airstrip. The next barrier takes you over to Glimps Holm, another uninhabited island and across to the third barrier which takes you to Burray, an island with a population of around 400 and finally over barrier four to South Ronaldsay where I live with my partner Elaine and our two dogs. Our house Taftingus (the original name for the village St Margaret’s Hope) was where the laws of Orkney were once made. It stands in an acre of land with the ruins of the old blacksmith’s cottage on the front lawn. This became the Tar House when it was converted to melt tar for the lobster fishermen to dip their creels safeguarding them from the salt water.
The next three tracks are covers of another Cambridge band, Pink Floyd. The first, Wish You Were Here, was recorded live at Vertical Rooms with Martin Randle providing guitar and lead vocals and two friends from a band I played with for several years, Blue Haze who were well known in the area for their versions of Pink Floyd tracks. It was recorded live in the studio as part of a memorial project for a roadie who died trying to save his younger brother’s life. They both drowned. The next track I chose is Us & Them which is rather poignant of the division in the UK now and the last Floyd track is Coming Back To Life. When I first moved here it came to mind as I was walking the dogs in a beautiful deserted sandy bay. I felt as if I had come alive again after many difficult times back in Cambridge.
The last two tracks are self penned, Your Call, which although I am no singer, I decided to sing myself. It is about the unnecessary and unacceptable rise in homelessness in the UK. I wrote this for a festival a good friend ran. The Speakout Festival was created by Luigi De Martino who helped me at the beginning of my rock school years and sadly died shortly before I moved. I wondered what John Lennon might have written about the problem and it was written with him in mind.
Finally, Show’s Over. A song I wrote some years ago to close the rock school courses, performed by the instructors.
The album is available to buy as a CD with 8-page booklet or 12” vinyl with insert, and will also be available as a download eventually.
Please allow up to 10 working days for delivery.
For now, payment can be made with a cheque or postal order made out for £10 to Paul Maguire.
Failing that, good old fashioned currency via a brown envelope will suffice.
We'll respond with details of where to send payment to upon receipt of the order form.
Paul Maguire's Music
This recording is the result of a personal ambition to record a solo album. After a little over a year of occasional sessions in my studio, I have now seen that ambition become a reality and here it is.
It is called Dancers & Lights, which refers to the regular sightings here in Orkney of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. The Merry or Meerie Dancers is an Orcadian term for this amazing natural phenomenon and was the inspiration for the first two tracks, The Dancers and The Lights, two instrumental pieces I wrote here. The first track, The Dancers I wrote when I was visiting in 2017. I had also booked into a studio, Starling Studios to record a couple of tracks while I was here but ended up just recording the idea so I could work on it when I got back to Cambridge. I was so inspired by this curious and spectacular archipelago of islands I began house hunting as soon as I had returned and early the following year made to the move up.
The first thing on the list was to build a studio and for once there was plenty of space for one in the house rather than having to use an outbuilding. The house, Taftingus boasts 6 bedrooms and two lounges downstairs and I chose the smaller of the lounges for the studio. Minimal sound proofing was needed and settled for sound deadening. I met a few musicians pretty quickly, the drummer Adrian who fitted in recording sessions between jetting off around the world on tour with some of the world’s top rock artists. Then the bass player Tal who drives busses and is a local tour guide, and has already published albums of his own. Finally a friend told me about Abbie, a 19-year-old art student from the capital city of Kirkwall who was keen to do some vocal work.
The third track, Orca in the Flow refers to the regular visitor of orca to the area. The Flow, is Scapa Flow, one of the largest natural harbours in the world and a strategic area used by the navy in both world wars. It is surrounded by some of the 70 islands. Four of the islands are linked by the Churchill Barriers, which were built to block U Boats sneaking through following the sinking of the Royal Oak. From the mainland the first barrier takes you over to Lamb Holm. It is uninhabited but home to the famous Italian Chapel and an airstrip. The next barrier takes you over to Glimps Holm, another uninhabited island and across to the third barrier which takes you to Burray, an island with a population of around 400 and finally over barrier four to South Ronaldsay where I live with my partner Elaine and our two dogs. Our house Taftingus (the original name for the village St Margaret’s Hope) was where the laws of Orkney were once made. It stands in an acre of land with the ruins of the old blacksmith’s cottage on the front lawn. This became the Tar House when it was converted to melt tar for the lobster fishermen to dip their creels safeguarding them from the salt water.
The next three tracks are covers of another Cambridge band, Pink Floyd. The first, Wish You Were Here, was recorded live at Vertical Rooms with Martin Randle providing guitar and lead vocals and two friends from a band I played with for several years, Blue Haze who were well known in the area for their versions of Pink Floyd tracks. It was recorded live in the studio as part of a memorial project for a roadie who died trying to save his younger brother’s life. They both drowned. The next track I chose is Us & Them which is rather poignant of the division in the UK now and the last Floyd track is Coming Back To Life. When I first moved here it came to mind as I was walking the dogs in a beautiful deserted sandy bay. I felt as if I had come alive again after many difficult times back in Cambridge.
The last two tracks are self penned, Your Call, which although I am no singer, I decided to sing myself. It is about the unnecessary and unacceptable rise in homelessness in the UK. I wrote this for a festival a good friend ran. The Speakout Festival was created by Luigi De Martino who helped me at the beginning of my rock school years and sadly died shortly before I moved. I wondered what John Lennon might have written about the problem and it was written with him in mind.
Finally, Show’s Over. A song I wrote some years ago to close the rock school courses, performed by the instructors.
The album is available to buy as a CD with 8-page booklet or 12” vinyl with insert, and will also be available as a download eventually.
Please allow up to 10 working days for delivery.
For now, payment can be made with a cheque or postal order made out for £10 to Paul Maguire.
Failing that, good old fashioned currency via a brown envelope will suffice.
We'll respond with details of where to send payment to upon receipt of the order form.