Borders folk duo showcase new album with series of concerts

Virtuoso duo Morag Brown and Lewis Powell-Reid recorded all the tracks of Auld Springs New at their home in Eddleston. Billed as ‘mesmerising arrangements of traditional music from the Borders to the Balkans’, their first public airing was at Bowden Village Hall earlier this month.

Over the following weeks they will play Eskdalemuir (August 24), Eddleston (September 1), and Jedburgh (November 24), with more performances in venues further afield. (Visit: moragandlewis.weebly.com).

Violinist Morag and multi-instrumentalist Lewis, both graduates of Newcastle University’s prestigious School of Folk and Traditional Music, began work on their album during the Covid lockdown in 2020.

Morag explained: “Recording a duo album is something we had wanted to do for many years. Lockdown meant other distractions were out of the way and the project finally made it to the top of the priority list.

“At the time, of course, everyone was restricted to staying within a few miles of their homes. We are very lucky to live in a beautiful part of the world and as the recording developed so did our attachment to our village and the surrounding countryside.

“We are serial DIY-ers – we were midway through a complete renovation of our little cottage when the pandemic struck – so home recording is very much in keeping with the way we do things.

“By the end of the recording process we were lucky enough to have a finished cottage, a finished album and a new baby, Ivor, who is now three and already an enthusiastic musician.

“Ivor has turned out to be something of a secret weapon when it comes to getting gigs. At least two venues have agreed to book us on condition that he comes too!”

The duo’s repertoire encomapsses a rich variety of instrumental music, embracing Scottish and Border traditions alongside their own compositions and music from many parts of Europe, the Mediterranean and eastwards.

In one moment their music might be heard to draw deeply on their Scottish and Celtic heritage, in the next they can slip into a sound that is altogether more eclectic.

While they have both played in large venues across the UK and further afield, Morag explained that smaller and more intimate surroundings are much more to their taste.

She said: “The sort of performance we love best is when the audience is right up close and listening to every note. When listeners are drawn in that way it feels as if they are as much part of the performance as the musicians.

“In our experience it’s often in hidden and lesser-known corners of the countryside that these special audiences can be found – so that’s where we will be going.”

As a foretaste of their album, the duo have also released a single, ‘Tide Time’, which can be viewed on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk_V4EXJ10Y