The Hall of Einar Sunday Recommendation #36

Hello and welcome to my Sunday Recommendation. Thanks for joining me. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, stumble upon engrossing websites and hear wonderful new music. This is my chance to bring you carefully curated recommendations of all the best I’ve experienced – every Sunday. If it’s folk, or independent, or about wildlife, nature or Orkney, I may love it, and so may you.

The Light of the Moon – Gnoss

I’ve been enjoying new music from Gnoss this week. They’ve just released a new collection of original tunes created in 2020. I first saw Aidan and Graham perform in 2015 at Westray Connections and have loved their infectious take on traditional music with a modern twist ever since.

Gnoss Are: 
Aidan Moodie – Acoustic Guitar & Vocals 
Connor Sinclair – Whistles, Flute & Backing Vocals 
Craig Baxter – Bodhran & Percussion 
Graham Rorie, Fiddle, Mandolin, Electric Tenor Guitar 

Here’s the first single from their album The Light of the Moon, called Cold Clay, a song about frustration set to a joyful tune:

And here’s the more mellow Honey Dew:

The album is mainly instrumentals, or, as they are known, ‘tunes’, rather than songs. They’ve got a lightness of touch and clarity of production that makes them a delight to listen to. Added to that is the quality of the playing, which is exceptional, and they’ve created a sound which is uniquely theirs. Gnoss: a band with musical personality. Do check out the album if you like what you hear.

That’s it for this week. I’ll be back with more recommendations of things you might adore next Sunday. In the meantime, I wish you a great week. Keep safe, everyone.

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