Bill Buchan - North East Folk Songs

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"Fae Croft ti Creel" is my first album release. In selecting the tracks for this album I decided to exclude traditional songs, which had been recorded by others many times before, in favour of original material. As the title " Fae Croft ti Creel" suggests, there is a wide cross-section of tracks about the land, sea and people of North East Scotland. Some of the tracks are written and performed in the traditional style while others are more contemporary. All tracks are self penned and performed in the Doric of North East Aberdeenshire.

NOTE: THIS ALBUM IS ONLY AVAILABLE OUTSIDE THE NORTH EAST OF SCOTLAND VIA THE INTERNET.

Two of the tracks have already been selected and included in a new compilation album "North East Traditions II".

Performed in the traditional bothy ballad style, this is a cheery tale, relating how a young fairm chiel (farm boy) meets and courts his love. Note Kinnadie is a small rural community just outside Stuartfield in Aberdeenshire.

In the mid eighties farming was an industry in crisis. Small farms in particular were under threat as costs spiralled and incomes dropped. The housing boom in the south of England saw many people sell their houses there and move north to buy up the small holdings. The increased prices of the farms meant that the younger generation could not afford to buy into the industry. The boom of the oil and fishing industries in the area took many young men away from the farms and as a result farms which had been in the same family for generations were being sold to incomers from the south.

A descriptive song about the little fishing villages which cling to the land on the edge of the sea. I called it St. Combs but it could be any one of numerous little villages and hamlets that face up to the might of the sea day in day out. The inhabitants have a strong pride in their village even though they may travel far and wide.

This is a tragic love tale set on the bents and fields near to St Combs. The poacher finds his sweetheart lying injured and valiantly tries to rescue her.

With the wealth of romantic (and dark) songs about the sea, I have tried to relate my own experience aboard a fishing boat. It is definitely tongue in cheek but is very accurate.

I wrote this song after reading the classic novel of the same name by Lewis Grassic Gibbon. It recounts the story of Chris Guthrie (the heroine) in a musical form.

Being born and brought up in this fishing area I have always been aware of the courage of the men who sail out in small boats to earn their living from the sea. For them it is a way of life. Not so obvious maybe is the courage of the women who wait at home for their husbands and sons to return. Not for them whiling away idle hours waiting for their men. The women were responsible for raising the children, keeping house, mending the nets, gathering and preparing the bait for the next day's fishing and of course the physical requirements of being a wife. For the brave woman it is a way of life also.

A love song set among the fishing communities which adorn the North East. The hardship of the sea set against the heartbreak of a lost sweetheart. In the style of the 'muckle sang' or big ballad.

A humourous tale of the exploits of a young wife as she tramps the countryside selling her fish. Warning: This chorus could seriously affect your sanity.

"Fae Croft ti Creel" can be ordered direct from Taezali Enterprises

By credit card via John Trail Bookshop Fraserburgh

CD - £8.00 +p.p

Audio Cassette - £7.00 +p.p.

*** NEW *** NORTH EAST TRADITIONS II *** NEW ***

The latest album in the series of traditional and North East music has just been released by Aberdeenshire Arts. Featured on it are two songs from the "Fae Croft ti Creel" album by Bill Buchan.

Contact the North East Folklore Archive for details on how you can get this new release.

Any of the above items can be ordered by contacting:

Taezali Enterprises

By CREDIT CARD via John Trail Bookshop Fraserburgh

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