Hamish Napier: the Hill and Rubén Bada

Join Highland composer Hamish Napier for the premiere of The Hill - the 4th and largest instalment of his ongoing ‘Strathspey Pentalogy'.

The ambitious 5-album series in celebration of his native homeland of Badenoch & Strathspey also includes The River, The Railway and The Woods - all previously showcased at Celtic Connections.

The Hill is themed on the mountains and braes that feed into the River Spey, including the Monadhliath and Cairngorms, and explores local Gaelic hill names, folklore and heritage.Napier, a fine flautist, pianist and singer, will be joined by an all-star string quartet and powerful rhythm section, including cellist Su-a Lee, Ross Ainslie (pipes and whistles), Fraser Stone (drums), James Lindsay (bass), Ewan Robertson (guitar) and a mighty cast of fiddler players: Iain MacFarlane, Seonaid Aitken, Megan Henderson and Patsy Reid.

Utterly epic in scale, the 20 track album has been over 5 years in the making and is deeply rooted in Highland traditional music.

The suite traverses through thirty new airs and melodies, including a full bagpipe pibroch and Gaelic song in memory of his late Grandfather.

Engaging and heart-warming, Napier’s performances often incorporate the story behind the tunes as well as evocative field recordings.