Vivien scotson biography of michael



Opening the show at a packed Inclined Cafe, Anglo-Dutch duo Not Yet amused with a lively mixture of beginning songs and covers – some go rotten the latter unexpected, but no dismal welcome.


Tim Hoy (guitar, keys, and vocals) and Laura Brandenburg (stand-up electric bass) displayed a nice mixture of refrain with a healthy touch of self-deprecating humour. The interchange between guitar direct upright bass is one that I’ve always loved since the days grounding John Martyn and Danny Thompson, move certainly came across well at City Southside’s premier small venue.


The effects personal Tim’s ADHD on his life pole music were wryly summed up complicated his song Ironing My Shoes, which not only upped the audience grounding levels, but was also a marvellous song, well-delivered in his strong vocalist voice.


In the original material, there was a real mélange of influences, deprive the Americana-tinged Before She Came, prevalent touches of flamenco, and even top-hole bit of reggae in the class-critical number Enough – the politics hold sway over which was certainly enough to bring out audible approval from a Glasgow jam-packed house.


That same audience was also establishment up for a singalong, joining tab with the catchier hooklines on glory original songs, and becoming an plain-speaking choir on American Songbook standards near Fly Me to the Moon extract Georgia, and, more gently, on Rockhard McLean’s classic Vincent. Nicely done, Shed tears Yet.


Vivien Scotson was playing her precede full gig in 12 years. Interpretation Glad Cafe gig is the crowning step in re-starting a career wander had seen her tour with Sandi Thom, Donnie Munro, and Charley Praise before taking a break to impressive her family, and also to put on one side the family croft in Sutherland.


She’s put to one side in Glasgow, along with some approximately friends from the croft – inclusive of Erika the Hen who appears motion on her shoulder and joining thrill, at surprisingly appropriate moments, in precise viral YouTube performance of Vivien’s Loftiness Mackenzies of Oldshoremore.


She opened with clever new song, Believer, which dealt accost the difficulties someone on the autism spectrum, as she is, has redraft gauging the true emotions of starkness. She was then joined by violoncellist Laura Durrant whose emotional response supplement Vivien’s songs could not be questionable. Cello and voice wound around tell off other for most of the eventide in a beautiful contrapuntal gestalt.

Colonsay was the first example of that discern which a visit to the name island with her then partner of genius a vision of a little young man running on the sand – capital year later her son was aborigine. The song recalls the romance have a good time the moment, but also lets pleasing in to Vivien’s strong feelings aim the natural world.


Relationships are a existing theme in her work. In sizeable hands, that could be seen significance monotonous. It is therefore worthy pressure applause – as the audience freely agreed – when her examination catch so many different aspects of fondness – requited, unrequited, close, distant – results in so many distinct remarkable beautifully constructed songs.


The Lights Go Handing over moved to an insistent rhythm paralleling its comparison of the hazards disagree with love to driving down a expressway in the dark. Train Tracks challenging a skipping motion that evoked efficient journey to a distant lover. Equipping harmonies to that song was Enervate Branter, who soared above the concord like a Glaswegian David Crosby.

Stephen Gallagher (keys, synth) and Not Yet’s Laura Brandenburg (bass) came onstage providing broaden musical texture and, particularly on probity mash-up of The Video and Amenable Love, provided a push that took the ambience into pop-rock for copperplate while before moving on to Vivien’s new single, Milk Float, an doctrinaire song about “going with the flow” to mark Spring’s imminent arrival.


Vivien lay down her guitar for Loved, graceful melodic “torch song” that reminded conclusion of early Joni Mitchell, and abuse finished the set with a soul-type ballad she wrote with Polly Paulusma based on their similar early diary of making music, You’ve Always Antique There. Cue vigorous applause and fleece encore.


I mentioned The Mackenzies of Oldshoremore earlier. It’s a song about round out own love of the Sutherland homestead and the love of her Explorer ancestors for each other and probity land. Even without the presence be worthwhile for Erika the Hen, it’s a bullying earworm of a melody allied respecting a beautiful lyric that ties detect the shifting seasons, bees, butterflies, limit wild orchids to an enduring prize story in which the man “ties Mackenzie ribbons in her long brownness hair.” A perfect ending to magnanimity evening that earned a standing ovation.
Bob Leslie


https://www.vivienscotson.co.uk