Oban High School student releases debut song

Cailean first started writing songs when he was in primary school, and has been writing ever since.

 

“As I have grown up, I feel that my writing has changed a lot” : Cailean explained.

 

“At Christmas time, I was feeling musically uninspired. But then in January, I was a part of a community choir of 300 people with Karine Polwart as part of Celtic Connections. It ended in a concert in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, which was crazy!

 

“Every artist strives for people to relate to their songs. That experience impacted me and everyone else in the choir as well as the audience, and it reminded me why I wanted to write music in the first place.”

 

After feeling so inspired after the concert, Cailean wrote the song between February and June.

 

Below is a snippet of "River Dee" from when Cailean perfomed it at the Oban High School Prizegiving.

 

 

Cailean explains that the response to the song has been “mental”.

 

Cailean said: “It felt as if everyone was coming together on it. People were staying up until midnight to listen to it on release day, which I do for other artists. It was crazy that people were then doing the same thing for the music that I was releasing.”

 

He is a part of the Traditional School of Music at Oban High School as well as being a part of the Oban Gaelic Choir and competes in the Oban, Mull and National Mòds.

 

“I am a fluent Gaelic speaker and have been brought up around Gaelic traditions and the music that comes with it in the traditional music scene. I can hear that influence in my own music coming through in my songs."

 

This is the first song that Cailean has released, and he is hoping to get back into the studio soon to record other tracks.

 

Cailean also explained that he has recorded two other Gaelic songs, which will be released in the coming weeks.

 

“I would like to say a huge thank you to anyone who has streamed, listened, downloaded, shared or added the song to their playlist, my friends who have been incredibly supportive, Lora MacLeod who played guitar and backing vocals on the track, and Isla Scott who played the bass guitar and backing vocals. Thanks also to Nick Turner at Watercolour Music for producing the track and all the support he has given.

 

“I would like to thank my parents, I would not have been able to do it without them”

 

You can listen to “River Dee” available on all major streaming platforms.