Dàimh Embraces Its Gaelic Roots

By John Roos

It promises to be an other-worldly experience when Scottish folk band Dàimh takes the stage on Thursday night at Freight & Salvage.

Formed in 2000, Dàimh (pronounced `Dive') plays timeless Scottish Gaelic music that is steeped in the rich culture and history of the Outer Hebrides, also known as the Western Isles, an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The group is based around West Lochaber and the Isle of Skye.

Just the titles alone of their recent albums offer a glimpse into their immersion in all things Celtic: The Hebridean Sessions (2015), The Rough Bounds (2018), and their latest release, Sula (2023). In fact, Sula - named after the old Anglo-Norse name for the gannet, the largest seabird in Northern Europe--was recorded at Black Bay Studio, one of the most remote but coolest recording studios on the planet. Located on Great Bernera near the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, this former fish factory was converted eight years ago by owner and producer/engineer Peter Fletcher into a residential music studio by the sea with spectacular views.

The serene setting was ideal for recording Sula's mixture of reels, jigs, slides, and songs about universal topics including love, homesickness, heartbreak, resiliency, and historical events. Everyday people facing life's challenges but who also celebrate the good times.

"Our music was born from a rural, remote place, that's how we started out," said fiddler/banjo player Alasdair White during a recent phone interview. "It was the social fabric of our area, and these places end up being drivers of our culture at large. Even now, the gannet is a very important bird to the Western Isles. It's amazing to watch . . . . how graceful and agile it is wheeling over the water and using those amazing eyes to (get) fish for their lunch."

"That recording studio happens to be where I'm from, Lewis, and I had planned to visit my parents anyway before I knew we were recording at Black Bay. I literally had a cup of tea with them and headed across the island to the studio. It was quite magical, really."

White, a former Battlefield Band fiddler and most recent addition to the current line-up, joins Angus MacKenzie (Bagpipes/Whistles), Ellen MacDonald (Lead Vocals), Gabe McVarish (Fiddles), Murdo Cameron (Accordion/Mandola), and Ross Martin (Guitars) in rounding out Daimh's sextet. Typically for their live dates, White-who now lives in New York City--plays the U.S. gigs while McVarish, a resident of the Isle of Eigg in the Inner Hebrides--performs overseas.

Dàimh's catalog of tunes and songs include both originals and traditional fare, the latter frequently centuries old. According to White, much thought is given before deciding on what material the band chooses to record, as well as perform live.

"It can be tricky because we are making music for people who in no way are familiar with what we're doing, as well as for those who are very familiar with the tradition, genre, and history of this music," he said. "For the contemporaries that we look to, the tunes we select have to mean something. Two-hundred-year-old songs need to stand alongside a two-year-old song. That's part of the challenge."

To meet that test, the band members submit their choices for debate into a drop box folder. Or as White puts it, for the instrumentals, these are tunes that are looking for a home.

"It's all basically dance music from the West Highlands," he explains. "We often have 2, 3, or 4 individual tunes in one number (title) but they have to fit together with a nice flow and not get in the way of each other. We recognize that it's all interlinked . . . the piping, the fiddle playing, guitar parts . . . . no one thing can exist without the other."

While Dàimh-the Gaelic word for connection-is dedicated to championing their Scottish roots and culture, it may surprise some that they are open to modern influences seeping into their traditional sound. That is, if not consciously done.

"By definition, traditional folk music is perennially relevant," asserts White. "It's authentic--by and for all people. If you self-consciously contemporize it, someone will smell a rat because it will sound contrived or gimmicky. Still, we all assimilate things both personally and musically . . . . these influences that are more modern but happen organically or naturally. Those types will filter in and that's okay, as long as you're true to yourself and the world you live in."

No one can say with certainty who will be touched next by these Scottish music ambassadors. Or for how long. But for White, the key is the people in the band, not necessarily the music.

"Longevity is all about kinship and connection," he concludes. "Look at the Rolling Stones, they're still having fun and their spirit is intact. For us, (original members) Angus, Ross, and Gabe have remained true to the band while embracing the newcomers. We’re mates. If the people are good, the music will be good."

*Dàimh performs Thursday night (Oct. 10) at Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley; (510) 644-2020. 8 p.m. $34-$39, includes fees. www.thefreight.org.