Fiona Blackburn

Country of origin:

Canada

Type of music generally:

Traditional, World

Status:

Most recent album, Lark in the Morning (2004)

See also:

Fiona Blackburn's site

Comparisons:

Loreena McKennitt, Sin E

Covers/own material:

Mostly covers of traditional songs from Scotland, Ireland and Canada. Some songs by contemporary composers written specifically for her.

General comments:

Fiona Blackburn has a beautiful soprano voice, which sounds classically trained. She is backed up by a large number of instrumentalists playing piano/synthesizers, string/fretless/electric bass, acoustic/electric guitar, mandolin, (electric) violin, assorted drums and percussion including dumbec, tablas and bodhran. As this diverse list implies the production on individual tracks is very varied, ranging from simple piano accompaniment to a complex melding of rock instruments with World Music percussion. (GTP10@cus.cam.ac.uk)

Recommended first album:

Either

Recordings:

• Land Of Passages (1995)
• Lark In The Morning (2004)

Land Of Passages

Release info:

1995—Talisman Productions, 12525 243rd Street, Maple Ridge, BC, Canada, V4R 1M2 (tel/fax: 604 466 9866 or 1-800-600-7127, toll-free in North America, email: talisman@bc.sympatico.ca)—TALCD9501

Availability:

In Canadian stores that carry independent releases and by mail order from label; see website

Ecto priority:

An interesting addition for lovers of Celtic Folk/World Music fusion

Group members:

Fiona Blackburn—lead vocals

Guest artists:

Miles Black—piano/synthesizers
Rick Kilburn—string bass/fretless bass
Dane Deviller—acoustic guitar/electric guitar/mandolin
Mark Ferris—violin/electric violin
Salvador Ferreras—percussion/snare drum/dumbec
Roger Baird—tablas
Russell Shumski—bodhran/hand drum
Buff Allen—drums
Brent Gubbels—electric bass
Marcelle Nokony—violin
Helga Sermat—step dancing/hand claps

Produced by:

Rick Kilburn

Comments:

See general comments above.

Thanks to Geoff Parks for work on this entry.