1. Reels
Wissahickon Drive (Liz Carroll – Morning Music)
Liz Kane (A. McCulloch – Fellsongs Music)
Willie Smith’s Reel (D. Shaw – JDC)
Trip to Herves (M. McGoldrick – MCPS)
2. Sparky
Sparky (Liz Carroll – (BMI) MCPS
Dr. Macphail’s Reel (Andrew Bain)
3. Basil the Retriever (A. McCulloch – Fellsongs Music)
4. Takashi’s Dawn (A. McGarva – Bulk Music Ltd)
5. Thunderhead
Thunderhead (G. Larsson – Cop. Con.)
The Roaring Barmaid (T. Sullivan – Halshaw Music)
Apples in Winter (Trad. arr. A. McCulloch – Bulk Music Ltd)
6. The 5 A.M. Ceilidh (A. McCulloch – Fellsongs Music)
7. Calum’s Road & The Hut
Calum’s Road (Donald Shaw – JDC)
The Hut on Staffin Island (Phil Cunningham – MCPS)
8. Herr Roloff’s Farewell (J. Scott Skinner (dec’d). arr. A. McGarva – Bulk Music Ltd)
9. Reels
Mouth of the Tobique (Trad. arr. A McCulloch / W. Weir – Bulk Music Ltd)
Luciano’s Reel (A. McCulloch – Fellsongs Music)
St. Kilda Wedding (Trad. arr. A. McCulloch – Bulk Music Ltd)
10. Jigs
Lady in a Bottle (A. Kenneth (dec’d))
The Drops of Brandy (Trad. arr. A. McCulloch / W. Weir / A. McGarva – Bulk Music Ltd)
Ewan Mackenzie’s Free Bass Accordion (A. McCulloch – Fellsongs Music)
The Curlew (D. McPherson – Kerr’s Music)
11. The New Dawning (A. McCulloch – Fellsongs Music)
12. The Congress
The Congress (Trad. arr. A. McCulloch / W. Weir – Bulk Music Ltd)
The Earl’s Chair (Trad. arr. A. McCulloch / W. Weir – Bulk Music Ltd)
Rilganainm (Trad. arr. A. McCulloch / W. Weir – Bulk Music Ltd)
MacDuggle’s Reel (C. McKerron – Survival Music)
Coila are:
Alistair McCulloch – fiddle, whistles
William Weir – accordion
Andrew McGarva – fiddle, viola, synthesiser
James Taylor – drums
Dave Cowan – bass guitar, electric guitar
with:
Douglas Whyte – keyboards, hammond organ
Ross Kennedy – guitar, bouzouki
Dougie Pincock – highland pipes, flutes, whistles
Sandro Ciancio – percussion
Lyndsay Mowat – cello
Karen Connor – clarsach
Recorded and mixed at CaVa Studios, Glasgow
Produced by Ross Kennedy, engineer – Dave Paterson, graphics – The Art House, Glasgow
Some years ago at a very eventful ceilidh in the dance tent at Cambridge Folk Festival my Celtic-Rock band Collaboration had the pleasure of teaming up with Capercaillie. Unfortunately we never did record the event, but this recording by Coila brings the memories flooding back. There’s plenty of great material here from some of the finest contemporary/traditional tune writers including Liz Carroll, Donald Shaw and Michael McGoldrick. The band’s fiddle player Alistair McCulloch should also be added to this roster as his own contributions will surely find their way onto the session circuit. Coila rock along with the best and the other members William Weir (accordion), Andrew McGarva (synthesiser), James Taylor (drums) and Dave Cowan (bass guitar/guitar) all give it plenty of welly. The album is produced with plenty of momentum or subtlety where required and although it would have been nice to balance the recording with some vocal tracks the performances from everyone are to be admired.
Pete Fyfe
With so much instrumental Celtic music consisting of the same few types of tune, it’s hard to be distinctive without a stamp of individual personality. With a background of jazz and classical alongside traditional music, the young Ayrshire quintet Coila have some useful tools at their disposal. The vigour and close-knit empathy of their twin-fiddler frontline, their arrestingly layered arrangements and a healthy sprinkling of original material show the makings of a durable signature … it’s easy to tell they’d put on a cracking live show.
Sue Wilson – Sunday Herald