Sunwise

Although her roots lie in the traditional music of Scotland, piper Brighde Chaimbeul creates a bridge to the modern world with a mix of original compositions and adaptations that border on avant-garde. Her experimental treatment of the small pipes -- a more muted, bellows-blown cousin to the Highland bagpipes -- has renewed interest in the semi-obscure instrument and brought it into different spaces of jazz, drone-based minimalism, and even pop. Her critically admired 2023 outing Carry Them with Us was a collaboration with saxophonist Colin Stetson, and that same year, she appeared on Caroline Polacheks art-pop breakout Desire, I Want to Turn into You. Over the two subsequent years, Chaimbeul toured as a solo artist, mesmerizing audiences across small folk rooms and major festival stages. It makes sense, then, that her third album, Sunwise, is an almost entirely solo affair. Capturing the richness and depth of her instrument, the eight-track set moves between glacial drones, strident reels, and eerie, reverberant melodies that evoke the majestic Cuillins of her home on the Isle of Skye. Field-recorded pastiches are woven in between tracks that also feature Chaimbeuls lilting vocals, with lyrics sung entirely in Gaelic. The albums title nods to the Druidic ceremony of circling the temple clockwise (with the sun, or sunwise) to bring prosperity. Chaimbeuls unique album follows its sunwise course into winter, celebrating its seasonal customs. Gathering around the fire, joining together for a ceilidh, meeting the solstice, and honoring the mythical fellowship of fairies and giants -- each of these themes are present on this stirring and sometimes radiant collection. ~ Timothy Monger