Locations across the north-east will feature in a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe created by a musician who has been praised by Iggy Pop.
Aberdeenshire-based Fiona Soe Paing has transformed her critically acclaimed album Sand, Silt, Flint into a mesmeric audio-visual show.
Musician and singer Fiona Soe Paing.
It has been selected for the prestigious Made in Scotland programme of world-class performance in this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Fiona, who has Scottish and Burmese roots, said: “The show was sparked after I discovered a family connection to the renowned ballad singer John Strachan, and re-imagines ancient folklore and ballads from north-east Scotland with 21st century electronica, film and live vocals.
“The locations featured in the show include Bennachie, Forvie National Nature Reserve, Fyvie Castle, Udny Green, Inverboyndie Beach, Portsoy, The Lecht and Forglen Estate, which is close to my home in Turriff.”
The music has attracted the support of rock Icon Iggy Pop, who described it as “advanced, and beautiful” on his BBC Radio 6 Music show.
The show runs from August 7-22 at Greenside Venue, George Street, Edinburgh.
Fiona Soe Paing’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe show features north-east locations.
It reframes Scotland’s darker ballads and folklore, electronic sound, archive audio material and traditional instrumentation blend with visuals and live vocals in a unique performance.
Combining new compositions and re-imagined traditional ballads, each song is linked to a north-east location and its story — from the expanses of the Cairngorms to the dramatic Banffshire coast.
Collaborating with filmmaker Isla Goldie, location footage for each song is layered with historic maps, bringing ancient stories to life with contemporary sound and moving image.
Inspired by her newly discovered family heritage, Fiona created her own version of Strachan’s Bonny Udny, intertwining her voice with archive recordings of her ancestor in a duet across time.
Singing partly in the Doric dialect of her rural Aberdeenshire upbringing, Fiona uses language to connect with heritage, identity and belonging.
Iggy Pop praised Fiona’s music on his BBC Radio 6 Music show.
Fiona’s work has also featured on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 3 and the BBC World Service.
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