LIVING away from home for the first time, Airdrie-based singer Katie Macfarlane’s homesickness was lessened when she began singing with a Catalan…
LIVING away from home for the first time, Airdrie-based singer Katie Macfarlane’s homesickness was lessened when she began singing with a Catalan group in Barcelona.
However, while Gaelic and Catalan music share many similarities, she thinks the latter language is in a healthier condition than the former, although it too faces a battle for survival.“Even being in a metropolitan area like Barcelona, I would hear Catalan being spoken everyday among the locals and in the university which was such a great and reassuring thing to experience – and most signage is in Catalan.
“It remains important for these communities to maintain their identity, tradition and culture, as it is for Gaelic-speaking communities, despite this need for protection being a bit more crucial to maintain the Gaelic language,” she said.Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician and BBC Radio 2’s Young Folk Award competitions, she has now released her debut album which intertwines the languages of Gaelic, Catalan, Scots and English.
Macfarlane said her musical journey was rooted in her childhood experiences, shaped by her grandfather’s lessons on Gaelic music and culture, as well as attending the fèis in North Uist. “Music is a great way to reach out to wider audiences and can help to represent minority languages so that they are normalised and have a presence in a range of societies and cultures.
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