Quinie, aka Josie Vallely is based in Glasgow. She sings primarily in Scots, with a style inspired by the traditions of Scottish Traveller singers Lizzie Higgins (1929-1993) and her mother Jeannie Robertson (1908 –1975). Collaging together source material, Vallely amalgamates sean nos style melodies, children’s rhyme, story poems and snippets of more traditional tunes to create a bleak and extended blur of narratives routed in an imagined Scotland. On her most recent release on Jacken Elswyth's Betwixt and between Tapes, Quinie sings a set of songs playfully embellished with occasional bells, whistles, and percussion, and interspersed with odd interludes of reedy drone. The songs themselves draw on some gently comedic sources – as on Matt McGinn's 'Red Yoyo' or Duncan Macrae's 'Wee Cock Sparra' – alongside Quinie's continued exploration of the repertoire of Lizzie Higgins on 'Wha's at the windy'. The songs are presented largely unaccompanied, with instrumentation lending carefully placed emphasis around her wonderfully trad Scots singing style.
|
![]() BUCKIE PRINS Glasgow based musician Quinie, aka Josie Vallely, returns with her second album Buckie Prins released in November 2018. Following on from a sell-out debut release in 2017, the eponymous Quinie, Vallely returned to Glasgow’s beloved Green Door Studios to record this full-length follow up. The album further explores the versatility of Vallely’s voice, as she sings primarily in Scots, with a style inspired by the traditions of Scottish Traveller singers Lizzie Higgins (1929-1993) and her mother Jeannie Robertson (1908 –1975). Collaging together source material, Vallely amalgamates sean nos style melodies, children’s rhyme, story poems and snippets of more traditional tunes to create a bleak and extended blur of narratives routed in an imagined Scotland. Throughout the tape we are confronted with women’s stories that investigate the tensions that exist between the formidable (mountains / moor / ocean) and domestic (tedium / objects / care). Building on the largely accapella first release, Buckie Prins sees Vallely accompanied by Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh (Circuit des Yeux, Josephine Foster. Woven Skull), Oliver Pit (Golden teacher, Dick 50, Ultimate Thrush) and Neil McDermott (Askolenn, Tartine de Clous, Alasdair Roberts & Friends). They bring a musicality to the tracks that combines minimalist tension, foundations of drone, stabbing atonal noise, and choppy medieval repetition. The release is accompanied by an essay by Megan Jones, a medievalist based in Glasgow. Her research interests involve the post-medieval legacy and reception of the Middle Ages and the ideological potency of the period in modern discourses. She is currently investigating the malleable forms the Middle Ages take in contemporary culture, with a particular focus on the weaponisation of the period by racist/nationalist groups. Also included is a copy of a handwritten letter by Michael Dempster, The Scots Scriever. The album is released by GLARC (The Greater Lanarkshire Auricular Research Council) as a limited edition cassette and digital download. |
|
Glasgow has long been a hub for folk, with the annual Celtic Connections festival representing the traditional music mainstream. Like Alasdair Roberts before her, Josie Vallely offers a take on a traditional Scots song that draws inspiration from the source singers, while pushing defiantly into left-field. On her debut as Quinie (a variant of “quine,” the Scots for woman, wife, or queen), Vallely lends her keen, flinty voice to a cappella readings of the great ballad “Cruel Mother” and the nonsense rhyme “Sew Sewing Silk.” Harmonium, dulcimer, and DIY beats bring scrape, drone, and rhythm to “The Haar” and “Auld Man Came Courtin’ Me.” - Bandcamp Daily
|