Classical/Review Fitkinwall - UIST
Ruth Wall performs on wildly different harps: Gaelic wire-strung, Bray, concert, and electro harps. Graham Fitkin uses a Moog Voyager, Ableton, and various FX modules. Their work combines the very old with the very new. They provide unusual contexts for these ancient instruments. Their previous albums, Still Warm and Lost, toured with live VJ through the UK and Europe before heading out to Japan. Uist has toured in the UK in 2024 and will tour mainland Europe in 2025 with a light installation from artist Peter Freeman.
Inspired by the Scottish Clearances, Fitkinwall's most recent album, “UIST,” is a breathtaking examination of migration and memory. They creates a atmosphere that is both futuristic and evocative by arranging three deeply resonant plucked harps inside a modern electronic framework. “UIST” expresses the emotional weight of displacement and the tenacity of cultural memory by fusing snippets of ancient Gaelic tunes with complex loops, ambient soundscapes, and interlocking patterns.
With their evocative tones that recall Scotland's landscapes and history, the harps serve as the album's traditional anchor. Concurrently, the electronic components produce a multi-layered, surreal ambiance that transports the listener to a contemporary, reinvented setting. This blend of the organic and the digital echoes the concept of migration—rooted in a location yet adaptable to other environments.
Every song on “UIST” is filled with depth and roominess, enabling the listener to enter the eerie and moving worlds the music crafts. The melodies, which may be forceful or delicate at times, hint of resiliency and change while providing snippets of a vanished past.
This album invites reflection on issues of connection, identity, and loss in addition to being a listening experience. Fitkinwall creates a body of work that is both timeless and inventive via the skillful combination of conventional and experimental components. “UIST” is a noteworthy and profoundly poignant addition to modern music, offering an immersive voyage through sound, memory, and meaning. It's an album that makes an impact and strikes a chord on both an intellectual and emotional level.