THE TIDE IS AT THE TURNING
The Tide is at the Turning
August 2021 saw the release of Man of the Minch's debut album, 'The Tide is at the Turning'. A queer artist who blends traditional Celtic sounds with modern pop, Man of the Minch, aka Pedro Cameron, has gained critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone magazine, The Guardian and Cerys Matthews (BBC 6Music), which has seen him quickly emerge as one of the most exciting names at the forefront of Scottish folk music.
Cameron's Neo-Trad album features guest appearances from a veritable who's who of musicians from across the Scottish folk and indie scene – including Rachel Sermanni, Finn Anderson, Josie Duncan, Laura Wilkie, Malin Lewis, Gillian Fleetwood (State Broadcasters/Henry & Fleetwood), David MacGregor (Broken Chanter) and Little Acres.
In total, 'The Tide is at the Turning' features a whopping 21 guest performers, and it utilises fiddle, whistle, pipes, clarsach, and Gaelic language throughout, as well as synths, programmed drums and elements from dance music. The result is a combination of traditional Scottish sounds, with modern electronica and pop created and performed from a queer perspective.
"The Tide is at the Turning refers to the changing times. I wanted to take what I love about traditional music and update it with queer themes and stories, as well as contemporary synth-pop and electronica to reflect the turning tides."
"The theme of the album really centres around life as a queer person. I was keen to write about queer relationships, my experiences of coming out, addiction, as well as more universal themes of loneliness and loss – but with a bit of an optimistic, uplifting pop sheen. I wanted to convey a sense of hopefulness and community in having so many people involved in the recording."
Recorded at Glenwood Studios, with acclaimed producer Paul 'Gal' Gallagher (Man of Moon, Broken Chanter) and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Ryan Schwabe, the album breathes new life into traditional music whilst staying true to what makes that music so timeless.
The album was funded by Creative Scotland's Create:Inclusion Fund, which seeks to increase the diversity of people in the arts, screen and creative industries. Cameron's aim for the album was to work with a variety of talented Scottish musicians who predominantly identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Many of the album tracks started their lives as part of Bogha-frois: Queer Voices in Folk workshops (a community project which brings together queer instrumentalists, songwriters, writers, poets and performers from across Scotland), of which Pedro is the founder.
"I wanted the album to act partly as an extension of Bogha-frois, with some of the songs written as a result of it. I have formed so many meaningful relationships as a result of that project and wanted to celebrate that by inviting my friends to contribute to the album. It was a real lifesaver for me to be able to hang out with them, collaborate and make music together during the pandemic – when we wouldn’t otherwise have had the chance."