SOUNDTRACK SUCCESS MEANS BRAVE NEW WORLD FOR JULIE
Interview Release
Hebridean Celtic Festival
Year of Creative Scotland 2012
- Singing star Julie’s delivery was spot on
- Disney calls twice for Gaelic songstress
- From Hollywood to HebCelt for artist
Julie Fowlis spent much of her time working on the blockbuster animated fantasy film Brave worrying about another pending production.
The Gaelic singing star was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with her second child Niamh while she was recording the two songs she performs on the film’s soundtrack and another for the movie trailer.
“I was glad the wee one stayed where she was to let me get it all done”, said Julie. “I was lucky that whatever position she was in she wasn’t interfering with the lungs and allowed me to be able to sing. I found singing at that late stage slightly more difficult with my first child.
“The songs were physically demanding and it was a real worry that every day I came into the studio would be the day that I would have to stop working.
“It worked out very well in the end and just got finished in time – thankfully she was late so that helped as well”.
That was in April and just six weeks later Julie, who also has another daughter two-year-old Aoibhe, was back on stage singing. And amid the frenzy of promotional and publicity work surrounding the film she attended the world premiere in Los Angeles on 18 June and is due to perform at the European premiere on the closing night of the Edinburgh Film Festival on 30 June, ahead of the film’s Scottish release on 3 August.
In between times Julie has found time to continue her work as an artist in residence for the Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o’ Riches oral archive website and on her acclaimed film and musical work, Heisgeir, based on the history, people and landscape of the uninhabited Monach Islands, which she will perform at this year’s Hebridean Celtic Festival.
After a Gaelic song from her debut album featured on a film trailer which was broadcast to an estimated 40 million people, she will be on stage in front of fewer than 200 at An Lanntair arts centre in Stornoway on 14 July during HebCelt where she is one of the first inductees to the festival’s Hall of Fame and an ambassador for the event.
“After easing myself back into work after the birth I haven’t really stopped. I’m not the kind to sit back and do nothing. I’m not very good at relaxing, I like to be busy.
“HebCelt is a highlight of the year for me. It’s a great place to come back to, especially as the piece we are doing is very much an island project and a little bit different to what we have done before.”
The call to work on Disney Pixar’s epic 3D adventure, featuring Kelly MacDonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Craig Ferguson and Kevin McKidd, came out of the blue from Tom Macdougall, Disney’s vice president of music.
“While they were doing their research they listened to a lot of music and picked up a lot of albums, but they said my album kept coming to the top which was fantastic. I was thrilled because they have the choice of any number of singers.
“I also had to tell them I was due to give birth around the time of the recording, but they were very supportive and changed their schedule to allow me to get the vocals done before the baby arrived.”
Julie and husband Éamon Doorley worked with the Disney Pixar US production team and musicians on both sides of the Atlantic in the recording of two original songs for the movie, written by Pixar's Alex Mandel, to reflect the feisty main character Merida.
“They were encouraging me to get inside the mind of Merida, to try to encapsulate her spirit and her inner thoughts”, said Julie. “They are very much Disney songs but we were encouraged to have our input and so there is a flavour of home in there too.”
The songs are sung in English which is a rarity for Julie who grew up in North Uist and normally sings in her native Gaelic: “It was a real vote of confidence to ask me to sing the songs in English because they had only heard Gaelic material until then. It was a bit of a risk as they didn’t know what I sounded like in English - I barely know myself.
“It was a bit of a learning curve because not only was the style different to what I’m used to, it was like acting rather than singing. So it was a challenge but I really enjoyed it and it was great fun to do. I can tell my children when they get older that their mum and dad worked on a Disney film.”
At the time Julie was recording her vocals for the soundtrack she also received a call from another part of the Disney organisation asking if she would contribute to the trailer – unaware she was already involved in the film.
Her song Tha Mo Ghaol Air Aird A’ Chuain (My Love is on The High Seas) from her 2005 debut album Mmar a Tha Mo Chridhe' (As My Heart Is) featured on the TV advert for the film, premiered during the Oscars in March, and seen by a worldwide audience.
“It’s a great honour that they chose that track for the trailer and it brings Gaelic music to a huge audience.”
Like many, including VisitScotland and First Minister Alex Salmond, Julie is convinced the film will bring lasting benefits to Scotland by encouraging tourism. Brave made its debut at number one in the US box office chart, making an estimated $66.7m (£42.8m) in its opening weekend and it is predicted the release will bring a £140 million boost to Scottish tourism.
“They are not trying to recreate something historically accurate – it’s entertainment, it’s fantasy, it’s fun. But, at the same time, they really have the feeling of the Highlands and Islands embedded in the whole film.
“They spent such a long time in Scotland looking at plants, trees, lochs and the sea. When people see the film they will really see the colours and feeling of the landscape of Scotland shining through. The way they have managed to pull that off is incredible.
“Brave has attracted so much attention to Scotland and all things Scottish. We have as a country such a marketable culture that is the envy of the world and this film showcases different elements of that culture – our landscape, heritage and the music.
“It is true to Scotland in lots of ways and I think it will serve Scotland well and bring lots of positive things to the country.”
Julie whose outfits for the premiere and other Brave events were designed and created by couturier Sandra Murray MBE, admits its it’s been a “bit of a rollercoaster ride” for her since giving birth at such a hectic time in her career and surely the worldwide attention will lead to bigger and better things?: “It’s been loads of fun, but I’m trying to keep things in perspective”, she said. “I’m just going with the flow at the moment and enjoying being involved.”
For more information contact:
John Ross, Lucid PR, 01463 724593; 07730 099617
johnross@lucidmessages.com
Notes to editors
1. The 17th HebCelt takes place between 11th and 14th July 2012 and will, for the second year running, have two main stages on the Castle Green in front of the Lews Castle in Stornoway, as well as performances in An Lanntair and throughout the rural community.
2. The Hebridean Celtic Festival emerged victorious as Best Large Festival at the industry-sponsored Scottish Event Awards 2011, in a three-way final with Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and Glasgow’s Celtic Connections.
3. The HebCelt is now an annual magnet for an audience that far outstrips the Lewis town’s own 10,000 population, injecting more than £1.5 million annually into the local economy.
4. It attracts people from around the world, including countries such as the USA, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Norway and many others.
5. It is regarded by critics, performers and festival-goers as one of the top Celtic music festivals in Europe.
6. The festival is made possible through the support of funders, advertisers and a vital and large volunteer workforce. HebCelt relies on scores of volunteer workers who clock up over 3500 unpaid hours during the event.
7. HebCelt has twice won the Best Event of the Year award at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, which is voted for by the public.
8. HebCelt has been hailed as one of the UK’s top 50 festivals by the Daily Telegraph, one of the top five by The Scotsman, and in 2011 one of Songlines Magazine’s Top Ten Summer Festivals.
9. A large quantity of children under 14 can attend concerts at the Festival Arena each night for free if accompanied by someone who is 18 or older.
10. HebCelt has its own YouTube channel, Facebook and Twitter outlets:
http://www.youtube.com/user/hebceltfest
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hebridean-Celtic-Festival/70400006768?ref=ts
http://twitter.com/#!/hebcelt/
Tags:
