In 2019, Scottish fiddle player Isla Ratcliff spent four wonderful months in Cape Breton, an island in Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast, with a rich traditional music culture. Isla fell in love with the music, the people and the place.
Her experiences there, and in neighbouring New Brunswick inspired her to release The Castalia, her debut album of traditional and self-composed fiddle music.
In this series to accompany the album, Isla introduces us to the people she met in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, some of whom were involved in the making of her album.
Màiri Britton
In the latest episode Isla interviews Màiri Britton, a stepdancer, Gaelic singer and Gaelic cultural educator from Edinburgh, who now lives in Cape Breton. Isla and Màiri first met in Scotland many years ago and reconnected with each other during Isla’s time in Cape Breton.
Podcast production by Bespoken Media, with cover art by Elly Lucas and original music by
Isla Ratcliff.