Tak:til / Europe / 2025 / LP, Bio Vinyl
After the international acclaim of Carry Them With Us, Scottish small pipes virtuoso Brìghde Chaimbeul returns with Sunwise — a spellbinding third album that drifts between the ancient and the experimental. While her last record leaned on collaborations (notably with Colin Stetson), Sunwise feels more intimate and elemental — a deeply personal exploration of landscape, folklore, and winter ritual.
Chaimbeul’s piping carries a hypnotic power, grounded in Celtic tradition yet unafraid to wander into minimalist soundscapes. Tracks like A Chailleach (with Stetson’s saxophone and Chaimbeul’s ghostly voice) evoke the mythic figure of the winter goddess, while Dùsgadh / Waking and Duan summon old rites and spoken lore — the latter featuring her father reciting a Hogmanay charm remembered from his youth in South Uist.
Drawing from traditional sources and field recordings, Chaimbeul shapes them into something timeless and modern — all wrapped in the eternal hum of the drone. Sunwise feels less like an album and more like a ritual: meditative, mysterious, and alive with the echoes of the Scottish landscape.
For fans of folk’s outer edges — from minimalist drone to ritual music — Sunwise confirms Chaimbeul as one of today’s most visionary artists. A must-hear for anyone who believes tradition and experimentation can share the same breath.