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OVERVIEW Olympics
tracks:
GULRAVAGE
CORONACH
PLANET PORRIDGE |
"The
Porridge Men are Scotland's best kept musical secret: an underground
contemporary cult collective that defies easy categorisation and holes intended
for pigeons. Suffice to say that the Porridge Men are unrestrained, both in
terms of the music they produce, which is best described as 'a celebration', or
the instruments they play, including the didgeridoo. Or, it turns out, the
sports they attache themselves to - the latest being ice dancing.
Thanks to
Britain's ice dancing pair, the Kerr siblings of Livingston, the Porridge Men
will reach a global audience of millions in february. Sinead and John Kerr were
the first names on the GB team sheet for Turin, and a key part of their routine
involves the music of the folk-dance-hip-hop hybrid.
One of the five
Porridge Men, Murray Fergusson, only found out about their imminent Olympic
debut after 'Googling' the band's name before Christmas. Taken aback, but also
flattered, Fergusson made contact with the Kerrs, went to watch them and was so
impressed that he and the band are trying to arrange to fly out to Turin to
support them in person - and perhaps flog a few CDs while they're at it.
"It
was pretty unbelievable," says Fergusson, a session musician with Belle and
Sebastian for the last five years - or, as fans of Scotland's greatest ever
band might know him, the fiddler who has appeared on national TV and played
over 120 shows, worldwide, in a 1970s Hibs shirt.
"Sinead and John are total
legends," he continues. "I saw their routine in Aberdeen and they're amazing.
We had lunch with them and they're top people. They're very patriotic, and I
think that's why they wanted to use our music. It's recognisably Scottish but
it's outward rather that inward looking. There's a didgeridoo, a heavy hip-hop
loop, drums and pipes, and they do a Highland dance movement at one point - I'm
pretty sure that's never been seen in the Olympics before.
"They've done us
a massive favour and we're hugely grateful to them," adds Fergusson, who while
working on a new Porridge Men album - the follow-up to Planet Porridge - is
back on tour with Belle and Sebastian next weekend. "We'll be looking for an
opportunity to return the favour to the Kerrs - we're talking about writing
some music for them." Fergusson adds that a live collaboration may also be a
possibility.
If they don't make it to Turin, the Porridge Men will gather in
Fergusson's Edinburgh home next month to watch the Kerrs compete. The ice
dancing climaxes on 19 February - Fergusson's birthday. "Hopefully it's an
omen," he notes." |
Sinead and John Kerr will be spurred on by the sounds
of The Porridge Men
Winter Olympics - Ice Dancing - until 19
February 2006 |
PLANET PORRDIGE on CD
