Fiona Soe Paing in Aberdeenshire

Fiona Soe Paing in Aberdeenshire

Author: Matthew Bannister September 15, 2023 Duration: 52:50

When the Scottish Burmese sound artist Fiona Soe Paing discovered that one of her ancestors was a traditional singer, she resolved to make a contemporary electronic album reflecting the music and folk tales of her home county of Aberdeenshire.

On this walk up Bennachie and then along the coast, she sings some of the songs on the very spot where they were inspired, including John Hosie’s Well (said to have sprung from the ground where his tears fell when he returned from a long imprisonment to find his lover was married to another) and the rock where Maggie Machlin is said to have died from exposure after being ostracised for falling pregnant out of wedlock.

Then it’s off to the fishing village of Pennan, for an atmospheric performance of The Fisher’s Lullaby on the beach and a 40th anniversary screening of the classic film Local Hero in the village hall.

---

We rely entirely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either...

Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot

Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot

Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com

Follow us on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot

---

Find out more about Fiona at https://www.fionasoepaing.co.uk/

Walk with Fiona's album via the Echoes app: https://explore.echoes.xyz/collections/sov0xzgBQYdoAfFr


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Imagine stepping out for a walk with a friend who happens to be a brilliant musician, the path unfolding through the very hills, coastlines, or woods that shaped their songs. That’s the essence of Folk on Foot, a multi-award-winning podcast created by Matthew Bannister. Each episode is a gentle fusion of conversation, landscape, and live performance, recorded outdoors while walking with some of the most compelling voices in folk music. The format is beautifully simple yet profound: as they traverse a place of personal significance, the guests discuss their connection to the land, their creative process, and the stories behind their work, often pausing to play a tune or sing a song right there on the trail. Listeners are invited into an intimate, thoughtfully crafted soundscape that feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s been praised as a restorative listening experience and is noted for its impeccable production. This isn't just a series of interviews; it's an auditory journey that celebrates the deep, often unspoken bond between artist, music, and environment. The resulting podcast is consistently engaging, offering a unique blend of natural history, cultural insight, and, of course, fantastic music. It provides a genuine sense of accompaniment, as if you’re right there beside them, sharing in the quiet moments and the melodic ones, all woven together into a wonderfully calming and enriching hour.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 122

Folk on Foot
Podcast Episodes
James Yorkston and Nina Persson in Tentsmuir Forest [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:04
The Fife based singer/songwriter James Yorkston and the Cardigans lead singer Nina Persson teamed up with the Swedish Second Hand Orchestra to make the gorgeous album “The Great White Sea Eagle”. On this atmospheric walk…
Katherine Priddy at Alvechurch & Tanworth in Arden [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:06
Katherine Priddy grew up in the village of Alvechurch in the West Midlands, writing songs as a teenager which eventually ended up on her beautiful debut album “The Eternal Rocks Beneath”. On a walk in the nearby countrys…
Amy-Jane Beer and Cynefin along the River Clettwr [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:33
Why do rivers play such a vital role in our lives, culture and folklore? In this glorious episode, the nature writer Amy-Jane Beer, author of “The Flow”, joins the Welsh singer and songwriter Owen Shiers (also known as C…
Freedom To Roam in the Malvern Hills [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:44
Freedom To Roam is a music and multi-media project dreamed up by the flautist Eliza Marshall as a response to many of the pressing issues facing us right now. On this walk climbing the glorious Malvern Hills she is joine…
Maddy Prior and Rose-Ellen Kemp at Stones Barn in Cumbria [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:52
“The snow it is lying on Bewcastle FellAnd the wind strips the skin from my face.The bare bones of a tree give some shelter to meBut still it’s a draughty old place.”Come to “the least populated area of the least populat…
The Wexford Carols with Caitriona O’Leary [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:04
A festive episode featuring the Wexford Carols sung by the beautiful voice of Caitriona O’Leary. The carols came out of the persecution of Catholics in Wexford in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and were written…
Gwilym Bowen Rhys in Aberdaron [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:30
Come for a wild, wet and windy walk on the beach at Aberdaron on the Llyn peninsula in Wales with the singer and songwriter Gwilym Bowen Rhys. Then join us in the local church where Gwilym demonstrates his musical versat…
Folk on Foot Trailer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:31
What is the multi-award-winning Folk on Foot all about? The Telegraph calls it “a restorative breathing space in sound”. In this sampler, host Matthew Bannister shares beautiful extracts from episodes featuring Karine Po…
The Dance of the Commons at the Englefield Estate [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:11
On a hot August day, scores of walkers in weird, wacky and wonderful costumes inspired by old English traditions, accompanied by morris dancers and musicians, set off to stage a peaceful and joyful mass trespass. Led by…