Festival Interviews
Karine Polwart
IF you are looking for the Scottish Folk answer to Alanis Morrisette, look no further, for Banknock born Karine Polwart outshines the Canadian songstress ten-fold.
Karine is a woman who loves to tell stories; who demands her songs have a rich layering of humanity; and who has long since succeeded in her mission to create powerful songs that are haunting and speak to her audience emotionally.
"The most powerful way to make people think and change is by telling stories," she divulged when she spoke to Hebridean Entertainments this week ahead of her Hebridean Celtic Festival performance on July 29.
"I love good storytelling songs, such as fables, and when I first got into folk music what got me were the ballads that linked you with the ideas and people of the past - you can see that people are still the same. I love feeling connected to all these things that have gone before."
It's a slight change of direction for Karine, who from 2000 to 2007 defiantly stayed away from auto-biographical songs for fear of boring people, and focused entirely on the bigger issues affecting the world: grief; moral ambivalence; and satirical politics, as she explained:
"I didn't want to be that kind of songwriter that just wrote from inside my head - I thought that was rather boring if I'm honest - I just wanted to look at other people and tell these stories."
But in 2007, that all changed with the arrival of Karine's first bouncing baby boy:
"I realised that actually my family's really interesting - everybody's family is," she chuckled. "It's been amazing, it's been a great source of inspiration and I can see it's going to be a great creative influence.
She continued: "Now, being a mum, I think that there are stories to tell from my point of view and it's not so bad writing about yourself as long as you have something to say. Being a mum has been a big positive influence."
In fact Karine's last album - 'This Earthly Spell,' positively embraces motherhood - with three songs either dedicated to her son, or to being a mother in general - and if anything her music has evolved from that personal touch with an added depth and a raw emotional core - that while present before, is now much more tangible.
"That's definitely something to do with having a baby and feeling connected with them," she agrees. "Someone who does that brilliantly is Michael Mara - he makes really powerful songs even though you don't know the people he's singing about - and I'd like to give that a go."
But it's not all about going gaa-gaa for the bubba. The revelation that she might have something personal to add has helped her to discover her love for ballads rooted in the past can also be a personal experience - with Karine seeking out the tales of her family history and discovering stories that are full of fire and passion - exactly what she wants to inspire her music.
Now she's bringing that that stunning style to Lewis for the 13th annual Celtic Festival.
"Of all the festivals in Britain, not even of Scotland, but Britain, it's the one people want to play at the most," mused Karine. "It's great that there's all these big name acts mixed in equally with smaller up-and-coming ones, and in that sense it's like the Cambridge festival in England. I think it punches above its weight."
But more than the festival - exploring her home country more thoroughly is an unrealised dream of Karines.
"I've never been to Lewis at all, so I'm excited about it," she enthused. "I know folks from the island and I know it's got an amazing identity.
"I've always meant to go," she continued. "It's just about taking the effort and it's funny because my Canadian father-in-law went across there last month so he managed it before me and I live in Scotland!
"I'm delighted to finally get a chance to come across."
Karine's stunning style will be on show in An Lanntair on Saturday July 19 when she performs with the Karine Polwart trio and shares the bill with Iain Morrison - frontman of Crash My Model Car. Tickets cost £12 and are available from the festival office.
