"Twelve Thousand Miles" Brilliant Pipes and Drums from New Zealand

Listening to this CD gave me chills that I remember experiencing when back in the early 70’s as a boy I first heard my father’s Invergordon Distillery’s Pipe Band record and again much later when listening to Simon Fraser University Pipe Band “Live at Carnegie Hall”. Those were benchmark recordings in a completely different league to your standard regimental pipes and drum material. Well so is this new album.

What sets “Twelve Thousand Miles” apart is that there is something so musical and fresh about this listening experience, yet in no way moving away from the long tradition of strathspeys, reels and jigs. So many aspects of this musical creation exude excellence. There are many striking and exciting new compositions, like the moving “Poyntzfield” with its majestic harmonies written by Pipe Major Stewart McKenzie to the experimental yet spiritual, ”Yesus” pipe arrangement by Timothy Cummings based on an Ethiopian folk hymn. Indeed Cummings, a Vermont based Celtic composer musician, seems to have his creative stamp all over this album with multiple arrangements being his.

Another aspect that significantly adds to a listener’s appreciation is the dark, evocative CD cover artwork and detailed booklet with notes and music explanations for each of the album’s 16 tracks. The booklet also tells the story of twelve thousand miles and the way the band plays tribute to the legacy of family and the Scottish heritage in New Zealand. Indeed the whole album resonates with this story.

Within the scope of contemporary pipes and drums this album has superb variety that includes the beautiful “Breton”, stunning solo piping from Easton, the small pipes of Omundsen and a haunting air by Roach, juxtaposed with the band in full flight on intense tracks like ”The Bandit” and “Full Spectrum”. Like their previous album, “The Calling” this also features the careful use of additional subtle instrumentation on three tracks that adds without distracting from the precise classical pipe tradition.

No doubt having Murray Blair again as producer has helped this rich, strong recording. Blair’s extensive experience recording bagpipes in Scotland, including Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, shows abundantly on this CD. You turn up the volume high in your lounge and the balance of crisp snares, tenor drums and bass have the realistic tonal reverberance but never encroaching on the powerful sound force of the pipes. This is an exemplary pipe band studio recording and deserves wider recognition. In music circles, New Zealanders talk about Neil Finn, Hayley Westernra, John Psathas, Nathan Haines and Alan Broadbent. Manawatu Scottish Society Pipe Band deserve to be recognized for their unique contribution to the broad spectrum of music from these islands. They have recorded a stunning and most musical pipes and drums album that stands with the best in the world.