(Press
release)
An
eighteenth-century protest song is the inspiration behind Scottish pianist Dave Milligan’s catchy and deeply
grooving download single, Parcel of Rogues, which is released today,
Monday 10th August.
Such
a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation is a poem attributed to Robert Burns in 1791 to
decry the members of the Parliament of Scotland who signed the 1707 Act of
Union with England. In the 1960s and 1970s it was taken up by political singers
including Ewan MacColl and Dick Gaughan and the folk groups The Dubliners and
Steeleye Span. More recently it has come to be regarded as an international
anthem.
“The
melody has stayed with me since I first played it with The Unusual Suspects
many years ago,” says Milligan. “It’s a powerful tune, with a kind of anthemic
quality. When I was given the opportunity to record with two outstanding
Italian musicians, the bassist Danilo Gallo and drummer U.T. Gandhi in Italy, I
wanted to try some Scottish themes with them to see how they would
respond.”
The
versatile Milligan, whose recent work has encompassed jazz, folk music and
theatre, explored Parcel of Rogues with the Italians - along with a handful of
other traditional melodies, including the late Hamish Henderson’s Freedom Come
All Ye. “I thought those two songs worked particularly well - I had to include
them in the new album, Momento,” he said. Radio producers and presenters who
were sent early copies have almost unanimously selected Parcel of Rogues as the
featured track.
The
phrase ‘parcel of rogues’ has been used in relation to the current political
situations in the UK and the US and even recently in Lebanon, and Milligan is
aware of its potency.
“It
didn’t really occur to me that broadcasters might be drawn to Parcel of Rogues
for non-musical reasons - some might not even be aware of the political
connection,” says Milligan.
His
recording doesn’t reveal the words but the narrative of the song depicts a
sense of indignation at the abuse of power which led to a massive socio-political
shift. “That was well over 200 years ago and people still feel it, probably
more than ever,” he says. “Just look around at some of the political
establishments today - the word ‘rogues’ doesn’t quite cover it.”
Milligan
has no problem with whatever associations people attribute to the track. “You
make your own connection with art,” he says. “I set out to make music and
that’s what this is about for me; the strength of the melody, the groove that
Danilo and Gandhi created, and how good instrumental music can make people
feel.”
No comments :
Post a Comment