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OVERVIEW Olympics
tracks:
GULRAVAGE
CORONACH
PLANET PORRIDGE |
"They wowed the Tartan Army in the centre of Birmingham
during Euro 96, but an even bigger - and also colder and slippier - sporting
stage awaits the Porridge Men next month at the Winter Olympics in
Turin.
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
