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PREORDER - Brave New Music: The Martyn Bennett Story - Paperback book
PREORDER - Brave New Music: The Martyn Bennett Story - Paperback book
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Martyn Bennett was an artist ahead of his time. Piper, violinist, composer, producer, DJ – his radical blend of tradition and technology created an audacious new sound that was uniquely his own.
Steeped in the folk cultures of Scotland, yet inspired too by deep-rooted traditions from far beyond, his music ignored boundaries and celebrated cultural difference wherever he found it. Although classically trained, he was drawn to the gritty excitement of the urban dance club scene, and his fusion of folk, classical, jazz and hard-edged electronica was championed by the likes of Peter Gabriel and the folklorist Hamish Henderson who labelled it ‘brave new music’.
This biography traces his story through personal struggles and artistic triumphs, and offers an assessment of his place in the pantheon of major Scottish artists. It is a story of resilience as well as innovation: twice diagnosed with unrelated cancers, his professional career lasted little more than a decade, and he fought serious illness for half of it. He died in January 2005, aged 33. Yet his art continues to inspire: where he led, others have followed, and his music still wins awards and fills concert halls at major international festivals two decades after his death.
Reviews:
The legacy of one of Scotland’s most innovative and beloved musicians is to be celebrated with a new biography. MARK McDOUGALL, The Herald
Martyn Bennett was an artist ahead of his time. Piper, violinist, composer, producer, dj – his radical blend of tradition and technology created an audacious new sound that was uniquely his own. VISIT SCOTLAND
This biography traces his story through personal struggles and artistic triumphs, and offers an assessment of his place in the pantheon of major Scottish artists. It is a story of resilience as well as innovation... GLASGOW LIFE
A man who was arguably one of Scotland's greatest, most avant-garde contemporary composer musicians. SALLY McDONALD, The Sunday Post
Gary West marshals all this – and more – with considerable skill, alongside informed assessments of Bennett’s recordings. There is much about Bennett’s later years that is tragic, but Bennett himself was quite the mischievous sprite, full of humour, and what shines through above all is his determination to present the music he heard in his imagination to the very best standards. ROB ADAMS, UK Jazz News
About the Author: GARY WEST is a writer, musician and broadcaster based in Edinburgh, who has spent his professional life researching, teaching, performing and promoting the cultural and musical traditions of Scotland. A former professor and head of Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh, he has published widely on the themes of music, heritage and folklore. He presented the specialist music programme Pipeline on BBC Radio Scotland for two decades before developing his own podcast, Enjoy Your Piping, which promotes bagpipe music on a weekly basis to over 100 nations worldwide. He serves as an external examiner at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of the Highlands and Islands, and in 2020 was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame.
