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In the early 2000s, eminent American jazz musician Willie Ruff suggested that much of African American music has its roots in the Gaelic psalm singing of the Western Isles, which crossed the Atlantic with the slave trade. Ruff, an African American, insists that although it's painful, ?the music can't lie', and he has since been called a traitor, and a puppet of white polemic. If most of contemporary culture is a maelstrom of influences, why do we want to claim ownership of it? This is a journey of dances and songs which begin as cries of suffering, and become the most urgent calls of protest. This is one of three new works-in-progress in Tramway's spring season which is influenced by Gaelic culture, and a new articulation of Gaelic Arts within the venue's programme.

Creatives/Company

Presented by: Elspeth Turner