When composing the title track for my album Indian Summer, I wanted the song to be underpinned by Ragtime honky-tonk piano but I also wanted to feature Old Timey clawhammer banjo. After deluging my keyboard player, Michael Laffan, with Randy Newman CDs and Scott Joplin scores, we came up with a workable piano part but, being a laid-back kind of guy, his performance tempo was a little on the leisurely side.

We are currently raising funds for the INDIAN SUMMER Promotional Tour

If you were thinking of buying a CD from SONAS Multimedia, now is the time:

Keep artists alive and support them in their work
Money is energy to be used in positive ways

And if there is a venue near you that you would like us to play, please let us know! Send a message to info@sonasmultimedia.com

Thank you!

Sharon Armstrong talks to TALITHA MACKENZIE, a globally renowned singer of Gaelic songs, Composer and Ethnomusicologist

1. What is your earliest memory of Edinburgh and why did you move there?

Talitha MacKenzie's trans-Atlantic song "Land of the Setting Sun" has won 5th place in the World Music Category of the 12th Annual USA Songwriting Competition out of 33,700 entries overall. This is the "World's Leading International Songwriting Competition, promoting the art and excellence of songwriting". For more information, please see www.songwriting.net.

Talitha MacKenzie’s long-awaited new album is a celebration of the connection between Celtic and American cultures through the eyes of an artist whose family history is reflected in both.

Appearing on Indian Summer are new talent Rhiannon Giddens (Carolina Chocolate Drops) on vocals, fiddle & banjo and her husband Michael Laffan on piano and vocals.

Tracks available for download from SONAS Multimedia for only 79 pence each: Country-flavoured title track "Indian Summer"
Upbeat Old Timey song "Wheeling Island Girls"
"Amazing Grace" in English and Cherokee ("Unelanvhi Uwetsi")
Genealogical pop song "Family Tree"
Country Ballad "Wind Chases the Sun".

The song "Wind Chases the Sun", from the album Indian Summer, is based on Leonard Peltier's book Prison Writings: My Life is My Sundance.

To buy the download single, please go to http://www.sonasmultimedia.com
For more information on the campaign to Free Peltier, see http://www.leonardpeltier.net
For more information on the artist Martin Ball, see http://www.martinball.net

A beautiful and fascinating new book, Wheeling Island, a Photographic History, by Robert Schramm, is currently available from Creative Impressions.

For information on remixes of "Ajde Jano" (featuring Talitha MacKenzie) go to http://www.dj-gray.com.