Album from Taming Ægir project now available!

Album from Taming Ægir project now available!

Taming Ægir (Ægir = ocean in Old Norse) is the product of Morag Currie’s time as Environmental Artist in Residence at Lyth Arts Centre (LAC) in Wick, in collaboration with the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology (MASTS) and the Environmental Research Institute in Thurso (part of the University of the Highlands and Islands), also supported by NatureScot. Through folk music compositions, local soundscapes and excerpts from interviews with locals and researchers, Morag explored the possibilities of tidal stream energy in the north of Scotland and how this prospect intermingles with the lives and work of locals.

Following a live performance in Wick in October 2021, as part of LACs Northern Lights Festival, we can now share a short video montage from that event and the release of the studio-recorded Taming Ægir album, which can be enjoyed as audio tracks on SoundCloud or with accompanying video on YouTube.

Taming Ægir begins in times of Norse legend, beneath the Swelkie whirlpool off the island of Stroma. Imprisoned Giant sisters Fenia and Menia begin the cycle of power, grinding all the salt into the sea: as the music fades, the quernstone is replaced by the distant hum of a subsea turbine – the cycle has begun…

We converse with the Selkies, deep dive with the Tysties  and meets those whose lives are shaped by the water. Is it possible that we could have both a clean, renewable energy source for the planet and a sustainable, high-skill industry desperately needed by local populations in the Far North?

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