About

Iain is a writer, musician, singer from the Outer Hebrides.

“A dense folk masterpiece”  The National

“These were songs you instantly wanted to hear all over again”   5/5  The Scotsman

‘a beguiling sort of alt- folk haven’ Songlines

“a gem of a work of art”  9/10  XSNoize

“it’s utterly compelling”   musicOMH

“If the island’s land and sea made music it would probably sound a lot like this” Off the Croft Blog

“imposing and significantly beguiling album”  Fatea Records

“The album opens with Suibhal (47), perhaps the most austere piece of music Morrison has ever recorded – but also the most bleakly beautiful, as low whistle rises from a level drone, and vocals and guitars repeat and loop around themselves. Past albums were good, but Morrison’s fully evolved writing here is even better”  The Herald

‘Iain Morrison’s music is an enigmatic and truly original mix of creative elements which, beyond its immediate sonorous beauty, has a depth of startlingly imaginative, even surreal, observation’    Hi-Arts

‘Highly Recommended’  The List

‘To the Horizon, Sir is an exceptional album from a very gifted artist, we can’t recommend him enough…brilliant!’ Folk Radio UK

‘Morrison is from the Outer Hebrides and his atmospheric songs are awash with the bleak beauty of the region. A remarkable slice of rural folk’    R2 Magazine

‘But the heart of the afternoon, at least for this reviewer, is the set by Iain Morrison and Daibhidh Martin. Morrison, who cut his milk teeth in the piping tradition of the Western Isles before going on to indie success with Crash My Model Car, is a musician who could well claim to be one of the original pioneers of Scottish Nu-folk, were he at all interested in that kind of thing. Martin, accompanied only by an imperturbable cellist and Morrison’s guitar, breathes lyrics in the inimitable accents of Lewis and stills the room. Morrison curls over the microphone and tears his songs straight out of his heart; it’s hard to keep a dry eye during “Angel Wings in the Closet”. The presence of most of the Hidden Lane Choir in the audience helps considerably when he asks for vocal help on a chorus. “You are the only one”, sings the audience. It’s true – there is only one Iain Morrison’  Northings

‘An entrancing entity!’  4½/5 Maverick Magazine

One of the most exciting things about working on a new music blog is that wonderful moment when you start listening to something you’ve never heard before and immediately feel drawn in by the melody and the quality. If you listen to one track and it’s good it can be seen as fortuitous, but when you skip through an artists album and establish that every song is just as good as the last, then you know you’ve stumbled across a very rare and precious thing. Rather than skipping, each song gets played to the end, and then played again. Iain Morrison’s music is just that. The new album ‘To The Horizon, Sir’ is a thing of great beauty. Here we showcase ‘Stones & Matches’, but it may as well have been any one of the tracks on the album, such is the quality that runs throughout. If you love acoustic folk music, or even if you’ve never considered the genre before but love music full of poignancy and melody, ‘To The Horizon, Sir’ is an excellent investment. Vaderevader Music Blog

If you are a fan of Neil Young especially, but a bit scunnered with his musical meandering, this may give you the fix that you are looking for. The Herald

This is music big on atmosphere, gently persuasive and filled with an unhurried but powerful assurance.  Acoustic Magazine

If you’re looking for something different although by no means outlandish you’ll find it here. A subjectively stunning masterpiece!   UK Folk Magazine

There are times when “To The Horizon, Sir” feels disarming and yet at the same time comforting. Ultimately it’s those juxtapositions that make this album such a fascinating listen. Morrison is an excellent writer, one that makes you both listen and think and that’s why this is such a good album to take time out for.    Fatea Magazine

Morrison grew up as a player of the highland pipes; here he plays guitar and harmonium, but the burr remains at the edge of his voice.   4/5 Financial Times

The whole package sums up as incredibly polarised in its effort to be lovely, and it works, because right now I want to sit down and listen to it forever.   Muzic Dizcovery Blog

The result is at times minimalist and stately, and at times all-pervading and unaccommodated, but all very much of a self-contained cosmos. You find yourself sat with Morrison as you listen. But you fear for him too: that Morrison could so rashly set out to the horizon and not flinch from any and all obstacles in the way. I can only suggest that you listen – and take this as a heads-up since Morrison may well come to be established as a defining and essential voice.
Dr Ben Halligan
Director of Postgraduate Research Studies, Media, Music and Performance
University of Salford

4/4