John Carnie - Acoustic Guitar - Scottish & Irish Flatpicking, Blues and Songs

Traditional Scottish Music, Jigs and Reels on Acoustic Guitar - New CD "Far From Home"

 The recent tour in early November with Dave Moir went very well and highlights included the Carrying Stream Festival in Edinburgh and the Cavern Club in Liverpool where we played the acoustic set as part of the 14th Rory Gallagher UK tribute show. A very warm welcome to this Scottish acoustic guitar website. John Carnie is a singer & guitarist specialising in blues and folk music. His latest CD Far From Home - ("An exposition of fleetfingered flatpicking” - Scotland on Sunday) features  Scottish tunes on guitar that come from the treasure trove of Scotland's musical heritage.

"Swings like a cat" - The Scotsman

"It is a box of delights ... a wonderful album" -BBC Radio Scotland 

"Far from Home is a delight" - BBC Radio Nan Gael

"An exposition of fleet-fingered flatpicking" - Scotland on Sunday

Far from Home was "CD of the Week" in September 2009 on Celtic Music Radio. Check out the links on the left for recent radio interview.  Check John Carnie guitar video clips with the flatpicking clip "Music for a Found Harmonium" on youtube  and also a couple of blues songs: Rory Gallagher's 20:20 Vision:  youtube and an old Muddy Waters slide guitar tune: youtube

The album features the jazzy double bass playing of Brian Shiels and some bluesy twists of long time cohorts, Dave Moir & Spider Mackenzie. It is the first album of its type ever to feature an entirely Scottish selection of tunes flatpicked on the acoustic guitar. Recorded at Castlesound Studios near Edinburgh, it covers the entire spectrum of Scottish  traditional tunes from Shetland reels through to Borders jigs and from West Highland harp tunes to swingy East Coast hornpipes. There are new tunes such as Rory Gallagher's Jig and also tunes that are hundreds of years old. It is a treat for all fans of the acoustic guitar and also fans of Irish, traditional, blues and bluegrass music. The album has been getting some great reviews and has had around a dozen plays on the BBC Scotland Iain Anderson Show alone.

John has been involved in the 'People and Songs of the Sea' CD released on the Greentrax lable in June 2009. One of his tracks 'The Shaalds of Foulla" has been included on the album. The CD reflects the rich cultural heritage of Scotland's fishing communities, with recordings from a fine list of artists including:  Archie Fisher, The Corries, Gerry OConner, The Cast, The McCalmans and Shona McMillan.  www.musicscotland.com/cd/people-and-songs-of-the-sea.html  

"Scottish label supreme, Greentrax scores yet again with a brilliant piece of work.....make no mistake this is a gorgeous album.... Bottom line and inarguable this is a brilliant album of tunes and songs" - LiveIreland.com