Pulse, musician Mairi Campbell’s highly regarded theatre show about her musical and cultural journey, thrilled audiences at Celtic Connections earlier this year. She is now bringing the show to Summerhall for a residency at the Fringe, before heading on to the Findhorn Bay Festival in September. We spoke to her as she makes her final preparations…
Who are you and what are you doing in Edinburgh?
I’m Mairi Campbell, a Scottish musician and I’m performing a solo show about a musician trying to figure out how to play in time. A musical and personal homecoming.
Fringe first-timer or old hand?
It’s the first time I’ll be doing a full three week run. I’ve played the odd gig most years, but I generally keep out the way of the Edinburgh performing scene in August, there’s way too much competition!
Your show starts with an unhappy experience at Guildhall School of Music. Tell us about that…
Well, Guildhall gave me a solid grounding in classical music but my rhythm machine was champing at the bit and it reached boiling point by the end of my time there. After a spat over them discounting my own composition on the grounds that I was only considered a violist and no other “voice” would be considered I got on a train and headed north, just like that Caledonia ad!
There’s another side that makes it all good. I needed to know about Pulse and classical music education just doesn’t go there. I appreciate the Guildhall now for how it propelled me into another direction, and gave me great tools which have seen me through thirty years as a freelance musician.
How did you then go about finding your own independent creative path?
That’s been about meeting and following teachers, methods and ideas and anything that I was drawn to. A real mix and match. So, there was 12 years following a meditative, spiritual practice called Sahaja Yoga. Then Kath Burlinson’s Authentic Artist process has allowed a lot to happen and shapes this time around making shows and larger theatre works. I’m also currently working with the amazing Paul Oertal and Nancy Spanier who have profound wisdoms and knowledge around creativity and performance. I’d say though, that Kath Burlinson, the director and co-creator of Pulse has been my creative midwife. It’s been a fantastic collaboration. We’ve taken our time, working together in various projects over the last five years, so it’s great to have such a fruitful creative relationship. The whole team behind Pulse is fantastic. We’re all really excited about this show.
Can you tell us more about the artistic practises you used when working on Pulse?
About four years ago I discovered InterPlay which is a cross-form improvisatory method. It’s a great community music making tool kit, but it’s also an amazing personal creative development practice. Making creative choices and finding the right form for my voice – “voice” being the story, the textures, viola, voice, story, movement, animation, backing tracks, they’re all textures that we bring to Pulse. The material is found through improv. There’s a thrill in bringing so much of myself to the show.
The piece was also developed against the backdrop of the Scottish referendum. How did that feed into the final work?
For me the 2014 referendum unleashed huge creative energies. The movement was thrilling and gave me the confidence to show up and tell the story that I had experienced, that made me aware of how Scotland has lost so much of her cultural identity. But it’s when you lose your pulse that you lose your voice.
We could be heading into really intense times, we already are, and I just hope that we have what it takes to face what’s coming. When we lost the vote, I was devastated but I also felt that the point of the whole thing had another purpose. This energy is an evolutionary step, dramas help activate us on a deeper, more evolutionary level. It’s time to wake up time!
For those from other musical and cultural backgrounds, do you think there’s anything in your own personal story that would nevertheless resonate?
I know it does. The audience response when we premiered at the Tron for Celtic Connections was extraordinary. There’s an honesty, humour and an incredible musical score, which makes every second of this show resonate
Do you see yourself continuing along these lines or will you always love a straight “gig”?
I see myself doing both. I’d like to make other shows for sure. The collaboration with Dave Gray continues, which will no doubt feed into another show.
I love to play concerts more than ever, so there are little tours happening across the year – playing in Highland village halls in October and Germany in 2017.
What are you looking forward to most about August?
Repeating the shows many times and digging into it and seeing what comes up and how it lands with my audience.