Praise for debut Mirka CD

A young three-piece band with Vidlin connections have released their debut CD.

Mirka was formed in 2011 when two siblings and a cousin united through a mutual love for traditional music.

The band consists of Danny Garrick on fiddle, Karis Garrick on piano and Loris MacDonald on accordion. All three share family originating from Sandyburn in Vidlin, which is reflected in the band’s name, a loch in the hills of Sandyburn.

Mirka are heavily influenced by traditional music from Shetland and Scotland, as well as further afield such as the traditional scenes in Canada and Scandinavia.

The band have an impressive history of performing throughout Shetland and beyond; including the Shetland Folk Festival, Fiery Sessions, Shetland Fiddle and Accordion Festival and further afield at the Edinburgh Fringe and at concerts in County Clare, Ireland.

Currently two members of the band, Loris and Danny, are living in Edinburgh studying while Karis works full-time in Shetland. Even with this distance the three have arranged all their own sets and recorded their first album for the band.

The album launch will be held in Mareel Cafe Bar on Saturday 21st November. Mirka will be playing some tunes and have the album on sale during the afternoon from 2pm till 4pm. All are welcome to come for a listen, chat to the band and purchase the album.

Former Shetland music development officer Davie Gardner, was fulsome in his praise for the band.

He said: “They are, individually, already successful award winning musicians, firm fixtures on the Shetland music scene and seasoned music travellers outwith Shetland.”

Gardner was also impressed with the new CD, which was recorded and mixed in Shetland by Arthur Nicholson.

He added: “This, their debut CD, is literally jam-packed with a whole host of mainly up-tempo, ‘go-for-it’ tunes. Tunes that you can simply listen to and enjoy in their own right, or, alternatively, dance yourselves into a ‘soolp of sweat’ to – as the old Shetland saying goes.

“It’s often said when someone hears young musicians of this calibre that ‘Shetland music is in safe hands’. Given the evidence here I can only whole-heartedly agree.”