Stay Strong : Bithibh Laidir / Rester Fort

Blair Douglas releases his fifth studio album on 9 June. Following on from the 2004 album Angels from the Ashes, the new album Stay Strong/ Bithibh Laidir / Rester Fort is a mainly song based album featuring a variety of guest vocalists such as Michael Mara, Eddi Reader, Cookie Rankin, Kathleen McInnes and Runrig’s Bruce Guthro and Rory Macdonald.
Throughout his career Blair has been a cartographer of the tradition and has put down a marker wherever the musical diaspora takes root. As an accordionist he is strongly influenced by both his own rich Gaelic instrumental heritage and Cajun music culture – two strands of musical and cultural traditions closely linked, in Blair’s view. Stay Strong/ Bithibh Laidir / Rester Fort manifests this link in music and song – the language of cultural expression.
blair douglasBlair provided some answers to questions about the making of the album. This was part of a much larger interview published in the Runrig Magazine – The Wire, in May 2008.