Having a laptop to carry your music collection around with you, and the convenience of files on a computer over on disks means I’ve been listening to more music than I used to. Here are some recommendations.
Sigur Ros are an Icelandic band who produce great symphonies of music from a typical keyboard and guitar setup. The lyrics are sometimes in Icelandic and sometimes in a made-up language but don’t be put off by that it’s great music to chill out to. I saw them at Glastonbury last year and they were superb but the show would have been better if I’d had a deck chair to relax on.
Manu Chao is one of the most popular Latin American musicians, behind Shakira (I have a cousin named Shakira after the pop singer, don’t know if that’s a good sign or not). Lively music that’s great fun to listen to.
Zum I heard on some radio show and bought their CD through their website. Sadly you can’t download their music (I’ll make an entry on that topic one day). Eastern European Gypsy music mixed with Argentinian Tango makes this another under-marketed genre (or two).
Finally Martyn Bennett, a Skye based musician mixing traditional Scottish music with modern beats. Grit is his best album yet and features recordings from Scottish and Romany folklorists. Various bits to download on his website.
If you like Sigur Ros you might like Godspeed You Black Emperor as they have a similar orchestral style, though their music would have a much darker quality to it.
Martyn Bennet isn’t from Skye, although he is from up north (although he’s originally Canadian IIRC). I remember the first time I saw him play, at the Festival Club in Central Hotel during Celtic Connections around four or five years ago. Blew everything else off the stage, then the fire alarm went off. Rock and roll.
Gordon is right, it’s Mull he lives on. He lived in Newfoundland until he was 6 where his Scots mother was researching Gaelic immigration. My mistake.