Released July 2025. Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey - Step aboard the SS Metagama, a journey that will take you from the Butt to Barra and on to the lakes and plains of Canada, to 1920s Detroit and Prohibition, through the ebb and flow of fortunes on both sides of the Atlantic, with this ensemble of acclaimed musicians and singers on their album Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey. Writer and poet Donald S Murray, pianist/songwriter Liza Mulholland, Gaelic actor and 7:84 Theatre Company co-founding performer Dolina MacLennan, Gaelic singer and piper Calum Alex Macmillan, fiddler Charlie Mackerron of Capercaillie and Session A9, singer-songwriter Willie Campbell, and Canadian cellist Christine Hanson, present a stunning body of work in 36 tracks. 19 superb traditional Gaelic and new songs in English written by the ensemble, and all new instrumental pieces, are interspersed with narration by Dolina and Donald, movingly commemorating and honouring the lives and experiences of young islanders in the mass emigration from the Hebrides to Canada and the USA in 1923/24. From the heartache of homesickness and separation, the emotional poignancy of tragedy and loss, to the lively fun of cèilidh tunes on the dance floors of North America, this album gives voice to the experiences of the young emigrants and those left behind, telling the story of an important period in Hebridean history, the impact of which is still felt in the islands today. Since they premiered their 5* Atlantic Odyssey show in a Creative Scotland-supported tour of the Highlands and Islands in 2023, the Metagama Ensemble’s project has grown exponentially. Interest in the project, marking the centenary of the mass emigration, has been widespread, with capacity audiences and community support throughout the tour followed by a sell-out show at Celtic Connections in 2024. Numerous requests for a recording of the concert prompted the Ensemble to do just that and their new album – supported by Creative Scotland and an outstanding legacy of the project comprising music, song and narration from the show - is now released by Wee Studio Records. The Ensemble felt it important to keep the project bedded in the Hebrides, where the story originated, and so chose to record in Black Bay Studio on Great Bernera and in The Wee Studio, Ness, Isle of Lewis. The album also includes several live tracks from Celtic Connections and Eden Court Theatre, and was launched in An Lanntair, Stornoway, on Saturday 19th July at their HebCelt concert. The album is available from Wee Studio Records in CD and digital formats and will be supported by a new Autumn Scottish tour in Oct. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557037868810 https://www.instagram.com/metagama.anatlanticodyssey You can find and buy the Album on the Wee Studios Web page and Bandcamp. https://weestudio.co.uk/products/metagama-ensemble-metagama-an-atlantic-odyssey-cd https://metagamaensemble.bandcamp.com/