Malin Lewis - Halocline

Less well known than their Highland cousins, the bellows-blown Scottish Smallpipes have undergone a revival in recent decades. The latest name on the scene is West Coast piper, composer and instrument maker Malin Lewis with their debut album, Halocline.

Named after the visible layers created where saltwater meets freshwater, the album reflects Lewis’ story as an openly trans person who grew up in the Inner Hebrides before moving to study in Glasgow. Not just in the titles of their compositions, but in the way the music itself confidently straddles multiple environments, with rhythmic and harmonic ambiguity a feature throughout.

A capable player of fiddle and low whistle as well as the smallpipes, Lewis’ tunes show abundant traditional Scottish and other European influences. These are supported by a contemporary palette of sounds including synth, electric guitar and saxophone.

These complement each other in unexpected ways, with the broad spectrum of different textures and tones stretching in multiple directions. The muted brass stabs on Luna’s and The Old Inn share the space beneath the surface of the pipe melody with guitars, pads and drums without seeming obtrusive, while Matthew Held’s saxophone at times flits around the piping, at others breaking free and taking a lead role.

The melodies themselves play with recognisable traditional forms and motifs without being bound by the more foursquare strictures of metre and cadence. Slow march Tune 51 slips in and out of step with the downbeat of the taut drum rolls, while Elision doubles down on the irregular rhythms of the traditional kopanitsa forming the first half of the set as it transitions into a blistering not-quite-reel.

Likewise, the way the chord progressions twist and turn and avoid definite resolution at the end of phrases such as on the knotty Luna’s or the infectiously joyful Trans allows the music to break free from the binary chord choices that were previously a feature of more orthodox traditional Scottish music.

The freeform air You Are Not Alone is well matched to the bittersweet harmonies created between chanter and drones, while just as you think the players in The Old Inn have found a key for their resting place during the extended outro, they float off tantalisingly into the night without settling down.

All the emotional depth and subtlety available through phrasing and ornamentation on the smallpipes is used to the fullest by Lewis on their self-made and sweet toned chanter. The long notes are held back just long enough for extra emphasis on the faster tunes, while the grace notes on Luna’s show a deft lightness of touch.

On Halocline, a lot of the most exciting and intriguing features of 21st Century Scottish trad are brought together and taken to new levels, but not so much that a sense of youthful joy and discovery can’t shine through. A groundbreaking album in more ways than one.