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"From the world's edge -
untouched by civilisation,
Hear the music of
the aboriginal peoples of the
Atlantic rim,
Handcrafted for you, using only
the poorest quality materials,
By the most incompetent of
native artisans,"
The
Guireans
are the leading exponents of
the indigenous and unknown Outer
Hebridean musical form known as
Avante Gaelic
Obscurist Folk Rock.
(AGOFR) From their isolated
island base in Sandwick the Guireans
have attacked every genre of music
from danns a'rathaid to death metal
since 1979, with a
lack of success that surprises no
one who hears them. escribing
the Guireans' music we have to use
the overexercised term "celtic", but
only so that this site will show up
on beardy folky people's web
searches.
The Guireans' formula is
simple.Take a well known popular
song, change the lyrics to
address the concerns of life in
Lewis - sheep, peats, sgadan 's
buntata, the curam, tractors and
funerals - play very badly using
whatever instruments or domestic
items are handy. Sing tunelessly
in mixture of indecipherable
Stoarnowaywegian dialect,
gramatically questionable Gaelic
and Beurla Taobh Muigh a'Chattle
Grid (the pidgin
English utilised by the indigenous rural peasantry to
converse with White Settlers and
Townies). Record on the poorest
quality cassette player
available. Finally, stick
the tape at the back of a drawer
for at least 15 years without
listening to it before you take
it out again.
The resulting product
obviously has a rather
limited appeal, so if you're
visiting this site you've
probably either been a
Guirean or you're someone
who knows them and feels
sorry for them sometimes.
Co
dhiu, at this site we've got
a
Tapeography
of the band, which takes you
through their history and
lineups since 1979 and
identifies all the
recordings we know about.
This is the best place to
start. If you're desperate
it'll lead you to the many
mp3 snippets of Guireans
"hits" we've got online.
There's also stuff on Avante
Gaelic Obscurist Folk Rock (AGOFR), film
appearances, lost
recordings, contacts and
pictures for those who
aren't too good at reading.
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