Cliar

Cliar are very much at the heart of the Macmeanmna label, with two members of the band being Macmeanmna partners. The name of the band was taken from a Highland tour back in 1991 with four members of the original Cliar original line-up - Arthur Cormack, Mary Ann Kennedy, Blair Douglas and Chaz Stewart. The tour went under the name for the itinerant musicians and poets that used to travel from place to place offering entertainment in exchange for hospitality.

The four enjoyed the tour so much, it took them a mere seven years to get it together again, this time in the band set-up with Mary Ann's cousin - Maggie Macdonald - and fiddler Bruce MacGregor joining them. Blair was eventually replaced by the young, fiercesomely talented Ingrid Henderson on keyboard and clàrsach, but Chaz remained with the band until early 2002, and so features heavily in this debut release.

This album has been described as the "definitive sound of acoustic music in the Highlands".