A long overdue blog post about this fantastic 2019 project!

Rory says:

‘Last year I had the great pleasure of collaborating with the brilliant Scottish singer-songwriter, Jenny Sturgeon, on a project which Jenny had begun working on inspired by the Cairngorms, Nan Shepherd’s seminal mountain memoir, The Living Mountain, and the connection people have with wild places.

Being childhood friends, Jenny knew well the love I have for the hills and remote places - a passion we both share - this led her to get in touch about the possibility of sourcing materials from the Cairngorms to build a guitar for her 2020 album and tour The Living Mountain. Well, to say I was a little excited about the project is an understatement! The hunt was on…

The first material I managed to source was an incredible old Scots Pine bar shelf from The Fife Arms. The shelf, which was offered to us by a mutual friend in Braemar, had spent the last 100 years of it’s life in the hotel’s whisky store, and with the bottle marks still visible we knew we had to use it. As Jenny said, ‘oh the stories this could tell!’.

The character of the shelf where the stains from the whisky bottles were still visible in the wood.

Later in the year Jenny and I travelled to the Linn of Dee, Braemar, where we spent a fantastic day walking the hills, discussing the design and sound requirements of the guitar, working out what resonance and tonal qualities would suit the songs and gathering lichen and Scottish heather which I wanted to use in the detailing.

Alongside the back, top and sides being made from the old bar shelf, the neck of the Nan Taran was made from a reclaimed Scottish Walnut stair bannister and the Oak headstock from a beam off an old Scottish fishing boat which used to sail out of the East Neuk harbour of Anstruther, 5 minutes from the workshop.

I was delighted with the finished guitar which, in Jenny’s hands, came to life when she arrived to pick it up one sunny September afternoon. This was a fantastic project to work on and to know that the wood all has it’s own story to tell and will now create new stories in Jenny’s talented hands, makes me incredibly happy.’

Look out for The Living Mountain album by Jenny Sturgeon featuring the Nan Taran at www.jennysturgeonmusic.com .

An intimate version of Jenny Sturgeon's song MAN. Recorded live with her Nan Taran in the Lyth Arts Centre turret as part of Turret Sessions.

The Nan Taran - a collaboration with singer-songwriter Jenny Sturgeon