Stunning Gaelic folk single 'Ceithir Gaothan na h-Alba' (The Four Winds of Scotland) by Julie Fowlis & Oliver Cox - out 15th Mar

On 15 March 2024, Lush Fresh Handmade Sound presents Ceithir Gaothan na h-Alba (The Four Winds of Scotland) a brand-new single from composer Oliver Cox & folk artist Julie Fowlis, the first release from the new Lush Spa Highlands Spa Treatment soundtrack.

Ceithir Gaothan na h-Alba is a beautiful and gentle traditional folk song, written by Oliver Cox and Julie Fowlis to the poem by Scottish writer George Campbell Hay. Oliver’s skilful piano sets you in motion as you take your first steps over the rolling meadow hills, while Julie‘s pensive vocal, singing in Scottish Gaelic transports you to the magical and untamed wilderness of the Scottish Highlands.

Oliver Cox: ‘I composed the music for Ceithir Gaothan Na H’Alba whilst on a campervan trip in Scotland. The first piano sketches came to me whilst on the wild Ardnamurchan peninsula, in the shadow of Beinn Resipol. I always knew it would be a song, I just hadn’t found the words or melody yet, so was excited when Julie agreed to collaborate. Her beautiful melody weaves over and around my piano part in such a unique way.”

The song is being released to celebrate the exclusive launch of Lush’s brand new 60 min full body, hot stone Highlands Spa Treatment at their Glasgow and Edinburgh stores from March 1st (launching in Lush Spas globally in September 2024). Like previous Lush Spa treatments, the Highlands features a bespoke soundtrack lovingly created by a handful of talented musicians deeply immersed in the themes of this unique piece of work, these include: Simon Emmerson, Richard Evans, Ged Lynch, Ewen Henderson, Julie Fowlis, Èamon Doorley, Oliver Cox, Martin O’Neill, Simon Richmond and creative direction support Luise London. However this collaboration is unlike any other. From the initial idea to the completion of the treatment, Lush’s Spa therapists, in this case Jody Bailey worked closely with the musicians on the treatment development. It’s a back and forth of ideas, not only shaped by the sound and journey of the music, but also the treatment itself, so by the end of the 60 minutes the massage and the music are merging into one. It’s the ultimate Spa experience to transport you deep into the Scottish Highlands, its rich history, ancient wisdom, breathtaking nature and unpredictable weather.

This treatment experience starts in wide, rolling heather meadows, beginning to surround you with the wild nature and wisdom of the land, as rain and thunder heard from the distance are moving closer. As the soundtrack and massage becomes more rhythmic and vigorous it’s as if you are hiking up a mountain, reaching the peak with a burst of fresh air, delivered in the form of cool stones applied gently to pressure points on the face, filling you with inspiration and imagination, as your body and mind open to the beautiful views across the Highland mountain range. You are guided on your way back down by traditional Gaelic Folk songs strongly intertwined with the culture, folklore and nature of the Highlands, equipping you with the energy to master your next endeavour. For More information on the treatment see here.

Julie Fowlis: ‘This is the first time I collaborated with Lush on a piece of music for a treatment like this. It requires a completely different approach to what we’d usually do and the music that we’d be commissioned to create. It’s always been really important to me to sing in Scottish Gaelic. These are the songs I feel closest to. They’re the ones that I heard in my formative years and the ones that feel pretty much part of me and the community that I belong to.”

“I feel even though some of these songs are pretty old, some that I sing might be several hundred years old, there is a strength and a truth to these songs. A lot of the songs we chose are deeply connected to the Highland landscape. The thing that’s special about this particular treatment and the arrangement of the music is the threading together of different strands, the sense of journey and the sense of music and the language and songs, all of them being intertwined, because to me you can’t separate the songs and the language and the stories and the landscape. They are all tied up together, they are all linked.”

Working closely with musicians to create bespoke soundtracks has been part of the Lush Spa since the very beginning when Lush’s co-founder Mark Constantine invited musician Simon Emmerson to develop the music for the very first treatment, Synaesthesia. Simon became an integral part in the Spa music development and music at Lush until his passing in 2023. Simon also began work on the Highlands Spa treatment with Lush, bringing in his passion for Celtic music, Scotland’s nature and Druidism, making this treatment the last project Simon worked on with Lush.

Song Notes and Translation

Nature is a recurring theme in Gaelic song and poetry and the close connection between the Gaels and their land is evident in their meticulous use of language to describe landscape and seascape. In this song, composed early in the 1940s and set to music by Julie Fowlis and Oliver Cox, George Campbell Hay (1915-1984) explores his own deep-rooted connection with the land:

The leaves of Summer, the spate of Autumn, the snowdrifts

and the high Spring wind is she;

the sough of the woodland, the roaring of waterfalls,

the freshness of the snow and the heather ablaze is she;

mild pleasantness and melody, angry pride and courage,

growth and the pouring of showers is she;

breath of my body, nurture of my understanding, my hands,

my joints and my soul is she.

All year long, each season through, each day and each fall of dusk for me;

it is Scotland, Highland and Lowland, that is laughter and warmth and life for me.