Aidan Moffat made his bones as the lead singer of Scottish indie band Arab Strap, with whom he had success in the nineties and noughties. Of late his musical fascination has switched to Scotland’s music heritage, where his ambition became to reintroduce his versions of classic folk songs to a new audience. Paul Fegan’s playfully poignant documentary tracks this odyssey where Aiden encounters Sheila Stewart, a legend of traditional Scottish musical storytelling. Her disapproval of Moffat’s repurposing of these classics, and misunderstanding of lyrics highlights both the generational gap between them and the importance of the songs to the cultural identity of Scotland’s musical scene.
Fegan’s lyrical cinematography, coupled with Moffat’s narration brings every scene to life with an ethereal quality that mirrors the songs themselves. Although Stewart and Moffat are seen discussing the roots of the music, it’s only when Fegan shows us the two artists performing the differing versions that we see what really sets them apart. While Stewart is staunchly set in her ideals about the songs, Moffat is a man navigating his way around them, searching for a middle ground between honouring their lineage and injecting his own personality.
Where You’re Meant To Be delicately balances the natural comedy of Moffat’s performances of the songs, as well as his interactions with Stewart and the gloomy poignancy of what appears to be a dying art form, as Stewart grimly confesses that the songs will die out with her. Equally funny and moving, Where You’re Meant To Be is a masterful testament to the generational struggle of keeping alive one of Scotland’s most important cultural movements.
Where You’re Meant To Be will be showing at Broadway Cinema on Monday 27 June 2016 at 8pm. The screening includes a post-screening Q&A with Paul Fegan and Aidan Moffat by film director Jeanie Finlay, followed by an acoustic performance from Aidan Moffat.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
