NEW Scotland, Reid’s 2020 release, is a musical tapas with a foundation of Cape Breton fiddle featuring flavours from across genres and lands — Latin influences with congas, classical, and jazz elements, even going into hip hop and more urban territory.
“There's definitely foot-stompin’ Cape Breton excitement,” says Reid. “There are also ambient, goosebump moments and some ‘fiddle meets Dr. Dre’ tunes where you might wanna get the subwoofer goin’ in the Toyota Corolla, rollin’ downtown, shootin’ the drag.” NEW Scotland leads listeners through a broad range of emotional landscapes, but, ultimately, leads to hope.
While touring, he searched every town for fiddle sessions for jamming. Despite the language, cultural, and stylistic differences, Reid always found a sense of “home” when playing the fiddle — connecting deeply with other musicians, audiences, and his own creativity in ways other instruments didn’t allow. And so Brad Reid decided to tell his own musical stories, built on a foundation of Cape Breton fiddle and a suitcase full of musical influences from across the world.
“Getting that so-called dream job made me realize, actually, it turns out this is not my dream,” says Reid. “And a new dream emerged.”
Gathering some of Nova Scotia’s most revered jazz and Celtic musicians (Tom Roach – Neptune Theatre, Natalie MacMaster; Jamie Gatti – Barra MacNeils; and James MacLean), Reid formed the Brad Reid Quartet to realize his vision.
“Fiddle to me was not my ‘day job’ instrument. It was joyful, sacred, and this new album is where I can really let go and be vulnerable. It's about connecting and having a sense of community where you’re sharing many musical tastes put together because they complement each other, and people can take whatever they like best from it. No one dictates what you should like. Be yourself. That’s what I’m doing onstage.”
