Whities 029

Lord of the Isles featuring Ellen Renton - Passing

Lord of the Isles featuring Ellen Renton - Inheritance

Lord of the Isles - Waiting in Arisaig

Lord of the Isles - One Lifetime is not Enough for Us

A live recording from my closing set at last weekends Skye Live festival. Incredible location with a great crowd (as always!) Nx

Lord Of The Isles @ Skye Live Festival 2022

A1. Betula

A2. 369

A3. Nufink

B1. RDISC

B2. Acceptance

Subtle Thoughts

Lord Of The Isles - Lo-Theory

Lord Of The Isles - Storm Mother

Open Mode

Lord Of The Isles - Open Mode

Return to Yourself

Lord Of The Isles - Return to Yourself

Lord Of The Isles - Medi

Neil McDonald's love of the outdoors is a constant feature in his music, hence his Lord Of The Isles (@lordoftheisles) moniker, a direct reference to the Highlands and islands of his native Scotland.

His vivid, effervescent and blissfully cinematic sound paints a soundtrack to unmade films, building imaginary worlds inspired by his childhood passion for science fiction. It is therefore no coincidence that the closing track 'Subtle Thoughts' samples the inimitable voice of Carl Sagan and is also the name of his forthcoming album on Lapsus Records.

Subtle Thoughts' is an album of sumptuous melancholic electronica that, like all his previous works, avoids being pigeonholed. In it we find ambient and IDM, but also breaks and down-tempo 4x4 beats with deep ruminations, and even passages akin to new age and Balearic. In Neil's own words, the real concept behind 'Subtle Thoughts' is "The spaces in between. Listening to the quiet voices. Freedom of expression and being open. It also contains my hopes and fears for the future of our world, but mainly hope and love".

LPS33 LOTI Subtle Thoughts (snippets)

Night Of The Endless Beyond

Night Of The Endless Beyond LP (ESP Institute - ESP 108)

Lord Of The Isles - DJ Mix 'Snipe Drumming'

My Noise Is Nothing

Lord Of The Isles & Ellen Renton - A Portrait

Lord Of The Isles & Ellen Renton - Last Day

Lord Of The Isles & Ellen Renton - A Discovery

Lord Of The Isles & Ellen Renton - Let the Colours Flood In

Lord Of The Isles & Ellen Renton - Don't You Ache

Lord Of The Isles & Ellen Renton - My Noise Is Nothing

Lord Of The Isles & Ellen Renton - For a Burning World

A recording of my live set at Sweeties (Standard) in London last week. It was part of a line up to celebrate a collaboration between artist Ryoichi Kurokawa & Glenfiddich. Ryoichi Kurokawa's installation referred to the relationship between nature and technology, and the microcosm of time. His installation was called 'Time Re:Imagined' (link below) The line up highlighted the common ground between Scotland and Japan and featured myself and Dove. Nx

https://www.wallpaper.com/w-bespoke/glenfiddich-time-reimagined

Lord Of The Isles (Live @Sweeties London 26.10.23)

XIT (clip)(Nautilus Rising)

Lord Of The Isles - Laser Dream Sequence

Lord Of The Isles - In Waves (ESP Institute) 
Release Date 11/11/2016

Lord Of The Isles 'In Waves' (ESP Institute)

We almost missed this one. So to ensure ‘In Waves’ made waves in the pages of Mixmag, we went back to it – and boy will you be glad you did, too. Lord Of The Isles, aka producer and graphic designer Neil McDonald, has been writing and producing for almost a decade, the enigmatic releases finding homes on key electronic imprints like Permanent Vacation, Phonica and Mule Music. His debut album, released via LA label ESP Institute, is fresh and spectacular. McDonald says an early fascination with Scottish history inspired his moniker, as well as being dragged around the Highlands by his parents as a young child. Those trips clearly made an impact on him, because ‘In Waves’ is laced with beautiful chord progressions and colours as bright as tartan. He seems to be as in touch with nature as he is with percussion and quirky melodies, as demonstrated by the sound of waves washing over pianos on the title track. Its 15 tracks are the epitome of otherworldly electronic sophistication and yes, for the most part they’re as Balearic as a classic DJ Harvey disco re-edit. Certain tracks stick out: the glitchy Balearic bounce of ‘Liobasta’ is an early highlight, as is the smooth cinematic touch of ‘Obar Lìobhaite’. The Âme/Dixon-ish bleep masterclass ‘Weh-In’ doesn’t put a foot wrong over eight scorched minutes, either, while the subtly breathtaking ‘Yanomami’ isn’t far behind. You can catch Lord Of The Isles at Primavera next summer; don’t miss the boat. Ralph Moore

9/10 Mixmag

In Waves LP (ESP Institute - ESP039)(clips)

live set recording on Eclair Fifi's NTS show.
Live hardware performance – no track IDs.
Nx

LIVE SET (Recording from Eclair Fifi's NTS show 18.07.19)

TRACK LIST
Body Swerve - Lord Of The Isles - (forthcoming on Permanent Vacation)
Let Me Feel This Way - Lord Of The Isles - (Cocktail d’Amore)
Untytled - Fudge Fingas - (Firecracker)
Scenes Of A Life - Duplex - (Clone)
Mass X - Fudge Fingas (Vakula mix) - (Firecracker)
Habitation Micturation - Alex Isreal - Crème Organization
Tundra - Dorisburg - (Aniara Recordings)
New Romantic - Vakula - (Firecracker)
Tonite - Omar S New - (FXHE)
For U - Andres - (La Vida)
Ultraviolet - Lord Of The Isles - (Adult Contemporary)
Ultraviolet Part 2 - Lord Of The Isles - (Adult Contemporary)

Lord Of The Isles - Voices DJ Mix

Music & Sound Design
Live & DJ 
Requests: lordoftheisles@live.com

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