A Scots musician with nine albums behind her is doing something new in her music career today – she’s releasing her first single.
Phamie Gow, who is originally from the Scottish Borders but now living in Edinburgh, is releasing The Peace Farmer.
The artist, who was recently described as ‘one of The Great Woman Composers’ by Classic FM, and ‘a brilliant young composer’ by John Suchet of Classic FM, is hoping that her audience enjoy her new work, which is deeply personal.
Phamie began playing the piano at the age of 8, and then taught herself to play the harp when she was 11, through a book and a cassette tape – and six months later was performing in public.
She went on to study music at the then RSAMD under Ronald Stevenson.
She said: ‘I’ve done nine albums before now, and now we have the single. You’re really putting your heart on the line when you’re writing music. It’s an absolute joy.
‘Writing music is one of the most important things in my life, along with family and friendship, and music is a great way to express those things.
‘I released my first album when I was 19, and this single has come, nearly 20 years later. I love music – it’s such a good medium to work with. There’s so many things going on in the world just now, and music can bring us together.
‘I’ve got some really wonderful friends in my life, who are so important to me. I value friendship above almost everything else.
‘One of my good friends is Arun Gandhi, who is Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson.
‘He was visiting Scotland and I took him down the Royal Mile and went to St Giles’ Cathedral, where I sometimes sing with the choir. I asked him a question – I don’t remember what it was – but his reply was, “I’m a peace farmer.”
‘I asked what did that mean, and he told me, when he was young, he had sat on his grandfather’s leg and Ghandi had said to him, “Be a peace farmer and sew seeds of peace in the world.”
‘I had a vision in my mind so I ran back home and having spent time with Arun, I wrote this song for him, his grandfather, and the whole peace movement. It’s a very simple message we can all relate to – with one global message.’
Discussing the single, Phamie explains: ‘The Peace Farmer has a strong message of the importance of looking after one’s soul in order to have peace, or metaphorically speaking, looking after one’s inner self, like cultivating a field, and then, sowing seeds of peace into the world with a hope that they will grow, and make a difference in the world now and for future generations.’
Phamie recorded a promotional video to go with her single, directed by Craig MacKay, which was shot in Highland waters.
She laughed: ‘It was freezing! It was quite something, making the cinematic video, but they looked after me. As soon as we had finished, they were prepared with a change of clothes for me, a shot of whisky, and drove me back to where we were staying to warm up. I don’t normally drink whisky, but this was very welcome!’
Click HERE to buy Phamie’s single The Peace Farmer.
Click HERE to listen to it on Spotify.
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