David Allison – The Last of the Mohicans
Strathclyde Suite Mon 28th January 2019
From Celtic Connections Festival 17 Jan to 3 Feb 2019
By DANNY MATHESON
This was time travel at it’s best. The Last of the Mohicans was a book written 200 years ago, made into a silent film 99 years ago and now David Allison has written a musical score for this, bringing it right up to the current date. Audiences from North America to Japan have enjoyed David’s unique approach to music and now it was Glasgow’s turn. Using real time looping and a vast array of instruments he creates an incredible cinema sound.
Black and white silent films are not everyones cup of tea however with David Allison writing and performing a musical score for the entire film it opens up to a whole new audience. His writing and musical style is both evocative and exciting. Throughout the film he plays a large array of different instruments, looping certain segments so he could move onto another instrument to recreate the drama that was unfolding on screen. He is one very clever and skilful musician.
His next project is writing a score for the film Rob Roy and performing it at Hippfest , a silent movie festival, held in March at Bo’ness. Definitely one to catch.