A PRO-INDEPENDENCE band have said Scots are going to have to use creativity “in the next few years” to express “their political will” for Scotland.
Seannachaidh, a music group with four core members, said they create music with hopes to “fire up our footsoldiers” and “restore some of the heart” that the independence movement has lost.
All music created by the group will remain free until independence has been achieved. One member explained: “After independence is won, then perhaps we could be a normal band.”
The group's name, Seannachaidh, is a Gaelic word for storyteller, clan genealogist, or teller of the people's story. Shenachie is the Scots version, and the group use both.
The pandemic allowed the members to connect and work online in a way they'd not been able to before. So, with members on both coasts as well as spread north and south across Scotland, they are now able to record music and vocals anytime and share for production.
One member of the group, of whom the members do not want to be named, talked to The National.
He said: “Circumstances, for several of us, are quite unusual and would normally completely prevent band life, but as we all discovered during the pandemic, where there's a will - and our will to see independence is certainly very strong - there's a way.”
The group say they are going for “maximum impact” and want to maintain complete freedom of expression regarding Scottish independence and “the crimes of the British Government”.
That is why they have adopted a mask as their social media picture.
The member said: “The anonymity of the mask gives us that freedom. So, we won't be making ourselves the focus with names and locations.”
The mask was first adopted in response to Rishi Sunak’s suggestion that those who “vilify” Britain face being treated as extremists and referred for deradicalisation.
The mask also includes a flag of the six celtic nations to represent the Scottish and Pan-Celtic band.
The member explained: “Some members have family connections to the other celtic nations, with only Brittany and the Isle of Man not yet represented - we must do something about that - but we're thoroughly Scotland focused and all members are eagerly looking forward to their Scottish passports in the very near future.”
The group have plans for songs focusing on a range of topics, with one lined up highlighting Scotland’s drug deaths crisis and Westminster's exploitation of the situation.
A song, The Gift, is currently available to listen to on Soundcloud and YouTube. It can also be heard on Caledon Radio, Celtic Music Radio and Indy Live Radio.
When asked what led to the band’s formation and the song’s creation, the member said: "I think a maddening sense of powerlessness over what we were witnessing with this increasingly right wing and authoritarian British government.
"Obviously, Scots are at the sharp end of that experience because as well as suffering the damage of Westminster's policies we have the direct denial of our democracy.
“But the Rwanda plan was so staggeringly offensive to all basic human sensibilities and was such a vivid red flag that the British Government was crossing the line into truly fascistic territory that it was a real flashpoint - certainly for us.
“That was the starting gun for us. There’s only so much fury that people can continually experience before it demands an outlet.”
The member added: “I think Scots are going to have to get similarly creative in the next few years, both in how they express their anger and their political will.
“The British government on its current trajectory - although, really, when has it ever been that much different? - is going to continue to pursue a Police state, to suppress freedom of speech and of protest.
“They have already threatened to deem supporters of independence as dangerous 'extremists' and 'radicals'. They're coming for Holyrood and for devolution.”
As a group, they also recommended ways individuals can use creativity to further independence.
“If it's poetry, great, art, fantastic, or music, or if it's writing letters to foreign politicians or the Scottish diaspora groups about our predicament, or imaginative forms of protest.
“Whatever it is, now's the time to do it or support it. Because we can't wait for a political party to do it for us. I think we can see that now. We are the change we want to see.
“For us, it will be music in the hope that we can fire up our footsoldiers and restore some of the heart they have lost. Even if just some independence supporters find some small inspiration in the lyrics or the music then it will have been worth it for us.
“Our small part.”
