The Covid Cabin

by Kim MacLennan

For my day job, I work as a Marine biologist. Back in May 2022 while I was away on one of the research boats from work, I managed to pick up my first dose of COVID while on my 1 day off in Galway. This led to me spending 8 LONG days confined to my little cabin with next to no WiFi, no phone signal, no TV, no fresh air, no instruments and nothing but my porthole window the size of a football to keep me company…

I have to say though, I was very fortunate to be away with a great bunch of people who always came to chap on my door to make sure I hadn’t tried to climb out of said porthole to swim back to Scotland… So I wrote this tune once my feet were safely back on dry land to make sure I never forgot the ordeal.

Hailing from Blairbuie on the Coigach peninsula of Wester Ross, Kim is an accomplished accordion and bagpipe player with a background deeply rooted in both the pipe band and traditional music communities.
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After becoming the first female pipe major of the Ullapool and District Pipe Band at the age of just 15, Kim has continued to successfully compete in the pipe band scene ever since. As well as securing the accolade of Pipe Band of the year at the MG Alba Trad Awards, she has most notably gained a European and world championship title among others. Additionally, Kim is no stranger to the traditional music scene either. Having grown up learning accordion through the Feis Rois organisation, Kim has enjoyed touring locally with musicians such as Rory Matheson (FARA, TRIP), in addition to touring around the North of Scotland with the Feis Rois Ceilidh Trail and partaking in numerous piping tours of Germany and neighbouring countries. Kim has also enjoyed playing at multiple well-known festivals across Europe, including Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany and PipingLive! in Glasgow, as well as playing at venues such as The Royal Albert Hall.
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In addition to being an accomplished instrumentalist, Kim is also a keen composer. Most recently, she was chosen to take part in the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland’s Emerging Composer’s project. During this, she composed a 5 minute piece of music for the band with a twist, incorporating a multitude of instruments including a string quartet. Both her playing and composition style are heavily influenced by her love of more contemporary traditional music styles such as neo-trad. She feels most at home while pushing the boundaries of trad music and melding her traditional roots with her contemporary style of playing.