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Hi there! Thanks for checking me out on myspace. Let me introduce myself. My name is Phamie (that sounds like Jamie with an F) Gow and I am a musician, composer, recording artist that plays the lever electric and acoustic harp, piano, and sing. I also always love to work with new, and exciting musicians, dancers, actors, poets, writers and performers.
I like the idea of breaking boundaries with the harp and changing preconcept ideas people tend to have about this instrument.
I have really enjoyed working with artists such as Philip Glass, Band of Horses, Ray Davies, Marisa Monte, Carlos Nunez, Kepa Junkera, Alan Stivell, Ashley MacIsaac, Eddie Reader, Alisdair Fraser, Tom Richardson, Mattie Foulds, Fraser Fifield, Karine Polwart, James Graham, and many more. I had the great pleasure of being invited by Philip Glass to perform in The Tibet Fund raising Concert in The Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2008. That was totally awesome!
I love working with musical souls where music is the language no matter what mother tongue you have. For example I will always remember doing a lovely collaboration with the African kora player and Griot from the Gambia, Bajaly Suso. When we got together, he hardly spoke any English however his kora and my harp were the tools in which we could exchange our language, which was music.
I think my musical education started really in mothers womb!! My mother used to always listen to harp music while she was pregnant with me, and I am sure that is why as a child I always wanted to play the harp! However I started with the piano at the age of 8 and that gave me a great musical grounding and understanding (it still does). I then taught myself to play the clarsach/ scottish small harp (thanks to my parents for renting it!) with the aid of a cassette tape and tutor book and listening to an old record my parents had of Robin Williamson from The Incredible String Band. 6 months later, at the age of 12, I gave my first public appearance. It was at that point, that I knew I had realised my dream! The dream that I still am living today which is to communicate emotions, experiences, stories through music.
I wrote my first musical composition at the age of 15 called A Japanese Water Garden which I later recorded on my first album, Winged Spirit. It was at this point where I set up my record label Wildfire Records and Publishing and have since licensed to other record labels such as Universal ltd. This was the first of my 5 self produced and self penned albums to this date.
By the age of 19 I was given my first major musical commission which was to write an hours worth of music. This was part of an award (one of the first 'Danny awards') I won in the worlds biggest celtic music festival, Celtic Connections. I also had the fantastic opportunity to have a wish list of musicians which meant I could choose whoever I wanted to work with (within reason of course)! I wrote Lammermuir, my 2nd album featuring Alasdair Fraser, Eric Rigler, Patsy Seddon, Mairi Campbell and a few other fantastic musicians.
My third CD Dancing Hands was studio recorded in 2005 thanks also to the SAC for their support. I had a number of my favourite musicians on board with me too, Karine Polwart, Fraser Fifield to name but a few.
2007 finally had the release of my first piano solo album, Moments of Time. This cd is dedicated to Ronald Stevenson, my mentor and great friend. He taught me the piano and many things about life. You can see a video here called 'Rackwick Bay' which is a track taken from the album.
In 2008, I released La Vida Buena, The Good Life, which is a purely electric modern harp CD, with a few added vocals, low D whistle and a bit of percussion. This time I'm offering a very modern slant on harp music. Some tracks have a mediterranean feeling which has naturally come through having lived in Barcelona the last 2 years.
I love creating and encourage creativity in whatever form it may be. I also love sharing music with everybody, especially when people do listen and enjoy. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to travel the world and meet amazing people and learn about different cultures and share my own creativity.
My latest album Road of the Loving Heart is my 2nd solo piano cd, released under Wildfire Records and Publishing, and distributed by Universal.
Please feel free to check out my other myspace if you are interested in reading more about my piano CD/project Moments of Time. www.myspace.com/phamiegow_moments
The Tibet Concert. 13th February 2008. The Carnegie Hall. NYC.
Directed by Philip Glass, Ray Davies, Band of Horses, Marisa Monte, Nawang Khechog, Ashley MacIsaac, Sufjan Stevens, and Tom Verlaine. (photos here by James Salzano). Phamie was sponsored by Lyon and Healy Harps, Chicago.
Spiritual photos by Phamie Gow.
