The Journey by Fioraidh

In August of 2010, I developed a cough that I was convinced was whooping cough. My various doctor appointments told me otherwise. It would be more than eight months before a different doctor immediately diagnosed it as adult whooping cough. By that time, though, it was too late.

Back on April 11th 2011, I posted the following on my Facebook wall:

"Whooping cough has truly screwed my singing voice, probably beyond repair. It's shocking how years of building up a voice, stretching a range, learning control and fine tuning pitch control has just turned to shit in the space of a few months because of a bloody virus. Really can't sing for shit anymore. Bastard."

I quite literally lost my ability to sing. I couldn't hold notes, I couldn't maintain pitch, I couldn't find the initial key to sing in. If I tried to sing clean, it irritated my throat and caused me to cough, so I tried to sing gruff and it was worse. I'd given up all hope that I'd ever sing again.

I spent years listening and re-listening to Bruce Dickinson, Michael Kiske, Ronnie James Dio, Danny Vaughn, Roy Khan, Geoff Tate, and others. I started off singing gently, and then, over time, I developed more power and control. It wasn't until December 2020 that I decided I was able to actually sing again.

This album is free, and always will be. This is me performing my own vocals on the original tracks, except for "Tears of the Dragon", which I also played on guitar. I hope you enjoy my journey to being able to sing again.

It's just me, all the way down. Although I do tend to write on my own and play all instruments myself, I have been known to pull in some collaborations.

I love to experiment, musically, and enjoy playing around with time signatures.

fioraidh.com