Alasdair Roberts (musician)

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Alasdair Roberts
Alasdair Roberts, Berlin, 2008-05-18.jpg
Alasdair Roberts at a concert in Berlin, May 2008
Background information
Also known asAppendix Out
Born (1977-08-08) 8 August 1977 (age 47)
Geislingen an der Steige, West Germany
Origin Kilmahog, Stirling, Scotland
Genres Folk, indie folk, indie rock
Years active1994–present
Labels Drag City
Secretly Canadian
Rough Trade
Room40
Rif Mountain
Website alasdairroberts.com

Alasdair Roberts (born 8 August 1977) is a Scottish folk musician. He released a number of albums under the name Appendix Out and, following the 2001 album The Night Is Advancing, under his own name. Roberts is also known for his frequent collaborations with other musicians and writers, as well as for being a member of the folk supergroup The Furrow Collective.

Contents

Early life

Roberts was born in Geislingen an der Steige, Germany, the son of former folk guitarist (and partner of Dougie MacLean) Alan Roberts (1946–2001) and his German wife Annegret. He has two sisters. He was raised in Kilmahog, a hamlet close to the small town of Callander, near Stirling in central Scotland, where he started playing the guitar and writing music. He has long been based in Glasgow. [1] [2]

Appendix Out

In 1994 Alasdair Roberts formed Appendix Out with school friends Dave Elcock and Kenny McBride and started playing small venues. Roberts was also a classmate of Ladytron's Helen Marnie. While attending a Will Oldham concert in 1995, he offered a demo tape to the American singer, and a contract with US label Drag City soon followed. [3] The band's first release was a double A-side single, "Pissed With You/Ice Age", and the band released its first album around a year later.

Between 1997 and 2001, Appendix Out released three albums, two EPs and some limited-edition recordings that were never widely distributed. [4] They recorded a session for John Peel's BBC radio show in 2001. [5] The line up of the band changed frequently, with Roberts the only constant member.

Solo career

After three full-length albums with Appendix Out, Roberts recorded his first solo album, The Crook of My Arm. This album consisted almost entirely of solo vocals and guitar in marked contrast to the occasionally experimental sound of the Appendix Out records. All the songs are traditional, and Roberts credited the singers from whose performances he'd learnt the songs (these included his father, Alan Roberts, and Alan's sometime musical partner, Dougie MacLean). [6]

Since then, Roberts has released two further albums of traditional folk songs – No Earthly Man and Too Long in This Condition – plus three albums of original songs: Farewell Sorrow, The Amber Gatherers and Spoils. A fourth, A Wonder Working Stone, was released in January 2013, credited to Alasdair Roberts and Friends, a group of musicians which includes among others Stevie Jones, Rafe Fitzpatrick, Olivia Chaney and Alex Neilson. [7] [8] [9] In 2015 Roberts released a self-titled album, a return to relative sparseness of earlier albums, and in 2017 Pangs, which was again a more collaborative album, featuring musicians with whom Roberts has previously worked – Stevie Jones, Tom Crossley and Alex Neilson – and backing vocals from Debbie Armour.

Each album has a distinct character, and Roberts songwriting has shifted in recent years from the relative economy of Farewell Sorrow and The Amber Gatherers to a much denser wordplay, filled with allusions to mythology, esoteric spirituality and gnosticism, on Spoils and other recent releases. [10]

In 2012, musician Steve Adey covered "Farewell Sorrow" on his The Tower of Silence album. [11]

Collaborations

Roberts is quoted as saying "Collaboration is extremely important to me. I reiterate – extremely". [12] His collaborations have taken many forms.

Accompanying musicians

A large number of musicians have played with Alasdair Roberts when recording or performing under his own name. These include:

Group, ensemble and duo work

Theatre, film and literary work

Testimonials and additional contributions

Roberts has contributed to the following:

Discography

Appendix Out

Lineup: Alasdair Roberts, Eva Peck, Dave Elcock, Louise D
Lineup: Alasdair Roberts, Gareth Eggie, Dave Elcock, Tom Crossley, Kate Wright
Lineup: Alasdair Roberts, Gareth Eggie, Tom Crossley. Also featuring Dave Elcock, Annabel Wright, Mark Harvey, Donald Lindsay, Rian Murphy, Sheryl Norquay, Sean O'Hagan
Lineup: Alasdair Roberts, Brad Gallagher, Lindsay Anderson, Bill Lowman

(The group also recorded a Christmas album in 2000, consisting of home recordings of traditional Christmas carols. This album was only available as a gift from band members and on sale at a handful of gigs around that time.)

As Alasdair Roberts

Further contributions to compilations and collaborative releases

Roberts has contributed performances and recordings exclusive to the following releases:

References

  1. Guthrie, Sean (22 January 2015). "Alasdair Roberts: The perils – and pearls – of traditional music". The Herald. Glasgow.
  2. "Obituary: Alan Roberts". The Herald. 28 August 2001.
  3. McIntosh, Gregory. "Biography: Alasdair Roberts". AllMusic . Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  4. Meijer, Leo. "Illustrated discography for Alasdair Roberts and Appendix Out" . Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  5. "Keeping it Peel: BBC John Peel website". BBC. n.d. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  6. Roberts, Alasdair. "The Crook of My Arm". Alasdair Roberts official site. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  7. "It's time to vote... for Alasdair Roberts as Scotsman of the Year". Drag City. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  8. "A Wonder Working Stone". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  9. Wilkinson, James (22 January 2013). "A Wonder Working Stone – Alasdair Roberts : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  10. Jennings, David. "Annotated Spoils". Library of Aethers fan site. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  11. Graeme Thomson (22 November 2012). "CD: Steve Adey – The Tower of Silence | New music reviews, news & interviews". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  12. Anderson, Jordan (20 January 2011). "Alasdair Roberts interview". Foxy Digitalis. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  13. Roberts, Alasdair (18 June 2010). "Persistence of ornithological tropes". Alasdair Roberts. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  14. "Revenge of the Folksingers event information". Aldeburgh website. 2010. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  15. Roberts, Alasdair (3 June 2010). "News update: Euro tour and beyond". Alasdair Roberts. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  16. Roberts, Alasdair (22 November 2011). "December recording; 2012 release". Alasdair Roberts official blog. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  17. "Fruit Tree Foundation website". 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  18. "Music – Review of David Rotheray – The Life of Birds". BBC. 16 August 2010.
  19. Roberts, Alasdair (19 February 2011). "22nd Feb talk". Alasdair Roberts official blog. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  20. Roberts, Alasdair (27 May 2011). "Dighty Burn DVD and 7" Available". Alasdair Roberts. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  21. Roberts, Alasdair (2011). "Archive Trails website". Tracer Trails. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  22. Jennings, David (16 October 2011). "Weekly links". Gathered in Amber fan blog. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  23. Roberts, Alasdair (22 November 2011). "December Recording". Alasdair Roberts. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  24. "Once in a blue moon: a tribute to Lal Waterson". BBC. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  25. "Very Cellular Songs: The Music of the Incredible String Band". Barbican. 2009. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  26. Varty, Alexander (11 February 2010). "Hal Willner's taking risks with his Neil Young Project". straight.com. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  27. McNamee, Laurie (September 2012). "Jason Molina Benefit London: Concert and Album" . Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  28. Kiddey, Guy (12 November 2011). "Interview: Alasdair Roberts and Nathan Salsburg". The Scotsman. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  29. "Alasdair Roberts - The Songs of My Boyhood | Drag City". www.dragcity.com. Retrieved 25 June 2021.