Alistair Iain Paterson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Bishopton, Renfrewshire, Scotland |
| Genres | Folk music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, harmonium, pipes |
Alistair Iain Paterson is a Scottish musician and composer from the village of Bishopton, Renfrewshire. He is one of the founding members of the Scottish folk band Barluath. [1]
Paterson studied on the BA Honours Scottish Music programme at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and graduated in 2013. He is most well known for playing the piano and the harmonium. He is also a piper and previously played with Johnstone Pipe Band. In 2014 he was a finalist in the BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year [2] [3] competition. In 2016 he became a member of staff within the traditional music department of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. [4] Since November 2014, Paterson has been involved in a number of Live Music Now (Scotland) projects alongside Gaelic singer Ainsley Hamill and fellow members of Barluath. [5] [6] In January 2018, Paterson was a member of the house band for "Òrain nan Gàidheal: Songs of the Gael" [7] as part of Celtic Connections. This televised concert featured a variety of contemporary Gaelic singers accompanied by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Paterson is a founding member of Scottish folk band Barluath. [8] Barluath showcase both the traditional and contemporary music of Scotland, Ireland and America. The band is formed of four main members, all graduates of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Paterson on piano, harmonium and backing vocals, Ainsley Hamill on lead vocals and step-dance, Eddie Seaman on whistle and highland and border bagpipes, and Eilidh Firth on fiddle and backing vocals.
In 2017, Paterson joined the Scottish band Skipinnish as their keyboard player. [9]
Paterson has worked with a number of musicians from across the traditional music scene, and most recently featured on Patsy Reid's album A Glint o' Scottish Fiddle, [10] which was released in February 2018. He predominantly works with artists such as Robyn Stapleton, Mairi Thérèse Gilfedder and Ainsley Hamill in a number of different formats.
Battlefield Band is a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, none of the original founders remain in the band.
Silly Wizard was a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students—Gordon Jones, and Bob Thomas. In January 1972, Jones and Thomas formed a trio with their flatmate Bill Watkins and performed under various band names in Edinburgh folk clubs. In the spring of 1972, Watkins returned to Birmingham and, in June 1972, Chris Pritchard (vocals) came in as his replacement. In July 1972, this newly formed trio were offered their first paid booking at the Burns Monument Hotel, Brig O' Doon, Scotland, and needed a band name in a hurry. The name "Silly Wizard" was chosen and the continuing stream of bookings ensured that the name became permanent. In September 1972, the trio recruited Johnny Cunningham (1957–2003) and Silly Wizard started to take off.
The Tannahill Weavers are a band which performs traditional Scottish music. Releasing their first album in 1976, they became notable for being one of the first popular bands to incorporate the sound of the Great Highland Bagpipe in an ensemble setting, and in doing so helped to change the sound of Scottish traditional music. In 2011 the band were inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame.
Shooglenifty are a Scottish, Edinburgh-based six-piece Celtic fusion band that tours internationally. The band blends Scottish traditional music with influences ranging from electronica to alternative rock. They contributed to Afro Celt Sound System's 1996 album Volume 1: Sound Magic. The band have performed in countries including Australia, Austria, Cuba, Belgium, France, Norway, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, New Zealand, Indonesia, South Africa, Lebanon, Spain, the US, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, India, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Russia, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Switzerland, Portugal, Mexico and the UK. They have performed for a number of notable fans, including Prince Charles, Tony Blair, Nelson Mandela, and Emperor Akihito of Japan.
Scottish fiddling may be distinguished from other folk fiddling styles by its particular precision of execution and energy in the delivery, for example, the rendering of the dotted-quaver/semi-quaver rhythmic patterns, commonly used in the Strathspey. Christine Martin, in her Traditional Scottish Fiddling players guide, discusses the techniques of "hack bowing", "the Scotch snap", and "snap bowing". These techniques contrast quite sharply with the most common bowing patterns of Irish fiddling. The style has a very large repertoire consisting of a great variation of rhythms and key signatures. There is also a strong link to the playing of traditional Scottish bagpipes which is better known throughout the world.
Philip Martin Cunningham, MBE is a Scottish folk musician and composer. He is best known for playing the accordion with Silly Wizard, as well as in other bands and in duets with his brother, Johnny. When they played together, they would egg each other on to play faster and faster, and try, light-heartedly, to trip each other up.
Robin Duncan Harry Williamson is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and storyteller who was a founding member of The Incredible String Band.
The Scots Trad Music Awards or Na Trads were founded in 2003 by Simon Thoumire to celebrate Scotland's traditional music in all its forms and create a high profile opportunity to bring the music and music industry into the spotlight of media and public attention. Nominations are made by the public and in 2019 over 100,000 public votes were expected across 18 categories.
Lori Watson is a fiddle player and folk singer who performs traditional and contemporary folk music. She is the first doctor of Artistic Research in Scottish Music.
Catriona Macdonald is a musician, composer, researcher and lecturer from Shetland and is considered to be one of the world's leading traditional fiddle players.
Ewen Henderson Scottish Gaelic: Eòghann Mac Eunraig is a multi-instrumentalist folk musician from Fort William in Scotland.
Skipinnish is a traditional Scottish band from the Gàidhealtachd, singing primarily in English. Both the band and brand Skipinnish was created by Angus MacPhail and Andrew Stevenson in 1999 who were both studying at the time at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow.
Jenna Reid is a Scottish fiddle player who has been described as "...the finest fiddler in Scotland of her generation." She was born and brought up in the village of Quarff, in the Shetland Islands of Scotland and found a fiddle in her grandmother's attic when she was nine years old and started to play it. She was taught by Tom Anderson and Willie Hunter and also studied the classical piano. She graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Scottish traditional music where she also sang and played the piano accordion and the piano.
Breabach is a Scottish folk music band formed in 2005. In 2011, they received nominations for ‘Best Group’ at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. They won Scottish Folk Band of the Year in 2012 and Live Act of the Year in 2013 at the Scots Trad Music Awards.
Robyn Stapleton is a Scottish singer who performs traditional songs in English, Scots, and Gaelic. She studied music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of Limerick in Ireland. In 2014, Robyn won the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician award and was nominated for Scots Singer of the Year at that year's Scots Trad Music Awards.
Ainsley Hamill is a Scottish singer and songwriter from the village of Cardross, who performs traditional songs in English, Scots, and Gaelic. She studied music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she obtained a First Class Honours Degree in Scottish Music, with Gaelic Song as her principal study. She was tutored by Kenna Campbell and Màiri MacInnes. Ainsley won the Silver Pendant at The Royal National Mòd held in Paisley in October 2013. She has competed in a number of Mòd competitions and made it to the final of the An Comunn Gàidhealach Gold Medal competition in 2014, and 2015. Ainsley was also a BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician finalist in 2014/15, and nominated for Gaelic Singer of the Year at the 2015 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards.
Jenn Butterworth is an acoustic folk guitarist and singer based in Glasgow, Scotland, who was awarded the title "Musician of the Year" at the 2019 Scots Trad Music Awards, and was nominated for the same title at the 2019 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. She was a founder member of Kinnaris Quintet, who won the Belhaven Bursary for Innovation in Scottish Music at the 2019 Scots Trad Music Awards.
The BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician competition has run annually since 2001. It exists to encourage young musicians to keep their tradition alive and to provide performance opportunities, tools and advice to help contestants make a career in traditional music. Former winners include Hannah Rarity, Mohsen Amini, Robyn Stapleton, Shona Mooney and Emily Smith.
Sian is a Scottish all-female traditional band who are known for their Gaelic vocal harmonies and celebrating Gaelic songs composed by women. They formed to raise the prominence of work by female Gaelic bards, which might not have received much attention or credit otherwise.