Ross Ainslie is one of Scotland’s finest traditional musicians and composers, highly sought after on the Scottish contemporary folk scene for his skill on pipes, whistles and cittern.

Born in Perthshire in 1983, Ross’s interest in music was instilled at an early age when he first picked up a chanter at the age of 8...
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Celtic Connections and India

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Hey folks,

I’ve just got back to Scotland from India and thought I’d write a wee blog!

Celtic Connections is always a crazy busy time but a huge highlight of the year for me. It started off on the 18th January with a last minute gig with Tim Edey and Peter Gazey supporting Solas at the Fruitmarket, it went really well and Tim managed to have his first taste of Scottish Langoustines before the gig from the brilliant Gandolfi fish across the road from the venue. After the gig we headed to the club to do a slot.

Here’s some pics!

The next day was the first gig for a new band called Tune Book Trio (now called Choon Book) which features Simon Bradley on fiddle, Mairearad Green on accordion, Matheu Watson on guitar, Mhairi Hall on piano and myself on pipes and whistle. In the last couple of years Simon, Mairearad and myself have released books of our tunes and Simon thought it would be a good idea to get together and work on a band using music from the three books. It’s been amazing to get together with them and spend the time learning and playing their tunes! Our gig was at the Art Club which was one of my favourite venues at the festival this year its a very intimate gig, we shared the gig with the amazing Manchester fiddler Emma Sweeney and her band. After the gig we headed to the festival club to do a slot.

Here’s some pics!

Next up was a live radio session with Tim Edey on BBC travelling folk, its always a pleasure to play with Tim and we were lucky to also get the mighty Allan Macdonald up for a wee set! After the radio I headed to the club to do a slot with Jarlath Henderson backed by the powerhouse rhythm section of John Doyle and Aaron Jones.

Here’s a link to the radio session and also some pics!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ehjc6q/acts/a82hzc

I managed to get a couple of cooking jobs this year at the festival the first was to make haggis, neeps and tatties for Calum Maccrimmon’s festival club “Folytown” which was on the middle Wednesday and then I replaced an unwell Phil Cunningham to cook haggis for the sold-out Breabach gig on Burn’s night in the Concert hall which featured my good pal Dougie Maclean. Sorry I don’t have any photos of the cooking but I did get a snap of publican Duncan Chisolm on stage at the gig!

So after being piped on to the concert hall stage with the haggis to a taxi down to the Fruitmarket for the alternative Burn’s night with India Alba, also on the gig was Jamaican singer Clinton Fearon, Scottish band Malinky, London Sarod player Soumik Datta and the amazing beatboxer Jason Singh. It was great to see all of India Alba again and also amazing to have Su-a Lee join us on cello.

Here’s a pic from after the show!

The next day was another busy day with two unexpected gigs the first was with India Alba sharing with the band Seudan in the Art club then down to the Fruitmarket to guest with the amazing flute player from Manchester Mike Mcgoldrick, it was a pleasure to play with Mike I’ve been a fan of his music for years.

Here’s a clip of the set!

After having a day off we had the last gig with India Alba before the boys headed back to Delhi and it was the BBC 2 Celtic Connections programme filmed at the Fruitmarket, the programme aired on 9th February.

Here’s a link to watch some clips of the night!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e8mhzc/acts/a94hzc

I was delighted to be nominated for musician of the year in the radio 2 folk awards and also Treacherous Orchestra were nominated for Best Group, it was a great night where Treacherous started the night off and I also played with Dougie Maclean and a massive cast of some of my favourite musicians at the end of the show.

Here’s some clips!

The last weekend of the festival I had a gig with my old pal Jarlath Henderson and band. It was a sold-out gig at the Oran Mor and the band was sounding great we even managed to get a couple of new sets added in! The band consisted of Ali Hutton on guitar, Innes Watson on Fiddle, Duncan Lyall on bass and James Macintosh so thanks to them for all their hard work leading up to the gig! To finish off the festival we played at the club on Sunday night then to the Holiday Inn for a party. Thanks to all involved in Celtic Connections it was amazing as always, looking forward to next year!

Here’s some pics!

After a day off and some much needed sleep I headed out to India with Ali Hutton and Fraser Stone for a three city tour. We started off in Bangalore and played in a new venue kind of jazz lounge place called Windmills Craftworks, we were staying in an amazing villa really close to the venue and the weather was stunning so we managed a wee sun bathe next to the pool. It was the boys first trip to India and they were treated to the finest of Indian hospitality thanks to Rudolph for looking after us! Rudolph told me he has been a fan of Dougie Maclean’s music for twenty years so we rehearsed up a version of Caledonia which he sung with us at the gig.

Here’s some pics from Bangalore

Next day was an early start for a flight to Pune, the gig was in a place called Arc Asia which was a bar/restaurant/venue on a kind of farm in the city (sorry its hard to describe). We had some of the best food I’ve ever had in India absolutely amazing! Thanks to Neel Shah for the hospitality!

Here’s some pics of Pune!

We finished the trip off with a drive from Pune to Mumbai to play at the Khala Ghoda festival, the traffic getting into Mumbai was totally crazy but we eventually got to the hotel for a much needed shower then off to sound check. The festival asked us if we could collaborate with some artists for the gig so we had Patsy Reid stop in on her way to Calcutta and Sharat Srivastava came down from Delhi, I also played a tune with Sarod player Soumik Datta and tabla player Arif Khan. It was an outdoor gig and really hot with a brilliant audience and I think the Indians really like the sound of the pipes!

Here’s some pics from Mumbai!

All in all what an amazing start to the year!

More of that please!

All the best

Ross

Filming for “The Dewarists”

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Hi folks,

I had a great time up in Kenmore last week recording and filming a music video for an Indian tv programme called the Dewarists. The aim of the programme is to bring musicians/singers from different cultures and backgrounds and get them together and work on a song and film the whole process. This episode included Mumbai singer Papon, New York producer Karsh Kale, Libertines singer Carl Barat and myself on pipes and whistles. The recording sounded brilliant and we managed to make the video in the beautiful Taymouth Castle which I can’t wait to see! All in all it was a very interesting week and great to spend time with everyone involved. Here’s some snaps of the week.

All the Best

Ross

 

 

 

Summer and Autumn Adventures!

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Hi folks,

Its been a while since I’ve posted and I’ve found myself at home with a day off so thought I’d updated you all on whats been going on!

The festival season started off with an amazing trip to Shetland with Treacherous Orchestra and also with Jarlath Henderson, the Shetlanders sure know how to have a party! Here’s a link to a clip from the Sunday ceilidh with Jarlath Henderson.

Had a gig with Salsa Celtica in Belfast for the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival on 11th May, great to see my old pal Rohan Young who joined the band for a wee set on the bodhran. If your into a good steak you have to visit McHughs bar and restaurant its a big favourite of mine! here’s a photo in all its glory.

Eastleigh and Shepley with Treacherous were up next, both great wee festivals. Nicki who runs Shepley commissioned me to write a tune for her Husband Mac’s valentine present which I was more than happy to do just sorry I was a couple of months late! (sorry Nicki) here’s a link to the tune.

It was great to catch up with the boys from India Alba for a wee tour at the end of June, we played four concerts Glasgow Mela, Douglas Robertson’s Edinburgh house concert (a real highlight for me), Caledonian Hotel in Fort Augustus and Universal Hall in Findhorn. The hospitality was amazing and the band were sounding great! Here’s a link to a set from Findhorn.

Next up was a trip to Lewis for the Heb Celt Festival, I had a gig with Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson band we normally go out as a trio so it was a real treat to have Duncan Lyall on bass, Adam Sutherland on Fiddle and Fraser Stone on drums. I have a good pal called Donald who lives on the other side of the island from Stornaway and he kindly invited a few of us to stay at his place for a couple of days before the festival. We had a great time going out on the boats and seeing all the sites, we also ate like kings!

Here’s a photo of one of our fishing trips.

Next up was definately gig of the year for me as I was playing with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. The band was called Pulse of the World and was premiered at Celtic Connections festival 2011 it involved Zakir and a host of Indian musicians with a load of Scottish/Irish musicians including Mike Mcgoldrick, Charlie Mckerron, Matheu Watson, Patsy Reid and John Jo Kelly. So this years gig was down in London as part of the BT River of Music project which was linked in with the olympic games, there was six stages along the Thames and we were on the Asia stage in Battersea park. It was an amazing couple of days!

Here’s a photo and Video clip.

Cambridge Folk Festival  was a busy one for me as I was playing with Treacherous Orchestra and also with Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson band. It’s always brilliant to be down for this festival and we were delighted to finish off the Friday with Treacherous then Saturday and Sunday with the band.

Here’s a couple of photo’s and video clips.

The first couple of weeks in August were very hectic started with a trip up to Inverness for Belladrum festival with Treacherous Orchestra and I was even trusted to drive the car which was great fun! Got back to Glasgow that night for an early flight in the morning to Wickham festival where I met up with Charlie Mckerron and Marc Clement for a gig that night. In the morning I got a train from Wickham to Sidmouth festival where I caught up with the Treacherous boys, great to see Moira Duncan (Gordon’s sister) and her husband Mick. To finish this run of gigs off was a flight to Lorient to play at their amazing Celtic festival with Treacherous Orchestra.

Here’s some photos and video clips.

 

I’ve been playing with Dougie Maclean for years now and the gigs are always great fun so I was delighted to be asked to play with Dougie in the Queens hall in Edinburgh as part of the Fringe festival. Lovely to see Phil, Roy and John from the Tannahill Weaver’s after the show and thanks to them for persuading me to go to Campbeltown festival with them.

Photo’s and video clip.

I’ve been a fan of Shooglenifty for as long as I can remember and was really pleased to be asked to play a gig with them down near Devon at Purbeck festival, I had to learn the whole set which was hard but well worth it what an honour it was! Flew back into Edinburgh for a Treacherous gig at the Fringe then next day drove down to Shrewsbury for one of our best performances yet, we were the closing band for the festival it was MAGIC!

Here’s some photo’s and video clips.

My old friend Becky from my days in Tayforth OTC was getting married and asked myself and the pipe major to come and play for her wedding which was a lovely day and great to get the full dress back on.

I’ve been musical director the last 6 years for a show called Scotland’s National Treasure and its a tribute concert for my dear friend and teacher Gordon Duncan. We had some amazing musicians this year who included Paddy Keenan, Fred Morrison, Fraser Fifield and Iarla o’Lionaird, Rona Wilkie, Gordy Jnr and Treacherous Orchestra. It’s always a very emotional concert but its great to get together with musicians, friends and family and take time to remember Gordon and the legacy he left behind. This night was also the start to the Treacherous Orchestra tour and you can read a tour blog on this site.

http://www.spiralearth.co.uk/news/featurestory.asp?nid=6460

Coming to the end of the adventures and what a way to finish, it started off with my own trio playing in Aberfeldy town hall as part of Dougie’s Perthshire Amber Festival, band was sounding great and the night topped off with Dougies trio joining us for a version of his song Stolen. Thanks to Greg Lawson and Pete Garnett for joinging us on my new tune Lullaby for Mel. Next morning I had an early flight to Rajasthan to play with Jarlath Henderson and the guitar hero Ian Carr, I’ve been out to India loads but never to Rajasthan and unfortunately only had one day there but we had a ball playing in Jodphur RIFF festival. Then from Jodphur to Delhi for a couple of days to rehearse and play a corporate gig with beat boxer Jason Singh and Jaw’s harp player Rais Khan. Had to get the night flight out of Delhi to get back in time for more Perthshire Amber gigs starting off with Dunkeld Cathedral as a duo with Dougie and same bill as Tim Edey and Peter Gazey, brilliant tune in the bar after the gig with the boys! Next day was down to Perth Concert Hall to play in the Strings and Choir gig which was seriously good, next day was the Friends gig where I got to play one of my favourite tunes with the composer, Craskie by Duncan Chisolm cheers Dunc! Finished off with a very informal gig at Edradour distillery for the Final Bash! Thanks to Dougie and Jenny and all the team for putting together another superb festival.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Busy couple of months!

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Hi folks,

Hope your all well, it’s been a while since I last posted so thought I would give a wee update to what’s going on.

Had a great trip to India in March, we made a start to our 3rd album which will hopefully be out early 2013. The boys are over in June for a wee tour so please check www.indiaalba.com for more info.

Had a mini tour at the end of March with Salsa Celtica and we also made a start to our new studio album which is long overdue as it was 6 years since we were last in the studio together.

I’m up in Aviemore at the moment rehearsing with Charlie Mckerron and Marc Clement for a gig in Braemar on Saturday. It’s great to be playing some of Charlie’s tunes!

So from Braemar I’ll be flying off to New York and Toronto as part of the Visit Scotland team, really looking forward to the trip.

On 16th I’ll be going into the studio with Ali Hutton and Duncan Lyall to make a start on my debut album which I’ve been planning for the last year, can’t wait to see how it turns out. (fingers crossed)

I’ll be heading up to Shetland Folk Festival for the first time in May, got gigs with Treacherous Orchestra and Jarlath Henderson so should be great. Hopefully I’ll come back alive!

All the Best

Ross