I was in my second year at the Royal Manchester College of Music, in a Master Class with top British flautist William Bennett. I held my flute up to play – and my hands and head shook so much that I couldn’t actually keep the instrument to my lips. “Wibb”, as he was known, and … Continued

Bergen July 2019, the historic Bryggen quay is lined with Tall Ships from every nation and I am singing along to the amazing Storm Weather Shanty Choir. I’m in Norway on a mission to Tell Tales on Ten Tall Ships and moored 3 deep and dwarfed by the other ships there is a Fifie, a … Continued

📷 Photo above by Jonathan Bismark Digital Artist Myself and the dog are out stomping the pavements and parks every morning at 8am. I’m a creature of habit, and he’s a creature of sniffing every dog and lamppost we pass. Whether it’s raining, snowing, sunny, or Storm Arwen, we’ll be trudging our way through Rouken Glen with … Continued

📷 Photo by Dougie Cunningham (Leading Lines Photography) Well, I’m sure we can all say that it’s been a bit of a journey over the past couple of years. My experience of this journey began when I moved away from Glasgow, back to the Highlands and to the area of Ross-shire, fairly close to where … Continued

📷 Photo by Tom Oakes As an autistic fiddle player and musician it is a real pleasure to be able to write a blog to mark World Autism Awareness Week 2022. Music, like my family’s smallholding and my passion for the countryside, has been a part of my life for as long as I can … Continued

📷 Photo by Elly Lucas Making an album is a daunting process, no doubt about it! There is so much to think about; finance, studios, creating the music, the list goes on. It can be overwhelming and I imagine these feelings lead to people being put off, for a long time I certainly was. In … Continued

📷 Photos by Archie Macfarlane 11/03/20 – Ross Couper and I boarded a flight to Switzerland for a tour with our sound engineer Pete Ord and a huge amount of high end PA and recording equipment. The plan was to record the tour and make a live album. We knew about Covid 19 and that … Continued

In August 2021 the father of acoustic ecology and avant-guard composer R. Murray Schafer finally left the stage after a distinguished career. A pamphlet he published in 1973 entitled ‘The Music of the Environment’ called for a re-flourishing of the ear as a primary tool in navigation and a move to reconnect unique and particular … Continued

As everything started to quieten down last year, I began to think more and more about the concept of silence. Have we ever actually experienced silence in the definitive sense and if so, where? Is it something that exists in nature or something that we humans create? Is it a nice thing? Silence, in many … Continued

Growing up near the Lake District, outdoor spaces have always been a big part of my life. Despite being one of the UK’s largest cities, Glasgow has incredible access to the mountainous areas of Scotland; an aspect that drew me to the place when I moved up in 2014. So when the world shut down, … Continued