Peatbog Faeries
| Peatbog Faeries | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Isle of Skye, Scotland |
| Genres | Celtic fusion |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels |
Peatbog Recordings (2003-present) Greentrax Recordings (1994-2002) |
| Website | |
| Members |
Peter Morrison Ross Couper Innes Hutton Tom Salter Graeme Stafford Stu Haikney |
| Past members |
Davie Tait Didi Findley Lorraine Marshall Alan Edmunds Ben Ivitsky Ali Pentland Norman Austin Roddie Neilson Leighton Jones Adam Sutherland Iain Copeland Peter Tickell |
The Peatbog Faeries are a largely instrumental Celtic fusion band. Formed in 1991, they are based in Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.[1]
Their music embodies many styles and influences, including folk, electronica, rock and jazz, - but their main influence is traditional celtic music. The band's unique sound is created through a mix of programmed effects and traditional celtic arrangements, played on bagpipes, fiddles, and whistles.
The band have twice won "Live Band of the Year" at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards and were nominated for "Live Band of the Year" at the BBC Radio 2 folk awards.
History
The Peatbog Faeries formed in 1991. They recorded and released their debut album Mellowosity in 1996 on Greentrax Recordings.[2] Two years later they signed to a New York label and recorded their second album, Faerie Stories. Due to problems at the record company the CD was not released for a further two years.
For their third album the band set up their own label, Peatbog Records. On the label, they released Welcome to Dun Vegas in 2003. The album introduced a small amount of vocals. In 2005, they released Croftwork, which saw the first appearance of brass instruments on an album. These have been a regular feature of the band's albums and live performances ever since.
The band toured in 2008, recording a series of gigs and subsequently released their first live album, Live, made up of two of these performances.[3] The band's seventh studio album, Dust, was released in August 2011.
In 2010, they were inducted into the Hebridean Celtic Festival’s hall of fame.[4]
The Peatbog Faeries are currently working on an eighth album.
Music
The band's genre is celtic fusion, and like the genre, the band are often seen as very experimental musicians. Their debut album, Mellowosity, is often seen as a quieter, more alternative rock album with the usual celtic vibes. It is believed that Pink Floyd were a cited influence. By much surprise, the band's 2001 Faerie Stories offered a completely different style of celtic fusion. Trance music became the main theme of the album, as well as electronic dance music and even reggae at times.
The band's third album, Welcome to Dun Vegas, was a lot less celtic at times, with bagpipes absent in a few of the songs, and the overall genre was alternative rock, returning to that of Mellowosity. The opening track ("Wacko King Hako"), however, seems to be a mix of both alternative rock and dance music, both of whom the band previously used. The band used a brand new type of celtic fusion for Croftwork. The new vibe matched reggae, electronic dance music, alternative rock, but most importantly brass roots, with saxophones appearing in many of its songs. What Men Deserve to Lose appeared to be quite similar to Croftwork, with the brass roots returning, but with more alternative rock audible towards the end of the album.[5]
Previews of Dust have hinted that it is more ambient than previous work, but with the original roots returning.
Notes
- It is a possibility that limited copies of Faerie Stories were released in 2000, evidenced by the copyright on the album.
- Welcome to Dun Vegas is also known as More Faerie Stories, as the opening page of the booklet titles the album as such. It references the band's previous album.
- Live and Dust were re-released in digipaks. All previous albums were released in jewel cases, normally with black CD trays, with the exception of What Men Deserved to Lose which featured a transparent CD tray instead.
- Peatbog Records re-released Faerie Stories in a digipak in 2008, with subtle differences in track lengths and cover artwork.
- The cover to Welcome to Dun Vegas was featured on a T-shirt sold on the band's online shop.
- Their only songs to contain vocals are four songs on Welcome to Dunvegas (twice in distorted manner) and believed chanting in "Sudden Dilemma". Numerous vocals also feature on Dust.
- As evidenced by between song banter in their Live album, the band choose the songs they perform live just before they perform, rather than write a pre-planned setlist.
- Peatbog Faeries appear on numerous compilation albums, including 1998's Heart of Scotland and 2005's Celtic Crossroads. 2010's Beginner's Guide to Celtic featured "The Folk Police", whilst the "Beginner's Guide to Scotland" featured "Teuchstar".
Current line-up
- Peter Morrison – pipes; whistles
- Ross Couper – fiddles
- Tom Salter – guitars
- Graeme Stafford – keyboards
- Innes Hutton – bass; percussion
- Stu Haikney – drums
Discography
Studio albums
- Mellowosity (1996)
- Faerie Stories (2000)
- Welcome to Dun Vegas (2003)
- Croftwork (2005)
- What Men Deserve to Lose (2007)
- Dust (2011)
Live albums
- Live (2009)
Compilation albums
References
- ↑ John D. Buchanan. "Peatbog Faeries - Biography - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ↑ Dave Sleger. "Mellowosity - Peatbog Faeries - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ↑ "Peatbog Faeries: Live". The List. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ↑ "Runrig to headline isles' event". BBC News. 18 February 2010.
- ↑ "AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ↑ "Larry Kirwan's Celtic Invasion". Valley Entertainment. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
Further reading
- Kenny Mathieson "Peatbogacious" Folk Roots no. 167 (May 1997), pp. 25, 27