a culture shock to go from the highs of being on tour to the business of academic life. However, it is from attending his degree course, and the people he met and connections he made, that have taken Steven back to a situ- ation where he can go on tour as a musician. “One of the most important parts of the course for me was being in Glasgow with its great music scene and venues. Many of the most important conversations I have had have happened when socialising with other musi- cians. The practical education of being around the scene, going to music sessions and meeting people who are working in the music scene, and talking to them about their work and music — all of that can not be underestimated,” he said. Two of the most important connections


Steven made were with fiddler Jack Smedley and flute and bodhran player, David Foley, who are in the same academic year but doing the BA (Scottish Music) degree.


socialised together. One night in a club, we made a decision that we would definitely have a band up and running before we left the degree course. “We both really liked the playing of David


Foley so we asked him to be involved and he brought a lot of good ideas. Our first ever gig was at Piping Live!, and it was good of Finlay MacDonald to offer it without really knowing what we were going to do. I don’t think we were called Rura at that point but it was the beginning of the band. “Craig Muirhead was also involved with us at that time but he was following a more traditional route than us and he had a lot of pipe band commitments. So we decided we had to hold out till we found a guitarist that could provide the sound we wanted to suit the sound we were trying to create. “Not long after, we met Chris Waite. He was doing the BA Applied Music degree course at


‘One of the biggest challenges we have is incorporating Highland pipes into a folk band line-up, and I’m quite strict about not rehearsing with Border pipes, which frustrates some members of the band’


Although in many ways they are opposites,


Steven and Jack were keen to team up. He explained: “We initially did some duo work together and people said that there was an interesting balancing act going on in our play- ing. I like to push things sometimes to the point where they begin to become erratic or messy and Jack does really well to rein me in. In a lot of instances we see things that the other misses and so tend to naturally balance out each others approach. Jack has an amazing, precise technique and we play off each other well. It is a massive compromise for us to play together, and it took a while for us to realise that, but now it comes naturally. “We have spent an enormous amount of time together. We were in the same classes all day at the Conservatoire, apart from the pip- ing ones, were in the same halls of residence, and then shared a flat together and we also


Strathclyde University, and he was happy to join the band. Chris is also a very good piper, and he really understands what I’m trying to do with the pipes in the band — he even understands about the tuning issues — which is such a big help. “One of the biggest challenges we have is incorporating Highland pipes into a folk band line-up, and I’m quite strict about not rehears- ing with Border pipes, which frustrates the guys sometimes I think. “Much of the technology for Highland pipes is designed for playing sharper than concert pitch and I sometimes find it a bit of a struggle to get a good tone. I think that is a universal issue in piping, and most people will say it is easier to get a good sound when they are sharper than concert pitch. “When I’m playing with Jack I will slightly adjust my chanter by sharpening my top hand


and my B, and flattening my D — but only a little — I always make sure the chanter sounds good with my drones. Jack adjusts his intona- tion on the neck of the fiddle as he is playing, and he also tunes up the fiddle, but not perfectly in tune with itself. He will tune the bottom two strings, and then tune the top two strings so the instrument is more in line with the pipes. “Tuning is always a concern and we are constantly refining how we do it — it is always a bit of a struggle.”


The band got their first big break, and first official gig as Rura, at the Speyfest Music festi- val in 2010 closely followed by another gig at Piping Live!. The fifth member of the band, singer Adam Holmes, was added after these gigs. Steven and Jack had first met Adam when


they were all involved with the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician competi- tion, and later through a project called Strings Attached at the Tønder Festival in Denmark in August 2010. From a personal view I was delighted to


hear Adam’s voice on the new Rura CD, Break It Up. I had only ever heard an early version of the band in 2009 at Piping Live! so I wasn’t aware they had a singer. I have always believed that the best folk bands were the ones who had good, if not great, singers which takes the whole listening experience to a different level. There are successful traditional music bands on the scene who don’t have a singer, or who have mediocre singers, but not many. Adam’s voice brings a fresh contemporary style, with a Scottish accent, to the band which lends a contrast, but at the same time perfectly matches their music, which sits on the cutting edge of traditional. The three songs on the CD couldn’t be called folk songs, and Steven admitted that the band were unlikely to ever record a traditional song such as The Baron O’ Brackley, but I’m sure Adam could do a great job of such a big ballad. Steven explained: “With our songs we have a chance to explore a wider array of music and we don’t want to get stuck in one pigeon hole. The Insider Festival, which we played recently, was just about music, with lots of genres mixed in, and as long as we are playing our music to an audience it does not matter what it is called.” From summer 2010 the band worked very


hard on their craft and sought advice on how to take things forward. Jennifer McGlone of Glow Arts helpfully pointed them in the direc- tion of the Danny Kyle Open Stage at Celtic


PIPING TODAY • 37


NEW DIRECTIONS


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52