BRÌGHDE CHAIMBEUL^UK

Young musician Brìghde Chaimbeul has managed to take the distinctive sound of the Scottish smallpipes (a variant of the bagpipes) far beyond the boundaries of folk music.

Growing up in a musical family on the Isle of Skye, Chaimbeul, who has Celtic music in her blood, received the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award as a teenager, and in 2019 she created quite a sensation with her debut solo album The Reeling, which not only received massive acclaim in leading folk music circles, but also reached an audience of experimental music fans. Since then, Chaimbeul has played at numerous prestigious festivals, performed for world leaders at the COP 26 opening ceremony and collaborated with art pop star Caroline Polachek.

She herself continues to explore the sound of her own instrument, both in more traditional directions, as on the album Las (2022), and in more experimental directions, as on the latest album Carry Them With Us, where she collaborates with saxophonist Colin Stetson. Here, the powerful drones of the bagpipes are used to create an atmospheric sound with hints of minimalism and ambient, while deep folk traditions resonate in the beautiful melodic passages. The album garnered superlative reviews and was featured on many lists of the best albums of the year in 2023.

Seeing Chaimbeul immerse herself in her instrument live is an almost hypnotic and healing experience, and it will undoubtedly be something special to hear her perform at Roskilde Festival's Platform stage this summer.