Scottish fiddle legends Blazin’ Fiddles release new album
Blazin' Fiddles launch their latest album, Incendo, with a concert at Celtic Connections in Glasgow on Tuesday 27th January.
For over a quarter of a century, no other band has quite captured Scottish fiddle music’s variety, energy and sensitivity like Blazin’ Fiddles.
Now the four-string heroes mark a new 5piece era with their latest release Incendo. Set for release on Friday 23rd January, the album affirms this band are still very much blazing a trail through trad.
Take the finest exponents of their native Scottish fiddle styles, the finest backing in folk music, and some of the Highlands and Islands’ famed warmth and craic… distil for over 25 years, and you get Blazin’ Fiddles!
One of the most lauded and best-loved acts of the Scottish music scene, from the moment the multi award-winning Blazers take the stage to whisk you on a thrilling musical journey, you’re in the finest of company.
The mastery of fiddle virtuosos, Jenna Reid (Shetland), Kristan Harvey (Orkney) and Rua Macmillan (Highlands), grounded by the second to none, driving accompaniment of Angus Lyon (piano) and Anna Massie (guitar), will leave you reeling.
Following the success of XXV in 2023, the Blazers returned to Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios to record with GRAMMY winning engineer Katie May.
Angus Lyon said “Recording at Real World has always been a dream of mine and it more than lives up to its reputation. It was the perfect environment to immerse ourselves in at the end of a tour to capture all the energy of the music in as live and as natural way as possible in a studio.”
Incendo is the band’s first recording as a five-piece, and marks the first time they’ve added to the usual line-up of fiddles, piano and guitar with the inclusion of Anna Massie’s mandolin and tenor banjo.
Anna says: "Although the joy of working at Real World is the art of capturing the sound of the band live in the room, I love the fun of finding roles for other instruments in addition to that. Adding some extra textures to our powerhouse band sound has added a wee bit of sparkle to Incendo.”
Multiple winners of Live Act and Folk Band of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards, Blazin’ Fiddles continue to thrill audiences with their mix of traditional tunes alongside self-penned work and other modern compositions, forging a unique and inventive sound while honouring the traditions in which they all grew up.
Incendo also brings in the live gig element of solo sets: alongside full band tracks, there are also three tracks which feature just one fiddle, allowing the listener a wee glimpse into the parts which make the whole.
Kristan Harvey says: “Incendo marks the start of an exciting new chapter in the band’s sound and we can’t wait to share it with our audience.”
The album moves from band bangers like the opening track Sid and Athole, through Angus’ reflective composition Perhonjoki and an unaccompanied 4-fiddle stomper, taking us to contemplative solos and finishing off with a bang – and a banjo – in Cashen’s Gap.
