Peatbog Faeries

Few groups make bagpipes, fiddles and whistles sit comfortably beside programmed effects, but the Peatbog Faeries have built a career on exactly that tension. Based in Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, the band draw on folk, electronica, African pop, rock and jazz, yet traditional Celtic music remains their chief inspiration. Their mostly wordless pieces weave programmed sounds through traditional arrangements, a combination that has kept them distinctive since they formed in 1991.

The debut, Mellowosity, arrived in 1996 on Greentrax Recordings. Faerie Stories followed after a deal with a New York label, though problems at that company meant the CD sat unreleased for two further years. The band then founded Peatbog Records, releasing Welcome to Dun Vegas in 2003, which brought in a little vocal work, and Croftwork in 2005, the first album to feature brass. Dust, their seventh studio album, came out in August 2011, and Live @ 25 marked their 25th anniversary in 2017. Along the way they won Live Band of the Year at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards twice.