 'Albannach', our self-titled debut album, was released in early 2006.

The album has been a huge success and has sold many thousands of copies worldwide... it was voted Album Of The Year in the 2006 Celtic Radio Music Awards,   while track 5 'Albacadabra' won the bagpipes category of the awards, and Albannach were also voted Artist Of The Year !

'Albannach' is dedicated to the memory of Margaret Holland, gone but not forgotten.

The album was produced by Andy Malkin and Mick MacNeil of Mix Records.  Cover design by Charles Randolph Bruce.

Buy It !

Albannach - 05 - Albacadabra

 'Bareknuckle Pipes & Drums' is our third studio album, recorded in 2011 - this is the 'well-polished' and extended follow up to our raw EP, 'The SubZero Sessions'.

The album was produced and mastered by Grant Miller at Sub Zero Studios in Glasgow.  Cover design by Charles Randolph Bruce.

Bareknuckle Pipes & Drums - 07 - Mons Graupius March

The debut kick-ass collaboration between 2 of the greatest Celtic music artists on the planet today; Scotland’s ALBANNACH & Aussie/American BROTHER.

An exciting blend of music from ALBANNACH and BROTHER, we hope you enjoy the new take on our music as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Like it? Buy It!

BRONACH: One - 01 - Tweedle Dee

BRONACH: One - 03 - The Gael

BLURRED VISION (2018)

The Healing Ray

Long text alert: I want to tell you what's happening :)
Here’s the dwarf song from The Hobbit Chapter 7: Queer Lodgings!

Image: hqcovers.net
Full Official Audiobook by Rob Inglis: itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/the…dged/id564609743
Text © The J.R.R. Tolkien Estate Limited 1937, 1965. HarperCollinsPublishers 1991.
The Hobbit Book: www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_…3Athe+hobbit+book
Music © Howard Shore, WaterTower Music 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014.
Official Soundtracks: www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_…hobbit+soundtrack

It’s difficult to dip in and out of an intensely creative task, and still be able to realise your ideas. It takes doubly, triply long. But one positive effect is that every chapter brings ADVANCES.

THIS SONG: It took me a while to arrange this song (no musical background); I wanted to draw from different parts of the Hobbit OST and merge them with this classic Misty Mountains melody. It’s mainly just my voice, plus my hand tapping out percussion, and sound effects that I largely recorded myself. No instruments (see the fantastic version by ‘Clamavi De Profundis’ on YouTube), because the dwarves don’t have them in this scene. Hopefully you can imagine Bilbo nodding off to sleep, while the dwarves sit around the fire and sing… Let me know of any improvements for the final version on Chapter 7.
Thank you to @peter-shatwell for always looking over my music attempts, him being a trained and pretty amazing musician, and a valuable second opinion.
For this Dwarf Song, I pitched it 2 semitones lower than the original (see Ch 1). Why lower? I thought I could bring out the “soft Thorin voice” out more, because I interpret this song more distinctly as Thorin’s story; the way he feels the winds and the coming of the dragon as he looks on Erebor from well outside. It isn’t angry, but it isn’t hopeful either; the lyrics are dark, sad even.

THE HOBBIT SO FAR: With Ch 1 and Ch 2, it was the start of everything; the software, approach, the reading from scratch. In Ch 3, I specifically improved the narration and mic technique. After a year’s break, Ch 4 advanced narration, music usage, characters, and an insanely complex sfx arrangement, which was sadly smothered by a too-loud narration track. In Ch 5 I felt I even strayed into “actual acting”, and trialled a new recording approach. I think Ch 6 was the best balance of elements; music, voices and sfx at well-judged levels and timings throughout, plus a narration track that will hopefully stand the test of time. My approach isn’t the most efficient: I record a full draft reading, put all the music and some sfx to it, and then re-record the final narration and characters. This is to ensure my vocals match the overall way I’ve interpreted the scene. Ch 8 will have a new approach. My other projects and work have delayed Ch 7, but it’s giving me time to practise my Gandalf voice! I’m still not hitting the mark, but I’m closer every day.

MISSING CHAPTERS: Check the facebook link on my soundcloud profile for more!

Thank you all :) Your messages are great to read, and I love hearing from you! If I don’t reply, it’ll be because I want to reply with ACTIONS rather than words.

The Lonely Mountain Bare [Misty Mountains v2.0]

Keepin' It Tribal

Clanadonia - Hamsterheid

'Gurdy's Green' - Patty Gurdy (Hurdy Gurdy Music)

I put this together for St. Patrick's Day back in 2009 or so using my own recorded tracks and a sample of the original drum track (to make up for my lack of household percussion instruments).  It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun!

Since then, I've acquired many instruments, and learned many things — except how to play keyboard: https://youtu.be/8PeaamXL24k

"Dark Moon, High Tide" — Afro Celt Sound System cover

Lúnasa

Feabhra

Albannach is Scots-Gaelic for "Scottish" or "Scotsman". That's exactly what we are. Albannach are all born and bred in Scotland and our purpose in life is to share our intriguing culture, history and heritage with you by means of our music.

Albannach are not just another Scottish 'Pipes & Drums' band, indeed we bring a new and exciting form of music to your living room. A championship winning piper, an extremely talented main drummer, bass drummers and bodhran musician bring you a brand new approach to percussion and Celtic music. Our style of music is exciting, energetic and enchanting and we promise to leave you begging for more.

BRONACH: One - 03 - The Gael

albannach