How would you describe your music?

Alasdair: Audiences at our showcase can expect high-energy, high-octane ‘folk fusion’ – with synths, electronic, funk and dance elements mixed with our own take on Scottish traditional music. We’re lucky that we play for crowds that are up for dancing and bouncing around. We’ve had crowds who go a bit mad at our gigs and that’s great because we feed off that and have a better time as well.

What are your musical influences?

Alasdair: We were so influenced by the bands we were listening to growing up within the dance, rock and indie scene and we wanted to push our sound in the direction of the music we loved, but blending genres can be a car crash. It’s been a long process as we have plenty of tracks from the past that are unreleased, so doing it incrementally has worked well as we go more leftfield with every album.

Do your songs have stories or narratives?

Euan: It’s a mix – there’s a new track on the album called Ebbe, which our bassist Seth wrote about his wee boy, where there’s a clear inspiration for the track. It can be hard to write instrumental music and have a story behind it, so it’s more occasions and atmospheres that inspire us. Being on the road or in a new environment will inspire a mood for a new track.

How do you like audiences to react to your music?

Alasdair: Folk music is usually played in seated venues and it can be a subdued crowd, but we never wanted that, even when we were doing more acoustic music. Crowds at our gigs tend to be really lively and up for it – we try to push that, and shout and jump around to get people riled up.

Would you say that your performances surprise people?

Euan: As a folk band, we often stand out from the crowd on a festival bill as the underdog, but before you know it the whole crowd is bouncing. There is a bit of joy in winning crowds over.

You move around a lot on stage – is it difficult to play and move at the same time?

Euan: It takes years of practice! It’s about finding a balance between precision and performance – it’s wanting to play as clearly and professionally as you can, without being static robots.

What has been the trajectory of the band in recent years?

Alasdair: Like all musicians, we had no idea what was going to happen after the pandemic – we felt that it would stunt our trajectory, but we were amazed when the streaming figures and downloads were rising. If anything, the trajectory was steeper than before. I guess it’s down to the public realising how important music is to them, the hole left when it was gone, and then appreciating it more, perhaps.

What’s been your most memorable gig?

Alasdair: Every couple of years there’s one that makes us go: ‘That’s the benchmark.’ Last year, we performed at Barrowlands in Glasgow for our 10 year anniversary – that was our biggest-ever headline show. We threw the kitchen sink at it – our album had just come out and we went massive on production. To sell out our biggest-ever show in Scotland… that felt big – it was a turning point in our careers.

What other watershed moments were there internationally?

Alasdair: I remember the first time we sold out a show in Sydney – and we were backstage thinking: ‘We’re probably the furthest from home we could be and we’ve just sold out a show.’ That was poignant. 

Euan: One that comes to mind for me was the Woodford Folk Festival in Australia, which runs over Hogmanay. We basically did the countdown to the bells, from 11.30pm-12.30pm on the main stage. It was in an amphitheatre with 10,000 people. It was just incredible.

Why did you decide to take part in WOMEX?

Euan: It’s an interesting event because you often find, if you’re in a folk band, it’s easy to be put into a particular circuit of festivals. So, WOMEX is a real opportunity for us to branch into new events, meet new promoters, agents and new types of people that we wouldn’t normally come across. That’s important to grow our style of music as a genre.

What do you both love about music?

Alasdair: I’ve always loved listening to music since I was very young, so to get to play music and perform with pals is amazing – and we still have such a laugh, somehow after 11 years. To get to do that with your friends, and the buzz you get from being on stage and playing for people, I don’t think there’s many jobs quite like it.

Euan: For me it was the ticket to seeing the world that I never thought was possible. My dad was in the merchant navy and sailed around the world, and if this didn’t work out, that was going to be my other choice. So I’m very lucky. What better way to see the world?