Back of the Moon are...
Ali Hutton: pipes, bodhran, whistles
Gillian Frame: fiddle, vocals
Findlay Napier: guitar, vocals
Hamish Napier: piano, flutes, stepdance, vocals
Back of the Moon are one of the most exciting young bands to emerge in the Scottish trad music scene in the last five years…'Best Up and Coming Act' at the Scots Trad Music Awards 2003 and 'Best Celtic Group’ at Lorient Inter-Celtic Festival 2003 and winners of the 'Best Folk Band' in 2005 Scots Trad Music Awards. Since forming in 2000, the band has rapidly gained a reputation for their dynamic live performances at home and abroad. The tightly woven pipes and fiddle, the intimate pairing of whistle and flute, the distinctive rhythmic force of the guitar/piano combo, the awesome three-part vocal harmonies in their Scottish songs – in which each unique singer takes turn at the lead – all contribute to Back of the Moon’s giant acoustic sound.
“...thoughtfully passed repertoire, with tune sets both power-packed and reflective...recent recruit Ali Hutton’s whistle, pipes and bodhran have brought a real fillip and the quartet have the look and confidence of a band on the way up.”
The Herald, Back of the Moon at The Arches, Celtic Connections 2005
The Band History
In autumn 2000 the three founder members of Back of the Moon: Gillian, Hamish and Simon McKerrell (the bands original piper now replaced by Ali Hutton) were finalists in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards under the title ‘Frame, McKerrell and Napier’. Findlay later joined the band after he, Gillian and Hamish had played that summer on Margaret Bennett's solo album ‘In the Sunny Long Ago’ produced by Martyn Bennett (released on Footstompin’ records). Their debut album (also released on Footstompin’ Records) was recorded in July 2001, and was part of Gillian’s prize for winning the Young Scottish Traditional Musician of the Year 2001. ‘Gillian Frame and Back of the Moon’ won ‘Album of the Week’ on BBC Radio Scotland’s Travelling Folk programme. Promotion of the album took them to several large festivals in and around Vancouver in the summers of 2001 and 2002. Their second album ‘Fortunes Road’, was produced by Johnny Hardie (Old Blind Dogs) and was even more well-received by press and fans on its release in summer 2003. Closer to home the band have performed at several British folk festivals (including Celtic Connections, Cambridge and Sidmouth, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and are touring extensively around the British Folk Clubs. Back of the Moon made their third Lorient International Celtic Festival appearance in summer 2004, and during their second year there lifted the trophy for the ‘Best Celtic Band’ at the festivals prestigious Celtic group competition (won previously by groups such as "Danu" and "Capercaillie"). At the Scots Trad Music Awards 2003, the band won the ‘Best Up and Coming Band’ award. They were filmed by the BBC in May 2004 for Burn’s night 2005, and their live set at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall during Celtic Connections 2003 was broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland. Multi-instrumentalist Ali Hutton joined the band shortly after and recorded ‘Luminosity’, the bands third album, released in August 2005.
Ali Hutton - Pipes, whistles, bodhran, guitar and bouzouki
Ali Hutton (22) is from Methven in Perthshire and has been playing the highland bagpipes since the age of 7. He played in the Vale of Atholl pipe band for a number of years, and through this received tuition from the virtuoso pipers Gordon and Ian Duncan. At 21, he has appeared several times on Scottish television and radio performing with famous acts such as Dougie MacLean, Karen Matheson and Donald Shaw, Deaf Shepherd, Clueless, Beneche, The Gordon Duncan Band, and Cantrip. He studied Scottish Music at the RSAMD under multi-instrumentalist Brian McNeill and also plays guitar, whistle, bouzouki and bodhran. In summer 2005, he played guitar on Jarlath Henderson and Ross Aislie’s Scottish/Irish pipes collaboration album. He currently plays with Back of the Moon, Brolum and The Trotters.
Gillian Frame - Fiddle & Vocals
Gillian Frame comes from the Isle of Arran on the West Coast of Scotland. Hailing from a family of musicians she was introduced to traditional Scots and Irish music at an early age.
In January 2001 Gillian won the prestigious Young Scottish Traditional Musician 2001 Award. Since then she has been rapidly gaining experience in all areas of traditional music, using her talents as fiddle player and singer in both performing, recording and teaching contexts, and in 2002 graduated from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with BA (Scottish Music) Hons degree.
During the Celtic Connections festival 2002 Gillian debuted her ‘New Voices’ commission, “Kinship Theory”, which consists of all her own compositions and arrangements, and amongst numerous other performances played in the first ever, “Unusual Suspects” a piece put together by Corrina Hewat and Dave Milligan involving over thirty of Scotland’s top Traditional Musicians.
“….Gillian Frame, whose fiddling and unaccompanied singing oozed confidence and poise”
Rob Adams, Herald.
“Gillian Frame’s performance was all we have come to expect from the inaugural Young Scottish Traditional Musician of the Year, full of charm and vitality, but weighted with a solid depth of technique.”
Sue Wilson.
Findlay Napier - Guitar and Vocals
Findlay Napier is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama BA(Scottish Music) course and was among the first ten to graduate. He studied Scots Song under Andy Hunter and Alison MacMorland.
His love of Songwriting has led to his own songs being broadcast and recorded by other artists. He is currently co-writing in a highly successful partnership with producer Nick Turner. Their album, which will be called ‘Queen Anne’s Revenge’, will be released in winter 2005.
In the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award 2002 Findlay was one of the eight finalists. It was during this that the idea of a non-competitive stage for young musicians led Findlay to come up with the highly acclaimed 'Master and Apprentice' and 'Young Tradition' concert series. The concerts, held at Celtic Connections in Glasgow, showcase the best young talent in Scottish music today and have received fantastic reviews across the board. Now approaching their 4th year, the series have grown out of their original small venue and into the Concert Hall in Glasgow.
Findlay has accompanied and sung with performer Margaret Bennett at the Celtic Connections Festival and abroad. He features on Margaret's album 'In the Sunny Long Ago' which was produced by the late Martyn Bennett.
His teaching experience covers a number of different areas. He has taught workshops in guitar and song at festivals and has been a tutor at numerous Feisean, at the Aberdeenshire based Gordon Gaetherin’ and at The Sunshine Coast Fiddle Camp in British Colombia, Canada. Also across the Atlantic Findlay performed at the Juno awards in Calgary, Canada with fiddler Gillian Frame and cellist Christine Hanson.
Hamish Napier - Piano, Flute, Whistles, Vocals, Stepdance.
Hamish Napier comes from Strathspey, and was steeped in traditional music by his family from an early age. He received lessons in classical piano and flute from the age of 10, and played lead flute with both the Highland and Inverness Wind bands. But his family’s love of traditional music and song sparked greater interest in Hamish. Through the Fèisean movement (the national organization of youth tuition in Gaelic arts) he became one of the many fortunate young highlanders to receive expert teaching in Scottish music including whistle, wooden flute, both Scots and Gaelic song, and Scottish Stepdance.
While still at school, Hamish was filmed for MNE Gaelic Television as the front man for Feis Spé folk-rock band ‘Skoosh’, who played hundreds concerts in the Highlands including two Eden Court Theatre appearances. They also recorded an album with several other Grantown-on-Spey Grammar School Pupils entitled ‘The Music Room’ at Watercolour Recording Studio. He performed 2000 in the Millennium Dome with Andy Thorburn's orchestra for the McDonald's-sponsored 'Our Town Story' production.
Hamish sang (with his brother Findlay and Gillian Frame) and played accordion on Margaret Bennet's solo album 'The Sunny Long Ago' (produced by Martyn Bennett) and also sang backing vocals on Scots singer Emily Smith’s second solo album ‘A Different Life’.
He toured Scotland in Autumn 2004 as an accompanist for the finalists of the Young Scottish Traditional Musician of the Year Award 2004, which included a live set on Robbie Shepherd’s ‘Take the Floor’ show on BBC Radio Scotland. The concerts were made into a live album ‘TMSA Young Trad Tour 2004 – LIVE,’ on which Hamish plays piano, whistle sings and stepdances. Hamish will be a semi-finalist himself in the YSTMY competition in October 2005.
Hamish is becoming increasingly recognised for his flute/whistle playing, performing alongside virtuoso flautist Brian Finnegan (Flook) in the Celtic Connections ‘Master and Apprentice’ concert series. He is also a finalist in the All-Ireland whistle competition. His mother Marie-Louise Napier is a singer, Clarsach player and composer, and Hamish played whistle for one of her pieces at Inverness’ Eden Court Theatre, Edinburgh International Harp Festival and at the Scottish Highland Games in Virginia. He recorded flute on accordionist Gray Innes’ solo Album produced by Capercaillie’s Donald Shaw.
As well as stepdancing with Back of the Moon, Hamish has also danced with the Scottish Stepdance Company, and held dozens of Scottish stepdance tuition workshops the UK, Canada and the US.
Hamish’s latest project is the Hamish Napier Duos, where he is paired with one of the following young Scottish musicians: Anna Massie, Ross Ainslie, Ali Hutton, Findlay Napier or Innes Watson. The Duos appear regularly around Glasgow and appeared four times at Glasgow’s Piping Live Festival 2005, and twice at Celtic Connections 2004.
‘Piano, flute, whistle, singing and step dancing, Hamish Napier is one of the finest young musicians in Scotland. A multi-talented bundle of energy, his music is invigorating, passionate and steeped in tradition. Pair him with other young musicians such as his brother Findlay Napier, Anna Massie, Ali Hutton, Ross Ainslie and Innes Watson – all of whom represent the cream of the crop – and you have the makings of a cracking and enlightening night. John Morran, Development Worker for TMSA.
"..consistently excellent performances, with...Hamish exciting flute and flat-picked guitar partnership with Anna Massie...’ The Herald ‘My personal standout song was [Hamish] Napier Jnr’s beautifully modulated, achingly poignant rendition of [scots song] Gin I Was A Baron’s Heir, blending an apt boyish lightness with an intensity of yearning that raised a major lump in the throat." The Scotsman
"..sibling harmony emerged as something of a mini-theme through this year’s programme. Singer-guitarist Findlay Napier and his brother Hamish, on vocals, flute and piano, comprise half of young traditional firebrands Back of the Moon, who amply lived up to their Band of the Year accolade from the last Scots Trad Music Awards with a string of vivacious, powerful performances." ....Sue Wilson reviewing The 2006 Shetland Folk Festival for
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