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Inspired by their rich heritage of Celtic music and fired by
the strength of today's Scottish Cultural scene, which indeed
they have done much to create and fuel, Battlefield Band
perform a music of rare passion and joy under the banner
"Forward With Scotland's Past". Refusing to be limited
musically by suffocating antiquarianism or the 'music
business', they have mixed the old songs with new self-penned
material, playing them on a unique fusion of ancient and
modern instruments - bagpipe, fiddle, synthesiser, guitar,
cittern, flute, bodhran and accordion.
Named after the Glasgow suburb of Battlefield, where the group
was formed by four student friends, Battlefield Band have been
on the world's roads for just on 30 years now, distilling
their own unique form of the Scottish spirit and bottling it
in concert and onto disc - Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, New
Zealand, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Syria, Jordan,
India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, U.S.A., Canada, Uzbekistan and the
U.K. They have broken down barriers and pioneered many new
directions which others have followed. Angry, joyful, raucous,
contemplative, their music is most importantly - accessible to
all.
During those years there have obviously been line-up changes
and indeed the band are remarkable for the smooth and organic
way in which these changes have taken place. Their continued
creativity, freshness and enthusiasm is due to the positive
way they have viewed, and used, these changes - and of course
the new musicians themselves have been of prime importance.
Musical evidence of these changes can be heard on their many
albums made over the years.
This is the band they all measure themselves against. After 30
years they still lead the way for Scottish music - all the
time introducing new musicians, new music; always involving
their ever widening audience, as they travel the world. As one
recent reviewer said: "The Battlefield Band is turning into a
national treasure, and exemplifies the ongoing nature of
Scottish musical tradition".
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