Aidan O'Rourke (born 1975) is a Scottish

contemporary folk Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid 20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from tradit ...

music fiddle player and composer. He was named the 2014

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British ra ...

Musician of the Year and the

Scots Trad Music Awards The Scots Trad Music Awards or Na Trads were founded in 2003 by Simon Thoumire to celebrate Scotland's traditional music in all its forms and create a high profile opportunity to bring the music and music industry into the spotlight of media an ...

2011 Composer of the Year. In addition to his solo career, O'Rourke also plays in the award-winning folk trio

Lau Lau or LAU may refer to: People * Lau (surname) * Liu (劉/刘), a common Chinese family name transliterated Lau in Cantonese and Hokkien * Lau clan, one of the Saraswat Brahmin clans of Punjab * LAU (musician): Laura Fares Places * Lebane ...

alongside

Kris Drever Kris Drever (born 31 October 1978) is a Scottish contemporary folk musician and songwriter who came to prominence in 2006 with the release of his debut solo album, ''Black Water''. Drever is the vocalist and guitarist of the folk trio Lau with ...

and Martin Green. He was one of 20 musicians commissioned for New Music 20x12 by PRS for Music Foundation to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics. O'Rourke has worked with

Eddi Reader Sadenia "Eddi" Reader MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as frontwoman of Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three BRIT Awards. In 2003, she showcased the w ...

Andy Sheppard Andy Sheppard (born 20 January 1957) is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, ...

, Alyth,

Roddy Woomble Roddy Woomble (born 13 August 1976) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and writer. He is the lead vocalist of indie rock band Idlewild, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums. Celebrated for his poetic lyrics and warm, baritone voice, In 2 ...

and appears on more than eighty recordings. Previously, he was a member of

Blazin' Fiddles Blazin' Fiddles are a contemporary Scottish fiddle band from the Highlands and Islands. They formed in 1998 to showcase Scotland's distinct regional fiddle styles. The band have a number of awards, including; the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards L ...

, The Unusual Suspects and Tabache.

Early life and career

O'Rourke grew up in a musical family in Oban and later on the nearby island of

Seil Seil (; gd, Saoil, ) is one of the Slate Islands, located on the east side of the Firth of Lorn, southwest of Oban, in Scotland. Seil has been linked to the mainland by bridge since the late 18th century. The origins of the island's name are ...

. He is of Scottish/Irish parentage and grew up listening to traditional songs from both countries. He studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal c ...

. After university he moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

in 1998 and joined Blazin' Fiddles in the same year. O'Rourke has also been a member of such groups as Tabache, Sunhoney, and

, and has guested on dozens of albums by other artists. ''Sirius'', O'Rourke's debut solo album, was released in 2006. It contains a fusion of folk, jazz, and drum and bass sounds inspired by traditional Scottish, Danish, and Irish music. He released ''An Tobar'' in 2008. The album, dedicated to an arts center of the same name on the Isle of Mull, consists of five songs rooted in Celtic music but often displaying a "progressive twist". The song "Tobar Nan Ealain", which

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

writer Chris Nickson calls the album's "centerpiece", begins with a poem from

Aonghas MacNeacail Aonghas MacNeacail (born 7 June 1942), nickname ''Aonghas dubh'' or ''Black Angus'', is a contemporary writer in the Scottish Gaelic language. Early life MacNeacail was born in Uig on the Isle of Skye on 7 June 1942. He was raised in Idrigil, ...

and features guest vocals by Kirsty MacKinnon. O'Rourke was commissioned to write a piece for the 2012 Summer Olympics. He told

PRS for Music PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes ...

that the composition "draws inspiration from the fact that TAT-1 (Transatlantic No. 1) the first transatlantic telephone cable system was laid between Gallanach Bay, near Oban and

Clarenville Clarenville is a town on the east coast of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Clarenville was incorporated in 1951. It is located in the Shoal Harbour valley, fronting an arm of the Atlantic Ocean called Random ...

, Newfoundland between 1955 and 1956." O'Rourke released his third solo album, ''Hotline'', in 2013, and he was named Musician of the Year at the 2014

Discography

Solo

*''Sirius'' (2006) *''An Tobar'' (2008) *''Hotline'' (2013)

With Lau

*''

Lightweights and Gentlemen ''Lightweights and Gentlemen'' is the debut studio album by folk band Lau, released on March 19, 2007. Track listing ''All tracks arranged by Kris Drever, Martin Green and Aidan O'Rourke'' # "Hinba" - 5:07 #* "Hinba" (O'Rourke) #* "Funny Weath ...

'' (2007) *'' Live'' (2008) *'' Arc Light'' (2009) *''Race the Loser'' (2012) *''

The Bell That Never Rang ''The Bell That Never Rang'' is the fourth studio album by British folk band Lau, released on 4 May 2015 on Reveal Records. Produced by Joan Wasser, the album's title is taken from the city of Glasgow's coat of arms, and features The Elysian Qu ...

'' (2015)

With Kan

*''Sleeper'' (2015)

The Unusual Suspects

*''Live in Scotland'' (2005) *''Big Like This'' (2011)

Tabache

*''Are You Willing?'' (1996) *''Waves of Rush'' (1999)

With Big Big Train

*''Common Ground'' (2021)English Electric Recordings/Plane Groovy PLG096

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ORourke, Aidan Living people Scottish fiddlers British male violinists Scottish composers People from Oban 1975 births Lau (band) members Blazin' Fiddles members 21st-century violinists 21st-century British male musicians Vertical Records artists