Capercaillie is a Scottish folk band, founded in 1984 by Donald Shaw and led by Karen Matheson, and which performs traditional Gaelic and contemporary English songs. The group adapts
traditional Gaelic music
Gaelic folk music or Gaelic traditional music is the folk music of Goidelic-speaking communities in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man, often including lyrics in those languages. Characteristic forms of Gaelic music include sean-nós and puir ...
and traditional lyrics with modern production techniques and instruments such as electric guitar and bass guitar, though rarely synthesizers or drum machines. Capercaillie demonstrate "astonishing musical dexterity" and feature "the peerless voice of co-founder Karen Matheson. Universally recognised as one of the finest Gaelic singers alive today".
They have sold over a million albums world-wide, including "three silver and one gold album in the UK". The
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Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
notes that the band has "achieved enormous global success both as a group and as individual musicians."
Origins
Originating from
Argyll
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
, a region of western
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, the band is named after the
Western capercaillie
The western capercaillie (''Tetrao urogallus''), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie , is a heavy member of the grouse family and the largest of all extant grouse species. ...
, sometimes called a wood grouse, a native Scottish bird.
Career
Their first album, ''Cascade'', was recorded in 1984. Prior to the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic, the band gave their last performance on 17 August 2019 at the Festival des Filets Bleus in
Concarneau
Concarneau (, meaning ''Bay of Cornouaille'') is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie de La Forêt.
The town has two distinct areas: the modern town on the main ...
,
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. They performed for the first time in two years on 6 August 2021 at the
Wickham Festival
Wickham Festival is a four-day music event that takes place in the village of Wickham, Hampshire, England. Wickham hosts live music and comedy across four stages, as well as food stalls, craft stalls, real ale and cider bars and children's ente ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
.
After a further nine months off the road the band resumed touring, and between April and August 2022 performed at various locations in France, including
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Condette
Condette () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
A large farming, forestry and tourist village, some south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, at the junction of the D240 and the D940 roads. The river ...
,
Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...
,
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. They also had concerts in
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
and
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
.
Musical style
Capercaillie's repertoire includes both traditional Gaelic songs and tunes, as well as modern English-language songs and tunes, composed by other folk writers and musicians, or by members of the band. The group often adapt traditional Gaelic songs and music using modern production techniques, and often mix musical forms, combining traditional lyrics and tunes with modern techniques and instruments such as synthesisers, drum machines, electric guitar and bass.
Capercaillie's first two albums, ''Cascade'' and '' Crosswinds'' featured few modern instruments and the tunes and songs were played in a more traditional arrangement. However beginning with later albums such as '' Sidewaulk'', and the soundtrack of '' The Blood Is Strong'', Capercaillie began to experiment with adding
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
bass-lines into certain tracks, as well as synthesisers and electric guitar. This fusion style gained Capercaillie chart success in the 1990s, on albums such as ''
Delirium
Delirium (also known as acute confusional state) is an organically caused decline from a previous baseline of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically hours to days. Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances in ...
Chart Success
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
, below) and reached its peak in the albums ''To the Moon'' and '' Beautiful Wasteland'', with the remix albums ''
Get Out
''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landr ...
'' and ''Capercaillie'' being released during this period.
Capercaillie have drawn back slightly from the heavy fusion style featured on their albums the 1990s, and their more recent albums from '' Nàdurra'' (2003) up to '' At the Heart of It All'' (2013) feature more traditional arrangements and instruments, while still retaining a slight fusion feel.
The opening track from their 2000 album '' Nàdurra'', "Skye Waulking Song", was used in the
Edexcel
Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board ...
Music GCSE Specification from 2009 to 2016. The song was in the world music section, and was used as a representation of traditional folk music combined with
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
.
Chart success
Their 1992 EP, ''A Prince Among Islands'', was the first
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
-language record to have a single that reached the Top 40 of the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
: "Coisich A Ruin" peaked at No. 39. Another single, "Dark Alan ( Ailein duinn)" reached No. 65 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1995.
The album '' Secret People'' (1993) reached No. 40, and ''To the Moon'' (1995) peaked at No. 41 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
Delirium
Delirium (also known as acute confusional state) is an organically caused decline from a previous baseline of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically hours to days. Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances in ...
* '' The Blood Is Strong'' (1988)
* ''Glenfinnan (Songs of the '45)'' (1998, recorded in 1995)
Remix albums
* ''
Get Out
''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landr ...
'' (1992) (a compilation album of B-sides, remixes & unreleased studio and live tracks)
* ''Capercaillie'' (1994) (a compilation album of re-worked and remixed tracks)
Compilation albums
* ''Dusk till Dawn: The Best of Capercaillie'' (1998)
* ''Waulk Roots'' (1998) Tracks from early albums '' Crosswinds'' and '' Sidewaulk''
* ''Grace and Pride: The Anthology 2004-1984'' (2004)
Michael McGoldrick
Michael McGoldrick (born 26 November 1971, in Manchester, England) is a folk musician who plays Irish flute, uilleann pipes, low whistle and bodhran. He also plays other instruments such as acoustic guitar, cittern, and mandolin.
Bands
McGo ...
Manus Lunny
Manus Lunny (born 1962) is an Irish producer and multi-instrumentalist from County Donegal, Ireland, best known as a member of Celtic supergroup Capercaillie. He is the brother of multi-instrumentalist and producer Dónal Lunny.bouzouki, guitar (1989 – present)
* Donald Shaw – keyboards, accordion (1984 – present)
*
Ewen Vernal
Ewen Vernal (born 27 February 1964) is a Scottish musician.
Born in Glasgow to a musical family, Vernal began taking piano lessons at 8 years old — inspired by a Beatles-singing mother and a choir-leading, saxophone-playing father. Singing ...
James Mackintosh
Sir James Mackintosh FRS FRSE (24 October 1765 – 30 May 1832) was a Scottish jurist, Whig politician and Whig historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a doctor and barrister, and worked also as a jour ...