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 pui ...

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 BBC 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, 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 identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

pandemic, the band gave their last performance on 17 August 2019 at the Festival des Filets Bleus in Concarneau,

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

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, Wickham, Hampshire, England. Wickham hosts live music and comedy across four stages, as well as food stalls, craft stalls, real ale and cider bars ...

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,

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 o ...

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. The ne ...

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

, and on the

Tatihou Tatihou is an islet of Normandy in France with an area of . It is located to the east of the Cotentin peninsula just off the coast near Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. It is almost uninhabited, and is usually reached by amphibious craft although, being ...

islet,

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. Histor ...

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 Americans, 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 A ...

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 i ...

'' and '' Secret People'' (see Chart Success, 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 La ...

'' 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 education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board in the United Kingdom. Its ...

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 and ...

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 ...

-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 ...

: "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 ...

Discography

Studio albums

# ''Cascade'' (1984) # '' Crosswinds'' (1987) # '' Sidewaulk'' (1989) # ''

'' (1991) # '' Secret People'' (1993) # ''To the Moon'' (1995) # '' Beautiful Wasteland'' (1997) # '' Nàdurra'' (2000) # '' Choice Language'' (2003) # '' Roses and Tears'' (2008) # '' At the Heart of It All'' (2013)

Live albums

* '' Live in Concert'' (2002)

Soundtrack albums

* '' The Blood Is Strong'' (1988) * ''Glenfinnan (Songs of the '45)'' (1998, recorded in 1995)

Remix albums

* ''

'' (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)

Band members

Current members

* Karen Matheson – vocals (1984 – present) * Charlie McKerron – fiddle (1986 – present) *

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 M ...

– flute, whistle,

uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...

(1997 – present) *

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 The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

, guitar (1989 – present) * Donald Shaw – keyboards, accordion (1984 – present) * Ewen Vernal – bass (1998 – present) * David "Chimp" Robertson – percussion (1997 – present) * Che Beresford – drums (1998 – present) * James Mackintosh – drums (1992 – 1993, 2000, 2013) File:Karen Matheson 2007.jpg, Karen Matheson File:FIL 2013 - Capercaillie - 8640.JPG, Donald Shaw File:Charlie McKerron, Madrid, España, 2017 01.jpg, Charlie McKerron File:Manus Lunny, Madrid, España, 2017.jpg, Manus Lunny File:FIL 2013 - Capercaillie - 8694.JPG, Ewen Vernal File:Michael McGoldrick, Madrid, España, 2017 05.jpg, Michael McGoldrick File:David Robertson, Madrid, España, 2017 04.jpg, David Robertson File:Che Beresford, Madrid, España, 2017 03.jpg, Che Beresford

Former members

*Marc Duff – whistle, recorder, wind synthesizer,

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...

(1984–1995) *Fred Morrison – Highland small pipes and low whistle (1995–1997) *John Saich – bass, guitar (1988–1998) *Shaun Craig – guitar, bouzouki (1984–1988) *Anton Kirkpatrick – guitar (1988–1989) *Martin MacLeod – bass, fiddle (1984–1988) *Joan Maclachlan – fiddle, vocals (1984–1986)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1366 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:70 top:0 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:1983 till:2015 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1983 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1984 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:fiddle value:drabgreen legend:Fiddle id:woodwind value:gray(0.5) legend:Flutes/Whistles/Recorders/Pipes id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards/Accordion id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bouzouki value:claret legend:Bouzouki id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums/Percussion id:Lines value:black legend:Albums BarData = bar:Karen text:"Karen Matheson" bar:Donald text:"Donald Shaw" bar:Joan text:"Joan Maclachlan" bar:Martin text:"Martin MacLeod" bar:Charlie text:"Charlie McKerron" bar:Marc text:"Marc Duff" bar:Fred text: "Fred Morrison" bar:Mike text:"Michael McGoldrick" bar:Shaun text:"Shaun Craig" bar:Anton text:"Anton Kirkpatrick" bar:Manus text:"Manus Lunny" bar:John text:"John Saich" bar:Ewen text:"Ewen Vernal" bar:James text:"James Mackintosh" bar:Wilf text:"Wilf Taylor" bar:David text:"David Robertson" bar:Che text:"Che Beresford" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Karen from:01/01/1983 till:end color:vocals bar:Donald from:01/01/1983 till:end color:keys bar:Charlie from:01/01/1986 till:end color:fiddle bar:Joan from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1986 color:fiddle bar:Martin from:01/01/1983 till:01/12/1987 color:fiddle bar:Marc from:01/01/1983 till:01/02/1995 color:woodwind bar:Fred from:01/12/1994 till:01/12/1996 color:woodwind bar:Mike from:01/12/1996 till:end color:woodwind bar:Shaun from:01/01/1983 till:01/12/1987 color:guitar bar:Anton from:01/12/1987 till:01/12/1988 color:guitar bar:Manus from:01/12/1988 till:end color:guitar bar:John from:01/12/1987 till:01/12/1998 color:bass bar:Ewen from:01/12/1998 till:end color:bass bar:James from:01/12/1991 till:01/12/1993 color:drums bar:James from:01/12/2012 till:end color:drums bar:Wilf from:01/12/1993 till:01/12/1997 color:drums bar:David from:01/12/1996 till:end color:drums bar:Che from:01/12/1997 till:end color:drums width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Karen from:01/01/1983 till:01/02/1984 color:keys bar:Joan from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1986 color:vocals bar:Martin from:01/01/1983 till:01/12/1987 color:bass bar:Shaun from:01/01/1983 till:01/12/1987 color:bouzouki bar:Manus from:01/12/1988 till:end color:bouzouki bar:John from:01/12/1987 till:01/12/1998 color:guitar LineData = at:01/01/1984 color:black layer:back #Cascade at:01/01/1987 color:black layer:back #Crosswinds at:01/01/1988 color:black layer:back #Blood Is Strong at:01/01/1989 color:black layer:back #Sidewaulk at:01/01/1991 color:black layer:back #Delirium at:01/01/1993 color:black layer:back #Secret People at:01/01/1995 color:black layer:back #To The Moon at:01/01/1997 color:black layer:back #Beautiful Wasteland at:01/01/2000 color:black layer:back #Nadurra at:01/01/2003 color:black layer:back #Choice Language at:01/01/2008 color:black layer:back #Roses and Tears at:01/01/2013 color:black layer:back #At The Heart

References

External links

Capercaillie's official websiteVertical Records websiteCapercaillie's Complete Discography
(covers activity up to 1995) {{DEFAULTSORT:Capercaillie (Band) Celtic fusion groups Celtic rock groups Scottish Gaelic singers Scottish folk music groups Musical groups established in 1984 Scottish Gaelic music Scottish folk rock groups Green Linnet Records artists Vertical Records artists