Na Gathan is a

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 ...

Indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band from the Isle of Skye.

History

Na Gathan were formed in 2007 and first came to national attention in

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 ...

when they appeared in a piece on the Rapal music programme on BBC2 that documented their involvement in organizing the

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of tra ...

unofficial fringe held in

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 ...

early in 2008. In the spring of 2008, the band won the Best New Gaelic Song contest held by BBC Radio nan Gàidheal, with their song "Ruigidh Sinn Màrs", and in the autumn of 2008, the band again appeared on Rapal, this time as the featured band, performing four songs in front of a studio audience. In 2009, the band's second single, "Claigeann Damien Hirst," was shortlisted in the Nòs-ùr competition for a new song in a Celtic language or Scots. The song was inspired by the short story, ''An Claigeann aig Damien Hirst'', written by Maoilios Caimbeul and published by CLÀR as part of the Ùr-sgeul new Gaelic fiction series. The story was in turn a response to the work of art by

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...

, '' For the Love of God''.

Membership

The band was formed by Kathryn NicAoidh (drums), Tomaidh MacAilpein (bass), Greg MacThòmais (guitar) and Tim Armstrong (voice and keyboard). This Tim Armstrong is a different person from the

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. ...

from the punk band, Rancid.Gaelic punk by way of Seattle; Skye band Na Gathan set for boundary-breaking gig. ''The Highland News'' (13-12-08) This Tim Armstrong founded the Gaelic punk band, Mill a h-Uile Rud. In 2008, Roddy Neithercut joined the band on keyboards. Neithercut is also the lead singer in the Scottish thrash band, Atomgevitter. In 2009, MacAilpein left the band, and Greg took over on bass while Sìleas Landgraf joined the band on guitar. All the members are fluent Gaelic speakers. Kathryn is from Skye, Greg from Glasgow, Sìleas from Köln,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and Tim from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. Roddy Neithercut left in 2011 to become a teacher of Gaelic.

Discography

*2008 "Ruigidh Sinn Màrs agus Trì Sgeulachdan (Ùr-sgeul) *2009 "Claigeann Damien Hirst" (Ùr-sgeul) *2009 "Ga Bruidhinn Làn-Ùine" (Problem? Records) *2010 "Fali Ro Fali Re" (Problem? Records)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Na Gathan's Myspace pageNa Gathan on Rapal, BBC Alba
Scottish music Isle of Skye Scottish Gaelic music Garage punk groups Scottish indie rock groups British garage rock groups