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About Us
Albannach is Scots-Gaelic for "Scottish" or "Scotsman". That's exactly what we are. Albannach are all born and bred in Scotland and our purpose in life is to share our intriguing culture, history and
heritage with you by means of our music.
Albannach are not just another Scottish 'Pipes & Drums' band, indeed we bring a
new and exciting form of music to your living room. A championship winning
piper, an extremely talented main drummer, bass drummers and bodhran musicians
bring you a brand new approach to percussion and Celtic music. Our style of
music is exciting, energetic and enchanting and we promise to leave you begging
for more.
Why not check out the rest of our website for yourself ? Below are some
biographies of the band, but if you explore further you will find photo albums
from our performances, downloads - and indeed our streaming radio where you can
listen to the sound of Albannach, 24 x 7 x 365 !!
You can also participate in live chats with the band, and other fans from all
over the world. Alternatively, join our community forum where you can chat,
catch up with the latest information and exchange messages with others. Don't
forget to leave your mark - sign our guestbook too !!
Band Biographies
Jamesie
Jamesie is the bass drummer with the band, he is also
responsible for some of the bands vocal works.
Jamesie was born in Glasgow 1973, he was raised there and left school at an
early age to become an apprentice motor mechanic.After serving his time as a
mechanic, he moved on to other forms of employment one of which was doing some
film work for various UK film production companies and the discovery channel.
It was through doing this that he stumbled into the music scene and soon found
himself playing the bass drum with a tribal drum crew. After working with them
for 5 years he moved on and became part of Albannach, where he holds the title
"the baron of bass."
Jamesie's musical influences are mostly rock and roll, with bands like AC/DC,
Mötley Crüe, Metallica and Pink Floyd being some of his favourites. He is also
very fond of classical music and enjoys the works of Bach and Yanni.
Kyle
Born and brought up in the Pitlochry area of Scotland, Kyle was first introduced
to Scottish music when he became a highland dancer at the age of 4. He competed
and sat exams until he gave it up at the age of 14. Shortly after this he joined
the local pipe band, The Vale of Atholl, where he spent 2 years on the side drum
at Novice Juvenile level and one year as the Juvenile Drum Major.
Kyle studied at Perth college for a couple of years but caught the travel bug,
so in 1996 he went travelling in East Asia for 2 years, working over a year of
this time in Hong Kong. After returning home, Kyle worked various jobs and
then moved to Glasgow in 2000 doing the same for a couple of years, before
returning to college to study Furniture Construction and Design.
Having graduated from college and about to start work in the furniture industry,
he was asked to join a newly formed Scottish band, and soon he became the Lead
drummer in Albannach.
Donnie
Donnie is a world-renowned bag piper, we call him bullfrog, if you ever see him
play you'll understand why. Donnie is extremely talented on other instruments,
he's a wicked drummer and also plays piano and guitar.
Having played the pipes in many competitions and town halls throughout Scotland,
he felt it was time to leave traditional piping to the traditionalists and
branch off ! Soon he was picked up by a semi-professional band and was off
on his travels playing places in Europe, America and Asia. After some
painstakingly hard years he left to venture out with the boys and decided to
take it to the next level...
When Donnie's not touring, you will find him up the Islands on the northwest
coast where he likes to do some composing, and also pursue liquid entertainment,
but not necessarily in that order. Donnie can also be found relaxing at home
watching the football, and of course being a dad !
Jacquie
Jacquie is the mother of the group, i.e. she keeps the boys in line !
As well as that thought, Jacquie plays bass rhythms and is known for her
haunting vocal skills.
Aya
Aya is from a small town called Pitlochry, where he was born and raised. Before
moving to Glasgow he spent his time terrorising the folks of the town and
quickly working himself through more jobs than any sane person would admit to
having ! We were going to list some of these, but it would take up too much
space !
At just 15 he became involved with the “Clan” organisations of Scotland, which
led to his first encounter with some of his future band mates, and also led to
him being an extra and “stunt fighter” on many film and TV sets. Not only did
this bring him out of his shell and give him some of the most memorable times of
his life, it also further fuelled his love for Scotland and its history.
When he wasn’t getting beaten up with swords he pursued his other passion,
music, which led to him studying sound engineering at Perth college when he was
19.
At 21 Aya moved to Glasgow to study Dance music production at
James Watt college in Greenock. After finishing his first year of the course, he
was working at his local video store when out of the blue came a phone call. The
man on the other end of the line was Jamesie and he had an offer that Aya
couldn’t refuse !
Although he had learned to play the Bodhran when he was 17, he had not played it
for about two years. The prospect of picking it up again and playing in front of
the band, never mind the crowds, left him slightly nervous ! Now that he’s
used to the crowds and playing again, Aya is enjoying every minute of his time
with the band, he counts himself lucky to be doing something that combines his
two major passions, music and Scotland.
Davey
Davey, otherwise known as 'The Ramone' is a Bodhran player with Albannach. He
was introduced to primal pipes and drums while with a previous band that a lot
of you might recognise him from. The stresses of touring eventually got to him
and Davey took a break in 2004. In the spring of 2006, Davey was asked if he
wanted to join a new band with some old friends, and after such a long break he
jumped at the chance !
Davey has been steadily composing music for the last two years and was
encouraged by the positive response to the ballad "Rebel King" that he composed
last year!
He has been involved with live music acts for over ten years now; a bass
guitarist in Scottish folk and punk bands, hundreds of impromptu folk sessions
at festivals, and even spoken word recitals of the poetry of Robert Burns. Over
the last twenty years, he has tried his hand at tattooing, and more notably
sculpture, where his pieces have been selling steadily. Davey has been drawing
since the age of four, so he is an accomplished artist. His current hobbies are
learning to play guitar, as well as writing short stories and memoirs, which
some of you have been exposed to on the website.
For the future Davey hopes to continue to promote the bands diverse Scottish
culture and heritage, and to bring the music of Albannach to an increasingly
widespread audience. He wants to build on the solid base of the first album and
continue to play with Albannach for as long as he can execute my world renowned
"Reverse Burl". Davey wants to express his thanks to Donnie, Jamesie, Jacquie,
Kyle and the irrepressible Aya for inviting their "Auld Da" back, and to Donovan
for being brave enough to even try to channel this musical madness... last, but
never least his wife Kimberly who backs him to the very hilt in every daft
endeavour !
Visit Davey's
Website Here