Name: Brìghde Chaimbeul
Nationality: Scottish
Occupation: Bagpipe player, composer
Current release: Brìghde Chaimbeul's Carry Them With Us is out via Glitterbeat Records/tak:til.
Recommendations: Planxty’s "Little Musgrave" and Cormac Begley - O Neill’s March

If you enjoyed this Brìghde Chaimbeul interview and would like to know more about her music, visit her official website. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

It’s a different experience to listen to music with your eyes closed. For me I can get into a zone of certain sensory deprivation which allows me to feel the music on a deeper level, both physically and emotionally.

It can be shapes and colours, but it is particularly tapping into memories or feelings that the music can evoke in me.

What were your very first steps in music like - and how do you rate gains made through experience versus the naiveté of those first steps?

My first steps were very inspiring and with learning a number of different instruments at the same time with both classical and traditional styles it was very diverse. I particularly had an obsession with the pipes however at a young age and really resonated with them.

I think with experience you gain a sense of self and your own musical identity. I personally start to enjoy the journey and accepting a place in time rather than striving for “perfection”.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music meant to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

I was studying at St Mary’s Music School and so music was a huge part of my life as well as my peers’ life. I was surrounded by talented, dedicated musicians and studied music in a variety of different forms daily, so it certainly was a defining feature of my life at that time.

It still is, and I am enjoying exploring my own musical style, what matters to me and delving into collaborations that excite and challenge me.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools and how have they shaped your perspective on music?

I would mainly say two factors –

1. My teachers in my younger years and
2. The musicians I have collaborated with.

I had teachers that inspired me but also pushed me and this is similar to what I look for in a collaboration.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

My music always stems from traditional gaelic material particularly sourced from archival recordings, of songs stories and music from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

As a native gaelic speaker I am very connected to my roots, and this old material constantly inspires me and excites me creatively. Although a lot of the traditional material is very old for me it is a living part of my heritage and is a natural place for me to be.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

I think as a musician it is easy to get stuck on tiny details, particularly during the recording process when you are listening to something a lot. It’s a great reminder to take a step back and appreciate the overall feel.

My sound is very much led by the drones.

When playing the pipes the drones are very close to my ear, it’s a unique part of the pipes that I love to enhance to create a trance-like, hypnotic atmosphere. I like to tap into this further with tunes that use repetition and haunting melodies.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

Growing up on the Isle of Skye I was surrounded by the sounds of nature and could easily find a spot so quiet that you could really appreciate the sounds.

There was a small river running outside my bedroom window as a child and I still love that sound. It’s soothing, and there’s a great sense of peace.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

I always come back to the drones. I definitely want to explore the extremes of this further.

As a listener I love deep loud bass that shakes your body to the core. It’s an intense experience, but the physicality of the sound is amazing.

I think extremes in music can draw out emotion on a deeper level, especially in a live setting.

From symphonies and traditional verse/chorus-songs to linear techno tracks and free jazz, there are myriads ways to structure a piece of music. Which approaches work best for you – and why?

My structure is rooted in tradition and traditional piping. However repetition is a technique I use to lock in with the drone sound and create a trance-like feel to the tunes.

Improvisation is also a natural part of playing traditional music. There is a freedom to not being very structured in your playing and it means each performance or take is different.

It’s a vibrant energy when you are in the moment.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

It was amazing to work with Colin Stetson in the studio on my new album Carry Them With Us.

We talked about his sound being an extension of the pipes and to really enhance the natural frequencies. The whole process was very natural, and around this we wanted to hear the sounds of the instruments themselves, the fingers on the chanter and the keys, the breathing, the foot-tapping.

It’s all part of the music and capturing all the sounds, rather than over-polished studio sheen.

Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

When it comes to the pipes there’s a lot of science to understand and get into, of how they are made and the way the sound is created. It is an amazing process.

I am not necessarily thinking about this when I am making music however, and more about creating a sound that I love and that evokes the emotion I want.

With collaboration it’s all about creating energy in the room and working together, listening to the instruments, the dynamics, the sounds in the space.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I have had many experiences through music that are cross-cultural, and surpass language barriers by sharing tunes together.

Particularly within the world of traditional music it’s so natural to find similarities within different traditions. It brings the opportunity to experience deep communication and friendships, in some cases without even speaking the same language! It’s an instant connection.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I do think so. Playing music is an expression of the musician and can be quite a personal insight into their personality, feelings, values.

It can be deep or it can be entertaining or both. But there’s always an insight and a sense of vulnerability or strength.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

There is a recorded live performance by Rakesh Chaurasia and Zakir Hussain from Nuits de Fourvières festival in France, it’s amazing.

There is also a particular live recorded performance on YouTube of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, of Akhian Udeek Diyan, there is so much power and deep feeling in this performance and also you can tell the energy in the space would have been electric.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

Probably less boxes and labels, more acceptance of music being music and that it can sound like anything!