Hands Up for Trad’s Trad Music Spotlight is a monthly feature on a band or solo artist. It was first launched in February 2015 and features musicians who are working in the trad scene – both in Scotland and around the world. We asked Treacherous Orchestra a few questions.
What’s happening?
Treacherous Orchestra are just about to release our second album, Grind, on the 16th Feb. Celtic Connection 2015 saw our biggest show of the festival to date headlining the ‘Wired to the World’ gig at a sold out standing & seated Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. We have a couple of gigs coming up to herald the launch of the album including another Borderline gig in London, The Big Whistle Festival at Bury Met and Queen’s Hall Edinburgh.
When was the band formed?
The band was formed to play Celtic Connections 2009 but there were many happenings before that in which the members played and performed together in many different crews. Personally a trip to the Isle of Rhum with Salsa Celtica started me on the TO path after a cross pollination typical of the Scottish Music scene took hold of me. The band has gone from strength over the years via our début album ‘Origins’ which garnered much critical acclaim – including Songlines’ five star review which called it: ”a pounding, sweaty, meaty début which promises much and delivers even more: miss out at your peril” – through a BBC Radio 2 ‘Festival in a Day’ Hyde Park appearance in Sept 2013 alongside Smokey Robinson and Jessie J, which was among many other festival highlights so far, accompanied by a BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards nomination for Best Group of 2013.
https://soundcloud.com/tomreveal/treacherous-orchestra-masters-reveal-records-from-the-album-grind-out-16115
What excites you about performing Scottish music?
The constant moving forward of the tradition and its participants coupled with the satisfaction that the tradition is being maintained and all parts can be visited/re-visited at any time.
What’s next for you?
Following the release of Grind on 16th Feb, and the few dedicated dates to blast that message out, it will be all guns aimed at the 2015 Festival circuits, at home and abroad, with some news just around the corner about a UK tour.
http://vimeo.com/38906528
Read more about Treacherous Orchestra at their website http://www.treacherousorchestra.com