WOMAD

Deaf Shepherd

From United Kingdom

Traditional Scottish folk of the highest order
In among all the huff and puff about planet-shrinking musical fusions, Deaf Shepherd come at us with all the freshness of a stiff Highland breeze. Never ones to be distracted by the shiny 21st century, this six-piece folk outfit from various nooks and crannies across Scotland keep things unerringly traditional. Not that this is redolent of a lack of ambition, of course. Utilising a near-full gamut of traditional Celtic instruments (bagpipes, whistle, fiddles, bodhran, bouzouki…), they vividly fill a broad canvas, effortlessly shifting up through the gears from the slow majesty of a calming air or ballad to the foot-to-the-floor fury of a hot-octane gig or reel. Despite forming in 1993 and being described by The Scotsman as "quite simply the best folk band Scotland has produced in many a year", south of the border Deaf Shepherd seem to have slipped under the radar somewhat. Now it's time for the secret to be shared.
(Biography supplied by Nige Tassell 2009
Photography by Gordon Hotchkiss)
Deaf Shepherd