To be a piper you must have a natural attraction to drones

June 20, 2023 4:49 PM

From Scottish smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul's latest album, Carry Them With Us, the video for the single Tha Fonn Gun Bhi Trom | I Am Disposed of Mirth features some entrancing music, a collaboration with saxophonist and composer Colin Stetson (who also co-produces the album), and the truly stunning landscapes of the Isle of Skye's Cuillin Hills.

The Scottish smallpipe is a bellows-blown bagpipe.

From Chaimbeul's label's website:

The Scottish smallpipes, with their double-note drones, were in danger of falling into obscurity before Brìghde (pronounced Bree-chuh) Chaimbeul, a native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Skye, became part of their more recent revival. Her piping has earned her a BBC Young Folk Award and a Horizon Award, and seen her perform for heads of state at the Cop 26 climate conference in Glasgow. She’s brought the instrument to a global stage, and with this album, she’s taken it beyond folk music, discovering a place where the tradition and minimalism meet, offering her the freedom to experiment in sound and create something completely her own.

“I’m always led by the drone,” Chaimbeul explains. “To be a piper you must have a natural attraction to drones. That’s the minimalist aspect, the atmosphere it creates, rather than a rhythm. The other side is melody, one or two of them in a tune, repeating them so it becomes trance-like, and getting lost in them a little bit.”

posted by yasaman (11 comments total)

Don't think I've ever heard smallpipes before. The double-note drones are pretty cool. Think I still like the bagpipe drone sound a bit better, but very cool.
posted by Windopaene at 6:07 PM on June 20, 2023

This is, quite literally, the only bagpipe music I can say I have enjoyed...
posted by jim in austin at 6:36 PM on June 20, 2023

I turned it on. My cat ran away instantly. But I enjoyed it very much.

This is going to be a problem.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 6:50 PM on June 20, 2023 [3 favorites]

That was perfect. Thank you.
posted by thivaia at 7:34 PM on June 20, 2023

Oh wow. That’s mesmerizing. (I’d recognize Colin Stetson anywhere.)
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 7:47 PM on June 20, 2023

I’m from the north of the UK so I’m somewhat disposed towards a love of a bleak, desaturated landscape, but those misty scree slopes are just hauntingly beautiful.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 8:18 PM on June 20, 2023

I had the pleasure of seeing her play live with Colin Stetson at the beautiful Union Chapel in London a month or two back. I highly, highly recommend seeing either or both live if you ever have the opportunity.

She also appears on Stetson's most recent album on the track The Lighthouse II.
posted by slimepuppy at 5:51 AM on June 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

This hits all the marks! Thanks!
posted by TheCoug at 6:59 AM on June 21, 2023

If you like Scottish smallpipes, you might enjoy Northumbrian Smallpipes, which have a wonderful, bubbling tone.

There are so. many. different kinds of bagpipes out there. I had no idea until I started looking at them a few years ago. But the Northumbrian pipes remain my favorites.
posted by Archer25 at 8:01 AM on June 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

Thanks for turning me on to Brìghde Chaimbeul. Really great.

There are so. many. different kinds of bagpipes out there.

Here's the border pipes, smallpipes and Uillean pipes all together at once.

I think all of the links in this post I made about border pipes and smallpipes a few years ago still work. There's a cool short video showing how smallpipes are made.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:39 AM on June 21, 2023

Mod note: [btw, this post has been added to the sidebar]
posted by taz (staff) at 3:51 AM on June 22, 2023