Celtic Connections

RURA are a five-man band who hail from Glasgow and have been building up a rep as damn-fine musicians who deliver a blend of traditional and contemporary folk music, served with a side of some beautiful song-writing.

The lads have been playing together for a couple of years and last year added singer/songwriter Adam Holmes (also of Adam Holmes and the Embers) to complete their line-up.

I had a chat with a couple of the band's members about their thoughts of being perceived as a more traditional folk band (they won Best Newcomers at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards at the end of last year), where they’ve come from and where they’re going.

I was wondering, would being on Greentrax Recordings (a label who specialise in Gaelic and Celtic music) be at all limiting for Rura when trying to pull in a wide range of listeners.

They disagreed, describing their music as more "traditional with a contemporary feel" and Jack (fiddle) told me how they have "drawn influences from all sorts; indie, rock, pop and so on, all of which actually has worked its way into our more instrumental sets".

Whilst folk music is going through a revival and becoming increasingly mainstream (think Mumford, Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn and co) it is also a genre spanning so many decades and sub-genres, for a musician to be simply described as a ‘folk musician’ is not all that telling. In this respect, surely a more defining tag is a good thing?

"Well when you want to do something that’s not specifically one thing", Adam tells me, "it’s harder to promote because you’ve got to find your own group of people to listen to it".

"To be honest" says Jack "it’s not something we really consider, we just play the way we do and let people decide for themselves if they like us".

Before chatting with RURA, I was doing my research like any good music journo and came across numerous articles entitled, ‘New Scottish Band RURA’.

Why is it always that it’s only ever Scottish bands that are labelled as such? Never: ‘New English Sensation’. Is it a question of who has the prouder heritage and nationality? Why is it only Scottish bands that appropriate their nationality under the veil of musicality?

I put the question to RURA:

"I think it’s a bad thing" Adam tells me, "a lot of bands from Scotland get too caught up in the Scottish scene and rarely push beyond that because they’re too interested in what the other Scottish bands think of them".

"And actually" he continues, "traditional Scottish music is really popular now in other countries. Last year we were in Italy for a week and they loved it. I guess because it’s more of a commodity for onlookers. The thing about folk music that’s great is that even if you play it in another country, it can be appreciated because it all stems from the same place".

In case, dear music purist, you were thinking that RURA are entirely instrumental and have little use for loquacious skills, I suggest you listen to 'Make Its Own Way'. A charming track akin to an oracular telling of a fable or fairy tale illustrating not only the musical talent but also the song-writing showmanship these boys offer.

I chat with Adam a little more in depth about what it means to be a song writer:

"I think it’s really important" he tells me. "If you’re writing songs, you need to write about something that means something to you, otherwise they become this vacant empty vessel to you rather than this soulful, meaningful exploration."

I asked: "So... Would you ever be tempted to write a shit song that would sell, just for the money?" 

"I kind of have done!" he laughs. "I went through a phase of wanting to be a pop star, I worked on a building site, I was shit at it."

Final question then (RURA have been recording all day and are clearly waning) "are you ever worried about being confused with the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency?"

"Haha! That’s the first thing that comes up on Google isn’t it?"

"What about the small Adarsh town in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh?"

"Ummm... No."

RURA are releasing their debut album in March of this year on Greentrax recordings. You can catch them 28 January at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow. Adam Holmes and the Embers are playing at the Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh) on January 18, and it’s free!

Many thanks to Jack and Adam in particular from RURA. Whoever knew bagpipes could be so enjoyable?