Dynamic duo sound sensation: 'Sonically exquisite’The Guardian
Catriona McKay & Chris Stout BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Best Duo 2018
photo by Kris Kesiak
“The one fact that seems to momentarily escape you throughout this musical journey, is that you are listening to just the two instruments. The harp and fiddle have so much to offer in terms of depth and range, that anything else would be an intrusion apart from the silence between the tracks. Breathtakingly beautiful stuff.” (Northern Sky)
Harper Catriona McKay is from Dundee on the east coast of Scotland and fiddler Chris Stout is from Fair Isle, one of the Shetland Islands. Catriona & Chris have their roots in Scottish traditional music. They have taken these most traditional of instruments and catapulted them into the contemporary world of music making.
They have excited audiences all over the world with their own unique brand of music and have sculpted their duo musical identity for over 20 years! Through a respect for tradition and a spirit of experimentation they continue to evolve and create a sound sensation and style “operating at a rarefied level of expertise” (The Herald newspaper, Scotland).
Chis and Catriona both compose and arrange music and are keen collaborators. Recent music projects have taken them to Mozambique to record with Matchume Zango Norway and to Norway to record with pop singer Marthe Valle’s for her newly released album Ro/Uro.
Classical collaborations include performances with the internationally acclaimed Ebene Quartet from France, the Scottish Ensemble, Trondheim soloists and the Russian Philharmonic with none other than pianist Boris Berezovsky joining them for the encore! In 2012 Catriona & Chris had a concerto written for them by composer Sally Beamish which tells the story of a sea voyage on the North Sea from Catriona’s place of birth, north to Chris’ homeland. ’Seavaigers’ was a huge success and they have gone on to perform this work all over the world.
They have received many awards including Scots Trad Music Awards Instrumentalist of the year (Catriona in 2007 & 2014, Chris in 2013) and a Herald Angel award in 2014 for their duo performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that year.
Chris and Catriona were awarded Best Duo at BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2018 and their most recent album Bare Knuckle was short listed for album of the year at the 2018 SAY awards (Scottish Album of the Year).
The crafting of their voice as a duo which blends “elemental intensity with graceful eloquence” (The Herald) has drawn them to explore new music and new ideas for this partnership of traditional instruments – “sensual, throaty fiddle lines…harp is deliciously angular and haughty” (Irish Times).
photo by Kris Kesiak
more information about Catriona and Chris' joint musical journey can be found on their shared website