Q&A: Getting to know Scottish fiddler Duncan Chisholm

Duncan Chisholm may be one of Scotland’s foremost instrumentalists, but he certainly has a way with words.

The fiddle player, who has played with Wolfstone and Blazin’ Fiddles as well as winning the Album of the Year at the 2018 Scottish Trad Music Awards, keeps storytelling at the heart of all his music.

And in his latest release, Black Cuillin, he’s tried to render the “epic” volcanic landscape on Skye using music as his medium.

“I guess like how a painter has a style, I’ve been involved with writing music inspired by landscapes for well over ten years now,” reveals 54-year-old Duncan.

“And to take on a subject like the Black Cuillin, everything has to be epic and big and cinematic.”

Duncan Chisholm is performing at Perth Concert Hall. Image: Duncan Chisholm.

Now, as he prepares to bring the spirit of the famous ridge to Perth Concert Hall this weekend, he’s ready to recreate that “big sound” on stage.

“We have 9 people on stage – a string section and a traditional band, with electric guitars and percussion as well. It’s a big band, it’s a big sound,” smiles Duncan.

“But it has to be! I said from the start of the Black Cuillin project, you only really get one chance at that. If you take something like that on, you have to do it properly.”

For Duncan, that means not just getting across the sheer size and swell of the landscape, but also connecting with others’ experiences of the Black Cuillin.

“When I approach writing a piece of music, I’m saying to myself: ‘How do I feel, looking at this particular landcape?’ It might be a sense of complete peace, or trepidation, or joy, a landscape gives us all these emotions,” he explains.

“But if you’re true to these emotions and yourself, then when you write the music, it connects with people because they’ve seen that landscape and they’ve felt it too.”

‘Music always has to have a story’

That storytelling nature goes right back to his childhood and his first ever tutor of the fiddle, the aptly-named historian Donald Riddle, who taught Duncan from when he was just eight years old.

“His way of teaching was to teach you about the tune – who wrote it, why they wrote it, where it was written – so the music wasn’t just dots on the page,” recalls Duncan fondly.

“It was stories and it was images. And that never really left me. Music always has to have a story hanging on it for me.”

Fast-forward a few decades and a pandemic, and Black Cuillin – crafted on Zoom with Ross Ainsley and Hamish Napier – was born.

And though Duncan’s relationship with the iconic Skye landscape stems back to childhood, it was his first time climbing the ridge in 2019 that galvanised him to capture the spirit of the place in music.

“It blew my mind, going up on to the ridge and spending time up there,” he gushes.

Benedict Russell-Smith was part of a team of slackliners who crossed the highest peak on Skye, the Black Cuillin ridge. Image: PA.

“The views you get and the incredible rock formations that are there, and the light… it’s incredible.”

Pesky inconveniences like gravity and logistics mean that Duncan may not ever get to play the piece in situ – but he hints that a gig on Skye “within sight of the Cuillin” may be on the horizon, teasing: “Watch this space!”

In the meantime, Perth audiences can be transported to Skye at Duncan’s performance tonight – and ahead of the show, I sat down with 20 questions for this modern man steeped in Scottish tradition.

Getting to know Duncan Chisholm

What’s the strangest or most memorable setting you’ve performed in?

I think one of the most incredible settings was in front of the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. And I played up in the Rocky Mountains, at a place called Telluride, with the best backdrop I’ve ever seen.

Do you have a favourite piece to play, just for yourself?

My hero growing up was a guy called Johnny Cunningham and he became a friend. He wrote this incredible tune called Night In That Land. And I think that’s probably my favourite of his, and I always think of him when I play it.

How many fiddles do you have?

I have three fiddles! An old German fiddle from 1794, an English fiddle from 1916 and an electric fiddle from 2002!

Have you been recognised in the street?

Yes, in various places. Whenever you play in a town, there’s always people who see you the next day. I’m always as polite as I can be because I’m delighted to speak to people about their stories.

Duncan Chisholm is always up for chatting with fans and finding out people’s stories. Image: Findhorn Festival.

What would you have done if you hadn’t done the job you’re doing now?

That’s a good question! I think it would’ve been something to do with storytelling. If it wasn’t music, it would’ve been writing. I’d love to be a painter – but I’m not sure I’ve got it in me.

Where in the world are you happiest?

At home, near Beauly. It’s the perfect place to live.

Favourite part of Scotland to explore?

Up on the north coast, on the beach.

Last book you read?

And The Land Lay Still by James Robertson.

Music you listen to in the car?

The latest album I listened to was one of Ross Ainsley’s. Also Third Eye Blind, Oasis, Bach, Miles Davis. Anybody!

Three fiddles… and a scope from Dunkirk?

Who inspires you?

People that are honest and caring. There’s not many high profile people that I would say really inspire me, it’s more everyday people that just get on with life and do it with a smile.

Your house is on fire – what one item do you save?

My fiddles! And my grandfather’s Ross telescope, which he took with him during WW2. He had it at Dunkirk when he escaped, ad he engraved his name on it. It’s a very valued possession for me.

First thing you’d do if you won £1million?

Get a really nice writing and studio space in the garden. A ‘man cave’!

If you could rule for a day, what would be the first thing you would do?

Try and get rid of third world debt, balance things out a wee bit.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Yes!

What was the first album you ever bought?

Ace of Spades by Motorhead.

Duncan’s best advice came from a man called Ian, who worked in a bank. Image: Duncan Chisholm, Findhorn Festival.

What is the best advice you have ever received, and who did it come from?

A man called Ian, when I left school, I managed to get a job in a bank. I detested it. A man called Ian came in one day and said: ‘Are you happy in this job?’ and I said ‘No’.

He asked me what I wanted to be and I said I wanted to be a musician. And he told me to just go and do it, because he’d spent the last 30 years in a bank and hated every minute of it.

So that was what I did, I just left.

What or who are you proudest of?

When you’re a traditional musician, you’re a sort of caretaker. Your job is to protect what’s gone before but also move things forward and leave it in a better place after you. I think I’ve given something towards that, so I’m proud of that.

Hardest thing you’ve had to give up during the pandemic?

The hardest thing I had to take on was teaching my children! But the hardest thing to leave was touring.

I love that sense of adventure, when I’m packing my case and not knowing what I’m going to see or who I’m going to meet or the food I’m going to eat. I did miss that.

Could you save someone’s life if they were dying in the street?
I would like to think so! I’d try my best.

What’s your motto?

‘Obstacles don’t block the path, they are the path’.

Duncan Chisholm will play The Black Cuillin at Perth Concert Hall tonight, June 6, at 8pm. For more information or to book tickets, please visit the venue’s website.