Tattie Jam
Overview
- Two piece Scottish performance band
- Traditional Scottish and original material
- Vocal harmonies and accoustic instruments
- After dinner entertainment
Price Range
Prices range from £300 to £1500
About
Tattie Jam offers a rich and highly distinctive brew of songs and tunes: from dark old ballads or protest songs to off-the wall humour, and from keening slow airs to kinetic jigs, strathspeys and reels. Much of their material’s given a playful or funky contemporary twist, with effective contrast provided by the occasional starker a-cappella song or unaccompanied tune.
The band’s material is a varied, yet harmonious, blend of reinterpreted traditional Scottish songs and tunes, and original compositions by Ruaridh. Thoughtful, intricate arrangements and the fact that both members harmonise vocals whilst playing elements of lead, rhythm and percussion give Tattie Jam a sound that's unmistakable, and regularly surprises new listeners with its size and scope.
Tattie jam released a debut album, Jam, in September 2009. It has so far received rave reviews.
The Band...
Seylan Baxter
Lead / backing vocals, 5-string electric cello, acoustic cello, shakers
From Milngavie, near Glasgow, Seylan is one of Scotland's best-known and most accomplished traditional cellists. In addition to Tattie Jam, she performs regularly with Alaskan harper Cheyenne Brown, with whom she released the critically acclaimed album 2:forty in 2007. She is also part of a new musical project, The Sugarboat Reivers.
Seylan is a graduate of Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where she studied Scots cello and song. Previously also a tutor at the RSAMD, she teaches at Alasdair Fraser's fiddle school in the Isle of Skye and the Glasgow Fiddle Workshop, and is co-founder of the Scottish Harp and Cello Festival.
Ruaridh Pringle
Lead / backing vocals, guitar, tenor banjo, didgeridoo, octave mandolin, drum-box & shakers
Habitually nomadic but presently based in Helensburgh, Ruaridh is an accomplished singer and multi-instrumentalist with a highly distinctive style, as well as a prolific and prize-winning writer of both songs and traditional-style tunes.
Though largely self-taught, he was a student of Lews Castle College Benbecula's highly regarded course in Traditional Music, where he was taught by some of the best musicians in Scottish, Cape Breton and Irish traditional music. He is also a founder member of The Sugarboat Reivers.
Tattie Jam Reviews
Album
“Richly textured, with crunchy harmony and unusual flavours... Though cheekily Scottish, it doesn't care what the neighbours think” * * * *
Norman Chalmers, Scotland on Sunday
“…Undoubtedly one of the finest Scottish albums on the market at the moment. An outstandingly inspired debut CD.”
“Excellent solo singers, with an unerring ability to harmonise with each other.” “…Some of the most attractively funky cello playing you're ever likely to encounter.” “Ruaridh's sense of rhythm... is utterly infectious.”
David Kindman, Netrythms
“Thoughtfully compiled, musically exciting and above all entertaining. Bet they're good live.” Iain Campbell, Taplas
Live...
“An outstanding performance of virtuoso musicianship, original compositions both vocal and instrumental, and great vocal harmonies...” Tarbat Crack
“If you want to see some skilled vocal harmonies and traditional Scottish folk - Tattie Jam will deliver it with personality and talent.” Three Weeks
“You soon became very aware that Seylan Baxter and Ruaridh Pringle as Tattie Jam were no ordinary musicians. Two clearly accomplished artists, their demeanour relaxed, their style polished and honed to perfection… Their ornate repertoire reveals a fusion of reinterpreted traditional songs and tunes written by Ruaridh with a diminutive twist and a nuance of spice.”
Where are they based?
Based in Helenburgh, on the Firth of Clyde, the band tours regularly throughout the UK and Europe.
Picture Gallery
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Sample Set List
Lively jigs and reels
Contemporised traditional songs
Upbeat Scottish traditional tunes
Original material in traditional style
Burns songs
Acapella songs with vocal harmonies
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