When James Graham won the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year award in 2004 James was not only the first Gaelic singer to win, he was also the first male winner. James who also plays the pipes grew up in a household where music was an essential part of family life. Although his mother an accordionist is the only other family member who plays an instrument James’s father and sister are good singers and were always singing around the house and at weekends, friends and family members regularly gathered for ceilidhs.
James began singing Gaelic at competition level at the age of ten and quickly became a prize-winner at both local and national Mods the Gaelic music and poetry festivals. By the time James moved on to Ullapool High School he was playing the bagpipes under the tutelage of Norman Gillies. He continued piping as a subsidiary study when he went to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in 1999 with singing as his principal study.
Coached and encouraged by his tutor at the RSAMD the well-known singer and immensely knowledgeable Gaelic scholar Kenna Campbell James became increasingly passionate about singing and he credits Kenna Campbell with giving him the confidence to enter the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year competition.
While studying at the RSAMD where he gained his BA (Hons) in Scottish Music James researched the songs of his home area Assynt for his dissertation talking to the few remaining native Gaelic speakers and collecting songs from them. He feels emotionally tied to these songs and is dedicated to keeping them alive. He is also passionate about singing pibroch which he learned from the brilliant piper and folklorist Allan MacDonald.
Discography:
Siubhal
Greisean Greine [Sunny Spells] (2007)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
