Bagpipes in Prog?
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=25554
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Topic: Bagpipes in Prog?
Posted By: Stars Die
Subject: Bagpipes in Prog?
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 16:26
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Does anyone know of any prog bands that frequentley use bagpipes in their music? ------------- Du Skojar om att jag Skojar men jag skojar inte alls |
Replies:
Posted By: Bj-1
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 16:39
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Mike Oldfield does sometimes. ------------- RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on! |
Posted By: zappaholic
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 16:46
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You'd think there'd be plenty of room for bagpipes in prog, but the only rock songs I can think of that use bagpipes have nothing to do with prog (Korn's "Snakes And Ladders", Alex Harvey's "Anthem", GWAR's "Horror Of Yig", Nazareth's "Hair Of the Dog", a bunch of stuff by the Dropkick Murphys).
Very strange indeed.....
------------- "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken |
Posted By: coffeeintheface
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 16:51
the Korn song is called "Shoots and Ladders".......and the bagpipe intro to it rules ------------- OBQM: www.soundcloud.com/onebigquestionmark (solo project) nQuixote: www.soundcloud.com/n-quixote (ambient + various musical ideas) |
zappaholic wrote:Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 17:02
| Spanish band Granada, see my reviews. |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 17:05
| I've heard quite a few albums that use Irish (Uilleann) pipes - Mostly Autumn used them often in their earlier works. There are others but for the life of me I can't remember who at the moment. Personally I much prefer the Irish to the Scotttish pipes anyway - more melodic and soulful against the somewhat harsh and strident bagpipes. |
Posted By: crimson thing
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 17:10
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No idea about bands using bagpipes........but there is an old aphorism.....that a gentleman.........is someone who can play the bagpipes........but doesn't.......I thank yew........... ------------- "Every man over forty is a scoundrel." GBS 
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Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 17:34
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Marillion's "Easter," though I doubt that could be classified as a prog song. Maybe. I suppose so, but only because it's structure is a bit out of the mainstream. ------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: Stars Die
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 17:35
Okay thanks  ------------- Du Skojar om att jag Skojar men jag skojar inte alls |
Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 17:37
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Godspeed you! black emperor's East Hasting has a bagpipe intro and I'm not sure about this, but I think Mägo de Oz used some bagpipes in some of their songs. ------------- 
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Posted By: Cheesecakemouse
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 17:42
I was just going to say the same thing , In particular he uses them on Five Miles Out.------------- |
Posted By: Stars Die
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 17:44
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Yes, Mägo De oz uses them sometimes, not as much as I would want them to, though. ------------- Du Skojar om att jag Skojar men jag skojar inte alls |
Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 17:59
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Then don't be looking at Godspeed... if you wan't bagpipes since they just use it once. I'm quite surprised you knew about Mägo de Oz  -------------
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Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 18:10
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Check in the Prog Folk section of the archives. I'm sure there are some bands there. I can't remember now if Jethro Tull use them, but I don't think so, at least not rugularly. I think Horslips uses them every now and then, as well as other traditional Irish instruments. ------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: Tony Fisher
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 18:32
I don't think so; they're Northumbrian small pipes or Uillean pipes on every recording I've got by him (and that's nearly all) and they sound vaguely like bagpipes but they're quite different (you don't blow Uillean pipes!). Horslips use Uillean pipes extensively and brilliantly, as do Mostly Autumn and Iona (played by the maestro Troy Donockley on both) but I don't know any prog band that uses actual bagpipes. Runrig, Wolfstone, Korn and Off Kilter do as an integral part of their sound. And bloody good they sound too. |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 18:38
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Peter Gabriel used bagpipes in Biko, not frequently though.
Iván ------------- 
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Posted By: rushaholic
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 18:40
| Bon Scott on the AC/DC album T.N.T. played the bagpipes on the track Its A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll). It may not be exactly what you are looking for as far as the prog purists are concerned but what a fantastic song. |
Posted By: Stars Die
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 19:39
Well , iv'e listened to them for some time, great band, very "Happy" music! I stumbled over them by Coincidence... ------------- Du Skojar om att jag Skojar men jag skojar inte alls |
Posted By: Stars Die
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 19:41
Blind Guardian have used bagpipes occasionally, but I'm looking for a prog band that uses them regurarley... Thank's anyway...  ------------- Du Skojar om att jag Skojar men jag skojar inte alls |
Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 19:49
Indeed happy music it is. Anyways, go and check the prog folk section like someone in this thread said and good luck on finding what you want. -------------
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Posted By: Stars Die
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 19:54
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I already have, but so far I haven't found anything... ------------- Du Skojar om att jag Skojar men jag skojar inte alls |
Posted By: Australian
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 21:42
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I can only think of Mike Oldfield, he used them in Amarok. ------------- 
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Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 21:51
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Mother Gong use Uilean pipes for a short passsage on their "Fairy Tales" album.
-------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Masque
Date Posted: July 01 2006 at 21:52
Landmarq use them on infinity parade and they sound great !  good CD too !
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Posted By: darren
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 00:26
I remember reading somewhere that he plays guitars that sound like bagpipes. ------------- "they locked up a man who wanted to rule the world. the fools they locked up the wrong man." - Leonard Cohen |
Posted By: Tony Fisher
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 03:41
True. This was a technique pioneered by the late Stuart Adamson of Big Country and Malcolm Jones of Runrig (who was a champion piper before he became a guitarist). In the 80s, electronic technology improved and Jones got a set of electronic midi pipes made for use on stage so he didn't have to use his guitar. But Oldfield does play the Northumbrian small pipes himself and gets guests like Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains in to play the Uillean pipes when he needs to (see credits to Five Miles Out). I haven't got the cover for Amarok, but the pipes on that do not sound like Scottish bagpipes to me. |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 04:54
| In my opinion the bagpipe sound on Biko by Peter Gabriel is by Larry Fast his keyboards ... also in the studio. |
Posted By: rupert
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 10:03
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Bagpipes in Prog ? I'd like to have PROG IN BAGPIPES ! ------------- ...I'm a musician/singer/songwriter, visit me on www.reverbnation.com/rupertlenz and there you can choose from 125 recordings you can listen to ( for free ) if you're not limited to prog-rock ! |
Posted By: Aaron
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 10:34
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i hate bagpipes, it's the ultimate gimmick instrument
Aaron
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Posted By: Forgotten Son
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 10:49
Care to explain the point further? I seem to recall Iona using Uillean pipes quite frequently. |
Posted By: Tasartir
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 10:49
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E-Dub should post in this thread because his favorite album (and one of my personal favorites as well) has bagpipes in it in one song!
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Ok, I'll just give it away... the song "Brave" by Marillion...amazing song! ------------- ...Histoires Sans Paroles... |
Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 11:11
Celtic-Rock fusion, really. But progressive with a lower case 'p'.
------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |
Posted By: Aaron
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 12:33
just think of a band that let say, adds the sax, no big deal right?
now take a band that adds the bagpipes, it becomes some sort of highlight for possibly humorous or "edgy" or "cool" reasons, it's unfortunate but true
Aaron
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Posted By: Kotro
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 13:01
Never heard of that, sounds interesting... Could you elaborate? ------------- Bigger on the inside. |
Posted By: Fitzcarraldo
Date Posted: July 02 2006 at 17:47
That's the cover of Canadian group RARE AIR's "Space Piper", recorded in Toronto in 1991. You can read a bio here:
http://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/R/rare_air.html - http://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/R/rare_air.html
and listen to some 30-second track samples here:
http://music.aol.com/artist/rare-air/28279/song-sample - http://music.aol.com/artist/rare-air/28279/song-sample
Check out tracks like 'Fourth World Reel' for some interesting bagpipes and rock. They were originally much more Celtic but became more of a jazz-rock group.
RARE AIR on Space Piper were: Patrick O'Gorman: highland bagpipes, wooden flutes, whistles, wordspace
Grier Coppins: highland bagpipes, whistles, bombarde, keyboards Jeffrey Gill: guitar Christian Frappier: furlanetto six-string bass, bass, keyboards, vocals Richard Greenspoon: drums, percussion, vocal Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the group: Rare Air, formerly Na Cabarfeidh, was a Canadian band that played an eccentric mix of instruments, including bagpipes, flutes, whistles, bombardes, bass guitar, and keyboards. The group, founded in the late 1970s as a celtic folk music band, was originally led by bagpipe virtuosos Grier Coppins and Pat O'Gorman. Its first album was released under the name Na Cabarfeidh and the following five under the new name, Rare Air. In 1982, Na Cabarfeidh released an album produced by Sometimes We Do This Musical Productions. At the time of album, the band included Ian Goodfellow, Grier Coppins, Richard Murai, Patrick O'Gorman, and Trevor Ferrier. The instruments on this album were highland bagpipes, acoustic guitar, long drum, whistle, bombarde, biniou koz, peaucloche, voices, cylinder drums, and tabla. The song Bretonia was based on a melody of a Breton love song, "J'ai travaillé la longue des jours," as sung to the band by Pierrig Hercelin of Les Fougerets.
Rare Air toured the world, and was especially popular in the southern United States. Their early music took the sounds of Celtic music from Ireland, Brittany and North America and combined it with funky bass rhythms and driving Polynesian percussion. In 1990, two of the four founding members, Trevor Ferrier and Richard Murai, left to pursue their own musical interests, and the band changed musical direction with the addition of Christian Frappier, Jeff Gill and Rich Greenspoon. Rare Air's music became more jazz-oriented and it was soon tagged with the "jazz fusion" label.
After the last album, Space Piper, the group disbanded.
Discography
Stick It in Your Ear (1981) Rare Air (1982) Mad Plaid (1984) Hard to Beat (1987) Primeval (1989) Space Piper (circa 1991) There is a detailed review of two of the group's albums (Hard To Beat and Space Piper) at http://www.greenmanreiview.com/ - http://www.greenmanreiview.com/ although the relevant page is not accessible just at the moment, but you can read the cached page here:
http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&fr=sfp&p=rare+air+space+piper&u=www.greenmanreview.com/rareair.html&w=rare+air+space+piper&d=fRBtEzmtMwJT&icp=1&.intl=us - http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&fr=sfp&p=rare+air+space+piper&u=www.greenmanreview.com/rareair.html&w=rare+air+space+piper&d=fRBtEzmtMwJT&icp=1&.intl=us ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=326" rel="nofollow - Read reviews by Fitzcarraldo |