Albannach

Albannach, Gaelic for "Scottish" or "Scotsman", is a Scottish band. Their traditional music is heavily percussive, driven by bass drums, bodhráns and a single bagpipe. From the first, eponymous album in 2006, Albannach has promoted a sentiment of Scottish patriotism in songs such as "Uprising," a tribute to famed patriot William Wallace; they have covered songs like "1320" by Scottish folk artist Gordon Menzies of the band Gaberlunzie. Several songs on early albums referred to the Island of Barra, the Outer Hebrides home of Albannach's bagpiper, Donnie MacNeil. Vocal songs that survive in the touring repertoire are sung either a cappella or with minimal accompaniment, emphasizing their lyrics. Examples of these include "Scotland is Her Name" and "Peaceful is the Glen"; the latter commemorates the Massacre of Glencoe, while the former is more directly topical and even political in its implied support for an independent Scotland. With these exceptions, the bulk of the touring repertoire, and of the band's discography, remains instrumental.