Alasdair Roberts

Alasdair Roberts

Alasdair Roberts is a Scottish folk musician and singer-songwriter. He is born in 1977 and is associated with folk and related traditional song forms. He works both as a performer of his own compositions and as an interpreter of traditional material.

Early life and background

Roberts is born in Geislingen an der Steige, in Scotland, and is raised in Kilmahog, a hamlet near Callander in central Scotland. He starts playing guitar and writing music there. His family background includes a German mother and a Scottish father.

Appendix Out and early work

In 1994 he adopts the name Appendix Out and begins playing small venues. He is discovered by American musician Will Oldham, which leads to a contract with the US label Drag City. Under the Appendix Out name he releases several albums, and the recordings are described as having an occasionally experimental quality.

Solo career

After the 2001 album The Night is Advancing, he records under his own name. His first solo album, The Crook of My Arm, appears in 2001 and consists largely of solo voice and guitar. In contrast to the Appendix Out recordings, it is made up almost entirely of traditional songs. On that album, he credits the singers from whom he learns the material, including his father, Alan Roberts, and Dougie MacLean.

Traditional and original songwriting

Roberts records two further albums of traditional folk songs, No Earthly Man and Too Long in This Condition. He also releases a sequence of original-song albums: Farewell Sorrow, The Amber Gatherers, Spoils, and A Wonder Working Stone. His songwriting develops over time from relatively economical writing on Farewell Sorrow and The Amber Gatherers to denser wordplay and references to mythology, esoteric spirituality and gnosticism on Spoils and later releases.

Associated acts

He is also associated with International Airport, Amalgamated Sons of Rest, The Furrow Collective, The Fruit Tree Foundation and Green Ribbons.