Calamateur is the moniker used by Scottish singer-songwriter and producer Andrew Howie. He performs and records under this name from Scotland, and has been writing, recording and releasing his own music since 2000.

Recording work

Howie’s debut single, White Light Unknown, is played by John Peel on BBC Radio 1 in 2000. Under the Calamateur name, he releases fifteen collections of songs that range across lo-fi acoustic pop, ambient electronica and glitchcore. His releases include the Son of Everyone EP and the 2009 part-covers album Jesus is for Losers. He also releases The Quiet in the Land, an album described by its own material as an electronic exploration of doubt, anger and confusion, and Each Dirty Letter, an acoustic album from 2010 whose opening song is later used in the BBC3 drama Lip Service.

Live performances and collaborations

In performance, Calamateur appears as an acoustic solo act, using an acoustic guitar, effects and his voice. Howie has opened for Admiral Fallow and Joy Kills Sorrow, and also plays house concerts in fans’ homes. He collaborates with Jo Mango and Steve Lawson, remixes tracks for Iain Morrison, and writes soundtracks for two short films.

Other projects

Howie is also part of the Scottish collective The Grand Gestures, alongside Spare Snare’s Jan Burnett, Emma Pollock and Sanjeev Kohli.