Nigel Shaw is a long-established composer and musician. He also works as a wood carver and traditional flute-maker, and makes many of the instruments he uses in performance and recording.

Music and instrumentation

His music is shaped by ideas of landscape, seasonal change, mystery and natural beauty. He uses a wide range of traditional and handmade instruments, including wooden and clay flutes, whistles, recorders, smallpipes, dulcimer, psaltery, Eastern European overtone flutes such as the fujara and koncovka, and several drums and percussion instruments including djembe, cahon and darabuka.

Shaw also combines these instruments with field recordings from nature and with contemporary sounds such as piano, harmonium and synthesisers. The result is a blend of older and newer musical forms, ranging from atmospheric soundscapes and melodic pieces to dance-oriented tribal rhythms.

Projects

Nigel Shaw works with Carolyn Hillyer as a duo.