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Ross Ainslie
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Ross Ainslie | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ainslie performing with Treacherous Orchestra from Scotland at TFF.Rudolstadt 2011. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1983 (age 42–43) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments | |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Great White Records |
| Formerly of |
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| Website | rossainslie |
Ross Ainslie (born 1983) is a Scottish traditional musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist.[1] He plays highland pipes, border pipes, whistles and cittern, and is known for incorporating global influences including jazz, rock and Indian classical music into Scottish traditional music.[2]
Ainslie is a founding member of the Celtic fusion group Treacherous Orchestra and a member of Salsa Celtica.[3] He frequently collaborates with fellow piper Ali Hutton, with whom he won Best Duo at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2017.[4][5] As a solo artist, he has released five albums exploring personal and philosophical themes.[6] He is a lecturer in bagpipes at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.[7]
Early life and education
[edit]Ainslie was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1983. He began learning the chanter at age eight, initially giving up the instrument before returning to take lessons with tutor Norrie Sinclair. At eleven, he joined the Vale of Atholl Novice Junior Band in Pitlochry, where he came under the mentorship of pipe major Gordon Duncan.[8] Duncan's unconventional teaching methods, which included encouraging students to improvise along to rock music and play pipes in fusion settings with guitars and bouzoukis, proved formative for Ainslie's later musical approach.[citation needed] It was during this period that he formed his musical partnership with Ali Hutton.[9]
Ainslie studied traditional music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) in Glasgow.[2] In 2002, he was a finalist in the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year competition.[10]
Career
[edit]Ainslie's musical career spans collaborative projects, solo recordings, live performance and education. His compositional style blends Scottish traditional music with influences from Indian classical music, jazz, rock music and world music traditions, reflecting the mentorship of Gordon Duncan, who was known for placing bagpipes in unconventional musical settings.[2]
Ainslie co-founded Treacherous Orchestra in 2009, an 11-piece instrumental group that blends traditional Scottish music with rock and punk elements. The band has released two albums: Origins (2012) and Grind (2015), with the latter winning Album of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards in 2015. He has also been a member of Salsa Celtica, which fuses Scottish and Irish traditional music with Latin salsa and has toured internationally.[11]
His most frequent collaboration is with Ali Hutton, with whom he has released three Symbiosis albums (2016, 2018, 2020).[12][13] The duo won Best Duo at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2017.[4] Other notable partnerships include recordings with Irish uilleann piper Jarlath Henderson, Scottish smallpiper Brìghde Chaimbeul and English multi-instrumentalist Tim Edey.[14][15]
As a solo artist, Ainslie's debut album Wide Open (2013) incorporated Scottish, Breton, Indian and jazz elements.[16] Remembering (2015) featured his songwriting and vocals for the first time.[17] From 2017, he began a trilogy of concept albums exploring themes of personal healing and self-discovery: Sanctuary (2017), Vana (2020), and Pool (2024).[18] These later works feature expanded instrumentation including Indian classical instruments and collaborations with jazz and classical musicians. Ainslie's compositions are characterized by strong melodic content and complex, multi-layered arrangements that often move beyond traditional tune structures. Several of his compositions have become popular in traditional music sessions. For live performances, he works with The Sanctuary Band, featuring musicians from Scotland's folk and jazz scenes.[2]
In addition to performing, Ainslie lectures in bagpipes at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, teaching on both undergraduate and postgraduate traditional music programs.[19]
In March 2023, Ainslie gained international media attention when he performed a bagpipe version of Dr. Dre's "Still D.R.E." for rapper Snoop Dogg upon his arrival at Glasgow Airport. The performance, which featured Snoop Dogg dancing on the tarmac, went viral on social media and was covered by major news outlets worldwide.[20]
Awards and recognition
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards | Musician of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2014 | BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards | Best Duo | Nominated | with Jarlath Henderson |
| 2015 | MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards | Composer of the Year | Won | |
| 2015 | MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards | Album of the Year | Won | for Treacherous Orchestra's Grind |
| 2016 | BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards | Musician of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2017 | BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards | Best Duo | Won | with Ali Hutton |
| 2018 | BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards | Musician of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2018 | BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards | Best Duo | Nominated | with Ali Hutton |
Discography
[edit]Solo albums
[edit]| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Wide Open | Great White Records |
| 2015 | Remembering | Great White Records |
| 2017 | Sanctuary | Great White Records |
| 2020 | Vana | Great White Records |
| 2022 | Live at the Gorbals (with The Sanctuary Band) | Great White Records |
| 2024 | Pool | Great White Records |
Selected collaborative albums
[edit]| Year | Title | Collaboration | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Partners in Crime | with Jarlath Henderson | |
| 2012 | Origins | with Treacherous Orchestra | |
| 2013 | Air-Fix | with Jarlath Henderson | |
| 2015 | Grind | with Treacherous Orchestra | |
| 2016 | Symbiosis | with Ali Hutton | |
| 2018 | Symbiosis II | with Ali Hutton | |
| 2020 | Symbiosis III | with Ali Hutton | |
| 2022 | LAS | with Brìghde Chaimbeul and Steven Byrnes | |
| 2023 | Diad | with Tim Edey |
References
[edit]- ^ Pullar, Polly (13 February 2022). "I was burned out. I found a beautiful place where I could totally clear my head and relax, that was the turning point". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 10 November 2025 – via www.pressreader.com.
- ^ a b c d Pullar, Polly (17 February 2022). "Acclaimed piper Ross Ainslie opens up about wild tours, mental health and the loss of his inspirational mentor". www.sundaypost.com. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Ferguson, Brian (11 January 2021). "Scottish musicians reveal mental health struggles for powerful new film". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ a b "The Winners of the 2017 Folk Awards". bbc.co.uk. 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "Gordon Duncan Tribute Pipe Band: Live 'N' Well @ 30 and Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton". list.co.uk. 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Munro, Danny (8 April 2025). "Ross Ainslie on trad music's rising reputation: 'There are so many more young people playing it'". list.co.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "BMus (Hons) Traditional Music: Piping". www.rcs.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Simon (3 November 2025). "MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2025: Ross Ainslie". Scots Trad Music Awards. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ McFadyen, Neil (23 August 2016). "Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton: Symbiosis – Feature Review". klofmag.com. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2002, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall As last year's winner of the inaugural Young Traditional Musician". heraldscotland.com. The Herald. 26 January 2002. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Awbi, Anita (2 February 2016). "Ross Ainslie - Multi-instrumentalist and composer". prsformusic.com. PRS for Music. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton launch new album at Piping Live!". scotsman.com. The Scotsman. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton – Travelling Folk Session". klofmag.com. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Slavin, John; MacKenzie, Chris (2 September 2022). "New album review: LAS – Brìghde Chaimbeul, Ross Ainslie". bagpipe.news. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Adams, Rob (24 January 2022). "Brian Finnegan with Ross Ainslie & Tim Edey review — full of exuberance and musical mastery". thetimes.com. The Times. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Kidman, David (2013). "Ross Ainslie - Wide Open Review". livingtradition.co.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Adams, Rob (9 September 2015). "Avoiding the pub brings out the songwriter in Ross Ainslie". heraldscotland.com. The Herald. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Adams, Rob (27 January 2018). "Review: Ross Ainslie – Sanctuary – (Great White)". heraldscotland.com. The Herald. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "RCS - Staff A-Z". rcs.ac.uk. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ Tiwari, Vidusha (16 March 2023). "Snoop Dogg welcomed to Scotland with bagpipe version of iconic song". stv.tv. STV. Retrieved 10 November 2025.