DKOS Artists for Wed 25th Jan 2023 – Chloe Matharu /. Braw. /. Mist & Wing. /. Falsgair. /. Tom Houston

CHLOE MATHARU – Wemyss Bay

Chloe Matharu in an Indian Scottish singer songwriter and harpist on the West Coast of Scotland that performs Celtic music. Many of her songs draw on her time as a Navigational Officer in the Merchant Navy, inspired by the natural world experienced at sea. Her music offers “an intriguing insight into a new tradition of maritime folk music with thoughtful song writing embellished by her voice and superb harp playing” The Herald    Of mixed heritage, and crossing boundaries in her career at sea, Chloe is keen to explore breaking down cultural and gender barriers through the language of music. She performs in Scots, English and Welsh.
Since October 2023, she has enjoyed playing impressive venues such as Celtic Connections Glad Cafe Glasgow, Green Note in London, Fringe by the Sea, Edinburgh Fringe, Fishguard Folk Festival and Hartlepool Folk Festival to name a few and has just completed her first solo UK tour. She has performed support for Michael Marra, Bert Jansch, Dick Gaughan and Anais Mitchell. She is one of sixteen artists selected globally for the Fatea Showcase and one of six Scottish musicians to be selected for the WOMEX awarded Global Music Match 2022. Her award winning debut album, Small Voyages, was released in October 2022 and was selected for Celtic Music Rustic’s Album of the Year and was included in the top 20 of the World Music Charts Europe. “a beautiful dynamic movement that carries the listener along.” Folk Radio UK 

BRAW – Glasgow

Braw are a Folk-Pop brother-founded band based in Glasgow’s southside, specialising in close harmony vocals. They’ll be performing as a three-piece for the DKOS, with brothers Iain & Andrew Mundy along with fiddler Colin McKee.
Their unique vocal blend allows them to create innovative and original blood harmonies. Formed in 2019, Braw have been performing across the Glasgow music scene. In 2021, they released their debut album, A Few Miles More, featuring singles Whisky in Hand and Home from Home.
Whisky in Hand reached number 65 in the Official Scottish Singles Chart, and peaked at 50 WEBSITEin the Official iTunes Chart. It received substantial radio airplay including on BBC Radio Scotland’s The Afternoon Show, Celtic Music Radio, Camglen FM, and single of the week features on The Max and Chief Radio Scotland.Braw has also released a Euro 2020 Song: ‘A Long Time Coming (We’re Going to the Euros)’, which has been played on BBC Radio Scotland’s Take the Floor and Clyde 1’s Superscoreboard, while their 2022 single: ‘When Scotland Called’, racked up over a million views on tiktok.

MIST & WING – Glasgow

Mist & Wing make music that welcomes you in. Think indie folk with hints of country: “If you mixed Angus & Julia Stone with The Jayhawks and The Chicks, this is what you’d get.”
Alan & Grace Murray make up the Scottish duo. Hailing from the Isle of Skye and growing up with a stammer, Alan found music to be a way of connecting with others that, for him, was easier than speaking. This – and an appreciation for that which goes unseen and unsaid – makes sense of his conversational songs, with catchy choruses that invite you to sing along. Stories that grapple with a life that’s sometimes hard, sometimes easy, sometimes fun and sometimes everything but. Add in Grace’s smooth, engaging voice and you have a sound that combines the arresting synchronicity of The Civil Wars, the gentle melancholy of Jackson Browne and the lyrical wit of Jason Isbell.
‘Step Into The Light’, the debut EP produced by Jack Henderson (Over The Rhine) is out now. Christmas single ‘When This Time Of Year Comes Round’, produced by Graeme Duffin (Wet Wet Wet), was released in November 2021.

FALASGAIR – Isle of Skye /Glasgow

Falasgair is an exciting and energetic 5-piece band from the Isle of Skye. The band came together in 2021 whilst studying in Glasgow. They are a melody led group consisting of whistle and bagpipe duo Dougal McKiggan and Finn MacPherson with Caetano Hayes Pelletti on guitar and bouzouki, piper and pianist Ben Muir, and Eoghainn Beaton on bodhrán. Falasgair play a mix of contemporary, traditional, and self-composed music.

TOM HOUSTON – Nr Tillicoultry

Tom formed and played in bands such as : Delicious Houdini, Bamboozle, Tom Houston and the Keltic Band (USA), and davesnewbike. He has been musical director with Fablevision and the Arches Theatre, and ran an award winning mutli arts company called INTER-ACT for 28years.
He has released 5 solo Albums: Filling in the Cracks 1990, Open the Skylights 2013, Plastic Trumpet 2018, Gap in the Fence 2020, Pushing the Pull Door 2022. And two with davesnewbike : Wanderlust 2015 and The Tin Can and the Flood 2017.
He has co-written songs with the likes of Chris Difford and Neill MaColl.
His current work encompasses : spoken word, soundscapes, stories and songs. He lives between Tillicoultry, Edinburgh and Wester Ross -Hills, City and Sea
Tom is talented, or lucky enough to make it out beyond the breaking waves, but the boy needs help getting back to shore, where the observers are thinking ‘not sure he’ll make it’.
There’s only so long that you can last tumbling under the surf in a kayak, and it’s not exactly an elegant look. ‘Coming up for breath is a bit of a life saver’ he says.
Tom Houston will be releasing a new Album in 2023 called Everything In The Delicatessen. Live gigs are being organised for later in the year culminating in the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival.