eagleowl are a Scottish

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

indie folk Indie folk (also called alternative folk) is an alternative genre of music that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Characteristics The staff of '' Paste Magazine'' said in 2020: "No music genre ...

band from

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland.

History

eagleowl are Bartholomew Owl (guitar, vocals,

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...

), Clarissa Cheong (double bass, vocals), Malcolm Benzie (violin, guitar, vocals), Rob St John (

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

, organ, vocals), Owen Williams (drums) and Hannah Shepherd (cello).

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

, in a 2009 interview, described the band as "''the soundtrack to the saddest, most beautiful art-house film you've never seen''." The band's sound has been compared to

Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...

Galaxie 500 Galaxie 500 was an American indie rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three studio albums: '' Today'' (1988), '' On Fire'' (1989), and '' This Is Our Music'' (1990). The band membership comprised guitarist and v ...

Dirty Three Dirty Three are an Australian instrumental rock band, consisting of Warren Ellis (musician), Warren Ellis (violin, keyboards), Mick Turner (electric guitar, organ and bass) and Jim White (drummer), Jim White (drums), which formed in 1992. Their ...

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

and

The Low Anthem The Low Anthem is a band from Providence, Rhode Island, formed in 2006 by friends Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky. The current lineup consists of Knox Miller (vocals, guitars, trumpets, saws), Prystowsky (vocals, drums, double basses, synths ...

. In an interview with The List, Bart Owl cited

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle (band), Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and ...

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...

, Alasdair Roberts,

Smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and ''fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odour. The word was then inte ...

and Edinburgh contemporaries Broken Records and

Withered Hand Dan Willson (born 23 July 1974), also known by his stage name Withered Hand, is an Edinburgh-based indie rock musician. His first studio album, '' Good News'', was released in 2009 in Scotland, and re-released in 2011 on Absolutely Kosher R ...

as influences on the band.

EPs 2008–2010

Between 2008 and 2010 eagleowl released two EPs and a single to widespread national critical acclaim: ''For the Thoughts You Never Had'' EP (2008: Fife Kills Records); 7 inch single ''Sleep The Winter'' (2009: Kilter); and ''Into the Fold EP'' (2010: Kilter). ''Sleep The Winter'' was featured on the soundtrack to BBC drama

Lip Service Lip service may refer to: Film and television * ''Lip Service'' (1988 film), an American comedy TV film * ''Lip Service'' (TV series), a 2010 dramatic series broadcast on BBC Three * ''Lip Service'' (game show), a 1990s game show aired on MT ...

on 9 November 2010 and ''Into the Fold EP'' has received radio play from

XFM Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...

Vic Galloway Michael "Vic" Galloway (born 4 August 1972) is a Scottish radio and television presenter, writer and DJ. He hosts a self-titled show on BBC Radio Scotland every Monday from 8pm to 10pm and previously broadcast the BBC Introducing Scotland sh ...

and

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

's Gideon Coe.BBC 6 Music
Retrieved 9 November 2006. In 2009 eagleowl were commissioned by the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

to soundtrack a series of films from th
Scottish Screen National Archive
alongside

Meursault Meursault () is a Communes of France, commune in the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Etymology The oldest attested form of the toponym Meursault dates from 1094, as ''Mura ...

and FOUND. In February 2010, eagleowl recorded a live studio session for

's BBC Radio Scotland show. Eagleowl have played a number of festivals, including

Green Man The Green Man, also known as a foliate head, is a motif in architecture and art, of a face made of, or completely surrounded by, foliage, which normally spreads out from the centre of the face. Apart from a purely decorative function, the Green ...

, End of the Road,

Fence Records Fence Records was a Scottish independent record label based in Anstruther and Crail, Fife, Scotland, founded by musician King Creosote, and run by The Pictish Trail until 2013. Fence Records released records by James Yorkston, Rozi Plain, Lone Pi ...

Homegame, an
Haarfest
and th
Edinburgh Popfest
(run by Gordon McIntyre of Ballboy). At the Homegame festival in March 2010, eagleowl recorded a camper van session for BBC Scotland.

This Silent Year (2013)

On 13 May 2013 eagleowl released their debut album 'This Silent Year' through

and toured across the UK with

The Pictish Trail Johnny Lynch (born 28 September 1981) is a Scottish musician who performs under the pseudonym The Pictish Trail. After graduation from the University of St Andrews, Lynch ran Fence Records from 2003 until 2013 and has since been running Lost M ...

, collaborating as his backup band. 'This Silent Year' received a number of positive reviews, with The Skinny calling it "enduring and elegant" and The 405 describing it as a "great record". Eagleowl are now signed to Pictish Trail's label

Lost Map Records Lost Map is a British independent record label set up in 2013 by Johnny Lynch. The label was established following the dissolution of Fence Records Limited in August 2013. History After 10 years of working for and subsequently managing Fence ...

, based in

Eigg Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...

, Scotland.

Collaborations

Malcolm Benzie played in a short-lived band called ''Woodpigeon Divided By Antelope Equals Squirrel'' in

with Mark Hamilton who went on to form Woodpigeon in Calgary, Canada. Eagleowl and Woodpigeon have regularly collaborated since. Bartholomew Owl and Malcolm Benzie played with Woodpigeon on their 2008 tour of UK and Ireland and feature on the EP ''Balladeer / For All The Guys I've Loved Before'' (2010: Boompa). Eagleowl also collaborated with Woodpigeon on their 2010 UK tour, culminating with a main stage set at End of the Road Festival. The creative friendship is celebrated in the Woodpigeon song ''Woodpigeon vs. Eagleowl (Strength in Numbers)''. Bartholomew Owl has appeared as guest vocalist on the

single ''William Henry Miller Pt. 2'' (2009: Song, by Toad Records) and on

's album ''Good News'' (2009: SL Records). Malcolm Benzie and Rob St John played on

's album '

New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

' (2014:

Fortuna Pop! Fortuna POP! was an English independent music, independent record label based in London, started in 1995 by Sean Price. It specialised in indie pop music. Fortuna POP! previously promoted gigs under the banner of The Beat Hotel and then Basement ...

Slumberland Records Slumberland Records is an American independent record label, formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C., and based in Oakland, California. The label has released recordings by Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, Evans The Death, St. Christo ...

). Owen Williams also plays with the Glasgow band Two Wings.

Discography

*"For the Thoughts You Never Had" (Fife Kills, 2008) *"Sleep the Winter" (Kilter, 2009) *"Into the Fold" (Kilter, 2010) *"This Silent Year" (

, 2013)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Site
Scottish folk music groups British indie folk groups Lo-fi music groups Slowcore groups