The Other

As an introduction, I am a Scottish guitarist, influenced by many different styles from around the world. Many of my compositions and songs are created by drawing on these influences, my travels and the experience I have had over almost 40 years of playing with a variety of bands, and genres.

As the founder of ‘The Other in 2019 ’, I am really privileged to bring together 11 exceptional musicians and artists, with diverse cultural backgrounds and disciplines , to explore the diversity of their arts, cultures, life-stories, and experiences, who perform an incredibly vibrant and moving multimedia experience.

Those involved are from Iran, Yemen, Syria, Brazil, Chile and Scotland , including 9 musicians, a visual and spoken word artist, a dancer and a film-maker. Some of the ensemble have a lived experience of forced displacement and migration, having now settled in Scotland, UK, they now prefer to be referred to as 'New Scots.

Each individual has also separate careers and successes in their own field , and are truly exceptional talents. All of which contributes greatly to the high quality and energy of the creative output of the ensemble.

We can provide a variety of line-ups that can be suitable for different venues/festivals/events, in addition we can facilitate music workshops in:
Percussion - featuring Latin styles provided by Jose Rojas from Chile, and Persian daff provided by Erfan Imandar from Iran.
Dance - featuring traditional Latin styles provided by Andrea Torres from Chile
Voice & Singing - featuring traditional Persian styles provided by Aref Ghorbani from Iran, and Celtic & contemporary folk styles from Esther Swift from Scotland, Esther is also a fabulous Harpist.

Since 2019 we have received funding from Creative Scotland, EPAD, Edinburgh Council Diversity & Inclusion Fund, Heinrick Foundation and a private donor which has supported us to:

Run creative development sessions to work on new compositions.
Record 6-tracks , now available on Bandcamp, Spotify and our website.
Commission Shatha Altowai a visual artist from Yemen to create a back-projection for our performances. Shatha is also a performing member of the ensemble.

Performances include:
The Pianodrome Sessions, recorded and filmed in their amazing 100-seater amphitheatre in Granton, Edinburgh on 29th June 2021. This was also streamed during the Refugee Festival on 17th July 2021.
Fringe by the Sea August 2022, North Berwick
CD launch at The Pianodrome on 12th May 2023, with press and TV coverage to promote our music.
Festival of Migration , Edinburgh 2023
Celtic Connection January 2024
Edinburgh Fringe August 2024 over 3 dates.

All press is available through our website:
https://www.theother.uk/


The Other were short- listed for:
The John Byrne Awards; 2021
Creative Edinburgh Collaboration Award 2021;
New Music Scotland, Performers Award 2023