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Folk Bands and Artists

The Poozies

The Poozies

http://www.poozies.co.uk

The Poozies first burst onto the folk scene in 1991, when folk music wore elaborately patterned woolly jumpers and was only seen in dingy back rooms and very late at night on BBC2 – yet from the word go they were breaking out and happily exploring the musical universe.

The folk scene was then, as now, very male-dominated and so it was a conscious decision back then to be an ‘all-female’ band. The name came from a den of iniquity frequented by Robert Burns, called Poozie Nancy’s, and there is some debate amongst the four founder members as to whether the now-obvious meaning of ‘Poozie’ was realised back then… but the feeling now is that it’s pretty rock and roll!!

As with all bands that have been on the road for so long there have been various line-up changes, and although it’s probably fair to say a male may feel it’s slightly strange to be in a band with this name, there has also always been a natural choice of who will join the band and these people have also just so happened to be female. Throughout the years The Poozies have toured worldwide and attracted recognition and appreciation for their eclectic choice of material, unusual and exciting arrangements, and heart-tugging vocal harmonies.

Mary Macmaster: Electro-harp, vocals

Mary has always been a Poozie. She was an original member of the group back in 1991 (just a slip of a girl then) and has remained the steadfast skipper through its impressively long history. With a gloriously fat, bassy sound from her Camac electro-harp, and vocals that range effortlessly from sweet and pure to wild and compelling, she is a legend on the scene. As well as collaborating with way too many stars to mention she appeared on the Jools Holland Show and toured with Sting in 2010 and was inducted into the Scottish Music Hall of Fame in 2013. During the last twenty years she has been at the forefront of the Scottish harp revival and an official ambassador of Scottish music. She is one part of what is surely a unique duo of harp and drums with the peerless Donald Hay; a major force in the ten-strong women ensemble, Songs of Separation; and one third of the recently reformed Shine, with Alyth McCormack and Corrina Hewat. She has also recently taken up Flamenco dancing but that hasn’t been incorporated into the Poozie set, yet.

Eilidh Shaw: Fiddle, vocals

Eilidh has been a Poozie since 2000 (we think). She’s originally from a small village called Taynuilt, near Oban, on the West coast of Scotland, but spent her twenties in Edinburgh, where she led many of the fantastic, ground-breaking sessions and was involved in a huge number of projects with musicians across the genres. In 1997 she made a ‘solo’ album with many guest musicians, namely Ian Carr, Donald Hay, Brian Kellock and Simon Bradley, and from there went on to feature in many great groups, including John Rae’s Celtic Feet, Keep It Up, Harem Scarem and The Unusual Suspects. Although her fiddling style has remained firmly rooted in the West Coast of Scotland she plays regularly with Scandinavian, African, Breton and French musicians. Now living in West Lochaber she teaches fiddle, plays for many local dances, and runs the annual festival, Fèis na Mara, and The Arisaig Acoustic Music Club.

Sarah McFadyen: Fiddle, banjo, guitar, vocals

Sarah is new to the Poozies but not to Eilidh and Mary as she was also heavily involved in that intoxicating Edinburgh session scene of the late Nineties and early Noughties. At this point Sarah was doing a degree at Edinburgh College of Art, and she continues to be a visual artist to this day. She is from the island of Hoy in Orkney and has a lovely laid-back fiddle and 5-string banjo style akin to the North American old-timers, which perfectly suits her soaring lark-like vocals. She was a founder member of indie-pop band Aberfeldy and played for many years with Eilidh in eclectic alt-folk band Harem Scarem and prog-ceilidh innovators The Squashy Bag Dance Band. Also a fiddle maker and children’s entertainer, there actually is no end to this woman’s talents!

Tia Files: Guitar, percussion, fiddle, vocals

Tia is the youngest Poozie. She is also a West-coaster from Oban, and at age 12 was accepted to study at the prestigious National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music. While still only 16 she co-founded the band Bodega with 5 of her fellow students, which went on to win the 2006 Radio 2 Young Folk Award. This led to Radio 2 recording sessions, high-profile appearances at Cambridge and Cropredy Folk Festivals, and extensive UK, European and American tours. She is a multi-instrumentalist, a natural teacher, has pretty good circus skills, and can make really nice things out of wood. For the last few years she has been part of the Rua MacMillan Trio, which has also taken her all over the world. Tia is a phenomenal guitar player and percussionist, who can be powerful and driving or empathetic and soulful as needed.

The range of experience collectively realised by The Poozies is massive! Between them, they have played / also play with…

Sileas, Macmaster/Hay, Aberfeldy, DaimhMor, Harem Scarem, Sting, Bonnie Prince Billy, Clan Alba, Keep It Up, Shine, John Rae’s Celtic Feet, The Unusual Suspects, La Boum, Bodega, Sandy Wright & The Toxic Cowboys, The Ruaraidh MacMillan Trio, Himmerland, Arnaud Ciapolino, Michelle Burke, The Belle Stars, The Bella MacNab Dance Band, The Squashy Bag Dance Band, The Dance Bandits and The Highfield Dance Band. They have also all guested on many other artists’ recordings including Dick Gaughan, Lal and Norma Waterson, June Tabor, Eliza Carthy, The Chipolatas and Gillian Frame.

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