How a Scottish band is reinventing trad music and going viral

The Herald Scotland

13-05-2025

The duo will perform at The Reeling at Rouken Glen Park this June and they racked up more than 1.3 million views and brought in 30,000 new followers with their video titled 'Have you ever wondered what Drum and Bass would sound it like it was from Scotland?'.
One comment then requested an album and said they could listen to it all day despite not liking Drum and Bass.
"We didn't expect it to explode like that, we were just doing what we usually do – rehearsing together," says Martyn MacDonald, one half of the duo who hail from the Isle of Skye.
"We put it up, and within a day or two, it just took off. People were tagging their mates, sharing it, and suddenly our follower count was jumping up by the thousands. It was mad."
Martyn, 29, is joined in the group by 33-year-old Daniel Docherty and they say their social media presence is key to their recent rise.
Martyn explained: "At the start, we'd overthink everything we posted, but now we just try to put stuff out regularly and not stress too much about it. The more natural and off-the-cuff it feels, the better it does."
"The algorithm's a strange beast, but once one video blows up, all your other stuff starts getting seen too,' Dan said. 'You just have to keep the momentum going.
'It's a high BPM and rhythmic drive, both genres are built to energize audiences, both trad music and electronic music fill your chest, they're powerful.'
"We usually start with a dance track and build the trad elements into it, rather than the other way around. That way, the rhythms and melodies naturally fit together rather than feeling forced."
The band's willingness to experiment across electronic subgenres, from Drum and Bass to house music, helps them reach a diverse audience.
Martyn continued: "If someone finds us through a Drum and Bass track, they might stick around when we drop a house tune.
"It's great seeing people who might not normally listen to trad music suddenly getting into it through our tracks. We're bringing different groups together.
'Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are introducing traditional music to a new generation.
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'It's all about how you present it. People have seen guitars and drum kits a million times, but when they see fiddles and bagpipes in a club setting or over a heavy bassline, it makes them stop and pay attention.
"It comes across the second the bagpipes kick in, all the phones come out, there's always this moment where people lose it, it's amazing to see.
"Our music often comes with an explanation. If you have to justify it too much, it's harder to sell. That's why we're developing 'High Water Mark', a three-piece DJ set that fits more easily into the electronic scene. It gives us a different way to present what we do.
"Some festivals love what we do, but mainstream ones still hesitate, people aren't sure where to place us. But that's fine, we're carving out our own space."
Valtos will perform at The Reeling, Glasgow's summer celebration of traditional music festival at Rouken Glen Park from Friday 6 June to Sunday 8 June 2025.