Algorithms reviving traditional Scottish music for the next generation

The National

28-05-2025

This monumental triumph was aided by a slight cheat in the system: one physical sale of an album can count for more than 6000 streams.
This does not take away from the achievement. Conversely, it highlights the dedication and loyalty of the Scottish rock band's fans.
As Gary Innes, BBC Scotland radio presenter and frontman of the popular trad band Mànran, puts it: 'They used their fan base to basically support them by buying physical CDs. I can guarantee most of them that actually bought the CD don't have a CD player but what they are doing is wanting to contribute to their favourite band.'
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Innes has proven the might of the modern trad music scene through his ambitious and hugely successful festivals: Hoolie in the Hydro, Lochaber Live and Lochaber: A Celebration.
What seems to be at the heart of this success is firstly the willingness to fuse the traditional with the modern, as he continues: 'When you're hearing bagpipes with synthesisers and you're going to a show and there's lasers and there's smoke machines and haze and strobe and all of a sudden you're like, 'well, this could be a dance festival.''
What also drives this success is his genuine desire to provide festivalgoers a valuable experience and honest connection to both Scottish traditions and each other.
He energetically explains: 'To me, everything in life is about having a connection and just being nice to people … to create memories for folk, I think, is a privilege.
'I realise that's probably quite a cliche thing to say but, in all honesty, it's just genuinely about trying to create events and memories and moments for people, because that's what it's doing for me too!'
Of course, this growth in the popularity of traditional music has not been driven by one man alone (though some may argue otherwise). Streaming, social media and other contemporary devices for music consumption have inevitably played their part in returning Scots to their roots.
Later this year, the former ceilidh band Trail West host their sell-out Trail West Fest, which features two nights at the Barrowlands in Glasgow. This band performs a mix of original songs and 'repackaged' traditional music reworked to have a modern sound.
Seonaidh MacIntyre, Trail West's bagpiper, guitarist and vocalist, claims that the band's reach would have been nearly impossible without their online presence. He says: 'The fact that you get that exposure – I mean, I don't think that we would be doing gigs in the Barrowlands, let alone selling out two nights, if it wasn't for that.'
Despite this, he still believes that live music is the best way to engage with fans and get music out there. He expands: 'I don't think we would be the same band without the live thing. Having a live presence, that's your kind of bread and butter if you're wanting to earn money from music because unless you break BIG time online, you're not gonna make that much from it.'
This growth may come at a price, however. The simple truth is that the more English and genre-infused the songs are, the greater reach they generally get. Many could argue this algorithm-driven production could make music less distinctive across all genres.
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However, as Innes acknowledges: 'It does feel that maybe you take with one hand, giveth with the other slightly, because if you look at our streaming numbers for instance, they've exponentially raised in the last couple of years with more English material but with the more listeners they are indeed getting to listen to a more Gaelic content.'
For those who still fear that social and streaming services are diluting Scotland's music traditions, I challenge you to attend Hoolie in the Hydro 2025 where more than 10,000 young people will be bouncing up and down to Trail West blasting out the 300-year-old Macpherson's Rant – and still argue that algorithms aren't helping re-shape, revive and re-energise traditional Scottish music for the next generation.