Azin Zahedi
Born in the Iranian capital Tehran, Azin Zahedi began playing flute at the age of seven, and took up the santour (Persian dulcimer) four years later, winning first prize at Iran’s National Festival of Youth Music in 2007. She moved to Germany in 2010 to continue her music education – first at the Folkwang University of Arts […]
Simon Leleux
Simon Leleux is a Belgium-based percussionist specialising in doholla, darbuka and other Arab and Middle Eastern percussion instruments and styles. Shaped like a tumbler, the darbuka provided the starting point for Simon’s percussion journey and his interest in many other instruments, including frame drums, tombak, riqq, and drum kits. Simon has focused on studying the doholla (bass darbuka) since 2014 […]
Iona Fyfe
Rooted in the singing traditions of Aberdeenshire, Iona Fyfe has quickly become one of Scotland’s most celebrated young folk singers. Having spent her early years learning from local singers of bothy ballads (songs traditionally sung by farm labourers in the northeast region of Scotland), Iona became the youngest ever winner of Scots Singer of the […]
Argyll Rainforest Community Network – Artist in Schools
Jessica Kerr
Jessica is a cellist and teacher based in Glasgow, with an ongoing commitment to confronting and engaging with the climate crisis through her work. Recent projects include a commission for the Scottish Ecological Design Association, taking birdsong as an indicator of landscape health as the inspiration for a new musical work, and Stories of People […]
Argyll Rainforest Network Community Days
Making Tracks
Making Tracks 2024
Shohret Nur
Shohret Nur is a rawap and dutar player, originally from Xinjiang and currently based in London. An award-winning performer, Shohret specialises in the Uyghur stringed instruments, rawap and dutar. Shohret’s great grandfather was a musician and dutar player from kasghar, Xinjiang, while his grandmother was a dutar player and a professional dancer. Continuing this rich musical lineage and supported by his grandmother […]
Ossi Raippalinna
Ossi Raippalinna is a Finland-based percussionist, producer, researcher, educator, and drum-maker. As part of his recent master’s studies at Sibelus Academy, field trips to Senegal, Mali, Scotland, and Cuba have enriched his understanding of the interplay between rhythm and melody in percussion traditions – particularly within West African drum traditions. Ossi’s repertoire includes the drum […]
Nina Harries
Nina Harries is a double-bassist, songwriter, and vocalist. Her debut self-titled solo album was released in 2019 with funding from the PRS Women Make Music fund, while her second record ‘Water’, funded by Arts Council England and recorded entirely by Nina onboard her narrowboat home, was released in February 2022. In addition to her solo […]
Kasiva Mutua
While Kasiva Mutua learned drumming inspired by folktales told by her grandmother, she has developed her own knack for powerful beats. One of Kenya’s leading percussionists and drummers, her expressive playing can tell a story on its own, or keep a band perfectly in the pocket. Today, she’s an international touring percussionist, integrating African traditional […]