Barry Nisbet

I am a composer and songwriter producing music with a sense of place and a respect for the Shetland tradition I was brought up in. My music features strong melodies that are often fiddle-led, and a voice that is honest and very much my own whether performing in Shetlandic or North Isles-accented English. 

Elemental, environmental and natural themes feature strongly in my work which is as inspired by my travels and experiences, including as a Captain of tall ships on the open ocean, as it is by my background in Shetland. I compose songs and tunes that tell stories or evoke moods, often relating to the power of nature, or that weave a common thread through shared human experiences separated by time or space. 

I am a Cullivoe Fiddler and enjoy helping preserve this rare, endangered style; I am a Shetland speaker and researcher into dialect and lost words, and enjoy finding history, connection and relevance in lost language. These threads run through my music. 

I founded and run the 'Sessions and Sail' voyages, an ongoing, evolving project that takes groups of musicians on sailing voyages through the islands and coasts of Scotland and Ireland, connecting with the traditional music scene wherever we drop anchor.

I compose in my home studio, designing parts using electronic and organic instruments; I combine these with found sounds and archive recordings, producing finished tracks collaboratively with instrumentalists who record their parts either in a studio as an ensemble or remotely.