Findlay Napier

Napier was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 1978 and grew up in Grantown on Spey.{{cite news |last1=Leadbetter |first1=Russel |title=From The Blue Nile to the Blue Lagoon, Glasgow inspires musician Findlay Napier |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/15596907.glasgow-landmarks-inspire-musician-findlay-napiers-new-album/ |access-date=17 March 2021 |work=HeraldScotland |agency=Newsquest Media Group |publisher=Herald and Times Group |date=14 October 2017 |language=en}} In 1996 he moved to Glasgow to join the BA (Scottish Music) course at the RSAMD (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). He graduated from the RSAMD in 1999 playing with a series of Scottish traditional music bands in Glasgow. In 2000 he had been working as Margaret Bennett's accompanist and had toured with her in Scotland and France. After working on "In the Sunny Long Ago" with producer Martyn Bennett he was invited by Gillian Frame, Hamish Napier and Simon McKerrell to join Back of the Moon. That year Back of the Moon recorded their debut album "Gillian Frame and Back of the Moon". Back of the Moon toured from 2000 till 2007 releasing three albums and finishing with a final gig in the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., on 21 November 2007.{{cite web |title=CeltCast Classic – Back of the Moon – Luminosity (2005) {{!}} CeltCast.com |url=https://celtcast.com/celtcast-classic-back-of-the-moon-luminosity-2005/ |website=CeltCast |access-date=14 March 2021}}

Napier was approached by producer and engineer Nick Turner to begin a songwriting project which they later named "Queen Anne's Revenge". They began writing on the evening of 14 December 2003 and had written four songs by the next morning including "Ship in a Bottle" and "Out All Night".

Before the demise of Back of the Moon, Napier began working on a project called Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers. As the project developed it moved further from traditional material towards a contemporary Indie Folk sound.{{cite web|url=http://www.list.co.uk/article/14822-findlay-napier-and-the-bar-room-mountaineers-out-all-night/|title=Findlay Napier and The Bar Room Mountaineers – Out All Night|last=Edmundson|first=Mark|date=11 December 2008|publisher=The List|accessdate=16 January 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/album-reviews-arcitc-monkeys-gomez-my-morning-jacket-stan-getz-findlay-napier-greig-schumann-mendelssohn-1-1667233/|title=Findlay Napier and The Bar Room Mountaineers – File Under Fiction|last=Chalmers|first=Norman|date=5 June 2011|publisher=The Scotsman|accessdate=24 September 2014}}

With help from Creative Scotland and Hands Up for Trad Napier began a mentoring project with singer songwriter Boo Hewerdine.{{cite news |last1=Spowart |first1=Nan |title=Scots songwriting workshops relaunched in response to massive demand |url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/19159063.songwriting-workshops-second-outing-applications-octuple-places/ |access-date=17 March 2021 |work=The National |agency=Newsquest Media Group |publisher=Herald and Times Group |date=14 March 2021 |language=en}} The pair ended up writing seventeen new songs and recording and releasing an album called VIP: Very Interesting Persons in 2015, which reached number 2 on the Daily Telegraph's top folk albums. Each song on VIP is about a real life character who has led an interesting life. Hewerdine produced Napier's second solo album "Glasgow" a collection of covers and original songs about the city.{{cite news |last1=Davies |first1=Mike |title=Findlay Napier: Glasgow (Album review) |url=https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2017/10/findlay-napier-glasgow/ |access-date=17 March 2021 |work=www.folkradio.co.uk |publisher=Folk Radio UK |date=13 October 2017}}

Naier met and co-wrote with Megan Henwood and Rebecca Loebe. These collaborations led to Loebe and Napier's 2018 EP and tour "Filthy Jokes" and Henwood and Napier's 2019 Story Song Scientist EP and tour.{{cite news |last1=Hughs |first1=Tim |title=Megan Henwood and Findlay Napier bring quirky folk to Oxford's Holywell Music Roomw |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/17467332.megan-henwood-findlay-napier-bring-quirky-folk-oxfords-holywell-music-room/ |access-date=17 March 2021 |work=Oxford Mail |agency=Newsquest Media Group |language=en}}

Napier has hosted the 'Late Night Session' at Celtic Connections since 2011 and was the creator and musical director of Hazy Recollections{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/music/old-folk-and-fresh-faces.19940285 |title=Old Folk and New Faces|last=Galloway|first=Vic|date=20 January 2013|publisher=The Herald|accessdate=24 September 2014}} a mini festival within a festival that celebrates and connects acts whose music meets at the boundaries of the indie, folk and roots scenes.

Napier runs songwriting retreats with Karine Polwart and Bella Hardy and is the director of Glasgow Songwriting Festival.{{cite news |last1=Staff |first1=FRUK |title=Boo Hewerdine & Findlay Napier launch masterclass for creatives impacted by the pandemic |url=https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2020/12/boo-hewerdine-findlay-napier-songwriting-workshops/ |access-date=17 March 2021 |work=www.folkradio.co.uk |publisher=Folk Radio UK |date=1 December 2020}}

He is married to Gillian Frame.{{cite news |last1=Gilchrist |first1=Jim |title=Findlay Napier on how historic Scotsman folk columns inspired his new album |url=https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/findlay-napier-how-historic-scotsman-folk-columns-inspired-his-new-album-2847964 |access-date=17 March 2021 |work=www.scotsman.com |date=9 May 2020 |language=en}} He works as a lecturer on traditional music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.{{cite web |title=Findlay Napier |url=https://www.rcs.ac.uk/staff/findlay-napier/ |website=Royal Conservatoire of Scotland |access-date=17 March 2021 |language=en}}

• "It Is What It Is" – The Bothy Society – 2021
• "Glasgow" – Cheerygroove CHEERY006 – October 2017
• "Very Interesting Extras EP" – Cheerygroove CHEERY004
• "VIP: Very Interesting Persons" – Cheerygroove CHEERY002 – January 2015

• "Glamour in the Grey" – Collective Perspective – 2022

• "Quantum Lyrics" – Dharma Records DHARMACD44 – November 2021
• "Story Song Scientists EP" – Dharma Records DHARMACD33 – March 2019

• "Filthy Jokes EP" – Cheerygroove Records, 12 February 2018

• "Two Men on a Boat" – Cheerygroove CHEERY001 – March 2015

• "File Under Fiction" – Watercolour Music – May 2011
• Valentine's Day (Single) – Watercolour Music February 2011
• Raise a Glass (Single) – Watercolour Music February 2010
• When Harry Met Charlie (EP) – BRM/Karmic/Watercolour – 2009
• "Out All Night" – BRM/Karmic – 2008

• "Just One Umbrella?" – Watercolour Music – 2008
• "Queen Anne's Revenge" – Watercolour Music – 2005

• "Luminosity" – Footstompin Records – 2005
• " Fortune's Road" – Footstompin Records – 2003
• "Gillian Frame and Back of the Moon" – Footstompin Records – 2001

• "In the Sunny Long Ago" – Footstompin 2001

• "Orain Do Mhullie"/"A Song for Mull" – Arrangements, Guitar and Backing Vocals
• "Beside the Waves of Time" – Iona Leigh Arrangements, Guitar and Backing Vocals
• "No. 1 Scottish" – RSAMD – Lead Vocal, Guitar
• "Thall an Loch Aillse" – Mairi Sine Campbell- Arrangements, Guitar and Backing Vocals
• "Glasgow Skyline" – Gillian Frame and Padraig O Neill – Guitar and Backing Vocals
• "Finlay MacDonald" – Finlay MacDonald – Vocals

• co-producer (with Phil Cunningham) "Scottish Music at the RSAMD" – The Future of Our Past" Greentrax Records 2010
• co-producer (with Back of the Moon) "Luminosity" – Footstompin Records – 2005
• producer "Elaine Lennon" – Elaine Lennon – Little Sailor – 2019
• co-producer (with Anna Massie) – "The Joy of It" – Feis Phaslig Ceilidh Trail 2021 – Feis Phaslig – 2021

• Katie Morag (TV series) Struay Pictures 2014 – Actor, Sven, Katie Morag's Uncle
• "Fonn Fonn Fonn" Moja TV 2014 – Musician, Straight Guy
• "Garaids" BBC Alba 2008 – Performer, Assistant Musical Director
• "Around Scotland" BBC Education 2007 – Musical Director, presenter
• "Scotlands Music with Phil Cunningham" BBC Scotland 2007 – Performer
• "" MnE- 2007 – Arrangements, Guitar, Backing Vocals

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.findlaynapier.com Official website]
• [https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/15596907.glasgow-landmarks-inspire-musician-findlay-napiers-new-album/ Glasgow herald: From The Blue Nile to the Blue Lagoon, Glasgow inspires musician Findlay Napier]
• [https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/music/interview-findlay-napier-on-his-new-album-glasgow-a-homage-to-the-dear-green-place-1-4594158 Scotsman: Findlay Napier on his new album Glasgow, a homage to the Dear Green Place]

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Category:1978 births

Category:Living people

Category:Scottish folk musicians

Category:Scottish singer-songwriters

Category:Singers from Glasgow

Category:21st-century Scottish singers