finetune artist: Ashley MacIsaac

b. 24 February 1975, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. Although Ashley MacIsaac was raised to the Cape Breton tradition of folk fiddle playing, his eclectic, highly contemporary performances draw on influences ranging from hip-hop to grunge. His 1992 debut album, recorded with Joey Beaton (piano) and David MacIsaac (guitar), gave little indication of his later ecleticism, treating various jigs, reels and marches with due respect. Exposure to New York's dance clubs soon opened his ears to contemporary beats. He made his debut for A&M Records in 1995 with "Hi' How Are You Today?", a record which took 18 months and numerous producers to create, and one which soon became a fixture in the Canadian charts. Within six months of release it had become a platinum (100,000 sales) seller, prompted by the success of the Gaelic ballad "Sleepy Maggie" when released as a single. As a result, MacIsaac collected two Junos, including one for best solo artist, at the Canadian music business awards in 1996. Although much of the material on the album was traditional fiddle music, MacIsaac skilfully adapted the tunes to a more contemporary context, with the help of contributing musicians such as bass player Chin Injeti (Bass Is Base), singer Mary Jane Lamond and classical group the Quarteto Gelato. As he told the press, "I'm a Cape Breton fiddle player who happens to play with other styles, but it's not a rock record."

Listen to Ashley MacIsaac at Finetune.

Sleepy Maggie
The Devil In the Kitchen
Sophia's Pipes
Traditional Jig, Traditional Reel
Lay Me Down