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Reviews, interviews, features, radio and news, newest first, back to 2010.
2026
Celtic Colours
Artist page for Celtic Colours International Festival, Cape Breton, October 2026
“Mike Vass is one of the most creative forces on the Scottish music scene.”
Ross-shire Journal
Round-up of the first Dingwall Music & Book Festival
…a standing ovation for Mike Vass at the closing concert at Dingwall Town Hall…
Ross-shire Journal
Preview: In the Wake of Neil Gunn at the Dingwall Music & Book Festival
Mike, in interview
“I felt I had found a kindred spirit, a century apart. Reading it was a pivotal moment in my recovery.”
2025
Folking.com
Singles Bar 117: The Sound of Sleat
“Mairearad’s pipes dominate the melody but much of the excitement is generated by percussion and some odd noises, including synthesiser, from Mike.”
Torabhaig Distillery
Q&A with Mairearad Green and Mike on The Sound of Sleat, on the Torabhaig distillery blog
Mike says
“That’s where I find inspiration: being at sea, absorbing those influences, and taking it all back to the desk to compose.”
The Highland Council
The Plockton music school marks 25 years, with Mike as Centre Manager
Mike says
“The fact that so many former students have gone on to successful careers - and are now returning to perform - is incredibly moving and a powerful reminder of what this Centre is all about.”
2024
Folker
Album review, in German
“Das Ganze könnte man jetzt als eine weitere tanzbare Hybridmischung à la Niteworks abtun, aber damit würde man dem Projekt nicht gerecht.”
In English “You could write the whole thing off as just another danceable hybrid in the vein of Niteworks, but that would not do the project justice.”
On Everybody Wants to Be Like Mary
Bagpipe News
Pipers up for the Scots Trad Music Awards: A.D.A.M nominated for Composer of the Year
On Everybody Wants to Be Like Mary
Scots Trad Music Awards
A.D.A.M on the shortlist for Composer of the Year
On Everybody Wants to Be Like Mary
Irish Music Magazine
Album review
…the music itself is intriguing, oddly compelling, raw and mysterious simultaneously.”
On Everybody Wants to Be Like Mary
FolkWaves
Lomraibh Eutrom, and the album launched
“The melodies were then set for bagpipes and arranged with innovative electronic production from Mike Vass, one of the most creative forces within the Scottish music scene.”
On Everybody Wants to Be Like Mary
Bright Young Folk
Album review
“An appropriate title from the latest composers to mine the rich vein of Scottish trad-electronica and come up clutching treasure.”
On Everybody Wants to Be Like Mary
2023
Irish Music Magazine
Album review
“Here’s a new idea from an old album.”
2022
Folking.com
Album review
“This really is a glorious album – both musically and in its invocation of December.”
BBC Radio 2 Folk Show
Plays Kathleen MacInnes’s Silent Night from the album
BBC Radio Ulster Folk Club
Plays Even the Stars Sleep
Said on air
“See what I mean, it brings you right to the edge of the Christmas season. I just love that.”
EDS Magazine
Album review, English Folk Dance and Song Society
“This is a very good winter-inspired CD.”
At The Barrier
Album review
“Neither bleak nor shortbread tin.”
Inverness Courier and the Highland papers
Interview: ten years on, Mike updates Decemberwell
KLOF Magazine
Album review
“So much has been weaved into these arrangements, even after repeated listening I’ve barely scratched the surface.”
BBC Radio Lincolnshire
Plays Suspension in the Air
Said on air
“What an amazing piece of work, just so evocative of December and winter.”
Get Ready to ROCK!
Album review
“A fascinating reworking and rewarding listen, proving that Mike Vass really deserves greater recognition for his music.”
FolkWaves
FolkWaves feature on Cold Iron, made with sounds recorded on the 2014 voyage
“What resulted is an expert blend of traditional, classical and electronic influences, creating an immersive sonic pallet.”
2021
FolkWorld
Feature on the single Threes
On Threes
Northern Sky
Singles round-up
“Another in a long line of rewarding surprises that this highly creative musician has brought to the table over the last few years.”
On Threes
BBC Radio 2 Folk Show
Closes the show with Threes
Said on air
“The walking definition of a multi-instrumentalist, also a really creative producer and a restless soul.”
On Threes
The Rock ’N’ Roll Oatcake
Announcing the single Threes
“A master of eloquent and evocative compositions and named Composer of the Year in the 2012 Scots Trad Music Awards, the innovative Nairn-born tunesmith is rightly recognised as one of the most creative forces on the Scottish music scene.”
On Threes
The Times
Celtic Connections 2021 review, with Mike as sideman
…Mike Vass’ judicious guitar figures and Tom Gibbs’ skilful piano playing added pace and embellishment to create a near-cinematic experience.”
2020
Folk Radio UK
Top 10 albums of 2020: The Ledger, with Findlay Napier and Gillian Frame, at number 7
“The music on offer is of the highest quality and genuinely represents and epitomises a traditional folk song album at its very best.”
The Scotsman
The year in folk: The Ledger
“Not to be outdone, meanwhile, his brother Findlay, along with Gillian Frame and Mike Vass, delivered The Ledger…
Folk Radio UK
Video premiere of Gates of Saints
“The album was his first of self-penned songs (the title is an anagram of his name) and offered a sonic snapshot drawn from key events from his life over the last few years or those people close to him.”
Edinburgh Evening News
The Ledger in contention for album of the year
Irish Music Magazine
Brian Ó hEadhra and Fiona Mackenzie, produced by Mike
“Credit must be given to the brilliant Mike Vass who not only adds tenor guitar and fiddle but also engineered and designed the soundscapes across the geography of this album.”
The Scotsman
Mairearad Green’s Hearth, produced by Mike
“It was produced by multi-instrumentalist Mike Vass, under whose direction Green’s accordion and pipes have been strikingly manipulated and layered electronically, as in the multi-tracked vocals and pulses of the first song, Carry Me There.”
FolkNotes
Album review: The Ledger
“The Ledger is a most charming album, devoid of any pretense and full of soul.”
The Scotsman
The Scotsman Sessions: a lockdown performance of Just Enough to Let the Light In
“Widely esteemed as a multi-instrumentalist – particularly favouring tenor guitar and fiddle – and producer, Vass has released such acclaimed albums as In the Wake of Neil Gunn and his Scots fiddle celebration The Four Pillars.”
Folk Radio UK
Album review: The Ledger
“The Ledger comes as a very welcome collection of brilliant rays of musical sunshine, guaranteed to brighten up your day and bring both smiles to faces and warmth to hearts.”
Folking.com
Album review: The Ledger
“Sometimes something crosses your desk which is just classy.”
2019
The Scotsman
The year in folk: The Four Pillars and Save His Calm
“The industrious Mike Vass released an album of his Four Pillars celebration of the fiddler’s art, commissioned for the previous year’s Scots Fiddle Festival, and also ventured into singer-songwriting with Save His Calm.”
University of Edinburgh
Introducing the School of Scottish Studies Traditional Artist in Residence, 2019 to 2022
“Mike will be exploring the archives and creating new work, facilitating collaborative projects with students across the university and supporting Celtic & Scottish Studies with our live events and the new MSc Traditional Arts Performance.”
The Scotsman
In contention for Scottish folk album of the year
FolkNotes
Album review
“The Four Pillars exists in its own good place that’s neither a chamber music salon nor a ceilidh house, and it’s all the better for it.”
Folking.com
Album review
“As with all these pieces, Mike has followed the musical ‘rules’ but has taken the forms a step away from their original functions.”
Folk Radio UK · The Folk Show
Folk Show episode 60 plays Torrent of a Thing
FATEA
Album review
“It’s taken over a decade for Vass to find his voice and use his craft to talk about his feelings rather than provide musical textures to channel those of others.”
The Living Tradition
Album review
“It’s a remarkable addition to the tune canon and where treatments are concerned, it’s out on its own.”
FATEA
Album review
“It is a masterful piece of work and will be regularly played in my car as I drive around the country in the latter part of the year.”
RnR★★★★
Album review
“Mike Vass? Oh, yes: singer, songwriter and arranger. And a damn fine one, too.”
The Scotsman
Interview: how he learned to stop worrying and love his own voice
“I stand corrected and contrite.”
Northern Sky★★★★
Album review
“Occasionally a musician comes along and surprises us by delivering the unexpected.”
Spiral Earth
News of the album and the tour
“The shift to songs in Save His Calm has lost none of Vass’s trademark grace and innovation and shows he can turn his hand to succinct and clever lyrics.”
Folking.com
Album review
“The power of Save His Calm grows with repeated listening and it becomes clear that sometimes it takes a monumental event to release someone’s creativity.”
From the Margins
Album review
“This album may be an unexpected step for Mike Vass, but it’s a certain one.”
Hands Up for Trad
The Hands Up for Trad Ignition Award, 2019
“Mike Vass is one of Scotland’s most innovative musicians. He is constantly exploring and recording different music on boats and in studios!”
The Scotsman
Mike to be the School of Scottish Studies’ musician in residence
…with multi-instrumentalist and composer Mike Vass occupying the post for the next three years.”
BBC Radio 2 Folk Show
Plays The Rainbow of Your Last Days
Said on air
“He should be singing, he has a great voice.”
The Scotsman
Celtic Connections 2019 review, with Mike accompanying Kathleen MacInnes
“MacInnes was sensitively accompanied by pianist James Ross and Mike Vass on fiddle and guitar…
2018
Folk Radio UK
Top 10 albums of 2018: Notes From the Boat at number 4
“I never tire of Mike’s inventiveness, his explorative compositions, and his ability to draw on the skills and influences of his peers with honesty and generosity.”
Folk Radio UK
Premiere of They Never Found Me, the first song from the album
“I’m not quite sure how Mike Vass manages to find the time to produce albums, let alone make them.”
Folk Radio UK
The best folk albums of 2018
“Warm, engaging melodies and sparkling performances combine with Mike’s peerless skills as an arranger for a truly delightful album.”
Scottish Fiddle Orchestra
Review of the Scots Fiddle Festival premiere
“There are some lovely tunes, beautifully arranged and played.”
The Scotsman★★★★
Review of the premiere at the Scots Fiddle Festival, the Pleasance
“There was much engaging solo and ensemble playing as Vass’s new compositions responded to these fragments from the past…
Scots Trad Music Awards
Nominated, Instrumentalist of the Year, MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards
Mike says
“As producer and/or co-producer I find real joy in helping singers and musicians develop their creative ambitions for their albums.”
Spiral Earth
The Four Pillars premiere announced
“Based on the four major tune types of the Scottish fiddle tradition – the slow air, the march, the strathspey and the reel – Mike’s piece captures the grandeur of Scottish fiddle music.”
Folk Radio UK
Preview of the premiere
“Based on the four major tune types of the Scottish fiddle tradition – the slow air, the march, the strathspey and the reel – Mike’s piece captures the grandeur of Scottish fiddle music.”
Scots Trad Music Awards
Longlisted for Album of the Year
FolkWaves
Ewing, featuring Innes White
“Vass has developed into an award-winning composer who can marshal ideas from literature and visual art into multi-media works for folk groups and string quartets…
The Scotsman
Interview: the record made at sea
Mike, in interview
“The waves got so bad, we couldn’t eat for two days. It was a case of hanging on for dear life. But you need to experience these conditions to grow as a sailor.”
Evening Standard★★★
World album of the week
“The musicianship is first rate and there are 10 quality performances.”
Folk Radio UK
Album review
“Warm, engaging melodies and sparkling performances combine with Mike’s peerless skills as an arranger for a truly delightful album.”
BBC Radio Ulster Folk Club
Plays Voices
Said on air
“Mike is a wonderful composer, everything he’s involved in has such imagination.”
Spiral Earth
Album review
“Vass is a fine composer and this album delivers on his early promise as a musician and composer to watch.”
The National
Mike Vass takes a musical voyage from Clyde to Lanzarote with his new work
RnR★★★
Album review
“He has a fine ear for a melody.”
The Living Tradition
Album review
“This is a fascinating CD: the only thing missing is a whistling kettle, essential for both sailors and musicians.”
Folk Monthly
Album review
“The album credits look like a Who’s Who of Scottish folk music.”
2017
Bright Young Folk
Album review
…the jerky strathspey rhythms of Megs slot neatly into Vass’ economical and precise guitar chords.”
Folking.com
Album review
“Mike Vass’ guitar opens ‘Tha’m Buntàta Mòr’ with Mairearad’s accordion initially taking the melody before Mike’s fiddle sweeps back into the fray. It’s one the album’s best tracks.”
2016
FolkWorld
CD review
Folk Radio UK
The Dead Stations at Edinburgh’s Hidden Door festival
“By combining spoken drama, music from Mike Vass, and animation from Nica Harrison & Atikah Zailani; writer Charlotte Hathaway has conceived a performance that compels on a number of different fronts, each one of them mesmerising.”
The Wee Review
Tradfest preview: In the Wake of Neil Gunn reprised
Directors Notes
On Gavin C Robinson’s animated film for Eyes Fixed
…the relationship forged between animator Gavin C Robinson and musician/composer Mike Vass, who hit their collaborative hat-trick with contemplative music video Eyes Fixed.”
On Eyes Fixed
Skwigly
Showcase of the Eyes Fixed animation
“‘Eyes Fixed’ is the latest offering from Scottish Album of the Year Award nominee, Mike Vass…
On Eyes Fixed
The Wee Review
CD review
“Overall, it is a satisfyingly unsettling tale, perhaps made more so by the serenely beautiful music”
Folk Radio UK
Live review, the Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
“After this short run of appearances around Scotland, The Dead Stations has established itself as an admirable and fascinating live performance.”
The Wee Review
Live review, the Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
“Mike Vass’s atmospheric composition is expertly performed by himself on tenor guitar and violin, Mairi Campbell on vocals and viola, and Yoann Mylonakis on piano…
Folk Radio UK
Celtic Connections 2016 review, with Kathleen MacInnes, Dermot Byrne and Brian Finnegan
…and innovative Nairn fiddler, guitarist, composer Mike Vass joined forces to create a live set that, in terms of both content and execution, showcases the very best in traditional and contemporary folk from both regions.”
Scots Trad Music Awards
Tour announcement
“Scottish trad musician Mairi Campbell, who has just won Instrumentalist of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards, gives voice to Vass’s epic songs, which combine classical, electronic and pop influences.”
The Oban Times
Mike Vass and Mairi Campbell collaborate on a new project and tour
“The Dead Stations combines live music, recorded audio drama and animation to tell the thrilling tale of what happens after a passenger alights at a deserted train station in a forest.”
Inverness Gigs
Gig preview, Drumnadrochit
“The Dead Stations draws live music, recorded drama and animation in a story about a passenger arriving at a deserted train station in a forest.”
2015
Folk Radio UK
Song of the Day, and the project announced
…a story designed to be listened to: a mystery about loneliness and the mind – music, sound design and recorded voice actors to build the atmosphere, with animators creating accompanying images.”
Scots Trad Music Awards
Nominated, Album of the Year, MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards
Mike says
“The music on this record is intimately inspired by Gunn’s voyage and writing of 1937, and, having made the trip myself, it is inescapably the story of my own reflections. It is a journey of recovery and discovery, and one I hope you will enjoy.”
The Wee Review
Live review, Edinburgh Fringe
“Variously subtle and symphonic, its beautiful tunes evoke the constantly changing moods of the sea, landscape and weather, in a perfectly crafted artwork that stays with you for long after the end of the last composition.”
Made in Scotland
Selected for the Made in Scotland showcase, Edinburgh Fringe
“Award-winning musician/composer Mike Vass’s captivating new work integrates traditional, classical and electronic elements with film, photography and spoken-word excerpts, vividly evoking the moods of the sea, weather and landscape together with the power of Gunn’s writing.”
Folk Radio UK
Review of Malinky’s Far Better Days, with Mike on fiddle
…its wistful lyrics are teamed with responsive and uplifting accompaniment, with Vass fiddling seamlessly, shifting between the roles of melodic lead and accompanist.”
Folk Radio UK
Orkney Folk Festival live review
“The compositions were woven beautifully between live readings and performed against a backdrop of glistening panoramic photography from the trip.”
Stationary Travels
A Sense of Place: blog review
…the album skilfully blends beautiful acoustic playing and fetching melodies across a backdrop of atmospheric elements comprised of orchestra, electronics, and field recordings all of which combine to create a cinematic sense of narrative and a vivid sense of place.”
The Skinny
Longlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year Award
Folking.com
Malinky, Far Better Days
“‘The Wild Geese’ is a poem by Violet Jacob set to music by Jim Reid and Mike Vass gets to include one of his own tunes.”
2014
The Herald
Feature: composing himself for 2015
Mike, in interview
“It’s true what they say about music having healing powers.”
BBC Radio 4, Midweek
Mike is a guest on Midweek
Folk Radio UK
Album review
“Island imagery and the pull of the ocean are written large across the score sheet; the swell of the tide lifts and drops the senses, the musical vision intrigues.”
Scots Trad Music Awards
Q&A for his Instrumentalist of the Year nomination
Mike, in interview
“I love the diversity of Scottish music, and appreciate it in all its forms.”
Welsh Country
Album review
“An original album encompassing folk, classical and electronic styles, a great mix.”
R2★★★★
Album review
“Vass bends genres here. Is this contemporary folk music or a modern classical work? Yes.”
Bright Young Folk
Album review
“In the Wake of Neil Gunn is a beautiful album worthy of repeated listening, full of nuances and invention.”
The Daily Telegraph★★★★
Top 10 folk releases for autumn
“It’s music of hope, it’s inventive and stirring. An instrumental delight.”
The Scotsman
Instrumental pop music is fighting back
“Malinky’s Mike Vass is best known as a folk musician, but his atmospheric new album In The Wake of Neil Gunn, released today and making judicious use of samples and other effects, could just as easily be described as instrumental pop.”
Folking.com
The new CD announced
“Highly original, it is a suite of music that ebbs and flows, variously subtle and symphonic, seemingly having arrived fully formed with edge, atmosphere, nuances and even boat creaks that makes you feel you are taking the voyage too!”
The Herald
Live review, the opening night of the tour, St Andrews
“A quite beguiling musical odyssey.”
BBC Radio Scotland, The Culture Studio
Live guest, with a reading from Gunn’s book over the music
The Scotsman
Feature: Mike Vass’s ode to a sea odyssey
“Expansively flowing, often luminous music that runs with the tide.”
Yachting Monthly
Sailor writes score after inspired voyage
Forres Gazette
Mike was inspired to head west and sail away
Folk Radio UK
The album announced
“The video, music and words all combine together to make something very magical.”
Hands Up for Trad
Tour dates for the commission
“Named Composer of the Year in the 2012 Scots Trad Music Awards, Vass’s music has become known for its originality and inventive approach to the Scottish tradition.”
Songlines★★★★
“A perfectly balanced and atmospheric work of considerable beauty.”
fRoots★★★★
“If Philip Glass composed music in the Scottish Folk Tradition, it might sound like this.”
For Folk’s Sake
On tour: a blog from the voyage, part one
“The guest musicians mean that each local concert will be a one-off, flavoured by the place and the people performing with him.”
Folk Radio UK
Setting sail
“The best possible way to keep updated with events that will, no doubt, inspire yet another unique and moving piece of work from Mike Vass.”
2013
Folk Radio UK
Interview, and a live review at The OutHouse, Edinburgh
“Decemberwell live is a unique event. Inspiring, welcoming and thought provoking; it reminds us of our relationship with everything that winter brings, both light and dark.”
On Decemberwell
The Scotsman
Edinburgh Folk Club review: Fiona Hunter with Mike Vass
“The predominantly vocal material necessarily cast Vass, playing standard six-string and tenor guitars, as well as fiddle, primarily in the role of accompanist, but he fulfilled it with exemplary finesse and dovetailing elegantly with Hunter’s cello work.”
2012
Mardles
Album review
“The album is extremely well crafted, and if, like me, you are a fan of ambient, plucky, layered sounds, then this is for you.”
On Decemberwell
Scots Trad Music Awards
Composer of the Year, MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards
The Irish Times★★★
Album review
“There’s no room for Shane McGowan or Bing Crosby in this tasteful seasonal treat.”
On Decemberwell
Folk Radio UK
Premiere of tracks from the album
“This is a very personal chronicle and the end result is a kaleidoscopic suite of highly original music.”
On Decemberwell
The Living Tradition
Album review
“I think December Well has slowly drifted onto my 2012 Top Ten list, and should probably be on your wish list too.”
On Decemberwell
Bright Young Folk
Album review
“This harsh and wintry tone is relieved at intervals by tracks that celebrate midwinter festivals and evoke cosy firelight and good company.”
On Decemberwell
Celtic Music Fan
Album review
“String Theory has all the elements of an excellent album. And it is truly a rewarding listening experience that makes you want to listen again and again.”
2011
Folk Radio UK
The Tradition: an interview
Mike says
“No pre-written stuff, no pre-conceived ideas, it all had to be done in December.”
On Decemberwell
2010
The Living Tradition
Album review
“An album by musicians as good as Malinky’s fiddler (Mike Vass) and guitar/bouzouki player (Dave Wood) is always to be welcomed, and this does not disappoint.”
On Wait What?
The Scots Magazine
“Elegant craftsmanship by a master of the contemporary Scottish music scene.”