NUSA began with Rory Campbell and Malcolm Stitt, who had been playing music together since 1994 when they both started playing with the band Deaf Shepherd and, have since, often found themselves collaborating on various projects on the folk scene. As members of Deaf Shepherd they recorded three albums -Ae Spark o Nature’s Fire, Synergy and Even in the Rain. Rory has also been a member of the group Caledon and more recently of the Old Blind Dogs with whom he has recorded three albums (The World’s Room, Fit? and Gab O Mey on Green Linnet Records), and toured extensively around Europe and the USA. His first solo album, Magaid a Phipir - The Piper’s Whim, was released on the Lochshore label in 1997 and was followed up with a duo album with Malcolm, Field of Bells.
The material that Rory and Malcolm were playing drew heavily on original compositions and contemporary arrangements with strong traditional feel. On Field of Bells, there was plenty of room for experimentation and innovation under the production of Jim Sutherland (ex-Easy Club, The Lanterns). Then they hooked up with Bryan Jones (DJ Extra) which added a new dimension; live deck playing along with the usual pipes/whistle and guitar material. Around this time, vocals were also being added to the mix. With the next album, Donald Hay and Neil Harland were brought in on drums and bass respectively, playing on about half of the material along with Bryan. The new album, NUSA, was recorded for Vertical Records ( www.verticalrecords.co.uk) and released in August 2001. This recording is a mixture of straightforward duo performances and some bigger band tracks featuring many original tunes and even a few songs.
As a result of the NUSA album the group, NUSA, was formed. Malcolm recently left the group to pursue other interests and has been replaced by the very capable Jonny Hardie (Old Blind Dogs) on guitar and backing vocals. New material is already rehearsed and a new album is to follow.
Rory plays border pipes, whistles and sings.
Jonny plays guitar.
Donald plays drums and percussion.
Neil plays bass.
DJ Extra plays decks.
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