The members of Shoormal – Shetland dialect for “where the shore meets the sea” – are all native to Shetland and first emerged as a band at the Shetland Folk Festival in 1998. Shoormal first formed in 1997 to do a 20 minute set at the 1997 Shetland Folk Festival. Although it started a a bit of a laugh, the collection of eight Shetlanders really enjoyed getting together and haein a fun. The fun has never really stopped but, in addition, the band became more and more interested in song writing and arranging.
Their music has developed to blend traditional and contemporary styles in an acoustic manner with songwriting becoming an integral part of their work. Joyce McDill, Freda Leask and Trevor Smith are the main songwriters of the team, the rest of the band complement these musical nuclei to develop the full Shoormal sound.
The band’s debut album Indigo Skies” was released in 2000 on their own label and immediately attracted wide interest, being nominated for the Best Newcomer category at the BBC Radio Folk on Two Awards in February 2001. One reviewer wrote “Richly melodic, polished folk-pop – A mightily impressive calling card”, while another said “Velvety harmonic web of undeniable beauty”.
Freda Leask (vocals)
Donna Smith (vocals)
Joyce McDill (vocals)
Trevor Smith (guitar)
Gordon Tulloch (guitar)
Gregg Arthur (piano/organ/accordion)
Archer Kemp (drums and percussion)
Jonathon Ritch (bass)
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