AroarA | es

Two groups currently record under the moniker AroarA:

There is the "industrial-goth-hobo" husband-wife power duo of Broken Social Scene guitarist and Apostle Of Hustle frontman Andrew Whiteman and Ariel Engle, formed in 2011. The two plan on releasing an EP interpreting experimental poet Alice Notley's "In The Pines" with their own experimental somber-folk with programmed dance beats, presumably to be released this year. The band is also said to be working on their proper full-length album. Whiteman plays a fretless North African goatskin banjo and Engle plays a four-string cigar box guitar.

The band has opened for Omar Souleyman and played several poet shows in Toronto.

Then there is the 4-piece progressive celtic group from the North-East of Scotland. Described by popular US folk music magazine “Dirty Linen” as “Metallica-meets-Wolfstone” with “sizzling electric guitar and artillery-barrage drumming”, the band combines progressive metal influences from groups such as Mastodon, Opeth and Dream Theater with modern bagpipes and whistle melodies to create a truly unique sound. Since forming in 2002, AroarA have performed in numerous locations throughout the country, including Celtic Connections, the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen, Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange and several main stage slots at Scottish music festival Speyfest, as well as providing support for some of the biggest acts in the folk music world, most notably Croft No. Five, Malinky and Wolfstone.

The group have recently completed their third self-produced album, titled “Forward Through Ruin”. The combination “ear-frying bagpipes” with “furious, oft-changing rhythms” led to it being hailed as “one of the most cool and original albums of the year” and “the pinnacle so far of any fusing of heavy & ancient music” by independent US music publication “Chaos Realm.” Comprised purely of original compositions, “Forward Through Ruin” flows expertly between intensely heavy, technical passages and subtle melodic sections, all the while retaining the distinctive and exciting quality which defines AroarA’s inimitable live sound. .