“Cabar Fèidh” drops today. A chat with Boghall & Bathgate’s Calum Watson and Kerr McQuillan about the project

Numerous pipe band albums used to be released every year, but largely because amateur recordings of pipe bands are everywhere all the time, thanks to smartphones and other retail technology, the release of a commercial professional pipe band recording today is news.

Following a pre-release exclusively for those who contributed to the project, Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia’s album Cabar Fèidh is out today at 6 pm BST for all to purchase, enjoy, and, if you were fortunate enough to have attended the Pre-World Concert last August, relive again and again.

Purchase the digital recording (£12), CD (£15) or special edition retro-cool vinyl (£30) from the band’s website, beginning at 6 pm BST, Friday, June 6th.

We checked in with Pipe-Major Calum Watson and Leading-Drummer Kerr McQuillan to discuss the making of the album, the joys and challenges of putting it together, and their general thoughts on leading one of the world’s elite and most famous Grade 1 bands.

Here’s a transcript of our discussion, edited slightly for clarity.

pipes|drums: We are pleased to have the two leaders of Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia with us – Pipe-Major Calum Watson and Leading-Drummer Kerr McQuillan. We wanted to talk a little bit about the new Cabar Fèidh album, which is just out. It’s a big release for the pipe and world, much anticipated from the Pre-World’s concert of last year of the same name. Let’s start with your personal highlights. Calum, what do you like most about the album?

Calum Watson: I would probably say the Mouth Music set towards the end. That’s certainly one on the night the band was quite excited about, because we’ve got all the backing musicians on it. At the end, for the big finale, it’s probably the set we spent the most time arranging, and it’s probably one that’s maybe a bit more kind of out there in terms of arrangements with other instruments. I thought it was the way it came together. Yeah, really pleased with that. And listening back, it’s kind of exactly how we hoped it would turn out.

Kerr McQuillan: Definitely the Mouth Music was that kind of finale where it just brought the night to close. It was absolutely magnificent with everyone on stage. The sound we managed to create was superb – something I’ll always remember. In general, all the sets were great, but the way the whole thing was put together, it was more like a show. It was telling a story. We used a big screen in the concert hall to try to tell the story of the band from old and new, where the band’s going, where it’s been before. And it was definitely not your traditional pipe band concert that goes set to set to set. It was a journey where we managed to pull everything together. It was some night. I loved it.

pipes|drums: Did you see the concert and the album as a tribute to former Pipe-Major Ross Harvey and Lead-Drummer Gordon Brown?

Kerr MacQuillan: It was definitely a nod to the past, for sure, but a lot of new stuff was involved in the concert, and of course, naturally, with the influence that Gordon had on me, and of course, Ross had on the band. There were loads of elements of those guys and previous leaders with the band involved in the concert. It was more to do with myself, Calum, Emma, Chris Ross, all working together with current people in the band, on where we want the band to move forward. It was a real mix of both the old and the new.

We spent a significant amount of time, certainly around my dining table in the house, going back and forth about how we wanted to get a good mix. – Calum Watson

Calum Watson: We spent a significant amount of time, certainly around my dining table in the house, going back and forth about how we wanted to get a good mix in there. Obviously, the Fanfare was there, and “The Big Road Brusher” was played. It was definitely a nod to the past and where the band has come from.

As Kerr mentioned, and as I mentioned with the Mouth Music set, trying to push the boundaries a little bit as well and do stuff with other musicians; just try to get a bit of something for everyone. Certainly, from all the feedback, it seems to have come across well.

pipes|drums: Pipe band albums in general are becoming rare. The ones that do come out are pretty much only recorded live. How difficult is putting out a professional-quality commercial recording these days for a pipe band?

Calum Watson: The short answer to that is very, as we’ve discovered! It’s the quality of recording that people expect these days. Everyone’s got top-of-the-range headphones, and audio’s moved on and such. It costs a small fortune. Anyone can figure out from the crowdfunding how much we raised, and the band’s still taking a bit of a loss on it. But even behind the scenes, the way we used three singers, for example, versus a full pipe corps and the Mouth Music and the paperwork, and trying to balance. Listeners will be more than familiar with how loud a pipe band is, and try to get that all balanced.

We had two sets of microphones, if I remember correctly. There was one for the night and making the sound and how we wanted it in the auditorium, but then to translate that into the album, you’re kind of doing the whole thing again, and modern microphones pick up everything. The first couple of days in the studio, we spent a significant amount of time trying to find . . . you can hear, like, doors closing behind the stage. You can hear everything. It’s taken us a lot longer than anticipated to pull the whole thing together. We thought it would be an easy job!

Kerr McQuillan: It was a task! It was a real task. But it’s something we really wanted to do, because you put so much work into a concert like that that it’s years and years of work and people’s time that you want to remember it. So, we thought we have to record this and we have to get it out there. We thought what we did was really good on the night. We wanted everyone to hear it, because, obviously, not everyone was able to experience it live. It’s really cool to spread that around the world, but it’s something we wanted to remember as a band. And it was cool to put all of that together.

pipes|drums: We can’t help but notice you’re two of the youngest leaders of an elite pipe band. Do you see a general movement towards younger leadership in pipe bands?

Calum Watson: Yes and no. I suppose if you look at some of the noticeable changes that have happened in recent times, certainly Richard Parkes must have been quite a bit younger than me when he took over Field Marshal Montgomery. Looking at our band, obviously, Kerr was particularly young at the time. But Ross Harvey must have been roughly the same age as me. About 10 years ago, he took over, and Ross Walker was probably slightly younger than me. I’ve actually no idea for Gordon, but generally the Grade 1 bands have got quite a good mix across the age groups, which is great to see. That’s probably part of the reason that there’s quite a lot of consistency year to year, particularly at the moment. It’s quite a steady kind of conveyor belt of some guys retiring, some guys not quite retiring, like Ian Simpson, still hanging on, but a lot of young guys in as well. It’s a good mix. It all depends on the band as well.

Kerr McQuillan: For us, Calum has been in the pipe-sergeant position for such a long time. It hasn’t really felt like a transition, to be honest with you. It’s just been seamless for Calum. He’s been doing a lot within the band for a number of years. It depends on the situation per band. I don’t think it’s actually to do with age at all, it’s who’s ready to step up at that moment in time, and who’s willing to take on that role, and what part of people’s life that they’re in. It just depends on the situation.

Calum Watson: Nothing at the moment. We’re still in the process of waiting for some merchandise and everything arriving from this concert. Since I’ve just taken over, to return the focus strictly to the competition field for a bit. Concerts always end up creeping up. We’ve done Celtic Connections a couple of times in the last few years. No doubt we’ll do something, but I’ve not got any imminent plans at the moment. I don’t know what you’re thinking, Kerr.

We’ve been fully right in competition mode this year, and the band is absolutely buzzing for the season coming up as well. – Kerr McQuillan

Kerr McQuillan: Yeah, definitely the one thing we said after the concert, it was a big focus for his last year, but we are really looking forward to getting back on the competition focus for this season, especially with Calum taking over.

We’ve been fully right in competition mode this year, and the band is absolutely buzzing for the season coming up as well.

pipes|drums: We were here to talk about the album, but while we have you, both of you are new leaders. You were in the band for a while, but have your eyes been opened to different things?

Calum Watson: Yeah, I suppose to the outside world, and you had a news article as well, it was a bit of a shock. But Ross and I had a number of conversations over the last few years about it, and he did tell me that he knew he was approaching the end of his tenure. Even towards the end of the lockdowns going into 2022, around the time Gordon was planning to retire. The band’s always been good at planning for transitions well in advance and having a smooth transition. Hopefully, that shows. It’s a bit strange not having Ross in the circle anymore, but the band, as Kerr said, is similar to how it felt before. Obviously, I’ve got some different musical ideas than Ross. There’ll be a couple of tweaks to medleys and MSRs this year. We’re putting another consistent band out this season.

Kerr McQuillan: It just feels totally normal. And going to band practice twice a week, it’s the best time of the week for me. I absolutely love it. In terms of the drum corps, we’ve got a couple of new faces but nothing wholesale. The band tends to be the same sort of guys year in, year out, just a couple additions here and there. It’s been nice getting a couple of fresh faces in. And then, in terms of working with Calum, it’s been business as usual. There have been changes to the music, which I’m super excited about, just from a rhythmical point of view and a drum corps point of view. It really suits us and it suits the ensemble. The band’s always been good at delivering a good ensemble, and that’s definitely going to continue. I’m really looking forward to getting out there as a band with Calum and the new leadership team in general.

Calum Wason: As Kerr says, it’s business as usual. There are a couple of recordings from the Dollar competition, so you’ll see many familiar faces. I know we’re looking forward to getting out. We feel like we’re in quite a strong position at this point in the season. We’re just looking forward to getting out now. I mean, it’s a strange year in terms of the first championship following in July. That’s the latest that’s been since I’ve been playing. I’m not sure, maybe ever. We’d need to have someone who’s been playing a lot longer, if there’s ever been a first major in July before. As Kerr says, we’re just looking forward to get out now. It’s been a busy winter, trying to wrap up the Cabar Fèidh stuff, and then me getting used to being firmly in the pipe-major role, but, yeah, we’re, we’re just looking forward to getting out now.

pipes|drums: I’m sure the whole piping and drumming world is looking forward to hearing more of what Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate is up to and what you’ll be bringing. Good luck to both of you, and good luck with the sale of Caber Fèidh, which is out now on compact disc, digital download and vinyl. Thanks again for taking the time to talk with us. We appreciate it.

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