Martin Swan (musician)

Martin Swan (born Sheffield, England) is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, record producer, recording engineer and instrument designer.

Swan is best known as the leader of the Mouth Music project, whose combination of traditional Gaelic songs and music with contemporary instrumental and technological settings led them to international fame and number 1 placings in world music sales charts in the early 1990s. His multi-instrumental skills and his approach towards the making of folk music (eclectic, restless and frequently non-purist) has seen him compared to a folk music version of Prince.

Swan is also involved in the restoration, manufacture and design of string instruments.

Though born in England, Swan is of Scottish descent and identifies as Scottish.

Martin Swan is known to play the following instruments:

Swan also sings (mostly backing vocals, but more recently lead vocals) and whistles, and is a skilled musical arranger.

Swan has been the only consistent member of the musical project Mouth Music since its inception in 1988. Initially an equal partner with singer Talitha MacKenzie, he asserted control over the project following disagreements with MacKenzie and her subsequent departure in 1991 (MacKenzie has continued to challenge Swan's view of the "Mouth Music" concept). Since then Swan has presided over a variety of line-ups, working with musicians including Capercaillie/Shooglenifty drummer James Mackintosh, pipe/flute/fiddle player Martyn Bennett, fiddler Alison Crawford and singers Jackie Joyce (aka Helicopter Girl), Martin Furey, Mairi McInnes, Ishbel MacAskill and Michaela Rowan. Over the course of six albums and one EP, Mouth Music's music has spanned a wide variety of styles from traditional Celtic music to worldbeat, funk, electronic dance, "fiddle fusion" and more.

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