Solo
In 2018, I released my debut album ‘Provenance’ it was a huge project which involved researching folk music from my home county of Staffordshire and arranging it for seven musicians. I composed and arranged this music with the help of my tutor Timo Alakotila while I was studying at Sibelius Academy on exchange. At the end of the academic year I returned to England and recorded with Ian Stephenson being the sound engineer and guitarist.
In their review of the album The Living Tradition said, “Robbie Sherratt’s debut album is a tour de force in all aspects. Already in his brief, professional career, he has packed in many high-profile credits, making him a name to watch out for in the future.”
In the last few years I have started experimenting with fiddle-singing, the act of singing and playing the fiddle at the same time as you can hear below:
Eva Väljaots & Robbie Sherratt
In 2019, Eva Väljaots and I began playing as a duo. Our Estonian/ English duo is centred on creating intercultural dialogue with our own self-penned music. Our compositions our rooted in traditional music and folklore from our cultures and are played on fiddle, small kannels and hiiu kannel as well as vocals.
Below I have embed our debut single ‘Ice Walk’ via Spotify. The track is from our debut album which will be released in October 2023. Recognition we have received for duo includes being finalists in Kaustinen Folk Music Festival’s Konsta Jylhä competition in 2022 and in 2020 we won the Grand Prize of the Mooste Elohelü Folk Music Competition in Estonia.
https://evavaljaots.robbiesherratt.com/
Helsinki Cèilidh Band
I’ve played and taught dances with Helsinki Cèilidh Band since 2016 and in 2021 became the band leader. At our concerts which teach social dances from the UK and accompany them with traditional music. Most of our gigs are private bookings such as weddings, birthdays and British Embassy events but since 2022 we’ve played at a number of festivals, such as Haapavesi Folk Festival, Folklandia, Kihaus Folk and Viru Folk. My tasks in the band include organising the gigs, creating and posting content on social media, creating the setlists and tune sets for the band, creating sheet music and rehearsing with substitute musicians, managing the finances of the band including acquiring new equipment, and deciding what dances to teach to the audience including making my own variations of the dances as well as creating my own dances.
https://helsinkiceilidhband.com/