At a packed, sweaty gig at London’s Eventim Apollo back in February, a shy 24-year-old from Skye had a surprising moment in the spotlight – playing the Scottish smallpipes at Caroline Polachek’s headline show. “It was pretty overwhelming, to be honest,” says Brìghde Chaimbeul (pronounced Breetch-er Hime-bowl), speaking from her home in Northern Ireland, a shy presence on the video link in a green sweatshirt and chunky headphones.
There to play her middle-eight solo from Polachek’s recent track Blood and Butter, her melody and drones provided an extra level of bewitching euphoria. “Superfans were crying at the front … and I’d only met Caroline three days before, on the same day we had to record a Radio 1 session.” Polachek had discovered her music on Spotify and the part was recorded remotely. The gig, Chaimbeul says, “was a crazy adrenaline rush, over in a moment, but Caroline is so open-minded, with such a strong sense of her musicianship – and my pipes were there for me.”
