Alasdair Roberts (born 8 August 1977) is a Scottish folk musician. He released a number of albums under the name Appendix Out and, following the 2001 album The Night Is Advancing, under his own name. Roberts is also known for his frequent collaborations with other musicians and writers, as well as for being a member of the folk supergroup The Furrow Collective.

Early life

Roberts was born in Geislingen an der Steige, Germany, the son of former folk guitarist (and partner of Dougie MacLean) Alan Roberts (1946–2001) and his German wife Annegret. He has two sisters. He was raised in Kilmahog, a hamlet close to the small town of Callander, near Stirling in central Scotland, where he started playing the guitar and writing music. He has long been based in Glasgow.

Appendix Out

In 1994 Alasdair Roberts formed Appendix Out with school friends Dave Elcock and Kenny McBride and started playing small venues. Roberts was also a classmate of Ladytron's Helen Marnie. While attending a Will Oldham concert in 1995, he offered a demo tape to the American singer, and a contract with US label Drag City soon followed. The band's first release was a double A-side single, "Pissed With You/Ice Age", and the band released its first album around a year later. Between 1997 and 2001, Appendix Out released three albums, two EPs and some limited-edition recordings that were never widely distributed. They recorded a session for John Peel's BBC radio show in 2001. The line up of the band changed frequently, with Roberts the only constant member.

Solo career

After three full-length albums with Appendix Out, Roberts recorded his first solo album, The Crook of My Arm. This album consisted almost entirely of solo vocals and guitar in marked contrast to the occasionally experimental sound of the Appendix Out records. All the songs are traditional, and Roberts credited the singers from whose performances he'd learnt the songs (these included his father, Alan Roberts, and Alan's sometime musical partner, Dougie MacLean). Since then, Roberts has released two further albums of traditional folk songs – No Earthly Man and Too Long in This Condition – plus three albums of original songs: Farewell Sorrow, The Amber Gatherers and Spoils. A fourth, A Wonder Working Stone, was released in January 2013, credited to Alasdair Roberts and Friends, a group of musicians which includes among others Stevie Jones, Rafe Fitzpatrick, Olivia Chaney and Alex Neilson. In 2015 Roberts released a self-titled album, a return to relative sparseness of earlier albums, and in 2017 Pangs, which was again a more collaborative album, featuring musicians with whom Roberts has previously worked – Stevie Jones, Tom Crossley and Alex Neilson – and backing vocals from Debbie Armour. Each album has a distinct character, and Roberts songwriting has shifted in recent years from the relative economy of Farewell Sorrow and The Amber Gatherers to a much denser wordplay, filled with allusions to mythology, esoteric spirituality and gnosticism, on Spoils and other recent releases. In 2012, musician Steve Adey covered "Farewell Sorrow" on his The Tower of Silence album.

Collaborations

Roberts is quoted as saying "Collaboration is extremely important to me. I reiterate – extremely". His collaborations have taken many forms.

Accompanying musicians

A large number of musicians have played with Alasdair Roberts when recording or performing under his own name. These include:

Group, ensemble and duo work

Theatre, film and literary work

Testimonials and additional contributions

Roberts has contributed to the following:

Discography

Appendix Out

(The group also recorded a Christmas album in 2000, consisting of home recordings of traditional Christmas carols. This album was only available as a gift from band members and on sale at a handful of gigs around that time.)

As Alasdair Roberts

Further contributions to compilations and collaborative releases

Roberts has contributed performances and recordings exclusive to the following releases: