Fara

The all-female folk quartet Fara originated in the Orkney Islands, positioned off Scotland’s northeastern coast, where a tightly bonded population has cultivated a distinctive culture and musical lineage rooted in Norse traditions. Five childhood companions made up the founding lineup: fiddlers Catriona Price, Jeana Leslie—who also contributed vocals—and Louise Bichan, together with pianist Jennifer Austin. The four grew up in Kirkwall and first encountered traditional music through the high-school ensemble Hadhirgaan, guided by Douglas Montgomery, whose foundational role in the local scene included establishing Saltfishforty and the Chair. Fiddler Kristan Harvey, raised on a farm in Birsay, attended secondary school in Stromness and performed with Shoramere, an ensemble created by another prominent local figure, Jenny Keldie.

Initially called the Chairettes, the musicians began as the Chair’s support group. After delivering a handful of independent numbers during one of the parent band’s concerts, they were encouraged to launch their own project and chose the name Fara after one of the archipelago’s smaller, uninhabited isles.

The members later departed Orkney for separate studies across mainland Britain, earning qualifications at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal Northern College of Music, and the Royal Academy of Music. Their individual résumés quickly expanded: Austin collaborated with Rachel Sermanni and Wildings, Harvey joined Blazin’ Fiddles, Price performed with Twelfth Day and the German ensemble Nua, and Bichan played in the short-lived yet widely praised group Gria, among numerous additional affiliations. Both Price and Harvey reached the finals of the BBC Young Scottish Traditional Musician of the Year competition, which Harvey ultimately won; Bichan also pursued a parallel career in photography. Collectively they appeared on stages worldwide.

In 2014 Fara issued its self-titled debut EP on its own imprint, an assured collection of vigorous instrumental sets and evocative songs spotlighting Leslie’s voice. The quartet appeared to strong notices at Celtic Connections and the Hebridean Celtic Festival. Bichan exited in 2015 to enroll at Berklee College of Music in Boston and issued her first solo record, Out of My Own Light, the following year. The remaining musicians carried on as a quartet, using Kickstarter to finance their first full-length album, Cross the Line, which they promoted with an international tour upon its 2016 release. Their second album, Times from Times Fall, arrived in 2018. Austin departed in 2019; fiddler Rory Matheson became the first male member, and the revised lineup recorded 2022’s Energy Islands.