About
Pipeslinger is a band created for the sole purpose of bringing bagpipe music to the masses. The band is led by Spencer Murray, one of the few people in the world performing on both the Scottish Highland Bagpipes and the Irish Uilleann pipes. The son of a proud Scottish immigrant, Spencer spent his youth travelling to bagpipe competitions and performances across North America and Scotland. In his early twenties, he took up the famously difficult Uilleann pipes and moved to Ireland to further his study of that intricate and beautiful instrument. In 2017 he became the first and only Canadian to receive a Master’s degree in Uilleann piping from the renowned University of Limerick traditional music program. Upon returning to Canada he brought the pipes to Canadian theatre in ways they’ve never been heard before. He performed over 850 shows with the hit Canadian musical “Come from Away” and also was a part of the world premieres of Anne Marie MacDonald’s “Fall on your Knees” and Johnny Reid’s new musical “Maggie”.
In 2016 Spencer formed Pipeslinger in an effort to put the bagpipes on center stage and to show audiences another side of the oft-maligned instrument. Pipeslinger plumbs the depths of the Scottish and Irish musical traditions, unearthing old tunes and (literally) breathing new life into them. The rhythms in Pipeslinger's music are the rhythms of the old style. Attuned to nature and built for dance, they live where the ancient meets the moment.
The title of Pipeslinger's new release "The King's Clothing" comes from a quote by the great Martyn Bennett. He said that no matter how beautiful an old tune might be, it will be ignored if not given the king's clothing. Pipeslinger is a band that meticulously hunts down old tunes, both from archives and from elders, and presents them in such a way that modern audiences can understand and feel their power, all without cheapening their beauty. From the bombastic highs of the highland bagpipes to the mournful wails of the Uilleann pipes, Pipeslinger runs the sonic gamut.