Ross Ainslie

Ross Ainslie (born 1983) is a Scottish traditional musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist. He plays highland pipes, smallpipes, border pipes, whistles and cittern, and is known for incorporating global influences including jazz, rock and Indian classical music into Scottish traditional music.

Ainslie is a founding member of the Celtic fusion group Treacherous Orchestra and a member of Salsa Celtica. He frequently collaborates with fellow piper Ali Hutton, with whom he won Best Duo at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2017. As a solo artist, he has released five albums exploring personal and philosophical themes. He is a lecturer in bagpipes at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Early life and education

Ainslie was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1983. He began learning the chanter at age eight, initially giving up the instrument before returning to take lessons with tutor Norrie Sinclair. At eleven, he joined the Vale of Atholl Novice Junior Band in Pitlochry, where he came under the mentorship of pipe major Gordon Duncan. Duncan's unconventional teaching methods, which included encouraging students to improvise along to rock music and play pipes in fusion settings with guitars and bouzoukis, proved formative for Ainslie's later musical approach. It was during this period that he formed his musical partnership with Ali Hutton.

Ainslie studied traditional music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) in Glasgow.

Career

Ainslie's musical career spans collaborative projects, solo recordings, live performance and education. His compositional style blends Scottish traditional music with influences from Indian classical music, jazz, rock music and world music traditions, reflecting the mentorship of Gordon Duncan, who was known for placing bagpipes in unconventional musical settings.

His most frequent collaboration is with Ali Hutton, with whom he has released three Symbiosis albums (2016, 2018, 2020). The duo won Best Duo at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2017.

As a solo artist, Ainslie's debut album Wide Open (2013) incorporated Scottish, Breton, Indian and jazz elements. Remembering (2015) featured his songwriting and vocals for the first time. From 2017, he began a trilogy of concept albums exploring themes of personal healing and self-discovery: Sanctuary (2017), Vana (2020), and Pool (2024). These later works feature expanded instrumentation including Indian classical instruments and collaborations with jazz and classical musicians. Ainslie's compositions are characterized by strong melodic content and complex, multi-layered arrangements that often move beyond traditional tune structures. Several of his compositions have become popular in traditional music sessions. For live performances, he works with The Sanctuary Band, featuring musicians from Scotland's folk and jazz scenes.

In March 2023, Ainslie gained international media attention when he performed a bagpipe version of Dr. Dre's "Still D.R.E." for rapper Snoop Dogg upon his arrival at Glasgow Airport. The performance, which featured Snoop Dogg dancing on the tarmac, went viral on social media and was covered by major news outlets worldwide.

Awards and recognition

Year Award Category Result Notes 2013 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Best Duo with Jarlath Henderson 2015 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Composer of the Year 2015 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Album of the Year for Treacherous Orchestra's Grind 2016 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year 2017 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Best Duo with Ali Hutton 2018 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year 2018 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Best Duo with Ali Hutton

Discography

Solo albums

Year Title Label 2013 Wide Open Great White Records 2015 Remembering Great White Records 2017 Sanctuary Great White Records 2020 Vana Great White Records 2022 Live at the Gorbals (with The Sanctuary Band) Great White Records 2024 Pool Great White Records

Selected collaborative albums

Year Title Collaboration Label 2008 Partners in Crime with Jarlath Henderson 2012 Origins with Treacherous Orchestra 2013 Air-Fix with Jarlath Henderson 2015 Grind with Treacherous Orchestra 2016 Symbiosis with Ali Hutton 2018 Symbiosis II with Ali Hutton 2020 Symbiosis III with Ali Hutton 2022 LAS with Brìghde Chaimbeul and Steven Byrnes 2023 Diad with Tim Edey