Next year Radio Nan Gaidheal and Radio Scotland celebrate the wealth of song in Scotland with 12 months of special programmes and events.

We asked Another Country presenter, Deacon Blue frontman and writer of more than a few classic songs Ricky Ross to tell us about it.

Over to Ricky :-

There's a memory I have of being on a student ploy to Statford-upon- Avon and discussing the production merits of Twelfth Night. One of the mantras of the great Jim McIntosh, my friend and lecturer, was: "listen to the song of Festes (the Fool)." And he was right. Because in that lyric the essence of the play emerges in its simplest form. Perhaps it made more of an impression on me as a young songwriter because there, in the middle of looking at some of the greatest English dramatic language of all time, the song was still taking centre stage.

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For producers of ambient and downtempo electronica, there doesn't come a much higher accolade than being endorsed by The Future Sound of London. Cumbernauld-born Seafar's debut album "Hegira" has such an endorsement, being exclusive released through the FSOLDigital label.

If you're a fan of the aforementioned duo then you won't be disappointed here, 26 tracks spread over two CDs, ranging from eerie ambience to glitchy electronica with a sprinkling of psychedelia throughout.

Here's a clip from the album to give you a taster

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Stuart Liddell was crowned the overall winner of this year's Glenfiddich Piping Championships. The event took place at Blair Castle, Blair Atholl on Saturday 31st October.

You can listen to audio of Stuart's March, Strathspey and Reel here now:

Full results and audio of the top five MSRs and Pibrochs are also below.

Pipeline on Radio Scotland broadcast performances and chat from the event on Saturday 7th November and you can now listen again. Next Saturday's show (9.05PM 14th November) will also feature more coverage.

Pipeline producer Iain MacInnes was at the event and had this to say:

The Atholl peacocks clearly have an ear for a good tune. As Roddy MacLeod played The Lament for Donald Duaghal MacKay in the great hall at Blair Castle on Saturday, a bird perched on the windowsill behind the stage, following his movements intently.

It was an effort well rewarded. Roddy was at his impressive best, his instrument rich and resonant, his fingerwork crisp and articulate. This proved to be Roddy's eighth win in the pibroch at the Glenfiddich - surely a record - and cemented his reputation as one of the great all-round players of his generation. The light music prize went to another Glenfiddich veteran, Willie McCallum, and the overall (based on placings in both the pibroch and light music disciplines) to Stuart Liddell from Inveraray.

Stuart has had a marvellous year, taking his Inveraray and District pipe band briskly through the grades into the top flight (the band was only formed in 2004, playing initially in Novice Juvenile), while maintaining his own exacting standards as a soloist. Consistency is the name of the game at the Glenfiddich (the overall champion rarely wins both events), and Stuart took the title by virtue of placing second in the March, Strathspey and Reel and third in the pibroch. His is a worthy addition to the list of names on the famous trophy, and, as a relatively young man, he is sure to be back for more.

If you couldn't make it in person on Saturday (and it's always worth it for the trip alone, with the Forest of Atholl in golden glory and the geese flying overhead), we'll be broadcasting highlights on Pipeline on Saturday the 7th and 14th (9-05 pm, repeated on Sundays at 7-05), and we'll also be putting the winners online from Sunday the 8th.

Full Results

Overall
1st Stuart Liddell
2nd Willie McCallum
3d Roddy MacLeod

March, Strathspey and Reel
1st Willie McCallum

2nd Stuart Liddell

3d P/M Gordon Walker

4th Angus MacColl

5th Roddy MacLeod

Pibroch
1st Roddy MacLeod

2nd Bruce Gandy

3rd Stuart Liddell

4th Willie McCallum

5th Jim Murray

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