Documentary tracks Lewis musician’s visit to America

There can’t be many musicians who split their time between the field and the stage but crofter and professional musician Colin Macleod does just this – as revealed in a new BBC ALBA music documentary.

Colin, 35, from the Isle of Lewis, is considered one of the most promising, original talents in the Scottish music scene.

He signed with one of the biggest record companies in the world – BMG Records – in 2018 and launched his debut album Bloodlines in America.

A deep connection to his birthplace of Lewis is fundamental to his life as a musician and Bloodlines is rooted in this and tells stories from the island.

The album release took Colin to some of the world’s biggest stages, including New York and Texas, and a performance on the Late Late Show with James Corden took his music to millions across America.

Colin said: ‘It’s just so nice to be able to come to all these amazing places because I wrote a few songs.

‘It’s a bit nuts really when you think about it, I sat in my bedroom and wrote some songs and now it means I can travel the world and play gigs, it’s pretty cool, I’m very jammie.’

Colin reveals that he decided to pursue a career in music when he previously travelled to New York in his 20s and that his favourite thing is recording new songs because he loves creating new music.

In this unique programme, viewers are treated to a selection of previously unseen musical highlights interspersed with beautiful footage of the Isle of Lewis – some intimate and acoustic, and some the full band from 2018 – as Colin took the songs at the core of Bloodlines out into the world.

Songs performed include Dream, Kicks In, South By South West, Shake the Walls and Feels Like, which is about an incident at a pub in Stornoway when a man got thrown out the window and then ran back in to continue fighting.

Colin Macleod – An Ceòl/Colin Macleod – The Music was featured on BBC ALBA last Thursday but can still be found on BBC iPlayer.