Alasdair Roberts and Fredrik Rasten Announce New Collaborative Album Seven Weathers and Upcoming UK and Ireland Tour

Renowned Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist Alasdair Roberts has teamed up with Oslo- and Berlin-based avant-garde improviser and guitarist Fredrik Rasten to announce their forthcoming full-length album, Seven Weathers. Scheduled for official release on January 29, 2027, via the esteemed independent record label Drag City, the album consists of a meticulously curated collection of traditional folk songs originating from Scotland. This collaborative project marks another significant milestone in the ongoing creative partnership between Roberts and Rasten, both of whom have carved out distinct reputations for pushing the boundaries of acoustic and traditional music through rigorous artistic exploration.

The announcement of Seven Weathers is accompanied by the release of the album’s lead single and opening musical statement, a haunting rendition of the classic Child ballad "Lady Maisry" (Child 65). This premiere offers listeners a compelling glimpse into the duo’s shared sonic vision, blending traditional historical material with contemporary arrangement strategies and subtle avant-garde execution.

Background and Creative Partnership

Alasdair Roberts is a towering figure within the contemporary British and international folk scenes, boasting a prolific career spanning approximately three decades. Known for his distinctive vocal delivery, intricate fingerpicking guitar style, and deep scholarship of traditional music, Roberts has consistently avoided simply replicating historical material. Instead, his discography is defined by a continuous sense of reinvention and inquiry, ensuring that centuries-old narratives are contextualized for modern audiences without losing their foundational resonance.

Fredrik Rasten, meanwhile, is an acclaimed guitarist and improviser whose work traverses contemporary classical, drone, and experimental folk traditions. Rasten is a member of Völvur, an experimental folk collective based in Oslo and Berlin. The seeds of Roberts and Rasten’s collaborative dynamic were planted firmly in 2021 when Roberts joined forces with Völvur to record The Old Fabled River, a critically praised album celebrated for its intricate arrangements, thematic duality, and richly detailed sonic tapestry. Their rapport was further demonstrated on that release through their cover of Robert Burns’s "Song Composed In August," which stood out as a masterclass in vocal harmony and understated instrumentation.

Rasten’s collaborative portfolio also includes ventures such as Strange the Grass Grows, an avant-garde folk project with musician Seamus Cater, further establishing his capability to bridge the gap between structured traditional composition and free improvisation.

Preservation Meets Invention on Seven Weathers

According to materials provided by Drag City, Seven Weathers achieves a delicate equilibrium between historical preservation and creative invention. Traditional folk music often faces the binary challenge of being treated either as a museum piece—frozen in time and replicated without deviation—or subjected to heavy-handed modernizations that strip away its core identity. Roberts and Rasten reject both approaches, opting instead for a symbiotic method where the historical integrity of the Scottish source material is honored while allowing space for contemporary microtonal, textural, and improvisational sensibilities to breathe.

This ethos is front and center on the album’s lead single, "Lady Maisry." A traditional ballad categorized under Child Ballad 65, the song tells a tragic, enduring narrative of familial cruelty and steadfast devotion. For this recording, Rasten composed a fresh, evocative melody that breathes new life into the centuries-old lyric. The duo’s vocal interplay—a hallmark of their collaborative work—complements the narrative weight of the song, creating an atmosphere that is simultaneously intimate and expansive.

The accompanying official music video for "Lady Maisry," featuring gentle visual flurries of snow, mirrors the understated, drifting nature of the arrangement. The overall aesthetic is deliberately mesmerizing, beautiful, and haunting, setting a high standard for what listeners can expect from the full-length release.

Historical Context and Lineage of the Material

The inclusion of "Lady Maisry" also highlights Roberts’ long-standing engagement with specific narrative repertoires. Variants of this tragic Scottish ballad have surfaced in different configurations throughout Roberts’ extensive catalog. Notably, alternate versions of the narrative exist under the title "Bonnie Susie Cleland," a song Roberts previously recorded in 2011 for the collaborative album Revenge of the Folksingers alongside the ensemble Concerto Caledonia, which featured notable musicians such as David McGuiness and Olivia Chaney.

By revisiting this thematic territory with Rasten, Roberts demonstrates a commitment to deep-dive interpretation, viewing traditional songs not as static artifacts, but as dynamic cultural documents capable of infinite re-examination through changing artistic lenses.

Album Formats and Distribution Details

Seven Weathers is slated for a worldwide release on January 29, 2027. Drag City has confirmed that the album will be made available across multiple physical and digital formats, ensuring accessibility for both traditional physical media collectors and digital consumers. Fans and collectors can pre-order and pre-save the album across various platforms via the designated official link provided by the label.

Comprehensive Tour Itinerary Across the UK and Ireland

To support the release of Seven Weathers, Alasdair Roberts and Fredrik Rasten will embark on an extensive live concert tour spanning the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The tour kicks off in late January 2027, coinciding directly with the album’s release date, and extends through mid-February.

The tour schedule demonstrates a commitment to both urban cultural hubs and regional artistic spaces, offering intimate settings that are well-suited to the intricate, acoustic nature of their collaborative performance style.

The complete list of tour dates and venues is as follows:

• January 26, 2027 – Brown’s of Leith – Edinburgh, United Kingdom
• January 27, 2027 – The Hug and Pint – Glasgow, United Kingdom
• January 28, 2027 – Bishop’s House – Sheffield, United Kingdom
• January 29, 2027 – The Handle Bar – Oxford, United Kingdom
• January 30, 2027 – Bluestone Brewing Company – Newport, United Kingdom
• January 31, 2027 – Prince Albert – Stroud, United Kingdom
• February 16, 2027 – Cafe OTO – London, United Kingdom
• February 17, 2027 – Cafe OTO – London, United Kingdom
• February 18, 2027 – Y Fic – Bethesda, United Kingdom
• February 19, 2027 – The Cobblestone – Dublin, Republic of Ireland
• February 20, 2027 – Yeats Building – Sligo, Republic of Ireland
• February 21, 2027 – Wexford Arts Centre – Wexford, Republic of Ireland

Ticketing information, venue capacities, and localized support act announcements are available through Drag City’s official tour portal.

Broader Implications and Industry Impact

The partnership between Roberts and Rasten represents an increasingly vital trend within contemporary independent music: the cross-pollination of academic or avant-garde improvisation with rooted folk traditions. As mainstream music markets continue to fragment, projects like Seven Weathers offer a sustainable blueprint for how heritage music can remain vital, challenging, and commercially viable.

By combining Roberts’ encyclopedic knowledge of Scottish vernacular song with Rasten’s exploratory guitar textures, the duo challenges listeners to rethink the boundaries of genre. As the album release approaches in January 2027, industry analysts and folk music enthusiasts alike will be watching closely to see how this cross-continental collaboration influences the broader landscape of acoustic music performance and traditional song interpretation in the years to come.