Arran Arctic was originally discovered by a rusting Icelandic whaling ship, floating alone on an iceberg in the Arctic Circle. The shaken crew members enquired as to how he came to be travelling in such a strange way upon the ocean swell. No answers were ever given. Suffering from amnesia, Arctic began a new life upon the vessel, entertaining the sailors after discovering a penchant for weaving songs and sea shanties long forgotten into modern melodies. His singing voice slowly unveiled a Northern Irish accent, a clue perhaps to his origins. Arctic continues to travel to this day, mysteriously drawn towards the North. As the creaking hull of his ship ploughs through ice sheets, he gives birth to more and more traveller's tales, endlessly searching for the answer to his existence and very personal enigma.
Traveling the Northern extremities of the globe and plagued by a lost past, Arran Arctic and the crew of his ramshackle ocean vessel were set upon by a merciless storm. Losing all control of the aging metal giant, the ship was blown off course and dashed against the craggy rocks of Northern Scotland. Upon awakening he raised his battered head to find his shipmates lost. He had drifted down the Eastern coast to gaze for the first time upon the damp streets of Edinburgh. Taking refuge in an abandoned lighthouse, Arctic stumbled upon another world of musicians, artists and noise-makers. Turning towards the North and armed with a renewed back-to-basics approach to his music, Arctic knew he would have to negotiate this sprawling labyrinth and wondered when he would next set sail.
Here's what some nice people from Out Of The Bedroom said:
"On top, he lays his voice like a blanket, guitar bubbling beneath. Lovely inflections as his voice flits between soft and a full falsetto. Loved it. His playing was nicely understated throughout, only with the occasional technical flourish that demonstrated his simple approach was by choice rather than lack of skill. I was quite transfixed" - Out Of The Bedroom, ootb.typepad.com/ootb
And Garageband:
"beautiful aching tender vocals over melancholy sevenths...its very real and its exquisite and that is a rare combination...the intimacy is really rare in recorded music...no complaints!" - Blue Light Of Dawn, garageband.com
And photographic collaborator Clare Martin:
"he is well worth checking out, his sound is fab!!" - Clare Martin, freewebs.com/1magine-photography
Not to mention airplay on XFM Scotland:
"A bit of a weird one... The music he makes is very, very good indeed" - Martin Bate, Music:Response, www.xfmuploaded.co.uk/arranarctic
And devoted admirer, Guided By Spiders:
"for some reason [his songs] sound really interesting...kind of magical and childlike...[they] have this innocent kind of purity about them, I hear it anyway" - Guided By Spiders, www.myspace.com/guidedbyspiders