AS proud Northumbrians, place is hugely important to folk siblings James and Sam Gillespie.

The duo who hail from the small village of Wall are inspired by their surroundings, so much so that their debut album as two-piece The Brothers Gillespie is entitled Songs from the Outlands .

The Wilds of Wanny and the Devil‘s Water lake near Dipton Mill are just two of the local areas  throughout the 10-track offering, which was launched in a special event in Hexham Abbey.

Through their songs, they capture what they aim to honour the varied places and cultures they have encountered, and what it is about these areas which make them some unique - and intriguing.

Sam (28) said: ”We have put together these outlandish songs, and tales, which is part of the idea we want to convey about the senses of wildness, and we are singing in honour of these wonderful places and cultures which are beyond the centres of control.“

James (30) added: ”Living in Wall, which is not too far from the Scottish border where we have ancestors, so we are fascinated by the stories of the land and the songs about people who have lived there.“

The songs on the album, mostly recorded live to give it the organic feeling they strive for through the words, are a collection of traditional tales, poems and tunes put to original music by the talented musicians.

The final track on the album, MacPherson’s Lament , samples a piece of music produced by Jamie MacPherson, a brilliant fiddler who also happened to be a roving highwayman stealing from the rich to give to the poor, who was finally caught by his enemies and sentenced to be hanged. It is said he composed the tune while in prison awaiting his execution, and the Gillespie brothers were inspired by the haunting tale behind the piece of music.

In the Wild Hills of Wannies , the brothers use words from local poet James Armstrong in tribute to the land and life around Great Wanney Crag, near Knowesgate, and features Northumbrian Pipes from fellow Wall musician Rob Say.

Perhaps the most meaningful song on the album is Devilswater , a track inspired by the words of Hexham‘s celebrated poet Wilfrid Wilson Gibson.

One of Gibson’s most popular poems was Devil‘s Water , written nearly 100 years ago, which really resonated with James one day when he was working outdoors.

He explained: ”I work planting trees and on one day near the winter solstice, I was by Devil’s Water and Gibson‘s poem came to me.

“I came home and I got a book of his poems out, and I have loved his work since I was given a couple years ago.
”I was tired from work but I picked up my guitar and the song was just there, and the tune just came suddenly from reading the poem.

“It felt really great to put these great words to music as he is an amazing poet, and to be able to share his name as I don’t think he is as well-known as he used to be.“

The album follows a similar formula throughout, with the music composed by James and Sam on their array of instruments.

On the album, James plays guitar, fiddle and the peculiar shruti box, with Sam on the guitar, mandolin and wooden flute. Their inventory of instruments is steadily increasing too!

And the siblings believe they have found a spark playing alongside each other after many years of being involved in  separate music projects.

They decided to come together about four years ago when they dreamed up the idea of recording “a few authentic tracks” in St Oswald‘s Church, Heavenfield, near Wall.

The duo lugged heavy equipment up to the remote church and, while they didn’t produce the live album they had planned, it started a music venture which is started to blossom.

As from there The Brothers Gillespie started busking in Hexham Town Centre where they were spotted by local woman Paula Wedgewood who invited them to play a gig in Newbrough.

Other requests followed, and the siblings are enjoying being brought together through their music, especially as they visited various parts of the country to launch their album.

Sam said: “I suppose brothers could feud when together like this, but, at the other side of it, we are in tune with one another. We can sync up really well to each other - on a good day any way!“

James said: “While we live away from each other now, we always get together and play on holidays and music is something we have always done together.

”We do have a bit of a psychic link and I don‘t feel I have to anticipate what Sam is going to do as it’s all intuitive to us both.

“We get on really well, plus I think we got all our sibling feuding out of the way before we were 12!”

Now their music is out there, the only way is up for the Tyne Valley folk duo.

To help in their goal of promoting their sounds, the website www.thebrothersgillespie.co.uk has just been created.