About

Arthur Coates is a fiddle player, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator from rural Aberdeenshire in the north-east of Scotland. Best known as one half of Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell, his music is shaped by the traditions of Scotland, Shetland and Québec, combining rhythmic drive, strong melodies and a deep-rooted belief in traditional music as a living social art form.

Raised on his family's organic farm near Insch, Arthur grew up surrounded by both agriculture and music. His parents were enthusiastic amateur musicians who played for dances and social occasions, and traditional music was simply part of everyday life. Some of his earliest memories are of listening to his mum playing fiddle and his dad accompanying on piano downstairs while he drifted off to sleep.

Family trips to Shetland played an important role in shaping his musical outlook. Visits to friends often revolved around tea, tunes and conversation, and it was through these experiences that he developed an understanding of traditional music not simply as performance, but as something that brings people together. Arthur began playing fiddle at the age of seven with under the watchful eyes of renowned local fiddler Sharon Hassan before later studying under Old Blind Dogs fiddler Jonny Hardie at the Aberdeen City Music School.

Although immersed in Scottish traditional music from an early age, a formative moment came at the age of twelve when he first encountered Québec traditional music while attending Sidmouth Folk Festival. Seeing Le Vent du Nord perform opened up a musical world that would become a lifelong passion. Returning home, Arthur began exploring the music further and soon discovered the playing of Québécois fiddler André Brunet.

While many musicians have influenced Arthur's playing, none has had a greater impact than Brunet. Drawn to his bowing style, ornamentation, rhythmic intensity and highly distinctive foot tapping style, Arthur spent much of his teenage years studying recordings and performances, developing an approach to fiddle playing that remains heavily informed by that influence today. Years later, fellow musicians would occasionally remark on the musical resemblance, something Arthur still considers one of the highest compliments he can receive.

After leaving school, Arthur briefly studied sound production before deciding to pursue music professionally. The decision was not without scepticism from those around him, but he was determined to make a living through music. The years that followed were spent earning his stripes in the traditional music world: playing pub gigs, dances, village halls, community events across Scotland. Long drives to the Highlands and Islands, weekends away from home and countless performances provided an education every bit as valuable as formal study.

During this period Arthur performed extensively with a variety of projects while gradually building a reputation as a performer in his own right. An early tour of Estonia and Latvia at the age of sixteen sparked a love of travel that has remained central to his career. Since then his work has taken him throughout the UK, Europe, North America and Asia in more than thirteen countries.

Québec has remained a defining influence throughout Arthur's musical life. In 2022 he travelled to Québec to record his album Trapdoor to Hell with acclaimed guitarist and producer Éric Beaudry, one of the musicians whose work had inspired him since childhood. In 2023 he returned as Artist in Residence with Pierre-Luc Dupuis at Festival Mémoire et Racines, further strengthening relationships with many of the musicians and communities that had first inspired him as a teenager.

The musicians whose recordings shaped Arthur's musical outlook as a young player have since become collaborators, mentors and friends. He has appeared alongside members of Le Vent du Nord and De Temps Antan in both Canada and the UK, and was invited to perform as a guest during De Temps Antan's twentieth anniversary celebrations in 2024 in Joliette, Québec, sharing the stage with both current fiddler David Boulanger and former fiddler André Brunet.

Alongside performing, Arthur works as a producer and recording engineer through his Aberdeenshire-based CLOUDN9NE Studio. His production work spans a range of traditional and acoustic music projects, while his experience as a performer informs an approach centred on capturing character, energy and strong musical performances.

Arthur is also an experienced tutor and workshop leader. He has delivered teaching and community music projects for organisations including Fèis Rois, Youth Music Initiative Scotland, Scottish Culture & Traditions and the Dee & Don Ceilidh Collective, working with musicians of all ages and abilities. In 2023 he served as Music Curator for Theatre Gu Leòr's Stornoway Québec, creating and recording the original score for the production's national tour.

In recent years his work with guitarist and singer Kerran Cotterell has become the primary focus of his performing career. Since forming the duo in 2019, the pair have developed a distinctive sound built around fiddle, guitar and vocals, combining original material with influences from Scotland, England and Québec. Their performances have taken them throughout the UK and internationally, and in 2025 they were awarded the Robinson Emerging Artist Showcase at the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival in Ontario, Canada.

Today, Arthur divides his time between touring, recording, producing and teaching. Based in Aberdeenshire, he continues to balance life at home with an increasingly international performing career, building musical connections while remaining firmly rooted in the traditions that first inspired him.