Ian Melrose

Celtic guitarist Ian Melrose was born in Middlesbrough, England but raised in Scotland; chiefly influenced by British folkies like Davey Graham, John Renbourn, Bert Jansch and John Martyn, he was fascinated by traditional music as a youngster but ultimately earned a law degree, only performing professionally after relocating to Berlin in 1981. A year later, Melrose formed the acoustic folk-jazz trio Twlight, which in 1985 won the group competition at the Edinburgh Folk Festival. After releasing the 1986 LP Modern Folk Arrangements Twilight disbanded, however, and three years later Melrose resurfaced in the German folk-pop combo Be Mine or Run, issuing a series of albums on the Slow Motion Records label; concurrently he appeared with the Celtic group Norland Wind, additionally maintaining a busy schedule of session work. He made his solo debut with 1994's Wolves; Between the Sighs followed in 1998. ~ Jason Ankeny