Duncan

I joined Dragonsfly in April 2004 with the daunting task of replacing Cliff Stapleton's hurdy gurdy input. There aren't many bands who thrust a Glastonbury ticket in your hand soon after joining, and that, among other fantastic gigs, has been a high spot in working with the band.

I was brought up, the 5th of 6 kids in Hertfordshire. I've always been multi-instrumentalist. My music career stated at school learning piano and church organ. I've always loved instruments and soon got into unusual ones!

I started performing with a Cambridge-based English ceilidh band in 1985 called The Progs. This introduced me to medieval copies of instruments like rauschpfeife and shawm. I got to know a local bagpipe maker called Jim Parr who made my first Flemish set (having found that didn't like Northumbrian small pipes, and I couldn't afford the big D Flemish sets that Jon Swayne was making then), which pushed me towards early and French music. Along came a hurdy gurdy having made contact with Neil Brook and the rest is history.

This is my fourth hurdy-gurdy. I used to also have an electric black box with 8 outputs - great for rock gurdy! I co-formed the folk-rock based Shave the Monkey in 1989 and a 14 year history with them followed, including major UK and European festivals, arts centres and folk clubs. Music really took off in 1994 following a Germany tour, playing with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page on Jools Holland's BBC2 show, playing both Cambridge and Fairport Convention's Cropredy festivals and national and local radio stations and 4 CDs. Shave the Monkey split up in 2003 - an event perhaps exacerbated by my move to Somerset from Cambridge.

Musical influences are diverse. I learned following bands like Jethro Tull and Focus. Hurdy Gurdy and bagpipes sort of followed Blowzabella and a multitude of other French bands. I leaned to love high pitch saxophones from various folk rock jazz outfits and am the proud owner (so I'm told) of the last Yanigasawa sopranino sax before Mr Yani died. I always retained a passion for 19th-20th century English writers I including Vaughan-Williams and Butterworth. I've always loved Romantic Russion writers like Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Balakirev. Folk music passions include cutting my teeth with Fairport Convention, Bothy Band and Steeleye Span. Nowadays, it's more Crash Test Dummies, Ian Anderson and a re-emergence of Camel.

Dragonsfly for me, offer a range of powerful and sensitive music with amazing drive. It was a bit of a culture shock at first, playing at some of the alternative festivals across the country, but I've had a magical first season with them spending so many lovely summer nights drinking red wine around a camp fire having performed to some of the most enthusiastic and warm people I have ever met, in wonderful venues. I'm trying to influence the band with my background of rock, folk and classical influences and experience.

Lastly, none of this would be possible without the consistent approval, support and flexibility of my wife Sarah , and 3 boys, Jake, Arch and Felix. Thanks must also go to dear friends like Mike Gilpin for his tireless support and love and the wonderful Hurdy Gurdies that he makes, and 100% caffeine coffee and support, advice and friendship from makers and performers including Jon Swayne, Neil Brook, all at Wood,Wind and Reed in Cambridge, Cliff Stapleton, and Eric Moulder. A big thanks too to everyone who has supported and appreciated my music over the years.

It's wonderful being with Dragonsfly - a band I know will move upwards.

Looking forward to meeting you all at events in the future. Thanks for visiting my page.

With love

Duncan Moss