From Black Isle Belter to The Gathering, Valtos talk sound, live energy, and what’s next.
There’s this moment in a Valtos set where a trad line cuts through, the rhythm starts building, then drops into something heavier than you were expecting. Made for a crowd, not a session.
I first caught them properly walking into the tent at Black Isle Belter 2025 on a Sunday afternoon — half expecting to hear a few tunes and wander off. The place was bouncing though. Properly bouncing. Crowd already well into it, and it didn’t take long to figure out this wasn’t something you just dip in and out of.That same energy’s been showing up at festivals like The Gathering and Black Isle Calling, where their sound sits alongside trad acts but moves differently — shaped as much by electronic structure as fiddle and pipe melodies.
We caught up with Valtos ahead of The Gathering to talk about where that sound comes from and how it lands in front of a crowd that already knows the roots inside out.
You’re coming into The Gathering on a bill that leans heavily on trad, and you’re playing alongside acts deeply rooted in that scene. How do you see your sound sitting within that space?
The lineup this year is very diverse with a range of sounds varying from: the anthemic band sound of Skerryvore and Beluga Lagoon, to the high energy folk sound Talisk and modern Pop nature of the new Kim Carnie record, alongside the more traditional sounds of Dana and Coisir na H-oige.
We’ve worked with many of these artists before, and indeed our sound is heavily influenced by other acts on the lineup with who we haven’t. We played the gathering 2 years ago and the crowd were extremely receptive to our sound, especially when we had Gaelic Royalty Julie Fowlis join us for a song. The traditions that underpin this lineup are the same ones that shaped us; the west coast, Gaelic culture, and the music we grew up around. We’re not visitors to that world.
There’s a point in your sets where a trad line drops into something much heavier and the whole crowd shifts. Are those moments designed in the studio, or do they come from how tracks evolve live?
Our sets are a continual interweave of the traditional sounds we know, and love, alongside our passion for electronic music – it’s like a constant conversation. Both have considerable energy and it feels natural when we combine them. As we’ve grown as a band over the last few years naturally, we’ve learned what works in our sets, and what doesn’t, what can be translated from the studio to the stage, and what needs some refinement. It’s an ever-evolving process that very much evolves following crowd interaction at events like the Gathering.
Your sound feels very electronic-first, with trad woven through it rather than the other way round. Was that always the plan, or did that balance change as things developed?
Yes, this has always been the plan. There was a tendency in the past for acts to start with the traditional element, and add simple electronic sounds later, which we always find a little jarring. However, we very quickly learned that the two genres mould together so well that we can easily consider both without the detriment to the sound of either. The electronic sound isn’t just sparkle on top of the traditional element, and the traditional element isn’t just a nice melody over electronic production, they’re genuinely load-bearing for each other..
You’ve built momentum quickly, particularly with younger audiences. What do you think they’re connecting with most, the sound, the energy, or something else?
Every generation is looking for a sound that soundtracks their youth, and we think we’ve tapped in to that at a time of not only the height of electronic music, but also a huge resurgence in the passion for, and confidence in, the Gaelic language and traditional sounds of the west coast in young people. We think they resonate with the full package; the energy we bring to the live shows, the use of our language and sounds unironically, and, in the generation of social media, fresh content that can be consumed.
We may have built momentum quickly, but it hasn’t come without work; having released an album, a compilation, and numerous singles since 2023, alongside a new album released in April, we are consistently trying to give people fresh music and content to consume and to distil back into the culture.
Your sets are structured more like a DJ set in terms of pacing and build. How conscious are you of that when you’re putting a live show together?
Given the electronic nature of our sound, this just came naturally to us in the early days. However, over the years we have honed our approach and have built a real flowing set that we are proud of, with highs and lows. Upon the release of our new album ‘The Last Light’ this will also evolve further, as we aim to introduce further live instrumentation to our sound, which is something we’re excited to bring to our shows.
A Highland crowd brings a different kind of ear, people who know trad inside out. Does that change anything for you on stage, or do you treat it the same as anywhere else?
Highland crowds are homecoming crowds for us. We are one of them and therefore understand their needs, wants, and desires in music more than any other band outwith this scene. We love playing at home, and it has been nice to be able to bring other Highland locals like Julie Fowlis and Project Smok out on stage with us in the past too. However, from a set point of view, we wouldn’t change anything – our live show is written and performed from the Highland perspective and, if anything, we only consider adapting it when we are playing elsewhere.
When you walk out in front of a mixed festival crowd, are you trying to win people over, or do you just commit fully to what you do and let the reaction take care of itself?
We will, and have always, just done our own thing, and believe this is one of the reasons why we are where we are today. Our band is a ball of energy and passion, and we know if we’re having a good time, so will the crowd, and if even one person is having fun with us, then we’ve done our job.
At The Gathering that shift is easier to feel. They’ve played it before, they know the crowd, and there’s no sense of needing to explain what they are.
They’ll just come on, get into it, and let it land how it lands.
