Introducing Anna 

Anna McLuckie is a Scottish singer-songwriter, Clarsach player and musical facilitator now living in Manchester and an alumna of the Royal Northern College of Music. She fronts the folk ensemble and indie rock band, Diving Station, and is the musical director of Women's Voices with the Olympias Music Foundation, and Music and Songwriting for Young Carers with the Trafford Carers. “It’s nice to see that there are people that make music all over this region of completely different types.” 

Anna’s Musical Life 

After showing musical promise at an early age, Anna was selected to learn instruments while at school in Edinburgh. 

“I have Edinburgh as a comparison and, loosely, Glasgow. I think Glasgow and Manchester are quite similar in that they have a very forward-thinking scene. And it’s a lot more diverse.” 

Anna moved to Manchester six years ago to study at the Royal Northern College of Music. 

“There’s quite a lot of people from my school who went to RNCM. It’s one of those feeder avenues […] There’s maybe one other harpist or two other harpists I’ve met in Manchester, who I didn’t know beforehand, but they’ve not been Scottish.” 

Despite it being a well-trodden path, Anna’s music-making is not overly common in Manchester. 

“I like to hope that it’s bringing a little bit of something that people have in Scotland, so folk music and the Clarsach, which is the Scottish harp, to a place that doesn’t really have as much of that, or doesn’t listen to as much of that music.” 

A huge advantage to Anna of making music here is the encouragement and backing for younger and breakthrough artists amongst the wider community. 

“It is very supportive in Manchester. There are a lot of people out there who are just offering advice as well as coming to see up-and-coming artists, so to have that network of people who are really interested and supportive of that kind of music is really important.” 

“It’s got a lot of innovative art and culture.” 

The Purpose and Motivations of Anna’s Music-Making 

“It’s an emotional outlet. Whether that’s how I feel or how someone else feels. It’s just sharing something that seems quite fundamental to me and then being able to bounce off other people’s ideas in a very collaborative way. That’s what I enjoy most about making music.” 

A major motivation for Anna’s engagement with music is to facilitate more people in their access to music and song. 

“Community work is really important for me, so if it can help communities in some way, it's beneficial.” 

One of the important musical traditions Anna is keen to engage with further is the folk music renowned in Manchester and its surrounding areas. 

“There’s a lot of folk music in the north of England as well, slightly different types of it, which is exciting.” 

In this genre, Anna’s current inspiration is to seek out more local musicians with whom to share music. She aims also to increase her knowledge of the history of the tradition. 

“I have recently been trying to collaborate with people from Manchester who I maybe haven’t met before.” 

“I think more recently I’ve realised that I’d like to go back and learn more folk music and learn more about the origins of the stuff that I’m trying to create […] The way to do that is to go to sessions in Manchester. We actually have a lot of sessions that I’ve never really explored, you know, Irish and Scottish and Welsh, all the Celtic music.” 

Pop Music in Manchester 

As a performer, aware of the famous history of pop music attached to Manchester, Anna feels that the more innovative sounds can sometimes be overlooked, as people automatically associate the area only with bands who made it big. 

"With pop music, I think there’s a lot of harking back to a very small specific time, Factory Records. And all the big bands that came out of that label, and whenever anyone talks about pop music in Manchester that’s what they talk about. And I think there’s so much more and so much more diverse music within Manchester that I hope comes out as a new thing that people talk about. I know there’s so much good stuff going on, but people still compare it back to that one golden age of Manchester music." 

Nevertheless, the support here for pop music and music of other genres is to be lauded. 

“The pop music stuff is really well looked after and supported. There’s a lot of small radio stations and things like Brighter Sound, and charities and separate networks that are really good at that. Folk music and classical music I think could always be better. I think it could always be more accessible to everyone, but that’s just generally everywhere, I think. Manchester is good at it and is getting better at it.” 

Anna sees a dynamic music scene in Manchester, linked to the legacy of the city, where pop music enjoys a cultural influence in different spheres and genres, and where new ideas and innovative thoughts are welcomed and encouraged. 

“The good thing about pop music is that it pushes forward other elements of art as well, in collaboration. There’s a lot of people here experimenting with doing live-streamed VR things, more transient performances outside, online exhibitions. So I think all those things will be quite exciting if we’re really pushed to explore different mediums in which we can perform within different limitations.” 

“There’s lots of stuff going on.”