Ewan Moore Turns a Studio Accident Into ‘The Greatest Line Dancer In Dunfermline’

The Scottish-born, London-based multi-instrumentalist announces new album halftone paradise, arriving 13 November, and shares a gloriously offbeat single inspired by accidental bagpipes, Big Country and a fictional family romance.

Sometimes the best ideas come from things going slightly wrong. For Ewan Moore, a temperamental synthesiser and an unexpected bagpipe sound sparked ‘The Greatest Line Dancer In Dunfermline’, an off-kilter, ’80s-inspired anthem built around a semi-fictional tale of his parents meeting at a ceilidh.

Out now as the latest preview of his upcoming album halftone paradise, the track began on a malfunctioning Dave Smith OB-6 before evolving into a playful nod to Big Country’s unmistakable sound. Moore took the idea back to his own studio to finish the recording, with Luke Marzec adding soprano saxophone and layered harmonies to the outro.

Due out on 13 November, halftone paradise is deliberately split into two distinct halves. The first leans into song-driven structures and pop instincts, while the second opens out into improvisation, richer instrumentation and more experimental territory. Moving between jazz, soul, indie and alternative sounds, the record reflects Moore’s instinctive, boundary-free approach to songwriting.

An accomplished drummer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Moore has worked with artists including Jamie Isaac, Ruthven and Brooke Bentham, while also founding NOISE, a London residency championing emerging jazz and improvised music. With halftone paradise, he brings those worlds together in a record shaped by instinct, experimentation and emotional honesty.

We caught up with Ewan to talk accidental bagpipes, musical family gatherings and creating something that refuses to fit neatly into one genre.

1. ‘The Greatest Line Dancer In Dunfermline’ is a pretty brilliant concept, born from a slightly broken OB6 and the sound of accidental bagpipes. How did that idea develop from a studio accident into a fully formed song?

It was really developed in a morning of mania at my own studio, the bagpipe sound and the drum machine felt very ‘Big Country’, my parents went to school with Stuart Adamson so i started singing these fictional lyrics imagining them meeting at a Ceilidh. It felt hilarious and awkward, the rest of the writing finished itself after that.

2. ‘halftone paradise’ is deliberately structured as a record of two halves, moving from more song-driven and pop-focused material into improvisation and richer instrumentation. What inspired you to build the album around that contrast?

Naturally what I was writing fell into either of those worlds, I didn’t try to control or dictate any of the compositions to fit within one specific writing style. Naturally I felt like I was flexing both compositional muscles and sonically it all felt very homogeneous so I ran with it. I like albums that take you on a stylistic journey and it felt like a fresh concept.

3. You grew up surrounded by music, with family gatherings around the piano and everything from The Beatles and Elton John to traditional Scottish songs being played. How much of that musical upbringing still finds its way into what you make today?

I’m trying to create from a more instinctive place. Especially as a ‘solo artist’ project, as much as i’ve worked with lots of musicians to bring the record to life, I am still the sole influence on the conception of the ideas and compositions. Because I'm not working alongside other people to bring the ideas to life from their inception it relies entirely on me. And who I am is my experience so therefore there’s definitely a lot of that ‘musical upbringing’ in it. If I was playing as part of a band or performing a specific role in a group then maybe I'd come at the writing from a different angle but this project feels very singularly, by name and by nature, ‘me’.

4. You move between jazz, soul, indie, alternative and improvisation across the record. Do you think of yourself as working within a particular genre, or is that lack of boundaries part of what makes the project exciting for you?

Yeah I think I'm most excited by music that isn’t trying to sit neatly within one marketable place. Naturally as humans and artists we’re influenced by lots of different things and I think making something truly from the heart is likely to sit stylistically in a place that's not one thing or another.

5. With ‘halftone paradise’ exploring ideas around transcendence, awe, fear, instinct and sanctuary, what do you hope listeners take away from the album when it arrives in November?

The really zen answer would be to not care what the listener thinks at all. But I hope people connect with the music on some level, I hope it feels fresh and unique and exciting and raw. A human, instinctive, emotional reaction is what I'm searching for in myself so I hope that feeling is passed on through my music. I’m proud of what I've made and I’m proud of the journey I've taken myself on to get to a place where I feel comfortable expressing myself in an unfiltered way.