The Drones Club started in 2014 in a medieval pub in Northampton.

What started as a few sessions to see if we could find some musical themes to work on has become a collection of ancestral and improvised music played to a backing of eastern and dub rhythms. Then we added some funk guitar.

From Northampton.
We are The Drones Club.

About The Drones Club

At the beginning of 2014 Russ Cooper and Pat Fish were in a Northampton pub where they have a weekly Folk Night downstairs. A man appeared up the stairs lugging a large black flight case. They got talking and after a while they asked the obvious question, “What’s in the box?”

(Pandora moment coming)

He opened it and it was full of bagpipes from all over the world. They had a couple of beers and Ian said he was looking to work with musicians outside of the groups he usually played with. Bringing different influences in and expanding what people normally thought of as bagpipe music.

A month or so later Ian and Russ got together and started trying to work out where the common ground was, finding the roots that they shared and building on them.

Pat joining on bass resulted in what’s been described as a Medieval Drum and Bass sound combined with Hendrix style Bagpipes.

The first release from the band was the six song album La Belle and The Bear in 2017. After that there a few months playing small festivals and venues.

A band’s never really a band until it gets to hear what it sounds like. Having managed to meld the three existing styles it was decided to add a fourth so guitarist Steve was asked if he’d like to play with the band one night. The impact was immediate, allowing Ian the space to put down the pipes for some songs and bring in the dulcimer.

The Drones Club plays music where the drums and bass lines lay down a steady beat while the bagpipes, dulcimer and guitars provide a melody that is both hypnotic and a little bit scary. It’s Folk Music from Northampton.

                            Welcome to  The Drones Club.

                            Ian Clabburn – Bagpipes and Dulcimer.

                            Steve Gordon – Guitar.

                            Pat Fish – Bass.

                            Russell Cooper – Drums.