A contemporary collage of Scottish and American traditional music, Hildaland is a duo that approaches geographic borders as markers of exploration rather than boundaries to be wary of. Fiddle player Louise Bichan, originally from Orkney, Scotland, and mandolinist Ethan Setiawan, originally from Goshen, Indiana, have taken their duo from traditional Scottish roots through to progressive bluegrass and jazz, with music inspired largely by places and the journeys between them, both physical and musical.

Bichan and Setiawan met during their time at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Setiawan has made a name for himself as a virtuosic mandolin player, winning the National Mandolin Championship and performing with the likes of Darrell Scott and Julian Lage. Bichan is an award-winning fiddle player who has appeared on the BBC and at the Edinburgh Castle and Cambridge Folk festival, among many other places.

Hildaland’s debut album “Sule Skerry” is a collection of traditional tunes reworked, some original tunes, and a few songs, which ”act as accents to an instrumental piece of work.”, explains Bichan. Setiawan and Bichan both penned original tunes that appear on the collection. Their new EP, “Fiddle Tunes”, finds the pair in pure instrumental form, exploring the many possibilities of context for the international language of fiddle music.