Biography

Alan was born in Glasgow & moved to Edinburgh aged 5, where he still lives today.
At age 9, he fell in love with the music of Rush, Bach and Shostakovich. This led him to take percussion lessons with the late great Dr. Andrew Shivas.
With the help of his excellent tuition and enormous insight, Alan progressed until his first “pro gig” in 1989. He then went to study music at university and conservatoire. Since completing his formal education his career has flourished, seeing him performing everything from baroque timpani to prog-rock drums and from bass guitar/vocals to world percussion.
Concerts in The Carnegie Hall New York, The Albert Hall London, Tanglewood Massachusetts, Berlin Philharmonie, Glastonbury, Wickerman and Latitude festivals, Hong Kong, Japan, USA, Canada, virtually all of Western Europe, China and Scandinavia have kept him busy.
Alan has recorded over 100 albums with orchestras, ensembles and bands as well as recording and producing his own music at his studio, Le Studio Scotland.
With Plastic Noose, Soft Monster and his Alan Emslie solo albums, he has always stuck to his core values and kept his wicked sense of humour. Alan has found ways to combine styles and instruments to create something unique, as well as recording as much of his music in live takes as possible, to capture the ‘magic moments’.
In 2022 and 2023 Alan concentrated on EXOWST SCOTLAND with a new track released each month.
2024 sees EXOWST SCOTLAND continue this monthly track release schedule.
See the EXOWST SCOTLAND page!

Alan’s youtube here
EXOWST SCOTLAND youtube here