Fiona Soe Paing is a Scottish/Burmese singer and music producer from Aberdeenshire.  After leaving Aberdeen to study performing arts in London, Fiona spent several years singing in bands and experimental theatre groups before starting to create her own electronic music. Her first solo recording was sung in Burmese, and was included on the Warner Music  album “Sound of The World 2007”   compiled by the late BBC broadcaster and world-music curator Charlie Gillett.   Fiona then spent time in New Zealand developing her first solo album Alien Lullabies, which she performed in the Auckland and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals.  After returning to Aberdeen, the discovery of  a family connection to the renowned northeast ballad singer John Strachan led to a development period through the Aberdeeen Performing Arts Associate Artists residency, creating her own electronica interpretations of northeast ballads.  This developed into her latest album Sand, Silt, Flint, which received widespread critical acclaim from The Guardian, Songlines and The Scotsman. Iggy Pop described her music as “advanced and beautiful”, and her work has also featured on BBC World Service, BBC Woman’s Hour and BBC Radio 3.  

Now ten years on from her exploration of Burmese identity in her Alien Lullabies Fringe shows, Fiona is now bringing Sand, Silt, Flint to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, presented as part of the Made in Scotland showcase of the best of Scottish performance in the Fringe. Sand, Silt, Flint explores her Scottish heritage through the use of the Doric dialect of Northeast Scotland, re-framing traditional ballads and folklore through electronica, archive audio, evocative visuals and live vocals.   The live show has been created in collaboration with photographer and filmmaker Isla Goldie. Fiona has also  been mentored by Brit Award winner Beth Orton and is a current recipient of the PRS Foundation’s Women Make Music award.