They started to play when given instruments on their 8th birthday and soon joined the Orkney Strathspey and Reel Society in Kirkwall.

In their early teens they were playing, often with their older sister Emma on accordion, at local concerts and ceilidhs around Orkney.

In Edinburgh they became part of the city's folk scene and fronted a six-piece band called Seelyhoo, which recorded two albums.

At about that time Jennifer won the UK's premier accolade for new folk talent (BBC Young Tradition Award) which helped boost the tour and their international reputation.

[2] Working without a manager, they organised a second world tour in 1999 and issued a third album Huldreland (in the Folk Roots top ten of 1998).