Colin Harper was born in Belfast in 1968. A professional writer on music between 1994-2001, contributing regularly to Mojo, the Independent and the Irish Times, he is currently a librarian at a Belfast music college. Recent projects have included co-authoring, with Trevor Hodgett, Irish Folk, Trad & Blues: A Secret History (Collins Press, 2004) and creating two wildlife charity albums (www.thewildlifealbum.com) for the benefit of the WWF and Ulster Wildlife Trust.