Karine Polwart / Aziza Brahim @ City of Music Studio, 21 Jan

One of the strongest things about Celtic Connections is its broad approach to the idea of folk and traditional music. This is reflected clear as crystal with a brilliant discussion between Scottish folk singer Karine Polwart, and Sahrawi percussionist Aziza Brahim. Over the course of an hour the two cover politics, feminism, and inspirations, with a clear common ground between these two performers from very different backgrounds.

One of the most interesting discussions comes off the back of the difference between the idea of women as singers, and women as instrumentalists. Polwart, who got into folk music after trawling the sessions of Edinburgh while studying politics and philosophy, notes how under-represented women are in the instrumentalist categories of both the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and the Scottish Traditional Music Awards, but how thoroughly represented they are in the singing categories.

Brahim on the other hand speaks about how in her culture, the hand-drum is a woman’s pursuit entirely. It is true that in some circles women still don’t get the respect they deserve as instrumentalists – it's nice then that Polwart namechecks Anna Massie, a phenomenal guitarist, as the kind of inspiration that might spur more young girls to take something up.

Given the political climate of the weekend, politics is also on the agenda, but one question from the crowd brings an interesting response. A gentleman asks quite brusquely: “Are you not, first and foremost, entertainers?” – both Polwart and Brahim fall somewhere in the middle, but it's striking to hear that people think the two are mutually exclusive. What’s clear with both of these musicians is that they are totally in command of their craft, and through that, can channel just about whatever message they want.

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Part of Celtic Connections festival 2017