KRIS Drever grew up around folk music but all his school friends wanted to be rock stars.

The Scottish songwriter loved both kinds of music, so when he formed the band Lau he decided to combine elements of both.

Guitarist Kris, Martin Green on accordion and Aidan O'Rourke on fiddle created a traditional sound with a contemporary style and progressive edge more associated with rock.

The results speak for themselves, with Lau winning Best Group at the BBC Folk Awards three years in a row from 2008 and again this year.

Kris told Weekend: “All our families play folk music. I suppose it was the musical currency of our early lives.”

He started singing from an early age and learned to play the guitar when he was 13.

“I guess kids just pick these things up,” added Kris.

“Kids get obsessed by different things. It was probably because a lot of my friends played guitar.

“I grew up in Orkney around a lot of rock music. I liked Nirvana, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and a lot of Paul Simon.

“There’s still a great respect for traditional music within the band, though. We listen to a lot of different kinds of music, so it’s just about writing music from where we come from and that includes a lot of influences.

“We live in the century we live in and listen to the same music as everybody else.

“A lot of it comes from improvisation, so we might take a concept, analyse the music and try and find things we can develop.”

Lau are touring to promote their third album ‘Race The Loser’, which was recorded with REM producer Tucker Martine.

The Scottish Album of the Year nominated release has become their best-selling and led to a prestigious slot on BBC’s Later with Jools Holland. This year has also seen the innovative trio perform across Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Lau are renowned for their live shows, so what gives Kris the most satisfaction when he is on stage?

“Occasionally you get a real feeling for the music,” he said.

“You’re not really thinking about what you’re playing. You’re just in the moment. When everybody’s on the same page like that, it’s a very exciting feeling.”

But do the band ever get annoyed that a lot of folk music tends to be ignored by the mainstream?

“Not really, because the mainstream ignores loads of great music,” Kris added.

“Tom Waits rarely appears on BBC3 or Heat magazine and people like him are towering giants of modern musical composition.”

As Lau’s reputation has grown, so has their desire to collaborate with other artists.

In 2012, Jack Bruce from Cream invited the band to take part in a BBC documentary about his life and this year they released a collaborative single with Frightened Rabbit to celebrate Record Store Day.

“I would love to work with Ry Cooder,” said Kris, who is also a solo artist.

“That’d be great.

“The world is full of great musicians we would love to get together with.”

Lau play at Central Methodist Hall in Manchester on Wednesday November 13. Tickets are £16.50. Visit ents24.com or seetickets.com