O'Rourke grew up in a musical family in Oban and later on the nearby island of Seil. He is of Scottish/Irish parentage and grew up listening to traditional songs from both countries.[5] He studied civil engineering at Strathclyde University. After university he moved to Edinburgh in 1998 and joined Blazin' Fiddles in the same year.[6] O'Rourke has also been a member of such groups as Tabache, Sunhoney, and Lau, and has guested on dozens of albums by other artists.[5][7]
Sirius, O'Rourke's debut solo album, was released in 2006. It contains a fusion of folk, jazz, and drum and bass sounds inspired by traditional Scottish, Danish, and Irish music.[7] He released An Tobar in 2008. The album, dedicated to an arts center of the same name on the Isle of Mull, consists of five songs rooted in Celtic music but often displaying a "progressive twist".[8] The song "Tobar Nan Ealain", which Allmusic writer Chris Nickson calls the album's "centerpiece", begins with a poem from Aonghas MacNeacail and features guest vocals by Kirsty MacKinnon.[8]
O'Rourke was commissioned to write a piece for the 2012 Summer Olympics. He told PRS for Music that the composition "draws inspiration from the fact that TAT-1 (Transatlantic No. 1) the first transatlantic telephone cable system was laid between Gallanach Bay, near Oban and Clarenville, Newfoundland between 1955 and 1956."[9]
O'Rourke released his third solo album, Hotline, in 2013,[10]
and he was named Musician of the Year at the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.[11]
Stone, Chris (2012). "Tradition and creativity: the roots and routes of fiddler Aidan O'Rourke". In Russell, Ian; Goertzen, Chris (eds.). [Routes & Roots: Fiddle and Dance Studies from around the North Atlantic 4]. Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen. ISBN978-0-9545682-7-6.
