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Got back recently from the songhouse thing I was doing in SW Scotland nr Dumfries.
It was a fantastic week actually and one that i had had little time to think about until I was driving down on the Sunday to the house. It's an annual happening put together by Dumfries and Galloway Arts Association to celebrate Burns' work but actually nothing really to do with Burns other than sharing in his sentiment for words and music. The idea is to put 8 songwriters (I still have trouble with that label) in a house in a remote location for one week, ask them to do nothing but write, have their every need catered for, including a resident chef cooking for them every day, and then play a couple of gigs at the end of the week consisting of nothing but the new material.
I surprised myself by agreeing to do it at all. Years ago when i was in the Delgados the thought of writing with anyone other than my fellow band members would have struck me as the single most stupid idea I had ever heard. I always wrote solo in the band anyway, with the songs being more arranged by everyone else than really written. Alun and I rarely co-wrote and never stepped on each others toes lyrically. There was probably quite a big distinction between each other's songs at the end of the day but we were quite happy with that as we felt that Stewart and Paul's input brought everything together.
So I entered the house with great trepidation and soon realised that the house was in complete darkness due to a power cut, save for a few candles, and it was in this romantic atmosphere that introductions were made. The entourage consisted of Karine Polwart, Michael Johnstone, MC Soom T, Sushil Dade (Future Pilot AKA), Kenny Anderson (King Creosote), Chris Difford and Kim Edgar. I knew a couple of them from long ago but mostly these were unknown people to me.
It turned out that we were to be 'paired' every day for 4 days until everyone had worked with everyone else. It was great fun actually and the location of the house was amazing. Right on the beach practically, built to make best use of the light coming in all day long. With no other buildings around to block the view, we could stare out at the sea for as long we liked. It is an incredibly peaceful environment to be in and all worries of this impending album and studio cash-flows etc just went out my head for the entire week.
The writing was pretty good too. I hope to use some of these new tunes in the future. It was terrific to watch other people write and learn about other techniques that they may use. If there was one negative, I did come out questioning a little about how I write and was newly aware that sometimes I try and pack far too much into one song.
The gigs were great fun too. Kirpatrick Durham Village Hall (not too many miles from where I grew up actually so I was a little nervous in case anyone recognised me) and Stirling Tolbooth. A lovely venue but a little more austere than the village hall where we were all packed like sardines onto the stage and couldn't help banging into each other which always breaks the ice nicely.
A really good week. Merry Xmas.
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