Hebrides-based musician Johnny Lynch is keen to remind fans that booked to see him play Dundee’s Beat Generator in April 2020 that their tickets remain valid.
The solo artist who performs as Pictish Trail finally plays this long-delayed date tonight. It is just one slight cause for concern as he rehearses with his live band in Glasgow ahead of this tour.
Taking a break to join The Courier on a Zoom call, Lynch admits to a mix of excitement and apprehension as stage time draws near.
“This is the first proper run of dates that I’ve done since December 2019 – and even that was a stripped back tour,” he says.
“There’s still so much uncertainty around Covid at the moment, so it’s like, yeah, you just don’t know who’s gonna turn out; a combination of people maybe forgetting or not wanting to risk it might affect numbers, but who knows?”
Bad timing for fourth album
At least the venue is familiar to Lynch, who caught many acts in Dundee while studying at the University of St Andrews, before he became a mainstay of Fife’s Fence Collective musical network, helping organise its annual Homegame festival.
Lynch moved to the Isle of Eigg in 2010, where he developed his solo career, founded record label Lost Map and even started his own boutique musical weekender, Away Game.
Cancellation of Pictish Trail’s exuberant live sets, showcasing an eclectic brand of indie rock that combines folk-influenced styles and electronic pop, came at a most unfortunate time.
In February 2020, he had released his fourth album Thumb World, and was unable to promote his new record.
Instead, the solo artist spent the year focusing on his label, putting out releases by the likes of Mancunian oddball Alabaster dePlume, and enjoying isolated family life with his partner and two young children.
“I’ve kind of gotten used to just being at home, you know, so it’s quite tricky leaving Eigg,” he says.
“I left on my daughter’s third birthday and that’s pretty heartbreaking, having spent the last two years pretty much exclusively in their company.
‘It doesn’t feel real’
“I’ve just spent the last half an hour walking around the Gorbals trying to find somewhere to eat and there’s nothing. It feels like I’m some sort of weird alien. It just doesn’t feel real. I’m sure I’ll come down in the next few days.”
Last year, Lynch was inspired to begin writing again, deciding to open up about a topic he had previously chosen to avoid – life as an islander surrounded by outstanding natural beauty and only around 100 people.
“It’s about coming to a place of acceptance about living on Eigg and feeling a sense of belonging, which I’ve never really had much issue with – it’s an amazing community of people,” he explains.
“I’ve always been made to feel very welcome, but there’s always that element of feeling a bit of an imposter living on this incredibly beautiful, remote Scottish island, because I haven’t been much of an outdoors person.”
Raucous celebration of Eigg
Rather than a selection of sweet hymns to Mother Nature, Island Family comes across more as a raucous celebration of Eigg’s rough terrain, tempestuous weather and its self-reliant population.
Much like Lynch and his island-raised partner Sarah, a former London-based journalist who returned to take up the family interest in sheep farming.
Originally setting up home in a static caravan, the couple have since secured a plot of land under Eigg’s shared equity scheme and built a house with help from Sarah’s brother, a carpenter.
‘A lot of loungewear’
Even if Lynch can’t transport us to his Small Isles paradise for a night, the performer can rouse an audience with his energy and humour.
Gone for a while, though, may be the zany outfits and glitter that have often added colour to Pictish Trail sets, he reveals.
“I’ve sort of forced the band to wear costumes a lot over the last few tours, so I’ve taken a slightly different approach this time around,” he says.
“I wanted to try and make the band feel as comfortable as possible, so there’ll be a lot of loungewear.”
- Pictish Trail plays Beat Generator Live!, Dundee, tonight, Friday April 8. His album Island Family is out now Fire Records/Lost Map
