Ahead of his concert tonight at The Doghouse, King Creosote tells Rocktalk of his “surreal” night at the Mercury Prize awards.
It’s one of those occasions” you think it’s never likely to happen but when it does it doesn’t really come as a huge surprise.
That’s how it felt when Kenny Anderson, aka King Creosote, was nominated for this year’s Mercury Prize for the wonderful Diamond Mine album, his collaboration with Jon Hopkins.
One of Rocktalk’s biggest pals, Kenny has been around the Scottish music scene for donkey’s years and, although in the past dozen or so years his flame has been burning ever brighter across the UK, he would be the first to admit King Creosote isn’t exactly a household name in radioville.
Let’s face it, despite his record company Fence Records being heralded throughout the world of music for the amazing material produced through its multitude of co-operative artists, there aren’t many folk outwith the industry itself who would ever know anything about the East Neuk’s hidden musical gems.
So it’s no surprise that Kenny himself says he was worried on the night of the Mercury Prize that he and his compadre Hopkins would be ”found out”!
”It was quite a surreal day,” he said. ”I’d never really attended a thing like that. I didn’t know it was as scripted as that not in terms of what you had to say but when things were happening. You had to be there at this time and do this at that time, and this happens then, until we were let off the leash after the announcement.
”I did feel out of place not only because it’s something I’ve never really taken part in or strived for, it’s never been on the horizon, all the red carpet thing with the paparazzi shouting out your name and things.
”I felt like I had stepped into someone else’s life. There was that feeling all day that we would get found out at the last minute; somebody would come up and say ‘you’re not what we thought you were and that’s disappointing’.”
Kenny admits he and Jon had gone down to the sparkling event fully expecting not to win it, but as the day went on they began to get worried they might actually be in with a chance of snatching the fabled prize.
”We never expected to win it, but something happened that weekend before. It was really quite surprising but all that betting beforehand and William Hills cutting the odds on us gave us a bit of a buzz that something might happen,” he said.
”There was a sense on the day that something was happening and they might just give it to us you know we might be in with a shout, without ever expecting to win it.
”There was a feeling that the judges might just go under the radar, so when PJ was announced as the winner the room was like a burst ball. There was a definite anti-climax about the whole thing because it was PJ from the start, and it felt like a bit of a fait accompli.
”We weren’t even daring to think about winning it but the good old KC fans still say: ‘You were robbed’.”
Since the nomination and a string of successful US dates, King Creosote is set to bring it all back home with his biggest Scottish tour in years, which brings him to The Doghouse tonight (November 3) along with the brilliant Fence Records signings Kid Canaveral.
The Fence boss has also just completed a brand-new King Creosote album, and it’s this he’s set to premiere on this tour.
Entitled That Might Well Be It, Darling, the new KC long-player is due for release on Domino Records in spring 2012.
The follow-up to 2009’s Flick the Vs, it’s a gorgeous and often surprising long-player that features some of Kenny’s most rock ‘n’ roll, and most devastating, songs to date along with an 11-minute magnum opus hooked around a wine glass drone and a dreamy keyboard cameo from a bygone Iron Maiden associate.
”We’ve been playing eight new songs on the tour as well as bringing back some old KC favourites. It’s been going really well. KC fans have been rallying round the cause and we’ve had some great support from 6Music and people are now joining the dots between (his first band) The Skhuibi Dubh Orchestra and us now.
”It’s been three years or so since we played The Doghouse and tickets are going well so we’re all looking forward to it.”
If the gig offers Dundee fans the chance to hear some of these new King Creosote songs first hand along with favourites, rarities and re-workings from Diamond Mine, then so too does it promise a raucous opportunity to see Edinburgh’s indie-pop champions Kid Canaveral.
They are fast becoming one of the country’s best-loved live bands, as testified by their euphoric shows at this year’s SXSW industry showcase in Texas, and on the BBC Introducing stage at T in the Park.
And their alt-rock charms are equally rampant on record their debut album, Shouting at Wildlife, was Avalanche Records’ best-selling album of 2010.
King Creosote and Kid Canaveral will each play full separate sets, and will then combine forces for excessive on-stage rock ‘n’ roll thrills, tonight at the Doghouse. Tickets are available from Groucho’s or at the venue.