The Pictish Trail - Secret Soundz

SECRET SOUNDZ Vol.1 is a diverse collection of ten lo-fi pieces that are, at times, a bit homeboy electronic, often a lil’ folky, and a wee bit pop too. Zippy instrumentals snuggle up next to stripped back acoustic ditties, which in turn tickle-the-fancy of proto-electro pop songs. Subject matter is similarly assorted - there’s the story of a psychopathic killer lighthouse-keeper (‘The Lighthouse’), a closed-curtain house-warming gone wrong (‘Winter Home Disco’) and, er, a track composed of snippets of a Reginald Perrin novel being read out aloud (‘Secret Sound #1’)!

What connects these disparate styles and themes are the manner in which they are produced - the focus very much on capturing an immediate performance as opposed to an over-rehearsed one. Most of the album was recorded by PT himself, on his 8-track recorder at his home in Cellardyke, Anstruther - using whatever came to hand ... just a tambourine, a few guitars, bass, drum machine, keyboard and voice. Listen closely and you can hear the swoosh of the number 26 bus whizz past the window, muffled voices of people outside, and the creaking of household pipes.

Not all of the tracks are Fife-based creations, however. Three songs from the album were recorded with Manchester-based collective The Earlies (who collaborated with King Creosote on 2005’s KC Rules OK), over the course of a one day session at their studio in Chorlton. ‘I Don’t Know Where To Begin’, ‘Ribbon (The Twist)’, and ‘Into The Smoke’ are the fruits of this highly-productive day’s labour, and add flute, accordion, double bass, cello, drums, all kinds of percussion, piano, weird synth and the voices of Sara Lowes and King Creosote to the mix. As with the home recordings, emphasis was placed on spontaneity - with the first take more often than not being the final one.

The result is an immediate, playful and vibrant album - qualities that are reflected in the day-glo artwork, provided by Christian Ward (www.cwardillustration.com).

1. Secret Sound #2
2. All I Own
3. I Don't Know Where To Begin
4. Secret Sound #1
5. Words Fail Me Now
6. Ribbon
7. Winter Home Disco
8. The Lighthouse
9. Into The Smoke
10. Secret Sound #5

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