1. How did you get involved and how did you get together with your specific collaborator?
I had met Roddy Woomble through a mutual friend, John McCusker, and through a few late night blethers he mentioned this project and asked if we would be interested in getting involved. I had been a fan of his work with Edwin Morgan and the opportunity to do something similiar seemed exciting. Roddy sent me three poems from Ali Smith, I'm not sure how Roddy chose which poet to match with which band/artist.
2. How did the collaboration actually work in your case (i.e. hands-on or at a distance, much discussion going on, etc.)?
The collaboration was at a distance. I was sent three poems by Ali Smith and given free reign to take an axe to them if I wished.
3. Did you have any worries going into it, and how do you feel it turned out?
I had initial worries that I would not connect with any of the poems sent to me. I was sent three so i had a choice. I was drawn to the last poem called "Half An Apple." It seemed to be a series of snapshots of domestic loneliness, a house and a person haunted by a love who isn't there and probably never was. Once I had a grasp of the central feeling involved then I had an enthusiasm to get stuck in. The melody and general atmosphere of the song came quickly...a low key, conversational vocal approach seemed to suit the haunted mood...quiet, simple instrumentation. The boys in the band seemed to get it straight away and when we arrived at the studio to record we all had a grasp of its quiet power. Roddy Hart played some soft, upright piano, Frank sang a beautiful vocal and I played my acoustic guitar. There are beautiful ghostly harmonies from Emma Pollock that add another shiver to the atmosphere. Later we added an inspired pedal steel solo played by 'Evil' Graham Lee from the seminal Australian band, The Triffids. (A personal pleasure for me, I was a big fan of his band when they were around.) He recorded his part in Australia and was added to the mix via the wonderful internet. In the end, the initial feelings evoked when reading the poem were, thankfully, captured in the music.
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4. Was the finished song anything like you expected?
The recording process brought the wonderful surprises of Emma singing and 'Evil' Graham's pedal steel. So the finished article is much richer than my initial expectations.
5. I have a feeling musicians and writers are strangely drawn to each others’ disciplines – do you agree? If so, why do you think this is?
Well, we both have a lot of solitary endeavour in common and also the basic urge to communicate through creation of 'art'. The end results of both disciplines are very similar...the creation of a world to take you out of your own, whether it's a song, novel, play or poem...somewhere to go and get lost in...maybe learn something...feel something...I think there are jealousies that both camps have...the musicians would be jealous of the respect given to novelists/poets. In the art world, novelists/playwrights/poets are at the top of the critical pile whereas the musicians are placed way below. The writers would be jealous of the more immediate and accessable qualities and rewards of the music.
6. What do you think you learned from this whole experience?
I re-learned how refreshing it is to work with other people.
7. Was it harder or easier than you thought it would be?
It was a surprisingly easy process.
8. Do you think a project like this has any wider significance in terms of Scottish culture, or even wider than that?
It may draw some more people towards the work of the poets and musicians. It may inspire similar projects in other cultures. It will certainly reflect well on Scottish culture...the mixture of so-called 'high brow' and low brow' arts that normally does not happen or is scoffed at when it does...e.g. Michael Clarke/The Fall, Salman Rushdie/U2...thankfully this snobbery is made visibly absent in Scottish culture by this project.
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