PICTISH TRAIL – IN ROOMS VINYL NOW IN STOCK

Johnny very kindly dropped off 25 copies of his new album on Saturday afternoon. I’m sure he won’t mind me nicking the blurb from the Fence website.

In December 2009, The Pictish Trail partook in a project devised by his pal, stand-up comic Josie Long, entitled ‘100 Days To Make Me A Better Person’.  PT set himself the task of writing and recording a new song every day, across 100 days – a task which he failed miserably.  Nevertheless, the project did give birth to 50 brand new songs, all of which are assembled on In Rooms.  Given the quantity of material, one might assume this album would be a gargantuan multi-disc collector’s set, of Magnetic Fields’ proportions.  However, each of PT’s new songs are precisely 30 seconds in length – thus, the album clocks in at exactly 25 minutes.  Which fits perfectly over two sides of vinyl, playing at 45rpm.  Yum.

Drawing inspiration from Beck’s Stereopathicsoulmanure, Lone Pigeon’s 28 Secret Tracks and Hot Chip’s Made In The Dark, the album is purposefully a collection of disparate styles and themes – that can be enjoyed as an album from start to finish, but also as a randomised jumble.  As such, each copy of the vinyl comes with a compact disc, individually hand-stamped and numbered with its very own customised tracklisting.

Songs were recorded over 3 months, from a bedroom in Cellardyke, Fife and from a well-ventilated basement in Connecticut, USA.  They were listened to extensively on train journeys going back and forth to London, and they were expertly mastered in Edinburgh by Reuben Taylor (James Yorkston & The Athletes). Artwork was, as ever, put together by illustrator-extraordinaire Christian Ward.