Weekly > Interviews
Colin MacIntyre
Back in the mid to late 90’s Colin MacIntyre was better known as the Mull Historical Society, a superb act from the remote island in Scotland who produced a constant steam of slightly off centre indie pop that really should have had more success than he achieved.
After a break from things he emerged back with his 4th career record but this time he was stepping out from behind the name and putting his own to the album. The Water was a big change in direction but was once again well received by fans and critics alike.
He’s stayed with his own name for the new album as well, Island is yet another great release from a much underrated artist, one who I had the pleasure of catching up with for a quick question and answer session recently.
You released three albums under the guise of the Mull Historical Society, what prompted you to start releasing under your own name with The Water?
Well I thought I’d give the real MHS on the island their name back, but for me the main thing is that I’d never want to justkeep doing the same thing – with each of my Mull Historical Society albums I think I’ve tried to evolve but sometimes it’s nice to have a fresh start and I have 3 years gap after my 3rd album so somehow it seemed right to come out from under the guise.
Who knows, if I write an album that feels like an MHS record there’s nothing stopping me doing that in the future. I’ve always respected musicians/writers who aren’t afraid to take risks, evolve, and I’ll always try and do that, otherwise it gets stale.
The MHS days were fairly successful with top 40 singles and top 20 albums, do you have any regrets that things didn’t kick on from there at all?
I suppose I feel I have kicked on creatively. You can never predict sales/chart interest but the last two singles off The Water album, ‘Famous For Being Famous’ & ‘You’re A Star’ received quite a bit of airplay, as much as some of my MHS singles, so that’s what I’m working towards again. Yes, you always want your creations to reach the biggest possible audience but as Neil Young says, being a musician is a journey. I’m on a journey.
While you produced the first three albums yourself, you opted to work with a producer for the first time on The Water, how hard was it for you to hand over control of things?
It was quite easy actually! When I met Nick Franglen I realised he knew what I was trying to do and also he respected that I’d always produced myself so was actually more surprised than me that I was cool about it all. I still had a lot of input, but I have to say it was refreshing to not have all the rails, and I also learned things from the experience. Especially how to get to West Sussex…
It was a brave choice of producer for you, as Lemon Jelly generally came at things from a completely different angle to yourself previously, is that what appealed so much?
Yes, I suppose so. I always programmed on my records before, but it was lo-fi, with drum machines wired up to kettles and distortion pedals and then into my left ear or something….so I knew Nick would bring the sonic lift I was after.
And then when I went down to his studio it was easy to work together, and not holding all the rails allowed me to write a novel while I was recording, something I hadn’t done before.
Your back with a new album this year, how have things moved on within your sound on Island?
Well this is definitely a different kind of album for me. I went back home and recorded it in my old school, now an arts centre. I was literally in my old classroom, the same wooden floors etc, so that did something different to me.
My goal was to produce this album in a much more minimalist way, bit inspired by the Johnny Cash/Rick Rubin approach. So all the songs are recorded with only acoustic instrumentation. It was a special time making it last year, using some of the local community, and passing musicians such as King Creosote (who is on a song called ‘Out Stealing Horses’), classical players, folk players.
It was really incredible to be home, picking up the council workers lawn mowers with the mics, laying myself bare. Sonically it has a very different approach and it’s my most intimate delivery to date. I’m obviously in the mood for stripping things away!
So it’s a bit of a bonus to have an album out so soon after The Water; I think that 3 and half year gap after my last MHS album made me think I’ll never wait so long again. I’m currently writing the ‘electric’ follow-up to The Water album.
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Add to favouritesCan you tell us a bit more about some of the tracks that are on the album and the lyrical themes to the songs?
‘Out Stealing Horses’ which I mentioned above, is a title taken from the Per Petterson novel. Beautiful book. I suppose I’m still drawn to the underdog in society, and the notion of creating community, but these are some of my most personal songs.
One of them is called ‘Samuel Dempster RIP’ and it was recorded with just voice and guitar in a live take at about 3am on the last night. He was my great grandfather, he died in WWI, never to return, or to know his girlfriend was carrying his child, who would be my grandmother. My great grandmother died when I was 14, at 92. An incredible woman whose man never returned. She travelled from the west Highlands to Waterloo Station to see him off.
‘Cape Wrath’, the lead single, is a bit of a mad dark tale about an abduction by a man on a boat. But like the novel Life Of Pi I’m not sure if the man’s journey is real or imagined. ‘All Part Of The Letting go’ I suppose is the only song that is written with the concept of being on an island while making it. It’s about the people who left the Islands for other waters, U.S. & Canada. It’s about two lovers, one must go, the other must stay.
‘No Ordinary Queen’ tells the story of Eliza, a girl who cannot leave the island. I imagined her being controlled in some way, destined never to escape. She appears in the short story that I’ve written and appears in the album art.
One of a collection based on the album’s song titles.
Do you have any tour or Festival plans around the album?
I have 2 unplugged launch gigs in the summer, one on Mull in the room I recorded the album in, and the second in The Social in London. Then I’ll tour in the autumn.
Who or what else have you been listening to yourself recently?
Not too much really…...went to see Friendly Fires recently, Midlake, still enjoying ‘In Rainbows’ by Radiohead, Glasgow Orpheus Choir (bit of a difficult find that one!), tend to spend too much of my time on my own music I’m afraid.
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