COLIN MACLEOD

COLIN

MACLEOD

INTERVIEW BY JULES BOYLE

THEY SAY YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN, BUT IN A WAY, COLIN MACLEOD NEVER REALLY LEFT.

THE SINGER/SONGWRITER FROM THE ISLE OF LEWIS FIRST MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF BACK IN 2010 WHEN HE SIGNED FOR UNIVERSAL RECORDS WHILE WORKING UNDER THE ALIAS THE BOY WHO TRAPPED THE SUN, BUT LIFE IN LONDON WASN’T FOR HIM AND EVENTUALLY HE FOUND HIMSELF BACK ON THE ISLAND.

Now he lives a remarkable double life, splitting his time between running a croft with his father and being a musician who tours and collaborates with artists such as Robert Plant, Roger Waters and Sheryl Crow.

It’s that latter star who is guesting on his new album, the wonderful Hold Fast. Mixing folk, Americana, country and more, it’s a record that tells a captivating story, one that could only have come from a man who knows who he is and where he belongs.

Colin said: “Musically I wanted it to be a reflection of my influences when I was younger playing in the pubs every Saturday night, all that classic rock and country stuff. I don’t think I appreciated the gigs in the pubs as much as I should have at the time, as I had aspirations to be elsewhere, to go on tour and play music all over the place, but looking back on it now, I was always collecting stories, even back then. You would watch what happened on a Saturday night, with all these dramas unfolding, be it romances, arguments or whatever, all while being like an invisible person playing guitar and observing. Lyrically, it follows a similar theme from my last album Bloodlines, with stories about the island, but it has more of a central figure this time, a guy who leaves the island to pursue his dreams, but comes home with his tail between his legs, only to find salvation in his hometown. It’s a little bit of a concept album I suppose, without trying too hard to make a concept album. It’s definitely in that tradition of storytelling, the oral tradition where things get rolled down the years and everybody puts their own slant on them. That’s what I aspire to, to carry on that tradition in my own way. It’s not particularly autobiographical I’d say, but it’s certainly close to my heart. It’s not a million miles away, put it that way.”

Colin moved to London after signing his deal with Universal, but unlike most artists chasing the big dream, he knew all along that it would only be a temporary situation, no matter what happened.

He said: “I’d always planned to live here. Even when I moved to London to do music, I always had one foot at home, as I knew it was an interim thing. Back then though, I never really thought I could be a musician and be in the islands, as it’s only in the last few years that it has become something that is actually viable, between being able to do so much online and adapting to the way music has gone in general. City life wasn’t for me, though. I came to the realisation that I was okay sacrificing a little bit if it meant I could be at home. Maybe it’s stopped me from having a few opportunities, but at the end of the day, my true aspiration was always just to make music and it’s worked out alright for me. I’ve known that I belong here since I was about five years old. It’s nice now as I have a lovely balance, where I get to go away and do all these amazing things, but knowing at the end of it all I’ll be back home taking people fishing or tending to my croft.”

That life as crofter is every bit as important to Colin as his life as a musician, to the extent that he knows he wouldn’t be able to make the music he makes without it.

He said: “I live in a croft and we have sheep, which takes care of itself after a fashion. Me and my Dad have the crofts together and we’ve been doing it so long we’ve kind of just made it work. We’re really busy in the Spring with lambing, then in the Summer the sheep go out to pasture, we sell the lambs in October, put the ram in and it all starts again. That;s the basic year at the croft, plus I’m a ghillie too, so in the Summer I take people fly-fishing for salmon. When I find a spare minute I make an album and go on tour!

I’ve definitely had to stand my ground with it a little bit though, as there’s a common idea in music that you need to get a record deal, sell lots of albums and have a certain kind of dream life, but I’ve always had my dream life. Fame and success has never been a measure for me or something that I’ve been striving for, so that made it easier for me to make the choices I’ve made. I wouldn’t be able to write the songs and make the music I make if I wasn’t living this life, as it’s all informed by it. I’ve always just followed my nose with these things. I did try and see if I could write a big pop song once and it was awful, easily the worst thing I’ve ever written. I like writing whatever pops in my head and just going with it. It’s served me well so far, so there’s no point changing now. I did a land diary for Landward recently too, which was pretty interesting. I’ve never done anything like that before, so I filmed myself doing the lambing and I’ve never looked so rough in all my life. The very opposite of rock n’roll, covered in blood and guts at 4am, living the life of a crofter musician.”

Blood and guts aside, that life still allows Colin to travel, play to people all over the world and work with some of the biggest names in music though. It’s a perfect combination that works for him and that’s all he needs.

He said: “I remember when I played with Robert Plant at the O2 and I was getting my guitars ready when he came over and just started chatting to me about soundchecks and other things. You feel like you are one of the gang, but inside you’re thinking ‘how can I be one of the gang with the guy from Led Zeppelin?’. It was me and my pal who drums with me and we used to play together when we were younger. We would be 16 years old in his barn, trying to learn Zeppelin songs and there we were with the guy who sung them. It was a real full circle moment, but very, very surreal.

Sheryl Crow is the nicest person you’ll ever meet too. She’s so down to earth and super-accommodating. We’d got on really well when I toured with her in 2018, so when I asked her to sing on a couple of songs on the album, she just agreed right away, which blew me away. She couldn’t have been more supportive. We did over Skype when I was on the croft and she did it in one take. She asked if I wanted to change anything and I genuinely couldn’t imagine how it could have been any better.

It’s really nice to be able to have things like that in your life, while still doing exactly what keeps you content. As long as I wake up every day and I’m looking forward to it, I’m happy.”