Tolbooth Attic
Throughout his career Pictish Trail has resolutely furrowed his own path, steadily creating a unique catalogue of recordings & performances, while eschewing the blueprint of the predictable singer-songwriter in favour of something untidily intriguing.
Island Family is the fifth album from Isle-of-Eigg dwelling electro-acoustic psych-pop artist Johnny Lynch aka Pictish Trail. A strange, unpredictable, sardonic and yet deeply personal record inspired by all from Fever Ray to The Flaming Lips, Liars, Mercury Rev and Beck, Island Family is Pictish Trail’s contrarian view of arcadia; a search for the euphoric in the bucolic.
Secret Soundz Vol.1 & 2, his critically acclaimed first pair of albums, were gloriously eclectic slices of lo-fi folk-pop later revived as a deluxe double-vinyl by Moshi Moshi. Future Echoes, was released to further acclaim in 2016, winning the public vote for Scottish Album of the Year (SAY Award) in 2017, and reissued as a deluxe edition on Record Store Day in 2018 by London-based taste-makers, Fire Records. In 2020 Johnny released his 4th LP, Thumb World, a voyage to the outer rings of Pictish Trail’s mind at its darkest, funniest & most inventive – described by Clash as “his most dazzling, most exceptional yet”.
Over summer and autumn 2024, Pictish Trail will be performing a select series of stripped-back shows, playing songs from across his 5 album back catalogue on acoustic guitar and sampler, accompanied by Semay Wu on cello, Gillian Fleetwood on harp, and Susan Bear on keys and bass guitar.
When not putting out his own music as Pictish Trail, Johnny Lynch is a fulcrum of the British independent music community. Through his label Lost Map, he champions a diverse and idiosyncratic array of extraordinary talent, helping to elevate the likes of Rozi Plain, Alabaster dePlume, Bas Jan, Callum Easter and Free Love.
Support from L.T Leif:
An adopted member of the Scottish DIY music scene whose life and art has been heavily shaped by northern landscapes and climes, L.T. Leif is rooted in the self-sufficient spirit of the Canadian prairies, and carries with them the indelible experience of spells spent living in Iceland, Finland and drawing inspiration from the Pacific Northwest. Leif has been involved in many bands and projects, first entering the scene with Calgary orchestral pop sweethearts The Consonant C. Since the group disbanded in 2011, Leif has explored many configurations and approaches, from experimental noise collaborations with the infamous Bug Incision crew to playing sold-out shows with the punk-hearted OK JAZZ, drumming with slacker-rock bands (Hex Ray and Hungry Freaks), playing synths with Matt Swann (of Astral Swanns), and singing in a witch choir (Hermitess). Leif’s admirers include K Records maestro Calvin Johnson (they toured together with The Believer Magazine).
Releases under the solo-with-friends moniker L.T. Leif have included the 2016 EP compilation Shadow on the Brim / Rough Beasts and Leif’s first release on Lost Map Records, the 2022 Lost Cat limited edition cassette compilation of live and unreleased tracks, improvisations and deep cuts Introducing L.T. Leif.
Leif’s debut album proper, Come Back To Me, But Lightly, was released on Lost Map in January 2023, in collaboration with fellow Scottish label, OK Pal.
Demoed in a room on Glasgow’s Great Western Road and built intercontinentally with contributions both remote and in-person from pals near and far including Clea Anaïs, Bill Wells, Matt Swann, eagleowl’s Clarissa Cheong and Bart Owl, Faith Eliott and Mark Hamilton (Woodpigeon), Come Back To Me, But Lightly is a magical collection of sensually sylvan songs about “the body, loss as a decision, and knowing your own desire as a radical act,” says Leif. “It has a lot of imagery and thought from the northern places I’ve been living, and takes inspiration from minimalist writers, painters, and thinkers. This album comes from a six-year long space of change, from a life I was living as someone afraid of my own brain and body, into someone a lot more openly unshiney. Painful and seeping. I think that distance and decisions and loss and conflict are all things that can birth you into a different kind of being.”
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Want to be the first to hear about what's happening in Stirling? Follow us on Facebook and join the What's On Scotland Group!Andy Irvine is one of the great Irish singers, don't miss him when he returns to the Tolbooth Stirling on 18th November!
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READ MORECatch singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michelle Willis when she returns to the Tolbooth Stirling on Saturday 7th February!
READ MOREMike McGoldrick, John McCusker & John Doyle bring their own blend of top-class folk songs, tunes and charming bonhomie to the Tolbooth Stirling on Saturday 21st February!
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READ MOREDon't miss award-winning smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul at the Tolbooth Stirling on Saturday 7th March!
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READ MOREDon't miss Norrie Maciver, lead singer of Skipinnish, when he plays the Tolbooth Stirling on Friday 27th March!
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On the last Sunday of every month, Slanj-A-Va hosts the Stirling Song Club, providing a platform for musicians and songwriters to form a community and refine their craft!
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Get ready to rock with The Mini Guns at our monthly residency at Slanj-A-Va, Stirling.
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The Record Hide bring their monthly Pop-Up Record Shop to the historic Masonic Hall in Bridge of Allan.
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Join our host Scott and showcase your talent — music, poetry, comedy, or anything in between. The mic is ready at the Foresters Arms, Cambusbarron!
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Join SABOS for a fun filled night of games and show stopping performances. We're blending cabaret flair with a classic games night so get those bingo cards at the ready!
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Calling all Dancing Queens, get those dancing shoes on and join us at Macdonald Inchyra Hotel and Spa on Saturday 15th November!
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Come and join Santa in Stirling’s free family parade to celebrate switching on the Christmas lights.
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