Sun rises on Iain's labour of love album
Emerging singer-songwriter Iain Wilson releases his debut album this month as a labour of love, writes Kathie Griffiths.
Holding On ’Til Sunrise is to be released on Friday July 9 and is a window into Iain’s soul as he addresses the emotional turmoil mental health can bring to an individual.
Produced, recorded and engineered by Keith Morrison at Wee Studio on the Isle of Lewis, the album is heavily influenced by ’80s style synth, infused with a more current pop sound and Iain’s own distinctive vocal and guitar playing.
The title, Holding on ’Til Sunrise, is a lyric taken from the last track of the album, Sunrise, which takes the opportunity to tell the story about the continuous struggles that mental health issues bring. With this final track, there is the hope and light that comes with the sunrise, the dawning of a new day and new promise.
Iain wanted to make sure the album ultimately offered promise and hope, the tracks build through the turmoil and the darkness and move towards a more positive and brighter outcome evoking an emotional journey from start to finish.
He said: 'I find a lot of comfort in song writing; it gives me the opportunity to explore emotions I might not otherwise have had an outlet for. It’s an invaluable platform for me where I can express my feelings and explore the challenging emotions I am feeling. I am, however, so aware that not everyone has an outlet such as this so I wanted this debut body of work to help in some way to spread awareness of mental health challenges but also to try and normalise talking about the issues that so many are facing.’
Joining Iain on the album is Keith Morrison on keys/ synth; Ruaridh Neil on drums; Abigail Pryde on violin and vocals; Nick Hamilton on electric guitar; and Peat and Diesel’s Boydy on electric guitar.
The nine-track body of work has been 18 months in the making.
Holding on ’Til Sunrise will be available to stream and download on all digital platforms.