‘A fitting song – about memories’
Creating and releasing music comes in cycles, and for Glasgow singer-songwriter Carla J Easton the point at which things were all about to happen for her forthcoming album Weirdo – the followup to 2018’s Impossible Stuff – has unfortunately coincided with the peak of the coronavirus crisis. She has a single, Get Lost, due out this month, then an album, Weirdo, tentatively planned for August.
“Traditionally you don’t release albums in August because it’s, like, summer and festivals, but none of that’s happening so there might be space to cover new music being released,” she says.
“I don’t think I’ll be the only one who ends up doing that. You don’t want to say you’re taking advantage of the situation, it’s more that the old situation doesn’t exist anymore, so what do you do?
“There’s part of me that’s absolutely terrified about that, though, because it’s so ingrained in me that I can’t release in certain months of the year.”
The album was recorded and partly written with Scott
Paterson, formerly of Glasgow’s mighty Sons and Daughters, whom Easton plays alongside in the latest live iteration of The Vaselines. Unlike the full-band Impossible Stuff, says Easton, the new release is “very studio-based, exploring synth sounds and electronic drums, which I touched
on in the last album, but this album’s a full exploration of it. And it’s really pop, as well.” Guest vocalists include Honeyblood’s Stina Tweeddale and Dave Hook from Stanley Odd.
For her Scotsman Session, Easton has chosen to perform Dreamers on the Run from Impossible Stuff. “I just thought it was fitting,” she says. “It’s a song about memories and cherishing friendships and I feel like right now a lot of us are missing physical interaction with our friends and families – holding those memories close is good. In the video there are four of me. I miss live gigs and have become my own audience in the flat, so I imagined being able to join in with myself singing.”
DAVID POLLOCK
● Carla J Easton’s single Get Lost is out this month and album Weirdo is planned for August. See www.carlajennifereaston.com.