Scottish alt-folk legend James Yorkston and The Cardigans star Nina Persson are set for a UK premiere when they perform in Aberdeen.
The Lemon Tree show on Wednesday February 1 will mark the first time the duo have performed together outside Scandinavia.
James teamed up with Swedish singer/songwriter Nina for the recently-released album The Great White Sea Eagle.
Recorded in Malmo, Sweden, with The Second Hand Orchestra the critically-acclaimed album brilliantly combines the talents of both singers.
James is relishing the opportunity to play the material live – starting in the Granite City.
He said: “Aberdeen will be the first live show we have done in the UK.
“I am really looking forward to it as I haven’t played The Lemon Tree for years.
“As it is our first show the adrenaline will be pumping to a high level.
“The album has been very well received and we have shows coming up all across Europe.
“Aberdeen is the start of an extraordinarily busy time for us.”
‘A series of lucky coincidences’
The new album is the follow-up to The Wide, Wide River by James and The Second Hand Orchestra.
James began writing the Great White Sea Eagle on piano in early 2021 as he gazed upon the sea outside his studio window in Cellardyke, Fife.
It would be completed in Scandinavia with Nina duetting on vocals as a result of “a series of lucky coincidences”.
James explained: “For this album, I wrote everything on piano and we thought about getting someone else in to sing.
“Karl-Jonas (Winqvist, conductor of The Second Hand Orchestra) suggested Nina Persson and I thought ‘oh, yeah, let’s have Nina’.
“It’s all been a series of lucky coincidences really.
“I know I’m talking with you a dime a dozen but that’s because I’ve had too much coffee.
“But I’m pretty shy and was shy meeting Nina although we spoke on Zoom quite a lot before we actually met.
“The worst bit was when I was sitting in The Cardigans’ studio at the piano. Nina had set up her mic but we hadn’t actually sang together.
“The scariest bit was when I played an introduction to a song and we started singing together. If it hadn’t worked it would have been awful.
“If I had travelled all that way to Malmo and our voices hadn’t clicked it would have been the most embarrassing thing in the world. Thankfully it worked really well which was such a relief.
“I love the human voice, it is the most expressive instrument. When you get to sing with someone who has so much experience and such a great voice it works so well.”
Cellardyke, Fife, to Malmo, Sweden
Yorkston was an integral early member of the Fife-based Fence Collective.
It was a collaborative group of musicians that included KT Tunstall, King Creosote, The Beta Band and The Pictish Trail.
James’ debut release Moving Up Country emerged on Domino Records in 2001 and there have been a further 10 albums.
How did he reach the point of recording his previous two albums in Sweden?
He said: “I had a tour in Germany and Karl-Jonas asked if I wanted to go to Stockholm to do a show after that.
“I said not really as I like being at home with my kids. Going all the way to Sweden for one gig wasn’t worth it.
“However, he said we could go to the studio the next day and perhaps re-record some of my old songs and put it out as an album.
“That didn’t really appeal to me, going back to the old stuff. So I thought why not book the studio and I’ll write some new songs.
“That went really well and the first day we met we flew through the songs. The musicians were people with a good, exploratory attitude.
“That album, in 2021, went down really well and was called The Wide, Wide River.”
The freedom of Captain Beefheart
None of The Second Hand Orchestra had heard the music prior to entering the studio – and the arrangements were made up on the spot.
James says Granite City fans will feel that freedom and “flowing vibe” at The Lemon Tree.
Tour begins! First 6 shows a' fu' band 🙂
Aberdeen – 1st Feb – Lemon Tree Stirling – 2nd Feb – Tolbooth
Edinburgh – 3rd Feb Summerhall
Glasgow – 4th Feb – Celtic Connections, Drygate
Birkenhead – 5th Feb – Future Yard
London – 6th Feb – Jazz Café https://t.co/MaUfzqnc1e
❤ pic.twitter.com/YFkFG5Zygj— James Yorkston (@jamesyorkston) January 28, 2023
He said: “Everyone in The Second Hand Orchestra has their own voice. They listen to each other but are also doing their own thing throughout.
“It doesn’t sound like Captain Beefheart- but there are times when it does remind me of Captain Beefheart. I don’t mean Trout Mask Replica though.
“When everyone is firing there are noises coming out where I don’t really know where they are coming from. I don’t really understand who is playing what.
“It is just this great flowing vibe behind me. There is so much energy coming off them.
“I have been very lucky to go to Sweden and find myself in a studio with extraordinary musicians.”
For more information and tickets for James Yorkston and Nina Persson at The Lemon Tree on Wednesday February 1 go to aberdeenperformingarts.com
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