Five years since his Mercury Prize nomination Tom McRae releases his third album, All Maps Welcome. The son of two vicars, the disarmingly friendly and open McRae sits down to talk to uk-fusion about everything from his approach to music, what he thinks of the current scene, to the upcoming G8 talks and impending Geldof-sponsored march

Since the first album you’ve filled out a lot (not around the waistline), but compared to the stripped down nature of that record, you’ve gained a lot more instruments and more expansive sound.
I just don’t really want to repeat myself in a lot of ways, but I’m still trying in some ways to perfect the songwriting I started with the first record. I’m really interested in the form, I like songs, I like lyrics and I like not over-production but things that are interesting and layered. So the last three records have been me experimenting with that… I’m not sure what I’ll do next,  but the third record was really about bridging the gap between the first two.
In Just Like Blood there was a lot going on – strange noises, echoes and dissonances you couldn’t quite pin down, which worked fine in and of itself, but in All Maps Welcome you’ve tamed it in the sense of using the technology for your own ends rather than it having a life of its own… if that makes sense to you?
Yeah, I was using the studio for the first time as an instrument and I’d never really had a chance to do that. My favourite albums have always been ones where not just the songs grab you, but over time certain sounds suck you in and reveal themselves; things that take a couple of listens which is something I’ve always tried to do with my music. If I have one criticism of the second record (although I like it and I’m proud of it), is that it feels quite studio-bound and quite uptight in the way we went about it. I like a little bit more chaos, just see what happens when you get players in a room.
You’re on tour again at the moment, supporting Tori Amos – how has that experience changed over time for you?
It’s funny – we were just laughing about the fact that five years down the line, three albums later, I’m touring in a car with exactly the same people as I toured with last time, supporting another singer-songwriter around Europe. In many ways it feels like you’re not progressing, or at leat that you’re life is on a loop when you’re on tour. One of the things that keeps me sane is that I  like to do things a bit differently – sometimes there’s just me and a cello player, sometimes it’s with a full band, so I always feel that even though I’m going back to the same places around the world and playing to the same sorts crowds, it’s different for me every time. You have to find ways to stay fresh or it gets dull for everyone.
Your audience is getting bigger though – I remember the first time I saw you was when you came to my school, completely out of the blue. We all walked into the hall thinking ‘Who’s this idiot?’ and were ready to tear you apart. So it was quite a surprise walking out thinking ‘that was actually really good’ and buying the first album the next day.
Oh God that’s right, yeah – that was the first thing I did, the record company had no idea what to do with me, no promotional budget, nothing. Then I was approached by someone who wanted to take what he was calling ‘real music’ into schools, as opposed to Atomic Kitten and people who were miming to a backing tape. And literally I got given a bunch a bunch of train tickets and told to go off and play in schools. I thought it was crazy and was terrified, and then after two days of doing I thought it was actually really interesting and fun, and a great way of connecting with people. And it wasn’t just about business or self-promotion but just a way of playing music. I think it’s just one of those lucky things you do by mistake at the start and actually works for you.
And catching them when they’re young of course…
Completely, yeah – suck them in, and then slowly over time try and extract more money from them…
Especially when they’re going through teenage depression!
(laughs) Then you just hope they stay a little depressed as they get older, keep them as loyal fans and then hopefully we’ll all get happy in the next ten years, I can quit music and we can all go listen to our Kylie records.
The press seem to think you’re really just a manic depressive, slashing your wrists on every song – in fact I’m sure one reviewer of Just Like Blood decided ‘Mermaid Blues’ was about committing suicide by drowning, which I just didn’t see at all.
Mmm, me neither. I’m always amazed by how people can speak so authoritatively about my songs, when sometimes it’s taken me a while to figure it out. I mean, I have up and down days, I’m not manic and I’m not bipolar, I know people like that and I’m definitely not. I’m not using it as a stance or ploy to be dark and interesting as a lot of music is sold now as counter-culture. It’s just where I write from: a lot of things bug me and disturb me, and it’s easier for me to write songs, and the minute it becomes easier or appropriate for me to write happy songs I’ll do that. I mean, god, I don’t want to be seen as a guy who’s whiny and self-indulgent all the time because I think anyone who knows me knows that I’m not like that all the time! Some days, but not all the time.
You don’t want to end up going the Toploader route, being mindlessly happy until destruction.
Toploader, yeah – whatever happened to them? I think it’s boring to repeat yourself, even if you’re interested in one sort of expression only, even if it obsesses you it can still get dull. You need to break patterns of behaviour and see what you can do over time. I don’t want to endlessly mine this furrow of anger and low-level depression.
What about your views on the current music scene… your views on Jem for example…
I feel I’ve been a little over-harsh in singling her out, because there’s plenty of people around who’re just as bad as her. In many ways she’s wallpaper music – I’m sure she’s very nice and I’m sure everyone thinks musicians shouldn’t bad-mouth each other. I don’t doubt her integrity, but if I’m honest I just think, God, really, does the world need more of that inane fucking gibberish?
Do you write songs most of the time or do you just have concentrated periods of creativity?
It works in lots of different ways. I can write songs over time and find after six to eight months I’ve got a bunch of songs, or just reject all that and sit down and try and let the songs come. I think you just have to try and stay busy, because as soon as you put two weeks aside specifically for that, you do nothing except walk round the house watching daytime TV. You almost need to trick yourself into doing it. It’s great because if you did any other form of work or art, you could spend six hours doing something and achieve nothing and think you’ve wasted all that time, but if I spend six hours playing guitar, hey, I’m practising!
Having read your amusing though fear-inducing advice to people doing interviews, let’s talk about something a little off-topic… what about the G8 thing coming up, which is playing on my mind because I work in Waterstone’s on Princes Street (Edinburgh)!
Oh really? Wow – board it up; stock up on canned goods and water! Yeah, I think I have to take the naïve optimistic viewpoint here, much as on some levels I find Bob Geldof annoying, he’s actually doing something that’s interesting and responsible and getting people to engage in a political process when our democracy has been so spectacularly turned off by politics. I think you could send 10 million people to throw rotten fruit at the politicians at G8 and it’ll achieve nothing, but nothing will change, I don’t think anything spectacular will come of it. I’m sure Blair has already pre-negotiated some arrangements for cosmetic changes as quid pro quo for the Iraq war involvement he can dress us as a legacy. I think my cynicism is reserved for Blair more than anyone else in the process. But, you know, it’s a good cause: for Christ’s sake, with this much of a wealthy planet and we let this hemisphere starve in that way is stoppable and it’s ridiculous… even if it take Geldof mouthing off and people marching on the street to no end really, but if it raises it and gets it on the front page, it’s got to be worth something.
Maybe money could have been raised, like you say, rather than just publicity…
I completely agree – if you’re going to use the culture we have at the moment against itself, a massive branding exercise could have been done where vast amounts of cash could have been made. I’m not a huge fan or advocate of rampant capitalism, but the best way to fight the devil is to hold up a mirror – use the cash against the machine.
We’ve got quite deep again there – let’s go more trivial for a moment… Whisky – you like whisky, I believe.
I’m a big fan of single malt whiskies, not because I have pretentious tastes but over time I find I prefer them and they give me less of a hangover. I tend to switch between Islay malts and Scottish malts and Irish…
That’s actually pronounced ‘Isla’…
Ah, thanks – you’ve saved me from making a complete fool of myself!
Worse is trying to order Laphroiag – it’s best to cough in the middle of the word.
Yeah – I know that one, but then I usually send someone else up anyway.
I’d recommend Bowmore – it’s got more levels than the punch-in-the-face of Laphroiag, and more depth than Glenmorangie.
This is good, I’m impressed; another thing to add to my Christmas wish-list. Anything to make the time between sound check and gig go quicker!
I was surprised to notice a credit for Jamie Cullum on your new record.
Ah, it’s not the Jamie Cullum I’m afraid, but a guy I’ve worked with on all my albums in fact. I don’t think I’d let the other one anywhere near my music! Much as I think he’s an exciting, entertaining little gnome of a chap.. you could have him round because he makes you feel taller and slightly more sane, you know. But that red coat, Butlin thing is always a good backup career – it’ll probably be there after we’re all gone!
Speaking of popular culture, I’ve noticed some of yours songs crop up on TV, even in Buffy, so at least some awareness is there even though it didn’t credit the song.
But you know what, the Buffy fans go on the websites and let everyone else know and I get fans coming up to me after gigs saying that’s where they first heard my stuff. That’s one of the great things about living LA for a year, ‘cause I get more exposure on radio there, so if someone finds you via a show like Buffy or Six Feet Under, then it’s all good. It doesn’t send your record crashing to the top of the charts – I’m just hoping for The OC one day!
Over some dramatic scene…
Precisely – preferably over some love-making scene or something!
You’ll remember it for two reasons, then! Any way, that’s us pretty much out of time, so thanks a lot for your time, it’s been fun.
Fantastic, yeah, thanks – I’ll get back to pretending I’m going to write a song later. It’s very rare you get to connect with people on any level these days, when your life is just on a loop on tour. And most interviews are incredibly dull and repetitive, which is why I put that advice to Journalists page on my site because I’m bored of it! This has been fun and interesting for me, so don’t worry – it’s all good!
Thanks Tom. Good luck with the tour and hopefully we can catch up with you sometime.
Yeah, I’ll hold you to that – next time I’m in town we can share a glass or something.

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