The Humors

Collectively, we love stories. More and more, I feel that stories have become deeply embedded in our songs.

The best stories come from a deep, deep place; they are a remedy for our soul. We love a good story in the same way that we love spending time with people who interest and stimulate us. We look for the captivating and the enchanting; for anything that offers an escape from the mundane. Through our songs, we hope to tell stories. We both love a good story and, over time, we've found that the storytelling nature of our songs has become a huge element in our music. Our songs are stories; our stories are songs. We've found that this makes gigs really atmospheric for us and that, if people are listening to the words, they are able to really engage with the experience. Also, as a singer, it is really interesting to continually revisit the songs, to explore the characters, imagine what they are feeling and attempt to convey that. I feel so utterly connected to the songs and the stories. It is definitely a more challenging form of music and lyricism but an altogether more enriching one. I have found that I can really engage with the Piers and the chorus in particular is a cry of sorrow:

'All the years by the Piers,

All the years without fear.

Oh, my dear one,

How must I carry on.'

I have so many memories of this song and they stand to be the most vivid of my time as a musician. In particular, I remember performing it at the Danny Kyle stage at Celtic Connections to an eerily silent audience. I think that it is definitely my favourite song to perform, particularly because of the strong story element to it. Our songs definitely have a dark, mysterious nature about them, which I am really enjoying.

Speaking of stories, I'm currently reading Steinbeck's East of Eden. It is a very large book with very small words; perhaps the most threatening of books to an infrequent reader. I am so enamoured with Steinbeck's way with words and his incredible characters. Nearing the end of the book, I really feel that Steinbeck is the KING of storytellers. - I am so lost in the story. Steinbeck definitely inspires me to keep on sharing our stories.

I just thought I'd share just how much I've enjoyed how big a part of our music the stories have become, and also how exciting the prospect of developing the story and character element is. Although I, personally, write a small portion of the songs, it definitely inspires me to write more in this way. It's a very freeing, limitless prospect; a means of escapism. - My imagination can run wild where my personal experience has its boundaries.

I wrote the first half of this blog post in Edinburgh and the second in Madeira, so it's only fair that I say hello from Madeira and send a warm 'wish you were here!'

Here's a few pictures from gigs as of late:

The above is from an event we played hosted by Yelp Glasgow at Anta. - Photo credit to Alasdair Watson. Thanks to Briony for having us! The photo below is from Record Store Day at Europa Music in Stirling. - Photo credit to Gregor Boyd. Thanks to Ewen for having us once again!