On the radar: The Colourful Band

Published on Wednesday 30 September 2009 15:37

Play: Easter Road »

Albums centred on a particular city can be tricky - they tend to exclude those unfamiliar with the locale in question.

But spread the scope of your songwriting across a few well known places and throw in some themes which will resonate with anyone and you have the potential for broader success.

Step forward Ian McKelvie, a West coaster who moved East, spent a thoroughly miserable time in Fife and then settled happily in Edinburgh. He is the singer and songwriter behind The Colourful Band. And it is the historic capital city of our proud wee nation where the majority of the songs on The Colourful EP are based.

Although the band formed just a year ago, all three members have been friends for over a decade. The aim, according to McKelvie, is "really about trying to make a record with a little help from my friends".

Sourced from the Under the Radar blog

The EP, released earlier this year, features upbeat tales about life on 'Easter Road', late night festival shenanigans and reflections from abroad, including 'Leavin' New York', which evokes the familiar feeling of being a stranger in a big city. Much of the writing comes from McKelvie's ability to use travel and times of solitude as a departure point for inspiration and creativity.

"After graduating, I led a fairly solitary life for the best part of a year in a one horse town in Fife, living on my own and doing a job I wasn't enjoying," McKelvie recalls. "So the loneliness and isolation were kept out with the cold by playing and singing."

After a chance encounter at an open mic night in Edinburgh's Whistlebinkies, McKelvie was invited to play a venue in New York by an audience member who happened to own a bar in the Big Apple. "I never played his bar but I did play the open mic night at CBGB's," he says. "Standing on the corner of 113th and Broadway gave me the inspiration for the song 'Leavin' New York'. When I got back to Edinburgh I wrote the words down as soon as I got home."

The sound of The Colourful Band is heavily influenced by folk music and a sense of place. "Folk songs tend to be written about people or places," McKelvie notes. "So that's why I often use my surroundings to inspire me, and sometimes it is cities, sometimes just situations. At the time of writing most of the songs for what would become The Colourful EP I was listening to a lot of folk music, and living in Edinburgh."

With soothing, folky finger-picking, upbeat riffs and McKelvie's voice as soft and comforting as velvet underwear, The Colourful Band have charm in abundance. For those of us stuck at home in these financially dark times, McKelvie's music can do our travelling for us, whilst providing a timely reminder of why home is so special after all.

Like what you hear? Watch The Colourful Band live at The Leith Tape Club, Iso Bar, Leith this Thursday (1 Oct), with Men Diamler, Animal Magic Tricks and Little Pebble.