Edinburgh-based producer John Bryden’s Scotsman Session is New Hair New Me, the first single from his recent debut album as Eyes of Others. “I chose it because I could play it on acoustic guitar, which made sense for a home session feeling,” he says. “It was written during lockdown, while I was in the house stewing in my head.”

It's not a gloomy song, though. “It’s about not being so hard on yourself,” says Bryden. “I wanted some sunshine, to go outside and get away from myself. I hoped the song would feel welcoming, like putting an arm around people, which I probably missed a lot. Song meanings are never a conscious thing at the time, but then you look back and reflect.”

Bryden was born in Dundee and grew up on the family farm, midway between Dundee and Perth. “This is my debut album," he jokes, “and it's only taken me 38 years to make.” Age should never be a barrier to creative awakening, but it’s unusual we’ve heard so little from such a capable musician until now. His bands, including The Machine Room, are little-remembered.

“I’ve worked in archives and on the family farm,” he says. “Although it's never been my job, I treat the craft of producing and recording songs as an unpaid job alongside my paid job. I always knew I wanted to do something with music, although I’ve never planned a career path. It never felt like an option, put it that way.

“In the last five or six years I’d almost given up on the idea of a record contract or finding a platform for my music. That's when things started working out for me, when I just made music for myself, because I didn’t believe other people were interested anyway.”

Then things happened fast. Bryden bumped into Edinburgh musician Davie Miller on Elm Row, who asked if he was making music. Bryden sent him some, Miller – who’s now his manager – sent it to Heavenly Recordings, and very soon he had a record deal. Before long, he was neck-deep in water in an ice hole on a frozen Norwegian lake, while director Niall Trask shot a music video. “That's something I'll never forget,” says Bryden. “There was an element of danger.”

After he’d picked the alias, a friend drew his attention to the Virginia Woolf quote: “The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages.”

“I thought, right, okay, I'm definitely keeping this now!" he says. “Those words were written a hundred years ago, and to this day they ring true, especially in the context of technology.

“If you focus on the integrity of the music, on trying to push yourself creatively within that, all the other stuff should come,” he continues. “Keep it simple and start with what you can control, which is the music. Out of that, I’m starting to get all these really amazing experiences, playing shows in new cities and meeting people. The way it’s happening is nice, it's evolving, percolating slowly. It feels meaningful to me, and I like that.”

Eyes of Others plays the Festival Opening Party at Summerhall, Edinburgh on 4 August, alongside Optimo (Espacio). The self-titled album Eyes of Others is out now on Heavenly Recordings, see www.eyesofothers.bandcamp.com

The Scotsman Sessions #368: Eyes of Others