James Yorkston

Music career

A native of Fife, James Yorkston was an integral early member of the Fence Collective whose reach across contemporary music continues to lengthen: King Creosote, The Aliens, KT Tunstall, The Beta Band and The Pictish Trail. Yorkston is primarily a singer-songwriter, although he also tackles a variety of traditional songs, learned from singers such as Anne Briggs, Dick Gaughan, Nic Jones, Martin Carthy, Lal Waterson, John Strachan and Adrian Crowley. His quoted main influences are Anne Briggs, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Michael Hurley, Can and the Malagasy D'Gary.

Yorkston started out as bassist for punk band Miraclehead, which morphed into the band Huckleberry, who recorded a number of independently released records. Yorkston's solo career began when John Peel played a demo of his "Moving Up Country, Roaring the Gospel", proclaiming it had the "song title of the year, no doubt". This led to Bad Jazz Records scrambling for Yorkston's details and releasing that track as Yorkston's debut 7" under the name "J. Wright Presents".

At this time Yorkston had started to play solo gigs in Edinburgh – his debut supporting Bert Jansch in the Café Royal. Seeking more shows, Yorkston sent a copy of the single to John Martyn, asking Martyn for a support slot on his forthcoming Edinburgh date, and John Martyn responded by offering Yorkston all 27 dates on his UK and Ireland tour. While on this tour, Yorkston was seen by Laurence Bell of Domino Records, who was so impressed he had a recording contract sent to Yorkston's lawyer the following week. Subsequently he signed to Domino Records, recording music with a number of friends and associates credited as The Athletes on his records. Yorkston recorded and co-produced his debut album for Domino (Moving Up Country), alongside Simon Raymonde of the Cocteau Twins, which became Rough Trade Record Shops Album of the Year for 2002.

Yorkston also played at the inaugural Green Man Festival.

For Yorkston's second album, he asked Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) on board as producer, and they made Just Beyond the River. This album was extremely well received all round. Pete Paphides of The Times wrote, "Yorkston has reached a state of grace that writers can spend for ever trying to attain: songs that sound not so much written as carefully retrieved from your own subconscious, played with an intuition bordering on telepathy. What more could you ask for?" Yorkston's fan base continued to grow and he was offered tours with Beth Orton, David Gray, Tindersticks, Turin Brakes, Lambchop and Kathryn Williams, as well as a slot on the prestigious Accelerator tour of Sweden.

The follow-up, The Year of the Leopard, was produced by Rustin Man, who had recently worked with Beth Gibbons (lead singer with the band Portishead) on their Out of Season record. While promoting this, Yorkston was given the chance to play with Bert Jansch once more, this time in Paris. Yorkston also invited Martin Carthy to play and share a stage with him at London's Union Chapel on 24 May 2007. In 2007, Domino Records released Roaring the Gospel, a collection of unreleased songs, which led NME to say "Yorkston has talent as deep as a mine shaft".

Yorkston was invited to work as Musical Director with Oliver Knight and the Waterson–Carthy clan for the BBC Electric Proms tribute to Lal Waterson. This was broadcast by the Mike Harding Show as well as by BBC Three. Alongside Waterson–Carthy, the acts involved included Alasdair Roberts, Kathryn Williams and Lisa Knapp. Yorkston's involvement with the Fence Collective is also very much alive: he has toured extensively with King Creosote and contributes every year to the Fence Collective's legendary Homegames—mini-festivals featuring guest performances by artists such as The Concretes and Hot Chip. Yorkston also plays in the Fence Collective bands The 3 Craws, Pictish Trail and U.N.P.O.C..

His fifth album, When the Haar Rolls In, was released through Domino Records on 1 September 2008. Guests included Nancy Elizabeth Cunliffe, Norma Waterson and Mike Waterson. A special edition was released featuring an album of remixes and an album of James Yorkston covers by artists such as King Creosote, U.N.P.O.C. and Cathal Coughlan.

In August 2009, Yorkston released his sixth album on Domino Records, entitled Folk Songs. This is an album of traditional songs, arranged and performed by James Yorkston and The Big Eyes Family Players.

In March 2011 The Domino Press published Yorkston's debut book, "It's Lovely to be Here: The Touring Diaries of a Scottish Gent".

In 2011, Yorkston collaborated with The Fruit Tree Foundation, appearing on its debut album, First Edition.

In August 2012, Domino Records release Yorkston's seventh album, I Was a Cat from a Book which had very favourable reviewsI Was a Cat from a Book debuted on the Official Record Store Chart at number 6.

Double-bassist Doogie Paul (Douglas Paul), one of The Athletes, died on 3 November 2012 in Edinburgh, from cancer aged 40.

In August 2014, Domino Records released their 8th album with Yorkston - The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society, released in August 2014. The album featured special guests KT Tunstall and The Pictish Trail amongst others. In total, KT Tunstall appears on 13 of the 16 songs on TCRAWS - making a baker's dozen. The album was produced by Alexis Taylor of synth-pop band Hot Chip. TCRAWS was met well and received very good reviews

In 2015 Domino Records released 'The Demonstrations of the Craws', a vinyl only release, featuring a compilation of demos from 'The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society' and 'I was a Cat from a Book'. Yorkston also began running his folk club 'Tae Sup wi' a Fifer', in Kirkcaldy, Fife, which has thus far had such diverse guests as Martin Carthy, Alexis Taylor, Dick Gaughan, Richard Dawson, Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat, Karine Polwart, Lisa O'Neill, Steve Mason, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Malcolm Middleton.

In 2016 Yorkston released a trio album 'Everything Sacred' with Jon Thorne and Suhail Yusuf Khan. Jon Thorne is a double bass player in the Jazz stylee best known for his work with electro outfit Lamb. Suhail Yusuf Khan is an 8th generation Sarangi player from New Delhi, India.

In early 2016, Freight Books published James' second book, his debut novel '3 Craws'.

Albums

Singles

Books

Other contributions