The annual Fence Collective gathering Homegame was visited by a very special old friend on Saturday (April 18th) as KT Tunstall dropped by to preview her new album.
Headed up by King Creosote, the Fence Collective are a group of (mainly acoustic based) songwriters whose work has stretched far beyond their DIY means. Alumni include James Yorkston and Pictish Trail, while close friends and associates include the likes of Adem, Adrian Crowley and Malcolm Middleton.
News of Tunstall’s arrival broke on the Friday (April 17th) with her appearance being kept strictly under wraps until the last possible minute. A permanent fixture at the event, Tunstall played two secret sets and appeared onstage with King Creosote at the event’s finale.
KT Tunstall played in Waid Academy hall, performing the majority of the set solo. In typically energetic form, the singer played a set consisting exclusively of new material. Opening with ‘Poison In Your Cup’ – which she dedicated to George W Bush – the new songs are fresh, folky and a worthy follow up to 2007’s ‘Drastic Fantastic’.
Another song was ‘Skinny Lou’ which seemed to address the pressures placed on women to stay thin. Joking with the audience, Tunstall revealed that the last time she played Waid Academy was to a group of second year students, which was apparently “much scarier” than her Homegame performance.
At one point the singer was joined by Pictish Trail and King Creosote, who sang backing vocals on a few songs. It is not known if the pair will work on her new album, although KT Tunstall has appeared on Creosote material in the past.
KT Tunstall paid a joking tribute to King Creosote before he came on stage, announcing he was the “first musician to teach me that washing is not essential”.
KT Tunstall’s third studio album is due to be released later this year.
