They say a change as as good as a rest, and when the artist known as Immigrant lost his musical mojo, it took a three-year trip in the far east to bring it back. A decade of largely acoustic music-making followed, until another change took place with a shift towards more electronic-based sounds, which led to further questions…

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Who/who with? And when?

I’m Graeme McNab, and I’ve been recording under the name Immigrant since 2001.

It’s mostly just been me on my lonesome, although starting out I did collaborate with a few folk. My music first appeared on Fife’s Fence Records. David Love, who would later found Chaffinch Records, had got me into King Creosote and Lone Pigeon while I was recording my first album. My recordings felt a little bare so I was looking to put some meat on the bone, and loved KC’s accordion.

David passed on my mixes and before I knew it, Kenny was in Glasgow, laying down parts. That album came out on Fence Records in 2001. Two more albums and a Picket Fence followed between 2002 and 2004. Kenny made huge contributions to all the Fence releases, while Simon Shaw (Trembling Bells, Lucky Luke, Youth Of America) performed wonders on the bass.

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Since then I’ve been lucky enough to have work released through Chaffinch, Bristol’s Brian Records and Germany’s Oscarson. For the most part, though, my albums have been self-released, often appearing as hand-crafted special editions through Leeds’ online retailer Norman Records. They’ve been absolutely brilliant with me.

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Why? And where?

The ‘why’ is a fairly easy one. Simply put, there’s just never been a morning I woke up and wondered if I could be doing something else. Making music is always how I would choose to spend my day. It’s an all-consuming passion that gives my life great purpose and meaning. Even in the worst of times, with music, I can never truly become lost. And it’s a source of strength I know not to take for granted.

In 2005, the muse abruptly vanished, and gave no indication that it was ever coming back. I was left with no choice but to consider alternative paths, so I went travelling, tried other things… just looking for a new direction. All the while music became this increasingly distant memory, as I was shown a life without it. I learned a whole lot.

In early 2008, I found myself in Tokyo, heading back from the station, when suddenly I’m hearing a tune in my head. One I’d never heard before. It was a hugely significant moment because I instinctively knew more tunes would follow, and that they would never again dry up. Now I had to radically rethink future plans, bring the travel to an end, and find a place to get it all down.

Which brings us nicely to the ‘where’. A few weeks later, I was here, in Chiang Mai. Tunes pouring out of me. Sixteen years and as many albums later, I’m still here.

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What?

The ‘what’ is a hard one to nail down, having recently shifted over into completely new territory. ‘Gassed-out crooner becomes electro-curious’? I don’t know, it feels like all bets are off at this point. Until this album it had been mostly acoustic-driven, singer-songwriter fare. My love for electronic music went back a long way, but blocks around tech, and to my creative imagination, had always placed it out of reach as a genre I could work in.

The guitar/vocal approach held me in good stead for the longest time, but it had gotten stale. In stark contrast to the writing, recording had become an absolute bind. Every session felt like starting over. Gremlins, noise, backward steps, papering over the cracks… Giving everything on the guitar but achieving nothing.

The one element that brought real satisfaction was laying down keyboard parts. I found that I wanted to do that more and more, while resistance only grew to the rest of it. So I quietened down the negative self-talk around the electronic stuff and felt my way in with a portable midi. And wow, what a thrill it’s been. It’s opened up a whole new world of expression.

One of the things I love the most is the certainty of progress. Every action carries over, no day is ever wasted. When I wrapped up on ‘Catch A Hail Mary’, everything I’d learned over that four-year period came with me into the next project. I’m finding that as the knowledge and experience accumulates, the curiosity and enjoyment levels only go up.

So, yeah, long-winded answer, but I’ll definitely be scratching this itch for a while yet. It’s where the joy is right now. Thinking ahead beyond this project, I feel like it could go in any number of directions. I’m happy just to let it unfold as it needs to.

‘Catch A Hail Mary’ is available now via Bandcamp, from Norman Records, or at immigrant-music.com.

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