Scots Way-Hay #68 - Sojourner

I can be a bit of a broken record at times, I like to think of it less as me just repeating myself and more as me reiterating my opinion. For me the best way to discover new music is by listening to the recommendations of bands and what they've been listening to, seeing as they're the ones making music it makes sense that they'd know what they're talking about. So a few weeks back when I sat in on Pensioner's appearance on the Glasgow Podcart, they played a song by an Edinburgh outfit by the name of Sojourner. At the time I remember thinking 'what the fuck is this?' and 'how the hell have I never heard of this band before?!'. So when I got home that night I made it my mission to make sure that I checked out their Bandcamp to hear more. Their songs don't immediately jump out at you, but given a few listens they'll slowly weasel their way into your brain. Personally I can hear bits of Will Oldham, Steve Mason and Bon Iver in there, which makes for quite a melting pot. Anyway, that's enough of my ramblings for one week, here's Grant from the band for some more sensible words of wisdom...


Would you care to introduce yourself to the Peenko readers?

Hello, my name is Grant and I started writing and recording songs under the name Sojourner in January. In June Sojourner began to practice as a band. We consist of Scott McCrimmon, Kirsty Lingard, Robb McAulay, Michael Lennie and I.


It’s that question that all bands seem to hate answering, but how would you describe the music you make?

That’s true. How would you describe it?


How did the band come together then?

Well, I was asked if I wanted to play a gig and although and I was looking to make Sojourner a band it seemed like the perfect time to do so. Scott, Robb and I had been looking to play music for a while and Mike recommended Kirsty to me.


So where does the band name come from then?

A sojourner is the name given to someone who temporarily resides in the one place.


Is there a certain process that goes into the way you write songs?

I don’t write songs too often. A song usually happens after a fortnight of tinkering about for a few minutes every night, then one afternoon or evening I’ll sit down in my room and make a song that sounds nothing like my original intentions. Once it’s recorded we drink a lot of tea and play it in my room as a band with everybody’s own wee tweaks. It makes the live performance different from the recording.


What artists would you say have had the biggest influence on Sojourner?

I was very pleased with Peenko referencing Sojourner for listeners of Will Oldham.


What would you like someone who’s listening to your music for the first time to take away from your music?

My preference would be that they really enjoyed it. It’s been good to hear people have downloaded the music and carry it on them, moreover to hear they have been listening to it. It’s nice to have people interested.


Do you feel that where you come from has had much of an impact on the music that you create?

Perhaps, I originally come from Kingskettle in Fife where the Singing Kettle are from…


What has been your most memorable gig to date, (be it good or bad)?

Well, we have only played two gigs since Sojourner played as a group. It’s something we intend to do more often.


Aside from world domination, what are your plans for the rest of the year and beyond?

I am working on part three to hopefully be listenable by late October. After that we will be gig searching and just generally trying to get people to hear us. Hopefully being on Peenko will help!


Sojourner - The Devil Makes

If this sounds like it's your cup of tea , then you should check out Sojourner's Bandcamp where you can find a whole host of freebies that are well worth checking out.

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