Celtic Connections is set to see the launch of one of Scotland's most anticipated new bands when The Burns Unit takes centre stage.
An eight-piece line-up including many solo stars, some of the country's most exciting musicians are involved, including indie songstress Emma Pollock (ex-The Delgados), feted folk singer Karine Polwart, elegant multi-instrumentalist Kim Edgar and alt-folk figurehead King Creosote.
They initially met for the Burnsong initiative in 2006, which saw them stay in a rural retreat for a week to collaborate on new songs, some of which they then performed for a series of critically acclaimed shows.
However, they have now decided to become a fully fledged band, performing their first official show at Celtic Connections on January 16, at Glasgow's ABC, with the promise of a debut album to be recorded afterwards.
"I suppose this is us coming out of the whole thing and saying: 'Do you know what? We'd actually still like to work together,'" said Emma. "I must admit, at this point it's a leap of faith for everyone involved."
It has been an interesting experience for all the artists involved, with most usually concentrating on their own solo careers.
“Everybody comes to writing songs in a different way, so learning to work with a different person each day for me really was an enriching experience," Kim said.
"It's cool having seven lead people," explained drummer/producer Mattie Foulds, who joined the band for the initial Burnsong tour. "I know that sounds like it might be a nightmare, but what it does is it spreads the stress out.
“The stress is peanut butter, and it gets totally spread thin, so everyone is much more relaxed than I think they are in their own careers,” he joked.
"It's a really supportive bunch as well, so you don't have one person who's either really stressed out all the time until they get on stage, or they don't care at all! It's a comfortable level of being, really, and it's very creative."
The Burns Unit have a solitary day off after their first show before they head off to rural Midlothian to begin recording on their debut album. After that they plan to devote a certain amount of time each year to the band, but for now it’ll just be interesting to see if eight heads are better than one.
- The track accompanying the video interview is a live, rough mix of the band's track Future Pilot AKC
