My Nth Bit of Strange in Umpteen Years
Encyclopedia
My Nth Bit of Strange in Umpteen Years is a performance-only album by Scottish singer-songwriter King Creosote
, debuted in October 2009, at Fence Records
' Hallowe'en Homegame Festival. Described as a "celebration of community, intimacy, exclusivity, rarity and physical artefact", the album is not available in physical form, and was performed seven times, throughout March 2010, on the condition that audience members record the album on whatever recording device they own. The List stated that, "King Creosote won’t release these songs commercially. Audience members, however, have his blessing to share their personal copies."
The album features "Bats in the Attic", which would subsequently appear on Creosote's Mercury Prize
-nominated collaboration with Jon Hopkins
, Diamond Mine
.
Creosote elaborated further, "Since the release of Flick the Vs
in April, I’ve written ten new songs for an album that, for various reasons, I’d rather not record and release in the usual way. Instead I’ve come up with this idea of a live album. [...] Seven performances for forty people at a time over the course of three days."
King Creosote
Kenny Anderson, known primarily by his stage name King Creosote, is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest, Thrawn, released in 2011. Anderson is also a member of Scottish-Canadian band, The Burns Unit...
, debuted in October 2009, at Fence Records
Fence Records
Fence Records is a record label based in Fife, Scotland which is owned and run by musicians King Creosote and The Pictish Trail...
' Hallowe'en Homegame Festival. Described as a "celebration of community, intimacy, exclusivity, rarity and physical artefact", the album is not available in physical form, and was performed seven times, throughout March 2010, on the condition that audience members record the album on whatever recording device they own. The List stated that, "King Creosote won’t release these songs commercially. Audience members, however, have his blessing to share their personal copies."
The album features "Bats in the Attic", which would subsequently appear on Creosote's Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
-nominated collaboration with Jon Hopkins
Jon Hopkins
Jon Hopkins is a London-based producer and musician who writes and performs his own melodic electronica and dance music. After starting his career performing keyboard for Imogen Heap, he's produced or contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Coldplay, David Holmes, and others...
, Diamond Mine
Diamond Mine (King Creosote and Jon Hopkins album)
Diamond Mine is a collaborative studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter King Creosote and English electronica musician Jon Hopkins, released on March 28, 2011 on Domino Records. Inspired by the East Neuk of Fife, the album combines Creosote's songs with field recordings by Hopkins...
.
Background
Before its debut, Creosote stated, "Since 2005, I’ve watched my profile go up, my record sales go down, and my live audiences go down – despite there being more copies of my records on computers. I realised I had to make a stand, and I came up with an album that people won’t have to buy, but will have to hear live to fully appreciate. I’d love for the songs to become popular, and for me to take the show further afield, but because the album will change from one rendition to the next, I’m also hoping to attract the collectors. Plus it’ll test whether copying music for free really does make for larger audiences."Creosote elaborated further, "Since the release of Flick the Vs
Flick the Vs
Flick the Vs is a studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter King Creosote, released on April 20, 2009 on Domino Records and Fence Records.A limited edition version of the album includes a five-track bonus disc....
in April, I’ve written ten new songs for an album that, for various reasons, I’d rather not record and release in the usual way. Instead I’ve come up with this idea of a live album. [...] Seven performances for forty people at a time over the course of three days."
Writing and composition
Regarding the album's composition, and its unconventional mode of distribution, Creosote noted, "These new songs are more personal, and there’s lyrical freedom in knowing they’re not going to be pored over [as with a commercial release]. The unexpected thing when we first performed My Nth was the heightened concentration in the room. It was very powerful, a very charged atmosphere. No one talked or clapped. A few did cry. I nearly had a greet myself."Performance
Regarding it's live nature, Creosote noted, "It's teasing people along to my live shows because if you miss one version of it, you have missed it entirely. I would like to think small labels can survive by being more creative. We have tried to do various stunts that build in value to our albums and gigs.”Track listing
- "There's No Escape"
- "Collector of Mundane"
- "Trigger Happy, I Am"
- "Bats in the Attic"
- "Details"
- "Swallow Dive"
- "J"
- "Tits Up"
- "This Simple"
- "The B All and End All of That" *