Edwyn Collins’ lifetime at the heart of independent music: “Keep that crudeness, and keep that live spontaneity”
Very few people could truthfully refer to themselves as a pioneer, at least not without sounding incredibly big-headed. Yet, in all honesty, there aren’t many other ways to accurately describe Edwyn Collins. Back in the 1980s, the Scottish songwriter and vocalist paved the way for the indie revolution, fronting Orange Juice and co-founding the label Postcard Records. In the present day, he remains just as dedicated to independence and individuality within his music, as is evidenced by his new record Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation.
Collins’ work has a timeless appeal; his music has always spoken for those determined to march to the beat of their own drum and reject the allure of the mainstream. Since my awkward teenage years, I have been dissecting every word of songs like ‘Rip It Up’, treating them as a kind of mantra or holy text for the indie revolution.
So, when I got the chance to speak to the man himself about his storming new album, along with his masterful body of work, it was both reassuring and heart-warming to see that the songwriter has never lost his passion for individuality and denouncing the commercialism of the mainstream.
Appearing via a video call from London, on a brief jaunt away from his usual headquarters in Helmsdale, in the Highlands of Scotland, Collins appeared with his wife and longtime manager, Grace Maxwell. Almost immediately, we launched into the songwriter’s new album—a record resplendent with ideas. The opening song draws upon everything from gospel to Collins’ guttural guitar roots.
“Garage, soul, indie, possibly. But the first [Orange Juice] album, You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever, was strictly indie,” he told me.
A lot has changed since Collins released that first Orange Juice album in 1982. 20 years ago, for instance, the songwriter suffered two major cerebral haemorrhages, which left him unable to write, communicate, or walk. Maxwell recalled how the songwriter was forced to re-learn “everything: memory, speech, reading and writing.” The experience still seems fresh in Collins’s mind, who remembered, “I was so, so frightened. ‘What’s going on?’ I’d say, ‘Where am I?’”
Nevertheless, the stroke did not put a stop to Collins’ musical expression. “Since my stroke and six months in hospital, I have made five albums,” he smiled, with Maxwell adding, “20 years have gone by since Edwyn’s illness, just last week. So that’s mind-boggling as well, and here we are hurtling towards old age.” Collins feigned shock at this revelation, questioning whether the pair could instead be considered “middle-aged”. “No, listen, you’re 65 and I’m 66. It’s on the public record,” was the reply.
Despite the heavy topic of conversation, Collins remained in typically high spirits, joking that after “six months in hospital, my pupils don’t react: I am dead.” Which prompted an “Oh, stop that, you” from Maxwell. The pair clearly have a fantastic relationship, transcending both their personal and professional lives. Throughout the interview, Maxwell was always on hand to share anecdotes of their time together.
Reportedly, Maxwell first started working with Collins back in 1984, towards the tail end of Orange Juice’s reign over the indie scene. According to the manager, one of the first things that became clear about Edwyn Collins was his individualism and detest of the mainstream music industry. “Polydor – the majors – back in the Orange Juice days,” Collins recalled with disgust. “I can’t stand it. I suppose, Ben, I was sarky.”
Maxwell recalled an incident that certainly ratified that. “A guy talked to Edwin about ‘the bottom line’. It was the first week I was working for him,“ she explained. “This guy in the record company [Polydor] was telling Edwyn about what the bottom line was for Orange Juice, and Edwyn reached across his desk and went, ‘Don’t fucking bottom line me, mate.’”
Collins chimed in, with a chuckle, “Polydor, bye-bye.”
“I like independence,” he continued, although his extensive discography could have made that claim for him. Even during his dealings with Polydor back in the 1980s, Orange Juice retained all their own material and copyrights; it was little more than a distribution deal with the record label. Since then, the songwriter has been exclusively independent. “You couldn’t get a record deal for a long time, so that made it easy,” Maxwell said, to which Collins retorted, “Apart from ‘A Girl Like You’, everybody wanted a piece of that,” namedropping his smash-hit 1994 single.
Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation is being released by Collins’ very own micro-label, AED Records, which has been putting out his material since 2011. Since 2015, both Collins and the label have been based in Helmsdale, somewhere that the songwriter feels an enormous personal connection to. “My grandfather was born in Helmsdale, but he was a Director of Education for Glasgow, so big cheese,” he smiled. “I love the place.”
“Edwyn is a total nature boy. So, he brought me first to Helmsdale in 1985, and I did fall under its spell,” Maxwell added. Enchanted by the clean, green air, the pair moved to the Highlands from London and embarked on constructing their own studio, with Maxwell sharing, “The only way I would have got Edwin there permanently was to build a studio. So, he’s got it all. An enormous spoiled brat,” she laughed. “What? Not me,” Collins said with a smile before admitting that he does “have it all, thanks to Grace.”
That home-built studio boasts an extensive range of vintage equipment, falling in-line with Collins’ own production style, which is on top form on Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation. Sean Read and Jake Hutton also took on production duties on the new album, but Collins shared that he often knows what a song will sound like before he has even written it, his production skills going hand-in-hand with his songwriting.
“I use a mini Sony tape recorder, where I keep my songs,” he said, reaffirming his love of analogue equipment. This production method often makes it into the final songs, with Collins revealing that – if you listen hard enough – you will hear him singing the tune of ‘A Girl Like You’ underneath the iconic piano riff. “You’ve always been singing for your own-” “Amusement,” Collins interrupted Maxwell, summarising his approach to music-making.
According to the songwriter, that approach is still rooted in the ethos of punk that had first inspired him back in the 1970s. He recalled with glee seeing The Slits and Subway Sect at The Playhouse in Edinburgh during his teenage years. “They were my favourites because they couldn’t play their instruments,” he shared, adding that he has always aimed to “keep that crudeness and keep that live spontaneity.” Continuing, “For example, ‘A Girl Like You’: 48 hours later, it’s done, recorded and mixed. I like the crudeness and the spontaneity.”
Aside from the pioneering groups of the punk age, Collins’ love of crudeness also owes a lot to the likes of The Velvet Underground. “I remember [the radio DJ] Johnnie Walker played ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ and I said, ‘What’s that incredible singer?’” Collins remembered.
“I investigated it when I was 14 or 15, and I bought Transformer and The Velvet Underground.” Reed seemed to influence Collins’ distinctive singing style, but The Velvet Underground’s drummer was also a major influence on his work. “Moreen Tucker, she’s crude,” he said. “I love the crudeness of it.”
Collins’ distinctive velvety tones have always distinguished him from the rest of the indie and post-punk scene. That distinctive tone is apparently due to the inspiration he drew from figures like Reed and David Bowie, along with his self-taught nature.
His vocal performance on the new album is masterful, but the singer does not look back upon his early performances with much nostalgia. ”’You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever’, ‘Rip It Up’, and ‘Texas Fever’, I can’t stand my voice,” he shared. “Eventually, on the last Orange Juice, I’m rich and powerful and singing well,” and, seemingly, that quality has remained ever since.
Over 40 years on from the first Orange Juice album, Edwyn Collins remains at the forefront of the Scottish independent music scene, a staunch spokesperson for all artists attempting to achieve greatness on their own merit, rather than bending to the desires of record executives. Particularly in the business-dominated landscape of modern music, budding young artists could stand to learn a lot from his endlessly innovative approach to the art form.
