Perfectly representing the organic mix of traditional and electronic instrumentation with quality songwriting and unself-conscious experimentation that characterises the output of the Fence Collective is Secret Soundz Vol.1, the first long-player from The Pictish Trail aka Johnny Lynch.

Born and raised in Auld Reekie before moving to the US as a teenager (where he became a big fan of the likes of Beck and Pavement), Johnny Lynch was drawn back to study at St. Andrews University by a love of the Beta Band and Belle & Sebastian, and it wasn't long before he made a fateful encounter with Fence founder Kenny Anderson aka King Creosote. "Kenny used to play pub shows in St. Andrews and they'd be three hours long with different songs every time. I got the Beta Band connection when I saw him and his brothers singing She's The One, which Gordon (aka The Lone Pigeon and lead songwriter of The Aliens) had written. It was just amazing seeing that and being a fan of that band." And the rest is history.

Despite having released material for years, Secret Soundz is the first "proper" album Johnny's released, but he's philosophical about his chances of breaking through into the mainstream. "Maybe people will buy the record and become new fans of Fence or maybe they'll just be sworn off buying anything by anyone Scottish ever again!" chuckles Johnny. "I know people were burnt really badly with Deacon Blue - they ruined it for us!" And although there are three excellent tracks that were recorded with The Earlies - who also played on Kenny's first major label album KC Rules OK - the album is extremely varied, and far removed from any predictable attempt to replicate his pal's winning formula. "I wanted it to be a kind of hodge-podge thing because a lot of the songs have been done at different recording sessions - I mean I respect bands who go and do a ten day stint somewhere and record a thing all at the same time - like Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska - but I wanted things a bit fucked up and a bit weird."

Far from the cabin fevered sparsities of The Boss, Secret Soundz is influenced by bands like Hot Chip - who Johnny admits to being a massive fan of - though he says that by comparison "the equipment I'm using is absolute shit!" There are also similarities to fellow Fence artists Barbarossa and Found, not surprisingly as Johnny, who runs Fence on a daily basis, was the man who signed both acts and still speaks excitedly about the pair.

"The Barbarossa record I got through Adem - we put out an acoustic EP, and then James had also recorded stuff with Simon Lord from [now defunct electro rock band] Simian, which was the sort of music I get really excited about - it's the same thing with Found because they've nailed proper songs with something that's a wee bit experimental but not for its own sake - it's not too arty, it's pop music. Man, you should hear the new Barbarossa stuff, he sounds like Justin Timberlake! He's done a few tracks with Diplo who did the MIA record."

So given his taste for genre-hopping artists, can we expect Secret Soundz Vol. 2 to be Pictish Trail's answer to Beck's infamous Midnite Vultures? "I'm not sure," Johnny ponders. "I might not even call the next record Vol.2. But I do love that album - powerhouse funk is an overlooked genre!"

Published in The Skinny Magazine, September 2008