Colin Clyne is a singer-songwriter on a mission… to capture the beauty of Aberdeen.
His medium is a video filmed in and around the Granite City to go with his upcoming single, a haunting ballad called Within Hindsight, set for release later this month.
Colin said: “The whole purpose of the video was to shoot Aberdeen and catch the beauty of it. A lot of the time it’s not really captured as I think it could be and we have certainly done that with what we have shot so far.”
The video was filmed around Aberdeen beach, the beach area at Torry Battery and takes in Marischal College, St Machar’s Cathedral kirkyard as well as Victoria Park.
Song of loss, regrets and hindsight
It features actor Alec Westwood, whose film and TV credits include Roughnecks and Schemers. He also appeared in the sci-fi short Children of Chronos – shot in Aberdeen – which received a prestigious indie accolade at a London film festival last weekend.
Aberdeen actress Shanna Logan also stars in the video.
Colin, an acclaimed blues and roots artist, will also appear but has yet to film his parts.
“I wanted to finish the track before I went along… it also gave me a bit of time to shed a few more of the lockdown pounds,” he joked.
Within Hindsight is described as a beautiful ballad that will have you crying and Colin describes it as an emotional song about loss, regrets and hindsight. It was also a tricky track to record, said the Stonehaven-born singer and songwriter, now based in Aberdeen.
“With these type of songs you can sometimes overthink them and they can become something of a challenge,” he said.
“You say ‘right I have to get myself into character here, I have to get into the emotional side of it’, and you record a bunch of vocal takes. Then you go all the way back to the first one and that’s the best one – the one where you weren’t thinking about it, you just delivered.
“A challenge in some respects, but it’s a beautiful track I would say.”
Looking forward to playing live again
Music fans will be able to judge for themselves when Within Hindsight is released on June 25, with the video being unleashed either that day or within a week of the single dropping.
There’s no need to wait that long to enjoy Colin’s music. He is taking part this weekend in the Midstock Festival, normally held in Dalkeith Country Park, but this year moving online due to coronavirus restrictions.
It’s a welcome return to performing for an audience for Colin, with his last single You Can’t Wish A Good Guy Away having been filmed at an undisclosed north-east location for the event.
“It’s good to get back into it. Although I’m not out playing in front of an audience it allows me to come back and play it live next year. Hopefully, there will be a slot for me,” he said.
His online contribution to Midstock will be available on Saturday June 5 from 2pm at vtx.tv/midstock-festival
And playing his own music is a joy that Colin has rediscovered. He spent 10 years in America to great acclaim, winning awards, and being lauded as a singer-songwriter alongside the likes of Tom Waits as he released two outstanding albums, Doricana and The Never Ending Pageant.
He came home to the north-east in 2013 to be closer to family and in 2016 took a break from music, but recently found his mojo again.
Colin Clyne focuses on being an artist
“I was still writing in the background, but not focussing so much on myself as an artist and I’ve definitely come back to that,” he said.
“I understand what my strengths and weaknesses are. Every time I was approaching people with songs, I was approaching publishers in Nashville and hit songwriters over there, they were saying this is good stuff, but it’s very niche and specific.
“And I came back to myself saying yes, it’s specific to me. I am an original artist, I don’t sound like someone else. I realised what I need to do in order to get my music out there is to do it myself. I am a niche thing, I am my own thing.”
Re-energised, Colin is now working towards getting an album out sometime this year, with a slew of songs already lined up and others being worked on. That’s along with plans for an acoustic EP and a children’s project he’s crafting.
But always in there is the drive to get out in front of an audience and deliver the music he makes with such passion and commitment. He just doesn’t know when that might be.
“Maybe something this year, certainly I’m back rehearsing again. We’ll just have to see if anyone out there is getting people back into places to play.”
To find out more you can visit Colin’s Facebook page.