Steph Macleod: From the mean streets of Edinburgh to critical acclaim

Wednesday 5th May 2010

Tom Lennie quizzed the much praised singer/songwriter STEPH MACLEOD



Continued from page 1

Steph Macleod: From the mean streets of Edinburgh to critical acclaim

Steph: Dave Biddulph is now one of the managers at the Bethany Christian centre. He's also a phenomenal bass player. He plays bass for the Exile band. He asked me if I would like to take part in one of their concerts as a guitarist. I thought, Why not? It was the first time I had been introduced to Christian music properly. I was still in the Bethany Centre and I guess Dave thought it would help me with my recovery. It really did. I made great friends, got involved with a great ministry and it allowed me to learn more about Christian music. It was also a huge player in my Christian walk. I was getting to play guitar for God! I got to worship God by playing the guitar! How cool was that! After a couple of years I had to leave Origin as I was doing far too much in my life. The thing with getting another chance at life is you tend to say yes to everything because you are so happy to be living again. I was doing so much it was making me ill. The exhaustion really hit my depression hard. I had to cut everything I did in half. Unfortunately this included playing for Origin. Origin did decide to record an album of original music. They asked me if I wanted to contribute. I was delighted and wrote three songs for them. I still have the very great privilege of working with Origin. They invite me to their shows to perform a couple of tracks; one from their album and one from mine. Origin is an amazing music ministry.

Tom: How did the 'Light In The Darkest Of Nights' come about?

Steph: During the recording of Origin's album 'UnBroken' I met Euan MacRae. He was the producer who recorded and mixed the album. We talked about doing my own album and had hoped to do it around spring 2010. I went to see Euan in September last year. He had some big news. He had been called away to the Isle of Man to be a pastor. He was in much more shock than I was. He told me about the many coincidences and circumstances that brought him to the absolute conclusion that God was calling him to the Ministry. It was hardcore! He said the biggest regret he'd have was that he wouldn't get to record my project. Not unless we did it before January 2010. So I said, "Let's do it!" It was nuts! I gave myself two weeks to write the songs (some had already been written or half-written). I also decided to use the three tracks I recorded on the Origin album. I managed to finish nine tracks in two weeks. It was unlike anything I had ever done. I had a strict routine. I got up early every day, had some good quality time with my Bible and in prayer, and the rest of the day I gave to the Lord in whatever I wrote or played. The music poured out of me in a way I'd never experienced. October was the time for rehearsing. Unfortunately there were always things getting in the way. All the guys from Origin's Exile band jumped on board for the project. It was bananas! Eventually we ended up having two or three rehearsals before going up to the studio on the Isle of Mull.

The studio belongs to a Christian Charity called An Airde. They have a cracking studio and offer Christian artists the chance to record a project with the help of funding. Now before I had applied to An Airde for funding my friend, a pastor down in Wellingborough, sent me a cheque in the post. It had a letter attached saying something along the lines of, "The Lord has asked me to bless you with the attached cheque. Don't know what it's for. Hope it helps." I stuck the cheque in the bank. I applied to An Airde for a grant and they gave me an extremely generous contribution towards the costs of the production. The remaining costs came to the amount that my friend had sent in his cheque. As I said before, I am a bit of a doubting Thomas, but I can assure you that An Airde and my mate have never met, knew nothing of the other, and my friend sent me the cheque before I'd even applied for a grant. This, to me, was mind blowing! This was the first of many times I was going to experience God's input into the project.

When we got to the studio we had eight days to record the majority of the album. The backing vocals, fiddle and whistle would be finished in Edinburgh. Time was of the essence. Dave Biddulph on bass and Luke Wilson on drums finished all their recording so fast they had a day's holiday with their wives on Mull. This gave Tim Martin (Hammond) and myself extra time. Tim isn't called ''One Take Tim'' for no reason. That left me loads of time to get the guitars and vocals down. There was loads to do! It was exactly the time needed to complete the project. When we returned home, a friend of Euan's, a Scottish fiddle player called Eilidh Steel, kindly said she would play on the album. My good friend Alasdair Bennett, who is also the manager of the Bethany Christian Centre, played the penny whistle on a couple of tracks. Unfortunately I ran into some real trouble with backing vocals. Both of the people I had asked couldn't do it so it looked like I was going to do it all myself. Fortunately, Euan's wife Karen is a brilliantly gifted singer and she put down a few harmonies and backing vocals. Euan sent them to me and they were perfect!

So I had an album, mixed and ready. There were still lots and lots of things to do. I had to get the album mastered. I went with Skye Mastering who did a fantastic job. There was also the design of the album cover and booklet, not to mention the duplication costs and the fee for online distribution. It just so happened that I met a guy called Bob Mallinson; a minister in training for the Church of Scotland. Bob is the kind of guy who is on fire for God and is always out to do something for the Kingdom. When I told him about the album he said he was going to ask around some churches about funding. He organised a fundraiser gig and the donations came flying in. I couldn't believe it! One lady came up to me and gave me a cheque that made me sit down! It covered all the mastering costs, album design and all the expenses I had for strings and guitar maintenance, etc. Not only that, two churches that Bob had asked came together and put enough money into the project to cover the album packaging and duplication. I can honestly say that my bank account has never been so busy. There was a catch. I had to play a concert at each of the two churches that gave me donations. Unbelievable! The two churches in Edinburgh, Penicuik South and Holy Trinity, Wester Hailes, even paid for advertising for the two gigs. It was incredible. So that's it. I got 1000 albums pressed.

Tom: You're music is a real eclectic mix, but a blues feel runs through a number of your songs. Tell me, who or what has inspired you, musically?

Steph: This is a tough one. I always thought that worship music (Matt Redman, Hillsong, Paul Baloche) was the only form of Christian music. This perspective changed when my friend from Wellingborough, the man I mentioned earlier, Simon Trundle, introduced me to music by a man called Eric Bibb. When he played me the song "I Want Jesus To Walk With Me" from Eric's album 'Spirit In The Blues' it changed the way I thought about Christian music entirely. Suddenly I felt I could write about God in my own style of music. In all honesty, I hadn't thought about writing music for God before then. The only thing I'd written was my song "Hallelujah" which I had originally written for my friend's wedding. The second song Simon played for me was Jeff Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". After this I asked Simon if I could play him my version. It was the start of a great friendship. Other big influences come from my classical music background. I love Beethoven, Mahler, Rachmaninov, Chopin. Anything really dramatic. I also played a lot of jazz at school and with the school district jazz orchestra. When I went to study music at the RSAMD I came across a blues night at a bar on Holland Street called the State Bar. Every Tuesday blues lovers and guitarists congregated at the State. The house band would play a few then people took turns in getting up and doing their stuff. It was cool. I thought, I can play jazz. Blues is easy peasy by comparison. I got up on stage and played a song. When it came to my solo I played a jazz/blues solo. When I finished the majority of regulars looked at me in the most peculiar and confused manner. The main guy from the house band told me not to do that again.

Steph Macleod: From the mean streets of Edinburgh to critical acclaim

I spent the next year learning the beauty that is the blues. It's simplicity to learn and takes dedication to master. I'm still nowhere near where I'd like to be as a blues player. Some of the guys that played at that bar were incredible. My biggest memory was The Nimo Brother. They seriously cooked. The great thing about the blues is that it's so simple and yet so versatile. You can play the same thing over and over, but sing about something else, change the tempo a bit, and you've got a whole new song and a whole new atmosphere. I was also really into electronic music. Stuff like DJ Shadow, Roni Size, Portishead. My Dad was a huge influence on my music. He gave me all his old records. Some of the bands were Cream, Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley And The Wailers, Neil Young, Eric Clapton and Thin Lizzie. During my early teenage years I was addicted to Metallica and all forms of loud guitar music. It wasn't the lyrics or the image, it was the guitar techniques needed to be able to play thrash metal. Not an easy thing. I laugh because my son has Metallica Guitar Hero and it's actually harder to play the songs in the game than on the real guitar. I've also met some incredible musicians since turning my life around. One of the biggest influences and role models is a musician and songwriter called Martin Stephenson. I've played a few gigs with him and his art of playing live is up there with the best of them. He introduced me to rag guitar, bluegrass and fantastic music like John Martyn, who he knows as a good friend. Another real influence in the Christian side of things is Dave Bilbrough. I met him the first time I visited Simon Trundle. He gave me three books that he'd written. They're fairly short and easy reads, but the content is phenomenal. Dave's books are about worship and the presence of God, and mission, and grace. They have inspired me in many ways and are a brilliant read.

Tom: Tell us a little about one or two of the tracks from your album.

Steph: "Snake Eyes" is about as bluesy as it gets on my album. The subject matter is really blue! The song is essentially about sin. The trouble with sin is it will eat at you. It plays with you and consumes you. No matter how much you run away from it, it's there snapping at your heels. There is only one solution to sin and that's Jesus. The song is about a tortured soul who is constantly on the run from sin. Instead of doing the right thing, they think that sinning one last time might get them out of the trouble they're in. This unfortunate gamble leaves them further down the hole than they started and they are left staring at Satan, or his "Snake Eyes". "Saved" is a verse and a chorus I had intended to be part of a larger song. But it felt like I'd said everything I wanted to say about Jesus and what he did for all of us on the cross. To me it's the fundamental truth behind my love for him.

Tom: At your recent concert at Holy Trinity, Wester Hailes (Edinburgh), I chatted briefly to one or two of your band members. Introduce us to them and tell us how you got together.

Steph: Dave Biddulph (bass), Luke Wilson (drums) and Tim Martin (Hammond) are all members of Origin Scotland's Exile band. They did so much to bring this project to life. Because of our time together with Origin we "gel" in special way when it comes to playing. I love the fact that we can all come together and do it for God. Elidh Steel is a friend that I met through Euan MacRae. She's a fantastic fiddler. Sarah Brown is a good mate of mine who used to sing in Origin's choir. She's now our backing vocalist. We don't have a permanent electric guitarist yet. At our first two gigs, a Church of Scotland minister from Dalkeith, Keith Mac, played lead for us. He's a great guy.

Tom: "Hallelujah" is perhaps the only congregationally suitable worship song on your album. Do you like singing/playing/writing worship songs?

Steph: I love singing and playing worship songs! For me it's an act of worship. "For Your Glory" is the only track on the album I had intended to use for congregational purposes. While it does have lots of fiddly guitar bits, the basic chords, melody and the way it's written is for worship. I have also been asked if the song "Saved" could be used for Easter services by a few pastors. I think it was also used at a local church for the communion. That really overwhelmed me.

Tom: Have you been writing more songs recently? And have you got any plans for a followup album?

Steph: There's lots of stuff happening. I'm set to record an EP in April/May. I'm not 100 per cent sure yet which direction it will be going in but I think a new album in the summer with all the songs I wrote while in rehab might happen. I really want to write a worship album. It's a very difficult thing to do. I've been working on a song about the Crucifixion. It's hard to write music and words that people will sing as an act of worship. I think it's a huge responsibility. I'll always be writing and always for God's glory, unless of course he calls me to do something else. I'm sure he'll put me where he wants me. CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
About Tom Lennie
Tom Lennie lives in Edinburgh, has been a contributer to Cross Rhythms for a number of years and is the author of Glory In The Glen.


 
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Reader Comments

Posted by AndrewShaw in Edinburgh @ 10:05 on Jan 20 2018

Wonderful music wonderful message, only got to hear your music and so glad I did. Peace and love to you.



Posted by George Henderson in Buckie @ 20:19 on Dec 8 2016

HI Steph,
I met you in Buckie, amazing testimony. plus your brilliant music was so encouraging.My grandaughter
aged 8 loves Kingdom Come album. where can I get a copy of this in CD format.

BLESSINGS IN CHRIST George Henderson



Posted by Charles savage kings in Irvine @ 09:33 on Sep 24 2013

Hi Steff "
Praise God for your life brother I love your gift God has given you to share life thew music " I met you at Troon full throttle " you sung and I shared my testimony " may God keep using you brother " and may many be set free and helped by you life " your brother in recovery and brother in Christ " Chicaroo far the Jesus crew "



Posted by Claret in Goa, India @ 11:20 on Jul 13 2013

I hear your music on myspace.com. Came to know you from myspace. thank you. keep going strong You are an encouragement to my life as a christian.



Posted by TAMMY in WELLINGBOROGH @ 16:28 on Jun 12 2012

steph ur amazing and the one song that i like is my father xx that song is wicked and it has such a lovely meaning xx keep the hard work going we all are proud off u x :) x



Posted by Robert Primrose in Inverness @ 18:46 on Mar 21 2012

Keep the Faith steph i got sober in edinburgh in 1994 through aa i have just heard your album its amazing in 2010 i became homeless when my business collapsed it was then jesus carried me steph i hope to see you play one day look up the dedridgerunner on you tube i am going to be doing something for the homeless keep keepin on steph and your heavenly father will never let you down god bless robert



Posted by Rachel in Wigan Lancashire @ 14:14 on Mar 7 2012

Hiya, I was watching you on one of the God channels the other night, WOW God really delivered you from darkness and he has blessed you SO much:) God is just amazing ah! The best thing was that when you come to know the truth, you turned your life around and become born again:) some people can continue with addiction even after they know the truth.... Good on you brother:) love your music God bless x



Posted by Holly in Zorn @ 05:04 on Feb 10 2012

Wow this is so cool. Its really inspiring to know someone can go through all that and come out even stronger than before. My sister sent me this cd from Scotland because she thought it would help me in my walk with God. I felt inspired after track 1. Thank you Steph, for inspiring and encouraging me, and many others I'm sure :)



Posted by ponti in uk @ 11:01 on Dec 5 2011

great reading
thanks





Posted by Colin Leslie in edinburgh @ 13:44 on Sep 11 2011

When i here your music i feel restored and forgiving. My life is a mess with the Alcohol i seek help it only works when i want it to. God Bless



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