Annie Booth 2017
Edinburgh Napier University: Recording Debut Album ‘In An Unforgiving Light’ (Also Yamaha Voucher)
Annie Booth is in her final year of the Popular Music course at Edinburgh Napier University, she had gigged consistently for many years in and around the city (both with her band and performing solo) and has built a strong reputation for her performances and original music. She had also recorded and performed in the band Mt. Doubt, receiving airplay from Vic Galloway and played at festivals such as T in the Park, Belladrum and Xpo North. Her project was the recording of her debut album, In An Unforgiving Light, featuring nine original songs written during this time.
Annie Booth ‘Upon hearing the news that I’d been awarded a grant, I was ecstatic. The money meant I was able to spend seven days at Leith’s Depot Studios with established sound engineer and producer Mark Morrow recording my debut album. I recorded nine new songs with the help of my regular band, laying one instrument down each day for all the tracks. It was a highly challenging but enjoyable experience, requiring the utmost concentration and immersion. The studio was a very homely environment to record in whilst also being versatile and modern, and work with Mark was productive and fun. Although the album undoubtedly saw alternative rock and indie-pop influences, I strived throughout to keep focus on my acoustic guitar and finger-picking style to deliver a raw, authentic sound.
‘I am extremely grateful to the Bert Jansch Foundation for giving me the chance to work in a professional studio, learn a whole lot and create a piece of work I am proud of. I am also looking forward to choosing what to spend my allocated Yamaha voucher on as new equipment is always welcome! I am honoured to be associated with Bert, even in a small way (I’m currently trying to tackle playing a handful of his compositions).’‘My mum won an award when she was at school for a piece of writing about Bert Jansch, she loved Pentangle and he was one of her musical heroes :-).’
