Dundee singer-songwriter takes VULIN back to where it all began with new EP Mill Sessions
Two childhood friends have returned to the house where they first made music together to record an EP shaped by friendship, memory and the Scottish landscape.
VULIN will release Mill Sessions on 11 December through Meraki Records, featuring three songs recorded at West Mains of Colliston.
Originally the solo project of Scottish singer-songwriter and producer Craig MacLeod, VULIN now includes longtime musical partner Andy Dowson.
Their reunion after years apart brings their creative partnership back to its beginnings. Dowson previously contributed piano and organ to VULIN’s debut album, Kirk Road.
Rooted in Scottish alternative folk, the EP combines poetic, introspective songwriting with experimental production.
Expressive vocals and percussive nylon-string guitar meet piano, organ and clavinet, while layered synths, reversed textures and manipulated field recordings broaden the sound.
Recorded storm sounds were processed through effects pedals, with the house’s natural acoustics and surrounding countryside helping shape music that moves between intimate folk passages and expansive, cinematic arrangements with distinctly Scottish character.
“We’ve recorded something meaningful in a place that means a lot to us,” said Dowson.
A Word To Say explores communication and what remains unspoken; Skeleton Sky considers mortality through Scottish landscape imagery; and Footsteps reflects on memory, home and returning to places carrying the past.
The artwork combines a photograph of the old mill overlooked by their childhood music room with wallpaper from the family home.
The singles arrive on 6 November, 20 November and 4 December respectively, ahead of the full EP’s release on all major streaming platforms.
