Pictish Trail, AKA Johnny Lynch, has just completed work on a brand-new album — a sticky, shimmering swirl of sound and slime (both metaphorical and literal). To celebrate, he’s embarking on a series of special solo shows, previewing songs from the forthcoming release. These intimate performances will see Lynch in raw, exploratory mode, armed with an acoustic guitar, a sampler, and a warped imagination — expect tenderness, weirdness, and a generous dollop of goo.

Based on the Isle of Eigg in the Scottish Hebrides, Pictish Trail is known for his wildly inventive electro-acoustic psych-pop. His 2022 album Island Family, his third for London’s Fire Records, drew acclaim from The Observer, The Times, Mojo, Uncut, Loud & Quiet, and BBC 6 Music. It was followed in autumn 2024 by Follow Footsteps — an EP of reworked Island Family tracks released via his own Lost Map Records, in conjunction with Fire. Recasting the euphoric-bucolic psychedelia of ‘Island Family’, ‘Melody Something’ and ‘Nuclear Sunflower Swamp’ through a softer filter — and complemented by a pair of incidental instrumentals — Lynch discovered delicately kaleidoscopic new resonance in the material.

Pictish Trail’s earlier albums Secret Soundz Vols. 1 & 2 (2008/2013) were gloriously eclectic slices of lo-fi folk-pop, later reissued on deluxe double-vinyl by Moshi Moshi in 2014. His third album Future Echoes (2016) received widespread acclaim and was shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY Award), winning the public vote, before being reissued by Fire in 2018. His fourth album, Thumb World, was released by Fire in 2020.

Pictish Trail has toured the world as both headliner and support for the likes of Belle & Sebastian, Pavement, Mogwai, Sea Power, and KT Tunstall. He’s performed at major festivals including Glastonbury (Park Stage), Field Day, Camp Bestival, Deer Shed, Celtic Connections, Blue Dot, the Edinburgh Fringe, and every single edition of Green Man Festival (22 and counting).

Outside his own music, Johnny is a key figure in the UK’s independent music scene. Through Lost Map Records, he has championed a diverse and idiosyncratic roster — helping to elevate artists such as Rozi Plain, Alabaster dePlume, Seamus Fogarty, Bas Jan, Callum Easter, and Free Love.

Core. Presents: toe

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