Pictish Trail and Afterlands

Throughout his career, Johnny Lynch (aka Pictish Trail) has furrowed his own path. The Isle-of-Eigg dwelling electro-acoustic psych-pop artist has created a unique back catalogue of recordings and performances, while refraining from the blueprint of the predictable singer-songwriter. 

Instead, Pictish Trail delivers something untidily intriguing — a strange, unexpected, sardonic, yet deeply personal set of songs spanning lo-fi folk-pop to numbers inspired by Fever Ray, The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, and Beck. 

When not putting out his own music as Pictish Trail, Lynch is a champion of the British indie music scene. Through his label, Lost Map, he’s helped elevate the likes of Rozi Plain, Seamus Fogarty, Bas Jan, Callum Easter and Free Love.

"One of my favourite artists." – Lauren Laverne

Born as a way of staving off madness during lockdown and patiently nurtured into one of the most exciting projects either of its architects have turned their hands to, Afterlands is Rick Anthony (The Phantom Band / Rick Redbeard) and David McAulay (Strike the Colours / Film Composer).

The pair first met in 2009 during recording sessions at Chem19 studios near Glasgow, where Davey worked as an engineer, before coming to know one another much better years later while both studying for a Masters. Their first collaboration was writing music for Cindy Jansen’s 2021 documentary Prince of Muck. When the pandemic descended in 2020, Rick and Davey started exchanging ideas remotely, and Afterlands began.