THE last time RM Hubbert made a collaborative record, he walked off with the Scottish Album of the Year award.

Now he’s currently working on some further team-ups, with plans for a new release next year.

“The first album will be a collaboration with some of my favourite women musicians,” says Hubby, who plays the Wickerman Festival this Saturday.

“It’s for a different purpose than Thirteen Lost and Found (his 2012 release).

"That was really to reconnect with old friends and working with them in a room seemed an easier way to do it.

"This one’s simpler, I was thinking about a collaborative album and realised that most of the best albums in the past few years have been by women.

“I’ve been a bit crap at collaborating with women in the past, so it seemed like doing something new.”

It’s not the only project the Glasgow guitarist has been busying himself with, as there’s another two records in various stages of development.

But his female team-up should be the first one out, as he’s shooting for a release date early next year.

While the album once again features Hubby teaming up with other musicians, he’s approached the creative side differently this time around, by sending his collaborators ideas and then giving them free reign to work away on them.

“This time I wanted to do it a bit differently and take my influence out a bit,” he says.

“I’m interested in what their response is (to the original piece of music) and what they do with it, without me being in the room with them as they’re listening to it.

"So it’s kind of terrifying, but it’s exciting too.

"I love collaborative things, and the trick is always to work with someone better than you, because that way you look good as well…”

Although Hubby’s keeping quiet about exactly who he’s been working with, his track record suggests it’ll be an album worth waiting for.

The past few years have been relentless for the guitarist, who’s now based in Troon.

The 2013 release of Breaks & Bone wrapped up his so-called Ampersand Trilogy of records, complete with an exhaustive run of touring around it.

The critically acclaimed three albums covered some heavy times in the 41-year-old’s life, so it’s no surprise that he wanted to spend part of 2015 relaxing.

“The trilogy of albums really dealt with my parents death, my depression and my marriage ending, so they were dealing with very specific issues,” he says.

“I was talking about it constantly, whether in interviews or at shows, so I needed six months of being a guy playing video games again and not thinking about that.”

Now he is getting back to work again, including a trip to Dumfries & Galloway this weekend for the Wickerman.

The bash is headlined by the Waterboys, Squeeze, Tom Odell and Example, but there’s a core of great Scottish talent underneath.

There’s another reason Hubby’s keen to return, too.

“The original Wicker Man is one of my favourite movies of all time, and the soundtrack (by Paul Giovanni and Magnet) is incredible,” he enthuses.

“When I first started doing acoustic stuff, I was listening to it a lot - my musical background was all punk and the DIY scene, so acoustic music was weird for me to get into at first, and that was definitely a gateway, because so much of is interesting and quite disturbing, which I hadn‘t really come across.”

He reckons his music suits the festival vibe nicely, too.

“For the kind of thing I do, it isn’t really suited to big festivals, because my music’s quite an intimate thing, quite quiet.

“If you compare it to something like T or Reading Wickerman’s a totally different atmosphere, it’s less about going and getting wasted and more about enjoying the music in the countryside.”

RM Hubbert plays the Wickerman Festival on Saturday.