Some of Glasgow’s most talented musicians have helped contribute towards a new album for a good cause.

The recently released Refugee brings together a host of new or previously unheard tracks from a variety of artists, with all proceeds going towards the charity MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station).

Among the acts contributing are folk legend Linda Thompson, American troubadour Bonnie Prince Billy and Deacon Blue singer Ricky Ross, while representing Glasgow on the album are the likes of BMX Bandits frontman Duglas T Stewart, roots rocker Roddy Hart and trad singer Alasdair Roberts.

The initiative was the brainchild of the singer Robin Adams, who was inspired into action after seeing footage of the refugee crisis in Syria last year.

“Around the beginning of last year I found myself increasingly disturbed by a growing number of reports from many reputable independent media outlets, not o nly describing the horror of the

Syrian crisis itself but also a shocking lack of coverage in the mainstream media,” explains Robin.

“What little coverage there was I found to be deeply troubling given the insensitive nature of the reporting and all of this moved me to write a song that directly addressed the problem.

“The obvious thing to do was to release it digitally via Bandcamp as a charity single to raise money for MOAS. At the time [of the single], the severity of the crisis hadn't quite resonated with the general public.

“Months later there was a shift in awareness after [the media] published heartbreaking photographs in September 2015 of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi washed ashore on a Turkish beach.

“That moment seemed to turn public perception on the crisis around very quickly. It occurred to me that organising a charity album might be the best way I could help. I got in touch with anyone I could think of whose music I admired and asked if they'd be interested in contributing.”

The album therefore works almost as a concept record, too. Each song is related to the idea of being a refugee in some way, with a recurring theme being crossing the oceans in search of a better life. For the likes of Roddy Hart, who has success with his own band the Lonesome Fire and is a regular at Celtic Connections each year, being asked if he wanted to get involved was an easy one to answer.

“I was contacted by Robin and asked if I'd like to contribute a song to his project, which he was just beginning to conceptualise,” recalls Roddy.

“I said yes without having to even ask who else was involved because it's such an important cause. Hearing the final album has been thrilling because there are lots of special artists and songs on there that deserve to be heard.”

Although the primary aim Is to raise funds for MOAS, there are other benefits to the album too. Rachel Sermanni, the songstress from the Highlands who has based herself in Glasgow in the past, feels that a project like Refugee helps raise awareness and gets people talking about the plight that migrants face.

“There is just a sense of growing awareness that ripples out from an event or object such as this compilation album,” says Rachel, who contributed the song Innocent Journey to the record.

“The more people that are aware, the more people that recognise this situation of displacement and danger is on their doorsteps, the more people realise there are simple ways to offer help, then the more people will do what they can.”

That’s an optimistic view of what the reaction will be. However migration remains a topic that provokes passions, and the prospect of many musicians taking on a worthy cause like this will almost certainly provoke scepticism, too.

However Alasdair Roberts, who contributed his tune Scare of Fishing to the album, hopes that those who are against helping immigrants would take time to consider the roles being reversed.

“I would ask them (critics of helping refugees) to consider a situation wherein their own family, friends, loved ones were in the same kind of need and how they would feel about the matter then,” he reflects.

“If that didn't have any effect then I would invite them to imagine themselves in the same predicament and how they would feel if their loved ones refused to offer assistance.”

Refugee is out now.