A TWO-year break from Idlewild has given lead singer Roddy Woomble the opportunity to write an album unlike any of his other solo work.

His fourth record, The Deluder, is described as atmospheric, tense and introspective and even includes a song written about space for his son.

Having been part of the cult Scottish band since 1997, Woomble describes the notion of working under his own name as liberating.

“With Idlewild, any new record is always compared to other albums, particularly the well known ones from the early 2000s.

“My own albums don’t suffer this fate – none of them have been popular enough.

“I feel that musically, lyrically, I can do anything with them and also work with a real variety of musicians.

“There is more focus on the words too, which is good for me.

“Sometimes in Idlewild I let the music take the centre stage, but with my own albums the words are where the spotlight falls.”

As Idlewild was put on the backburner, the frontman felt like there were songs that he could do justice on his own.

Of course, he’s never really ‘alone’ and works in collaborations with other musicians.

“I play in a five piece band as ‘solo’ and in a five piece band with Idlewild, all with my closest friends.

“My own albums are made up of songs I work on with a variety of people, and are gathered up in time.

“That said, The Deluder was worked on over a month long period, with the same four people (Danny, Lucci, Andrew and myself) so it was fairly focused and concise, and all the better for it.

“So they are not so different, musically maybe a bit, but the positive feeling of travelling and playing music with friends is very similar.

“I enjoy touring a lot more now for what it is.

“Being on stage playing music for people who want to hear it, whatever their reasons for attending the concert are.

“I don’t ask as many questions as I used to it. I just enjoy writing and performing songs and that there is still an audience for them.

“I’m grateful. Like many others musicians, concerts are pretty much the only income I make from music now, so touring is also important in a very practical sense.”

Woomble approaches music as an art form, which doesn’t work well with pressure.

He explains: “I just make the most interesting music I can, and time will tell if it’s good enough.I draw inspiration from everywhere - books and poems I read, from records I hear, bands I see playing live, people I meet, places I visit, quite often ideas just come staring at the sky, into nothing.

“Song ideas generally seem to come from nowhere and everywhere simultaneously

“I like to think that I have aged as naturally as possible, creatively speaking.

“I’ve made music and written songs that have described who I am at that moment in time, as honestly as possible - so Hope is Important sounds like a 22-year-old searching for meaning, and The Deluder sounds like a 40-year-old, er, searching for meaning.”

The Deluder is released on September 1 on A Modern Way/Empty Words and is available to pre-order now from www.roddywoomble.net. Roddy will be playing the City Halls on October 14.