Campfires In Winter invade Scottish Fiction (only for a few days though. Like going on holiday or something)

We are proud today to release our new EP, Picture of Health, and are very grateful to Neil for handing his blog over to us so we can talk nonsense about it for the next few days.  We'll have plenty of stuff for you to read, look at and watch but first I'm just going to give you a wee introduction to the EP itself and tell you a little about how it came about.

We've always been a pretty DIY, self-sufficient band.  Over the last few years we've pretty much always recorded our own material and, as a result, have accrued some decent quality recording equipment.  We had long been toying with the idea of going away for a few days to record an EP somewhere remote in the north of Scotland.  The idea was we'd just hire a house for a few days, set up our stuff, record a few songs and enjoy ourselves in the process.  We eventually settled on a place called Balndeden Steading near Tomintoul and, with the blessing of its wonderful owners, Anita and Richard (who the EP is dedicated to), made our way up north. 

Here we are standing outside The Mill at Balneden. 

We wanted to try and capture the 'essence', if you will, of our grand surroundings.  When I listen back to the EP I like to think we managed to do that.  Whenever I hear the soundscapes on With A Ragged Diamond and title track Picture of Health I'm transported back.  One thing I regret is not sticking a few microphones outside to capture the sounds of nature all around.  Although on second thoughts, that might not have been a good idea in case one of the locals came and ate our equipment. 

Here is a picture of the locals being rounded up by a dog.  (This is also the view from the front of the house, by the way. Pretty stunning, eh?)

Anyway, there'll be more pictures and stuff from the Picture of Health recording sessions over the next week.  Now it's finished and is out for you all to hear.  We really hope you enjoy it. 

You can buy it on limited edition CD, as part of a T-shirt bundle or as a digital download from www.campfiresinwinter.com as from all the usual digital outlets.

If you'd like to stay at Balneden, have a look on here.

Until tomorrow,

Boab xxx