Paul Haig has been something of a stranger to the stage of late, despite his work as a recording artist spanning almost 30years. Thanks to namechecks received by the likes of Franz Ferdinand, legendary Scots art punks Josef K have received a recent rebirth. And although singer Haig’s successful solo career saw him perform with an electronic-oriented band on a few occasions, a whole new generation await his live ‘debut’, at least in this millennium. There was also a period in the mid-80s which saw him work with the late Billy Mackenzie – the 2 performing each other’s work as well as a collection of covers an collaborations.
And then, Haig vanished into the studio, still active in making more electronic, cinematic work for release on his own Rhythm of Life label, but perhaps understandably undertaking less and less live work. Until, 2006, when a London show saw him appear at a tribute to Mackenzie, the former Associates lead singer.
Then, a show – well, a song – with Nouvelle Vague who in their repertoire include a version of the Josef K classic ‘Sorry For Laughing’. Haig agreed to appear as another one-off at the French loungecore act’s Tigerfest show in Dunfermline in 2007. And this saw him gradually came round to the live way again. Though not, we suspect, due to a burning desire to hit the circuit again. “Playing live has become even more important,” he muses; “…could have something to do with lower CD sales and downloads taking over. Maybe people need to see something real and physical more than ever before.
“It’s a bit strange for me doing live shows, especially after 19 years. ” he continues.
Josef K fans of yore can, it seem, have as much to look forward to from the show as aficionados of his solo work. “What I’m trying to do is cover most of my career in one show,” he reveals, “so there’s a couple of Josef K songs, some more electronic based tracks, plus a few from the new album.” This ties in with the band which includes members of TV21 and Twinsets, bands who will be familiar to fans of Haig through the years. “I’d say it’s mostly guitar driven with some electronic samples and keyboards,” he confirms.
Haig’s label, Rhythm of Life, has been on the go for 10 years now, but recently took the step of releasing a non-Haig album – this being the debut from Laki Mera, ‘Clutter’. The band can be found – alongside Kirkcaldy punk act Fangs – on the Carnegie Hall bill. The album was initially distributed via a download which came with the Herald newspaper, but now with a physical pressing the hope is to get the album out there more. “It can be very limiting in terms of finance and PR,” he says of his responsibilities as a label boss, “but we just manage to get the message across. The whole thing would benefit from some kind of funding to enable us to do more.” So the label is perhaps a typical indie – cash-strapped but free from interference from financiers? “There are a lot of plus points being in control of everything but we know there is a lot more that could be achieved with decent budgets,” he agrees.
Paul’s memories of previous Dunfermline shows are sketchy, though he recalls Josef K being “a last-minute addition” as Skids support at the Kinema – so last-minute that no trace can be found, at least on the internet (his previous band TV Art may have played a show at another long-forgotten venue). But in a real street-cred booster, he saw The Clash at the same venue, as part of a legendary show complete with full-on punk rock riot. While – we hope – the May show will be rather more civilised, an exciting evening can still be expected.