Adam Stafford
+ Meursault + M. John Henry
Adam Stafford
Falkirk based musician/filmmaker/photographer Adam Stafford issues his sixteenth solo album (under his own name) entitled `Prilitex’, an abbreviation of “Private Little Exorcisms” or “Extractions/Excursions/Ecstasies”.
Recorded as a co-production with Neil Pennycook of Meursault and regular collaborator Robbie Lesiuk the LP sees Stafford return to the song/ lyric-based material of his acclaimed solo albums Build a Harbour Immediately’ (2011),Imaginary Walls Collapse’ (2013) and `Diamonds of a Horse Famine’ (2020), inviting collaborations from vocalist/violinist Robyn Dawson (also Meursault), Ceylan Hay (Bell Lungs) and drummer Sean Mitchell (Lloyd’s House) as well as contributions from both Pennycook on keyboards/bowed banjo and Lesiuk on bass and guitar.
The result is an eleven track collection of some of Stafford’s strongest and melodically tight compositions to date, many flying under the 4-minute mark and incorporating a myriad of styles and influences.
Meursault (Solo)
Based in East Lothian, Neil/Meursault has developed over the years from his scratchy, lo-fi beginnings to become one of Scotland's most unique, contemporary voices. Meursault plays Guitar, Piano, Banjo, Synth, sampler & Drum Machine.
M. John Henry
M. John Henry is the solo guise of Lanarkshire singer-songwriter Martin John Henry. Henry cut his songwriting teeth in the band De Rosa who released three critically acclaimed albums on Glasgow’s Chemikal Underground and Rock Action labels between 2006-2016. He has since released solo albums "The Other Half of Everything" and “Strange Is The Way" on Gargleblast Records. Henry has collaborated with Malcolm Middleton, King Creosote, Barry Burns of Mogwai, author Michel Faber and renowned harper and composer Gillian Fleetwood. He is currently in Whin - a duo project with Life Without Buildings guitarist Robert Dallas Gray - and sings in the Scottish electronic pop group Jewel Scheme. “Early Songs, Of Late” - a new album of reworked versions of his early De Rosa material was released in early 2026.
Line Up
Adam Stafford's solo albums include the experimental works "Awnings" (2009), "Miniature Porcelain Horse Emporium" (2010), a mini covers Lp "Music in The Mirabel" (2010) and the Paul Savage-Produced "Build a Harbour Immediately" (2011) which are all available to download via www.wisebloodindustries.com
His latest LP "Imaginary Walls Collapse" was released by Song, by Toad and Kingfisher Bluez (N. America) in July 2013 and was nominated for a Scottish Album of the Year Award in May 2014.
Stafford is known for his intense and energetic live performances which incorporate soul-pop, post-punk and a capela experimentalism to dizzying effect.
Recent praise for Stafford:
“This is a quietly bold album, it’s unique brew of singular creativity and deference to traditional sounds unearths an all too rare air of finess” – 8/10, The Line of Best-Fit
“Adam Stafford is back and he might just have surpassed his own standards…A quite remarkable record, one which is both highly complex and ultimately welcoming” – Clash
“For all of the mind-puzzling intricacies of Stafford’s approach it’s his ability to write simple and wonderfully rich pop-songs that shines the brightest, and it’s those very basic and fundamental charms that make Imaginary Walls Collapse such a rewarding listen, and one of the years finest records” – Goldflakepaint
“Stafford still remains relatively unknown outside of Scotland, this could be the album that quickly changes that” – 4/5, The Skinny
“Stafford creates a masterpiece of composition via pedals, loops and effects, conjuring harmonised guitars and voices from a swirling mist of sound” – The Herald on Sunday
“All loop-building, axe-fuelled sonic (mis)shapes and vivid narratives… Imaginary Walls Collapse is tooled up in all sorts of deviant ways: it’s less acoustic; more propelled by electronics and the sounds of human harmony and dissonance” – 4/5, Album-of-the-fortnight, The List
“Contributions are chopped, looped and sampled to serve the artist’s twisted vision” 5/5, The Arts Desk
“Imaginary Walls Collapse is clever, tuneful and wildly inventive” – The Tidal Wave of Indifference
“Layered guitars swimming in reverb and forming the base for a challenging yet tuneful collection. This is intelligently crafted soundscape meets highly accessible pop music with a few twists, in turns confident and robust and then heart-breakingly fragile” – Drunken Werewolf
“Walls is a focused, concentrated record that distils Stafford’s sound and style into an eccentric concoction” – Dauphin Mag
Edinburgh's Neil Pennycook began writing and performing as Meursault in 2008. His first record 'Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing with Tongues' received a great deal of praise from a host of pundits and his subsequent releases have been equally well received, leading to tours in mainstream Europe, Russia and the States, as well as slots at prominent festivals, including Glastonbury, T in the Park, End of the Road and more. This month sees the release of the 'Simple is Good' EP which is already receiving glowing reviews ahead an album release in February 2017.
