Patrick Briscoe has now delivered two albums in quick succession. His debut 'Timekeeper' has a lighter tone and is possibly the more orthodox of the two. 'Hard Luck Story' and 'On Hold' are particularly satisfyingly skewed vignettes of loveliness that stand out from the strong set. Recently with his second CD 'Colours Will Fly' Patrick has developed his distinctive style throwing his lyrical and musical net wider than before. The highly articulate guitar-work sounding a touch more desolate and the words chosen a shade more pithy. We interviewed him in November 2007.

Are you still based in Manchester then? What's the scene like up there?
Yes I'm still based there. I don't tend to spend that much time playing in Manchester. I tend to spend a lot of time at home writing and working on new stuff and probably more time touring. I live in a place called Chorlton, it's a nice place to live. It's got quite a young crowd who are accepting of a lot of things. It's quite forward thinking compared to a lot of places.

Good Venues?
I think what's happening with the Manchester venues at the moment is that it's still got the same city centre venues that it's always had. The smaller venues being like The Roadhouse and Night And Day and there's a lot of young people getting their acts together and putting nights on. Quite a few folk clubs not only doing folk music but shows that travel round picking certain venues. So there's a lot of good nights in Manchester that fall under an umbrella name. A good healthy scene.

You're two albums have come out quite quickly haven't they? There was your debut 'Timekeeper' closely followed by 'Colours Will Fly'. Also released in-between a lot of dates.
Yes I do quite a lot of writing whilst I'm travelling round. I like to get out in the country and spend some time just writing, in a forest or by a river or something. It's pretty much what I'm made of really, the natural stuff. Cities are quite...well I suppose they're an inspiration to some people but I find being out in the country is really useful and it puts me in touch with myself a lot more. So the more touring I do the more writing I get done really. Also when I'm at home I'll practice and write for five to six hours a day, six days a week.

It's quite a job then! I admire that commitment.
I just think if you want to get as much as you can out of a musical instrument you have to... well any classical musician will tell you, you have to practice for at least four hours a day. Then when you've done that for a certain amount of time your conscience starts to tell you, if you only do two or three, that's not enough, before you know it you're pushing yourself quite hard. It's the only way I get really rewarded. I don't get any particular reward out of doing great gigs, well that's fine if people enjoy it, but the reward really comes from developing as a musician or as a songwriter because I think that in itself is something worthwhile.

There's extra depth all the time then?
Well you expand yourself. If you're spending time creating something that's creatively worthwhile then it's positive and it's not always easy to be involved in positive stuff is it? Sometimes life can only present you with stuff that's middle of the road or negative. I find myself in the most positive frame of mind when I'm working hard. So back to your original question, I do write a lot and I've got quite a lot of material for a new record. Weather or not it'll be out in the summer i don't know but i should be pushing towards having it all written and then think about recording it round about the summer and then maybe the release will be pushed back.

Your sleeve designs are really striking. Do you have any input on those?
I work pretty closely with the artist who does them she's called Chim Lee she does animation videos for me as well. We just talk about them, well basically what happens is, I'll record versions of the album then when the album is done and pieced together, sort of 95% complete I'll give her a copy of the record then she can go away and come up with a load of ideas and some I'll like and some I won't get at all. Then she'll disappear and come back with something I've never seen before and I'll just adore it and then I don't say anything anymore. So, yeah, it's just the odd pointer conceptually. She's amazing.

I don't know if she's done them all but I noticed one of your early EP's looks like a little bit of a Billy Bragg pastiche. Are you a particular fan?
We were talking about it and I had this EP that I wanted to put these songs together on. Basically these songs didn't go together that well but they made up a nice little record so we called it 'Four Short Stories'. There wasn't necessarily a theme running through it. We discussed artists we liked. I've got loads of Billy Bragg albums and he's got those... What was the record label he was on at the time?

Go Discs and it was the 'Between The Wars' EP I was thinking about and the first few albums.
Yes, I adored those. I thought if it was going to be a bit bookish maybe we should go along those lines. She worked with that so it was a pastiche in a way. I was so infatuated with that whole 'Pay No More Than £4.99' thing. So yeah, unquestionable Billy Bragg really...unquestionable.

But then the other influences you list are John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Robert Johnson. You say your dad was a piano teacher. Was that the sort of music that was around when you were growing up?
Years ago I used to listen to a lot of contemporary music, a lot of contemporary rock music and these days I don't listen to much at all so when I was asked to list my influences I had to look at what I'd been listening to for a long period of time and it was all either classical or rooted in stuff that's a lot older. Yes if I had to say what my influences would be lately it would definitely be classical music or early blues guys like Blind Lemon Jefferson who really inspire me to want to just play the guitar. As far as contemporary music goes when I listen to it on the radio I struggle to find any direct connection with it to be quite honest. There's a lot of excitement involved in that music but if you are looking for something a bit timeless then I have to look elsewhere.

Is it the more you've invested time in the guitar and developed a depth of musicianship that you're interests have been pulled in different directions?
I think that's what it is. I spend so much time working on that... I guess it's not the same ... I suppose there are people who work equally as hard as I do who can derive pleasure from listening to minimal and simplistic...maybe The Stooges or something like that but personally I do need to get excited by people who work on a different level to that.

When did the jazz thing kick-In?
That was from when I was young.

I suppose that can be another eye-opener. Different methods and musicians to explore.
I had a headstart. My mother used to listen to a lot of Billie Holiday records. I know that's not strictly jazz in a way but it's got it's roots in the popular song. In fact some of the basis for all popular song is in those songs. So when I was a kid I heard all that stuff. Then the jazz that evolves a bit more musically like Miles Davis and John Coltrane it just sounded right to me. I'd just put that on and think that sounds great. I'd always listened to soul music as a kid as well. I was used to the instrumentation. The way those drums sound. Those trumpets in Stax music and Tamla. That really sort of celebratory feel. It just clicked.

So what's in store for the future?
I'm trying to get out to Europe. In the meantime I've a few dates booked. Then next March I'll try and get all over the uk and then hopefully work out the Europe thing. In terms of the music I'm looking forward to getting some work done at home. I'm starting to do some work with other instruments like violin and cello. Maybe a little clarinet. I'd like a little ensemble of musicians. Instruments that don't always get put together. Quite minimal but flamboyant at the same time. So I'm excited about getting some writing done for that.