Photograph courtesy of Steve Gullick

In the mid to late 90s, myself and my buddy Pete Stroh used to run a club in Edinburgh named The Barrelhouse. We were fools for music back then; I don't think we ever made money from the club itself, but just hearing the tracks loud, seeing folk dancing, the odd appreciative comment, taking a drink… made it all worthwhile. We finished up in the end as the mad old Aussie lass who ran the place began to charge us for everything we used – the decks, the lights, the smoke, the seats… I think she was trying to force us out of the venue so she could get a more popular night in – sell more alcohol, that sort of thing. And it worked, we were dulled out by officialdom. We didn't bother starting another night as the politics behind this one had become too wearying, but I remember it all fondly now. This is the sort of thing we played. Good times.

The Cellardyke Recording And Wassailing Society by James Yorkston and featuring Alexis Taylor, KT Tunstall, The Pictish Trail, Rob Smoughton, Fimber Bravo, Jon Thorne and Emma Smith, is out now via Domino. Yorkston begins his tour at The Guardian Spiegeltent in Edinburgh this Sunday, August 24. Head to the label's website for full details and to get hold of the album and click on his image below to begin scrolling through James' choices

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