The quest for something a little messy and uncertain may stem from Iain's background in Bangor, a small seaside town in the heart of Ulster, in the 70s. "You genuinely do grow up with this crazy idea that everything is solid and unshakeable, and that you are right about everything and there are a lot of people who are wrong," he says. There was always music in the house and so it was natural that at 13 Iain picked up his first guitar. Somewhere between the fiddlers, the marching bands and the gospel hall, he found a little space to make music. 

His journey took him to Glasgow in the early 90s with his brother and a VW Camper van. There he recorded two albums in quick succession, Playing Dead in 1995 and Crazy Bird the following year, both on Sticky. They were warmly received (Mojo said "Superb songwriting and haunting vocals", Irish Times said "A masterstroke and a very definite coming of age") and led to invitations to tour with John Martyn, Nils Lofgren and David Gray. 

Now a highly acclaimed Ivor Novello award winner, his new album "Magnetic North" will be released (by We Love You label) on October 9th, the follow up to the critically acclaimed "Flood the Tanks" and his first songs since co-writing Snow Patrol's massive single Run.

For more info visit www.iainarcher.com 

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