Spotlight On... Constant Follower

This article contains discussions of trauma, substance abuse and death which some readers may find upsetting.

Constant Follower is likely not a new name to followers of Scottish music. Stephen McAll’s 2021 debut album under the moniker – Neither Is, Nor Ever Was – was shortlisted for the 2022 Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award, with Even Days Dissolve, a collaborative record alongside Scott William Urquhart, receiving a spot on the SAY Award longlist in 2023. As an outside observer, you’d be forgiven for assuming McAll is a prolific writer who has been at it for some time, but McAll is adamant that's not the case. "I don’t have a massive pile of songs", he says. "Every song I write ends up on an album.” 

When McAll was 16, a brutal attack left him with serious head injuries, harming the way his memory functions, and so the reality is that it took him two decades to return to music. It’s unsurprising, then, that his music is delicate and introspective, often digging into past traumas to help form the backbone of deeply emotional songs that look to hope. 

His latest single, Patient Has Own Supply, is another such song, and the third single from his forthcoming album, The Smile You Send Out Returns To You, due in the new year. We catch up with McAll to find out more about the experiences that inspired the new single and the album. 

Your latest single – Patient Has Own Supply – is out today. Can you tell us about the meaning behind the title of the song, what is it about?
When I wrote the song, I was thinking about a time when I was 15 or 16 and had an accidental bad experience with drugs. I ended up in hospital on my own, and the doctors were really harsh and cold. Maybe it was tough love, or maybe they were genuinely angry at me for taking up a bed that someone else needed. Either way, they were threatening and frightening when I was already in a vulnerable state and needed compassion. My parents were on holiday, and I’d just broken up with my girlfriend, so I was completely alone. I don’t remember how many days I was in, but when they finally discharged me, I saw that in the ‘Medications’ section on my discharge letter the doctor had sarcastically scribbled ‘Patient Has Own Supply’. I remember feeling alone and scared of the people I’d gone to for help.

The music video is very beautifully shot – Jack Harrison and Mark Bowmer are both brilliant in it – but it’s an increasingly hard watch. Can you tell us more about the concept behind the video?
The video was directed by my oldest friend, Martin J Pickering, who grew up with me in East Kilbride. We went through a lot together, so he understood how to bring the song’s darkness to life. For me, the faceless figure (maybe the Constant Follower) represents the trauma we carry. The video also reflects the deeper, ongoing failure of systems meant to heal but that sometimes leave us with more scars. I think people can be reluctant to criticize the NHS because we’re so grateful for what they do, for the most part. But they’re people too, and just as fallible. I’d been thinking a lot recently about the death of my young friend Jake Llewellyn [Jake died while in the care of NHS Forth Valley Psychiatric Services; Police Scotland opened an investigation into his death in April]. This song, and the video, are dedicated to him and to his mum Karen, who’s fighting for transparency over what happened. 

It's the third single to be taken from your forthcoming album, The Smile You Send Out Returns to You. I’d love to know more about the record in general and the meaning behind the title?
It’s something my dad used to say to me: “The smile you send out returns to you”. I’m not sure if it’s a popular saying or just something he made up or he heard from his parents. But it stuck with me. Not as a 'give and ye shall get', but more like the kindnesses you give to the world, enriches us all. It just feels like an important sentiment at the moment. I have hope for the future. And I think that the record reflects that hopefulness. 

A lot of the album was written in a cabin just outside Callander during the pandemic. Can you tell us more about the process and how the opportunity to write in the cabin came about?
Will there come a time when albums written in cabins won’t make you think of Bon Iver? Haha. Or is that just me? The opportunity for my cabin album came from Creative Scotland support during the pandemic. No holidaymakers were allowed to use places like that, so I got a great deal and spent a number of weeks in this luxury cabin, surrounded by nature, cut off from distractions. It was just me, my guitar, and the quiet.

The first week I was having a nervous breakdown cause nothing was coming. But I just sat back, watched some films and mucked about on my guitar without intention, and they started coming. I think I wrote 12 in total, plus some ideas. The isolation allowed the songs to flow in a way I hadn’t experienced before. It felt like the landscape was guiding the music. Writing there was a reminder of the simplicity and solitude that brought me back to music in the first place. Three of those songs made it to this album. 

As well as writing in the cabin, you also worked with a whole host of collaborators between Stirling and Austin, Texas to record the album – can you tell us more about those experiences and how your initial songwriting sessions turn into more collaborative works?
I write alone, but once the songs are formed, I start bringing in people I trust and respect. First, there’s the band – Kurd, Dave, Gareth, Amy, Kathleen, and Fiona – and then some special people like Jimmy Chadwin and Mark Tranmer (GNAC, The Montgolfier Brothers). I share a studio with Mark, so it’s easy to work together, though he’s been busy since David Gilmour covered one of the songs on his new album!

I treat it like a jigsaw, looking for the right feel from the right person, recording their parts, and then putting it all together. Mixing with Dan Duszynski in Austin was transformative; he has an incredible ability to bring depth to a song without overpowering its essence. Between Stirling and Austin, the album took on a life of its own, growing bigger and more beautiful than I’d imagined. And then there’s the incredible artwork that Heather Nevay created. Each collaborator added their own spirit, and I think you can feel that as the songs unfold.

There’s obviously not a whole lot of this year left now, but what does the rest of the year look like for Constant Follower?
We’ve got a few more gigs coming up: 8 November in Kirkcaldy, 16 November in Kinloss, 13 December at the Stirling Smith, and 14 December in London. Then we’re looking forward to our album launch show at Glasgow’s Cottiers Theatre on 27 February. Last Night From Glasgow are helping us to make it incredibly special, as they are the physical album. Working with the label has been such a pleasure. Until then, I’ll be finishing up writing for Constant Follower’s third album, going for plenty of long walks, and huddling up with my girls around the fire.

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Patient Has Own Supply is out now; The Smile You Send Out Returns To You is released on 28 Feb 2025 via Last Night From Glasgow; Constant Follower plays Kings Theatre, Kirkcaldy, 8 Nov; The Loff, Forress, Kinloss, 16 Nov; The Smith, Stirling, 13 Dec; King's Palace, London, 14 Dec; Cottiers, Glasgow, 27 Feb 

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