Given the political ructions throughout the world as we enter 2025, titling your debut album As the Chaos Unfolds might appear weirdly prescient.
For Montrose-raised Rhona Macfarlane, though, its meaning is more personal.
As the singer-songwriter explains, she wrote most of its tracks a couple of years ago, not long after the aspiring musician left college, when she and her friends were facing the challenges of growing up.
In fact, Rhona wrote her self-released album’s title track to tie up themes she found cropping up in her songwriting.
“It was a bit spooky, because it was one of those songs that just fell out as I sat at the piano,” she says.
“It’s weirdly foreshadowed my life, as it became quite chaotic after that.
“I was thinking about the chaos and disorder in the transition into adulthood: moving away from Montrose, people passing on, changing friendships.
“I actually like the concept: chaos surrounds you, but you can also find a stillness within it, so it’s got a positive spin.
“You don’t know what’s going to be thrown at you, but you need to keep ahead, stay strong and accept it.”
East coast ties remain strong for Rhona
Having moved to Glasgow to study at its prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Rhona has stayed to pursue her music career.
On Chaos, you hear the institution’s influence in the strings the artist herself arranged to provide subtle backing to her soft, folk-inspired vocals.
Clearly, though, Rhona’s east-coast ties remain strong, as made clear by the album’s opening track Return To The East, which describes her feelings about coming back to her childhood home.
Montrose born-and-bred Rhona praises the town for its welcoming music scene and a community that has long supported her, beginning with free tuition and violin lessons at school.
“I owe a lot to Montrose,” she explains. “There weren’t any barriers with music, some really great teachers and loads of great opportunities to play.”
She reminisces about the volunteer-run Montrose Music Festival, which in its heyday attracted acts of the calibre of the Beach Boys and Bryan Adams, while offering space for local talent.
“For a small town, it was massive – the whole place would light up. And that was great, because the youth stages gave me a platform to perform.
There were lots of opportunities there and great people, even around the pubs, encouraging people.”
‘I was lucky to be in a small, vibrant town’
Later on, the teenage Rhona found a mentor in Dave Webster of Dundonian supergroup Sinderins, the band that reformed last January for one-off gigs at their home city’s Gardyne Theatre.
The solo artist provided support over two nights, backed by members of the Glasgow-based string quartet Sorcha, of which she is a founder member.
And Rhona still maintains strong links with her hometown, including through collaborations with local creatives.
As well as ensuring Montrose is included in her tour that commences this month, she has enlisted local artist Kim Canale to design postcards to sell as merchandise at gigs.
Rhona goes on to mention her musical family’s support, encouraging her to take up piano as well as violin and introducing her to such greats as John Martyn, Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake, visionaries that remain influences on her own sound.
While her brother Ruaraidh is also a talented guitarist who currently plays with reformed Scottish hard rockers Gun, she admits both need to show gratitude to their parents.
“There was a lot of music at home,” Rhona remembers.
“My mum’s a chemistry teacher, but plays piano and clàrsach – we trace our roots back to the Hebrides and even St Kilda. My dad was really into music, so always showing me records.
“They opened this big world for me and that’s when I really started to get into songwriting.
“My brother played me a lot of music as well. So I had him to look up to and when I wrote my first song he was like, ‘That’s cool, you should record it’.
“I was lucky to have parents and siblings that were supportive – and to be in a very small, vibrant town, sheltered from the noise of the city.
“I think if I’d been brought up somewhere larger, I would have maybe felt like a small fish in a big pond.”
As the Chaos Unfolds is released January 24. Rhona plays Glenfarg Folk Club February 17, Montrose Folk Club February 18.
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