FANS of Scottish folk singer-guitarist Kris Drever could be treated to a few special guests when the Orcadian comes to Paisley on Sunday.

Drever is touring as a duo with Éamonn Coyne to coincide with the release of their EP, Mareel.

He said, “You never know, there might be guests. I’ve lived in Glasgow and got friends there. I might be able to persuade someone to come along.” The five-track EP recording took place in Drever’s new homeland – Shetland – earlier this year, not long after he moved in.

He said, “I wanted to do another recording and as I was new to the island I thought, as a nice way to break the ice, I’d go around and ask a few people to do some recordings with me. There are a lot of great musicians up there and they’ve got a nice facility, a great studio, so it made sense.” Among the songs is a new version of Wintermoon, from Drever’s ‘motherband’ the award-winning Lau.

The song is rarely played live any more by Lau and Drever was inspired to record an alternative version by his younger brother.

He said, “My wee brother sent me a message ages ago saying it was really a good song and I should do it. It feels different enough to me from the Lau version to be listened to without conjuring up the first recording.” Drever and Irish banjo and tenor guitarist Coyne (of Treacherous Orchestra & Salsa Celtica) previously collaborated on Storymap which was released to critical acclaim in 2013. It is one of several side projects Drever has indulged in when not touring or recording with Lau, who are currently working on a new album. Previous collaborations have included Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble and accomplished fiddler John McCusker on album, Before the Ruin.

He said, “These things crop up and, you know, it’s good for musical development. It keeps things fresh and the approach is different each time depending who you work with.” Mareel, produced by Kris Drever and recorded by Lau’s sound engineer Tim Matthew, features a great team of Shetland musicians. Graham Malcolmson on double bass, Margaret Scollay piano, Maurice Henderson and Ewen Thomson fiddles and Ross Couper fiddle and snare drum. Coyne plays banjo and tenor guitar and Drever guitar but also adds the drums on the songs. Drever had discussions with fiddler Henderson about which tracks to lay down.

He said, “He’s a great fiddle player with a great repertoire of Shetland tunes. We picked his brains for what was appropriate and built a little band around that.” Drever and Coyne finish their UK tour at the Paisley Arts Centre on Sunday, 21 September.