YOU will never see Fraser MacIntyre's name on a t-shirt but a nod to his Dunfermline roots will stand beside his music.

Today (Thursday) marks the start of a new chapter for the 29-year-old as he releases material as Linburn for the first time.

The decision pays homage to his family's first home on Linburn Road, a cottage that was "imaginatively christened": The Cottage.

The name will now provide the foundation for the project that begins with debut single Anderson Shelter, and the accompanying B-side tracks Even Now, and Minefield.

Speaking to the Press ahead of the launch, MacIntyre stated that he was never comfortable with releasing music under his own name and this move would allow room for manoeuvre.

"I put out a few tracks at the start of last year but I was really finding my feet at that point," he said.

"They felt like experiments a little and I hadn't found my personal voice yet.

"I was perhaps trying to make the lyrics too complex and I felt like I had all these outside ideas of what I needed the songs to be and what they needed to match up to. The difference between now and then is that these songs feel natural. I've not been overthinking it. Writing and editing the lyrics remains important to me but I'm not looking to tackle weighty themes simply because I feel compelled. The subject matter is pretty heavy and diverse a lot of the time but it isn't deliberate.

"I was set to have my first gig under my own name in March last year, just before lockdown started. It gave me that moment to reflect on what I was doing. I wasn't particularly happy putting music out under my own name. I know it's not an egotistical thing at all, because the majority of my favourite artists – like Tom Waits and Walter Martin – do it, but it just never felt right for me."

MacIntyre, a multi-instrumentalist who now lives in Glasgow, takes credit for vocals, guitars, synths, piano, organ, and bass on the tracks, with Liam Chapman providing drums.

Working with others – such as Chapman and Bruce Rintoul, who recorded and mixed the songs – and having the project as collaborative as possible is the goal, with an ideal world resembling one where he could say Linburn is a band.

He currently performs solo due to his disability (a functional neurological disorder) and although he's grounded to the fact it may never happen, a "dramatic reversal" in his condition would allow for that position to change.

"If I didn't have the health condition that I have, I would want this to be band with other people and for it to be a very collaborative experience," he stated.

"I almost feel that giving this a name – Linburn – feels more appropriate. It means that when I have people working with me, they fall under that name and not my own.

"I can say pretty much as a fact that this isn't going to happen but if there was to be a dramatic reversal in my condition, then it will become a band as soon as possible. I would look to have other people involved. I'm only doing a solo project because of circumstances, so having the name there for this long-term project gives it a flexibility to what it can be.

"Also, if I'm being totally honest, I just could not put my name on a t-shirt (for sale).

"The idea really physically repulses me. There's nothing wrong with others doing it – I have a Nick Cave t-shirt – but you will never see the name Fraser MacIntyre on a t-shirt."

The first song you will hear from Linburn is Anderson Shelter, a track that showcases his interest in the formative experiences that can shape a person's life without others knowing of its existence.

He commented: "The person this song refers to is technically a fictional character but I had a few friends in mind when writing it.

"It's about an overbearing and over-demanding father figure that had an impact on them that I still see. I became interested in the fact that everyone has these formative experiences that people can't see and don't realise the extent of how it affects them to this day.

"We're all shaped by events and experiences. To use myself as an example, my disability is visible to other people and it would make my life easier if it wasn't; that's why I'm quicker to be more empathetic to people's behaviour as I think about why they act in a certain way and what has led them to this.

"There's common ground to be found in these formative experiences and the song brings things we don't talk about to the surface and finding out why we are the way we are. It certainly feels like the people in the song become closer because they acknowledge that they are both wrestling with something."

MacIntyre had only heard of an Anderson Shelter last year and it was only recently that, by chance, it was revealed that the song title had an inadvertent connection to his family and Linburn.

Explaining, he said: "There was no connection between Linburn and Anderson Shelter until my mum just happened to be going through some old photos just a couple of days ago.

"She found a photo of my dad and his dad dismantling an Anderson Shelter in the garden at The Cottage on Linburn Road. It had been used as the garage for half a century.

"I was super-surprised to see an actual Linburn Anderson Shelter. It validated the name I had chosen for the single.

"I second-guess everything and I had been questioning these names for a long time.

"I took it as a sign to tell my inner voice: 'Shut the f*** up'."

The striking artwork for Anderson Shelter is by Lemon Drink bassist Lauren Peters, with her technical drawing at the centre of the piece that's inspired by a handful of UK Government pamphlets from the 1930s and '40s that MacIntyre found on eBay while carrying out research.

After reflecting on the past, he is now looking forward to what Linburn will become.

Anderson Shelter, Even Now and Minefield are three of the six songs already recorded, with the second half set for release before the year's out.

MacIntyre has already received positive feedback ahead of the debut single, with a support gig at the Victoria Park Hotel in Edinburgh at the start of October going better than expected.

Preparation for the night was not ideal, however, and he played the gig "pretty deaf". The smell of oregano also plagued him in the build-up.

Outlining how that predicament transpired, he revealed: "The gig was great but the only complication was that my ears were gradually becoming blocked a few weeks beforehand.

"I thought it best to get some drops and resolve it early. The drops made it so much worse. I could barely hear anything.

"I was thinking that there's got to be some tricks and witchcraft to speed this process along as apparently the drops get worse before they get better.

"I tried lots of things, one of which was the hardcore version of menthol crystals; you boil a kettle, put them in the hot water and then inhale – it blows your head off. After a deep internet search, I decided to go one better than menthol crystals and use oregano oil instead. Honestly, the world smelled like a pizzeria to me for an hour afterwards.

"It didn't even help. I played that gig pretty deaf, really, but I really enjoyed it. I felt quite unnatural with the chat between songs but people came up to me afterwards and said I was actually good at that, which was very weird to hear.

"I didn't know what I was going to say at all. I was saying to myself: 'Should I maybe learn some facts? Or have a PowerPoint presentation?'

"I didn't have any idea but I got through it."

Linburn's debut single Anderson Shelter is out now (November 4) and is available on streaming platforms.

Artwork by Lauren Peters and photography by Euan Robertson.