KT Tunstall: 'There’s been a huge amount of change in my life' singer reflects as tour begins

“And then I’m thinking what is going to happen on the mind record? The whole world went mad. We all collectively lost our minds and went through something deeply life-changing as a global species.”

The Scottish singer-songwriter is, of course, referring to the coronavirus pandemic, during which she wrote much of Nut, the mind part of her trilogy.

Due to the unique constraints of lockdown, she wrote her demos on a laptop which she sent to her long-standing collaborator in London who re-recorded them into full songs.

The lyrics came later. Nut tackles issues of mind and mindfulness, but was recorded at possibly the hardest time to achieve good mental health.

“It’s so interesting because the idea for the trilogy was a personal fascination of those pillars of being human – the soul, the body and the mind,” says the singer, guitarist and self-proclaimed “Scotch Yeller”.

“If you separate them they are very different experiences of life. I thought the brain album would be very mathematical and pattern-based and machine-like. In some ways it’s actually ended up the most tender lyrically of all of them because of this situation.”

Tunstall, 47, who was raised in St Andrews, is speaking from the guest bedroom of Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows’ house. He is joining her on her UK tour alongside bassist Seye Adelekan, who regularly appears with the Gorillaz – her “perfect supergroup”. “Three has been a big number in my life for the last seven years,” she muses.

The trio are rehearsing in Burrows’ kitchen. Their set will feature all the songs from the new record, plus those from previous ones and perhaps some golden oldies such as her evergreen 2005 hit Suddenly I See.

“To have a soundtrack that spans that life experience is really awesome,” she says of her now-completed musical trilogy. “To look back at it and go: ‘God, the essence of myself is still there, I still feel like the same person, but there’s been a huge amount of change in my life at the same time’.”

Tunstall hopes to achieve something new on this tour – to really lose herself in the music. She thinks her new record offers that chance. “There’s something that is a bit more mentally transcendent about this music. I’ll often get lost if I play covers and I’m just in it. And so it’s about achieving a place where I’m with the audience. Just absolutely immersed and lost in the music.”

Her tour will cover February and March with a show at York Barbican tonight.