Call it a comeback

Former This Mortal Coil and The Hope Blister vocalist Louise Rutkowski is set to release her first solo album tomorrow.

Diary of a Lost Girl is the product of a writing partnership with Irvin Duguid, who is previously known for his work with Paolo Nutini and ex-Marillion vocalist Fish.

The album, which will be unveiled at a special launch event at the Glasgow Print Studio, was funded through direct-to-fan platform PledgeMusic.

Produced by Irvin Duguid, it includes mixes by Calum Malcolm (The Blue Nile), and Steve Orchard.

The album marks a return to the writing of original material by Louise since her music career began with the soul-influenced band Sunset Gun, signed to CBS Records in the 1980s.

In the early 90s, Louise worked with acclaimed film composer Craig Armstrong OBE (Moulin Rouge, Love Actually, NEDS).

Together they released the album Hope in the US with Interscope Records, under the name The Kindness of Strangers.

Based in London until 2005, the former King’s Park pupil returned to the southside of Glasgow , where she was introduced to musician Irvin Duguid.

Work began, with Louise providing lyrics and co-writing melodies, until the loss of her mother, Mimi, in September 2007, and the collaboration then ceased for several years.

Louise told The Extra: “The album reflects my own personal journey in writing again after many years.

“For the first time I have a body of work that truly reflects who I am as a person and as a musician.

“When I began writing with Irvin we had no fixed idea of where we were going musically, or even if it would result in anything as tangible as an album!”

For Rutkowski, Diary of a Lost Girl marks the achievement of a growing vision throughout the writing process of what type of artist she could be, given the right circumstances and collaborator.

She continued: “Through the writing I can also now start to realise other creative ambitions for its visual identity, as is reflected in the cover design.

“The music will be staged live; by drawing on my long-term influences, such as Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, and theatre productions in general

“Most of all I envisaged this album as a soundtrack to life for the listener.

“It’s a very personal album and I would hope it would become personal for the listener too.”

The album will be launched at Glasgow Print Studio tomorrow (Friday), including a live performance.

The show starts at 7pm. For tickets, call 552 0704 or visit www.gpsart.co.uk.