James Yorkston is one of those rare songwriters whose music seems to move at its own pace. Slightly apart from the zeitgeist, yet always engaged in a constant, intimate conversation with it. For more than two decades, the Scottish folk musician has built a body of work where quiet precision coexists with humor, moving storytelling, and an unusual gift for collective music making. Whether collaborating with Kieran Hebden of Four Tet, Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins, or, in recent years, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Yorkston has always come across as an artist who chooses his creative partnerships with great care. Perhaps that is precisely why these collaborations feel both entirely organic and completely free of cynicism.

His latest album, Songs for Nina and Johanna – his sixteenth release and the third recorded in Stockholm – is another such meeting, one in which the chemistry feels almost telepathic. Here, Nina Persson and Johanna Söderberg of First Aid Kit share vocal duties, bringing two distinct yet complementary sonic worlds to Yorkston’s understated narratives. One is gently searching; the other clear and grounded. Both, however, are deeply attuned to the material. The result is an album that feels less like a project and more like a space one steps into. After touring across Sweden together earlier this spring, the duo will play at Stay Out West this summer in a quite spectacular setting. Don’t miss it!