A MUSICAL couple from Cardross have opened up on their experience of moving to the area during lockdown - and how the coronavirus pandemic has affected their professional lives.

Josienne Clarke and Alec Bowman Clarke have been playing instruments since they were children.

Alec learned to play the church organ by ear from listening to his grandad play, and Josienne has been singing since she was three. They moved to Cardross in August, Alec calling it “perfect, such a welcoming place”.

Alec was a live and session musician before the pandemic hit, and a former member of Scottish electronica band the Formication. Josienne, who is originally from the Isle of Bute, has been a full-time musician for the past five years.

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The pair are used to travelling the world and playing gigs but with the coronavirus pandemic putting a stop to live gigs across the country, they were resigned to their home.

“Serious times require adaptation,” Josienne said. “And I’m happy to sit out the way while the NHS do their vital thing.

“I played my last gig on March 8 and I’ve just been writing and practising at home since then.”

Alec added: “I started doing other work than music, photography and filmmaking. I’m not complaining, it’s the same for everyone and I’m lucky to have something to fall back on, plenty of people don’t.

“It always was hard to make a financially viable career out of music before the pandemic and now that’s impossible. I’ve not been paid for a creative project since April.

“I haven’t done a single photo or video shoot with anyone other than Josienne the whole time."

Alec says the harsh truth that there would be no gigs for a while was “hard to believe”.

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“It didn’t seem real,” he continued, “It was even interesting, for a while, until it became obvious it wasn’t going away.

“Now, not being able to stand in a room with people and play music is like my heart has been forgotten, like I left a small part of myself in a venue that has probably closed.”

The pair have settled into their new lives in Cardross even with the pandemic going on around them, finding the commute between Glasgow and the village handy - at least within the limits imposed.

Josienne said: “Being near the Clyde, an expanse of water is always a creative asset.

“I like being so close to Glasgow, I lived on the Isle of Bute before and the one drawback of that is being further from the gigs and museums etc, obviously at the moment that’s not so much of a thing as it's all closed.”

Alec added: “We hide here from the bright lights of the city and the animals that live there, but we can go feed any time we like.

“We’re near enough Glasgow that we can rent Broadscope Studios for a day or go do a session or a shoot, and folks from the city can come use our music room.

“It’s not really quiet; we live right on the main road, so most demo recordings have lorries rushing past in the background but it’s good enough for me.”

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