M

M was the recording moniker of English musician, vocalist, and songwriter Robin Scott (born April 1, 1947), who released three electro/art-pop albums under the name between 1979 and 1982 on Sire. Ten years prior to his M run, he released the folk album Woman From the Warm Grass on Head Records. In 1981, he collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto on tracks for the Western edition of the album Left Handed Dream.

Woman From the Warm Grass

Robin Scott released his debut album, Woman From the Warm Grass, in 1969 on Head Records (UK) and Green Light (Netherlands). He plays acoustic guitar on the album, which features seven self-penned folk numbers and co-writes with US folkie John West (“Song of the Sun”) and one Ian Curruthers (“Mara’s Supper,” “The Purple Cadger”). He’s backed by Forest steel guitarist Gordon Huntley and the keyboardist and rhythm section of The Action-spinoff Mighty Baby: pianist Ian Whiteman, bassist Mike Evans, and drummer Roger Powell.

1. “The Sailor”
2. “Song of the Sun”
3. “The Sound of Rain”
4. “Penelope”
5. “The Day Begins”
6. “Woman From the Warm Grass”
7. “I Am Your Suitcase Lover”
8. “Mara’s Supper”
9. “Point of Leaving”
10. “The Purple Cadger”

Freelance soundman Sandy Roberton produced Woman From the Warm Grass in sequence with titles by Harold McNair, The Liverpool Scene, and the singular album by folk-psychsters Synanthesia. Sessions occurred at Sound Techniques, Chelsea, where Victor Gamm engineered Warm Grass in sequence with titles by Aynsley Dunbar, The Deviants, Dr. Strangely Strange, The Humblebums, Jethro Tull, and Trees.

Head lifted “The Sailor” (b/w “The Sound of Rain”) as a single. Green Light issued the song in a picture sleeve with “Woman From the Warm Grass” as the b-side.

Woman From the Warm Grass first reappeared in 2006 as a Sunbeam Records CD with a bonus eleventh track: the Curruthers co-write “Tattooed Lady.“

Discography:

• New York-London-Paris-Munich (1979)
• The Official Secrets Act (1980)
• Famous Last Words (1982)