Pumajaw - Scapa Foolscap (2022)

‘Scapa Foolscap’ is the the long-awaited 8th album from UK duo Pinkie Maclure and John Wills, aka PUMAJAW.

They first met as artists individually signed to Beggar’s Banquet records in the 90s (John with The Hair and Skin Trading Company, Pinkie as a solo artist) and worked together solidly for the next 25 years, releasing 7 albums through Fire Records and their own label. They made their own films, booked their own extensive tours, and created an award-winning, experimental multimedia show exploring film noir, until in 2015 the duo decided it was time to take a well-earned break.

While Pinkie turned to visual art, John went to spend time by the shipwreck-strewn, icy waters of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, recording the unique atmospheres of the archipelago which he developed into a series of soundscapes reminiscent of Philip Glass or Boards of Canada.
Intended only as rough sketches, (hence ‘foolscap’) Pinkie eventually persuaded him to let her hear them and was inspired to add her distinctive vocals, often compared to Nico, Tim Buckley or Kate Bush.

Over the next 6 years, an album of music written without the expectation of ever releasing it emerged organically and is Pumajaw’s most fresh and beautiful to date.

Opener ‘Murmurised’ is inspired by human fascination with starling murmurations and the reasons so many of us turned to nature for comfort during lockdown.

Acclaimed Irish singer-songwriter Adrian Crowley (Chemikal Underground Records) duets with Pinkie on ‘The Mirror of the Other’, in a call-and-response cry for human empathy, echoing from island to island.

‘Local Envy’ is an addictive, almost-pop song while ‘The Innocent Win’ is a krautrock-esque, epic slow burner.


“A voice that is nothing less than thrillingly world class. This is adventurous music from one of the country’s deeply hidden artistic treasures.” UNCUT
'Like some terrifying infant, Pinkie is bewitching as she laments over ominous soundscapes made by spectral John Wills. DIY