TAKING a chance on himself has always been something Rod Picott has done throughout his musical career.

Whether it was packing in his job as a construction worker to pick up a guitar or writing expansive songs, Picott has always done what suits him best.

With 11 studio records under his belt, this approach may come across as self-confident, but it hasn’t always been like that for the country singer/songwriter.

“I’m one of those people where it took me a while to find my authentic voice as a singer and performer, it didn’t come naturally to me,” the 53-year-old tells The Gazette.

“Some people belong on the stage, but I am not built that way, I tend to be very solitary, so learning how to be on stage and be comfortable took me a long time. I’m still learning to this day.”

His latest record, Out Past The Wires, is in his words “some of the best work I have done” and ranges from whispery ballads to guitar-driven rockers and hits every musical spot between.

What stands out about the record in a time when everything is immediate is Picott decided to elaborate and write an album consisting of 22 songs.

“It was a fun project, but it went the opposite way that many people went as I want to make something really expansive,” he adds.

“I tend to buck against everything a little, so I wanted to go a bit expansive. I started with 78 songs and culled it down to 22 and it felt like a nice family of songs.”

So what happened to the remaining 56 songs?

“Song writing is like a junk yard for your car,” Picott adds.

“Sometimes you go back to its old songs and dig out parts and think there is something here and you make something come to fruition.”

What makes Picott stand out from a crowd is his attention to detail and expanding on song to become more of a storyteller.

He adds: “I pay a lot of attention to lyric detail. If it is a character- driven piece I try to fully flesh the idea out, whether that makes it into the song or not.

“What I am doing is looking for subtext to be revealed rather than hammering the point home to the listener. Revealing something bigger without saying it and doing that through the story is what I love about writing.

“Music is little pieces of oral cinema. And that is where I am most comfortable as a storyteller.”

Rod Picott will be performing at the Forge on Wednesday, 28 March.

For more information and tickets visit anvilarts.org.uk.