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Chris T-T is a local lad from Winchester who is mates with Frank Turner, often playing piano in his band. He's one of the countries most under-rated singer songwriters, but all that could change this year. He has a new single, Nintendo, coming out on 8th March followed by his seventh studio album, Love Is Not Rescue, a week later.

Playing piano, electric and acoustic guitar (although not all at the same time) his UK tour kicks of at The Tower in Winchester on 6th March.

The past two years have been pivotal for Chris T-T. Capital – released in March 08 through Xtra Mile Recordings – garnered a wealth of fantastic reviews from the press, including Q, Plan B, Sunday Times, Q, and NME as well earning him radio sessions on 6Music with Marc Riley, Radio 1 with Huw Stephens and an Xposure Session on XFM with John Kennedy.

I caught up with Chris for a late night (email) chat........

What have you been up to today?

Today has been mostly looking at various USA options, trying to work out when I'll do North America with this album. I did a bit of writing this afternoon as well and made pasta.  When I've finished this I'll watch Question Time because it's Thursday.  I haven't started rehearsals yet - this will be the first solo tour I've ever had to rehearse properly because I want to play the record right through, which is a challenge.

You've been around a while now....How many albums/singles have you had out now?

Yeah I have been around forever - I've made seven albums and I've lost count of singles and EPs.  I'll tell you what happens: you don't realise the time has gone by, you still think you're a 'new' artist and suddenly you've been making records longer than the Beatles.  Well, I'm a writer and musician from southern England.  I love a lot of music but my own stuff is most inspired by American underground punk/indie and English traditional folk song.  I'm originally from Winchester, living in Brighton for now, although I'm starting to get itchy feet.

You've toured quite a bit with people like Jim Bob (ex Carter USM) in the past,who else have you worked/been working with?

Haha, CV time... I've toured with, oh god, Brakes, Ben Folds, Divine Comedy, Norwegian band Madrugada, obviously Frank Turner, Emma Pollock (Delgados), Thomas White (Brakes/Electric Soft Parade) and folk stars Bellowhead.  Broken Family Band - I finally toured with them before Christmas and it was their last ever tour, which was gutting.  A bunch more.  I played two of the Carter USM reunion shows as well as playing with Jim.

One of the things I'm most proud of is playing piano at different times for some of the UK's finest songwriters - from three different generations - Tom Robinson, Jim Bob and Frank Turner.

Jim Bob is a close friend now so touring with him isn't like touring with other people, I'll happily go on the road with Jim even if I'm not performing, to just hang out.  One of my favourite ever gigs is when Jim needs a piano player, which is about one tour in three.  I get the buzz of playing, without the pressure.

Are you still doing much with Frank?  Weren't you planning on making a film about touring with him?

I'm not working with him at all at the moment, although whenever we do anything it's a real adventure.  We spent a lot of 2008 together but I've hardly seen him for months to be honest - I don't know any other musician with his gigging schedule and appetite for the touring life, and also I haven't seen a genuine grassroots live phenomenon like that for years.  I haven't given up on the film, it's called The Year Frank Broke.  I've got a ton of footage, most of it is already edited and it's really amazing but I've struggled to finish it and missed all the deadlines.  There's an official DVD coming out next month and I hoped my movie would be an 'extra' but it just wasn't ready in time.  Maybe I'll nail it over summer.

You're off on tour from March...your seem to be pretty hardworking...are you looking forward to the tour?

Yeah, I can't wait to get back on the road, especially with new songs to play.  Solo tours are easy as well, you're travelling light and there's a lot more freedom than with a full band tour that has to be better planned.  I've got a stock answer for this one - I'm not really a hard worker at all and I wish I could tour more.  I love touring but I'm not well-known enough to make it a permanent international way of life.  Each record does a little better and when I get support slots that's great - but if I was to go on the road properly worldwide, I'd need a hit or a TV ad or something first.  But I truly love it.  Maybe the digital revolution will mean I can become a neo-nomad in the next few years and make that a reality.

You went up on Trafalgar Square Plinth last year (I also went up!).....how was your experience up there?

Oh wow, that's amazing - superb to meet another Plinther...I was basically terrified, done in by the unexpected height and shitting it that I'd trip up on my cables and fall off.  All the way through I existed within the 'context' of a performance, just a gig, then the moment I was done and getting lifted down, that's when it became part of the 'work of art' for me.  I've always been a huge Gormley fan so it's a life changer for me - I'm SO glad I did it.  My plan is to get Gormley to sign my upper arm and then get the signature tattooed. Have to catch him first though.

You're getting quite popular on Twitter.....you seem to have lots of fun on there....

I do. I absolutely love it, it gives me so much instant entertainment and I always want to tell people shit as soon as I think of it or read it - Twitter suits me. There's a creative dark side though (as with anything, it's give and take). I think a lot of creative ideas stem from the need to tell a story, so you write a song or article or play built from something you're desperate to communicate. But with Twitter, the minute you have even the bare bones of an idea, you share it with people right away. Certainly I do, too much. So then you've lost the 'need' to turn that idea into something bigger.  But I still love it.

Reading you're latest Twittering.....you're obviously looking forward to Tiger Woods press conference tomorrow....

Hahaha, I swear I'm not interested at all - I just commented because I thought of a funny joke (that surely a billion other people did too) about Tiger's 18 holes.

What is bothering you right now?

I've been writing fund-raising stuff for some charities.  It's like a karmic debt.  And it turns out charities really, really annoy me.  In too many cases their behaviour behind the scenes is despicable but I can't say anything really because I'll get people in trouble but I'm bothered by that shit.  And the election of course, what a nightmare that's going to be.

Here's a tiny one: I know one shouldn't criticise a charity single but why is only half the money from Simon Cowell's version of Everybody Hurts going to the Disasters Emergency Committee?  Why is the other half going to a charity run by The Sun newspaper?  Since when is charity money split between two organisations ostensibly fundraising for the SAME FUCKING CAUSE!?  It's bullshit.  Also, the DEC is THE recognised body when a major incident like Haiti happens, to co-ordinate UK aid agencies.  All the biggest, most expert and established charities stop fundraising for themselves and join forces under the DEC umbrella.  So why the fuck does The Sun feel it can do a better job with half that cash?  Then suddenly, Gordon Brown instantly waives VAT on the single - when other UK good causes have been trying to get their VAT waived for years and been told it's technically impossible.  The hypocrisy is just to a mental degree, it's fucking disgusting but nobody is batting an eyelid.

See, the funny thing is (I swear this is true) - just thinking about that whole mess, I had to tweet about it. So then I deleted the above paragraph.  I've only thought to reinstate it, to demonstrate what I was saying about Twitter.  Duh!

What music are you listening to lately?

Right now Corinne Bailey Rae's album The Sea is rocking my boat.  When you've got a new record out, you listen to other music in a different way.  It's not competitive, more appreciative because the process of studio recording and caring about your new music is fresh in your brain.  Anyway Corinne Bailey Rae's album is the best psychedelic progressive indie folk album for years - but unless it's huge, I bet most people who love psychedelic progressive indie folk will miss it because they wrongly think she's an easy listening jazz pop singer.

Any new music you can recommend to us?

A couple which need full disclosure: Tom Williams & The Boat's debut album is fantastic and I played some piano on it.  Some of my friends are in a trio called Something Beginning With L who are spectacular.  Oh, I love Dry The River, they're great.  Seek out Smallgang, they also good and if Mary Epworth ever gets her album done, it'll be a jawdropper, she's got an incredible voice and a really good dark-hearted Americana-meets-Romany soul.  Also, she has the natural advantage of having Paul Epworth as a brother!

I'm loving the Nintendo song - I'm sure you're getting lots of good feedback on that....but are you?

Thank you very much. Basically yes, so far, feedback from people around me about Nintendo - and Love Is Not Rescue as a whole - has been the best for a long while.  Funnily enough, I started with carefully lowered expectations about this album because it comes from such a dark place on my emotional spectrum.  But with everyone's positive vibes, now I'm falling into the old trap of thinking "Ooh, this could be the one." Which of course is totally the wrong way to respond to your work.  If I'm 100% honest, without dissing any of my own stuff because I'm pretty fucking good overall, but I think this is my favourite music I've made since 2003.

Are your songs still quite political?

I still write quite a few overtly political songs but they don't get used.  I guess I'm stockpiling for when I release another all-political album, a follow-up to 9 Red Songs.  But there's a lot of other things to get through before that.

That ties in with what I was saying about Twitter: political songs are single idea songs, you think of something and it provokes a strong feeling so it becomes a song very fast. But if you've shared that idea instantly on Twitter then you've basically already done the job that writing the song would do, so it's much, much harder to 'create' around that idea.

Any festivals planned? I recommend Blissfields.....

Hahaha you know I love Blissfields, one of my favourites for years, I'd love to go back..... There's something about Paul and Mel, they're proper "from the hearters".  Anyway, Festies... so far this year I'm confirmed for Uncivilisation, which is literature, politics and music with a post-ecology feel in Wales.  Also, Two Thousand Trees and three more I can't name yet.  My first two north American festivals and I've been booked for my first Oxford college ball as well.  Crazy.  So it's edging towards being a busy summer.  It's easier with a good solo show, more flexible than the last couple of years, which were more band-oriented.

Chris T-T releases Nintendo on March 8th.  You can hear it now on his website http://christt.com/

He plays Winchesters Tower Art Centre on March 6th (tickets) and Portsmouth Cellars on March 7th (tickets)