Bernard Butler: "Bert was a friend of mine, and he was a genius."

“When I formed a band there were all those golden oldies tours and you swore you’d never get involved in that. Now everyone has gone and done it - it’s so boring if all you’re doing is looking back to the past and not doing anything new.

“As a punter you love a night out hearing the old songs but in your own life most people don’t want to spend every day looking at old photo albums all day long.”

That sentiment seems to sum Butler up nicely – whether as a guitarist or as a producer (he’s helmed records by everyone from warbling Welsh songstress Duffy to pop chanteuse Paloma Faith, Glasgow’s Sons & Daughters and 1990s) he seems firmly focused on what’s next, rather than the past.

Admittedly, he doesn’t always dispense with the past entirely, given that his most recent Scottish visit last autumn was with regular collaborator David McAlmont. Even there he talks of finally getting their long-awaited third album finished soon, saying there’s “a pile of songs” being worked on.

His next Glasgow appearance will also come with a considerable cache of memories, as he plays at the gigs paying tribute to Bert Jansch as part of Celtic Connections on January 31 (at the Old Fruitmarket) and February 1 (at the Royal Concert Hall), joining a host of famous names including Robert Plant and Graham Coxon.

Jansch was a huge influence on Butler’s own guitar playing, and the duo worked together several times over the years, including on the former Pentangle guitarist’s 2002 album Edge of a Dream. That also resulted in shows at the Barrowland as part of Celtic Connections, and mention of them prompts the memories to flow.

“Bert was a friend of mine, and he was a genius. He was a wonderful person and musician, and it was very sad when he died because it was a great loss.

“He used to get really annoyed at always having the folk tag, because he was interested in so much more - he didn’t have any boundaries and he hated some of the snobbery of the folk scene. I know he’d love to be sitting there watching people re-interpret his music. When I played with him he didn’t just want me to do his guitar parts exactly, he wanted to see what I could do with them.

“Those were great times - we did the Barrowland for Celtic Connections about 10 years ago and I remember staying in the hotel at Central Station, and everyone was up playing music that night. Every room you went into there was people playing instruments, which was a beautiful thing.”

There are less beautiful things on Butler’s mind, too. A man who clearly enjoys a chat, when he builds up a head of steam on a topic he can be scathing. Modern bands being dominated by wealthy and middle-class people is one subject that provokes plenty of scorn, for instance.

“Most young people in bands I come across now are either loaded from the start, and generally less interesting because they don’t need to do it, or they’re working day jobs and that makes it harder to schedule things and they push themselves out of music…”

He also sees the modern approach to the music industry, and the need to have continual hits, as something that reflects modern society as a whole. Needless to say, he’s not in favour.

“Everything in society is about success and nothing else. In education we’re forcing kids to learn things by the age of 11 or else they are considered a failure - my wife’s a teacher, and the new curriculum is all about making kids know all their long division by the age of 11.

“If you haven’t learned that by then you’re a failure . It’s really pointless all the goals of success we have, but there’s nothing about artistic goals or success. I know that sounds really bohemian, but we’re not allowing creative industries to flourish. It’s crippling.”

Bert Inspired is at Glasgow's Old Fruitmarket on Sunday, with a repeat performance at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Monday bringing Celtic Connections to a close.