Scots composer Martin Kershaw recently admitted that he was helped to complete his latest work by listening to RADIOHEAD .  The work begins a tour on 31 October and includes a performance at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness on 5 November 2008.

Kershaw – a renowned jazz saxophonist – has spent the last nine months writing Hero As A Riddle; a suite of music inspired by the works of Edinburgh-born artist Eduardo Paolozzi.

But he banned himself from listening to any music during that time in case it influenced the new work – except Radiohead’s latest album, In Rainbows.

He said: “Composing is an isolated process and you have to focus on the work. I couldn’t listen to music as I was scared I would just end up copying down what I’d heard the day before.

“But the one recording I allowed myself was In Rainbows – I’ve listened to little else since I started composing in January and I think it’s influenced Hero As A Riddle, though not in terms of style.

“What I love about Radiohead is the naturalness of their music and the way they don’t rush things. I think that, like them, one can create beautiful music by keeping it simple.”

Kershaw admits Hero As A Riddle is the ‘hardest thing I’ve ever done’ and says that it encompasses so many different styles, it’s impossible to categorise it. He explains: “There’s such a wide variety of influences - everything from classical to jazz and drum and bass – that I hope people won’t be ticking them off.

“With Radiohead, you can’t say their music is any particular thing. Is it rock? Is it progressive? It’s just Radiohead. Equally, I want people to listen to Hero As A Riddle and say ‘I like the way it sounds’.”

Now Kershaw is set to premiere the work with ten top-class musicians, including members of Mr McFall’s Chamber, pianist Paul Harrison and trumpeter Ryan Quigley.

The events - at Aberdeen Art Gallery’s Cowdry Hall on October 31, Eden Court Theatre in Inverness on November 5 and Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh on November 7 - will also feature projections of Paolozzi’s work and a pre-concert talk on the artist, who died in 2005.

The project – including the future recording of it - is being funded by the Scottish Arts Council’s New Music Award and Kershaw is looking forward to taking it on the road. He said: “I can’t wait to hear the work being played. I had a certain group of players whom I know very well in my mind when I was composing.

“It’s been very useful to have that because I can hear them playing in my head when I’m writing. It means I’m using the musicians to their strengths. Hopefully that means you’re going to get a performance that the musicians are into, and that the audience will enjoy too.”