Years ago, I was in a band called James Yorkston and the Athletes. We chose the name as it was daft. None of us were particularly athletic. We met in a pub and hear we are in a boat - Reuben, Faisal, the Doogster, Wendy and some other guy.

Our first album we recorded by ourselves in a farmhouse we rented out in the borders. It's pictured on the back of Moving Up Country. It was pretty fraught going, the cottage was damp and the Athletes turned out to be very good at staying up extremely late smoking n drinking

And then everything broke. We recorded most of the album in the final two days, the rest of the time spent buying new equipment (me), begging Domino for more money (me) and shooting and eating pheasants (the Athletes).

But people quite liked the record and we were allowed to make another one. Encouraged, almost. This time, Domino wanted us to go to a proper studio. I think they were a little worried everything would go wrong again. So, they sent me out to find a studio. I visited four or five.

But to be honest, I was finding it all a little overwhelming, people showing me their microphone collections and saying things like "and that corner there is where Bob Dylan ate an apple so we call it the Dylan apple corner ha ha". Last of the studios to visit was in North Wales

So I got the train to view it. There was no-one there to meet me at the station, so I was a little lost at what to do, but then an old farmer appeared and told me he used to be in the Yardbirds. And this was how I met @lauriegane the owner of Bryn Derwen Studios.

Now, I've worked for a few old farmers in my time and found myself getting on so well with Laurie, that I pretty much decided I'd work at his place whatever it was like. When I arrived, it looked well braw. A weird chapel building built onto a cottage that was part of a villa.

Hidden inside was @davidwrench. David had been part of the attraction for me, since Simon Raymonde, who'd co-produced Moving Up Country, had told me what a great engineer David was. David had this massive book he carried everywhere, full of Welsh engineering secrets.

So it was decided - we would record at Bryn Derwen. Domino were keen we had a producer on board during the recording stage this time, probably so I wouldn't make such a pig's ear of it all. I can't remember who suggested @FourTet, but we'd met a fair few times by then.

He seemed like an obvious choice, so that was that. When we arrived, we chose berths. The band stayed in the converted stables, Kieran and I stayed in the west wing of the villa itself, Kieran upstairs (in the "producer's suite") and me downstairs (in the "chef's galley").

That first night, I was awoken by the sound of somebody pacing right outside my door, breathing heavily. I was Pat Shants. I knew it wasn't Kieran, as the footfall sounded too slow and heavy. It sounded like an old, drunk tramp, on his last legs. I barricaded the door and

Switched my light on. I tried to sleep, but the noise remained for what seemed like hours. Finally, I heard a creaking sound upstairs, and I consoled myself that it must have been Kieran, and I got a little sleep. Next morning, I asked Kieran what he was doing outside my door...

But of course he hadn't been there. His room was ensuite. There was no need for him to trudge around the kitchen. So I asked the band - but they were staying a while away, through an unlit path of trees. No reason to come to the villa. So I asked Dave and Laurie and they FREAKED

"It's the ghost! The ghost! Did you see it!? Did it touch you? Did you smell it!?" Furiously excited. David told me how once he'd heard it sing "And the world will turn and the world will burn..." and he'd put it in a song. Laurie told me he was jealous as he'd never seen it

Or heard it. The rest of that trip, I dreamt every night about a young girl, who was playing and being mischievous. I slept with the light on at all times. The album came out and got great reviews.

The next few years were exhausting.

But then, we were allowed to do another album! Incredible. Of course, I chose Bryn Derwen. Why not? It was such a special place and David was again available. This time, we got Paul Webb, AKA Rustin Man in to produce. I chose him as when we met he was wearing his wife's jacket.

Which seemed sensible. So we all rolled up to Bryn Derwen. Now, Paul stayed off-site in some fancy cottage, so I got promoted to the producer's suite. Sweet! What could possibly go wrong? And as we were now practically Hollywood A-Listers, we also got our own chef, my good pal Ho

Ho is his nickname. His real name is David, but that'd only confuse the story. Anyway, remember the previous time where I'd stayed in the chef's room and been awoken by the ghost? Well, this time, Ho stayed in the chef's room. He was the chef, afterall.

Laurie told me - "No one has ever experienced ghostly happenings in the producer's suite. You'll be fine". Phew. Except, that first night I WOKE UP WITH SOMETHING GRABBING HOLD OF THE SOLES OF MY FEET AND DRAGGING ME OUT OF THE BED aaaaaaarrrgggghhhhh.

I pulled my feet in and remembered the old Catholic prayers that had been drummed into my childhood. But I didn't sleep.

Next morning, I went downstairs and asked Ho if he'd slept ok. He said "Aye..." but then when I told him what had happened to me he went white and said "JAMESIE I PURE DREAMT AH WAS GETTING PULLED OOTAE THE BED MASEL BIGMAN HELP MA BOAB IT'S AYE FREAKY BISCUITS ROOND HERE"

Or something similar, as he is a character from The Broons. So we asked David about it, and he told us thqt since our last visit, a shaman had been in and discovered that there were two spirits trapped there - a young girl and a man who'd had his legs damaged whilst working in...

...the nearby open quarry, Penrhyn (the largest in Europe for a long time). The rest of that visit, I got very little sleep. Anyway. 2008, back again for When The Haar Rolls In. I have the same room. I pray to the little girl to leave me alone and the first night, the attic door

...blew in and landed square on the floor. But then... silence. And peace. I went back a further two times. Bryn Derwen is now closed as a recording studio, but you can rent it out as a holiday home, thrill seekers. Their website doesn't mention the ghost(s)