THE chance to commune with nature has always attracted Nick Heyward. Kites, blue skies, stars, lakes, and sunny fantastic days have all been celebrated in more than 35 years of songwriting.

There has been no George Harrison-like embrace of mysticism, but the time spent in the pursuit of meditation within a green space near his home had him tipping his cap to the universe not too long ago.

As a resident of Henley-on-Thames, in Oxfordshire, he would regularly find a spot near the river to meditate. When he was told that a music festival was being planned for that exact spot and his position as one of the most popular British acts of the 1980s made him a prime candidate for the line-up, he thought greater forces might have been at work.

“At the time I was wondering how I was going to finance my next album, then along comes an offer to do a really well-organised festival that’s great fun and well paid.”

Henley-on-Thames was the first of the Rewind sites, now numbering three, with Nick playing Rewind Scotland at Scone Palace this Sunday.

His live appearances have been rare, one-off gigs and festivals and an impressive performance of covers by The Jam at a tribute gig to the Mod three-piece last year. This relatively low profile doesn’t worry him, however, with independence from record companies liberating.

Woodland Echoes, his first album since 2006 and his ninth as Nick Heyward (Pelican West was the only LP release by Haircut One Hundred) is released on August 4 on his Gladstone Hawk Records, something that’s the norm with established artists looking for more control over their musical output.

“There’s no need to dwell on the time that things take now,” says Nick. “Things are done when they’re done – you know when it’s finished. No-one has given me an advance and a deadline, saying it must be finished and out by a certain date. Even when people on the periphery said, ‘that’ll do’, I didn’t think it was right. If I had released something before feeling the songs had reached their full potential I’d be cheating myself.”

But now that his own label is established and Woodland Echoes is almost out. “The process will speed up for the next one because I’m already on it – I have people in place that I love working with so I can probably have the next one out next year. The idea is to do one a year now because it’s possible.”

Pledge Music has played a role in financing the album, with simple pre-orders of all formats, some art prints, his Gretsch ukulele which was snapped up for more than £750, and even Woodland Echoes tea to enjoy while listening.

“Pledge is another way of remaining independent. For years I was wondering how to get things off the ground and this solves that – when the universe doesn’t step in. It’s also a way for younger bands to get a foothold.”

He points to songwriters and performers who, although undeniably talented, never get the breaks and provides an unexpected example. “Now there are so many sweethearts – I can’t think of any other word for them, – in the business getting their breaks in diverse ways.

“Who was the lovely Scottish woman who won the competition?”

We go through a few names but then alight on Susan Boyle. “That’s her! She would never have been signed by a record company – and now here she is, selling millions and making people incredibly happy. There’s a rawness and emotion to her voice – she gets into people’s hearts and doesn’t think about it too much.”

If that seems to be out of step with hip taste, Hayward is delighted to be so. Even down to the music he’s about to release.

“I think it’s out of touch with current music in the same way that a Fred Perry T-shirt is. Still a classic shape but not exactly in fashion. It’s also like a good Cherry Bakewell. They’re not a fashionable cake, but if you get a really good Cherry Bakewell you remember what the fuss was all about.”

He also admits that programming might be an issue as the music world becomes increasingly streamed and fragmented. For example, “One song has an almost country feel, but if you’re programming on Radio 2 then country is a death knell unless it’s a specialist show. We, naively perhaps, thought that it would be filed under unexpected – but there’s not really a station called Unexpected Radio.”

Unlike many of his peers, becoming a songwriter for others has never sat easily. “I’ve tried the songwriter-for-hire thing, but I always end up liking what they’re doing and becoming their conduit to help them achieve what they want to do.”

While he understands why songwriters become involved in teams who write for more chart-friendly acts, the dilution of ideas is something of an issue.

“You think of all the people that are involved in making a record great. For instance, Geoff Emerick (who he worked with on first solo album North of a Miracle) finding that guitar sound at the beginning of Paperback Writer. That was almost the birth of rock – those little things that make a dramatic difference.”

Nick’s son Oliver has followed him into the business and although he has played with his old man on stage, he has settled behind the desk and works as a sound engineer, now at Zak Starkey’s Salo Sound Studio, where some of Woodland Echoes was done.

“He’s been working with Chris Thomas and when I called him recently to see if he wanted to meet up, he couldn’t as he was recording Paul Cook – proud dad there.”

With the first album in 10 years and more to come on its heels it seems, live work must be inevitable.

“I suppose, but there’s the album and all that’s going on beneath its surface. I was asked to write something about it for the promotions company and instead of writing about who played on it, this story about time stopping came into my head.

“The album starts with a clock ticking, then the song starts to play along with the clock. I suddenly saw a fisherman in a beach hut. He gets the hands of time on his shoulders and he’s compelled to leave the beach hut. He had given up on romantic love and although he always wanted it, contented himself with the love of the sea and nature.

“When he turns around to look at the beach hut, he realises it’s a cuckoo clock and he’s a bird. I was writing this and thought this might be something. Maybe a children’s story, maybe a theatre thing… I don’t know how that would translate to a live show coming on stage dressed as a fisherman though!”

The suggestion that the Aran jumpers from Haircut One Hundred days and fisherman’s caps might still fit, he laughs heartily. “Maybe it’s the story of Haircut One Hundred and I haven’t realised it yet!”

Although he has retained surprisingly youthful looks for his 56 years, he was keen to have a cover that reflected the back-to-nature feel of the album.

“Part of the album was recorded on a houseboat in Key West, where I bought the postcard that’s on the front for a dollar. A lot of people retire there, so the shops are always packed with amazing bric-a-brac, especially from the 1950s.”

Trying to convince the promotions people that a vintage postcard of a lake on the cover is preferable to his face has been a hard sell.

“At one point, I thought ‘why am I fighting for this postcard that I can’t even find the copyright on?’ But I suppose I can now.”

Woodland Echoes is released on Gladstone Hawk Records on August 4. More details at www.nickheyward.com.

He plays Rewind Festival at Scone Palace near Perth on Sunday. www.rewindfestival.com.