SCOTTISH singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Siobhan Wilson plays The Basement, City Screen, York, on Sunday on her 13-date September tour.

Brought up in Elgin, Morayshire, Wilson discovered music at an early age, first studying classical piano and cello and later playing in youth orchestras across Scotland.

Her fascination with French culture and language prompted her to move to Paris shortly after finishing high school, and there she started to develop her songwriting skills, going to open-mic nights and immersing herself in French musical tradition.

Posting her songs on MySpace, they were discovered by a French label, sparking a crowdfunding campaign that enabled her to record and release her debut album, Songs.

Since returning to Scotland to root herself in Glasgow, Wilson has made two EPs and a single, drawing radio play from BBC Radio 1, 2, 6Music and Radio Scotland.

A chance meeting with Song, By Toad record label founder Matthew Young led to a discussion about a new album that Wilson was making with producer and Catholic Action member Chris McCrory.

"Generally, I make sure to listen to things through several times and properly think things over before offering to release a record, but on this one, I was about halfway through the first song and I knew we’d want to put it out," says Young, who runs his label in Leith.

Delicate and still, with occasional hints of sinister undercurrents, new album There Are No Saints addresses heartache, art and religious faith, and most of Wilson's vocals were done in one take with minimal arrangements to match the vulnerability of the lyrics.

The album title reflects Wilson's thoughts on the world and humanity, as she writes from a place of contemplation and courage, fashioning her dark fairy tale around dreamlike vocals and simple arrangements. "There are no humans with a moral sense inherently greater than anyone else's," she says, adding that questioning faith frequently occupies her mind.

"Our moral code is in the equal measure imposed upon and chosen by us. And, of course, this applies to ideas we discover, including religion and musical harmony. For me, music is a form of religion fundamentally rooted in practice."

The latest single, Dark Matter, considers the trials of everyday existence. "It's about all of the things you can never understand about life, time, space and people," says Wilson. "The lyrics talk about the uncertainty and frustration of never truly knowing what is on somebody else's mind. It's an acceptance that no matter how hard you search, sometimes just don't find the answer."

In tribute to Wilson's love of Gallic culture, two songs are sung in French, something that comes naturally to her: “It feels really relaxed and rolls off the tongue in a different way to English or other languages," she says.

Her classical training informs the record too: There Are No Saints and It Must Have Been the Moon bear echoes of choral music, while the harpsichord-layered Dystopian Bach detours into more experimental territory, hinting at a possible future musical direction.

After performing at Celtic Connections, Cambridge Folk Festival and Wickerman, touring the United States, France, Sweden, Belgium and Poland and supporting Idlewild and Martha Reeves, Wilson is on the road through September. Tickets for Sunday's 8pm show in York cost £8 from pleasepleaseyou.com, in person from The Basement or Jumbo Records in Leeds or on the door.