For most musicians, making a record takes a fair bit of planning - unless you're Scott Nolan.

Last year, the Winnipeg-based singer/songwriter began working on what was going to be the follow-up to 2005's No Bourbon & Bad Radio, but Nolan abandoned that project when he inadvertently landed recording time with famed Texas-based producer Gurf Morlix (formerly Lucinda Williams' bandleader and producer). After a whirlwind (and virtually unplanned) recording session, Nolan emerged with Receiver/Reflector, his third solo album.

"Joanna (drummer Miller) and I were touring in the southern States last November," Nolan says. "We did (the record) in five days at Gurf Morlix's home. We weren't even planning to make a record at all. I had already started a completely different one at home.

"We obviously didn't really have a big plan," Nolan laughs. "But it flowed really well. We were really surprised."

The whole thing isn't as cosmic as it sounds. Morlix was in Winnipeg last June to produce Romi Mayes' Sweet Somethin' Steady - a record to which Nolan contributed. When Nolan met up with Morlix later that year, it seemed only natural that the pair work together.

"I went through a lot of things that year," Nolan says. "I lost a really close friend of mine, followed by a few more, and Gurf had gone through something similar and I think we came together because of that.

"I'm really happy with it," Nolan says of Receiver/Reflector. "The other one was a bit more of a rock 'n' roll record. For better or for worse, I went with this one. And it's nice to be able to do that. I don't have a lot of pressures on me. Without really meaning to, I came up with something that really captures a time in my life."

Though 32-year-old Nolan benefitted from Morlix's production wizardry, he found he was able to return the favour. After years of playing on and recording other people's records, Morlix is building a name for himself as a singer/songwriter. He also has a new record to promote - so the pair are co-releasing their records at a bash here in town.

"It's exciting because, up here, he's not super well-known," Nolan says.

The excitement and insecurities that come with playing to new audiences are feelings that Nolan knows well. True to his troubadour spirit, he's bared his bluesy roots-rock soul to booze-soaked rooms in towns and cities across the continent.

Still, for someone who has so much experience following the yellow line as a solo performer, Nolan says he's only recently begun to feel at home on stage.

"I think I've gotten more comfortable with performing," Nolan says. "For years, it was an uphill battle for me. I think my major strides lie in that.

"When I would see a performer like Tom Waits, it never occurred to me that his presence, his stage banter, everything, was a pre-rehearsed extension of his art," he continues. "It took me a while to relate to that. Now, I feel like most nights it happens."