Born in London, Sutherland grew up in Orkney and the town of Blairgowrie in Perthshire.
While he was at the University of Glasgow, he and others formed the Scottish post-rock band Long Fin Killie, who were active from 1993 until 1998.
The band recorded three albums for the independent label Too Pure: Houdini (1995), Valentino (1996) and Amelia (1998).
[4] He also sings with a band called Music A.M. with Stefan Schneider and Volker Bertelmann, releasing three albums: A Heart & Two Stars (2004), My City Glittered Like a Breaking Wave (2005) and Unwound From The Wood (2006).
His novella Venus As A Boy (2004) talks extensively about Sutherland's own childhood in Orkney, where he and his sister were the sole African children.