Elba Sessions

My turn, let’s keep it snappy…

Album of The Year – Loads to choose from! Titus Andronicus – The Airing of Grievances probably tops the list though. Honourable mentions to Brakes, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Le Reno Amps, Cuddly Shark and The Cinematics, oh, and The Phantom Band! (I could go on…)

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To – Putting on more gigs, writing more for the blog (and getting better at it), seeing and hearing loads of new music, working with Armellodie records and seeing it evolve, Pavement at the Barrowlands (!!!!!!!) and putting some faces to email addresses!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US HERE AT ELBA!

SEE YOU IN 2010!

After a couple of days of Christmas over-indulgence, Elba Sessions go self indulgent. We’ve saved a couple of annual posts until the end of the month about our ‘bests’ of the year. Up first, podcaster broadcaster Chris…

Album of The Year – Wilco – Wilco (The Album). I literally listened to one album for 2 months after I bought this album so it has to be. Honourable mention to Richmond Fontaine’s new album…brilliant.

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To -
Album – Lightspeed Champion.
Book – Willy Vlautin – ‘Lean On Pete.
TV – Final season of Lost can’t f%^king wait!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and putting on more gigs…

As the Elba Annual begins to draw to a close for 2009, today’s post comes from one of my favourite new bands, Maple Leaves. They’ve had a pretty busy year cramming in much more than many unsigned bands could do in several years with a set at T in The Park, tv and radio performances not to mention the thumbs up from none other than Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian). Here’s hoping that we see plenty more of them in 2010. Anna tells us what made her 2009…

Album of The Year – May I have 3? Or even 4? This is nigh on impossible to choose just one, I’m afraid as Checkmate Savage by Phantom Band, the God Help The Girl album, Zoey Van Goey’s ‘The Cage Was Unlocked All Along’ were all out…so how do you choose between them? Not to mention Bill Callahan record….! Sorry I’m quite bad at making decisions on stuff like this….!

Things You’re Look forward to in 2010 – Releasing our first proper single and playing some great shows, in Edinburgh and in King Tuts again in January. We were in Chemikal Underground’s Chem 19 studios in November and the songs for our first single are just getting mastered now, so should be released in the New Year. Can’t wait!

Follow Maple Leaves at the following for latest gigs and newses…

www.myspace.com/mapleleavesmusic

@mapleleavesband (twitter)

Facebook group – Maple Leaves

Any band which includes either lap steel, mandolin or a banjo is generally on to a winner with me. It’s fortunate then that today’s Elba Annual features a band with all of the above. The Recovery Club were formed in 2005 and have gradually grown over the past few years. Next year sees them release their debut single on Antimatter Records. Today, Graham shares his 2009 with us…

Album of The Year – ‘Veckatimest’ by Grizzly Bear

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To – Releasing and launching our single with Antimatter Records in February.. recording – and hopefully releasing our first full album.

For all info on gigs, releases etc…check out The Recovery Club myspace here…

Today’s Elba Annual features Scottish singer songwriter Daniel Wylie. The former Cosmic Rough Rider has been busy working away in Elba Studios recording his new release “Fake Your Own Death” which is due out in 2010 and from what we have heard it’s gonna be a good un, Stephen even included it in his albums of the year! Here’s Daniel’s 2009 ‘best of’s’…

Album of The Year – “Veckatimest” by Grizzly Bear. It’s such an inventive record, overflowing with great and unusual ideas. More great ideas than you can shake a stick at and more than many bands manage in a whole career.

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To – Looking forward to completing my new album, “Fake Your Own Death”, at the excellent Elba Studios in Glasgow. Working with Stephen Scott has been great fun and the sessions are shaping up well. I should have a fantastic album when it’s completed.

http://www.myspace.com/danielwylie

…Martin John Henry!

We had a blast recording many of the Elba podcasts this year but we got an absolute treat when Martin (ex De Rosa) played us a track that he hadn’t even finished yet! Luckily enough, Stephen pressed record and we captured the track titled, ‘Ribbon on a Bow’. Now, as a wee Christmas gift, it’s up on our myspace page for you to enjoy.

The track will only be up until the 1st January so fill yer’ boots!!!!

Merry Christmas from all at Elba Sessions!!!

Unintentionally it seems as if the Elba Sessions annual is being posted up in categories. Just last week we had a couple of posts in a row which featured two of the bands on Armellodie Records and now we follow up Peenko’s Elba Annual with an post on new Glasgow-based blog Mumble Club. Mumble Club seems to be an ever evolving mish mash of art, design, music with a definite love of sneakers thrown in! I’ve been enjoying their no nonsense posts for a while now and they are adding new strings to their bow with an Alt/Hip Hop night in Sleazy’s next month featuring the brilliant Fox Gut Daata. All the best for that lads!

Album of The Year – I know it’s the obvious answer but Merriweather Post Pavillion by Animal Collective is a definite stand-out. Their new stuff sounds great too. I’ve also been into what KIeran Hebden’s done this year, both as Four Tet and with Steve Reid; I really liked the woozy after-hours feel to the Moth/Wolf Club EP he put out with Burial. It’s sort of like early early Warp.

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To – I read somewhere that Beyonce is collaborating with Of Montreal. Which will be nice.

Check out the Mumble blog here

6th Jan 2010 – Mumble Club Alt Hip Hop Party @ Nice & Sleazy’s – £2

Hot on the heels of last night’s blog on the BAMS (see here), we have cornered the mastermind of said BAMS to ask what made his year. We’ve enjoyed following Peenko’s blog for a long time now, the Friday Freebies are a personal favourite, and whilst the relationship has thus far remained virtual, we hear he is one hell of a mover on the dancfloor! I give you Peenko’s Elba Annual…

Album of The Year – The Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To – I’m really looking forward to ‘The Winter of Mixed Drinks’ the new Frightened Rabbit album/ Homegame 2010/ possibly releasing a record with a cracking band called Campfires in Winter/ the Kid Canaveral album/ seeing what else the Glasgow Podcart team come up with/ The Unwinding Hours album/ and lastly to hopefully get to meet one of the lovely Elba Session team in person (ed: can be arranged!)

Make sure that you bookmark Peenko’s blog. There’s some crackin’ stuff on there for download and a few Elba recommendations in the shape of Andrea Marini and Cuddly Shark!

The Elba Sessions podcast has been running since July this year and we have been blogging since September so we were pretty honoured to be asked by Peenko to throw our tuppence worth into what is now affectionately known as The Scottish BAMS or The Scottish Bloggers and Music Sites Award 2009, to give it it’s proper title. The Phantom Band’s Checkmate Savage took the honours and the Top 20 was packed with plenty of good choices, with a large amount of Scottish talent being represented.

Personally I struggled a bit, not to choose the ten so much, but more to order it from 10 to 1. Looking back at my choices, I’ll stick with my Number 1 and possibly the first few places but to be honest, if any of my top 10 were at number 1, I’d have no complaints at all. Here is how Stephen, Chris and myself voted…

(note: Stephen ducks out slightly by nominating an unreleased album, but we’ll let him off for that and you’ll notice I favoured counting down from 10 to 1, to build suspense and all, wheras my fellow amigos went straight in with a number 1!)

Phil Elba

10. Cuddly Shark – Cuddly Shark
9.Le Reno Amps – Tear It Open
8.Bruce Springsteen – Working On A Dream
7.The Cinematics – Love and Terror
6. Brakes – Touchdown
5. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
4. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
3. Sufjan Stevens – The BQE
2. Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage
1. Titus Andronicus – The Airing of Grievances

Stephen Elba

1. De Rosa – Prevention
2. My Latest Novel – Deaths and Entrances.
3. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career.
4. Idlewild – Post Electric Blues.
5. Conor Mason – When its Over
6. Le Reno Amps – Tear it Open
7. LAU – Arc Light
8. bat for lashes – two Suns
9. Daniel Wylie – Fake your own death (wont be released until 2010 but i have heard the tracks and they are ace!)
10. Cuddly Shark – Cuddly Shark

Chris Elba

1. Wilco – Wilco (the album)
2. Richmond Fontaine – We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River
3. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
4. Bruce Springsteen – Working on a Dream
5. De Rosa – Prevention
6. Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
7. Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
8. The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
9. Sufjan Stevens – The BQE
10. Le Reno Amps – Tear It Open

I was pretty pleased that 4 of mine were included in the Top 20 and having seen the spreadsheet where the maths was done, a couple just missed out. I think The Phantom Band were worthy winners though, being voted for by predominantly scottish blogs and writers it’s fitting that a Scottish band should win it, who would have doubted that one would!

And here’s how the masses voted!

1. The Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage (61)
2. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion (54)
3. De Rosa – Prevention (53)
4. King Creosote – Flick the V’s (51)
5. Withered Hand – Good News (45)
6. The Twilight Sad – Forget The Night Ahead (43)
7. We Were Promised Jetpacks – These Four Walls (40)
8. Beerjacket – Animosity (38)
9. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More (32)
9. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career (32)
11. My Latest Novel – Deaths and Entrances (28)
11. Malcolm Middleton – Waxing Gibbous (28)
13. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – s/t (25)
14. You Already Know – s/t (24)
14. Broken Records – Until the Earth Begins to Part (24)
16. The XX – s/t (23)
17. The Antlers – Hospice (21)
18. Sufjan Stevens – The BQE (19)
18. And So I Watch You From Afar (19)
20. Wilco – The Album (18)

You can praise/blame/thank the following for their input!

17 Seconds, AyeTunes, Dear Scotland, Earz Mag, Elba Sessions, Glasgow Podcart, Hooligans Lament, Jim Gellatly, JocknRoll, Jockrock, Kowalskiy, Last Years Girl, Love Shack Baby, Manic Pop Thrills, My Portiswasp Says, Off the Beaten Tracks, The Popcop, Products of a Gaseous Brain, Song By Toad, The Daily Growl, The Spill, The Steinberg Principle, The Vinyl Villain and Under the Radar.

And once again, well done to Peenko for organising all of this!

Dean Owens will go down in Elba Sessions folklore as our first ever podcastee back in July this year. It was only fair that we invited Dean back to tell us about his year which included a Scandinavian tour and a song in Irvine Welsh’s latest film about darts…

Album of The Year – Wilco (the album)

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To – Looking forward to going to New York to work with singer-songwriter/producer Dave Derby. I hope to make a new record.

Dean Owens Home On The Web