Elba Sessions

We spent a brilliant 8 hours with Laurence and Johny of King James last Friday (19th Feb) culminating in an effortlessly awesome set at Elba Sessions Presents…at The Liquid Ship. After a gruelling overnight drive from London, looking a little startled, we welcomed them into Elba Studios to have a wee chat and let them play a couple of their songs.

Also, we’re pretty happy that for your comfort and pleasure, this is the first Elba podcast that you can download, so you can always have us handy on your portable music device.

King James Podcast by elbasessions

King James the album will be out soon so keep checking the Lynched Recordings site for further info.

King James
Thirty Pounds of Bone
Diamond Family Archive

I think I speak for us all when I say the sooner we see them back up north the better!

Lets just address the rather large elephant in the room straight off the bat. You know the one? Its got the giant red ‘T’ stamped on its side? While the internet has been abuzz with news of Scotland’s annual excessively populated music marathon, we at Elba feel it is our duty to turn your attentions to what is happening more immediately on the gigging front. This is entirely due to our love and commitment to the local music scene. Nothing to do with not having a ticket. No, no, no! We’re not bitter. Let me rephrase that: PHIL is not bitter.

But less of this jesting! Glasgow is looking truly delicious this weekend when it comes to live music.

Tonight and tomorrow night a King Tuts stalwart returns to play to his adoring fans. Tom McRae tours ahead of his fifth studio album ‘The Alphabet of Hurricanes.’ This man has a voice that can reduce even the loudest weegie drunk to tears. I have literally seen this happen; and I do not mean literally in the figurative sense that it is so often used these days. It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of this man but we urge you to head along to this show if you get the chance. Oh and head over to Tom’s myspace should you feel the need for some intellectual ranting. God help us the day this man finally cheers up, his artistry stems from his deep rooted connection to his misery and we certainly wouldn’t want him any other way.

Also on Wednesday night, Sunderland five piece post-punk-indie-pop boys Field Music play Nice and Sleazies. This tour is on the heels of their new eponymous LP. Live, this group are meant to stun more than shine. Prepare yourself to be shocked into adoration.

A triple bill featuring Japandroids, Other People and Cuddly Shark will be pounding King Tuts’ stage on Friday. This one promises to rock. Anyone who was at Elba Presents… (Four) last Friday night and saw the softer side of Cuddly Shark will want to drop into this to experience them in their full frenzied form. In fact, send a wee email to the Shark and they’ll get you in for 3 quid!

On Friday The Pin Up Ladies Night returns to Flying Duck for a the third time. As well as The Pin Ups Djs & Bow Peep playing indie, punk, soul & electropop there’s a line up that I shall allow to speak for itself:

Live – French Horn Rebellion (Kitsune)
Maple Leaves
Guest Gjs – Tracyanne & Carey (Camera Obscura)
Adele & Ailidh (Sons & Daughters)
Emma (Delagados)
Emmy Kate & Marie Du Santiago (Kenickie)
Manda Rin (Bis)

Our final recommendation for the weekend is for the San Francisco Matador signed Girls. Another highly acclaimed, must see troupe. They play Stereo on Saturday.

Happy Gig-gling!

Here in Elba-blog-land we are feeling very fresh faced and it’s not entirely to do with the sub zero temperatures our fair city is enduring. The runny noses can certainly be blamed on the frosty days and brisk breezes. However, we are riding on the heels of musical majesty and growing more excited as some eagerly anticipated events are starting to come together.

On Friday night, another successful Elba Presents… took place at The Liquid Ship. Thanks to all who came along to the fourth live Elba outing. It was a nice wee turn out. For those who didn’t make it, it was a most delightful night featuring King James, Maple Leaves, Craig Davidson and Cuddly Shark. There’s talk of a release from King James in the near future and following their awe inducing set it’s one to look forward to. Their stripped back folk and layered harmonies are bewitching.

Now on to the rather tasty news that was delivered to our inbox last week. On Saturday
3rd April the multi-venue music and art festival, Hinterland, returns. The Arches, Sub Club, Macsorleys Music Bar, The Admiral, Pivo Pivo and Rockers amongst other will provide the base for a myriad of eclectic bands both local and from further afield:

Mystery Jets
British Sea Power
Jeffrey Lewis
Friendly Fires (DJ)
Joe Goddard Hot Chip (DJ Set)
Hot Club de Paris
Wave Pictures
GrecoRoman Soundsystem
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
Fenech Soler
Johnny Foreigner
French Wives
Ambulances
Bleech
Kitty the Lion
Midnight Lion
Ballers Social Presents…..
Cooly G
Marcus Nasty
Spectrals
Eclair FiFi
Art installations by Konx Om Pax & Christina Kernohan
Make Sparks
Little Yellow Ukuleles
Pulled Apart By Horses
plus more TBC

That last statement, that more will be announced, has me practically drooling as the list already promises so much on many fronts. I can foresee the 3rd of April as a whirlwind of adventure with much racing about the city in the hope of catching… EVERYTHING. The end of the day looks like it’ll be quite the party too with the inclusion of Friendly Fires and Joe Goddard on DJ duties for the later running events. In the lead up to the festival Phil and I will feature some of the acts that we’re hoping to catch at Hinterland. This clearly has the potential to turn into a marathon posting event. We’ll do our best to keep the short-list short and to be cut-throat in the selection process. I know what you’re thinking. You don’t think we’ve got that in us. Well! You’re quite right. I’d advise getting an early bird ticket due to its low cost of just £10 right now available from www.thehinterlandfestival.com.

It was too good not to immortalise on the blog. Here I was minding my own business and I came across this on facebook. Props go to Scott Maple of Le Reno Amps. Spoken like a true Elgonian!

It seems like the local music scene is beginning to hot up again after christmas and ‘The Big Freeze’ with plenty of good releases and gigs coming up. I felt like there was a real lack of decent gigs through January, however, couple this with post christmas debt and a busy day-job, it might just be me.

A band that have only recently caught my attention, thanks to Jim at Aye Tunes is Spaghetti Anywhere. They are based in London and play uncomplicated indie pop. A little bit in the vain of Belle and Sebastian or Camera Obscura although I am always very wary of comparing bands. Anyways, they are definitely worth checking out and their E.P. is released on Feb 22nd on Toy Soldier Records.

If you can’t wait until Feb 22nd for your fill of new music, I suggest you point your browsers in the direction of Glasgow based label/collective Wise Blood Industries from tomorrow where you will be able to download the new single ‘The Hours’ from The Kays Lavelle. I’ve given it a couple of listens now and the orchestration is fantastic and I just love the haunting vocals. Their album, recorded by Neil Pennycook of Meursault, is due out in the spring and no doubt when that comes around it will be very hotly anticipated.

There’s quite a few gigs this week to look out for in Glasgow this week. The aforementioned Meursault play next Sunday (21st) at Nice and Sleazys with Xiu Xiu and North Atlantic Oscillation. Working backwards, we may have mentioned at some point that King James, Maple Leaves, Craig Davidson and Cuddly Shark will be playing at The Liquid Ship on Friday night (19th), more details here. On Thursday a big Happy Birthday goes out to the Glasgow PodcART dudes. They will be having a bit of a shindig to celebrate with sets from St Deluxe, Little Yellow Ukeleles and Campfires in Winter. That all goes down at the 13th Note. Lastly (but also firstly this week), on Wednesday night at Brel the fantastic Julia and The Doogans, Panda Su and Sophie’s Pigeons will play some pretty acoustic songs.

Anyways, that’s about all my thoughts for now, we’re going to get this blog a bit more populated with features and reviews over the next few weeks so keep checking back and don’t be a stranger!

A bit of a heads up for everyone on a new event happening next month. It’s called ‘Musicbox’ and it is being run by local label Antimatter Records with the help of our older, more business-like sibling, Elba Studios and cutting edge audio visualists Genre Is A Dirty Word.

The night will showcase an eclectic set of 4 musicians and as a bit of a twist, 4 great photographers. The idea being that each photographer is assigned an act each and is given a month to get together a visual representation of their work to be projected on the night during their act’s set. I make today the 4th of Feb so I suppose the project has started for the photographers!

The acts playing on the night will be…

The Recovery Club
Engine7
Paul McLinden
Lamplighter

and the photographers…

Kat McDonald
Gavin Inglis
Gingiber
Retrogoth

Musicbox will take place at Glasgow’s Universal on March 4th at 8pm and you can get more info as well as being able to purchase advance tickets on the Antimatter website. Entry is a very cheap £3.