Elba Sessions

Our next segment of Hinterland giddiness comes in the form of a catch up with the always lovely (and never wanky) Stuart Dougan of French Wives. Do enjoy…

Firstly, update us with some news. What have the band been up to of late?

Well on Wednesday we played possibly the worst set of our lives as Scott’s guitar broke and we had to go off stage for fifteen uncomfortable minutes while we tried to fix it. Other than that we played an excellent fundraiser for Mary’s Meals with Findo Gask and Paper Planes and have been putting the finishing touches to our next single which will be out in May.

And how are things now that your guitarist Scott is back from the US?

Considerably better since his return. It was good that we were still playing gigs but it wasn’t the same without him here. As it happens he’s that busy finishing his degree he’s still rarely seen but at least our phone bills are cheaper now that we’re not having to call America.

How would you describe French Wives’ sound?

Without trying to sound like a complete wank, we try and write intelligent pop music (wank!). It’s very melodic and we aim to make things as interesting as possible.

Are there any key influences to the band as a whole or as individuals?

We all listen to different stuff so it’s a bit of a mixed bag really. There’s certain bands that we all like and having different musical backgrounds is helpful when it comes to putting songs together.

You’ll be playing Hinterland at the weekend, are there any other bands you are hoping to catch?

Definitely Mystery Jets. I’ve only seen them once but they’re one of my favourite bands so I’m keen to see them again. I think they start ten minutes after we finish so all our gear will be getting cleared up in record time.

If you could choose to play a support slot for any artist who would be top of your list?

I think we’d love to support someone like Belle and Sebastian. I think it would be a pretty good fit. If you happen to know any of them could you please let them know we’re interested? I know they’re recording again so that would be great. Thanks.

And who would you pick to support you?

Belle and Sebastian again. That way the venue would definitely sell out.

Halloween/Dogfight came out at the start of the year and had really good response, how are you feeling about the Me vs Me single?

We’re very excited about it. We’re really happy with how it’s turned out and it’s probably more suitable as a single than Halloween was. Everyone will just have finished their exams when it’s released (on May 17th!) so it’ll be good to know that it’s finally summer and will hopefully give us a bit of momentum going into some festivals. We’re also doing the launch at The Art School which I’m looking forward to as we’ve never played there before.

What can we expect in the coming year from you?

We’re going to be playing a few festivals hopefully and we’re hoping to get a lot of new songs finished as we haven’t had a lot of time together because of everyone’s university commitments. It’s hard enough fitting in practising and gigging just now so it’ll be good once everyone is done and we can work like a proper band.

Finally, are there plans for a longer release anytime soon?

Probably in the second half of the year but it’ll most likely be an E.P. There’s not plans for an album or anything just yet. I think we want to tour a bit more, maybe build our profile a little and then look to that for 2011… maybe.

I received some mail by carrier pigeon this morning from an over-worked, tired and grumpier than usual member of the Elba gang. Not wishing to be left out, he asked me to share with you his picks for this Saturday at Hinterland. I’m told that by this Saturday it’ll be end of quarter, pay day will have come and the yellow-coloured business directory we all use will be free of errors for another couple of months so a smile will most definitely be on his face. (Oh, and we will also have had another Elba Sessions Presents…evening – cue more smiles!) Look out for, along with possibly red jacketed small female and apparently wry bespectacled male, a Tarantino lookalike answering to the name ‘Knoxy’. That will be Elba. Here is Chris’ must sees at Hinterland 2010…

Ambulances

Jeffrey Lewis

French Wives

Panda Su

Pulled Apart by Horses

The list went on but I’ve restricted it to just the five! After all, too many would just confuse us!

We at Elba have promised to supply you with our picks for Hinterland. There has also been some reference to the difficulty we’ve had whittling that shortlist down. It is a hard choice and I am already picturing how entertaining its going to be trying to catch everyone we want to see. Take a look at The Pop Cop’s Blog if you’re in any doubt. If you see flashes of a tiny person in a red raincoat/red Cons (I’ve not decided what I’ll be wearing yet), dashing around the place then please say hello because it will almost certainly be me. If you see a wry looking gentleman with specs, laughing at said short flurry and moving at a more leisurely pace then that’s Phil. You should say hi to him too.

Spectrals
This act has a woozy, fuzzy, surfy sound that I absolutely love. They make me think of really hot summers afternoons that leave you parched. This is the band that I want to be listening to on days like those. I know that that will probably be as far from the conditions in Glasgow this weekend as we can get but I’m still desperate to get a wee peek at Spectrals live.

Kitty The Lion
The absolutely adorable Kitty The Lion are my next recommendation. This is a band to make you smile. A band to pop and bop along to. It is pretty, delicate folk with some quirky little lyrical flourishes. If it was possible to cuddle sound, I’d be squished right up to their track Split Ends.

Ambulances
NEE NAW! I can’t say enough good things about Ambulances. Fife sneaks out yet another class act. At their most upbeat moments this sextet are like a really drowsy Teenage Fanclub. Their debut, The Future That Was, is the album that you should have bought and loved last year. If you didn’t, go and see them and pick it up at the gig. Glasgow Podcart did a nice little preview, which you can hear here.

French Wives
I intend to get my dancing shoes on for the very twee French Wives. This Glasgow band like their arrangements full. I caught a little bit of their set a while back in The Liquid Ship and I will most certainly be pitching up for a tap of the foot and bounce on Saturday. It’s Sufjan meets Belle & Sebastian; charming.

Johnny Foreigner
Johnny Foreigner are a Casio wielding trio from Birmingham and a lot more likeable than that description allows. Boy-girl vocals, dance-floor friendly with the cutest artwork ever. They have assaulted the same stage as Dananananakroyd and the Futureheads. They’re definitely a contender for the ‘which headliner to catch’ dilemma .

Jeffrey Lewis
This man is a smarty pants New Yorker. He likes to not only produce the quirkiest music ever ever ever but also draw his own comics. What is there NOT to like? It’s all very bit Moldy Peaches but sometimes rock…ier, sometimes punk…ier, sometimes pop…ier.

So that’s my bunch. Phil will provide you with his selection later this week and we’ll have a couple more Hinterland themed treats so keep checking back!

Photo by Alan Roney

At the moment we keep going back and forth here at Elba trying to decide who we want to go and see at Hinterland next week. When we sent our initial lists to each other I wasn’t particularly surprised that some of the same names were on each others list. I mean, I’d like to think we have pretty discerning tastes here at Elba (ahem, if you knew about one of our collective’s cheesy pop collection, you’d surely disagree). Several of those names also seem to have animal names in them – nearly every band I seem to like these days has an animal in the title! Anyway, today’s feature is no exception to that rule and someone we’ll definitely be going to see next weekend. I present to you Anna from Kitty the Lion…

You used to perform as ‘Anna Meldrum’. Why the change, and do you enjoy having a full band behind you?

When I was gigging as Anna someone asked me what my real name was because they thought it was a stage name. I thought that was a bit bizarre because my name is really ordinary, but maybe that’s only because I read it on envelopes a lot. Anyway, we decided to change because when I started playing gigs with a band behind me it felt really awkward when we’d get introduced as ‘Anna Meldrum’…and there were three of us. I absolutely love having a full band together now, I get all grumpy when I have to do acoustic things nowadays. The songs sound the way they always did inside my head, but everyone else gets to hear it too!

You released your single ‘Lion in the Bed’ in November. Any plans for more releases? Or maybe an album?

We’re definitely going to have another release at some point this year, not sure what it’ll be yet but most likely an EP sort of idea. A single and an album’s baby.

Glasgow has a reputation for having a lot of good venues to play in, what’s your favourite?

I like the Captain’s Rest and Nice n Sleazy. The sweaty dank ones where you get no phone signal. There are good memories hanging about in those places.

Stornoway is listed in your recent gigography, if you could play a gig anywhere, where would it be?

I’d really like to go to Iceland and imagine I was Björk.

Hinterland 2010 is fast approaching and we are looking forward to seeing your set. Is there anybody else playing the festival who you’re hoping to catch?

As many as I can! It will be cool to see the bigger names but will also be nice to see some local people I’ve listened to but not seen live, like Panda Su and The Boy Who Trapped the Sun.

We always ask anyone who does a podcast or interview on for Elba Sessions if there are any bands we should be checking out? Any recommendations?

Findlay Napier, Kristina Cox, Julia and the Doogans, Matt Norris and the Moon, Sparrow and the Workshop…

What can we expect to see from Kitty the Lion in the next year?

More commitment because I’ll have graduated from Uni!

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Kitty’s aforementioned single is out now and available for download at i-tunes, get yer mitts on a copy. For all the latest news on the band be friends over on myspace.

You can catch Kitty the Lion as part of this year’s Hinterland Festival, next Saturday (3/4/10) at various Glasgow venues (tickets here).

*The lovely photo above was brought to you by the lens of Alan Roney

Super Adventure Club want to eat your brains. It is the only logical conclusion.

Exhibit A – Look at them!

Exhibit B: Their brain tenderizing, blood boiling, sophomore album Avoid Zombies:

Don’t believe the title and the awesome zombie themed launch. They are trying to trick you into a false sense of security!!! Run god-dammit, run!

Avoid Zombies opens with a Big bassy twang that, from the off, releases the full insanity of Super Adventure Club. Over the course of the album, it is apparent that they have perfected a controlled chaos in their work. There is constant shifts and jerks. You are unprepared for each development in every song. Especially the vocal coda of Hip Hop Hot Pot Pot Noodle. You’ll be left scratching your head because whilst you will be hugely thrown off kilter during your first listen, you will also at one and the same time love this jazz-pop-punk-indie-super-insanity.

Super Adventure Club are tuned into a musical genius that will leave you reeling. This is the main thrill of this band. They are unafraid to battle their way through anything. This effect peaks during Nosferatu and on current single SAC Attack. However, there are also moments to breathe during this album. The truly wonderful Pick Up Sticks settles into a more conventional structure. It’s light and though still of SAC’s signature jerky style, it has more of a foot tapping feel. Pointless Self-Indulgence too, fades the album out softly; on a new note.

Avoid Zombies! is released on Armellodie Records 05.04.2010 and the album launch is tonight (25.03.2010) in the Captain’s Rest.

In December, Conor Mason came over to Glasgow visit Elba from Derry in Northern Ireland. In February, Johny and Laurence from King James made the long journey north from Devon. However, April’s guest to Elba Sessions Presents makes those trips look like nipping out to get the papers. We are delighted to welcome all the way from Warsaw, Poland, beneath us, the waves aka Neil Milton for our night on April 1st. If you aren’t familiar with Neil’s work then it is well worth checking out. I believe the line-up may include a laptop and a string quartet and the basement of the Liquid Ship should prove an intimate setting to listen to the glacial soundscapes of beneath us, the waves.

Joining them on the bill are east coast star gazers The Scottish Enlightenment. Tipped by many as ones to watch in 2010 we’re looking forward to having them at Elba ahead of a busy year for them which will include a couple of EP’s, an album, all culminating in a christmas single! Now that’s good planning!

Completing the line up for April’s Elba Sessions is John Rush. John is no stranger to us at Elba as he’s been in the studio recently doing a bit of recording. He’ll open up the night with his brand of retro indie blues, along with his band The Love Hats.

We hope to see some of you there, come and say hello if you do come. It looks like it will be our most eclectic line up so far!

April 1st, The Liquid Ship, Great Western Road. Entry Free, Kick off 9pm.

In the lead up to this year’s Hinterland Festival, we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the artists that we’re looking forward to seeing. We’ll keep our ‘Top 5′s’ under wraps for the moment but to kick us off please welcome The Boy Who Trapped The Sun aka Colin McLeod.

Colin was originally from the Isle of Lewis, but is now based in London. He has come via Aberdeen where he was discovered hanging off the roof, playing Deep Purple covers, and as he puts it ‘generally acting like an arse’. A long way from the Deep Purple covers, his latest EP ‘Home’ is a highly accomplished piece of songwriting which has rootsy blues undertones and is a great listen.

For those of us not in the know, please introduce yourself.

Hello, my name is Colin and I play under the name of the boy who trapped the sun

Where did the name ‘The Boy Who Trapped The Sun’ come from?

The name is a secret. If I told you I’d have to kill you.

Do you take any musical influence from growing up in the Western Isles or are your influences more broad?

Musically I take influence from everywhere, almost anything I listen to seems to influence me, I’m a bit of a musical sponge. I guess the traditional gaelic music and singing from home had more of an influence on my singing style than I thought because I can hear alot of it in the stuff I’ve recorded, but I guess that’s only natural. My dad has it on the radio night and day, you can’t escape it.

There is obviously a huge music scene in London, but do you like coming back up and playing gigs in Scotland? Where is your favourite venue in Scotland?

Scotland is def my home, I’ve always felt more connected to Glasgow than London. I suppose it’s because when I was younger at home, Glasgow was the music capital of the world to me, and London felt like a different planet!! Just because it was so far away. So the draw was always to Glasgow and that scene. I love London, it’s such a great city for music it really feels like you’re at the centre of the world but I never felt a part of the scene there, just a spectator! I think my fav venue though is a toss up between King Tuts and The Taphouse Bar in St.Agnes, Cornwall.

We’re excited about seeing you play the Hinterland Festival, are there any other bands on the Hinterland bill that you are hoping to catch?

I love Jeffrey Lewis, I’m quite excited he’s playing cos I missed him at All Tomorrows Parties last year and I love British Sea Power, they’re always entertaining. I’m really looking forward to seeing Kitty the Lion as well, that’s a band full of talented people if ever there was one!

We always try to ask anyone who does a podcast or interview for Elba Sessions if there are any bands we should be checking out? Any recommendations?

DotJR, The Moth And The Mirror, Brother Louis Collective, Strike the Colours, Amber Wilson, Cant Swim. I should stop now.

Finally, what can we expect from you in the coming months?

I’ve got an album coming out in the summer hopefully, and I’ve got a couple of shows coming up supporting the John Butler Trio that im really excited about. I’m really looking forward to festival time, I’m going to be busy, which is nice.

The Boy Who Trapped The Sun plays the Hinterland Festival in Glasgow on April 3rd (tickets here). His latest EP ‘Home’ is out now and can be purchased here. For the most up to date news check out the links below.

http://www.myspace.com/theboywhotrappedthesun

http://www.facebook.com/theboywhotrappedthesun

http://twitter.com/trappedthesun

I always begin putting together our recommended gigs and try to keep the list to a minimum. However, the live music on offer in Glasgow currently makes this a difficult venture. Below I present my extended short list for the remains of the week:

18.03.2010 Findo Gask, Paper Planes and French Wives @ Captains Rest
Super-duper-fantastic line up at Captains Rest. All indie and poppy. A happy maker.

Times New Viking, The Elvis Suicide @ Sleazies
Ohio based, Indie Matador signed Times New Viking play Sleazies with support from local punk rock cowboys The Elvis Suicide.

Kitty The Lion @ The Goat
Beautiful female fronted folkers play a show at The Goat. Highly recommended.

Marlena Shaw @ The Ferry
For anyone who feels the need for a little bit of classic jazz the excellent, and extensively sampled, Marlena Shaw will be appearing on The Ferry

Withered Hand @ Mono
Don’t let the name put you off. Withered Hand aka Dan Wilson plays Mono following his sold out London and Homegame dates. The set up might be simple or he may arrive with a troupe. His song-stories are wonderful whatever the method of presentation.

19.03.2010 Oliver Stays, Otherpeople, Young Aviators @ Stereo
Oliver Stays according to their myspace soundlike ‘Bears with saws.’ This more than intrigues me. Support comes from Otherpeople, who will hook you with their shifty, catchy, extremely listen-able track Wooplash.

21.03.2010 Chris T T, Le Reno Amps, Dave Hughes @ 13th Note
You know that Elba are excited about this one. You even saw a photo of a ticket to this show last week on this here blog. A singer-songwriter in a class of his own supported by some fine acts, including indie/country maniac-stompers/serenaders (depending on what sort of mood they’re in) Le Reno Amps.

This post is brought to you by some sticky, doughnut icing covered, fingers. Yum.

Optimo e-closio
Kim: Sad sad sad sad news. I feel a lot like my Glasgow music institutions have been closing around me for a couple of years now. This one just seems too sad though. Where the heck is everyone gonna go on a Sunday night now? I just remember turning of age in the drinking manner of the word and my best friend and I having starry eyes when it came to Optimo.

Phil: I feel too old to comment. I mean going out on a Sunday night! Jeeeez! Seriously though, it seems like everything is shutting down to be replaced with things which are less good. Optimo is one of those institutions though, but I can’t help but wondering whether it became too big a thing? It seemed to start being populated by people who just thought that was the trendy place to go and they weren’t going for the music. That said it had a really large band of regular followers. It is sad though, the optimo dj’s spun some cracking tunes in their day.

K: Oh dear, I clearly have yet to learn that I’m too old to go out on a Sunday night. I just loved the astoundingly good tastes of Twitch and Wilkes. From bringing great acts to play the Subby to finding and/or reviving some astounding music, they were a class of their own. A real treasure. It’s true that all things must end and there is an air of inevitability about this news. I mostly worry about what we have to replace these guys right now. Someone put Dolby Anol on as residents somewhere. Keep me happy. It appears from the Optimo announcement that they are going to be doing occasional spots and help out with programming of events here and there, which is definitely good news.

Filmstars in music
K: Well, I’ll try to not talk about the obvious just yet. Though I feel it might be necessary by the time we’re spoken of the truly terrible Marion Cottilard and Franz Ferdinand collab. What exactly is this? It’s something to do with Dior, yes? I’m sure I read that? Stereogum have the vid up just now. If you last the whole duration of the song I think you should get a prize.

P: Yuck. I had to turn off about 1 min 30, when it looked like the Robert Palmer ‘Addicted to Love’ video. I can’t make up my mind whether Franz and Marion Cottiard make a good match, instinct says yes, listening to this, it’s a no. It is interesting though how Hollywood stars are now becoming a lot more involved in music. Over the last couple of years there’s been Juliette Lewis, Minnie Driver, Scarlett Johannson and of course Elba fave Zooey Deschanel. Hmmm, all seems to be females, did Keanu’s Dogstar put all male filmstars off music?

K: Perhaps female actresses just get more attention in their musical pursuits? Jared Leto still has his band if that balances things out… not the best example I feel. Russel Crowe? Even worse. Joaquin Pheonix: rapper? Lets not go there. Juliette Lewis seems a lot more involved with The Licks than I’d believe any of the others to be (other than the lovely Zooey). Though, I am completely addicted to the Pete Yorn/Scarlett single Relator.

What we’re listening to so far this year
K: I love Field Music. It had turned out to be my album I turn to when I’m not sure what sort of mood I’m in. They remind me a little of Of Montreal. Otherwise, I finally got a listen to The xx, which turned out to be the opposite of what I expected. I wasn’t prepared for how mellow and pleasant the record is. Joanna Newsom, of course, has been my little gem of the year so far. I won’t ramble on about her again. There’s a whole post should anyone wish to revisit my ode-ing.

P: I too love the Field Music album. I haven’t caught them live yet and I hear they are incredible in the flesh. The Los Campesinos! album is also very good, a lot more robust for want of another term than their last offering, which is no bad thing. I’m also liking the Lightspeed Champion album, it’s quite grand and theatrical in places. Looking through the Elba diary though there is loads of exciting things out over the coming months.

K: I think we’d both recommend Mitchell Museum right now (as Phil you nagged me until I listened to them), a free download is floating here waiting to make ears here, there and everywhere happy.

OH! Lest we forget, a little well done from us both to SeMPeR Fi for qualifying for the Area Final of Live and Unsigned held in Newcastle in April. A well deserved victory!

This weekend there is a wide range of exciting events that could put bounce into even the most tired step. It is in this light that the below list is presented to you. If you make it all the way through this list without feeling the slightest pique in your interest then we at Elba have failed in our quest to inform and delight. We do, however, have a small trick up our sleeve in the form of a link at the end that should have you breaking out in a full smile. Enjoy!

11.03.2010 Upcoming folk songstre-teers Julia and The Doogans are supported by Be A Familiar at The Mill. Just text Mill74k to 82500 to get in for nothing.

11.03.2010 Also tonight the Vintage Sounds fashion/music event arrives at the QMU. The Catwalk is run from vintage providers Tatty Bon and We Love to Boogie whilst live music features Pooch and Tango in the Attic. Proceeds are going to Oxfam.

12.03.2010 Weird Tapes/Memory Cassette helmer Davey Hawk presents his hybrid Memory Tapes outfit at Stereo on Friday. Last year’s hazy debut Seek Magic showed the full length potential of this act following the hype of some high profile remixes.

13.03.2010 For those of you who devote your time to finding that band on the cusp of greatness look no further than the regional finals of Live & Unsigned 2010 at The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Please allow us to go fully biased and off piste for a brief moment and give our support to SeMPer Fi (WE KNOW THEM! WE KNOW THEM!)

14.03.2010 Sunday night at Stereo fantastic folky Alasdair Roberts will be supported by psychedelic Fins Kiila. Go. Just go.

Finally, and as promised, Pitchfork posted a little video by Elba favourites She and Him on Tuesday.
Let your eyes dazzle at In The Sun. Get all doe eyed for the doe eyed, here