This year sees the inaugural award of The Scottish Album of The Year. With just days until the longlist is whittled down to a shortlist, the general public are being given a chance to have their say with a nomination for one album to go on the judges final list.

The list can be viewed on the SAY Award website or on the iphone/android app. And public voting is open TODAY ONLY, so get involved!!

A month or so back, we put together a little mixtape including some of the nominated artists which you can stream over here.

I’m quite enjoying putting the mixtapes together and hopefully a couple of people will give them a listen at some point, we’ve even installed a wee link at the top of the page where all the mixtapes are stored.

The mixtapes were originally going to be weekly but I sometimes find it quite a task to put together each week depending on what I’ve got on and at the end of the day there’s no point in putting undue stress on yourself, something I’m trying to manage both personally, and on the blog.

In which long winded way takes us back to the point of this post. I’ve been really enjoying some albums recently and find myself on NPR quite a lot streaming forthcoming releases so I guess this post is another one of those semi-regular posts that we have which will appear when we deem there to be enough information to post!

First up is the album which along with Lightships has the potential to my album of the summer, who knows, maybe even year. ‘The Only Place’ by Best Coast follows the same patterns and themes of the first album but there’s just something a bit more shiny and polished about it. That’s not to say that because the lo-fi scuzzy-ness has gone that this album is any less charming.

Best Coast – The Only Place – stream on NPR

Next up, also on NPR, is the band I used to frequently mix up with Best Coast, Beach House. Coast-Beach-Best…you get the idea. We featured the track ‘Myth’ on our most recent mixtape. You can stream the full album, ‘Bloom’ from the link below.

Beach House – Bloom – stream on NPR

The aforementioned Lightships’ album ‘Electric Cables’ can still be streamed over at the Guardian, and like I said, this is up there with one of my favourite albums this year.

Lightships – Electric Cables – stream on the Guardian

And finally, a little closer to home, you can hear Glasgow-based French Wives debut album ‘Dream of the Inbetween’ streaming on The 405. This is a really enjoyable album and got my feet tapping under a pile of spreadsheets in the office the other day.

French Wives – Dream of the Inbetween – stream on The 405

Golden is an American author from Massachusetts and is quite simply one of the most prolific authors around. Despite his popularity in the States since the mid-90’s, from his work with Buffy The Vampire Slayer Graphic Novels & his own Vampire series The Shadow Saga, it wasn’t until 2007 that he appeared on my radar. The reason he did was an illustrated novel called ‘Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire’ which was created alongside Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, I was immediately sold! I was not disappointed. What followed was one of the most creative & inventive novels I have ever read, and the book itself is the perfect example for why I have no interest in buying a kindle (or any other e-book reader).

From here I played catch up with a number of Golden’s works and can immediately recommend his fantasy series The Veil Trilogy. This involves the main character Oliver, being dragged into another realm to help save Jack Frost and the fairy tale world he has found himself in (like I said ‘Fantasy’ series… but great). I then enjoyed his Hidden Cities series, written with UK author Tim Lebbon. This series of books all take place in different cities across the globe (each book a different city) and all revolve around the idea that each city holds a secret that we are not aware of. To date the cities covered are – London, New Orleans, Venice & Boston.

And so we come to 2012, and as I previously mentioned Golden is a prolific author, so it should be no surprise to find that so far this year he has already released two books. In February the second book of his new series with Tim Lebbon was released, titled ‘The Secret Journeys of Jack London’. This series follows the adventures of real life author & adventurer Jack London. Book One (The Wild) followed London’s search for gold in the Yukon where he is faced with everything but gold, including everyone’s favourite mythical creature the Wendigo. Book Two (The Sea Wolves) continues on from this and joins Jack on his journey home from the Yukon before he is captured by savage pirates. Whilst these books are aimed at Young adults the fast paced action makes this series enjoyable for all ages, and book two has an edge that is not often found in such fiction.

The second book released this year is again co-created with Mike Mignola and titled ‘Joe Golem & The Drowning City’. This book is set in Manhattan in the 1970’s… except Lower Manhattan is submerged below water turning the lower part of the island into a Venice-like city. The story is an investigation into the kidnapping of Felix Orlov. His employee, whilst searching for him, soon finds herself joined by Joe Golem whose past is a mystery even to himself.

So, a Fantasy author might not be what you expect to read about on these pages, but it comes with an Elba stamp of approval. Christopher Golden may not be as recognised this side of the Atlantic but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t worth checking out. Get to it!

Follow Christopher Golden on twitter @ChristophGolden

Follow Chris on twitter @chris_elba

I Made You A Mixtape…Seven by Radio Elba on Mixcloud

Father Sculptor – Ember

I was sent this a while back and as seems to be the way with me sometimes, i promised it a listen and then it got lost somewhere along the way. I’m glad i found it again though because there’s a lot to like here. Ember and it’s also excellent b-side ‘Blue’ was released on Monday and is available as a free digital download.

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Bubble

Trust me, the theme this week is not forgetting to listen to stuff but I have to offer up a similar comment for this track as to the last. I got this album around the time it came out however, that portion of last year was pretty much made up of worry and daily hospital visits, so remembering to listen to new music was a bit further down on the priority list than usual. As a result my itunes bulges with tracks that haven’t had a single play and my shelves have an odd selection of cd’s pushed into any available nook and cranny just waiting for the cellophane to be ripped off.

This is yet another album I forgot about. I did listen to this once or twice at the time though but I’ll admit, i don’t always get on with KC’s music. However, I cracked it out the other week again and i must say, if i’d remembered it more last year, this album may have been in contention in some of the end of year lists. I like this track ‘Bubble’ a lot. When the banjo kicks in mid-way through, I really like this track.

Yann Tiersen – Summer 78 (Instrumental)

I think Yann Tiersen is one of my favourite film composers and this is i guess one of the ‘theme’s’ from the brilliant film ‘Good bye Lenin!‘

Yusuf Azak – Swim

Did i mention i was looking forward to Yusuf releasing his new album this year? Probably. This is from his free to download Prizefighter EP released last year. He’s playing at Edinburgh’s Ide’s of Toad Night this evening alongside RM Hubbert and Rory Sutherland.

Beach House – Myth

It’s becoming apparent from these mixtapes that ‘dream pop’ is my thing. This is the opening track from Beach House’s forthcoming album ‘Bloom’ which is released next month.

NO – Stay With Me

I think there’s some pretty strong comparisons to be made with The National on this track by LA based NO. The vocals and track brood away and build up as the track goes on. This track is on a limited run released by the turntable kitchen blog in San Francisco.

Bam Bam – Hipnodromo

I’ve not featured much any Mexican music on the blog before but when i heard this on an Arts & Crafts sampler, there was no way that it was not going on a mixtape. I have no idea what they are singing about either!

Thirty Pounds of Bone – Uyeasound

This weeks final track is from Thirty Pounds of Bone and is from his first album, ‘The Homesick Children of Migrant Mothers’. I just really like this one and don’t really need to elaborate much further only that I listened to the album this week because of the maritime themes on some of the tracks on the King Creosote & Jon Hopkins album. I like when one persons music brings you onto someone else’s.

As I researched the extensive, exclusive Record Store Day releases to try and write something about this year’s vinyl splurge-fest I was drawn to a rather strange collection of material. Usually there are rarities and new releases that I develop an intensity about owning weeks in advance. This year I imagined Ingrid Volume 1, the Animal Collective 12″ release of their Guggenheim performance, a new Guided By Voices single, an Of Montreal/Deerhoof split or new-favourite-band-ever-ever-Django Django’s Storm 7″ would fit my habitual pattern.

Worryingly, these did not cause anywhere near the stir that the following did. Before I proceed I wish to note that I MUST be experiencing some sort of late-twenties crisis or at least a peak in hormonal levels. Or something else. Anything else. There has to be a reason for this regression.

The first sign that something was off was my reaction to details of a ZINE with unreleased music from Dirty Projectors, Real Estate, Cass McCombs, John Maus and Villegers on multi-coloured flexi disc. You had me at zine, dominorecordco! Yet, further to this, the zine will include a short story by James Yorkston, a poem by Laura Marling and some doodles from Alison Mosshart. Oh and not forgetting a cover designed by Bjorn Copeland. A 15 year old Kim would have squealed over a release like this and once attained would clutch the prize to her chest with crazed possessiveness shining from widened eyes. Then it occurred to me that this wasn’t a projection about my adolescent taste but an actual manifestation of my enthusiasm for the product. The picture I have described may well materialise on April 21st in Monorail.

It was mostly downhill from there. Internal bursts of delirium along with defensive thoughts bounced around my head when reading of:

David Bowie – Starman (I don’t care that it is unnecessary to own this!)

She & Him – Volume One (On coloured vinyl!)

Django Django – Storm (What? I still WANT it!)

The Supremes – Baby Love (On-heart-shaped-vinyl. LOOK at it!)

The Velvet Underground – Loaded (ON PINK VINYL!)

THE BREAKFAST CLUB SOUNDTRACK!

At this point I closed the browser tab, regained some control over my sanity and began to type. In fact, disclosing these fleeting thoughts has proven quite therapeutic. I’ve managed to go back, glance again and note that the vast material produced for this muso holiday serves many tastes and various moods. I don’t believe that I will purchase all of the above when RSD rolls around. I do, however, admit that some better preparation and planning may be required to curb any impulse buys.

Then, once it’s all over, I can relax in the assurance that I will once again regain the composure of my adult self. Until May 5th or after this arrives, whichever comes last.

This weeks mixtape contains some tracks from a few of the albums which I really enjoyed in 2011. I say ‘enjoyed’ because I’m fully aware that some may not technically be the best albums but at the end of the day when I want something to listen to, I want it to be an enjoyable experience, and these albums gave me just that.

Also, I’m not 100% on criteria but there’s certainly a Scottish related element to all of the tracks included here. I’ve also tacked 3 or 4 songs on the end which do not fall into the category of Scottish Albums of 2011, but this is a mixtape, and I wanted them here!

Rob St.John – Your Phantom Limb from the album ‘Weald’

Kicking off controversially with one that I’m not sure is eligible, however, this album was released on an Edinburgh label (Song, By Toad) and Rob is a big part of the Edinburgh music scene, despite his roots being firmy south of the border. This album really knocked me for six. A really beautiful album and this track in particular was the first track I heard when released as a split 7″. It’s an album I rate very highly and this week in particular, when the snow fell, really set the scene perfectly.

Mike Nisbet – Not Long from the album ‘Vagrant’

Honestly, I should stop now. I’m pretty sure the percentage of posts we’ve written mentioning Mike Nisbet in the last year is topping the 70% mark. The truth is, a year ago when we got a sneak peak of the album, we were immediately smitten. It was one of the best and most heartfelt albums I’d heard in a long time and I was so pleased that late on in the year, people really started picking up on it. It’s not easy to self-release an album and this album really deserves some recognition. Beautiful is the only word…

Jonny – Waiting Around For You from the album ‘Jonny’

Another possibly contentious one. An album written by a Scotsman and a Welshman but really, it’s no ordinary Scotsman, it’s none other than Norman Blake from my favourite Scottish band of all time, Teenage Fanclub. This is a really good fun and upbeat album, well worth a listen if you’re looking for a smile.

The Hazey Janes – Paper Hearts from the album ‘The Winter That Was’

I just mentioned Teenage Fanclub and I put The Hazey Janes in a similar bracket in that if it’s sunny, and I’m looking for something to put a smile on my face, I’ll reach for The Hazey Janes, and they won’t disappoint. I was delighted to hear last year that they were releasing a record on Armellodie records and when released, it was a welcome return to form for a band who were out of the game for something of an enforced sabattical.

Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – The Copper Top from the album ‘Everything’s Getting Older’
This it seemed was a ubiquitous choice amongst Scottish media last year. A beautiful an emotive album of which this, was my stand-out track from the album. The video is also excellent and worth a watch

FOUND – Machine Age Dancing from the album ‘Factorycraft’

This album was released on Chemikal Underground early last year and is an excellently experimental album. They also released a single on Chocolate vinyl, which is always a win.

Le Reno Amps- Cottonmouth Rock from the album ‘Appetite’

Another band that we absolutely adore. Live, they are fairly unbeatable when they are on top of their game and whilst on a ‘break’ at the moment, we have everything crossed that come August, they might make a re-appearance. This album was described by many as being full of different styles, which it is, but that doesn’t make it less endearing. This track is LRA at their glam inspired, duelling guitar best. As it’s been noticed, they can be a bit like marmite, and yes, we love them.

Strike The Colours – Safety In Numbers

I’ve come to the end of my selection from 2011′s albums and this track is from a band who I believe are due to release new material this year, Strike The Colours. ‘Safety In Numbers’ is from the brilliant ‘The Face That Sunk A Thousand Ships’ EP.

Cancel The Astronauts – The Hardest Thing

CTA are an Edinburgh band who seem to specialise in a ‘really poppy hook’ although, you might not get that from this track. I raved about their ‘Funny For A Girl’ EP a few years ago and they sent me their new single a few years and despite this track being completely different to the first two tracks on the EP, I really love this one! The single is called Intervention and can be found over here.

RM Hubbert – Gus Am Bris An Latha (with John Ferguson)

RM Hubbert’s new album ‘Thirteen Lost & Found’ may be in quite a few album of the year polls come the end of 2012 and this track is one of my favourites from said album.

Loch Awe – How It Began

This song was one of my favourites from 2010 and I commented at the time how impressed I was with the EP which was recored in a matter of days. Loch Awe have come a long way since this song and EP, but it’s something I always revisit every now and again.

Kim mentioned a few weeks ago that in her advancing years (still a spring chicken really!) she is a bit of a fan of the city fest. However, with all this lovely weather we’ve been having (save for yesterday’s snow here in Glasgow), it would seem a shame not to consider getting some good, fresh, highland air in your lungs. Whilst we aren’t always blessed with great weather here in Scotland there certainly is no shortage of good festivals and every year, another attractive option seems to open up for the festival go-er.

In my opinion, I want a festival to have good music, good food and nice beer and not be too overcrowded. Brew at The Bog (Sat May 5th) is fortunate enough to cover all bases.

Brew at the Bog is the joint brainchild of Bogbain Farm and Brewdog which basically means stunning location + great beer = a topper of a festival. Oh yeah, the line up ain’t too shabby either. There’s quite a few Elba favourites in there including Washington Irving, The Little Kicks, Kitty the Lion and the excellent Mike Nisbet (do we mention him too much on these pages?) along with a whole host of bands from our fair country as well as quite a few from further afield.

The full line-up is below;

Tommy Reilly
Washington Irving
Endor
Stanley Odd
Kitty the Lion
Over the Wall
Three Blind Wolves
Findlay Napier & The Bar Room Mountaineers
Fatherson
The Little Kicks
Open Swimmer
Jonathan Powell (WALES)
Laki Mera
Matt Norris & The Moon
Beerjacket
Megan Blyth
Bensh (WALES)
Sion Russell Jones (WALES)
KOBI
Little Fire
HelloVideo
Woody Pines (USA)
Mike Nisbet
Midnight Glory
Quickbeam
Open Day Rotation
Cafe Disco
Lost City Soul
Graham Brown
Cherri Fosphate
He Slept on 57

The guys at the farm are working in overdrive just now to get the festival site ready and you can see some snaps and an update on their progress over on the Brew at the Bog blog. I see that they have also confirmed that they will be stocking 77Lager, Punk IPA and my own current personal favourite 5am Saint. (although i may be biased as a Brewdog shareholder!).

Tickets are still on sale but are literally flying out the door so if you want in, you need to be quick. Ticket’s can be purchased here for a very reasonable £45. Camping is also available.

tUnE-yArDs – My Country

I find myself struggling to express how much I adore Merrill Garbus’ second album, W H O K I L L, but I do throw it at people’s ear-holes as often as I can to make up for that. My Country is a nice starting for my first mix as it belongs to an album that sits amongst my top three in 2011. The lyrics scream her questioning of the American dream and even caution about doing so ‘the worst thing about living a lie is just wondering when they’ll find out’ alongside a throbbing and insistent clash of sounds; listening is not optional.

THEESatisfaction – QueenS

I think the sun has been a good influence on Phil and I this last week. We’ve both turned to sunnier music. Hazy pop for Phil and meandering funk for myself. THEESatisfaction made up of Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White released their album awE naturalE on Sub Pop this week, hopefully reaching some ears a little further afar than their handmade CD albums could. An MP3 of QueenS can be found here

Sleigh Bells – Comeback Kid

There isn’t much I can tell you that you won’t already know about Sleigh Bells. They are entirely a guilty please of mine. I’m a sucker for a loud guitar and a lady; Karen O and Nick Zinner, Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince/Jack White and now Alexis Krauss and Derek Edward Miller.

Wild Flag – Something Came Over Me

As I mentioned, a previous mixtape featured Wild Flag’s Romance.  However, their omission from this run of lady-leaden tracks would be insanity. Phil mentioned their supergroup status and I want to add that if I could steal any talent it would be Janet Weiss’. The unfamiliar should watch some Wild Flag and Sleater-Kinney live performances.

My Brightest Diamond – Escape Routes

Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond has been a constant on my playlists for years now. Her most recent album All Things Will Unwind sees her putting down her guitar and limiting herself to the pseudo-classical style she frequently uses to flesh out arrangements. The album title is explanatory and relevant to this point in her life and reflected in her studio content. This slightly more mellow tone could be a reflection of recent motherhood; something that I find nearly almost brings a change in the female musician’s musical texture. The tone may be softened but Shara’s lyrics remain exquisite and as sensual as ever.

Grass Widow – Disappearing Industries

Grass Widow released their second album this week, having built their own label in order to do so. You can find another new track over on Soundcloud or the excellent Shadow from 2010′s Past Time here.

Lydia Loveless – Can’t Change Me

Another highlight of SXSW posted on blog after blog was the cowboy-booted Lydia Loveless. From the tracks I’ve dipped into she is a fresh and needed break to hazy surf and pop that I’m starting to tire of and doze off to.

Laura Marling – Salinas

If Laura Marling’s most recent album passed you by last year I would highly recommend it. This track in particular shows some really nice vocal developments. She seems to be pulling out a Dylan-esque recitative quite frequently. Lyrically, Salinas is all familial, traditional and identity themed. The scoring is lush; a richer Dear Prudence with a unrelenting banjo firmly planted to let you know that this is folk

Gillian Welch – Scarlet Town

The Harrow and The Harvest topped my end of year album list. Gillian Welch is the mistress of unsettling lyrics. I’m talking about women for this blog but this track would be nothing without Dave Rawlings insane guitar playing. Yes, I definitely want to be either Janet Weiss or Dave Rawlings.

Neko Case – Nothing To Remember

My stalking of Neko Case on Twitter alerted me to her involvement with The Hunger Games movie album tie in. I believe that only The Arcade Fire track appears at the end credits of the movie, the remaining songs must be those ‘from District 12 and beyond’ as per the soundtrack’s explanatory title. I am quite grateful for these ‘inspired by…’ numbers. Any new Neko Case material is a blessing. This was penned as Neko worked through writer’s block. This is what she considers to be a weak offering. If that’s not encouragement enough to go and seek out her material then let me try something else: GO AND LISTEN TO FURNACE ROOM LULLABY! Convinced? Good.

Next week Kim will be guesting on mixtape duties…

King Post Kitsch – Nocturnal Wandering

An instrumental to start the mixtape from Glasgow/London based King Post Kitsch. This track featured on the recently released EP of the same name which you can download free on bandcamp. He released a track last year called ‘Don’t You Touch my Fucking Honeytone‘ which you should also look up, I believe my quote was that it was “a bona fide beezer”

Teenage Fanclub – About You

My go to sunshine album. It’s probably my favourite album of all time, it also includes one of my favourite songs of all time in ‘Sparky’s Dream’ but I thought I’d go for a slightly less obvious choice here.

Fidlar – Max Can’t Surf

This is the first of two tracks on this mixtape that I know next to nothing about the band. Fidlar are a surf pop band from Los Angeles and I really like this track, pretty lo-fi and garage-y, right up my street.

La Sera – Break My Heart

La Sera is the project of the Vivian Girls’ Katy Goodman. I’ve been listening to this track for a few weeks now and am yet to get my hands on the album but it’s on my wishlist. She seems to be garnering quite the buzz at the moment, and rightly so. You can read an interview with her over at Last Years Girl’s blog.

Wild Flag – Romance

Wild Flag are often described as something of a supergroup. This is the kind of track I really like, an excellent riff, good vocals and a bit of attitude.

Palomar – Infinite Variation

The second band on the mixtape that I know nothing about. I have a habit of hoarding music, downloading mp3′s from blogs or from other compilations and often forgetting all about them. I got my hands on a huge a huge catalogue of music which had something like 500 tracks of artists who were playing at SXSW about a month back with the best intentions of ‘giving it a good listen’. I stuck it on random and this was one track that really stuck out. Again, a pretty lo-fi sounding track. I of course have done some digging and it turns out Palomar are from Brooklyn, another thumbs up from me for that but the most important thing is that this track is just really awesome.

Now Wakes The Sea – Abandon Ship (Fuck Albert Camus)

I’ve been meaning to write about Now Wakes The Sea’s album Fluoxetine Morning which was released earlier this year. We had Now Wakes The Sea down at the ‘old’ Liquid Ship in what I think was his first gig under the NWTS moniker and from a personal point of view, I found it a really interesting show, a lot more experimental than we usually had at our gigs. The album is also excellent. Very atmospheric and experimental in places but really just one of those albums that has an aura around it that just immerses you. You can have a listen over on the bandcamp page.

Pavement – Silence Kit

I’ve never hid my love for Pavement and like Teenage Fanclub, Pavement’s ‘Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain’ is another sunny day go to album for me.

PAWS – Kitten

Glasgow-based PAWS have just signed to Brighton’s Fat Cat Records and this track is from the EP they released with Gerry Loves Records last year. A prolific live band, this song has featured continually on my iPod for the last 6 months or so.

Rancid – Olympia WA

Now, this might be somewhat of a guilty pleasure. I’m not generally up on my early 90′s punk rock and the only reason I’ve ever heard this song was because one of my faves, Jesse Malin, played it before a gig once. Anyway, I just find it a really catchy song and it rounds up nicely the little theme of songs for the sunshine. I hope you enjoy.

Such teasing can be entirely attributed to the fact that I consume alcohol in much more reasonable measures than I did whilst at university. Therefore, I reject the implication that I am anything other than the excitable and immature creature that I have always been. That being said, I do have a new appreciation for certain comforts. For instance, the city based festival is something that I’ve always appreciated but now find myself increasingly excited about.

I guess the beauty of the city festival includes accessibility, advanced knowledge of the venue, a good meal being at hand and a warm bed not too far away.  You will not find yourself lacking in lubrication if we compare habits of a ‘major’ outdoor festival should my introduction be instilling this concern. My Triptych days eventually became a sleepless and overworked haze but originally as an attendee those three to five days the festival spanned were a dreamy, inebriated rapture. The talent, the sounds, the many, many drinks. The festival and the sum of its parts will of course dictate this sort of behaviour. For instance, the Glasgow Film Festival won’t lead to any liver damage, (un)suprisingly(?) Celtic Connections might.

My attention has been drawn once again this year to the Stag and Dagger festival.  It boasts over 50 bands and DJs, seven venues and one ticket. The first acts that have been announced have the Elba ‘we’ salivating; with White Denim, Phantom Band, Django Django, Willy Mason and Bear in Heaven all due on May 19th.

The ticket is a very reasonable £17.50 or was £12.00 if you snatched an early bird price. The previous years’ line up promise another impressive selection of acts. I guess the greatest dilemma you will be faced with is what head line act you choose.  Ultimately you may have to sacrifice some mid evening bands to guarantee a spot for whichever finisher you have your eye on though it is a small complaint that exists at all festivals; indoor or out.  Perhaps there isn’t so much different about the two, as Aidan says:

A new life is just a new routine,
a new function for the old machine