We’re a bit down in the dumps here at Elba, and it’s all because of the poster above. Yeah, sure were pretty excited at the line up, all of the bands have played at our Elba Sessions gigs and if that isn’t a ringing endorsement, then I really don’t know what is! No, we’re a bit glum because it will be the last appearance for the foreseeable future of Le Reno Amps. They’re all off to explore pastures new. Al’s off to China to teach kids doric, Jase is in Elgin, Mandy’s going to France (on Holiday) and Scott will be conquering Castlemilk Chateau Lait (well so their facebook brags anyway).

We’ve had some good times with the amps so we’ll sorely miss them (like a hole in the head hurts) but the gig should be the perfect send off.

Joining Le Reno Amps on the night will be label-mates Chris Devotion & The Expectations and Cuddly Shark along with bad ass cowboys Bad Bad Men.

All the fun kicks of around 7pm on Friday 5th August and it’s a mere £5 to get in. The facebook event page can be found here

They say all good things must come to an end at some point and with that sentiment so it is that we say farewell to Barmellodie at Bar Bloc (Friday June 17th). Whether or not the nights will resume at some point, who knows but it’s fair to say the last 6 months have provided us with some great live music and sketchy dj’ing by the resident disc jockeys. There have been too many highlights to pick only a few and I’m sure that list will grow with the final night’s action.

Heading the bill are Armellodie stalwarts Cuddly Shark fresh from writing and demo’ing new tracks, they played at our 1st birthday party and they really aren’t one to be missed. Joining Cuddly Shark will be Galoshins, Lady North and recent Armellodie signings Something Beginning With L (new album is quality, check it oot) who you will no doubt spot from afar as they will be travelling in this colourful creation.

As ever, the fun starts at around 10:30pm with bands and DJ’s, it’s Peenko playing Kid Canaveral this month, going on until around 3am. It’s free if you turn up early enough too!

The chaps at Armellodie have been kind enough to donate a copy of Cuddly Shark’s eponymous 2009 opus to be won by a lucky reader.

Question: Which seminal 70s punk group included members Johnny and C J; both born on the 8th of October?

To be in with a shout of winning, please send your answer, along with your name to competitions@elbasessions.co.uk

The competition closes on Monday 4th October at 5pm.  A winner will be drawn at random and informed by email. Best of luck!!

In fact, the first podcast was recorded in July 2009 with Dean Owens of The Felsons. Stephen, the owner of Elba Studios had decided in an effort to get people in to the studio and to give himself a bit more practice, he would invite people in to have a chat about their songwriting, play a couple of songs and then upload the resulting effort to the grand old dinosaur that is Myspace. At the time, Stephen was only in the studio part time so this was a good opportunity to get more bands recording in the studio. Stephen then called on Chris, to do the talking on the podcasts and they recorded a podcast in August ’09 with Pearl & The Puppets.

Myself and Chris had been speaking about putting on our own gigs for literally years, probably since our days at school in Aberdeen, and joining up with Stephen on the back of the studio podcasts seemed the perfect opportunity to do so. We used the Elba name and with the kind help of Dochan McMillan of The Free Candy Sessions, we started our monthly residency at The Liquid Ship in Glasgow’s West End in October 2009.

The blog was a totally different beast altogether. This was a personal thing that I’d been wanting to start for quite a while and this seemed like a good opportunity to get off my backside and do it, plus, i didn’t have to sit for hours thinking of a name I’d come to regret, I just used Elba Sessions! The first blog post went up at the tail end of August 2009 and was a video of a Bill Callahan Black Cab Session. It stayed as the first post whilst we figured out design and layout and ever since it’s contained the odd post here and there, sometimes it’s more regular than other times but life can get busy! We also have had friends who have helped out along the way, Steph sometimes takes pretty pictures and Kim will often write pretty words.

As we come to the end of year one, it’s been nice to reflect on everything that we have seen and done and our birthday gig is really a tribute to our debut year. The premise of the gig was to have the great and the good that we have featured on Elba Sessions, whether it be podcast, gig or blog, over the last year and get them together for a special gig at The Liquid Ship. Unfortunately we couldn’t ask everyone, there was quite simply too many people and we didn’t quite have it in us to organise a five day festival but we’re proud of the line up and hope that you will join us to celebrate a good year, where we have met so many good people who have helped us out, whether it be a mention on their blog, sending us some music to listen to or even the odd follow friday on twitter!!

Without further ado, here’s the poster for our Birthday Night, please come and say hello, we’re a shy bunch really, but a pint or two usually straightens me and Chris out!! It’s free entry as usual and due to the size of line up it’ll be a sharp 9pm start!

Facebook Event Page Here

We’re looking forward to doing this again next year and are especially looking forward to the challenges of keeping it all together for the next year as life gets hectic. Stephen is packed out in the studio and myself and Chris find ourselves in charge of staff in our dayjobs (daunting). I’m also following the blogger Peenko’s good example and will be a father around Christmas time. Maybe the baby can design the posters????

First up, on Tuesday night is the A-T Society Fundraiser at Stereo. On the bill is former Elba Sessions guest, My Cousin I Bid You Farewell along with Ross Clark and Scott Hutchison from Frightened Rabbit. It’s all for a great cause and you can read a bit more about the A-T Society here.

On Thursday (15th July), Elba favourites Cuddly Shark play the Captain’s Rest. Word on the street is that those sharklings have been holed up on the Moray-shire coast writing some new material so expect a mix of old an possibly new songs. Also on the bill are The Lava Experiments and The Red Show.

Thursday night also sees the start of ‘Summer Nights at King Tuts’ featuring a stellar line up over the next couple of weeks of local unsigned indie darlings and cool kids! There is quite a few cracking looking line-ups over the fortnight and it all kicks of with a headline set from Silver Columns including support from MOPP, Midnight Lion and Nevada Base. You can check the full line up here and suffice to say a few of the gigs look pretty appealing to us at Elba. Astral Planes w/ Cancel The Astronauts and Galleries, French Wives, and Kitty The Lion with Julia and The Doogans on the same bill (oh lordy!).

On Saturday night our June guests, in both the pod and at The Liquid Ship, Blue Sky Archives, play Nice n Sleazy along with We See Lights. However, if it’s a blogging mecca that you are after, get yourself down to the 13th Note for the second Peenko vs Aye Tunes gig. The line up includes we’re only afraid of NYC, Randolph’s Leap (who incidentally have supplied one of my favourite lyrics for a long time and have an EP titled ‘Eeerie Indie Adam’) and Little Yellow Ukuleles. It costs a fiver to get in and if the last gig was anything to go by, you’d be advised to get your tickets in advance. You can buy from Peenko here or the much more generous Aye Tunes here! I say more generous cos you get a couple of downloads of the bands that are playing. Great idea!

Tomorrow night (Friday 9th) there is a couple of things on our radar. First up an artist who we unfortunately didn’t manage to get along to at Hinterland (sad faces and regret all round), The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, is supporting Australian bluesman (with a penchant for Hip Hop beats) the John Butler Trio at the O2 Academy. Heading back over the River Clyde, recent visitors to Elba Studios, Inner Sight, launch their forthcoming single with a support slot for Edinburgh favourites Isa & The Filthy Tongues who also launch their album on the night. The ‘cosmic dance rockers’ take to the Stereo stage tomorrow night and it’s £7 to get in. We’ve been told to expect some surprises????????

On Saturday, it’s a veritable feast. I’ve had serious trouble deciding where I’ll drag the better half, behold the options…

A) Another good gig at Stereo featuring a rather stellar line up headed up by Three Blind Wolves who are launching their new album ‘Sound of The Storm’ (looking forward to hearing that one), one of last weeks ‘Elba Hinterland highlight‘ bands, French Wives and the chaotic but excellently named John Knox Sex Club. Tickets are fiver.

B) The Ruck In The Duck. (The poster leaves me no choice but to use boxing lingo…apologies.) A heavyweight bout of champions. A battle between Glasgow’s two best, unknown, record labels. Taking place at (the name gives it away) The Flying Duck, the line up includes She’s Hit and Calacas representing the awesome Lucky Number Nine Records and in the ‘other’ corner showing off the Armellodie stable are Sheffield’s ‘tough as steel’ upstarts Kill The Captains and Cuddly Shark. The first bell rings at 8pm so get in early for your ringside seat.

So there you have it, two options for Friday and Saturday. Take your pick!

*This is in no way meant to be a definitive gig guide, just gigs we like the sound of. If you do have a gig coming up that you think we should know about, just holler at us, we’re always looking for somewhere to go!

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!

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 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!

We”ll be back at The Liquid Ship on Friday 19th February and we’ve assembled somewhat of an eclectic, but totally rad (excuse the outdated slang term but I’ve been listening to Pavement) lineup. Heading up the bill for our first gig of 2010 are King James. Hailing from somewhere between the Cornwall coast and Berlin they are made up in numbers by an amalgamation of Thirty Pounds of Bone and The Diamond Family Archive. Their music is a collection of folk-tinged gospel music (according to The Source, ‘with a bit of Hank Williams thrown in for good measure’) and is actually pretty uplifting listen to! We’re really excited to get them up (and over) to Scotland before they head over to Germany for a string of dates.

Also on the bill for the night are Glasgow’s very own Maple Leaves. Tipped for big things this year they have the ability to surround me with a warm glow everytime I listen to them so they should have no trouble in putting a spring in the step of everybody’s weekend. Next up we have Craig Davidson, a singer songwriter hailing, like myself, from the chilly north east of Scotland. His influences range from Elliot Smith and Nick Drake all the way to The Teardrop Explodes and Pink Floyd. There’s a definite element of psychedelia to his work which you can check out on his myspace.

Plus, if three bands weren’t enough, we’ve organised what can only be described as a ‘wee treat’. Called out recently for being nothing but angry on their debut album, we’ve taken up the role of therapist to try and tame the beast that is Cuddly Shark. We’ve twisted their arm, and some more, and persuaded them that whilst turning their amps up to 11 is great, that we think they would sound just swell stripped down to nothing more than some quiet guitars and percussion. This could go either way folks…(!).

So there you have it, first lineup of the year. Will hopefully see some new faces along and as ever, kick off is at 9pm and the gig is free!