Elba Sessions

There can be many factors which delay Elba from confirming a podcast with someone to actually recording the pod. It’s generally to do with when the studio is available and has a free slot for some podcasting but sometimes it can be all about location. In January, we were lucky enough that AJ Roach was in Glasgow rather than Brooklyn, last February we had a relatively short couple of hours to record King James as they passed through Glasgow and we collared Conor Mason on his two day soiree to Glasgow for some shows at the tail end of 2009.

Location can’t be blamed however for this podcast. When booking RM Hubbert for an Elba Presents gig last May I enquired whether or not he fancied popping into the studio for a chat and to play a couple of tunes. Yes was the near instantaneous response,

“where are you based?” he enquired

“The Hidden Lane, it’s just off Argyle Street. Do you know it?”

“I have an office there” came the reply

Well, this should be easy I thought…

Leap forward 9 months and we have finally got it recorded, and it couldn’t have been better timing. Following on from last years highly acclaimed album First & Last, he is just about to embark on a lengthy jaunt across Europe supporting Mogwai, his album is being re-released on Chemikal Underground and he is currently recording the follow up to First & Last with a veritable feast of collaborators which is being produced by Alex Kapranos.

You can listen to the resulting podcast below and download using the wee arrow.

RM Hubbert Podcast – Feb 2011 by elbasessions

You can see all of the Mogwai support dates on his website here but if Luxembourg is a bit of a trek for a wet evening you can catch him play the Arches along with the brilliant Finn LeMarinel on February 26th at The Arches in Glasgow.

Here’s our irregular guide to what we’d go to if money were no object this week. Except of course that September appears to be ‘spend plenty money on gig month’ and I’m actually heading out to a gig this week, and next, and then a couple the week after…

Tuesday (7th Sept)

It appears Tuesday is the night this week that will drag me out of the house as me and Kim are off to the Oran Mor to see The New Pornographers. We are both pretty big fans of Neko Case’s solo stuff so as well as an appearance from her I’m quite looking forward to seeing the band. My knowledge of TNP is patchy but I did really like the first half of their most recent album. It got a bit weird on Side B.

Also…

Emily Jane White/Julia and The Doogans at 13th Note – £6 – We don’t know much about Ms White but the 13th Note’s website describes her as folk/blues/gothic, which appeals. We do however know that we love Julia, and her Doogans.

Wednesday (8th September)

The completely mental but brilliant Super Adventure Club are playing at Bloc. Nuff said.

Also, if you have some pennies saved up or are feeling a little flush, go and see the lovely Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan at the ABC.

Thursday (9th September)

There’s a pretty sweet looking gig over at the 13th Note again featuring some our previous guests at Elba. Kochka, Blue Sky Archives, Campfires In Winter and Jonathan Sebastian Knight set things rocking from 8pm. You can win a pair of tickets over at Aye Tunes.

Friday (10th September)

Upbeat popsters Kid Canaveral kick off the weekend with an appearance at The Captains Rest whilst in a secret location somewhere in Glasgow, there’s a nice wee line up including two of the most technically brilliant musicians we’ve had at Elba, RM Hubbert and Finn Lemarinel, along with noiserv and Esperi. You can get tickets here and find out the location of said secret hideout.

Saturday (11th September)

Well, you could just stay in today. There was plenty to do Tuesday to Friday!!!!

So, we’ve made it to double figures in gigs, the tenth Elba Sessions Presents… is upon us. We’ve got another nice wee line up and this time it’s soloists galore!

Heading up our bill is Finn Lemarinel. We’ve been hoping to get Finn to play for the last couple of months so we’re really pleased to have him. If you haven’t already heard Finn then we’d really recommend checking him out. In the same way that Elba favourite RM Hubbert does, Finn uses all parts of the guitar to help the songs get a bit of a percussive element and has a great voice to go along with it. You may indeed be familiar with Finn’s band Trapped in Kansas but there is a definite difference between his solo stuff and band stuff. He was also recently named the Glasgow PodcART Artist of The Week, but don’t let that put you off (ho ho ho ).

Joining Finn on the bill is Shauna Joy. Shauna was recommended to us by Dochan at The Liquid Ship, her show is well worth catching and she has such a great bluesy voice, we’ll all be wishing we were in the deep south of America.

Finally, completing our bill, is Lynne Louden. She’s been holed up demo-ing some tracks recently and we feel very privileged to put her on stage as a solo artist for the first time. In her wild days she toured the UK with her band Kirby but she has since hung up the fishnets in favour of some more comfortable shoes. Looking to promote her brand of ‘Scots-Americana’, she plays songs of warm heartbreak tinged with a chunk of wry humour and a western-isles tinged vocal (i’m assured this is all Glasgow though).

We’d love to see you at The Liquid Ship on Thurs 2nd of September, Free entry as per usual and doors open at 9pm.

Oh, and it’s our birthday next month, so expect us to wheel out some old favourites for that one!!