Elba Sessions

Following up our chat with Stephen at Elba Studios and Matthew from Loch Awe we are brought in a perfect circle with the second band who will be heading to Elba Studios in January to record as part of Creative Scotland’s YMI Demo Fund, Trapped Mice.

Brian took some time out from touring with The Last Battle to answer a few questions before their show at the Garage in London tonight. I think a couple of us here at Elba are in agreement with the memory of the year!!!

Album of The Year - I’ve been finding it hard to choose between Admiral Fallow and Meursault for best album of the year but I think the Meursault album gets it. Both albums are excellent but All
Creatures Will Make Merry has the dynamics and atmosphere which Boots Met My Face slightly lacks.

Best Gig (Band) - Trapped Mice at The Scottish Enlightenment’s album launch at the Wee Red Bar, great sound and I think we played better than any previous gig. I’m currently on tour with The Last Battle and will be playing at the Garage in London tomorrow night which could be my biggest gig yet.

Best Gig (by someone else…) - Alexisonfire at the o2 ABC in November was my gig of the year. An excellent performance all round and very much a change of pace from the gigs I usually go to. The Twilight Sad at The Liquid Rooms comes a close second though.

Favourite New Band(s) - A few of these might not be technically new this year but some of the best bands I’ve been turned onto in the last year include Loch Awe, Yahweh, I Build Collapsible Mountains and Admiral Fallow.

Musical Memories of 2010 - The National at the O2 Academy when vocalist Matt Berninger jumped into the crowd and went all the way to the back of the venue during Mr November, barely missing a note on the way then making his way back to the stage and going seamlessly into Fake Empire was pretty memorable.

Hopes/Plans (music) for 2011 - I’ll be heading to Elba studios in January to record a new EP with Trapped Mice and I’m hoping to be able to release a full album and go for a short tour with them by the end of 2011. There’s been mention of a new Last Battle EP and being the new member I’m looking forward to getting some of my own ideas down on record. I’m hoping to continue what has been a successful first few months of Found In Sound on FreshAir.org.uk and get even more of my favourite bands in for sessions.

You can find Trapped Mice and get a few free downloads here

The Elba Sessions podcast has been running since July this year and we have been blogging since September so we were pretty honoured to be asked by Peenko to throw our tuppence worth into what is now affectionately known as The Scottish BAMS or The Scottish Bloggers and Music Sites Award 2009, to give it it’s proper title. The Phantom Band’s Checkmate Savage took the honours and the Top 20 was packed with plenty of good choices, with a large amount of Scottish talent being represented.

Personally I struggled a bit, not to choose the ten so much, but more to order it from 10 to 1. Looking back at my choices, I’ll stick with my Number 1 and possibly the first few places but to be honest, if any of my top 10 were at number 1, I’d have no complaints at all. Here is how Stephen, Chris and myself voted…

(note: Stephen ducks out slightly by nominating an unreleased album, but we’ll let him off for that and you’ll notice I favoured counting down from 10 to 1, to build suspense and all, wheras my fellow amigos went straight in with a number 1!)

Phil Elba

10. Cuddly Shark – Cuddly Shark
9.Le Reno Amps – Tear It Open
8.Bruce Springsteen – Working On A Dream
7.The Cinematics – Love and Terror
6. Brakes – Touchdown
5. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
4. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
3. Sufjan Stevens – The BQE
2. Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage
1. Titus Andronicus – The Airing of Grievances

Stephen Elba

1. De Rosa – Prevention
2. My Latest Novel – Deaths and Entrances.
3. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career.
4. Idlewild – Post Electric Blues.
5. Conor Mason – When its Over
6. Le Reno Amps – Tear it Open
7. LAU – Arc Light
8. bat for lashes – two Suns
9. Daniel Wylie – Fake your own death (wont be released until 2010 but i have heard the tracks and they are ace!)
10. Cuddly Shark – Cuddly Shark

Chris Elba

1. Wilco – Wilco (the album)
2. Richmond Fontaine – We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River
3. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
4. Bruce Springsteen – Working on a Dream
5. De Rosa – Prevention
6. Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
7. Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
8. The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
9. Sufjan Stevens – The BQE
10. Le Reno Amps – Tear It Open

I was pretty pleased that 4 of mine were included in the Top 20 and having seen the spreadsheet where the maths was done, a couple just missed out. I think The Phantom Band were worthy winners though, being voted for by predominantly scottish blogs and writers it’s fitting that a Scottish band should win it, who would have doubted that one would!

And here’s how the masses voted!

1. The Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage (61)
2. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion (54)
3. De Rosa – Prevention (53)
4. King Creosote – Flick the V’s (51)
5. Withered Hand – Good News (45)
6. The Twilight Sad – Forget The Night Ahead (43)
7. We Were Promised Jetpacks – These Four Walls (40)
8. Beerjacket – Animosity (38)
9. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More (32)
9. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career (32)
11. My Latest Novel – Deaths and Entrances (28)
11. Malcolm Middleton – Waxing Gibbous (28)
13. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – s/t (25)
14. You Already Know – s/t (24)
14. Broken Records – Until the Earth Begins to Part (24)
16. The XX – s/t (23)
17. The Antlers – Hospice (21)
18. Sufjan Stevens – The BQE (19)
18. And So I Watch You From Afar (19)
20. Wilco – The Album (18)

You can praise/blame/thank the following for their input!

17 Seconds, AyeTunes, Dear Scotland, Earz Mag, Elba Sessions, Glasgow Podcart, Hooligans Lament, Jim Gellatly, JocknRoll, Jockrock, Kowalskiy, Last Years Girl, Love Shack Baby, Manic Pop Thrills, My Portiswasp Says, Off the Beaten Tracks, The Popcop, Products of a Gaseous Brain, Song By Toad, The Daily Growl, The Spill, The Steinberg Principle, The Vinyl Villain and Under the Radar.

And once again, well done to Peenko for organising all of this!