RM Hubbert has made it through to the Scottish Album of the Year Award (SAY 2017) Shortlist with his latest LP Telling The Trees. This is the third time Hubby has made the Shortlist since the award started in 2011; in fact winning the award with 2012’s Thirteen Lost & Found long playing masterpiece. Could he become the first artist to win the award for a second time?

You won’t have to wait long as the final ceremony takes place in the elegant Paisley Town Hall on Wednesday 28th of June. The ten Shortlisted albums were announced on the 15th of June as part of a special BBC Radio Scotland Quay Session in conjunction with 6Music and featured live performances by Lau, our very own Arab Strap and The Charlatans.

If you don’t already have Telling The Trees on then get yourself along to the Chemikal shop as we are doing special deals on the vinyl & CD.

See the full Shortlist below and best of luck to everyone on the 28th of June!

C Duncan – The Midnight Sun
Ela Orleans – Circles Of Upper And Lower Hell
Honeyblood – Babes Never Die
Konx-om-Pax – Caramel
Meursault – I Will Kill Again
Mogwai – Atomic
Pictish Trail – Future Echoes
Rachel Newton – Here’s My Heart Come Take It
RM Hubbert – Telling The Trees
Sacred Paws – Strike A Match

Everyone at Chemikal Underground was delighted to learn that our very own RM Hubbert has been nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year Award (SAY 2017) Longlist on Wednesday 24th of May with his latest LP Telling The Trees. This is the third time Hubby has made the Longlist since the award started in 2011; in fact winning the award with 2012’s Thirteen Lost & Found long playing masterpiece.

The 20 strong Longlist was announced at the O2ABC in Glasgow by Nicola Meighan at an event that featured live music from previously nominated artists Steve Mason, Admiral Fallow and Mungo’s Hi Fi. Check out the full Longlist at the SAY Award website.

Chosen from almost 300 eligible albums, the Longlist was narrowed down by 100 impartial industry nominators. The Longlist will now be whittled down to a Shortlist of 10  – 1 of which to be chosen by the public via a 72-hour online vote (12-14 June), and the other 9 chosen by an independent panel of judges.

The SAY Award Shortlist will be announced on June 15^th as part of a special BBC Radio Scotland Quay Session, before the award ceremony itself takes place on June 28th in the elegant surroundings of Paisley Town Hall.

Best of luck to all the nominated artists.

Here is what Hubby had to say on hearing of his nomination.
“I’m shocked, surprised and genuinely humbled to be Longlisted with Telling The Trees for this year’s SAY Award. Many thanks to the nominators for thinking of this weird wee record that my collaborators and I made.”

We’re absolutely delighted to share the news that Julian Corrie aka Miaoux Miaoux has only gone and joined Franz Ferdinand!  It’s a fantastic move for all concerned and we can’t wait to hear the new material they’ve been working away on for the past few months.

You can check out all things Franz Ferdinand at their website where there will be news of all manner of upcoming global exploits coming soon no doubt.  In the meantime, check out the video below for a reminder of just how plendid Mr Corrie in his Miaoux Miaoux guise actually is.  We believe Miaoux Miaoux will continue into the bargain which is a double dunter of good news… 

Miss out on Arab Strap’s triumphant return to the stage last year? Not to worry then as the band have just announced a string of festival dates this summer taking them to nine different countries between June & November 2017. They kick off at Field Day (London) on June 3rd and tie up at Iceland Airwaves Festival (Reykjavík & Akureyri) on November 

Included in their globetrotting is a long overdue visit to the USA in July with Pitchfork Music Festival (Chicago) & a gig at Webster Hall (New York). If you’re due in any of England, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Poland, Scotland, USA & Wales this summer – take a good look at the dates and go see ’em. If you’re not, then perhaps it’s time to consider where you’re going for that summer holiday…

The First Big Weekend of 2016 – Arab Strap (Miaoux Miaoux Remix)

Glasgow are the proud hosts of the fabulous 6Music Festival this year & we can’t wait for it to kick off on the 24th of March. We have a fair few Chemikal Underground artists taking part starting with Emma Pollock opening the Saturday 25th March live broadcast at The Tramway daytime event with a full band set.  Emma will also be appearing on a panel discussion entitled ‘Making Music In Glasgow’ later in the day alongside Stuart Braithwaite, Paul Buchanan and Happy Meals, again in the Tramway. Doors open at 10.30am with the daytime session ending at 17.30, when the festival picks up again in the evening at various venues across the city.

On Sunday the main Chemikal focus falls upon the film ‘Lost In France’ by director Niall McCann. There is a special screening scheduled for the daytime event again at the Tramway, to be immediately followed  by a Q&A with Niall afterwards. In case you haven’t come across it just yet the film documents the rise of the independent music scene in Glasgow in the 1990’s & the founding of Chemikal Underground Records. It features artists including Arab Strap, Bis, Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai, The Delgados and many other seminal bands involved in the scene back then as well as a few new faces that joined the label further down the line. If you haven’t seen it already and don’t have 6Music Festival tickets head over to the Curzon/Artifical Eye website to rent the film online. It’s well worth a watch.

And it doesn’t end there! Fancy stocking up on some Chemikal vinyl & CD’s? On both Saturday & Sunday at The Tramway a popup Chemikal Underground shop will be in the main reception area along with many other Glasgow labels and record shops. Sounds like the perfect weekend then; music, film, chat & shopping all under the one roof.

If you haven’t got a ticket for any events then all is not lost – you can still tune into 6Music over the duration of the festival for interviews & features with various Chemikal artists.

 

 

O2 ABC Glasgow – 21st February

Lost in France, directed by Dublin’s Niall McCann, documents the rise of the music scene in Glasgow in the 1990’s & the founding of Chemikal Underground Records. The film features artists such as Arab Strap, Bis, Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai, The Delgados and many other seminal bands involved in the scene at the time.

This intimate documentary explores friendship, creativity and music and explores the rise of this Glaswegian music scene, revisiting a defining, chaotic trip to France in the musicians’ early careers. Featuring a stunning mix of live performances and frequently hilarious interviews, the film reunites key label personnel in an intimate exploration of friendship, memory and making music.

The screening will be followed by an exclusive live music performance to be simulcast across the UK &Ireland at various cinemas, with Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), RM Hubbert, Emma Pollock and Paul Savage (The Delgados) reuniting on stage as they did during the filming while revisiting the festival site in Mauron, France.

The O2 ABC event is now sold out, however all is not lost as you can watch the film at various cinemas around the UK & Ireland on the same day with the live O2 ABC performance being simulcast directly to the cinemas following the screening. Check out the link here for details of all cinemas showing the film & gig on the 21st February.

If you fancy reading a bit more about the film then check out this great article from The List. 

We are delighted to see this year’s Celtic Connections Festival feature a good number of performances from the Chemikal Underground stable. Aidan Moffat, RM Hubbert, Emma Pollock & Rick Redbeard all take to the stage in a variety of shows, some collaborative and some of a much more intimate nature; all of them well worth tracking down.

We kick off on the 22nd January with Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert – unfortunately not as part of the same gig however so a difficult choice straight away.

Aidan Moffat appears at the Old Fruitmarket with The Where You’re Meant To Be Ceilidh with Aidan Moffat and Guests performing a live version of the film soundtrack including the original touring band that feature in the film itself, a screening of which will also be announced soon as part of the festival. Keep your eyes peeled for that too as it’s a wonderful watch.

RM Hubbert brings a very intimate solo show to the festival, also on the 22nd January at The Hug & Pint on Great Western Road. Expect songs from 2016’s Telling The Trees long player to feature in the set as well as choice pickings from his extensive back catalogue. If you fancy a wee taster check out the video below for the single Probably Will/Probably Do featuring Sarah J Stanley.

Emma Pollock is next up and features as part of the Roaming Roots Revue: The Women of Song at The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on the 28th January and celebrates that rich seam of song written by female songwriters over the decades.  The event is curated & performed by Roddy Hart and backed by his Lonesome Fire lineup. Expect to hear some great covers of artists such as Joni Mitchell, Bjork, Blondie, Dolly Parton and Kate Bush. Alongside Emma the show will also feature guest artists such as Ricky Ross (Deacon Blue), Sarah Jarosz, Scott Hutchison (Frightened Rabbit) , Kathryn Joseph, Jesca Hoop, Field Music & Rory Butler to name a few.

Bringing the curtain down on Chemikal artists at this year’s festival is Rick Redbeard. Rick features in the show Old Roots New Shoots at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on the 3rd February which shines a light on the North-East of Scotland’s musical heritage. A diverse array of artists from the region will be performing both re-imagined traditional songs and original material, with Old Blind Dogs as house band.

Air was jubilantly punched when we heard Adrian was heading back over to Glasgow to play Platform on Dec 2nd.  Now a Chemikal veteran with three dazzling albums under his belt (and a fourth one entering the home straight), it’ll be fantastic to catch up with him in the hope that some of his poetic eloquence rubs off on us before Christmas.

A Choice Music Prize winner and critically acclaimed songwriter of some eighteen year standing, Adrian’s career was neatly summed up by the Irish Times when they said:

“The Galway native has steered a trusty course throughout his career, each album a musical progression yet anchored by that commanding, sonorous voice and reflective, evocative lyric-poems that bind love, life and nature together.”

Adrian will be joined on the bill by Liz Hysen from Toronto band Picastro for a rare solo set and by Glasgow’s inimitable Howie Reeve, no doubt playing material from his recent album ‘smaller, now‘.   

Adrian Crowley | Picastro | Howie Reeve
Platform, Easterhouse: 2nd December, 2016 
Tickets: £5 / £3
Doors 7pm
Tickets: Monorail | Platform

MONO BUS
Will leave Mono (12 King’s Court, Glasgow) at 6.30pm and return after 11pm. A return ticket costs £5 and can be purchased from Monorail.

Please email: info@platform-online.co.uk to reserve a ticket.

“(Adrian Crowley) eases himself gently into a gilded pantheon that stretches from Scott Walker and Leonard Cohen to Nick Cave and Richard Hawley.”
UNCUT ★★★★★★★★

It’s a genuine delight to announce that influential Glasgow four piece El Hombre Trajeado have not only reconvened, they’ve only gone and recorded a new album.  ‘Fast Diagonal’, their first long player in twelve years will be released through Chemikal Underground on December 2nd, but you can pre-order it NOW and have a listen to ‘Do It Puritan!‘ featuring the extraordinary vocals of Sue Tompkins (Life Without Buildings)…

A stoutly democratic alliance featuring the acclaimed flamenco punk guitarist RM Hubbert and multi-instrumentalist Stevie Jones (Sound of Yell, Arab Strap), Glasgwegian mutant-disco kings El Hombre Trajeado return after a decade’s absence with the album ‘Fast Diagonal’: a firework display of irresistibly warped beats, basslines and bleary-eyed synth work gilded by appearances from guest vocalists Sue Tompkins (Life Without Buildings), Ela Orleans and Sao Paulo-based Chris Mack (James Orr Complex).

 

With beautifully intuitive artwork by award-winning, Glasgow based artist Toby Paterson, ‘Fast Diagonal’ is a triumph of abstract melodicism or, as producer Paul Savage commented in the studio: “like a math rock band doing the soundtrack to Gregory’s Girl”.

We were always big, big fans of the band and there are fond memories of seeing them play in Sleazys and 13th Note.  El Hombre supported The Delgados in 2000 when we were touring The Great Eastern but they also hit the road with far more illustrious company in the form of Nick Cave, Sebadoh and Tortoise (the uninitiated might find some more musical reference points in there too if they look hard enough).

John Peel got it too, asking the band to record three sessions and a fourth set, live to air, on one of his greatly missed shows. The band dissolved in 2005 with their members going off in different directions: Ben and Stef would pursue careers outwith music while Stevie played with the likes of Arab Strap before crossing paths more directly with Chemikal at the vanguard of his Sound of Yell project;  Hubby’s circuitous path would also lead back to Chemikal through his inspired, flamenco-infused solo work.

And so the circle is squared: El Hombre Trajeado, reformed in 2014 to play as part of Chemikal’s East End Social, have produced their first album in more than 12 years – Fast Diagonal – and it’s as dazzling and fluid and inventively melodic as anything they’ve ever written.

Two of Chemikal Underground’s finest, each with acclaimed new releases under their arms are setting out on the road this November for a clutch of intimate Scottish gigs….

RM Hubbert and Rick Redbeard who respectively released ‘Telling The Trees‘ and ‘Awake Unto‘ earlier this year will be touring together for the first time, bringing their glorious brand of acoustic/flamenco/folk/americana to whichever lucky souls amongst you manage to bag tickets.

Thanks to Dominic at Rio Community Centre in Newport-on-Tay, Steve Robertson at TwentyTen for sorting out Tooth & Claw in Inverness, Dan and Tallah at Electric Circus, Kenny at Stirling’s Tolbooth (and Strange Behaviours Festival), Mark McPherson at IMP Aberdeen for arranging Rick’s Society of Advocates show and Andy Shearer at Horsecross Arts in Perth for all their help pulling these shows together!