Great news for Delgado fans as Alun Woodward and Emma Pollock will be releasing new material next year. Woodward had released a couple of tracks on a Scottish compilation under the name of Lord Cut Glass. The 2009 album will be recorded under this moniker.
Emma will start to record early next year. I’m looking forward to more of her delightful writing. Both albums will be available on Chemikal Underground.
They say you should learn something new every day…today I learned that Billy Boyd (one of the Hobbits) has a band, Beecake. I doubt if they become one of my Featured Bands, but they played a gig for charity recently. (Maybe I’ll learn something more substantial as the day moves on.)
Next up is a feature on Emma Pollock (I’m telling you guys you should pick up her new album) from The Independent. She explains why it was important to release her new music on a different label than Chemikal Underground, which she co-founded with her fellow Delgados. And speaking of Chemikal Underground, they’ve received a grant from the Scottish Music Futures Fund along with several other labels and music-related companies. I admire how Scotland is such a fierce little country – this effort is a great way to protect their own with jobs and at the same time help to grow Scottish music that deserves recognition.
On to pop culture…whether you have read any Ian Rankin novels or not, I think you will enjoy this piece from The List. Rankin is usually a good interview with little insights into culture and how it affects his writing as well as his day-to-day life.
And if all this is making you consider planning a break to Scotland to experience it for yourself, you might want to pick up the The Rough Guide to the World. The book hails Glasgow as “Europe’s secret capital of rock music”. Who can argue that? If you decide to grab some music while you’re there then you’ll want to check out this guide to second hand shops. I’ve always wanted to celebrate Hogmanay in Edinburgh - it’s just been announced that this year’s performers are Calvin Harris, Kasabian and Idlewild.
I usually don’t have time to explore new releases the minute they come out. There are a great number that slip through the cracks…like this one. I made my way over to Emma’s MySpace this week & took the time to listen to those tracks posted. Love them. Downloaded the album last night and it feels like fresh air.
Too early to tell whether it will appear in my year-end list, but it has made its way to my car which is a good sign. She’s opening up for The New Pornographers right now. Aversion had a nice feature on her if you’d like to see what she’s been up to since the Delgados broke up.
