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Music
PREVIEW ART AND MUSIC THE LINK Music Library, Edinburgh, Tue 5–Sat 16 Jan
A fascinating project combining exhibition, auction and gig aims to examine the crossover between music and visual art, showcase artworks made by musicians, and throw a live show into the bargain. Appropriately named the Link, it’s the brainchild of young promoter Chloe Milne. ‘I pitched the idea to a bunch of musicians,’ she says, ‘cos a lot of musicians do their own artwork at the start, then that sometimes disappears, and I didn’t think the connection had been examined properly before.’ Milne is a long-time fan of Fife’s
Fence Collective, whose DIY approach to music, packaging and promotion caught her eye. For the exhibition, she’s received artworks from Fence favourites King Creosote, Lone Pigeon and James Yorkston, as well as a typically wonky-sounding offering from Edinburgh soundsmiths FOUND, a pinhole camera made from an old record player.
The exhibition ends on 16 Jan with a
gig and auction of the artworks, with FOUND performing and all proceeds going to Nordoff-Robbins, the music therapy charity. And if all goes well, there’s the possibility of it becoming a regular thing. ‘It could be expanded into a monthly night that showcases musicians’ art at gigs,’ says Milne. ‘It would be a great thing to continue, if we can.’ (Doug Johnstone)
INDIE ROD JONES AND THE BIRTHDAY SUIT Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Sat 16 Jan.
When Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones was piecing together his debut solo album A Sentimental Education, there was one simple test to decide which songs to use himself and which ones to pass on to Roddy Woomble and co: did they feel so personal that only Jones could see himself performing them? ‘Songwriting can be a form of therapy,’ he says. ‘It’s a good way to get thoughts and feelings out rather than letting them run around your brain’. He also notes that Idlewild work as a collaborative entity, and that none of their songs are composed by just one person. ‘This album only started out as a hobby initially,’ he says. ‘I recorded the songs on my own and worked on them for about a year, until it got
to the point that I thought what I was doing was actually OK. Then I took it to Dave Eringa (sometime Idlewild and Manic Street Preachers producer) to get it mixed.’ This show will be the official launch of the album,
although there will be a pre-order period for a couple of months before it’s physically released. As a band, Idlewild are never far from their next gig,
but there has been more time of late for each member to work on their own projects, particularly as Woomble has been focusing on his folk trio with Kris Drever and John McCusker. Jones believes the aim is to start on a new album after their spring tour, and doesn’t envisage this band taking precedence over his old one: ‘The Birthday Suit is a joke name, really – it’s only me, and whoever’s available to play at the time.’ (David Pollock)
PREVIEW JAZZ BOBBY MCFERRIN Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Mon 18 Jan
Celtic Connections has always cast widely for artists, and jazz musicians have figured in the programme over the years, but few with quite as high a profile as American singer Bobby McFerrin. Actually, singer doesn’t quite seem to cover it in McFerrin’s case – while the voice is undoubtedly his instrument, what he does with it goes well beyond conventional notions of ‘singing’. For that matter, jazz hardly covers it either. Ironically, McFerrin is probably best know for his conventional pop hit ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’, an infectiously catchy ditty that still crops up all over the place. If it is the only thing you know by him, then his Celtic Connections appearance might be something of an eye-opener.
With a four-octave range and a musical imagination that regards boundaries as bad news, McFerrin’s extraordinary vocal creations range over a large and unpredictable terrain, taking in jazz, pop, folk and various shades of world music along the way (a lot like Celtic Connections, actually). Oh, and he conducts symphony orchestras into the bargain.
While the main public focus of his debut appearance at the festival will be his concert with
some yet-to-be-divulged guests, Celtic Connections has also secured something of a coup by having the star singer agree to perform an invitation-only schools concert, easily the biggest name to have taken part in their education programme. McFerrin is a well-known advocate of music education, and was happy to take on that additional commitment. (Kenny Mathieson)
7–21 Jan 2010 THE LIST 61