Introducing - Conor Mason

Continuing one with my theme of trying to introduce you all to something that isn't Scottish, here's a little piece about a talented fella by the name of Conor Mason all the way from Northern Ireland. Having just released his new album on one of my favourite labels, Armellodie Records, I caught up Conor to ask him a bit more about the album, how he ended up on a Scottish label and whether he recalled having to put with a very drunken Peenko at last years goNorth....

Hello Mr Mason, my name's Lloyd. I have very vague recollections of meeting you at last years goNorth Festival, so first off I'd like to apologise for rambling pish in your ear. You and I might well have met, but a lot of the readers of my blog might not know who you are, so would you care to introduce yourself to them?
 
How's it going there Lloyd. Aye, pretty hazy recollections here too, though the ramblings of pish were more than likely coming from my direction. Anyway, hello Peenko readers. My name is Conor Mason, and I've been doing the Singer-songwriter thing for quite a bit now. I have two previous albums and just released my new album, 'Standstill' with Armellodie Records on March 19th.


I've never written a song in my puff, it looks far too complicated a process for my brain to handle. What sort of process do you go through when you start writing a song?
 
I'll usually start by sitting at the piano or guitar and rattle out a few chords that sound nice to my ears that day. After putting them into some sort of structure I'll record a rough version. Once I've done this and added various other instruments to the equation start thinking about lyrics. I like to have the music as close to finished as possible, before writing lyrics.

The majority of my music to date has been recorded at my home studio, but I plan to work a little different on the next record.


You're just about to release your new album with those nut jobs from Armellodie Records, how on earth did a boy from Derry get talked into working with a Scottish label?
 
I lived in Glasgow for about 3 years a while back and met Al and Scott through friends of mine who were living there at the time. When I let Al hear my new album, he was really enthusiastic about putting it out on Armellodie. I'd already been a fan of Le Reno Amps, and when I got to hear music from other bands on the label, I was and am excited to be part of it.


My wee world has pretty much been taken over completely by bands from Scotland, hence I know feck all about the Northern Irish music scene. Are there any of your fellow county men/women that you'd suggest I check out?
 
The scene here at the minute is remarkable. In my hometown of Derry alone, there seems to be quality bands and solo artists appearing every few months, the most recent additions being an amazing band called Little Bear and singer-songwriter Soak. We're lucky to have such great radio shows here like Electric Mainline, Across the Line and BBC Introducing that help get the little guys music heard by a wider audience and get involved in promoting the live scene.


Last, but not least, what have you got planned for the foreseeable future and do you have any plans to come back to play in Scotland any time soon?
 
I have nothing planned at the minute, but hopefully I can sort out a few gigs across the water over the coming months.




Conor Mason - Misunderstood

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Friday Freebies

Pensioner
Our very own Pensioner are very kindly offering fans the chance to snap up their cracking debut album Yearlings for free on their Bandcamp page. Be quick mind as this offer is only going to be available for a few more days.

Aerials Up
Those lovely Aerials Up kids are giving away a free download of arguably their best song, All Your Mothers Daughters here.

IndianRedLopez
As a Christmas gift to us all, Aberdeenshire's finest, IndianRedLopez have posted up their cover of Twin Shadow's Castles In The Snow for free download on their SoundCloud page.

Armellodie Records
Scottish indie label, Armellodie Records are giving away a free sampler compilation, featuring tracks from the likes of Chris Devotion & The Expectations, The Scottish Enlightenment and Super Adventure Club. Download the sampler for free from their Bandcamp page.

Gargleblast Records
As a special wee Christmas present, the nice folk at Gargleblast Records have posted up a link to a folder containing all of their free downloads from their December giveaway '12 Days of Xmas' project. The compilation which features songs from likes of Life Without Buildings, Foxface, Desert Hearts, Pan, De Rosa and specially written song from Martin John Henry can be downloaded using this link.

Merge Records
Yet another label giving away a sampler are American indie label, Merge Records who are giving away a free 12-song Winter Sampler featuring tracks from the likes of Lamchop, Superchunk and one of my favourite songs of 2011 from Eleanor Friedberger.

Cancel The Astronauts
Those nice Astronaut boys were getting into the festive spirit last week as they posted up a new version of I Am The President Of Your Fanclub (And Last Night I Followed You Home) for free download. The revamped version features has more synths and banjo, but thankfully no sleighbells though, you can download it here.

Amazon
The online retailers have a whole host of free MP3's up for grabs, including songs from the much hyped Bwani Junction, the world's next Mumford & Sons - aka Dry The River and Australian outfit, The Jezabels.

The Rose Taylor Project
As a wee prelude to their new album Twin Beds which comes out on Oddbox Records in February of next year. The Rose Taylor Project are giving away a free download of the song Wedding here.

The Very Most
They might not be Scottish, but this American outfit sure do love music from our wee nation. It was my friend Mark that first brought them to my attention with their song, All The Best Bands Are From Scotland, a cracking wee pop tune that name checks nearly every great band that Scotland has ever produced. They recebtly released a special Christmas EP, and you can download sampler track Wombling Merry Christmas for nowt here.

Doris Mavis
Innovative up and coming label, Electropapknit, have posted up a free download of some tracks from Doris Mavis, an experimental lo-fi outift from Glasgow. The band who are made up of members of Copy Haho and pvh, have an EP called Moris Davis, you can grab it for free here.

Tom Robinson
You might only know him as that well-spoken and much loved 6Music presenter, but back in his heyday Mr Robinson was one of the most popular rock stars in the country. I guess you all probably know the song, 2-4-6-8 Motorway, but might not know much more. Well now you can yourself more acquainted with his past work as it's all up on his SoundCloud for free download.

Pareto
Ahead of their appearance at King Tut's next month with Dilectrics and Bear Arms , Pareto are giving away a free download of their track The Antidote on their Bandcamp page.

Kevin P. Gilday
Glasgow's post-punk poet and former frontman of electronic duo, How Garbo Died, Kevin P. Gilday ha released his debut solo album as free download on his Bandcamp page.

Dog Is Dead
The NME starlets are giving away for free their cover of The Waitresses song ‘Christmas Wrapping’.

The Bird and the Monkey
If you're quick off the mark then you can download yourself a free copy of Scottish, The Bird and the Monkey 's debut album BalloonBaboonBallroom, be quick mind as this will only be available until New Year’s Day.

Dan Mangan
If you go and 'like' Dan Mangan on Facebook he'll give you a free download of his song Post War Blues.

Gothenburg Address
Edinburgh post rock outfit, The Gothenburg Address have made the live recording of their come back show free to download here.

Frank Turner
To celebrate the end of 2011 Frank Turner is giving away new track called 'Happy New Year' as a free download here.

Le Reno Amps - Appetite: Track By Track

"I should warn you there's a wee set of titties on the cover, try and contain your excitement (is that a yacht in your pocket!?)" - Al, Le Reno Amps

In terms of trying to sell a record to me, Al from Armellodie certainly knows how to grab my attention. Yes, the album has titties on the cover and yes that did excite me, but once I got over all the excitement of the album cover I was pleasantly surprised by this hidden gem of a n album. On what is their third long player, the boys from the Highlands have produced a corking wee album that covers an array of genres from creepy pop through to country. Like a roller coaster, it's not a comfortable ride, but it's certainly one that you will want to go back on. Here's Scott Maple from the 'Amps to talk you through the album

This One's Not Waiting

Ironically, this one did. Al disputes this but I'm sure we premièred this as a duo to a bunch of disinterested schoolkids about 4 years ago. A long time ago indeed, but we don't hold grudges.

This One's Not Waiting by Le Reno Amps by Armellodie

Bad Blood

This song is directly about Jay Bennet and Jeff Tweedy, if indirectly so.

Bad Blood by Le Reno Amps by Armellodie

Never Be Alone

Often we write as individuals and finish up a song together, but this one we wrote in tandem, chucking shit at the wall and seeing what stuck. We had a lot of fun with this one. I think if there is a Le Reno Amps' sound, this may define it.

Never Be Alone by Le Reno Amps by Armellodie

Saturation Day

We need another song for the album. "what about that Elvis Costello cover Al?" "it's not a fucking cover" "oh, well let's do it anyway"

Sinners

Bit of a push this, but what happens to all those hopes and dreams that are never realised?

I'm Alive

They come and go, those new sensations - with compensate imaginations. So why oh why am I still alive? It's simple really, we do what we do because we do what we do. We may all be shouting into a void but it beats doing nothing.

Cottonmouth Rock

Musically, it's an Elton John steer on a duo who stopped before starting. Lyrically it's about reminding you to put the cat out at night before you go to bed. Sonically it's Suzi Quatro, pre-menopause.

Cottonmouth Rock by Le Reno Amps by Armellodie

Weight

This song is saying that if you're the committing type, don't commit to anything unless you're 100% committed. Musically it's another waltz, but we took it somewhere different - for us at least. I'm not sure if we put enough bridges in though, if we'd added one more bridge this song could have crossed the Ljubljanica.

You Must Remember

Bit of a character song this, written from the psycho's perspective. "I used to be a werewolf but I'm all right nowoooooooohh!" For anyone who's ever had a psycho for a boy/girlfriend, I apologise.

Stuck in Your Throat

When we were recording the guides for this, I was like "I don't know if this is going to float Al", and Al was like "Oh I'm really confident this is going to float". Then when we had tracked it Al was like "I don't know if this is going to float C" (for that is what he calls me), but I was like, "Oh this is defo going to float like. It's unconventionally conventional" Then when I mixed it we were both like "Yay, this defo floats". We've been trying to write a troll or cyclic piece into a song for ages now, and we finally managed it with this song.

Faded Star

I used to be the shit, but now I'm just shit. Nothing to look forward to but dark empty space.

Appetite is available to buy now on Bandcamp, the band celebrate the launch of their new album with a gig at the Captains Rest this coming Thursday (21st of April), with support from Douglas Firs, Super Adventure Club and Galoshins. Tickets are only £5 and it all kicks off around 7:30pm.


Le Reno Amps
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Armellodie Records

Barmellodie Tonight

Having stowed out Bar Bloc last month for the first ever Barmellodie gig, the awesome Al from Armellodie Records returns to the scene of the crime tonight to do it all again. This time round he's roped in two of my favourite bands on his label, The Scottish Enlightenment and 30lbs of bone, plus a wee band called Randolph's Leap who you might have heard of. It all kicks off about 10-ish, with Al and my partner in crime, Halina from Glasgow Podcart spinning tunes right through until the wee hours of the morning. Not only do you get a cracking line up of bands, but it's also free if you get there before midnight. All the important details and the like can be found here, sadly I won't be making it along as I am away to a wedding instead (baws).

The Scottish Enlightenment - Little Sleep

Thirty Pounds Of Bone - Crack Shandy in the Harbour

Randolph's Leap - As I Lie In The Mud

Presenting: Barmellodie

Next Friday is a going to be a busy wee evening in Glasgow for gigs, at Stereo my good mate Jim has gone solo and is putting on his first ever 'Ayetunes Presents' gig with Boygirlanimalcolour, Kochka and Trapped Mice. Tickets are only £3 in advance and £5 on the door.

After that's all finished it will be time to head up to Bloc for the first in the series of nights beng put on by Armellodie Records. Cleverly billed as 'Barmellodie', this 6-month residency sees the label putting on a series of gigs showcasing acts from their roster plus an array of local talent. The night will also feature guest DJ spots from local bloggers and tastemakers as well as resident ArmelloDJs spinning tunes right through to the wee hours on the third Friday of each month.

Kicking it all off they have Battery Face, Le Reno Amps and The Douglas Firs, plus they have Phil from Elba Sessions spinning some tunes too. If you're going along make sure you buy Phil a drink as he's just become a dad for the first time. The first band should be kicking off around 11pm, after which Al and Phil will be spinning tunes till about 3am. Entry is free until midnight, after which entry will rise to a whopping £2. It should be a pretty epic night considering everyone that they've got involved. Further details can be found here.

Le Reno Amps - Never Be Alone

The Douglas Firs - The Quickening

Battery Face - Lurch

Scottish DIY Labels #2 - Armellodie Records

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Peenko when you call me, you can call me Al.

Super Adventure Club - My Other Brain

(from the album Avoid Zombies out now)

What inspired you to start your own label?

Vonda Shepard. Since I discovered her in the late 1990s on popular US drama series Ally McBeal she’s always been the one, it’s her smile that’s so infectious. I thought, ‘I’m going to start a label and haemorrhage as much time and money as I possibly can and if I can still smile like Vonda Shepard then it’ll be testament to my character’, so far so good. That and I knock about with a few people that have a way with a tune but don’t know their arse from their elbow, their Gibson from their Yamaha Pacifica, their malt from their blend.

The Scottish Enlightenment - St. Germain Is Thick Tonight

(from the Little Sleep EP out 27 Sept)

Who do you have signed to your label?

A feast of beefy-lamby-porky-fishy-drunk-veggie rock also known as Super Adventure Club (beefy), The Scottish Enlightenment (lamby), Kill The Captains (porky), Cuddly Shark (fishy), Thirty Pounds of Bone (drunk) and Le Reno Amps (veggie).

Kill The Captains - Rope

(from the album Fun Anxiety out now)

Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

Armellodie does not discriminate on the grounds of national origin, only on the grounds of music taste.

Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

I currently reside in Paisley, need you ask anymore? The irony is it’s a penthouse suite.

Cuddly Shark - Jamie Foxx On Later With Jools Holland

(from the album Cuddly Shark out now)

Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Armellodie’s position is missionary, we always finish on top. Only the finest chops musically, lyrically and egotistically will satisfy Armellodie’s strict A+R policy.

How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

Armellodie’s position is doggy, we come from behind. It’s all co-ordinated by my other brain, but we employ various stimulants to succeed, the ears mainly and the eyes occasionally.

What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

We don’t make hits; we take risks, and make flops like floppy discs. Success doesn’t suit us; we thrive on our underdog status.

Thirty Pounds Of Bone - Crutches

(from the album Method out in December)

If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Running a label is much like when being interviewed about running a label, always give the impression that you know what you’re talking about, employ a cocky, cheeky, almost arrogant tone, try and give answers that are drenched in irony and sarcasm, and even reference Vonda Shepard if you can. Ultimately don’t take it too seriously, if something doesn’t strike a chord on your fun-o-meter then don’t do it. If you’re thinking you could be involved in loads of great music and good times then jump in the deep end, you’ll soon learn how to swim. If you’re thinking you could make a mint out of some indie-pussys then please do go and fuck yourself.

Le Reno Amps - Liars

(from The Stand Off EP out now)

What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

Armellodie will continue to piss on your dance floor whilst hatching new plans and schemes. There’s a new EP from The Scottish Enlightenment about to surface on the 27th September called ‘Little Sleep’, it’ll be followed by their debut album, ‘St. Thomas’ which will be released in November. We’re going to give Super Adventure Club’s debut album, ‘Chalk Horror!’ a push and shove following on from the plaudits their latest album ‘Avoid Zombies’ received earlier in the year. We’ve also got a record by our latest troop to join the force, Thirty Pounds Of Bone coming out before the year is through. The album is called ‘Method’ and it’s a wee stunner. Good times and more good times.

Armellodie Records
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