ii-ti‘ti.:astt—_:w i iii> i l()l’ HYDRO
Oran Mor, Glasgow, Mon 3 Nov
Straight outta Bellshiil. Hydro grew up listening to his dad's hip hop collection. split into 'kid friendly' and ‘non—kid friendly" categories. He soon skipped the [)e l a Soul and 'lrihe Called Quest and hi'oke out the NWA and the Puhlic Fnemy. MoVing to New York in his teens let him carry on his hip hop education hy inteining at legendary rap lahel Del Jain Records. He's 20 now. and the insanely driven producer and rapper (he doesn't JLlSl want to he ‘Jay-Z hig', he's aiming for ‘Ouincy .Jones hig'_ he tells usi has used his ()Wlt tahel Underdogg. to hung out his dehut alhuin, C/'(l(,‘l(1/. featuring Busta Rhymes on the lust single. 'Crowd Goes Wild'.
‘A lot of Scottish l‘ll) hop sounds guite hedroomyf says Hydro. in his last—talking weegie twang. He called ill some favours for his slickly
produced alhuin. including producer l-.t,.S. rapper ()uan and Austialiai‘. Rt‘tlfi f‘lll§}(;l' Che'neile. It's a poker laced. chart theiidh. party soundtrack with crunked up Missy Elliott style riioiiients. and Kanye West echoes on 'Sugar' with its speeded up ()ladys Knight sample. and l-lydro hopes it wi'l he has hreakthrough
‘l lip hop is a lifestyle iii America. in Scotland it's still a hahy. I'd like to carry Glasgow on my hack and hopefully l)(; a ll'()'lillt£tl‘. toi the (:ity.' In January he is of? on a world tour supporting Hihanna. hut he insists despite rapping in an American accent he's all ahout reainess. ‘l've heen listening to [)ie and Snoop since I was nine. I'm not ahout ego. l'in lust ohsessed with hip hop and I want to he the host hip hop artist that ever lived.' (Claire Sawers)
62 THE LIST :-;o ()':t tit Nov 2008
awl'tOCK SHELLAC ABC, Glasgow, Sun 2 Nov
‘My band means too much to me for me to allow anyone to put me in a position of resenting my band. I insist that it remain a hobby for that reason. If it becomes anymore than a hobby then it becomes something that I rely on, and my frame of mind and my livelihood are all tied in with the success of the band, whereas at the moment there’s no reason for me to be concerned if my band is unpopular — its not going to make my life any worse.’
He has been branded many things in his time: antagonist, provocateur, even misogynist - but never hobbyist. In truth, the analogue audiophile, guitarist and recording engineer is as sincere and scholarly a man as you could speak to. His band, Shellac, are, for those not in the know, as singular a live rock experience as you’ll find anywhere. He (and they) survive quietly and with dignity, outside the established rock business game. Albini doesn’t take percentage points on the albums he records and isn’t billed as
\J/V/ MARTIN KERSHAW Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Fri 7 Nov
A VISII to the l: duardo P£t()l()//l retrospective at the Dean Callery four years ago was the starting point for alto saxophonist Martin Kershaws anihitious new Here as a Middle project. A Scottish Art Council New Music Award has finally allowed Kershaw. taiiiiliai‘ from his work in hands as diverse as li’ianglehead and the Scottish National .Ja// Orchestra. to make the dream a reality.
He will lead a ten piece ensenihle in the project. which will also he heard in Aherdeen and lnverness prior to reaching l. dinhuigh on this tour. The saxophonist explained that he hopes the music will reflect not only his admiration of Paolo/A's work. hut also the artist's eclectic and experimental spirit.
‘Paolc/zi’s desire to explore a huge variety of approaches to art is very inspiring to me. Here as a Hidd/e is one of his works that l have composed a piece on. and I chose it as the overall title hecause it seemed to encapsulate a lot of what his work is ahout for ine.'
lhe saxophonist has composed a nine part suite. each lllf3l)!l(2(l hy a specific piece of Paolo/A's work. The hand ‘.'.’|H teatuie tour ia// horn players. a trio of string players from Mi lvlcl-alls Chainher (alheit using electric instrumentsi. and a (L()ll\.'(}llll()ll£l| rhythm section.
'l've picked musicians that I know can cope With anything l throw at them. and l have tried to vaiy the way I use the ensemble and the indiVidual players through the pieces' (Kenny Mathieson)
‘producer’, while Shellac don’t bother with the likes of road crew, merchandising, promotional material or binding contracts to anyone. This saintly stance doesn’t mean much if the music isn’t up to scratch, but thankfully Shellac have the chops to back up that stance. They throw in flashes of Killing Joke, Wire and 22 Top to songs that lyrically embrace the odd: subject matter can include everything from Canada and aspirant European pornographic film stars to semi- precious metals and squirrels.
Shellac’s work-rate however is positively tortoisian — with a measly four albums, a clutch of iridescent singles and relatively few gigs to their name in almost 20 years - but the intention is for quality, not quantity. Their commitment to the music remains strictly for the visceral thrills of it.
‘l’m happy with it to continue indefinitely,’ Albini concludes. ‘At one point I told Bob I would put an outside limit of 100 years on it, I said I couldn’t commit to anything beyond 100 years.’ (Mark Robertson)
I ABC. G/asgoi/v, Sun 2 Nov. To read a Marisa/pt of the ful/ i/iteri/iew With Steve Alhi/ ii Visit Lilia/xix. ist,cook/inter Views