THE HOBOPOP COLLECTIVE
‘very, very impressive - when a band brings out a girl with the introduction “we met her two days ago, and had to ask her to join” and she comes out and plays the saw, then you know you are in for something special.’
- audience member’s blog
NEWS! THE FIRST RELEASE FROM THE HOBOPOP COLLECTIVE
WILL BE KIRSTY McGEE’S LIVE ALBUM - No. 5...
FEATURING JAMES STEEL (BRUTE CHORUS), CHRISTOPHER CUNDY (GUILLEMOTS)
& CLIVE MELLOR (RICHARD HAWLEY)
more information on this at the no.5 blog.
the announcement in july that manchester-based songwriter kirsty mcgee was to record her next album in one take, in front of a small audience in one of the city’s theatres was followed by the expected box office rush - the show sold out within a week.
this one-off show featured mcgee’s full band, the hobopop collective, and several special guests from the UK music scene, including artists working in some really exciting bands. the show was a small, exclusive event with limited audience capacity, and is scheduled for release in early 2010.
this new release will feature songs from mcgee’s critically acclaimed 2008 release the kansas sessions (‘a stunning musical masterpiece’ - maverick, ‘her best so far’ - rock n’ reel) as well as new arrangements of old favorites and performances of brand new material not previously released. mcgee is enthusiastic yet enigmatic about what is in store for ticket holders: ‘we are all very happy about bringing it back home to manchester,’ she says, ‘and the people we’ve been talking to about being involved are just fantastic. this will be the first recording to feature the full hobopop collective, and the atmosphere at the shows with these guys and the audiences over the last year has been electric. we’re very happy to be able to capture some of that magic on record at last.’
the hobopop collective adds to the distinctive and accomplished duo of kirsty mcgee & mat martin the skills of two of the country's most exciting emerging jazz musicians. the quirky and inspired double bass of nick blacka (aim, mrs columbo) and imaginative drumming of rob turner (neil yates' new origins, magic hat ensemble) add dimensions of jazz and rockabilly to mcgee's already exceptional rootsy songwriting and martin's sensitive banjo and guitar playing; shading and colouring the songs with grainy 'hobopop' style.
the idea of the collective is, despite the strong core of the quartet, to include guest appearances from as many of the musicians we admire as we can. no two collective shows should be the same because of this, and we hope to share songs and sounds and bring the new music to kirsty mcgee’s audience. we are happy to predict that the forthcoming album will represent this diversity of musicianship - see the list of guests above.
the collective gave their debut performance at glasgow’s celtic connections festival in february 2008, opening for capercaillie to a sold-out audience at the old fruitmarket (see pictures). guests for the show included karine polwart, annie grace, corrina hewatt and inge thomson providing percussion and vocals. also present were manchester based musical saw player ragnhild zeigler and singer-songwriter james phillips. the band ranged through the evening from a 4-piece to a 10-piece. look out for more collaborations and performances over the forthcoming tours.
