RM Hubbert

A staple of the Glasgow music scene since the early '90s, Scottish guitarist and singer/songwriter RM Hubbert first played with post-rockers <a href="spotify:artist:3BSXSYVbrXR8PC3EVNRMoE">El Hombre Trajeado</a> before developing into a solo artist with an innovative, flamenco-inspired guitar style and an ability to transform pain and loss into beautiful, thoughtful songs. His "Ampersand Trilogy" of albums include 2012's Scottish Album of the Year award-winning Thirteen Lost & Found and its shortlisted follow-up, 2013's Breaks & Bone. In 2018 he teamed up with longtime friend and collaborator <a href="spotify:artist:7zYJsSA3SfPKvFyP80zLmL">Aidan Moffat</a> for the LP Here Lies the Body.

Hubbert began making music in 1993 and first attracted attention with Glaswegian post-rockers <a href="spotify:artist:3BSXSYVbrXR8PC3EVNRMoE">El Hombre Trajeado</a>, who released a trio of albums (1998's Skipafone, 2001's Saccade, and 2004's Shlap) before disbanding in 2005.

For a few years after the band's breakup, he spent time studying different forms of music -- including the flamenco guitar that would define his later work -- and coping with the loss of his parents, as well as his chronic depression. All of these elements inspired his self-released 2010 solo debut, First & Last, a collection of samba and flamenco-tinged instrumentals. The album led to a deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Chemikal+Underground+Records%22">Chemikal Underground Records</a>, which reissued it in 2011 and released his second album, 2012's Thirteen Lost & Found. Produced by <a href="spotify:artist:0XNa1vTidXlvJ2gHSsRi4A">Franz Ferdinand</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:43tffeOxONSbTQ888To7bE">Alex Kapranos</a>, it featured collaborations with <a href="spotify:artist:2wKWJLFt474Lv2mP3tey7W">Alasdair Roberts</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4wavWMHhIiUXxwCuWsHzXo">the Delgados</a>' <a href="spotify:artist:0CgHJ8bXtKvGVQepJEhTHK">Emma Pollock</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6g8Jqb5JMfv92eB2r0awTN">Arab Strap</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:7zYJsSA3SfPKvFyP80zLmL">Aidan Moffat</a>, and won the 2013 Scottish Album of the Year Award. That year, Hubbert released Breaks & Bone, the final installment in the "Ampersand Trilogy" and his first album to feature his own vocals. A more uplifting set than his previous work, the album was shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year award. In 2014, the collection Ampersand Extras gathered B-sides, rarities, and unreleased material from each of Hubbert's solo albums. For 2016's Telling the Trees, he returned to the collaborative style of Thirteen Lost & Found, teaming with artists including <a href="spotify:artist:42WJFNdxsAgcn9PfjT61Z3">Eleanor Friedberger</a>, Helen Marnie, <a href="spotify:artist:3NkEUEwXXgy5IQixHpsHQ9">Rachel Grimes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0K1q0nXQ8is36PzOKAMbNe">Spoon</a>'s Jim Eno, and <a href="spotify:artist:34UhPkLbtFKRq3nmfFgejG">Mogwai</a>'s Barry Burns on songs that ranged from folk to electro. Like its predecessor, the album was nominated for Scottish Album of the Year Award. Hubbert reunited with <a href="spotify:artist:7zYJsSA3SfPKvFyP80zLmL">Moffat</a> on 2018's holiday-themed Ghost Stories for Christmas, and on Here Lies the Body, the latter of which set the beginning and end of a couple's relationship to music incorporating samba, synth pop, and jazz. The album's other players included vocalist/cellist Siobahn Wilson, saxophonist John Burgess, and composer/multi-instrumentalist <a href="spotify:artist:1symcfB0KMf0vEg2nE1pHZ">Bill Wells</a>. ~ Heather Phares & James Christopher Monger, Rovi