Orcadian hard rock/metal band Electric Mother have recently released their second album: Electric Mother II. A long time in the making, fans of the genre would do well to give it a listen. The band have pushed themselves creatively and overcome a variety of challenges to make what is a very professional, polished-sounding album.

Calum Elder (vocalist) and Rob MacGregor (one of the guitarists) from the band joined Martin Laird for a chat about how the album came together, along with its producer Eamonn Keyes. The interview can be viewed on the Orkney News YouTube channel.

Calum and Rob talk about the process of songwriting and recording, working with Eamonn on the production, and the expert mastering engineer Pete Maher. Also discussed is Shaun Gardiner’s impressive cover art, as well as the particular challenges facing a band from Orkney when it comes to recording and playing live.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on the music industry in general. With streaming services paying artists very little, many musicians had been making a living largely from live shows and merchandise – an income stream which has obviously now slowed to a trickle.

Electric Mother’s second album was nearing completion before the pandemic struck, but for the time being the band (along with every other band) are unable to support their album release by performing live. We all look forward to a time when this is no longer the case.

Electric Mother II has been released independently via Bandcamp, where digital downloads, CDs and vinyl can be purchased. It is also available locally from Grooves. The release on streaming services such as Spotify will follow this weekend. The band can also be found on Facebook.