News / Guitar wizard to soundtrack silent film
AWARD-winning Scottish guitarist and songwriter RM Hubbert is heading to Shetland to host a unique show at Mareel later this week.
The musician will visit the isles for the first time to perform a live accompaniment to 1926 silent film By The Law at the Lerwick venue on Thursday as part of a wider tour.
The blurb for the Russian movie says there are three gold prospectors are stuck up in a cabin – “one driven to murder by greed, the others wrestling with whether to wait for the snow and ice to thaw and summon the authorities, or to take the law into their own hands”.
It is another notable piece of work for Hubbert, who won the Scottish Album of the Year prize in 2013 for his record Thirteen Lost & Found over mainstream acts like Calvin Harris and Emeli Sandé.
He originally played guitar in off-kilter rockers El Hombre Trajeado before going solo with a percussive acoustic sound which draws influence from flamenco, releasing his first record in 2011.
The musician said the idea for the By The Law show came from the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival in Bo’ness, which commissioned him to compose a score.
“They actually suggested By The Law and after watching it, I fell in love with it. It mirrors a lot of themes in my own work so it made sense to me,” Hubbert said.
“The film is about a small group of gold prospectors in early 20th century America dealing with jealousy, isolation and the after effects of a particularly brutal murder.
“It’s a visceral experience, far more intense than I was expecting from a silent film made in the 1920s. My soundtrack tracks those themes, hopefully mirroring the slow descent into madness the main characters experience.”
With all eyes on the screen, the performance gives Hubbert a chance to truly focus on the intricacies of his music and extract all the emotions needed to soundtrack the film.
“I normally talk a fair bit during my shows but I like being able to substitute that type of explanation with a purely visual one,” he said.
“The biggest difference is that the piece isn’t about me – it makes a pleasant change for me!”
Tickets for By The Law at Mareel’s screen two on Thursday 19 October are available now online or over the phone on 01595 745500.
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