Edge Festival

Profile: Best Coast

Californian surf-pop duo set for Edinburgh date

24 Aug 2011

That name rings a bell... Refresh my memory? Gladly. It’s a boy/girl duo of Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno, with Ali Koehler on drums. What does their music sound like? A sad look back at a really incredible, life-changing, but ultimately…

Eat sleep breathe: Joan as Police Woman

The singer-songwriter divulges some of her eating habits

24 Aug 2011

What time is breakfast? Depending on the night before, 9 or 11.30. Tea or coffee? Rooibos tea. The doctor swore me off coffee even though I die inside every time I smell it... Smoking or non-smoking? One after the show. Thankfully I don’t long…

Rod Jones & The Birthday Suit set for UK tour

Idlewild guitarist learns drums for second solo album

24 Aug 2011

When Idlewild took indefinite leave in 2010, it appeared guitarist Rod Jones would follow singer Roddy Woomble down the folk route. After all, 2009’s A Sentimental Education suggested a man at one with his acoustic guitar. When he sat down to write and…

Example

Picture House, Edinburgh, Mon 15 Aug 2011

24 Aug 2011

As Mike Skinner’s sometime protégé it’s easy to pigeonhole London rapper Elliot Gleave as the new bearer of the crown soon to be abandoned by The Streets. Yet what he does is subtly different – where both men are outright crowd pleasers, Skinner’s…

Washed Out

Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Sun 14 Aug 2011

23 Aug 2011

Okay, we might be calling it ‘chillwave’ up above, but that’s not actually what we were hearing at this, a set which lovers of below-ground music had been hotly anticipating at this year’s Edge festival. Where Atlanta, Georgia’s Ernest Greene makes…

Interview: Chad VanGaalen

Illustrator, musician and Sub Pop labelmate of J Mascis

18 Aug 2011

Illustrator and musician Chad VanGaalen’s no frills lo fi approach is winning him fans, including his own grunge idol J.Mascis, finds Claire Sawers ‘Ever since I was about five, I was really into comic books. For years I’d been going to this comic…

Kristin Hersh set for Edinburgh Festival show

Indie rock goddess brings new memoir, spoken word and live music

10 Aug 2011

Alternative rock idol Kristin Hersh is spoiling us. She’s playing four shows in the Edinburgh festival, although she doesn’t realise it. ‘Am I? I don’t know!’ she laughs. ‘I’ll do whatever you say...’ The List is tempted to exploit this congenial…

Interview - Washed Out aka Ernest Greene

American synth-pop creator expands band line-up for UK dates

8 Aug 2011

The List catches up with Ernest Greene the night after a gig in Berlin. It was someone in the band’s birthday apparently, so a bit of partying had to be done afterwards. Now he’s in the awkward post-coffee, but pre-breakfast part of his hangover, and in…

Interview: Naoko Yamano - guitarist and lead vocalist of Shonen Knife

The Japanese lo-fi punk girl group get ready to return to the UK

8 Aug 2011

‘We have been to Edinburgh a few times but all of them were in the 90s. The first time was with the Nirvana tour, I think,’ says Naoko Yamano, guitarist and lead vocalist of Shonen Knife. Yamano, the only remaining member of the original 1981…

Interview: Oneohtrix Point Never

Psychedelic synths and drones from experimental electronica-lord, Daniel Lopatin

2 Aug 2011

Name Daniel Lopatin Job title Musician, label owner Where are you just now? Brooklyn, NY. What are you doing/ going to do today? Finish the track arrangement for the upcoming OPN record. Do you enjoy touring? I do, I didn't always. It…

The National - Matt Berninger interview

US band set for Edinburgh gig as part of 2011 UK tour

20 Jul 2011

The National‘s Matt Berninger has a way with a tear-jerking lyric. However, as he tells David Pollock, the release of album High Violet has ushered in good times for the Ohioan band. That, and Obama getting elected.

Timeline - Summer music festivals 2011 from Scotland and beyond

A chronological list of the best festivals in Scotland and beyond

27 May 2011

A chronological list of the most significant festivals happening in Scotland this summer, along with the biggest and best from the rest of the UK and beyond.

Mitchell Museum and White Heath

Edge Festival, Electric Circus, 11 Aug 2010

7 Sep 2010

There some confusion early on tonight as to whether the five young guys occupying the stage are completing their soundcheck before the main act or or are the support act. As it turns out, it's the latter, and the youthful audience are treated to the…

Plan B

Rap and hip hop and deep heart-felt soul

7 Sep 2010

There is no doubt that Plan B's Ben Drew is an accomplished rapper and singer, but it's not until you see him live that you can appreciate how immensely talented he is. Many artists work across several genres, but very few have successful attempted…

Phoenix

HMV Picturehouse, Edinburgh, Sun 29 Aug

7 Sep 2010

Despite a decade of history behind them, it’s 2009 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix that has given French quartet Phoenix the ammunition to advance from special interest to mainstream concern. Now their delicate but euphoric pop – forging The Strokes…

The Low Anthem, Mountain Man and Avi Buffalo set for Edinburgh date

Americana, borrowing from jazz, gospel and folk

24 Aug 2010

With a relaxed, mellow sound steeped in the traditions of American folk and blues, the Low Anthem are a group of Ivy League music graduates from Providence, Rhode Island, currently touring Europe with their unique fusion of instruments, ranging from…

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Fri 13 Aug 2010

20 Aug 2010

Whilst the fast-expanding crowd assemble for the arrival of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, we are treated to energetic three-piece The Xcerts, a melodramatic rock/pop outfit from Scotland. With the charismatic bassist being an irregular pitchfork, this band…

Eels set for UK tour to promote new album Tomorrow Morning

Off kilter American indie-rockers back after 4 years

15 Aug 2010

They’ve been on a break for four years, but the American indie-rockers are back, to complete the trilogy of albums they began with Hombre Lobo and this January’s End Times. Part three, Tomorrow Morning comes out next week, and Mark Oliver Everett and…

Mark Lanegan solo show at Edge Festival

Prolific collaborator plays Edinburgh

14 Aug 2010

His third album with Isobel Campbell, the excellent Hawk, came out last week, proving the beauty and the beast coupling of grunge grump and indie lovely was one with plenty mileage in it. This is a solo show from the Queens of the Stone Age/ Gutter…

Beautifully heavy guitars of Sleepy Sun hit Edinburgh

Spaced out Californian folk-rockers set for Edge Festival show

14 Aug 2010

Beautifully heavy guitars from California. The band’s name does a fairly good job of describing the langour and Laurel Canyon-inspired sound of their big, spaced out folk-rock. Supported by Frankie & The Heartstrings and Sky Larkin. Capital, 08444…

Bear in Heaven bring psychedelic rock to Edge Festival

Brooklyn's finest take Beast Rest Forth Mouth on the road

14 Aug 2010

Putting a psychedelic spin on their brand of stoner rock, Brooklyn’s Bear in Heaven, who were responsible for this spring’s Beast Rest Forth Mouth serenade the Fringe with their proggy, poppy sound. HMV Picture House, 08444 999 990, Thu 26 Aug…

Dizzee Rascal plays Edinburgh show

East London rapper set for Edge Festival show

14 Aug 2010

Fix up, look sharp. The East London rapper that Jeremy Paxman once called ‘Mr Rascal’ (he was a slightly ill-advised guest commentator on Newsnight’s Obama special), is coming to town. Corn Exchange, 08444 999 990, Thu 26 Aug, 7.30pm, £20. Part of…

Professor Green

Hackney rapper loves a Nando's

12 Aug 2010

Professor Green knows how to party. When his debut album, Alive Till I’m Dead, charted at number two last month, the East-London rapper let it rip: ‘I was so over the moon that I celebrated with a full chicken platter, two large sides and a refillable…

Arlo Guthrie

Folk runs in this family

12 Aug 2010

Following the same career as a famous parent can be a double-edged sword – a name can open doors, but it can also be a lot to live up to. Arlo Guthrie, son of folk legend Woody Guthrie, has carved out his own successful niche over four decades, but also…

Withered Hand set for Edge Festival show

Key player in Edinburgh alt.folk scene hits the Fringe

10 Aug 2010

This likeable oddball is a key player in Edinburgh’s alt.folk scene. Singer Dan Willson is a regular performer at Fence Record nights (and also pops up at this week’s Haarfest festival, see page 129) and counts Neil Pennycook (of Meursault) Bart Owl…

The Besnard Lakes set for Edge Festival date

Montreal psychedelic rockers play Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh

8 Aug 2010

This Montreal quartet’s third album, The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, has been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, which is Canada’s equivalent to the Mercury, and are up against the likes of Broken Social Scene, Caribou and Owen Pallett.

Tinchy Stryder to take over the HMV Picture House

The East London grime boy done good, and Third Strike is on its way

6 Aug 2010

If Tinchy Stryder’s second long-player, Catch 22, saw him vault the grime underground and snare the pop mainstream (number one hits, collaborations with N-Dubz and a Sugababe, the best-selling UK solo artist of 2009), you wonder what level of stardom…

Five hirsute gents tickling our fancies (and chins) this month

Look out for these bearded men at this year's Festivals

5 Aug 2010

Phil Kay Furry Fringe veteran Kay makes no fewer than four fuzzy-faced appearances this year. His kids’ show Gimme Your Left Shoe makes a welcome return; there’s a solo show in the evening called In Tweed; a late-night radio show titled RadioFree; and…

Pantha du Prince at Sneaky Pete's and Oran Mor

Minimal techno joins dots between alpine forest and the dancefloor

5 Aug 2010

‘A girl once crawled onstage behind me, and was constantly holding my trouser,’ shudders Germany’s Hendrik Weber, alias techno forager Pantha du Prince. What fate befell this tactile fan? ‘I explained it would be better for her to leave because I could…

Festival Briefing 2010

Some things we think might help you at this year's festivals

30 Jul 2010

Here's a short briefing about some things to look forward to during the Book Festival, the Fringe, in Music events, and Shopping opportunities in Edinburgh

Mitchell Museum at the Edge Festival

Jangly, indie-pop by Weegie flatmates

30 Jul 2010

Mitchell Museum, so legend has it, live, write and record together in a flat in the centre of Glasgow, Monkees-style. ‘It’s true,’ reveals their singer, Cammy MacFarlane. ‘It’s on Sauchiehall Street, just above Nice ‘n’ Sleazy. Well, above and to the…

Villagers at the Edge Festival

Tender, poetic pop, now with added Mercury nomination

30 Jul 2010

‘I usually have a picture or a colour in my head as I’m making a song,’ says Dublin’s Conor O’Brien – the dulcet bard and multi-instrumentalist behind Villagers’ picturesque rock. And so it was with Becoming a Jackal (Domino), the dramatic…

30 top shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2010

The List's pick of the Edinburgh Festival programme

23 Jul 2010

From Turner Prize-winning Martin Creed and New York theatre experimentalists The Wooster Group to former wild child Storm Large and promising newcomer Jonny Sweet, this is The List's pick of August’s entertainment.

Grimewatch: Tinchy Stryder vs Dizzee Rascal

Two of the biggest names in British music compared

16 Jul 2010

In anticipation of their appearances on the Fringe’s Edge Festival, Nicola Meighan puts two of the biggest names in British music head to head

Avi Buffalo will now support The Low Anthem at Edge Festival

Edinburgh gig by swoony youths rescheduled

16 Jul 2010

Avi Buffalo, or Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg to his mum, formed a band with three friends from his high school in Long Beach, California. That was three years ago, and their sun-bleached, jangly, trippy folk-rock has been slowly creeping into British hearts.

Edinburgh Festival 2010: More Fringe show highlights

Some of the shows to look out for at the Fringe

16 Jul 2010

With over 2,400 shows to choose from at this years Fringe festival, it's all to easy to succumb to the paradox of choice. Here we present our picks for some of the smaller shows that are worth looking out for.

Jon Fratelli returns to his roots and lines up Edge Festival show

Former Fratelli's frontman is solo and ready for the next chapter

15 Jul 2010

For many it came as a bolt from the blue when much-loved Glasgow trio The Fratellis announced in April that they were to split. It was a break ‘for now’, they claimed, but following their frontman’s ventures into markedly different territory with…

Edinburgh festivals line-ups announced

28 May 2010

Whatever your cultural poison, Edinburgh’s festival circuit has it covered

Faith No More

Massive shots of musical adrenaline that have the crowd and band pumping

27 Aug 2009

Surely the crowning glory in this year’s Edge Festival - the reunited Faith No More returning to Scotland after a long, long absence. Firstly, Manchester youngsters Oceansize kick things off in suitably fuzzy prog metal style, reminiscent of oor ain…

Amanda Palmer

Songs and stories from the former Dresden Doll

23 Aug 2009

With spectacular support from Zen Zen Zo, a unique and terrifying part of the five-star dance spectacle, Zeitgeist, Amanda Palmer gives herself a lot to live up to. A proper cabaret entrance though, slowly stepping down the stairs of the Picture House…

Magazine - Second Life

21 Aug 2009

On their return earlier this year, Magazine received ecstatic words. Now, Neil Cooper is convinced lighting can strike twice. Valentine’s Day is the perfect time for reigniting love affairs. This year, in a concrete hall close to Manchester University…

Hitlist: Festival music

What to see this week

21 Aug 2009

Pokey La Farge, Actus Tragicus, Magazine, Maria Tecce, Malinky, Camille O'Sullivan, Air Alba

Frightened Rabbit

New material promises great things

21 Aug 2009

From the moment Frightened Rabbit take the stage, the capacity crowd at the Queen’s Hall gives them a warm welcome - roaring their approval before a note has been played. They open with the first track from their Midnight Organ Fight album, ‘The Modern…

Sparrow and the Workshop

Pure to the core and pure class

21 Aug 2009

It's a sign of their sweet nature that Sparrow and the Workshop feel the need to apologise for the sweat dripping down most people's backs in the bunker that is Sneaky Pete's. They must surely be the ones most feeling the heat, if the sodden t-shirt of…

Hitlist: Visual art

Our pick of visual art for the week

20 Aug 2009

Scottish Paintings: Old Masters to Contemporary. Milestone, The Creative World of Alan Davie, Jane and Louis Wilson: Unfolding the Aryan Papers, The Enlightenments, The Discovery of Spain, Eva Hesse: Studiowork

Broken Records

A dry atmosphere and a workmanlike performance

19 Aug 2009

Promoted to the Queen's Hall after last year's Edge festival performance at the Liquid, and following a year of showing the world just how beautiful music can be, you'd think this old cacophonous church would be the ideal place to show off the…

Festival Music hitlist

16 Aug 2009

Amanda Palmer, Trembling Bells, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse, Benbecula Records, The Caledonia Sessions, Biffy Clyro, Orchestra in the Age of Enlightenment

Telepathe

Old-school synths and discrete artistry

14 Aug 2009

Just what, exactly, is affecting young female Brooklynites with such analog aplomb right now? Like fellow New Yorkers Au Revoir Simone, Telepathe’s duo of Melissa Livaudis and Busy Gangnes have picked up a swirl of old-school synths and applied some…

Amanda Palmer

14 Aug 2009

A singular talent who refuses to play the predictable game whether it’s on record, in print or on stage, Amanda Palmer has been turning heads since forever as one half of the Dresden Dolls, where she throws together Weimar cabaret and punk scree in…

Faith No More

They were true rock subversives and are back to blow our minds.

13 Aug 2009

It’s almost impossible these days to imagine just how bad things were, but rock music was a fucking embarrassment in the early 80s. The collapse of the dinosaur rock behemoths of the previous decade into hopelessly bloated, overblown, self-important…