Issue 705
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All day gig-crawl Haddowfest is a crowd-pleaser, with The Cribs as headliners
13 Nov 2012
Broken Records, The Gold Lions, The Stagger Rats and Meursault also perform
With an extra hour in bed and an earlyish start to the Sunday, you could have forgiven many of the Haddowfest goers for deciding to turn up a little later than expected for this year’s event. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, as a bright-eyed bunch…
Exclusive free download: Rachel Sermanni – The Fog (Discopolis remix)
7 Nov 2012
Track from singer songwriter's debut album remixed by indie-electro synthsters Discopolis
Indie-electro synthsters Discopolis have given us an exclusive free download of their new Rachel Sermanni remix. 'The Fog' is a track taken from Sermanni’s latest album Under Mountains, which we called ‘full of life, and landscape, and promise’. Taking…
Five contemporary Scottish authors on the writers who have inspired and influenced them
5 Nov 2012
Scottish literary scene’s younger writers about the figures whose influence has driven them on
Rodge Glass on Alasdair Gray. As Gray’s secretary, I watched him carve his sentences out first-hand, seeing how he always sought clarity in the fewest words possible. That was my writer’s education. In studying his life and work for my biography of…
A guide to publishing companies in Scotland
5 Nov 2012
The innovative companies keeping the Scottish literary scene buzzing
If one press has led the way in Scottish publishing, it’s Canongate. The team may be relatively small, but since Yann Martel won the Booker for Life of Pi in 2002, its global impact has been difficult to ignore. Canongate now publishes Barack Obama’s…
Sightseers
5 Nov 2012
Outrageously funny British comedy about a duo on a killing spree
Imagine if Mike Leigh had been asked to direct Natural Born Killers or Oliver Stone's talents had been unleashed on a version of Nuts In May. That is the level at which Ben Wheatley's third feature is pitched. A bone dry, very British black comedy, it…
Tartan noir: An A-to-Z of Scottish crime writing
2 Nov 2012
A dictionary of Scottish literature’s darkest genre
A is for Aberdeen While Edinburgh and Glasgow get most of the crime fiction attention, the Granite City has been re-awakened from its seemingly law-abiding slumbers by the likes of writers Lance Black, Bill Kirton and MG Kincaid while Stuart MacBride is…
Ten significant modern Scottish novels
2 Nov 2012
Featuring Michel Faber, Andrew O’Hagan, AL Kennedy and Anne Donovan
Under the Skin (2000). Set in the Highlands, Michel Faber’s full-length fiction debut was a real shock to the system. Isserley is an über-earthly creature with deep scars and thick specs who is on a mission to capture muscle-bound men for creepy…
Profile: Comic book and animation artists in Scotland
2 Nov 2012
An overview of comic and graphic novel authors and artists
We’ve always loved comics in Scotland. DC Thomson ruled the roost in kids comics, launching The Dandy and The Beano in the 1930s. ‘Sales peaked at 1.92m a week in the 50s, that’s about 100m copies in a year,’ says former Dandy editor Morris Heggie. DC…
Spoken word and live literary events in Scotland
2 Nov 2012
An overview of live literary events including Inky Fingers, Unbound and Neu! Reekie!
Where once the poetry slam was the Scots wordsmith’s destination of choice for public verbosity, there are now a growing number of spoken word readings at everything from book festivals to DIY venues. Aspiring writers are quickly catching on to a…
Interview: Julia Donaldson on her role as children’s laureate
2 Nov 2012
Author of The Gruffalo, Superworm, Stick Man and Tiddler
The job of a Children’s laureate is never done. It’s not enough for Julia Donaldson to produce her celebrated picture books – favourites such as The Gruffalo, Superworm, Stick Man and Tiddler with their gorgeous illustrations by Axel Scheffler – and…
Five children's books from Scotland
2 Nov 2012
A Scots Alphabet, The Bunk-Bed Bus, Granny Nothing, Skarrs and Boyracers
Animal ABC: A Scots Alphabet Susan Rennie and Karen Sutherland (Itchy Coo, 2002) Fantastic illustrations, and a very funny introduction to a menagerie of animals described in Scots. The Bunk-Bed Bus Frank Rodgers (Puffin, 2004) I love the…
The Mercury Prize-nominated albums that didn't win but became classics
2 Nov 2012
Some of the most significant UK albums 'robbed' on the night
With Leeds indie quartet Alt-J announced as this year’s winner of the coveted Mercury Prize for their debut album An Awesome Wave, it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable fallout and tedious discussion of who was robbed on the night and who…
Scottish poets choose a line of poetry from a compatriot’s work
2 Nov 2012
Brian Whittingham, Liz Niven, Kevin MacNeil, Tessa Ransford and Alistair Findlay
Brian Whittingham. ‘Granda, A miss yer voice, A miss yer han’ from ‘First Gemme’ by Derek Ross. The poem recaptures a boy’s association with his grandfather who was taking him to his first football game. It is evocative of a special relationship and…
Behind the scenes at BBC Scotland’s radio drama department
1 Nov 2012
The actors, writers and producers making drama for radio
Television drama might get the lion’s share of the budget and the publicity, but there is a world of talent involved in making drama for radio – and no shortage of famous names either, with Brian Cox, David Tennant and Billy Connolly all willingly…
Interview: Paul Thomas Anderson on The Master, Scientology and Tom Cruise
1 Nov 2012
Maker of There Will Be Blood returns with the best American film of the year
Five years after Paul Thomas Anderson’s uncompromising drama There Will Be Blood, he returns with another astounding work. James Mottram speaks to him about The Master, its links to Scientology and showing the film to Tom Cruise.
Games review - Medal of Honor: Warfighter (PC/PS3/Xbox 360)
1 Nov 2012
Second attempt to reinvigorate series lacks originality and imagination
Steven Spielberg launched Medal of Honor back in 1999 as a companion piece to Saving Private Ryan, setting in motion events which birthed the Call of Duty juggernaut four years later. As members of the original team left to join Activision’s rival…
Profile: Yorgos Lanthimos, director of Alps
1 Nov 2012
The Greek filmmaker is also the man behind comedy drama Dogtooth
Born Athens, Greece, 1973 Background Having studied at film school in Athens, Lanthimos made his debut feature with My Best Friend in 2001. It was his third feature Dogtooth however, a bizarre black comedy about an upper-class Greek couple who try…
Silent Hill: Revelation
1 Nov 2012
Poorly-handled horror sequel inspired by the spooky video game
It's become cliché to point out that video games don't translate well to film but here's yet another example to ram the point home. After pilfering imagery and plot from the Silent Hill 3 game, Deathwatch director Michael J Bassett brings nothing new to…
Film production companies working in Scotland
1 Nov 2012
The companies behind Perfect Sense, Outpost and Idris Elba-starring Legacy
In the late 70s, when French director Bertrand Tavernier announced he wanted to shoot his next film in Glasgow, he was actively warned off the city by London producers who feared he and his cast and crew would be robbed – or worse. Thankfully Tavernier…
Why Scottish television drama goes beyond Rebus and Taggart
1 Nov 2012
Recent TV drama includes Lip Service, Single Father, Waterloo Road and The Field of Blood
Not so very long ago, Scottish television drama was dominated by Rebus and Taggart. The audience-conquering popularity of STV’s Edinburgh and Glasgow cops was such that you could be forgiven for thinking Scotland hosted or produced little but crime…
The animation companies behind The Illusionist, The Ooglies and Aliens: Colonial Marines.
1 Nov 2012
Ink Digital, Ko-lik Films, Axis Animation, Red Kite and Show Them Pictures
When Pixar wants to tell a Scottish story, the world listens. But the global popularity of Princess Merida in Brave is only a small part of the story in terms of Scotland and animation. There’s a growing confidence, skill and expertise in the industry…
Rising stars and familiar faces from Scottish film and TV
1 Nov 2012
Featuring Emun Elliot and Rose Leslie from Game of Thrones and Kelly Macdonald from Boardwalk Empire
Paul Brannigan actor (Glasgow, 1988) Picked from obscurity by award-winning filmmaker Ken Loach, Brannigan made his acting debut in The Angels’ Share and has subsequently starred in Under the Skin opposite Scarlett Johanssen. Rose…
Interview: Karen Gillan on Amy Pond, Doctor Who and Not Another Happy Ending
31 Oct 2012
Roles in upcoming rom-com and horror drama Oculus
After she played Amy Pond in Doctor Who, many wondered what Karen Gillan would do next. Eddie Harrison speaks to the Inverness actor about making the leap to the big screen with her first lead role in Glasgow-set film Not Another Happy Ending
New folk music: James Yorkston, Hanna Tuulikki and Alex Neilson on their musical influences
31 Oct 2012
Some recommendations from three strong voices in contemporary folk music
Scotland’s contemporary folk music is vital, dynamic and genre-defying. It re-animates mythic realms via acid-washed folk-rock (Trembling Bells); applies Gaelic customs to avant-garde art forms (Hanna Tuulikki, Muscles of Joy); celebrates punk and DIY…
The rise of LuckyMe, Numbers, Hudson Mohawke and Rustie
31 Oct 2012
How the Glaswegian music producers and label helped define the sound of bass music
Glaswegian music producers Hudson Mohawke and Rustie have been key figures in the British electronic music landscape for the last couple of years. The former (real name Ross Birchard) has ended up in the studio with Kanye West and Chris Brown, while the…
