King Creosote

King Creosote - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Wed 10 Apr 2013

Fence Records stalwart's bittersweet railing over declining physical music sales

Following on from his low-key appearance on the fringes of Fence’s Gnomegame festival in Anstruther the weekend before, Kenny Anderson was playing the second date of a monstrous month-long UK solo tour here, the first coming the day before in Shetland.

Glasgow and Edinburgh Christmas party round-up

Olive Grove Records, The Art School, Is This Music? and Kid Canaveral hosting festive gigs

It takes a strong will and an even stronger stomach to get through the slew of festive functions at this time of year. However, we have a selection of alternative and highly enjoyable ways to blow off steam this Christmas. First up, fledgling…

Hot 100 2012: 49-40

FOUND, Paul Brannigan and Kerry Hudson among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012

The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.

The Arches: 21 defining moments

The cutting edge venue turns 21 this year - here are some of the stand-out moments in its history

1. Cafe Loco October 1991 First set up as an experiment by Arches founder Andy Arnold to bring theatre to clubbers, Cafe Loco showcased numerous emerging and experimental performers including early sightings of performance company Mischief La…

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012: Music highlights

Steamy samba, sleazy-noir synths and goth-pop to feature at Fringe

Brazil! Brazil! Presents Favela Funk Party. The 2010 success of Brazil! Brazil! brought the steamy sounds and sights of samba to the festival and the same people behind that glory deliver an explosion of favela funk and samba reggae. Among the acts…

SAY Award shortlist announced

Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat, Mogwai and Rustie nominated for inaugural Scottish Album of the Year

The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) shortlist has been announced today. After some toothcomb sifting and careful deliberation, the judging panel have whittled down the nominations from a beefy 20 to a lean top 10. Through some hi-tech gadgetry, savvy…

Eye o’ the Dug - St Andrews, Sat 14 & Sun 15 Apr 2012

Fantastic bill featuring Django Django, Malcolm Middleton and more

They may have quadrupled the size of their show, and conscripted beefcakes to man the doors, but the spirit of Fence chiefly prevailed at the inaugural Eye O’ The Dug – a musical hoopla which (kind of) filled a Homegame-shaped hole in the calendar (and…

Scottish Album of the Year Award 2012 long list announced

Includes Remember Remember, Rustie and Conquering Animal Sound

The long list of nominations for the inaugaral The Scottish Album of the Year Awards has been announced, after 12 months of organisation and deliberation. The 20 albums chosen cover a wide range of genres and include many well-known bands - from…

Downhill Downtown 2012 line-up announced

Fort William festival includes King Creosote, The Phantom Band and Admiral Fellow

As the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup takes place in Fort William this summer, music festival Downhill Downtown will bring its own brand of excitement to the town, with a host of Scottish musicians to keep the party going into the wee hours. Confirmed…

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - O2 ABC, Glasgow, Thu 26 Jan 2012

Expanded line-up works well in large venue - once everyone relaxes

The few gentle piano chords and overheard Fife chit-chat that form the start of ‘First Watch,’ the opener on King Creosote and Jon Hopkins’ Diamond Mine, are all it takes to bring a sold out crowd to what is, for this venue in particular, an uncannily…

Singles of the Month: Withered Hand and King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

Django Django, The Twilight Sad and more also reviewed

Come hither and let us imagine a world, a perfect world – a realm in which Kim Wilde is engaged in a goth-disco tryst with The Sisters of Mercy. Think about it. Harder. Got it? Congratulations, you are now playing ‘Lafaye’ (●●●●, Full Time Hobby), the…

Five picks from Celtic Connections 2012

Featuring Zoe Muth, Jack Bruce, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins and Vieux Farka Touré

Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers The year in Americana 2011 belongs to Gillian Welch and the release of her album The Harrow & the Harvest, but amongst a promising field of young female country singers, Zoe Muth stands out. With her ear for an instant…

Kid Canaveral’s Christmas Baubles II - Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sat 17 Dec 2011

Josie Long, eagleowl and more join in Kid Canaveral's annual shindig

The combination of cheap tins and 12 hours of live entertainment could be an endurance test in the wrong hands, but the second annual Fence Records/Kid Canaveral Chirstmas Baubles all-dayer doesn’t exactly feel like a chore. A joyous turn by Fence…

Hot 100 2011 - No. 49 to 1

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

The Hot 100 is the definitive list of Scottish creative talent. From fashion designers to performance artists, everyone who has made a sizeable splash in 2011 has a place in this countdown. It’s for people who’ve created a buzz, but it’s also about…

FOUND win the first ever List Award

Edinburgh arts collective claim prize, while Cargo Publishing collect Best Newcomer

Edinburgh-based band and arts collective FOUND have won the first annual List Award. The Award, presented on Thursday 15 December at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery as part of The List's Hot 100 Party, recognises achievement in the arts over the…

Best of 2011: Songs

The best songs of 2011 featuring Austra, Lana Del Rey, Aidan Moffat

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - ‘Bubble’ / Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – ‘The Copper Top’. It was a straight tie between these two underground power-duos. Showing off the cream of Scottish vocals (and one doesn’t even really sing); the emotions soar, the…

The List launches new cultural awards

The List Award 2011 shortlist includes David Greig, Karla Black, Aidan Moffat and David Mackenzie

The List introduces its own end-of-year cultural award, plus a Best Newcomer award. The awards complement The List's annual creative talent list The Hot 100, the 2011 edition of which is published on 14 Dec The winners to be announced at a Hot 100…

Fence’s Flamin’ Hott Loggz Anstruther Town Hall, Anstruther, Sat 5 Nov

The Shivers, Withered Hand and Serafina Steer join Bonfire Night party

There were no fireworks at Fence’s Flamin’ Hott Loggz pop ‘n’ Guy Fawkes hoopla. There was no need for pyrotechnics when there were songs that soared like gold dust – King Creosote’s rare variation of Dexy’s ‘Come on Eileen’ around a bonfire; Serafina…

King Creosote - Why I love Hallowe’en

The Mercury Prize nominee on how Hallowe'en has become a fixture in the Fence calendar

In order to become a proper record label, the three of us working out of Fence HQ in the early days of the new millennium – Gummi Al, Johnny Pictish and myself, KC – decided we ought to adopt a few standard office practices. The first was to rent a PO…

King Creosote and Jon Hopkins - Grand Ole Opry, Glasgow, Wed 7 Sep

The recent Mercury award nominees hit all the right notes

Gig of the year if they win, they said. Not a dry eye in the house if they win, they said. Well, guess what. They didn’t win. You think that made their Glasgow performance any less enthralling? Two chords in – two of Hopkins’ hymnal, heart-stopping…

King Creosote and Jon Hopkins set for UK tour

Duo take Mercury-nominated Diamond Mine on the road

The List must confess it has to stop taking cues from the John Motson school of interviewing. ‘So, Kenny Anderson aka King Creosote, Fence Records founder and self-made recording artist who’s been working away in relative obscurity for many years now…

Single of the Month: King Creosote and Jon Hopkins’ ‘Honest Words’

Also reviewed: Katy B, Ghostpoet, Anna Calvi, Airship and Ed Sheeran

As Mercury Price fever ensues, there’s a last-minute dash to make the most of this extra attention, however, the resulting singles are admittedly a bit hit and miss. The latter is unfortunately the case for Katy B’s scatty, 90s dance rip-off…

Singles and downloads May/June 2011

Battles' ‘Ice Cream’ take Single of the Month title

The phrase ‘singer-songwriter and professional footballer’ would have most reviewers frisbeeing a CD into the bin faster than you can say ‘super-injunction’, but fortunately enough for Kevin Rutkiewicz it’s a fan of his club, the mighty Dunfermline…

Home Game festival - Anstruther, Fri 6-Sun 8 May 2011

The Fence festival delivers another five-star musical weekend

You may have thought your childhood summer holidays were gone for good. Then you discovered Home Game and times when people were nicer, and music was to be absorbed and adored rather than just worn like a badge, and the memories came flooding back. Home…

Bun Fight at the OK Karail #1 - Crail Community Hall, Sat 9 April

Sometimes, with Fence Collective shows – with the strange, intangible magic they weave – it helps to unravel them in reverse. For example, it makes perfect sense for the night to end in a cosy pub, with a hoard of mildly sunburnt gig-goers rubbing…