Music, Electronic

Plan B, Alabama 3 and The Futureheads added to line-up for RockNess 2013

The Temper Trap, Joris Voorn, Len Faki, Carl Craig, Nic Fanciulli and more also announced

A new batch of confirmed acts for RockNess 2013 has been announced, with Plan B leading the pack as a headliner. The Temper Trap, Alabama 3, Joris Voorn, Len Faki, Carl Craig, Nic Fanciulli, Netsky Live!, The Futureheads, Mark Henning, Alex Metric, Matt…

Clubbers' Decktionary: IDM aka Intelligent Dance Music

Trouble's DJ Hobbes gives us a guide to the myriad genres of clubbing

IDM aka Intelligent Dance Music, proper noun, myriad styles and tempos; abstract electronic music designed more for listening and/or a home environment than the dancefloor. Much like its bastard offspring, EDM, this much-maligned term has always been…

Interview: Conquering Animal Sound's James Scott and Anneke Kampman

'We like that place where experimental and pop music meet'

A few things you might not know about Glasgow’s beautifully skewed electronic pop duo, Conquering Animal Sound. One: they only had one pint of milk to hand when taking this press photo (above). ‘The pressure was definitely on to get it right’, says…

The Asphodells - Ruled by Passion Destroyed by Lust

Andrew Weatherall project takes in electronica, guitar and acid house

(Rotters Golf Club) Given the ephemeral nature of dance music, remaining relevant after 25 years involvement without taking advantage of nostalgia for your former glories, may not be the easiest task. However, Andrew Weatherall seems to have…

Function - Incubation

Expertly crafted exploration into the darker side of dance music

(Ostgut Ton) Sandwell District alumnus Dave Sumner, aka Function, goes on a solo odyssey, veering away from the techno stalwarts/defunct label with his debut foray into LP territory. Incubation sees him exploring his kinship with the darker side of…

Atoms for Peace - Amok

Oblique Eraser-esque debut from supergroup featuring Thom Yorke, Flea and Nigel Godrich

(XL recordings) Don’t let the jaunty, almost flamenco-styled bassline which opens the light crackle of electronic pop and fizz of ‘Before Your Very Eyes’ wrong-foot you, because here comes the man at the controls to rain on your parade. ‘Look out at the…

Conquering Animal Sound - On Floating Bodies

Duo's second album is full of daring and with gloriously rich palette

(Chemikal Underground) Glasgow-based Conquering Animal Sound’s mosaic aesthetic bristles with invention on this their second full-length effort. There are times here when the term, a cornucopia of sounds, seems like damning with faint praise; but…

Headline acts announced for Electric Frog Easter Weekender 2013

Simian Mobile Disco, Todd Edwards and Pan-Pot top a line-up of electronica for the Glasgow mini-fest

This year’s Electric Frog Easter Weekender has confirmed Simian Mobile Disco, Todd Edwards and Pan-Pot as its headliners. The event will be held in Glasgow’s SWG3 and will span the weekend of Sat 30-Sun 31 Mar 2013, running from 6pm-2am on both…

Spring culture preview 2013

Nick Evans: Solar Eyes Evans' forthcoming solo show features a new set of his striking amorphic white plaster sculptures. The most ambitious is a large architectural complex which mimics the geometry of an Aztec temple. Evans' fascination with motifs…

Exposure: Stubborn Heart

Luca Santucci and Ben Fitzgerald are the duo behind the synth act with a heart

Assumed to be a couple of kids from south London after a white label of their zeitgeist-seizing track ‘Need Someone’ circulated among tastemakers, Stubborn Heart is in fact two thirtysomething electronic music veterans finally bringing a long-gestating…

Interview: Dan Deacon on making music, performing and his 2013 UK tour

Musician combining maximalist sounds on record and extreme live performances

‘I’m so sorry, I have this really weird thing in my throat,’ Dan Deacon says, interrupting himself mid-flow to cough. ‘My voice is suddenly all... [does cartoon growly voice],’ he laughs. It’s still early I point out, calculating it’s not quite 11am in…

Alex Smoke: Wraetlic - Oddio at Berkeley Suite, Glasgow, Sat 12 Jan 2013

Visuals-heavy set from London-based producer's vocal-based side project

It’s unclear how many of the healthy crowd packed into the Berkeley Suite’s underground art deco-meets-urban gothica black box of a basement know what they’re here to experience, with a small crowd of serious head-nodders and fans of the artist before…

Haftor Medboe and Anneke Kampman - Places and Spaces

Refreshing collaboration between dexterous jazz guitarist and electronic chanteuse

(Fabrikant) At first listen, Conquering Animal Sound chanteuse Anneke Kampman's first sojourn into off-piste collaboration sounds like the straightest thing she's done. Here she is, singing proper words and everything alongside seasoned jazz guitarist…

Blue Hawaii - Untogether

Beguiling début of somnambulant synths and layered vocals

(Arbutus Records) Blue Hawaii’s ethereal through-the-looking-glass world evokes a similar sense of place to the early work of Arbutus labelmate and fellow Montreal resident Grimes, but with a more subtle reliance on poppier tropes. If this beguiling…

Orbital - Picture House, Edinburgh, Sun 2 Dec 2012

A timeless performance from the legendary electronica duo

Those arriving at the venue minutes after the Hartnoll brothers Paul and Phil have gone onstage will note reverberations ringing off the buildings around them, the sound of a whispered warehouse rave up an alley or the distant thump of a bass drum in…

L Pierre - The Island Come True

Eerie, bleak and gorgeous electonics from Aidan Moffat's ongoing solo project

(Melodic) Given Aidan Moffat’s consummate way with words – in Arab Strap, with Bill Wells, in his short stories – you might suspect that his expressive endowments were more inclined towards lyrics than music. His uncanny instrumental alter-ego L…

Dam Mantle - Brothers Fowl

Psychedelia-infused, sample-driven release from prolific and versatile producer

(Notown) As anyone witnessing this Glasgow-based producer’s recent live shows will attest, Tom Marshallsay is in a different league to most electronic producers. 18,000 Soundcloud followers suggest he’s doing something right on record…

Toro Y Moi - Anything in Return

Chaz Bundick's third album is a truly original piece of pop-flecked electronica

Fitting broadly into the ever-expanding genre of electronic singer-producers who are making increasingly sophisticated sounds on their own, Chaz Bundick – who recently made the move from his native South Carolina to Berkeley, California – has earned the…

Gary Numan - HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, Tue 4 Dec 2012

The electronica legend's performance boasts rousing tracks but little audience interaction

Gary Numan’s name comes with heavyweight pedigree, an original member of the 70s synth-wielding tribe, he has continued to spurn releases, with varying success, over the last four decades. Part of a handful of UK dates on the ‘Dead Moon Rising…

Hot 100 2012: 69-60

Rachel Sermanni, Limmy and Peter Capaldi 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.

Hot 100 2012: 79-70

Dominic Hill, Ewan Morrison and LuckyMe 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.

Hot 100 2012: 89-80

Daniel Sloss, Canongate and Julie Fowlis 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.

Hot 100 2012: 100-90

JK Rowling, Tilda Swinton and Andrew Fairlie 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.

Rustie and TNGHT to perform at Pleasure Principle 2013

Weekend dance festival in Cornwall is the product of a collaboration between Numbers and Dedbeat

Glasgow’s Numbers and the team behind former Dedbeat festival have jointly created Pleasure Principle, a new music weekender to add to the 2013 calendar. The already confirmed lineup features a mix of big names in hip hop and electronic music…

Interview: Peter Hook performs Joy Division's new wave, melancholy masterpieces, Unknown Pleasures and Closer

Uber-fan of Joy Division Allan Brown gets a chat with one of his musical heroes, Peter Hook

Peter Hook is one of the most gratifyingly paradoxical figures in all of heritage indie-rock, if that’s a thing. The man and the music just don’t match. The latter, as represented by New Order and particularly by Joy Division, is by turns intense…