Music and Folk

Hazy Recollections – O2 ABC2, Glasgow, Sun 22 Jan

Electro-folk and French lullabies bring weepie and comedy moments

3 Feb 2012

Celtic Connections’ Hazy Recollections sessions are great for two main reasons. Firstly, they provide a gathering place for the legion of those with beards and plaid shirts. Secondly, you get to see just how far the festival’s remit of ‘folk, roots and…

The Banana Sessions - Mixtape

Long-awaited debut album from the folksy Edinburgh fivesome

3 Feb 2012

Waiting four years before releasing debut album Mixtape, Edinburgh five-piece The Banana Sessions certainly can't be accused of rushing in to anything. Exhibiting an eclectic combination of styles Mixtape opens with 'Two Seasons' a well crafted folk…

Five picks from Celtic Connections 2012

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

6 Jan 2012

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…

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy to play Celtic Connections set

Some facts you may not know about Will Oldham's alterego

6 Jan 2012

1. This will be first Scottish performance in over five years The music of Will Oldham (aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) has haunted independent music for over two decades now, through various monikers (Palace Music, Palace Brothers, Palace Songs to name a…

Eat, sleep and breathe: Nuala Kennedy

The flautist and singer takes to the stage with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billie this month

6 Jan 2012

What time is breakfast? Whenever hunger strikes. Tea or coffee? Always tea! Smoking or non-smoking? Non-smoking. Sweet or savoury snacks? Savoury van-snacks: I have a minor addiction to those cheese puffs crisps. Wotsits or Cheetos…

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

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

6 Jan 2012

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…

Boy & Bear - Moonfire

Mumford-esque mimsy-folk from down under

6 Jan 2012

(V2) If you’ve considered moving to the opposite side of the world to escape Mumford & Sons, think again – their Australian kindred spirits and touring partners Boy & Bear await you, ready to close the jaws of a vice-like international folk-pop mimsy…

Music-themed Christmas parties round-up

Festive shindigs on offer from Song, By Toad, Phantom Band, James Yorkston, Fence and more

13 Dec 2011

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas in Scotland’s indie village without a bunch of our favourite bands getting together to chip in for mince pies and mulled wine and treat us to / inflict upon us some of their most diligently practiced seasonal covers. Yes…

Tunng - This is Tunng: Live from the BBC

Warped magic of eccentric east London glitch folk collective

7 Dec 2011

(Full Time Hobby) With a line-up alteration or two, eccentric east London collective Tunng have gone from glitchy cut and pasters to singalong folksters. Their This is Tunng compilation features bouncy numbers (‘Jenny Again’, ‘Bullets’) from 2010’s…

Bon Iver - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 22 Oct 2011

Justin Vernon's large ensemble fails to capture the albums' spare beauty

16 Nov 2011

To a long since sold-out crowd of ardent devotees, Justin Vernon takes the stage – after the audience impatiently chats through support act Kathleen Edwards’ countrified indie folk. (Vernon helped out with production and instrumental duties on Edwards…

The Last September - As the Crow Flies

The Edinburgh indie-folk outfit return with well-written, academia-provoked album

16 Nov 2011

(self released) After a five year hiatus, these Edinburgh gentle indie rockers return with a second album, following their well-received début, Vagrant Song. As the Crow Flies features guests Poppy Ackroyd (Hidden Orchestra and Aberfeldy) and Ali…

The Very Best of Muzsikás featuring Márta Sebestyén - Fly Bird, Fly

Fantastic retrospective of the Hungarian folk group's career

16 Nov 2011

(Nascente) Early on, Hungarian musicians Muzsikás, with singer Márta Sebestyén, were at the forefront of the European folk scene. Forty years after they pushed forward traditions championed by ethnomusicologists Bartok and Kodaly, they sound as fiery…

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

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

15 Nov 2011

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…

Blochestra, Bar Bloc, Glasgow, Mon 24 Oct

15 Nov 2011

Bar Bloc has became well known in the Central Belt of late for many music related experiences; they put on free gigs every night, it's a base for the Detour lads (Ally McCrae and David Weaver) and it's home to Bloc Jam, one of Glasgow's best open mic…

Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard - The Third Door, Edinburgh, Wed 26 Oct 2011

Near two-hour set pulls disparate parts into satisfying whole

15 Nov 2011

For this, one of the first gigs at the refreshed and renamed Third Door venue (formerly Medina, and now boasting a beefier new sound system), big personalities and hearts on sleeves are very much the order of the day. Opener Viking Moses is one Brendon…

Five reasons to go see Josh T. Pearson

The bearded Lift to Experience singer-songwriter favours good stage chat and sad songs

15 Nov 2011

1. He was in the mighty Lift To Experience Josh laid his heart bare earlier this year with The Last of The Country Gentlemen, his debut solo album. It will no doubt be topping many an end-of-year list – and for good reason too: it’s one of the most…

Experimental folk of Richard Youngs set for Edinburgh date

Prolific collaborator behind myriad works of understated wonder

9 Nov 2011

Next time you’re in a Glasgow library, look out. Is the man who is stamping your books singing quietly? Does he have the air of an underground pop star; the aura of a man with a penchant for rustic minimalism and improvised folk? Then you may be in the…

Carlos Paredes - Guitarra Portuegesa / Movimento Perpetuo

9 Nov 2011

(Drag City) Fêted by Six Organs of Admittance and the Kronos Quartet, Carlos Paredes was a virtuoso of the Portuguese guitar, a small 12-stringed instrument with a crystalline sound. Paredes was known as ‘the man of a thousand fingers’ and these…

Various Artists - Whaur the Pig Gaed On The Spree

Alasdair Roberts-curated comp of Scottish song recordings from 1950s

9 Nov 2011

(Drag City) In the summer of 1951 Alan Lomax made his first song collecting tour of Scotland, aided by the great Scottish poet and folklorist Hamish Henderson. Drawn from those recordings, this Alasdair Roberts-curated compilation does a superb job…

Celtic Connections 2012 line-up announced

Glasgow traditional music festival features 2100 artists and 300 events over 18 days in 20 venues

26 Oct 2011

This year's festival will include 2100 artists, 300 events, 20 venues all over 18 days. Being that winter is in the offing, you now wake up in the morning for work and its dark, you then head home from work and its dark. One thing that will surely…

Bon Iver set for 2011 UK tour

The collaboration-friendly indie-folk icon is still strongest on his own two feet

21 Oct 2011

‘Profit, profit, nigga I got it, everybody know I’m a motherfucking monster.’ Of all that Justin ‘Bon Iver’ Vernon might have done next following the huge critical acclaim and popular devotion for his exquisite 2008 debut album For Emma, Forever Ago…

Slow Club - Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Mon 19 Sep 2011

Folk rock twosome expand numbers but lose none of their charm

21 Oct 2011

Despite Rebecca Taylor’s protestations, Slow Club looked to be in reasonable shape considering they spent the previous night out with Aidan Moffat in Glasgow. ‘It was like an Indiana Jones film before I went to bed,’ recalled Charles Watson ruefully…

Julaba Kunda - Traders

Scotland’s Griselda Sanderson and Gambia’s Juldeh Camara conjure magical range of timbres and tones

21 Oct 2011

(Waulk Music) ‘Traders’ aptly describes the exchange of tunes and oral tradition between Scotland’s Griselda Sanderson and Gambia’s Juldeh Camara (often seen touring as a duo with Justin Adams and supporting Robert Plant). 2010’s snowy winter saw a…

Javier Limón - Mujeres de Agua

Spanish musician-producer's songs with 12 top female singers from across the Mediterranean

20 Oct 2011

(Wrasse) Spanish musician-producer Javier Limón is a man of tremendous intuition and vision: responsible for watershed discs for artists like Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucía, or the collaboration between Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés and Spanish singer…

Born to Be Wide - The musician's guide to music videos

Music seminar offers advice for making and promoting music videos

18 Oct 2011

Don’t know your PPL from your VPL? Couldn’t tell your ISRC code from your elbow? Born To Be Wide is here to help. For any musician looking to make the leap from local pub gig to, well, basically anything that will make you any money, a little bit of…

Treetop Flyers - Stereo, Glasgow, Sun 25 Sep

West London's new darlings of country-folk

18 Oct 2011

Emerging through a cough worthy amount of dry ice, talented Glaswegian’s Dirty Beggars kick-start a not so typical Sunday at Stereo; their striking country-folk set all plucked cello, banjo and mandolin strings and loveable vocal harmonies.

Archive Trails - Artists making new work from old photos and songs from Scotland's past

Scottish folk ballads reworked via song, video and puppetry

21 Sep 2011

After months of delving through old photos and songs, three performers aim to bring to life Scotland’s long-lost folk ballads through experimental vocals, video and glove puppets. Rachel Devine reports

5 Reasons to go to EH1 LIVE

The capital's new one-dayer features The Dykeenies, Jakil, The 10:04s and more

21 Sep 2011

1. Welcome to Edinburgh It’s that time of year again. Students are back, a new bunch of freshers are unleashed upon the bright lights of the big city, and while this new one-day, one-ticket-accesses-everything festival doesn’t cover all of the city’s…

Three Blind Wolves – O2 ABC2, Glasgow, Wed 14 Sep 2011

Solid line-up of Americana-tinged Scottish bands for No Mean City festival

19 Sep 2011

Even in the context of the No Mean City festival, this gig is more Americana than most. The line-up spans the bluegrass, folk and country genres, with some indie rock and a smidgen of prog thrown in as well. While it’s not a flawless evening, each band…

5 Things: the changing faces of Bob Dylan

Our five favourite versions of the man born Robert Zimmerman

19 Sep 2011

Folk Dylan Became the poster boy for protest music with album and song The Times They Are a-Changin’ in 1964. Electric Dylan Enraged the folky masses by plugging in for ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ in 1965. Allen Ginsberg pushed a broom in the…

Bob Dylan set for 2011 UK tour

Dates in Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, Cardiff and Bournemouth

14 Sep 2011

Rock stars, like canines, maintain strange relationships with the tally of the passing years. The job is viable till the moment the performer hits 60, at which point the shade of pensioner-hood lowers like showers on a Bank Holiday weekend. We’re…

Blueflint - Maudy Tree

Déjà vu melodies and clichéd narratives winds up down the same old cul de sac

14 Sep 2011

(Jorock) If ever there was a band best suited to be heard in the ale-imbued confines of a wee folk club rather than in the car or at home, it’s Scottish quartet Blueflint. For every song on Maudy Tree that seems to begin promisingly with a subtle…

Retreat IV - Pilrig St Paul’s Church, Edinburgh, Sat 27 & Sun 28 Aug 2011

Glorious fourth appearance from the indie DIY pop fest

1 Sep 2011

All Sunday afternoons should be like the one at this year’s Retreat DIY pop festival: tea in our hands, bacon rolls in our bellies, and eagleowl gently blowing our minds. That was before a toddler joined them onstage and stole our hearts; before the…

Admiral Fallow

Indie-pop-folk triple bill with Fallow, Over the Wall and Kid Canaveral

25 Aug 2011

Admiral Fallow have landed a rather good indie-pop double bill to kick them off this evening. West coast duo Over the Wall are first on, and as a result don’t have a huge audience amassed to watch them (especially considering this is a sell-out gig).

Ravi Shankar - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Mon 22 Aug

A mesmerising show of classical Indian music as part of 2011 EIF

24 Aug 2011

Ravi Shankar crossed over into popular culture with his associations with various 60s musicians, working with and/or influencing the likes of The Beatles, The Kinks and The Byrds. Going on to play at iconic festivals such as Woodstock and The Monterey…

The Waterboys - An Appointment With Mr Yeats

Scott’s music and Yeats’ words make for work of social resonance and artistic wonder

24 Aug 2011

(Proper) There is such a vivid sense of chemistry between Waterboys frontman Mike Scott and literary icon WB Yeats it is hard to believe that the twain never met. This would have been some feat, of course, what with the legendary Irish poet having…

Tattie Toes - Turnip Famine

Debut from one of UK’s most inspiring underground acts

16 Aug 2011

(Pickled Egg) A Glasgow four-piece with a Basque singer, a Welsh violinist, a bassist from Bolton, and a puppeteer on drums, Tattie Toes have never subscribed to conventional notions of what a band should be. As a result, they’ve become one of the…

Bert Jansch set for 2011 Edinburgh Festival date

Returning folk hero, pal of Neil Young and Devendra Banhart

16 Aug 2011

One of the great acoustic guitarists, Bert Jansch comes to Edinburgh fresh from an American tour with Neil Young and a London show with folk-jazz supergroup The Pentangle. Jansch has been doing an annual Festival show since the mid-90s, touching base…

Orkestra del Sol's Top Trumps

Balkan, gypsy and polka sounds in a musical face-off

12 Aug 2011

Orkestra del Sol’s Top Trumps show is an inspired concept for a live music performance. Flyers bearing each band member’s vital statistics are handed out prior to the gig, so that audience members can pick a favourite from the nine musicians. The…

Fringe show The Trains explores Holocaust

Music and video with score by Steve Reich, Weill, Mahler, Puccini and Górecki

10 Aug 2011

Songs from the Holocaust might seem too dark a subject to tackle. But Greek-born singer Marika Klambatsea is convinced that even music from this bleakest of periods can be life-affirming. ‘Music can help people overcome tragedy. From these songs, you…

Various artists - Johnny Boy Would Love This . . . A Tribute to John Martyn

Mixed bag of cover versions from Robert Smith, Beck and Vashti Bunyan

10 Aug 2011

(Hole in the Rain/Liason) However affectionate a tribute album, they can still make you wish classic songs, like historic buildings, could somehow be listed to preserve their original splendour. Case in point on this set dedicated to late, great…

Single of the Week: Joan as Police Woman - 'Chemmie'

Charlie Simpson, Howler, Letters, The Last Battle and more reviewed

3 Aug 2011

We are to be assured that Charlie Simpson is well and truly out of short trousers on ‘Parachutes’ (CSM Records ●●●). Lyrically, things have matured past his chart-friendly pop-punkster days and his light rock would perhaps appeal to admirers of…

Exposure - Ben Howard

Folksy Devonshire singer-songwriter who surfs

3 Aug 2011

Songsmith and West Country surfer dude Ben Howard, 23, has been building up a word of mouth fanbase over the last two years. His folksy guitar sound initially attracted Mumford & Sons singer Ben Lovett’s label Communion, a fitting home for his debut EP…

Fruit Tree Foundation - First Edition

Astounding group collaboration from some of Scotland's finest

3 Aug 2011

(Chemikal Underground) If you’re looking for proof that Scotland’s musical voices are far-reaching and brilliant, then we cordially direct you to First Edition. It’s a stellar, cohesive collaboration from Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison, The…

Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit

Hippy folk for a new generation

3 Aug 2011

(Bella Union) It is tempting to go through Jonathan Wilson’s solo debut and point out influences. Wilson has a rich folk lineage, including production work with J Tillman of Fleet Foxes and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and long-term residence in Laurel…

Suzanne Vega - Close-Up Vol 3

'Tom's Diner' songstress reinterprets her catalogue

30 Jul 2011

(Cooking Vinyl) Folk-rocker Suzanne Vega revisits her most haunting songs in an intimate and personal manner in the third of four reinterpretations of her catalogue. The songstress who is probably most famous for her songs ‘Luka’ and ‘Tom’s Diner…

Fingerstyle guitarist Andy McKee Glasgow and Edinburgh dates

Virtuoso guitar plucker who made his name on YouTube

28 Jul 2011

In 2006 American ‘fingerstyle’ guitarist Andy Mckee joined the YouTube sensation club when he posted a video of himself performing his song ‘Drifting’. It has to be seen and heard to be believed – nearly 78,000,000 hits and climbing – but McKee is…

Lach's Antihoot music showcase returns to 2011 Edinburgh Festival

Antifolk set and nightly showcase from Edinburgh-based New Yorker

27 Jul 2011

Having brought his Antihoot night to the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time last year, New York’s antifolk originator Lach (it’s pronounced ‘latch’, which Scots might find counter-intuitive) has found himself a new home. The man whose seminal open mic…

tUnE-yArDs, Captain’s Rest – Glasgow, Wed 15 Jun 2011

Merrill Garbus is an offbeat, un-obvious, must-see pop act

23 Jun 2011

Three years after she self-released homemade album BiRd-BrAiNs, recognition and even a degree of hype are finally starting to come the way of Merrill Garbus, aka tUnE-yArDs, and so it is that her Wednesday night show at the Captain’s Rest (a venue she…

Wounded Knee - Anicca

Drew Wright’s ongoing adventure in ethno-celtic vocal loops

21 Jun 2011

(Krapp Tapes) This latest excursion in Drew Wright’s ongoing adventure in ethno-celtic vocal loops marries two extended pieces back-to-back on a cassette that comes in a plain brown, hand-stamped envelope and wrapped in an offcut of Harris…

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

The Fence festival delivers another five-star musical weekend

18 May 2011

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…

David Thomas Broughton, Cate Le Bon and Nathan Fake among best of Home Game 2011

Highlights from Fence Collective’s annual Fife festival

17 May 2011

The List’s music editor picks her highlights from Fence Collective’s annual Fife festival, Home Game 2011. David Thomas Broughton dances a thin line between very soulful clowning, and a mesmerising, uncomfortable-to-watch musical performance. Within the…

Bon Iver announces UK tour and releases free download single

Download 'Calgary' from forthcoming second album

17 May 2011

Justin Vernon returns to the UK for his first live dates since 2009. His eponymously titled second album is release on 4AD on June 20th 2011 Tickets for the Edinburgh date go on sale from 9am Fri 20 May.

Lau release Silver Columns remix of Adem collaboration

Second EP further showcases Edinburgh trio's diversity

11 May 2011

Edinburgh-based folk trio Lau are set to release part two in a series of three EPs that showcase the different influences upon their sound. ‘Ghosts’ draws attention to their more electronic and experimental leanings, and was the result of a…

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Wistful second album from the Seattle indie-folkers

25 Apr 2011

(Bella Union) ‘So now I am older / than my mother and father when they had their daughter / now what does that say about me?’ is the first line of this second album from everyone’s favourite Seattle-based indie-folkers, and it sets the scene…

Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat - Everything’s Getting Older

A great jazz, folk and spoken word collaboration

25 Apr 2011

(Chemikal Underground) Lovers of a collaboration both – Bill Wells with The Pastels and Isobel Campbell among others, Aidan Moffat with the likes of Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite and FOUND – it was really only a matter of time before this pair got it…

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

15 Apr 2011

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…

Robin Adams' 'Be Gone' contains some worthwhile tracks, but ultimately lacks the depth of its forebears

13 Apr 2011

(Eye Dog Eye) It’s a bold move for Be Gone to kick off with a protest song called ‘Investment Graveyard’ which is so reminiscent of Bruce Dylan (or is it mid-period Bob Springsteen?) to be almost parodic. Fortunately, Robin Adams swiftly gets into…

Bombay Bicycle Club, FOUND and The Seventeenth Century - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Wed 20 Mar

7 Apr 2011

The basement venue was already near capacity as The Seventeenth Century opened the night; an energetic folk-rock outfit fronted by fiddle-wielding vocalist, Mark Brendan Farmer – who displays a tinge of Marcus Mumford in his singing style but perhaps…

Alela Diane: Alela Diane & Wild Divine

Family-made folk album from Diane

24 Mar 2011

(Rough Trade) Something of a family affair this for Alela Diane’s third album, with husband Tom Bevitori and daddy Tom Menig helping out on, respectively, co-writing and guitar duties. In this patchy yet occasionally uplifting collection, a downbeat…

Lone Pigeon - Time Capsule 001-010: A Selection

A collection of the Fife musician's finest tracks from the last decade

21 Mar 2011

(Domino) You don’t see him for years and then he pops up with this. Get ready to (re)introduce yourself to Gordon Anderson, aka Fife’s maverick songwriting talent Lone Pigeon, a man who counts The Beta Band, the Aliens and the Fence Collective among…

Spotify playlist: Young guns

The best tracks by young artists, featuring Prince, Depeche Mode, Laura Marling and more

3 Mar 2011

Spotify playlist: Young Guns Many artists spend years honing their craft, slowly carving out a reputation though relentless touring, learning as much as they can from serial failure and rejection. There are some however that just hit their stride…

GFF blog: You Instead premiere creates perfect T in the Park vibe

Featured musician Jo Mango talked to us at the after-party

2 Mar 2011

Sigma Films – the Glasgow-based company behind the likes of Red Road, Hallam Foe and Young Adam – celebrated its 15th birthday with the premiere of You Instead on Friday night. The film tells the tale of two bickering rockstars – played by Luke…

Trembling Bells - The Constant Pageant

Encompasses Renaissance filigree, coliery brass bands and wailing free jazz

1 Mar 2011

(Honest Jon’s) l Like an Iain Sinclair of the North, Trembling Bells songwriter Alex Neilson seeks to evoke the psychic landscapes of his native Yorkshire. And so we find him in Goathland, nursing a broken heart, or in Otley, reeling from a demonic…

Josh T Pearson - Last of the Country Gentlemen

Lift to Experience frontman's sparse, pared-down solo effort

1 Mar 2011

(Mute) Aside from a handful of low-key, off-the-map gigs, this Texas troubadour hasn’t been heard since releasing his one and only album as frontman to Lift to Experience ten years ago. The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads has since been elevated to cult…

Where to find traditional music nights in Edinburgh

The venues full of traditional live Scottish music every night of the week

16 Feb 2011

Every night of the week, the walls of the Royal Oak bar reverberate to the sound of live music, most of it with a Scottish, folk and traditional flavour. Long a focal point for folk music in the city, this cosy little bar also attracts other acoustic…

The Low Anthem - Smart Flesh

Quartet's latest album full of poignant intimacy and warm, earthy tone throughout

11 Feb 2011

Following 2008’s Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, reviewers in their droves compared The Low Anthem to Tom Waits and labelmates Fleet Foxes. Yet, writing the quartet off as a cheap copy would be to do them a disservice. Mixed by Saddle Creek warlock Mike…

Cahalen Morrison and Eli West - The Holy Coming of the Storm

Lap slide guitar, mandolin and clawhammer banjo from Seattle-based duo

28 Jan 2011

A good midwinter blues antidote, the serenading sounds and dynamic rhythms captured here ably showcase the thrilling musicianship and deep messages conjured up by Seattle-based duo, Cahalen and Eli. Twelve original compositions and two traditional…

Ian Green - Fuzz to Folk

Autobiography from founder of folk record label Greentrax

19 Jan 2011

(Luath) The life of Ian Green is certainly a packed one. Speedway champ, Korean veteran, grower of prize-winning chrysanthemums, police inspector and folk music entrepreneur are among the entries on his CV, but whether he can add ‘accomplished writer…

Trembling Bells' haunting folk-rock lined up for Celtic Connections date - interview

Glasgow date for band ahead of third album The Constant Pageant

14 Jan 2011

Last year was a golden year for visionary folk-rockers Trembling Bells, beginning with the release of their second album Abandoned Love in the spring and culminating in songwriter Alex Neilson’s nomination for the Arts Foundation Fellowship in Folk…

Musician James Yorkston publishes tour diaries

Domino Records and Faber publish Scottish singer-songwriter's book It’s Lovely to Be Here

14 Jan 2011

Not content with forging a career as one of Scotland’s best loved singer-songwriters, James Yorkston has just foisted himself upon literature in a most alluring fashion. As befits a troubadour whose talent is rivalled only by his modesty, Yorkston’s…

Mark Olson - Many Colored Kite

Combining the vocal fragility of Daniel Johnston with heartfelt sound of Gram Parsons

14 Jan 2011

(Rykodisc) Not counting several sets with The Creekdippers (formed after Olson left the Jayhawks) and a one-off reunion/collaboration with his former Jayhawks cohort Gary Louris, this is only Olson’s second proper solo album, the previous being his…

11 for 2011: The new music from Scotland to watch in 2011

Emeli Sandé, Emma’s Imagination, RM Hubbert and Clouds among those destined for a good year ahead

3 Jan 2011

Emeli Sandé The Aberdeen soul-popper was studying medicine at Glasgow Uni whilst also penning hits for Cheryl Cole, Chipmunk and Tinie Tempah. Her recent solo tour proved she’s no slouch when it comes to performing either – and her gutsy…

Giant Sand songwriter Howe Gelb lines up for Celtic Connections date

3 Jan 2011

Mapping alternative routes between seemingly disparate worlds of music is a longstanding aim of Celtic Connections. It’s a vision shared by Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb, who for some 25 years has been a pathfinder and visionary, resulting in one of the most…

Trembling Bells, Rachel Sermanni and John Grant among Celtic Connections highlights

Mavis Staples and Tribute to Bob Dylan also on diverse programme

23 Dec 2010

Chicago’s music scene is the first stop in this very international round up, specifically the music of distinguished gospel and soul singer Mavis Staples. In the 60s Staples released a string of hits on the Stax-affiliated Valt label. Last year, aged…

The Burns Unit and Broken Records set for Celtic Connections date

‘Scottish-Canadian Supergroup’ peform at Glasgow's Old Fruitmarket

23 Dec 2010

Kenny Anderson is setting the record straight. ‘Karine Polwart is not a folkie – she wants to try other stuff. And Emma Pollock is not just the indie queen that everyone thinks she is. And I’m not the … whatever.’ (Whatever he is, he is King…

The Walkmen set for Celtic Connections 2011

New York quintet's impassioned tales of dejection and desperation

23 Dec 2010

New York quintet The Walkmen conjure a sound that spans the pastoral to the outright raucous. Though they are not perhaps one of the most obvious additions to any Celtic Connections bill, their material has been known to incorporate more ‘traditional…

Exposure: Dylan LeBlanc

20-year-old US songwriter's debut Paupers Fields released by Rough Trade

22 Nov 2010

The son of a session musician and country songwriter, 20-year-old Dylan LeBlanc spent a lot of his childhood hanging around Fame studios, Alabama, where the likes of Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and Percy Sledge have all recorded. Already drawing…

Exposure: Chloe Matharu

Traditional ballads with a hint of the exotic akin to Vashti Bunyan and Joni Mitchell

19 Nov 2010

Keep your eyes peeled for Chloe Matharu, an Edinburgh lass born and bred, with Welsh-Indian heritage. She's breaking into the Scottish folk scene with her debut album Next Market Day. Her voice is remarkably pure and tender; think ethereal treble with…

Family weekend: Rebels with a Cause – The Jacobites and the Global Imagination

Traditional music, egg decorating and quiz among highlights of weekend of free children's events

17 Nov 2010

Rebels with a Cause – The Jacobites and the Global Imagination Wednesday 27 October to Saturday 8 January (closed Sundays except Sunday 28 November and 24 - 28, 31 December and 1 - 3 January) Monday and Friday 10:00 - 16.00 (last entry 15:30)…

Labels of Love: Chaffinch

Melodious Lanarkshire label releases Lucky Luke, Burnt Island, The Second Hand Marching Band

16 Nov 2010

About a year and a half ago, The List received a handmade box from Lanarkshire’s melodious Chaffinch records. It contained several excellent seven-inch singles, a handwritten note from label boss David Love, and a scattering of tiny shells and…

Seafieldroad - There Are No Maps For This Part of the City

15 Nov 2010

(Biphonic) Seafieldroad is the solo guise of Andrew Eaton, vocalist with noirish Edinburgh electro-pop trio Swimmer One, whose latest album Dead Orchestras is one of this year’s shimmering successes. Recorded in tandem with said LP, There Are No Maps…

Robert Plant - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Mon 18 Oct 2010

Singer's 'other band' create intimate experience mixing Americana with Led Zep

2 Nov 2010

It’s impossible to ignore Robert Plant’s illustrious past with his ‘other band’ but tonight belongs to The Band of Joy. He may have reprised the name of his 1966 folk rock group but the current incarnation is very much an Americana outfit.

2010 Le Weekend bows out with Faust, Murcof and Tarwater

Pioneering Stirling experimental music festival also hosts Ben Frost, Bill Wells and John Butcher

6 Oct 2010

Since its inception in 1997, Le Weekend has brought a remarkable range of beautiful and challenging music to Scotland. ‘The idea of an experimental music festival, and also the idea of a festival in Stirling, was quite unique,’ says Alastair Campbell…

Tim Kliphuis - Acoustic Voyage

6 Oct 2010

Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis is best known as a highly skilled exponent of the Hot Club swing style associated with Grappelli and Reinhardt, but this album attempts to focus instead on world acoustic music, including the unusual amalgamation of a…

Kort - Invariable Heartache

6 Oct 2010

(City Slang) Lambchop frontman Kurt Wagner has made a career out of perfecting an alternative to his hometown Nashville’s commercial mainstream country sound. With this album of duets with Cortney Tidwell (the daughter of a Nashville dynasty)…

Grupo Lokito - Esengo Ya Ko Bina

6 Oct 2010

(Cavendish Music) Esengo Ya Ko Bina, which in Lingala means ‘the Joy of Dancing’, is a nine track heady, feel-good mix of Congolese and Cuban music. A band of UK based African and Latin musicians led by singer José Hendrix Ndelo and salsa pianist…

Hole In My Pocket mark Pope's Scottish visit by starting their own church

Eilidh MacAskill and the Parsonage choir appear at Arches event

22 Sep 2010

Inspired by the papal visit, Allistair Burt, more usually known as an architect and the brains behind Glasgow blog Southside Happenings, has just started his own religion. ‘With the Pope being in town, it just seemed like the perfect time,’ says the…

Wounded Knee - House Music

15 Sep 2010

(Krapp Tapes) With cassettes and CDRs being churned out by below-radar experimentalists and available online and at gigs, Edinburgh’s premier progenitor of looped vocal rounds Drew Wright is joining in. Here, he serves up a bumper-sized C-60ish…

Afro Celt Sound System - Capture 1995-2010

15 Sep 2010

(Real World Records) Cherry picked from the collective’s five acclaimed studio albums, these twenty-five songs divide into instrumentals (on a disc titled Chorus) and songs (Verse). Emerging from cross-cultural collaborations at WOMAD involving…

Joanna Newsom embarks on UK tour

Artist tours sprawling achievement of Have One On Me

7 Sep 2010

When she was first brought to the attention of UK audiences by that most reliable eccentric, Jools Holland, Joanna Newsom seemed like just another obligatory obscure artist plucked from the ceiling-high stacks of specialist music magazines no doubt…

James Blackshaw - All Is Falling

Virtuoso guitarist's ninth album sees him move to electric twelve-string

18 Aug 2010

(Young God) He’s banished the acoustic twelve-string! Fear thee not, however. London’s virtuosic James Blackshaw may have (temporarily) hung up his signature instrument, but he remains a spellbinding figure throughout his ninth…

James Blackshaw - All Is Falling

15 Aug 2010

(Young God) This latest from London’s guitar virtuoso sees our 12-string acoustic hero go electric. But while the gorgeous resonance of Blackshaw’s acoustic tone is missed, the toothier tone of the electric 12-string suits this material well.

Mr McFall’s Chamber

Tribute to Scottish techno-folk composer

12 Aug 2010

In a concert featuring the music from their latest album, Mr McFall’s Chamber present a programme of the same name, ‘Birds and Beasts’, celebrating the musical legacy of ‘folk meets techno’ composer Martyn Bennett, and including a couple of pieces by…

World Pipe Band Championships

Highland games, taste of Scotland, and dancing on the Glasgow Green

12 Aug 2010

Look at this happy bunch of pipers. Would you believe they’re actually Canadian? Simon Fraser University’s bagpipe squad won last year’s world championship title: teams from as far afield as New Zealand, Pakistan and, er, Paisley keep their eyes (and…

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 Ukulele Project

Charming folk take on modern classics

8 Aug 2010

Festival newbies The Ukulele Project make their debut here, bringing their unique take on everything from Radiohead and The Beatles to Plan B and Gorillaz.

The Loose Screw promises a sexy gypsy midnight music party

Denise Black answers five questions on her Fringe show

5 Aug 2010

5 words I’d use to describe my show Sexy gypsy midnight music party. 4 things I bring on tour Guitar, pedal steel, busking licence… and I can’t do without my virtuoso guitarist Graeme Taylor, who was a long-haired rockstar in the 70s with folk…

Inspector Tapehead - Duress Code

Cleverly made and head-scratchingly catchy debut

5 Aug 2010

(Song, By Toad Records) Inspector Tapehead are folkies; but not in the strictly traditional or rather cynical ‘I’m a Mumford, me’ sense. Yes, Duress Code boasts clattering rhythms, acoustic strumming and the raw delivery and lyrical romance you might…

Alasdair Roberts and Friends - Too Long in this Condition

Scottish guitarist re-animated murderous and bawdy Scottish ballads

5 Aug 2010

(Navigator) The List can think of no other artist who has dished out props to their manicurist within the immortal confines of their sleeve-notes. But that’s what Glasgow-based folk bard Alasdair Roberts does on his excellent sixth album, Too Long in…