Music and Issue 639

Versus - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Thu 10 Sep

15 Sep 2009

Take three bands, throw ‘em on a stage before a like-minded audience, mix, match, mess and stir things up occasionally with a mid-set special guest or two, then bask in the cut n’paste none-stop, occasionally erotic cabaret that ensues. This, then, is…

Easy Ryders - Kasabian interview

10 Sep 2009

It’s taken a while, but Kasabian are finally as big as they always thought they deserved to be. Jonny Ensall chats to singer Tom Meighan and finds out that fame and critical validation have calmed one of the biggest egos in rock

The house that Jaxx built - Basement Jaxx interview

10 Sep 2009

From the home front, Basement Jaxx have been uncharacteristically quiet for the last three years. They’ve kept out of view, retiring into studious production mode and, while they say they never went away, they can’t deny they have, at least, been…

Giant steps - Little Boots interview

10 Sep 2009

Little Boots is mid-fib when her phone signal cuts out. She’s on the motorway, heading towards the Reading Festival, and she is livening up her early morning interview by colouring in a few of her answers. She was just explaining where she got her…

Ocean Size - Twin Atlantic interview

10 Sep 2009

The popular Glasgow rockers Twin Atlantic pack an onstage punch, and have more than enough ambition to follow it up, finds Camilla Pia

What the puck? - Hockey interview

10 Sep 2009

Rob Dabrowski speaks to Hockey, the American new wave renegades ready to ramp up the enthusiasm on indie dancefloors

Hear this! - Upcoming gigs and albums Autumn 2009

10 Sep 2009

SEPTEMBER 14 Sep Jay-Z The Blueprint 3 After ‘retirement’, Glastonbury and gigs converting Coldplay fans to the joys of rap music, his masterful album trilogy is now complete. 14 Sep Muse The Resistance The band’s fifth album, it’s tinged…

Upcoming gigs in Scotland: Autumn 2009

10 Sep 2009

Scotland, as we all know, is a hub of great music, great venues and great live audiences. Which is why so many of the world’s great acts forget about the poor weather and poor diet and play here. Add to that list alt-country sorts, and favourites of…

First word - Stix Zadinia of Steel Panther

10 Sep 2009

Stix Zadinia from glam parody rockers Steel Panther flexes his muscles to talk sex, drugs and rock‘n’roll

Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival 2009 launches

10 Sep 2009

Singer Karine Polwart is just one of the many names putting her name – and voice – behind this year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. Now in its third year, the festival explores mental health in its broadest sense with almost 200 events…

Music hitlist

10 Sep 2009

Cocoon Counter Culture Weekender, Steel Panther, Coldplay, Jay-Z and White Lies, Gang of Four, Stereo Open Day, Tinchy Stryder, Islay Jazz Festival.

Topic records

10 Sep 2009

The world’s oldest independent record company has reached 70. Topic Records started in 1939, and has been a powerhouse of the British folk landscape ever since. With a back catalogue stretching from Pete Seeger to Eliza Carthy, Topic has always…

Circle of friends: Dot Allison

The muse-for-hire finds her own voice

3 Sep 2009

There can be few better kept secrets in music than Dot Allison. The Edinburgh-born singer songwriter has been involved in exciting new music for over fifteen years, collaborating with all kinds of different artists as well as producing four acclaimed…

Exposure: Northern Xposure

3 Sep 2009

Feted by The Culture Show, name-checked by the urban music press, respected by an army of sometime tour-mates and artists they’ve played alongside (including Dizzee Rascal, Naughty By Nature, Estelle, The Roots and Amy Winehouse) and still based in the…

Confined Human Condition preview

Inventive musical theatre from Cathie Boyd's Cryptic

3 Sep 2009

Cathie Boyd’s Cryptic have long been associated with inventive, often visually striking presentations of music. There’s often, as well, an exploratory and creative use of multimedia running through the work. But with this latest piece, the electronic…

Also released: Music

The other records on rotate in The List offices

3 Sep 2009

Shields Up - Shields Up, O.M.T. - Anamantium, Will Vinson - Promises, Alan Windram - 10 O’Clock in the Morning, Paloma Faith - Do You Want the Truth Or Something Beautiful?, OMO - The White Album, Mew - No More Stories

InMe

Essex rockers show off their new album

3 Sep 2009

InMe have had a bit of a rough time in recent years. The alt.rock band went from being the poster boys of a teenage generation – with tracks like the brooding ‘Firefly’ regularly on music television in the early 00s and helping to win an army of devoted…

T-Model Ford

Authentic blues from the octogenarian

3 Sep 2009

Born James Lewis Carter Ford in Forrest, a small community in Scott County, Mississippi, myth, mystery and awe surround the life of the blues musician better known as T-Model Ford. His exact age, for instance, is unknown even to him, although he is…

Withered Hand - Good News

3 Sep 2009

Withered Hand is not, alas, a Jeremy Beadle tribute band. It is, however, the nom de plume of Edinburgh alt.folk messiah Dan Willson – and for said dude we should give thanks. Willson is a curious pop disciple: a deadpan bard eternally vexed by the…

SNJO plays Wayne Shorter

3 Sep 2009

The music of saxophonist Wayne Shorter is the latest to come under the radar of Tommy Smith and the excellent Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, and promises to be one of their most memorable incursions. ‘Wayne is a superlative composer of memorable…

Four reasons to go see: Gang of Four

Post-punk, political legends come to Edinburgh

3 Sep 2009

1 They’re post-punk legends Widely regarded as one of the leading lights of the post-punk movement which emerged in the late 70s, the Leeds foursome mixed the visceral energy of punk with elements of disco, funk, dub and reggae before anyone else…

Amazing Baby - Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Tue 1 Sep 2009

3 Sep 2009

Much hype has been touted about Brooklyn boys Amazing Baby being the next MGMT – they graduated from the same school, supported them on their last tour, apparently sound the same. This gig might have been the chance to see the Next Big Thing.

Terry Reid and The Fortunate Sons - Winchester Club, Glasgow, 29 Aug

The blues maestro plays Glasgow

3 Sep 2009

Roll’n’roll folklore states that he turned down overtures from Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, but tonight blues maestro Terry Reid joins forces with Glasgow outfit The Fortunate Sons. It seems, however, less of an amalgamation of musical wits than might…

Glasvegas - We Love To Boogie, Glasgow, Tue 1 Sep 2009

3 Sep 2009

‘Fuck the neighbours!’ shouts someone within the crowd spilling out onto the street. ‘James, please – turn it up to 11!’ Maybe the quiet little acoustic gig Glasvegas’ James Allan had in mind when he arranged this Twitter-promoted secret show wasn’t so…

Classical hitlist

3 Sep 2009

RSNO: Hollywood Classics Bringing a busy summer season to its close, the RSNO and their conductor David Danzmayr present a popular mix of music from the movies. Lawrence of Arabia, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars are all there in radiant…