Music, Issue 697

THEESatisfaction, Young Fathers – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Sun 3 Jun 2012

Soulful house party set from the Seattle hip hop duo

Seattle hip hop/soul duo Stas and Cat, aka THEESatisfaction, are perfectly suited to the DIY music scene. With just two microphones and a laptop in the way of stage set-up, you can easily imagine them playing house parties (an image aided by the video…

Eat, sleep and breathe: Sean Smith, We Were Promised Jetpacks

The bassist shares the band's tour habits

What time is breakfast? It changes every day. Usually fairly late though. It’s just the adults that get up in time for breakfast. Tea or coffee? Coffee. Smoking or non-smoking? Non-smoking. Sweet or savoury snacks? Savoury, but Peter Q…

Bola - Volume 7

The Ghanaian musician's sound is an inspired meeting of tradition and experiment

A blog and now a label, Awesome Tapes From Africa has been exploring the cassette stalls of Western Africa for raw and unusual sounds since 2006. This is their second commercial release, a reissue of a 2009 tape by Ghanaian musician Bola. His sound…

Olympic Swimmers - No Flags Will Fly

Less than original but still worthwhile Scottish post-rock debut

The fact Olympic Swimmers’ debut album arrives in a summer when their Google search rankings might not be the best isn’t their biggest hindrance to standing out. Situated between the pillars of Scottish alternative music – Idlewild’s shrewd melodies…

Olympic Torch Relay - Scottish route and dates

Information on Scottish leg of the Olympic Torch's journey around the UK

Having toured through various towns and cities in England and Wales, the Olympic Torch relay is set to head to Scotland, starting in Glasgow on Fri 8 Jun. The city will celebrate the torch’s arrival with a multi-arts programme at Kelvingrove Art…

Win tickets to see your bands from the stage at RockNess 2012

This year's RockNess Festival is offering one lucky person and a friend the chance to watch their favourite act from the side of the stage. The competition is open to anyone who has already purchased full weekend tickets, or day ticket holders who want…

Summer Festivals 2012: Music

T in the Park, Wickerman and Belladrum among the music fests pleasing your ears this summer

T in the Park Basics: Balado by Kinross, Fri 6–Sun 8 Jul, tinthepark.com Price: Weekend: £179 (campsite tickets available separately). Day: £70–£77.50. Line-up: The Stone Roses, Snow Patrol, Kasabian, New Order, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds…

Summer Festivals 2012: Biffy Clyro - interview

The band's James Johnston discusses their headline slot at RockNess

Despite the unusual time signatures, the uncompromising riffs, the bizarro lyrics and the beards, somehow Biffy Clyro have become one of the biggest rock bands in the UK. Even their hits – ‘That Golden Rule’, ‘Mountains’ and ‘Many of Horror…

Summer Festivals 2012: Death in Vegas - interview

A chat with Richard Fearless ahead of his RockNess performance

As British music finally dragged itself out of a post-Britpop hangover around the turn of the century, Death in Vegas were among the most quintessential of festival bands. 1999’s The Contino Sessions and 2002’s Scorpio Rising were staples of any…

Summer Festivals 2012: Here We Go Magic - interview

The band's Luke Temple gets ready for their slot at T in the Park

‘I’m kind of a late bloomer, really,’ testifies Luke Temple, singer and songwriter in chief with Brooklynite indie-pop contenders Here We Go Magic. ‘I didn’t start writing songs until 2000, until I was about 25, and up ‘til then I’d only listened to…

Summer Festivals 2012: Nile Rodgers - interview

The disco legend talks to us ahead of his set at RockNess with Chic

Disco and pop icon Nile Rodgers is recalling the first time his band Chic played Atlantic Records their biggest hit. ‘We emptied the boardroom,’ he says of multi-million selling 70s wig-out, ‘Le Freak’. ‘We started it – “One, two, awwww Freak Out!” And…

Summer Festivals 2012: Best dance music live shows

Which of this year's superstar DJs have visuals to match their beats?

Picture the scene. Dusk has fallen on the festival site. Tens of thousands of inebriated and euphoric festivalgoers have assembled at the main stage. They’re waiting for the headliner, whooping and hollering in anticipation. Then it happens: a guy…

Summer Festivals 2012: Ones to watch

A selection of industry experts and List writers choose their musical highlights for this summer

Lanterns on the Lake Chosen by Jonny Ensall, Editor, The List What does that name bring to mind? Boats on the water? A night to remember? An ethereal choir of knitting together a sense of the magical past and the optimistic future? You’re spot on with…

Scottish Opera celebrates 50th anniversary

Five facts about the company

Over its 50 years of existence, Scottish Opera has staged 223 new productions. Their furthest flung performance took place in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1970 – a four-night run of The Turn of the Screw directed by Anthony Besch. Among the famous faces who…

Summer Festivals 2012: Clubbers Decktionary - RockNess

Trouble's DJ Hobbes guides us through the myriad genres of RockNess

Techno Pure electronic dance music (ie no non-electronic samples or vox) with a 4/4 kick. The original, Detroit style incorporates more melody and strings alongside sounds from Roland’s classic 808 and 909 drum machines and, often, the 303 ‘acid…

Summer Festivals 2012: RockNess travel info

Bus and train details for getting to RockNess

BUS INFO Once again Citylink are offering a selection of direct buses to RockNess, and here’s our handy guide to their services. GLASGOW OUTWARD: Fri 8 Jun 12.40pm-5pm 1pm-5.15pm Sat 9 Jun 9am-1.15pm Sun 10 Jun 9am-1.15pm RETURN: Sat 9…

The Son(s) – Leviathan EP

Remarkable EP of lo-fi subtlety and intimacy from the mystery-shrouded artist(s)

Having consulted an online resource to find a definition of the word 'leviathan' I was met with the task of trying to come to terms with how a mythological sea creature that is manifested as some kind of demon incarnate would find context in the lush…

Melvins Lite – Freak Puke

Experimental craziness from the long-running grungers' reduced incarnation

You can never really expect every album by these insanely experimental men to sound the same. Even after 29 years of performing and recording together, The Melvins (or Melvins Lite, in this case) somehow manage to remain enthusiastic and creative in an…

DZ Deathrays – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Tue 22 May 2012

Raw and intense show from the Brisbane duo

2012 should be a landmark year for DZ Deathrays. The Aussie duo were included in NME’s Top 20 Most Exciting Bands of 2012, and their debut album Bloodstreams has met with generally favourable reviews. In the meantime though, it’s pleasing to see them…

Tim Hecker / Wounded Knee / Matthew Collings

Pilrig St Paul's Church, Edinburgh - Sat 19 May 2012

Anyone au fait with Sacred Music, BBC 4's two-series trawl through the history of choral worship, from plainchant to polyphony and beyond, will be as versed in the integral relationship between music and church architecture as they are with presenter…

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 - listen to the 16 finalists announced so far

Listen to 16 of the finalists ahead of Eurovision final on Sat 16 May

It's Eurovision Song Contest time. The epic, pan-European assault on the senses that everyone loves to ridicule is screening at 8pm this Saturday. It's every European country's annual opportunity to take out their historic and current grievances through…

Com Truise set for UK tour

Live interpretations of Galaxy Melt album with synth and drums

Okay, so imagine if Blade Runner was not set in a dark, dystopian, fetid, sweaty, neon shoe-box version of LA and instead was transposed to a glaring and perma-tanned Miami of the future, drowning in UV rays, Day-Glo colours; a city as one giant…

Austra, The Unthanks and Richard Hawley set for No Direction Home 2012

New festival with focus on quality from team behind End of the Road

End of the Road has been the latte-drinking, glam-camping Guardian reader's weekender of choice almost since it's inception in 2006. Picking up plaudits from The Times and The Guardian (of course) as well as an award for 'Best Small Festival' last year…

Clare Grogan of Altered Images - interview

The singer and actress talks to us ahead of the band's appearance at the Rewind 80s Music Festival

First record you ever bought Rock On by David Essex – still an amazing and weird sounding record. Last extravagant purchase you made Vintage Chanel dress – just had to have it! First film you saw that really moved you Meet Me In St Louis – what a…

Stag & Dagger, various venues, Glasgow, Sat 19 May

Eleanor Friedberger and Miaoux Miaoux play as part of 13 hour gig crawl

While its London sister seems to have died a death, presumably smothered by a surfeit of such hipster-friendly crawls and brawls in the English capital, the Glasgow leg of multi-venue one-dayer Stag and Dagger happily lives on, albeit with perhaps a…