Music and Previews

Steel Panther, Saxon and Dilinger Escape Plan added to Download 2010 bill

23 Mar 2010

A further 22 names have been announced by rock and metal festival Download to perform on the 2010 bill. Steel Panther, HIM, Saxon, Airbourne, Coheed & Cambria, 36 Crazyfists, Dilinger Escape Plan, Dommin, Taking Dawn, Unearth, Cinderella, A Day To…

Heather Peace interview: Multi-talented Lip Service star set for UK tour

'Like a pluckier Sheryl Crow, mixed with a rockier Eva Cassidy'

24 Mar 2011

Bored on a road trip? Tired of playing I Spy? Try to think gay British actors or actresses who aren’t typecast according to their sexuality. After you get past the Stephen Frys and Ian McKellans (hello, national treasures), you might get a bit…

Serj Tankian interview: full transcript

System of a Down vocalist talks to The List

20 Aug 2008

System of a Down were a singular prospect in metal, intelligent, intricate and utterly unique. Now vocalist Serj Tankian has released his first solo album, Elect the Dead, as you'd expect it's as distinctive as his former band. Classical pianos morph…

25 things you might not know about Tom Waits

17 Jul 2008

The chance to see Tom Waits, one of the planet’s true music raconteurs, is worth £100 of anyone’s money. But did you know he once worked for the coastguard? If not, Jonny Ensall suggests you read on…

Exposure - Jonathan Coulton

16 Oct 2008

From his secret lair in Brooklyn, New York, evil genius Jonathan Coulton has been hatching plans for world domination since 2005. His hook-filled fuzz-rock anthems about zombies, Tom Cruise, the Mandelbrot set and cyborg girlfriends have won him a…

The Breeders - The freed seed

17 Jul 2008

Death to the Pixies (again) meant a new lease of life for The Breeders. Doug Johnstone traces the musical highs and chemical lows of Kim Deal. The Breeders are not what you'd call prolific. But that's OK, good things are worth waiting for. The on-off…

Interview: Ben Sims gets ready for RockNess 2012

The techno DJ/producer among names added to festival bill

13 Apr 2012

DJ Ben Sims has been announced for 2012’s RockNess festival, where he joins Soma Records on the Arcadia UFO stage. With over 20 years of DJ experience, running his own Theory label (among others), he’s renowned for his DJ skills using vinyl, CD and…

Pere Ubu, Mogwai, Thomas Truax and Zombie Zombie set for The Glasgow Music and Film Festival

17 Feb 2010

The Music and Film Festival is a strange beast, full of contradictions and tangents that threaten to pull apart its coherence, but ultimately make it the most exciting strand of this year’s Glasgow Film Festival. Co-curated by the Arches, and featuring…

Scotland The Great - Franz Ferdinand

22 Jan 2009

You’ve basically built an entire studio complex in the bowels of this beautiful old building in Govan? Bob Hardy, bass Yeah, its a great place. Nick [McCarthy, guitars and keyboards] found it. David MacKenzie the filmmaker has his office down here.

Celtic Connections add to line-up

13 Nov 2008

Celtic Connections have announced two more impressive additions to their line-up. Martha Wainwright and Teddy Thompson will perform a double-bill at the Old Fruitmarket on 27 January. A host of special guests have also been added to the bill for the…

Colette Thurlow of 2:54 - interview

The indie singer/guitarist discusses sibling bandmates and significant influences

27 Mar 2012

Like a louchely worn black leather jacket, moody guitar music will never go out of fashion – see 2:54 for proof on both counts. Having toured with Warpaint and The Big Pink since emerging a year ago, the London four-piece based around sisters Colette…

Staind & Seether - 5 Reasons to go see

8 Jan 2009

1 It’s a killer double bill It’s great when the support act is as good as the headliner and Staind and Seether are the perfect alternative metal partnership. 2 Metal with heart Staind have their detractors with words like ‘morose’ and ‘depressing…

Kristin Hersh

After the flood

7 Aug 2008

To the casual observer, Kristin Hersh is a bundle of contradictions. Just seconds into our conversation she is gabbing away like an old friend, expounding on her one-woman show Paradoxical Undressing, the tale of a tumultuous teenage life when, in the…

Rock of Ages

3 Jul 2008

In a bid end that long-standing argument about just how old that guy from The Prodigy really is, Josie Balfour digs out the birth certificates of those appearing at T in the Park.

5 Reasons To Go See - The Cult

28 Feb 2008

The Cult might have a rather dubious legacy after more than a quarter of a century in the business, but they can lay claim to one of the finest rock’n’roll albums of the last 30 years, namely Electric, every inch of which is riff-drenched, wailing…

Interview: Andrew Weatherall set for RockNess 2012

Esteemed DJ and producer on A Love From Outer Space and festivals

30 Mar 2012

Andrew Weatherall is just one of the new announcements for 2012’s RockNess line-up where he’ll be joining Soma Records who are taking control of the new Arcadia UFO. It’s a Scottish Festival exclusive as he’s joined by Sean Johnston as they present an…

RockNess 2011: Bus times, line-up and stages

New stages, weekend highlights and travel times

27 May 2011

RockNess have laid on three brand new arenas for 2011. Firstly, the Rock’n’Roll Circus will showcase cutting-edge music and comedy talent from the likes of Jamie Woon and The Cuban Brothers. Secondly, Glasgow clubbing institution Sub Club will present…

Phillip Glass performs Drift 2010

10 Jun 2010

If any show being staged in the grand old (but newly renovated) Usher Hall counts as being an intimate one, then this is it. The American composer Philip Glass, famed for his film scores, operas and popular collaborations, will be performing a set of…

Autumn Season Preview: Classical Music

What's ahead in the next few weeks

17 Sep 2009

It’s autumn, the leaves are turning and it’s that time of year when classical music’s own type of seasons start up again to keep everyone going through until the Spring. A major difference this year is that the orchestras are returning to their…

God Help the Girl

11 Jun 2009

‘You have been warned, I’m going to be contrary,’ sings the beautiful Catherine Ireton on God Help the Girl – the new album written by Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian fame. Murdoch could be speaking about himself, for he has always confounded…

Jeffree Star

5 Mar 2009

Model, fashion designer, MySpace superstar and singer, Jeffree Star is one of the new breed of web celebrities and self-styled ‘Queen of the internet’. A subversive and sometimes controversial figure famed for his transgressive ‘gender-bending…

Exposure: Cage The Elephant

11 Nov 2008

Who are Cage The Elephant? They are ‘five blue-collar renegades’ - namely Matt Schultz (vocals), his brother Brad (guitar) and their friends Daniel Titchenor (bass), Lincoln Parish (guitar) and Jared Champion (drums). Matt, Brad and Daniel grew up on an…

Jubilee

21 Aug 2008

You can’t dispute the talent involved in Jubilee, featuring Aaron North (Nine Inch Nails/The Icarus Line) on vocals and guitar; Michael Shuman (Queens of the Stone Age/Wires on Fire) on bass and vocals and Jeff Lynn (Wires on Fire) guitar. However they…

Mercury Rev - Original soundtracks

17 Jul 2008

They've refused to stand still musically in their 20 year career, and with this latest chapter Mercury Rev are pushing their music farther out than ever. Doug Johnstone revels in their sonic adventures Describing what Mercury Rev sound like is a…

Ride the RockNess Express - train details

The Express will pick up festival goers from London, Birmingham, Derby, York and Newcastle

8 May 2012

As part of the Year of Creative Scotland, RockNess are offering a unique (and environmentally friendly) way to the festival site on the banks of Loch Ness. Picking up passengers from London, Birmingham, Derby, York and Newcastle before dropping them off…

DJ Yogi Haughton presents Scottish Soulful Weekender

Dumfries event features Todd Terry, Kerri Chandler and Joey Negro

18 Oct 2011

A weekend of soul music held at a hotel in Dumfries & Galloway sounds almost like a niche market event, a retro get-together for old school Northern Soul junkies to relive the glory days. Yet Yogi Haughton, the promoter of the first Scottish Soulful…

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2011 - Highlights

Brass bands on bikes among highlights of music extravaganza

8 Jul 2011

Have you ever wondered if you are a 'Bad Scot'? If soor plooms, Mel Gibson's take on William Wallace, dodgy recitals of Burns' poems and other things associated with stereotypical Jock culture make you recoil like a moggie from a festering puddle, you…

Record Store Day 2011: Saturday 16 April

Monorail, Rubadub, Avalanche, Underground Solu'shn and Coda join the celebrations

24 Mar 2011

We’re not going to argue with Ozzy Osbourne. ‘As official ambassador for Record Store Day 2011, I now have the power to command you to attend record stores on April 16th. Be there!’ he orders. The List does not need telling twice. Far be it from us…

Electro-hip hop insurgents Ratatat set for UK tour

‘Mogwai taught us how to drink beer like a professional rock stars’

16 Nov 2010

‘Mogwai taught us how to drink beer like a professional rock stars,’ says Ratatat’s synth‘n’bass extraordinaire Evan Mast. ‘We’d be lost without them.’ He speaks of a Japanese tour that united the rousing twain back in 2006: Mogwai the post-rock…

Human Don’t Be Angry - guitar-based project from ex-Arab Strap mainman

Malcolm Middleton's new project brings out his sensible side

21 Oct 2010

‘I set out with three unbreakable rules,’ states alt.pop saviour Malcolm Middleton. He’s referring to his brand-new solo endeavour Human Don’t Be Angry. ‘Rule one: don’t do interviews. Rule two: act like you know what you’re doing. Rule three: no beer…

Adam Pierce's Mice Parade bring post rock inventiveness to Glasgow

New York multi-instrumentalist takes live band on UK tour

6 Oct 2010

Adam Pierce is the Richard Whiteley of rock. The New Yorker is an anagram buff (Mice Parade, see?) who moonlights with palindromic musicians (múm) and bedecks his work with cryptic clues (his gladdening troupe’s new album is entitled What It Means To Be…

Limp Bizkit set for Glasgow show

Nu-metal overlords on UK tour

14 Aug 2010

Fred Durst and co have been pretty quiet since their last release, 2005's The Unquestionable Truth, Part 1. Now they’re back, and have a new album Gold Cobra, due soon. Fans can check www.limpbizkit.com for previews, as Mr Durst has been known to let…

Pantha du Prince at Sneaky Pete's and Oran Mor

Minimal techno joins dots between alpine forest and the dancefloor

5 Aug 2010

‘A girl once crawled onstage behind me, and was constantly holding my trouser,’ shudders Germany’s Hendrik Weber, alias techno forager Pantha du Prince. What fate befell this tactile fan? ‘I explained it would be better for her to leave because I could…

Lynyrd Skynyrd

2 Mar 2010

These Southern rockers named themselves after a particularly jobsworthy high-school PE teacher named Forby Leonard Skinner. Cool accents aside, they also gave the world ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, a song full of ‘dangalanga’ bits that are virtually impossible…

Bombay Bicycle Club, The Maccabees, The Big Pink and The Drums set for Shockwaves NME Awards Tour Glasgow date

3 Feb 2010

The latest NME tour brings another collection of bands – Bombay Bicycle Club, The Maccabees, The Big Pink and The Drums – looking to put a modern twist on familiar sounds. With sharp, noisy guitars and quivering vocals all round, the tour harks back to…

Florence and the Machine - Florence Welch interview

2 Dec 2009

Florence and the Machine’s frontwoman Florence Welch is a surprisingly normal 23-year-old, albeit one blessed with the looks of a 19th century beauty and the best singing voice of her generation. So why is she so mired in doom and gloom? Jonny Ensall…

McIntosh Ross

29 Oct 2009

The piano hook on UK hip hop urchin Chipmunk’s new single, ‘Oopsy Daisy’, is curious. By ‘curious’ we mean ‘hugely akin to “Wages Day”’ by Deacon Blue’. And by ‘Deacon Blue’, we mean ‘superb’. History has been unjust to Scotland’s abiding social-pop…

Rough Cut Nation

Music meets art uptown

29 Jul 2009

Gallery gigs are ordinarily bespoke, underground shop-front affairs that flaunt their art-rock credentials like billy-o. The renovation of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery has allowed some of that DIY spirit to mess up its normally plush interior…

Alestorm

16 Apr 2009

Trying to confuse us all with yet another music subgenre, Alestorm are purveyors of pirate metal and are proud of it. Yes, you heard right. The pirates from Perth have made a splash in the metal community and are turning heads across Europe and beyond.

The Phantom Band

19 Feb 2009

The Phantom Band are a riddle wrapped in a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. OK, they’re not really, they’re just six guys living in Glasgow making music, but as their ephemeral name suggests there is something shadowy and unfathomable about both the…

Exposure: Broken Family Band

21 Jan 2009

The Broken Family Band are something of an anomaly. They're a British band (from the heart of folksy Cambridge no less) that have the educated Americana sound of such stateside alt superstars as Calexico or The Decemberists. Lead singer Steven Adams…

Hogmanay 2008 - Paolo Nutini

11 Dec 2008

Reports of Hogmanay’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Certainly Edinburgh’s event, which suffered all manner of gloomy speculation pretty much since the bells finished ringing us into 2008, has returned with perhaps the strongest line-up in memory.

Musicians' guide: How to make it in the music industry

27 Nov 2008

Want to make it in music? Fancy yourself as The Next Big Thing? Claire Sawers and Malcolm Jack track down nine very different people currently working in the industry and quiz them on just what they do and how they do it In addition, for detailed…

Port O’Brien

16 Oct 2008

Growing up in California's Bay Area, Van Pierszalowski and Cambria Goodwin couldn't help but be influenced by the sea. There's a definite maritime air to their debut album All We Could Do Was Sing, a lush and uplifting indie folk medley, tying together…

Blue

16 Oct 2008

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE While its existence in any sort of visual medium is an artistic victory, the ambition of Derek Jarman’s Blue becomes most apparent when you discover that he drummed up money for the film by staging it as a series of live…

The Xcerts

24 Apr 2008

INDIE Barfly, Glasgow, Tue 6 May Indie rock is the musical opiate of the masses. Recapture that first hit ecstasy with The Xcerts, a fresh-faced three-piece from Aberdeen and Exeter. Get Cape Wear Cape Fly liked their fully-formed, captivatingly…

Interview with New Order drummer Stephen Morris and guitarist Phil Cunningham

The reunited music icons on playing live and the importance of arguing

26 Apr 2012

New Order are back, and it’s as if they never went away. Are you enjoying it Stephen Morris, drummer and longest continuously-serving member alongside Bernard Sumner? ‘Yeah, it’s been great,’ he says from his house/studio just outside Macclesfield…

Ever been to a silent disco with a Chinese dragon?

25 Oct 2011

Ever explored a museum at night? Ever had a cocktail surrounded by thousands of years of history? Ever been to a silent disco with a Chinese dragon? Thanks to the support of RBS and The List, the National Museum of Scotland is bringing you an exclusive…

Interview: Katy B on bringing everything to RockNess - including the kitchen sink

The chart-friendly, female face of dubstep

27 May 2011

‘When I was 13, listening to Choice FM, I would listen to a lot of R&B from America, and whenever a British person tried to do it, it didn’t really work, they just sounded like they were trying to copy that whole style. Now the music sounds British…

Sound recordist/artist Chris Watson set for Edinburgh's Dialogues Festival

The ex-Cabaret Voltaire member sets up a sound installation at InSpace

21 Mar 2011

How do you go from being a core member of experimental electronic pioneers Cabaret Voltaire to becoming David Attenborough and Bill Oddie’s favourite sound recordist, with the odd radio documentary and installation for assorted sonic arts festivals…

Thin Lizzy 2011 UK tour

2011 incanation counts The Almighty's Ricky Warwick and Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell among line-up

23 Dec 2010

1. The Boys Are Back In Town... Well, sort of. Since the tragic passing of frontman Phil Lynott in 1986, many different incarnations of the band have existed, purely as a live tribute of sorts. Now, armed with Dio/Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell…

A look at Deadmau5's rise to fame

The Canadian DJ and producer set for Braehead Glasgow show with Magnetic Man and Calvin Harris

10 Dec 2010

How the hell did Deadmau5 get so big? The Canadian DJ and producer has been a powerful force on the commercial end of the dance music circuit for a couple of years now of course, but this month is set to prove he’s no longer just another face in a crowd…

A Guy Called Gerald set for Glasgow date at Animal Farm

Pioneering Manchester producer's show is live performance of back catalogue

10 Dec 2010

For a man who’s had a two-and-a-half decade career in electronic music, including some definitive mid-90s work on the UK jungle and drum & bass scene, Gerald Simpson will be forever known for the fruits of a very brief moment in his career. It was…

Sarah Connolly

Mezzo soprano returns to jazz roots

12 Aug 2010

Among other things, 2010 is likely to be memorable as the year of the mezzo-soprano at the Edinburgh International Festival. Joyce DiDonato, Petra Lang and Christine Brewer, who replaces the indisposed Susan Graham, are just three of the famous names…

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…

Festival collaboration unites Alonzo King Lines Ballet with Zakir Hussain

EIF show fuses Indian classical music and contemporary American ballet

16 Jul 2010

Zakir Hussain was always destined for musical greatness: one look at his childhood bedtime routine will tell you that. For years he would come home from school and go straight to sleep, only to be awakened by his father at midnight to rehearse through…

Dam Mantle launches debut EP

29 Mar 2010

Dam Mantle is the alter-ego of musician and artist Tom Marshallsay, who releases debut EP, Grey, on new Glasgow label Halleluwah Hits this month. A kaleidoscopic mix of melodic samples, jittery beats and post-dubstep bass mutations, Dam Mantle’s tunes…

Muse, Eminem and Kasabian are T in the Park 2010 headliners

The Prodigy, Jay-Z and Vampire Weekend also on Balado festival bill

23 Feb 2010

Muse, Eminem and Kasabian will headline the main stage at T In The Park 2010. Other major acts on the bill include Black Eyed Peas, The Prodigy and Jay-Z. The festival dates are Friday 9th. Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th July 2010. The campsite is…

Backbeat - Stuart Sutcliffe story comes to Citizen's Theatre, Glasgow

And the beat goes on

3 Feb 2010

This season’s major show at the Citizens Theatre is more than just a Beatles biopic. Writer/director Iain Softley explains why to Jonny Ensall

Vampire Weekend set for Edinburgh and Glasgow dates

1 Feb 2010

Upon the release of their eponymous debut album almost exactly two years ago, it seemed possible to bracket Vampire Weekend as a novelty band. They were four preppy middle class New York kids taking the traditional sounds of impoverished African folk…

Ryuichi Sakamoto interview

Piano man

13 Nov 2009

His collaboration with David Byrne on the score to The Last Emperor scored them an Oscar, but as Neil Cooper discovers, the pianist and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto is happiest keeping things minimal, but always experimental It may be a quarter of a…

Five reasons to go and see Regina Spektor

13 Nov 2009

1 She aches to pupate From a one-time job on a butterfly farm, to songs about hoarding Red Admirals in her coat, the Russian-born American singer-songwriter is an avid lepidopterist. Her soaring, picturesque odes bear witness. 2 She can shred a…

Interview: Julie Fowlis

The Scots singer on a hectic couple of years

15 Oct 2009

Julie Fowlis is right to describe the past couple of years as being a ‘bit of a whirlwind’. In recent months the crystalline-voiced musician has earned worldwide acclaim for her second album Cuilidh (pronounced ‘cool-ee’), was named BBC Radio 2 Folk…

Admeto Re’di Tessaglia

Getting a handle on Handel

20 Aug 2009

Scorned lovers, jealous tantrums and furious outbursts are all in a day’s work for conductor Nicholas McGegan. As he explains, ‘There’s not a great deal of difference between opera and soap opera – they are all about love, jealously and ambition.…

Amanda Palmer

14 Aug 2009

A singular talent who refuses to play the predictable game whether it’s on record, in print or on stage, Amanda Palmer has been turning heads since forever as one half of the Dresden Dolls, where she throws together Weimar cabaret and punk scree in…

Taking Back Sunday on tour

23 Jul 2009

Taking Back Sunday have had so many line-up changes since their inception in 1999 that they’re now printing T-shirts with the slogan ‘I used to be in Taking Back Sunday’. So have they sent one to former bassist, Fred Mascherino, who had an acrimonious…

A-Team - The Musical

22 Jul 2009

Pity the poor fool who misses out on scoring a ticket to this musical version of the legendary 80s TV adventure series about a quartet of ex-crack commandos-turned-mercenaries. So, can Faceman hold a tune? How are Hannibal’s harmonies? What’s BA’s…

AC/DC

25 Jun 2009

On paper the idea of AC/DC shouldn’t work. They’re Australian (well via Scotland); the lead guitarist is a fifty-something dressed in a velour school uniform, and their own brand of rock’n’roll remains as wantonly unsophisticated as it was 35 years ago.

Throbbing Gristle

11 Jun 2009

INDUSTRIAL When Throbbing Gristle issued a communiqué in 1981 announcing that ‘the mission is terminated’, it looked like the last self-destructive flourish by the UK’s premier avant-provocateurs. Sired from underground performance art troupe COUM…

The Amphetameanies

11 Jun 2009

SKA PUNK Cult Glasgow ska punk veterans The Amphetameanies’ line-up, past and present, includes members of Bis, Belle and Sebastian and Franz Ferdinand. Bassist Gordon Davidson refutes the suggestion that it must be frustrating being in all these…

YolanDa Brown

11 Jun 2009

SOUL JAZZ Twenty-six-year-old London-born saxophonist YolanDa Brown is already remarkably successful, winning a MOBO award last year and collaborating with Alexander O’Neil, Mica Paris and The Temptations, all on the back of just two self-released…

Secret Wars

2 Apr 2009

The first rule of Art Club is: you don’t talk about Art Club. Unless you’re writing a piece in a magazine. We’re not really sure what an event describing itself as ‘like Fight Club, with artists’ entails, but this live art battle has been running at…

Ipso Facto

5 Mar 2009

INDIE Last time über-bobbed female quartet Ipso Facto were in Glasgow, two of their number were aloft the shoulders of their companions in the auditorium of the O2 Academy, going nuts to reformed post-punk fabulists Magazine’s encore of Captain…

Scottish Opera - Five:15

19 Feb 2009

As a savvy soul once surmised, ‘the more opera is dead, the more it flourishes.’ Just take the rise and rise of Scottish Opera. While the opera cynic waxed lyrical about the need to redefine the remit for a noughties audience, there they were setting…

Noisy Nights

19 Feb 2009

Although it sounds like it’s something to do with closing time at the weekend, Noisy Nights is actually a Monday evening happening all about new music. Taking place in the bar of Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre, performances will be of new scores which…

Hitlist - Classical

19 Feb 2009

● Evening Concert: Brodsky Quartet As part of the ongoing celebrations in honour of the 200th anniversary of Mendelssohn’s birth, the award-winning Brodsky Quartet play his second string quartet just a couple of days prior to the actual birthday date.

Of Montreal

22 Jan 2009

INDIE POP Although Athens-based concept-poppers Of Montreal have been active for over a decade now, their ninth and latest album Skeletal Lamping has seen the group reach their highest watermark yet. The record was a top forty entry in America, and…

In Case of Fire

22 Jan 2009

Fast rising Northern Irish trio are the opening act of the Kerrang! Tour in anticipation of their debut album, Align the Planets. As you’d expect the full line-up is a snap shot of modern metal including young tykes Black Tide and their old school metal…

Exposure: Alestorm

20 Nov 2008

Excuse us while we sit down for a bit, because we’ve just had the shock of our lives. You might feel the same when you open up the MySpace page of four-piece Perth (Scotland, not Australia) rock outfit Alestorm, because nothing can quite prepare you for…

Scottish Opera - La Traviata

30 Oct 2008

‘Born to die’ seems a bit of an extreme expression to describe a singer, but for Carmen Giannattasio it appears to fit the bill. Star of tragic opera after tragic opera, the Italian soprano says it’s unfortunate, but, ‘I have died so much in the last…

Exposure: Esther O’Connor

28 Oct 2008

‘I was brought up in a musical and artistic family where to want to do music as a profession was perfectly normal,’ says singer-songwriter Esther O’Connor. Fusing her gorgeous vocals to instantly hummable folk and country-inspired melodies, her music’s…

Amy Thomas

4 Sep 2008

Sultry songstress Amy Thomas started off as a classical singer but is now more at home dipping into the Great American Songbook for some classic jazz vocals. And while she'll be performing jazz at the Jam House she's also fronts a band that mashes…

Ratatat

31 Jul 2008

Specialising in the art of bleeps and blips Ratatat are an electronic duo (Mike Stroud and Evan Mast) hailing from New York City harnessing synths and other machinery for a funky take on electro. Having toured with the likes of Bjork, Daft Punk and CSS…

Scouting For Girls

Edge Festival

22 Jul 2008

What a rollercoaster ride it’s been for this London-based indie pop outfit since ‘She’s So Lovely’ crashed into the top ten in 2007. Typical of their instantly catchy, mass-audience appeal, the single had four old school friends finally leaving behind…

Best of the rest - Edinburgh International Festival

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Giselle. Under the artistic direction of Nina Ananiashvili, the State Ballet of Georgia will be performing what many view as the definitive interpretation of this romantic ballet. Gabriela Montero Two performances here from the superb Venezuelan…

Gregory Isaacs

8 May 2008

REGGAE Citrus Club, Edinburgh, Tue 20 May Born in Kingston Jamaica in 1950, five years after Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs’ musical trajectory offers a fascinating counterpoint to the beloved Rastafarian musician. While Isaacs’ early inspirations came…

Royal Scottish National Orchestra: Finale! Brilliant Benedetti

24 Apr 2008

Playing the Szymanowski concerto (and look out for his opera King Roger at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival) that shot her to fame as winner of the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year in 2004, violin prodigy Nicola Benedetti (pictured) is top…

Sarah Chang

18 Oct 2007

GUEST PERFORMER Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Wed 24 Oct Glasgow’s International Classical series has some impressive names attached to it this season. Alfred Brendel, Kurt Masur, Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano are just a few of those who are in…

Zurich Ballet

Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Wed 4-Sat 7 Oct

18 Sep 2006

MODERN BALLET Chocolate and watches may be their trademark, but it turns out the Swiss are pretty hot at dance too. Playing in Scotland for the first time in its history, Zurich Ballet is an undiscovered gem well worth checking out. A decade ago…

Sonic Youth founder Thurston Moore brings his fourth solo album to Glasgow

We look back on the career of the legendary DIY music icon

15 Nov 2011

Once upon a time in Stirling, a counter-cultural icon walked among the people and played his guitar and snapped up their Scottish country dance records. The year was 2005, when Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore came to the central belt to perform at…

Music Is The Music Language

Festival of the experimental and esoteric

25 Aug 2011

Music Is The Music Language, a two day festival organised by DIY promoters Cry Parrot and Tracer Trails, is testament to the vibrancy of Scotland’s underground music scene. ‘Underground music is strongest and most exciting where and when the values…

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2011 - Fact file

The display of massed military viewed by 100 million people annually

8 Jul 2011

1 The Edinburgh Tattoo first took place in 1950. It was first shown on colour television in 1968. 2The word 'tattoo' comes from the old Dutch phrase 'doe den tap toe', meaning 'turn off the taps', which was a call used at closing time in 17th century…

Wee Jaunt features musicians performing in the most unlikely places in Edinburgh

Detour's one-day festival from David Weaver and Ally McCrae

23 May 2011

We at List HQ take great pride in our ability to give you all the details you could possibly need to pack your lives chock-full of top-notch, culturally-fulfilling activities every month. So imagine our confusion when we tried to write about something…

Eric 'Ripley' Johnson of psych/drone outfit Moon Duo on the benefits of losing your job

The Wooden Shjips guitarist now tours with his partner Sanae Yamada

25 Apr 2011

Fans of their droney psych-rock should probably thank the boss who, two years back, told Eric ‘Ripley’ Johnson his services were no longer required. ‘It was one of those things where I didn’t like my job, but didn’t have the courage to just quit,…

Mount Kimbie interview

Dom Maker from Mount Kimbie chats dubstep and something called 'emo-step'

20 Apr 2011

Mount Kimbie manage to sedate you whilst still making you want to move. Rather than having you hurtle head-on into the sweaty masses like any old ‘dubstep’ club night, the London-based duo of Dominic Maker and Kai Campos’ deliciously concocted rhythms…

Johnny Lynch of Fence Records talks exclusively to The List about Home Game 2011

18 Apr 2011

Fence Records’ annual Anstruther-based shindig Home Game is approaching once again, offering three days of intimate musical adventures for anyone lucky enough to get their hands on one of the 400 highly-coveted tickets. ‘We’ve spent 8 years building…

The Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon set for UK tour

The Wu-Tang Clan member comes to Scotland with new album

3 Mar 2011

Two years ago, when Wu-Tang Clan MC Raekwon announced the sequel to his acclaimed 1995 solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx …, you could’ve been forgiven for thinking it was merely some kind of clever ploy to stir up interest in a career that had…

Christmas Carnival - Concert for children combines percussion with the orchestra

Children’s Classic Concerts strike balance between music and mirth

17 Feb 2011

Faced with the sound and power of a full orchestra, it’s hard not to be impressed, whatever your age or musical persuasion. When you’re hovering between 4 and 14, however, you sometimes need a little spice in your sonata to stay occupied. For years…

Margins is Glasgow’s newest grassroots book and music festival

Doug Johnstone, Ewan Morrison Tom Leonard and Withered Hand

16 Feb 2011

Imagine just starting a festival. Just saying, right there and then ‘there’s a gap in the market, and I’m going to fill it.’ It’s not such a great step for Mark Buckland; when newly graduated from university, he said to himself ‘I’m going to start a…

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…