Music

Die Antwoord - SWG3, Glasgow, 12 Nov 2010

Doing for post-apartheid South African underclass what punk did for UK guttersnipes

22 Nov 2010

With their fresh new Zef style, South African rap-rave crew Die Antwoord performed a high energy, jam-packed line up of catchy rap, indecent exposure and 'next-level-beats' from their debut album $O$. A crowd of expat South Africans, indie kids and…

Exposure: Randolph's Leap

New Glasgow band are a melting pot of folk, indie, pop and traditional

18 Nov 2010

With six members and six mouths, it’s a surprise that the arrival of Randolph’s Leap on the cultural horizon hasn’t been shouted about already. A melting pot of folk, indie, pop and traditional tunes, a rollcall of the Glasgow band and their respective…

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…

Souad Massi - Ô Houria (Liberty)

1 Nov 2010

(Wrasse Records) If people were not so hung up on language Souad Massi, who sings in Arabic, French and English would be a superstar. From ‘Everything Remains To Be Done’, a stunning duo with Francis Cabrel with Speed Caravan’s Mehdi Habbad cracking…

Robbie Williams rejoins Take That for 2011 tour

Original line-up set for dates in Manchester, Cardiff, Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham and London

26 Oct 2010

Take That have announced that they are to embark on a European tour in 2011, and that formerly estranged member Robbie Williams will be rejoining the band for these live dates.

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…

Usher Hall marks reopening with Houston Symphony Orchestra performing Holst’s Planets Suite

Improvements to Edinburgh venue make it among 'world’s best concert halls'

6 Oct 2010

When some plaster fell from the ceiling of Scotland’s grande dame of concert halls over 14 years ago, who’d have known it was the start of major redevelopment which has just reached completion and is celebrated in style on 10.10.10? Tackled in two…

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…

Bruce Haack - Farad (The Electric Voice)

15 Sep 2010

(Stones Throw) Listening to the bizarre, bewitching and above all unique work of ‘lost’ electronic music pioneer Bruce Haack, it’s tempting to trace his influence through Cabaret Voltaire, Brian Eno, Kraftwerk and any number of psychedelic…

Tinie Tempah - Disc-Overy

15 Sep 2010

(Parlophone) South London has just coughed up another gifted young MC in the form of Patrick Ogwugu aka 'Talk of 2010' Tinie Tempah. And Rascal needs to watch his back, Disc-Overy is a fiery first effort from the 21-year-old, packed full of…

Music Guide 2010

What's big and what's coming up

10 Sep 2010

Niki Boyle and Camilla Pia reveal Scotland’s amazing music scene and the gigs worth getting in line for Music

Davy Henderson - three albums that bridge the pop/art matrix

The Sexual Objects - Cucumber, The Nectarine No. 9 - Saint Jack, Win - Freaky Trigger

7 Sep 2010

The Sexual Objects - Cucumber (Aktion und Spass) The Nectarine No. 9 - Saint Jack (We Can Still Picnic) Win - Freaky Trigger (RPM) From Fire Engines onwards, Davy Henderson has bridged the pop/art matrix with singularly maverick aplomb. The…

Barbershopera: Apocalypse No!

A superb show full of dazzling vocals

7 Sep 2010

In a hilariously funny show - where Satan’s horsemen adopt a jaded primary school teacher as their leader to incite the end of the world - the ‘three guys and a girl’ of Barbershopera tell the tale of Beth, a teacher, who is looking for the venue of one…

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…

T in the Park 2010: Black Keys, Frightened Rabbit and Eminem

T in the Park blog

11 Jul 2010

Saturday 10th July For the obsessive music fan, it’s one of the eternal frustrations of festivals that sometimes the bands you love don’t get the attention they deserve. This was very much the case with Broken Social Scene, who took to the stage at…

Five pop songs influenced by world music

7 Jul 2010

Arabic Gorillaz – ‘White Flag’ Damon Albarn has long foraged global sounds – his Chinese opera, his Malian album – but ‘White Flag’ was revelatory. Betwixt cameos from Kano and Bashy blazed the real stars of Plastic Beach: the Lebanese National…

The Pineapple Chunks head up ECA Annual Summer Revel

10 Jun 2010

If ever there was a party in Edinburgh’s calendar that deserves the term legendary, the Revel is it. Everyone knows about Hogmanay, the Festival and even Beltane, but Edinburgh College of Art’s traditional end of term blowout tends to be both truly…

Oasis - Time Flies

10 Jun 2010

(Big Brother) A roughly chronological greatest hits, with the earlier and latter days of Oasis’ career divided across two CDs. Throw away forgettable CD two and you can add another star.

Music festivals 2010: Ones to watch

28 May 2010

Unicorn Kid Aka Oliver Sabin – Edinburgh-based electronic wunderkind, this year playing festivals including T in the Park, Wickerman, Belladrum and Bestival Hudson Mohawke He makes super sweet futuristic jams. I loved last year’s album Butter. I…

Admiral Fallow - Boots Met My Face

14 Apr 2010

(Lo-Five) Let’s celebrate it from the rooftops: the Deacon Blue revival is finally upon us. If The Last Battle (and of course Frightened Rabbit) herald a renaissance in melodic Scottish rock, then leading the charge are Glasgow pop heartbreakers…

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…

You Me At Six - Hold Me Down

7 Jan 2010

(Virgin) Chances are, if you liked YMA6’s first effort Take Off Your Colours, you’ll find plenty to like here. Spiky pop-punk riffs, catchy choruses and guest vocalists from The Blackout and Kids in Glass Houses ensure there’s nothing to disappoint…

Tricky - Tricky Meets South Rakkas Crew

4 Dec 2009

(Domino) Hip-hop Bristolian Tricky re-invents himself once again with the help of this musical collision with Florida-via-Jamaica-via-Toronto outfit, South Rakkas Crew – producers of Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Sizzla. With that mercurial ‘Straight…