Music

Paolo Nutini

21 Aug 2006

He has some beautiful tunes and cheekbones to match but Mark Robertson reckons Paolo Nutini has what it takes to make the successful transition from aspirant roadie to international superstar. Reclining in the June sunshine on the verdant grass…

Girls Aloud to broadcast concert live to UK cinemas

8 May 2008

Girls Aloud are to broadcast their London concert to 50 Vue cinemas across the UK.

Preview of the year 2007

2007 is about the future. And about the past. It’

3 Jan 2007

THE FUTURE Cyberspace invaders We may not be flying around in hover cars or wearing spangly all-silver outfits, but thanks to the internet the future has truly arrived. And the revolution will continue apace in 2007, argues Suzanne Black. A…

Pete Doherty announces Glasgow Barrowland show

12 May 2008

Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty is out of jail and getting back to doing what he does best: playing live to an adoring audience

Arctic Monkeys

ROCK

26 Apr 2007

The weight of expectation hasn’t affected the Arctic Monkeys one iota. They’ve hardly broken their stride and have tossed off a second album of casual brilliance. It almost feels unfair how off the cuff Favourite Worst Nightmare feels; the lyrics are as…

Sugababes, The Feeling And Gnarls Barkley to play Princes Street Gardens

9 May 2008

Sugababes, The Feeling And Gnarls Barkley are to perform in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens on Sunday June 1st. The Sugababes, with a line up now consisting of Keisha, Heidi and Amelle, have sold five million albums (including 3 triple-platinum…

Willard Grant Conspiracy

8 May 2008

Willard Grant Conspiracy, the disparate alt.country band led by the gravel-voiced Robert Fisher numbers in excess of 40 musicians from all over the world. Since Fisher started it all off in 1996, the group’s output has been prolific: seven full albums…

Hey You Get Off My Pavement! announces line up

8 May 2008

The best-monikered music festival in Scotland - Hey You Get Off My Pavement! - returns to Glasgow’s King’s Court on 29 June.

Belle & Sebastian revealed as ‘Best Scottish Band of All Time'

1 Jan 2005

After a three-month public vote, Belle & Sebastian were named as the ‘Best Scottish Band Of All Time' at an exclusive Announcement Party at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow. The prestigious accolade, sponsored by Orange, was announced in front of an…

The Ting Tings

15 Nov 2007

POWERPOP Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Wed 17 Oct If record labels really must go getting caught up in unseemly ‘bidding wars’, the least they can do is make sure they’re getting a good band. Columbia recently won the squabble for Manchester duo The Ting…

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny

The devil plays guitar

13 Nov 2006

Tearing modesty a new asshole, Tenacious D describe themselves as ‘the world’s greatest rock band’. The D’s two members, Jack Black (vocals and rhythm guitar) and Kyle Gass (lead guitar and backing vocals), name check among their inspirations Kiss, Dio…

Roisin Murphy

18 Oct 2007

ELECTRO Overpowered (EMI) A love or hatred of Roisin Murphy’s former band aside, there’s no arguing with the fact that this ex-Moloko vocalist currently makes some of the most sophisticated electro pop around. Boasting catchy melodies, demonic…

2008 Rock Ness line-up unveiled

31 Jan 2008

The picturesque surrounds of Loch Ness are set to host some of the biggest names on the UK rock scene. The Rock Ness music festival, named after its location on the banks of the famous Scottish loch, will showcase top bands, including Editors…

Lily Allen

BACK TO EARTH

27 Feb 2007

Five years ago, when Lily Allen was 16, she was not far from being a teenage waster with the in-built tendencies of a 50-year-old bum down the bookies.

Stereophonics - album review

Indie rock

4 Oct 2007

Although rock’s snootiest critics might have it that The Stereophonics are one of the most blasphemous and superannuated crimes ever inflicted on music, it’s hard to underestimate the value of giving a fanbase what they want. Certainly, the band’s…

In control

Samantha Morton

16 Aug 2007

Samantha Morton is in control. The critically lauded, hard working and in-demand British actress plays the long suffering wife of troubled singer of legendary Manchester band Joy Division in the Ian Curtis movie, Control. Fresh from winning the Best…

Amy Winehouse interview

Life and soul

12 Feb 2007

It’s the morning after the tabloid outrage the night before. The weekend before we meet, Amy Winehouse was due to perform at GAY, the full-on, no-holds-barred club institution in the heart of London. Kylie’s done it with her sister Danni, McFly dropped…

Tom Waits - album review

Tom Waits

27 Nov 2006

UNCLASSIFIABLE When the BBC were planning their resurrection of Jackanory, Tom Waits may well have been on the longlist of proposed readers. But maybe they got wind of his disturbing night-time terror ‘Children’s Story’ and revoked the invite. Like…

O2 Undiscovered

8 May 2008

Tell ya, kid. These days, everybody wants to get into showbiz. O2 Undiscovered, which lands in Glasgow this fortnight, is the latest in a fast-growing succession of hands-on networking events offering the public a chance to meet and get advice from…

Madonna to play Hampden?

2 May 2008

Madonna is set to play her first ever Scottish date this year, it has been reported. The 49-year-old singer, whose single with Justin Timberlake '4 Minutes' is currently the number one UK single, has not officially announced the show yet. But it's…

KT Tunstall

6 Sep 2007

POP KT Tunstall delared she wanted to make a ‘scuzzy rock’n’roll album’, but teaming up with Steve Osbourne, who has put the gloss on Placebo, Happy Mondays and U2 among others in the past, meant it was never really going to happen. Instead, Tunstall…

Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela

Edinburgh International Festival

19 Jul 2007

Edinburgh International Festival Bittersweet symphonies Carol Main meets Gustavo Dudamel, the young maestro behind the world renowned Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, which has transformed the lives of many underprivileged young people in its native…

Tinariwen

8 May 2008

Formed in 1982 in Muammar al-Gaddafi’s camps of Tuareg rebels, Tinariwen mix their traditional music Tishoumaren (‘music of the unemployed’), with electric guitars to create world music at its most thrilling aided by a distinct 70s rock edge.

KT Tunstall to play homecoming show at Dunfermline's Alhambra Theatre

24 Apr 2008

Fife singer KT Tunstall is to play a T in the Park warm-up show at Dunfermline's new Alhambra Theatre . This will be only the venue's second show under its current incarnation. The venue, one of Scotland's finest on its opening in 1922, before being…

Exposure - Cajun Dance Party

3 Jul 2007

It’s not Cajun or dance music, but their indie rock has given these five smiling north Londoners a rollercoaster 18 months. Aged 17 and still at school, they’ve supported Kings of Leon, Thom Yorke loves them and Bernard Butler is producing their next…

Sonic Boom Six

8 May 2008

PUNK Barfly, Glasgow, Sun 18 May Less than ten years ago, bassist/vocalist Barney Boom’s only audience were the people who showed up to parties he was MCing at. These days, he’s touring internationally, as part of the Manchester-based quartet, the…

Cadence Weapon and J-Live

8 May 2008

HIP HOP Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Mon 19 May; The Ivy, Glasgow, Tue 20 May In the space of two albums, Rollie Pemberton (aka Cadence Weapon) has cut a compellingly maverick path across the hip hop landscape. His first record, Breaking Kayfabe, set…

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…

Scottish Opera: Falstaff

8 May 2008

OPERA Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 13, Thu 15, Sat 17, Wed 21 & Sat 24 May; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 18, Sat 21, Thu 26 & Sat 28 Jun Long before any government directives on obesity, Shakespeare’s Sir John Falstaff knew all about the challenges…

Scottish Arts Council funding shift causes controversy

1 May 2008

A redistribution of Scottish Arts Council funding, announced today, has readjusted the balance of financial power within the Scottish arts. Among those to benefit under the new plans are: Arika , who run experimental music festivals Instal and Kill…

KT Tunstall and The Fall added to Wickerman Festival bill

28 Apr 2008

The line-up of this July's Wickerman Festival is almost complete, with the news that KT Tunstall and The Fall have been added to it. Over 100 other acts have already been confirmed for the Dumfriesshire festival, including Dodgy, The Hacienda Tour…

The Easy Star All-Stars

23 Aug 2007

It seems that these days the cover version is more popular among artists and listeners than ever. Mark Ronson’s stone-cold funk renderings have made him friends aplenty (as well as a few enemies), and one cottage label has made the high concept leap…

Feist

8 May 2008

One of the founding members of Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene and former flatmate of Peaches, Leslie Fiest is now best known for that video ‘1234’ as featured so ubiquitously in the iPod advert. However this takes nothing away from the simple…

Retrofest 2008 lineup announced

17 Apr 2008

The bill for Retrofest, Scotland's annual festival of pop nostalgia, has been announced. The event, which moves to a new home at Strathclyde Country Park, Motherwell from its old location at Culzean Castle, Ayrshire, is expected to attract 15,000 fans…

The Edge replaces T on the Fringe

14 Apr 2008

DF Concerts, the promoters behind T in the Park, are rebranding their August live music series at the Edinburgh Fringe as The Edge. The month-long series has been an annual fixture since 2000 although, as DF's partnership with Tennent's on T in the…

Girls Aloud and Runrig to play Edinburgh Castle gigs

21 Feb 2008

Sassy pop sensations Girls Aloud and Celtic rockers Runrig are the latest names to join the run of gigs at Edinburgh Castle this summer. Girls Aloud will be playing on 25 July, and Runrig take the stage the following day. Girls Aloud tickets are…

The Dykeenies

6 Sep 2007

INDIE ROCK After a year of sell-out gigs and internet hype the Cumbernauld brotherly trio plus two mates release their debut album. The opener (‘The Panic’, about STD fear) is prophetic: a great, stompy, bang of the fists and wail of the klaxons with…

Connect Festival: Music, massages and mud, glorious mud

3 Sep 2007

Connect Festival, Inverarary Castle, Sunday. Festival gossip has it that Mike D from the Beastie Boys took a shine to the castle and challenged the Duke of Argyll to a duel. Jarvis Cocker is acclaimed as the best thing about Friday by fans still…

Leith Festival announces line up

8 May 2008

Leith provided further evidence of its status as one of the city's most vibrant areas with the launch of its annual festival. Organisers revealed that the Leith Festival would showcase its trademark brew of home grown talent, alongside big name…

Edinburgh International Festival programme unveiled

2 Apr 2008

This year’s Edinburgh International Festival will take the changes and challenges facing contemporary Europe as its theme, it was announced today. Highlights of the programme include the world premiere of Matthew Bourne’s new dance work ‘Dorian…

Exposure - No Age

8 May 2008

Set to be the breakthrough band from Los Angeles arts space The Smell, No Age have unleashed a scuzzy noise-pop masterpiece in their Sub Pop debut Nouns. Guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/singer Dean Spunt crank out a joyous racket that suggests a…

Mark E Smith with Austin Collings - Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E Smith

8 May 2008

MUSIC BIOGRAPHY (Viking) The real joy of Mark E Smith and The Fall has always been expecting the unexpected. His music has always stuck to a rigid formula but is somehow never formulaic, and he’s survived every British musical subculture since punk…

Hitlist - The best classical & opera

18 Oct 2007

• BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Thursday Night Series Not long back in Glasgow from a tour to Prague, the orchestra stays in Czech mood for Dvorak’s richly melodic Symphony No 7. Nationalist sounds from closer to home are heard in Eddie McGuire’s…

DJ IQ

20 Sep 2007

HIP HOP Live from the Sofa (Man Can) Don’t worry, the Sofa isn’t some tragically hip underground club you’ve never heard of – it’s in the living room of DJ IQ, one of the UK’s most tenacious new beatsmiths. With the help of a whole bus-load of UK hip…

Mark Ronson

28 Jul 2006

We know him as DJ to the stars, a British born Yank who appeared as if from nowhere in 2003 with the chartbusting, floor-filling, hip hop juggernaut ‘Ooh Wee’. There is however, so much more to the pouting crown prince of cool Mark Ronson. Son and heir…

Singles & Downloads

8 May 2008

Get ready, kids, it’s New Morrissey Single of the Fortnight time! And this one’s a stormer, all taut and driving, and laced with that familiar austerity which, you suspect, hides a well of uncertainty somewhere just below the surface. And it’s got these…

First ever Sauchiehall Crawl launches

1 May 2008

On Sunday 1 June, the first-ever Sauchiehall Crawl music festival will take place along Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street. Tickets will cost ú15, and allow fans to pick from 10 different live music acts playing throughout the night in 3 different…

Jonathan Harvey - Body Mandala

24 Apr 2008

CONTEMPORARY (NMC) Jonathan Harvey was Composer in Association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra from 2005-7, and was a central figure in the recent IRCAM weekend in Glasgow. This CD includes two compositions written in his Glasgow residency…

Delta Saxophone Quartet - Dedicated to You . . . But You Weren’t Listening

29 Nov 2007

CONTEMPORARY Dedicated to You . . . But You Weren’t Listening (Moonjune) The Delta Saxophone Quartet have been around since 1984, but this project involves the group engaging with the music of an even earlier band, Soft Machine. Their approach to…

Sex Pistols review

SECC, Glasgow, Sun 18 Nov

20 Nov 2007

They were never gonna provide the filth and the fury of their 70s heyday, but there are few bands that stand for an entire genre as succinctly as The Sex Pistols so resolutely stand for punk. Fair enough, a 30th anniversary tour (marking the release of…

Kate Nash interview

4 Oct 2007

‘It’s a total headfuck.’ Kate Nash is not playing it cool. The 20-year-old pop songstress has had such a sudden rise to fame, she’s still coming to terms with her newfound celebrity status. The paparazzi followed her all summer, while Prince has…

Jose Gonzalez

20 Sep 2007

FOLK In Our Nature (Peacefrog) For most people, Swedish-Argentine troubadour Gonzalez will always be known for his song ‘Heartbeats’ soundtracking that Sony Bravia ad with the bouncy balls in San Francisco, and that’s his main problem. What makes…

Björk

23 Aug 2007

It is a muggy summer’s afternoon, and although she has been doing interviews in an airless west London hotel suite for several hours, the Queen of Quirk is in fine form and fizzing with energy. Having recently released Volta – touted as her most…

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing

2 Jul 2007

DOCUMENTARY When the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks made an off-the-cuff remark at a concert in London in 2003 about the band being ashamed of President Bush coming from their home-state Texas, there’s no way they could have foreseen themselves…

Orkestra Del Sol

7 May 2007

WORLD They say this was the launch of Orkestra Del Sol’s new EP The Road to Thermosa, but copies of it were being dished out free at the front door to anyone who did a silly dance for the staff. It was that kind of a night, and one suspects the EP…

Tutti Frutti - feature

Cult fiction

12 Sep 2006

Sometimes, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. 19 years after it was shown on television, Tutti Frutti has come to occupy a very special place in Scotland’s collective memory. The exuberant, hilariously dark drama, written by the inimitable…

US rapper J-Live not playing Glasgow, just Edinburgh

12 May 2008

Further to our announcement that rising NYC rap star J-Live is to come to Scotland this month, we wish to make it clear he is only playing one date, the Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh on Monday 19 May and not, as we previously stated at the Ivy in Glasgow on…

Channel 4 series Skins to host arena at Rock Ness

17 Mar 2008

Rock Ness has announced there will be a Skins Live arena at the Scottish music festival this year. The arena is a collaboration between Channel 4 and the festival, with the popular drama series playing host to thousands of music fans in their own…

The art of writing love songs

31 Jan 2008

How do you approach writing about love? Kenny Anderson AKA King Creosote, Fife’s own regal tunesmith of the heart With my heart on the accelerator and my head on the brakes. Emotional turmoil is exactly what you need to get the pen moving, but…

New Scottish bands

15 Nov 2007

Over the last couple of years, it has sometimes seemed like the end of an era for Scottish indie music. Starting with the amicable split of the seminal Delgados, and, more recently, the demise of Falkirk’s Arab Strap and underrated noiseniks…

The Horrors interview

Smoke & mirrors

30 Jan 2007

The Horrors are in need of a fag. Having had their ch ance for a nicotine fix disrupted by fans who are loitering outside The Caves in Edinburgh hoping for a glimpse of the band, they now find themselves upstairs experiencing first hand the realities of…

Ladyfest

24 Apr 2008

ARTS FESTIVAL Various venues, Edinburgh, Sun 4 May–Sun 1 Jun Ruby-red lips, set perms and Avon panstick. Not the traditional image of a feminist – certainly not the popular, laddish stereotype of a feminist. However, Ladyfest, Edinburgh’s first…

Indie record stores unite

10 Apr 2008

Glasgow and Edinburgh's independent record store Avalanche Records is to head up the Coalition of UK Indie Stores, a trade body which will fight for the interests of independent music shops across the UK. The initial grouping includes 15 of the…

The Ting Tings announce Glasgow date

28 Feb 2008

Fresh from playing the NME Awards Tour, the electro garage duo The Ting Tings have announced their own headline tour, calling in at King Tut's, Glasgow on Sunday 13 April. Previewing their debut album 'We Started Nothing' out 19 May, following up their…

5 Reasons To Go See - Ryan Adams

29 Nov 2007

1 He’s Ryan Adams not Bryan Adams One specialises in alt.country/americana of the highest order, switching between heart-wrenching ballads and some of the catchiest rock tunes you’ll ever hear. The latter does not. 2 He’s focussed, man! Ol’ Ryan’s…

T in the Park 2007

19 Jun 2007

In a matter of months Dumfries shelf-stacker Calvin Harris has taken the MySpace-sensation route to universally lauded electro producer, touring with Faithless and being linked professionally and romantically with pop icon Kylie Minogue along the way.

MGMT

8 May 2008

PSYCHEDELIC ROCK The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Fri 9 May A lot of bands take themselves too seriously, but not MGMT. For evidence, get yourself to YouTube and check out the video for fantastic recent single ‘Time to Pretend’, a song satirising the…

GFT and O2 Wireless Weekender present a day of Glasgow music docs

2 May 2008

The Glasgow Film Theatre , in association with O2 Wireless Weekender, will present a day of short documentaries about Glaswegian pop music on Sunday 11 May. Each of the the three films to be shown - about The Sensational Alex Harvey Band , Franz…

Tina Turner to come out of retirement

2 May 2008

Tina Turner plans to end her retirement from the live stage, the singer has announced in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. Having bowed out of live performance after a world tour in 2000, the 68-year-old Turner told Winfrey she will be embarking on a…

Agyness Deyn to release single

28 Apr 2008

Supermodel Agyness Deyn is to release a single with the band Five O'Clock Heroes on 23 June. Deyn sings on the track Who and also appears in the video, both of which were recorded in New York. The collaboration came about after Deyn heard a demo of…

Golden Virginia

31 Jan 2008

Beguiling singer and storyteller Devon Sproule’s songs are so evocative they could be used as adverts for her home town. Rachel Devine gets in a state If the Virginia tourist board ever needs an advertising jingle to sell their leafy state, they…

Various - FabricLive 37: Caspa and Rusko

13 Dec 2007

DUBSTEP (Fabric) This instalment of the FabricLive series sees cheeky young upstarts of the Dubstep scene Caspa and Rusko at the helm. Representing the more playful side to Dubstep, their choices on this album – including much of their own work…

Pat Metheny

18 Oct 2007

JAZZ Secret Story (Nonesuch) When Secret Story first came out in 1992, it marked something of a departure in the guitarist’s work. Reaction to it may well depend on what it is about that work that attracts you – the smooth fusioneer or the…

New digital video service to teach fans how to recreate songs

23 Aug 2007

Aspiring musicians are being offered the chance to learn their craft from the music maestros themselves this month, following the launch of ‘Now Play It’, a new digital video service developed to help offer a more instant and direct way of learning, to…

Newton Faulkner

Hand Built by Robots

16 Aug 2007

POP Until you’ve actually seen young Faulkner attack an acoustic guitar in a whirl of spider-like fingers and dreadlocks transforming it into a three-piece band in the process, it’s hard to properly appreciate this album. There’s loads of…

Meow Meow in Beyond Glamour: The Absinthe Tour

1 Aug 2007

‘It’s sequins and razors, my darling. That’s what my show’s about,’ explains Meow Meow, who deems her real name and place of origin ‘simply not necessary’ to the conversation. It is, she coos in a faint Aussie drawl, ‘all about the art.’. . .

New gigs announced, 1 May - Ronnie Spector, Glasvegas and more

1 May 2008

It's a new month, and here are all the shiniest, most brand new shows announced for Scotland: Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes are making what's sure to be a highly popular visit to these shores in the autumn. They're playing Glasgow's Arches on 29…

The Tennent's Mutual aims to democratise gig going in Scotland

15 Apr 2008

The Tennent's Mutual, a new live music property for Scotland, was launched today by Tennent's and the team behind Triptych who plan to put on a series of shows in October and November 2008. Working with a start-up fund from Tennent's of £150,000…

Peter & The Wolf

13 Mar 2008

DANCE & CLASSICAL MUSIC Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Wed 26 & Thu 27 Mar To young ears, an orchestra can seem like a giant melting pot of sound. And picking out which instrument is playing when is a rather tricky affair. Which is why Sergei…

Portico Quartet and Basquiat Strings

14 Feb 2008

JAZZ Voodoo Lounge, Edinburgh, Tue 19 Feb The Portico Quartet have been grabbing a lot of attention since the release of their debut album last year. Part of the buzz has definitely centred on the unusual instrument at the heart of their distinctive…

Aesop Rock

31 Jan 2008

INDIE HIP HOP Five albums deep, and with a cable access TV slot and Nike Original Run project under his belt (because even slacker heads need to exercise), Aesop Rock’s murky stew of hip hop, rock and post-apocalyptic commentary still proves a…

Sigur Rós - Hvarf-Heim

13 Dec 2007

ROCK (EMI) Released to loosely accompany the Icelandic outfit’s superb recent film, Heima, this two-CD album is a revelation. The Hvarf half contains outtakes and rarities from 12 years of full-band studio sessions and is full of the sumptuous epic…

Children’s Classic Concerts

29 Nov 2007

CLASSICAL CONCERT Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sat 1 Dec; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sun 16 Dec He’s more at home behind the shop counter in Still Game, but this Christmas Sanjeev Kohli is branching out. Instead of hanging out with old boys Jack and…

Jimmy Page - broken finger a ‘nuisance’

7 Nov 2007

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has spoken about the broken finger that saw the group postpone their much anticipated reunion concert, claiming it will take ‘a little while to heal’. Recently named a Living Legend at the Classic Rock awards, Page…

Virgin to become Zavvi

18 Sep 2007

Sir Richard Branson has sold 125 Virgin record stores in the UK and Ireland, which will see the Megastores rebranded as Zavvi. The value of the deal has not been disclosed but the business – sold to a group of senior staff – will continue to be run…

MIA

23 Aug 2007

Were we to try and describe the precise sound which London-born, Sri Lanka-raised MIA makes, we’d be here all day. While she can be very broadly described as an electro-grime act whose vocals are a combination of hip hop cajoling and reggae rhythm…

Sellotape

3 Jul 2007

NEW NEW WAVE The whiff of freshly heated maize that accompanies Sellotape’s vocal version of Hot Butter’s 1972 electro-disco hit, ‘Popcorn’ (the first ever totally synthesiser-based single to chart, pop-pickers) may take its subject matter literally…

The Basement

2 Jul 2007

TECHNO/HOUSE Organic clubbing is alive and well in the form of the Basement, a night dedicated to house, electro and techno at the Soundhaus. The event literally started in a basement in the Southside of Glasgow and has grown into a club night to be…

Nouvelle Vague

21 May 2007

BOSSA NOVA REINVENTION There’s something about covers bands that usually screams ‘novelty record’. However, Nouvelle Vague managed to transcend the Mike Flowers Pops comparisons with their eponymous debut album, and multi-instrumentalists Marc Collin…

65daysofstatic

Exposure

23 Apr 2007

65daysofstatic are a Sheffield rock band who are distinctly different to their indie-bretheren. Combining drum & bass beats, glitches and synths over an instrumental rock template has seen them win over the rock press, Zane Lowe and the late John Peel.

The Dykeenies

QMU, Glasgow, Fri 13 Apr

23 Apr 2007

INDIE Despite sporting a moniker which sounds like a cbeebies show involving two conversing plant pots, Cumbernauld quintet The Dykeenies have made quick business of vaulting themselves into contention. The now standard MySpace malarkey ensured their…

Kate Nash

King Tut’s, Glasgow, Sat 31 Mar; Henry’s, Edinburg

27 Mar 2007

POP Providing further evidence that amateurism is the new professionalism, 19-year-old singer-songwriter Kate Nash makes music in her bedroom. The story goes that Nash fell down stairs and broke her foot after getting knocked back at an audition to…

Moishe's Bagel

Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Sat 7 Apr

27 Mar 2007

JAZZ As pianist Phil Alexander explained on the eve of the release of their second album , Salt, the band have relaxed into their trademark blend of jazz-influenced Klezmer and Balkan music since forming back in 2003. ‘Having started largely…

Vashti Bunyan

Cold comfort

20 Dec 2006

The story behind Vashti Bunyan’s 1970 album Just Another Diamond Day has become legendary. Vashti made her first bid for stardom guided by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Her wisp of a voice and tall, elegant beauty suggested she could be an…

Horrors, The

The Horrors

21 Nov 2006

5 REASONS TO GO SEE 1 They’re horrible The zombie garage goth rock dafties (Faris ‘Rotter’ Badwan, Tomethy Furse, Joshua von Grimm, Coffin Joe and Spider Webb, apparently) hail from Southend, but look and sound as if they’ve just climbed out of…

The Vaselines and Emma Pollock

8 May 2008

INDIE Mono, Glasgow, Thu 24 Apr ‘We’re The Vaselines,’ chirps Eugene Kelly by way of introduction. And perhaps, given that he and Frances McKee are backed by four members of Belle and Sebastian, this is as much to prevent any confusion. The…

Conor Oberst and Gutter Twins for Hydro Connect festival

7 May 2008

Bright Eyes head honcho Conor Oberst brings his new band The Magic Valley Band to Hydro Connect festival this summer. This will be Oberst’s first venture to Scotland in this new guise.

Nick Cave

24 Apr 2008

Nick Cave is in his car. It’s a big car, but no Chelsea tractor. He’s in the driving seat, howling madly along with the bombast blaring out of the speakers. This isn’t a cruise down endless stretches of autobahn, freeways of America or through the arid…

Tennent's Mutual promises a more inclusive approach for Scots music fans

24 Apr 2008

Following the announcement that this year’s Triptych festival will be the last, Tennent’s lager has revealed its latest venture, The Tennent’s Mutual. In a move to make music fans active participants in the all-new project, interested parties will…

Pete Doherty Welfare Fund launched by fashion website

18 Apr 2008

Discount fashion website lastseason.com today announced it's to set up a 'Pete Doherty Welfare Fund'. It's aim is to help the troubled singer get back on his feet when he gets out of jail in late July. 'Pete's incredibly talented and as a musician he…