Music, Brian Donaldson
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Scottish festivals 2013 - An A-Z of the best summer festivals
17 May 2013
The best festivals of music, film, food, cycling and more taking place in Scotland 2013
When it comes to festivals, Scotland really doesn’t hold back. From Orkney to Byres Road, muddy fields to stately homes, the growing number of them cater to all tastes, styles and budgets. Our A-Z guide profiles Scotland’s best summer jamborees, the…
Alex Horne presents The Horne Section
26 Feb 2013
Horne takes his jazz/comedy hybrid to the airwaves of Radio 4
For some onlookers, musical comedy is still perched on the lowest rung of the funny ladder despite the sterling efforts of Bill Bailey, Tim Minchin and Flight of the Conchords in changing those perceptions. Known mainly for hi-tech stand-up that hinges…
Caitlin Rose - The Stand-In
19 Feb 2013
The country singer's second album is a mix of Sexsmith-style bluesiness and Nu-Nashville by numbers
Does a name get any more C&W than Caitlin Rose? It’s tempting/lazy to view any young female Tennessee-based female singer as some kind of Swiftian monster, but Rose feels more like an authentic musician than a determined fame-hunter, having already got…
Steve Adey - The Tower of Silence
19 Dec 2012
Moody pop with shades of The Blue Nile from vocally impressive singer Adey
Edinburgh resident Steve Adey is blessed with a voice which teeters between Feargal Sharkey and Paul Buchanan, the latter’s band being an especially pertinent touchstone for The Tower of Silence – recorded in a 19th century church in Edinburgh. All…
Hot 100 2012: 29-20
11 Dec 2012
Chvrches, Cora Bissett and Grant Morrison among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012
The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.
Hot 100 2012: 39-30
11 Dec 2012
Konx-Om-Pax, Ingleby Gallery and NVA among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012
The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.
Hot 100 2012: 49-40
11 Dec 2012
FOUND, Paul Brannigan and Kerry Hudson among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012
The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.
Hot 100 2012: 59-50
11 Dec 2012
Billy Connolly, Optimo and Kevin Bridges among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012
The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.
Hot 100 2012: 69-60
11 Dec 2012
Rachel Sermanni, Limmy and Peter Capaldi among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012
The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.
Hot 100 2012: 79-70
11 Dec 2012
Dominic Hill, Ewan Morrison and LuckyMe among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012
The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.
Hot 100 2012: 89-80
11 Dec 2012
Daniel Sloss, Canongate and Julie Fowlis among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012
The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.
Hot 100 2012: 100-90
11 Dec 2012
JK Rowling, Tilda Swinton and Andrew Fairlie among Scotland's hottest cultural contributors in 2012
The Hot 100 is our list of Scotland’s 100 hottest individuals and groups who’ve made a splash this year, from comic book writers to comedians, artists to actors. If they've contributed to Scotland's cultural landscape in 2012, you'll find them here.
The Blue Nile - A Walk Across the Rooftops / Hats
15 Nov 2012
Reissue of the classic Glaswegian alt.pop group's first two albums
The Blue Nile might never have achieved the world domination that their richly evocative output seemed to deserve, but chances are that situation suited those Glasgow boys just fine. With the remastering of their epic first two albums, a whole new…
Books round-up winter 2012: new music books
12 Nov 2012
Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen and Kylie Minogue are among the subjects of newly-released books
If music be the food of love, then play on, they say. Or, in this case, read on, as a flood of books about various areas of the music industry are upon us in the run-up to festive time. For fans of the dour and droll songwriting legend Leonard Cohen…
Darren Hayman & The Long Parliament - The Violence
18 Oct 2012
A handful of evocative instrumentals prove the only highlights in this 20-track monster
FOLK DARREN HAYMAN & THE LONG PARLIAMENT The Violence (Fortuna Pop) Darren Hayman would be the first to acknowledge that he hasn’t been blessed with a glorious voice. And surely even his most ardent admirers will concede that he’s not immune to…
Ringo Deathstarr - Mauve
18 Oct 2012
A nu-gazey volley of brash guitars, drums and morose vocals
Undoutedly the only thing to bring a smile to the face on listening to Ringo Deathstarr is their name. Everything else about this nugazing trio should make you feel pretty down even if you happen to like their 25-years-after-the-event schtick. A volley…
Life is a cabaret: 7 cabaret shows at Fringe 2012
27 Jul 2012
Featuring Auntie Myra, Bourgeois & Maurice, Damsel Sophie, Ria Lina and more
Auntie Myra’s Fun Show As the legendary Jeremy Lion showed, reluctant children’s entertainers make for bleak but blisteringly funny comedy. We suggest that Rotherham’s Myra Dubois may be in the same vein. The Voodoo Rooms, 226 0000, 3–26 Aug (not 6…
2012 Edinburgh Festival of Politics highlights
11 Jul 2012
Talks on George Wyllie, the music industry, Canongate and Scotland's wood cabins
Singin’ I’m No a Billy, He’s a Tim. The difficulties of overcoming ignorance associated with the issue of sectarianism in Scotland were perfectly highlighted last season when one football radio pundit accused Des Dillon’s play of actually promoting…
Edinburgh International Festival 2012 highlights
11 Jul 2012
Highlights from the 2012 International Festival programme
Batsheva Dance Company. They last stirred the festival in 2008 with the blazing Deca Dance, which featured the relatively rare sight of some members of an EIF audience on stage with the performers. Under the guidance of innovative choreographer Ohad…
Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival 2012 highlights
11 Jul 2012
Kyle Eastwood, Dr John, Jeremy Pelt, Joakim Milder and Floex
Kyle Eastwood. The rugged demeanour, surname and love of jazz surely give the game away as to this guy’s heritage. But if anyone is wrong-headed enough to think Kyle has simply been given a leg-up by his legendary dad, they might want to reflect on an…
Howard Marks in discussion event with MC5 manager John Sinclair
22 May 2012
The two can offer different takes on the 1960s counter culture
Every generation needs a figurehead to accentuate the fun side of drugs. From Thomas de Quincey to Sherlock Holmes and through to Timothy Leary, the Beatles and Bill Hicks, it’s not all been bad trips and cold turkey (if there any wags out there…
The Just Joans - Buckfast Bottles in the Rain
23 Apr 2012
Underwhelming concept album from the indie-poppers
(weePOP!) Naming themselves after a notoriously annoying tabloid columnist might be mistake number one, but it isn’t the worst of The Just Joans’ crimes. Claiming to have created an ‘audacious artistic undertaking’ of Bowie and Zappa-like proportions…
French Wives - Dream of the Inbetween
18 Apr 2012
An astute and highly promising opening salvo from Glasgow band
(Electric Honey) What a satisfying thing it is to hear a pop song that bypasses the tyranny of the chorus and sticks to its guns with a series of ear-warming verses. ‘Younger’, the shoulder-high stand-out track from the debut collection by French Wives…
How Soon is Now - music books round-up
26 Mar 2012
A round-up of music books from Richard King, Rob Young, Martin C Strong and Bernie Krause
The next best thing to hearing a great record is then going on to read all about it. Unless you feel that analysing music in any way is akin to destroying the purity of the aural experience. If you’re of that opinion then best avoid this clutch of…
Dean Owens - New York Hummingbird
28 Feb 2012
Release from Edinburgh-based tunesmith a mixed bag
(Songboy Records) Could it be that Dean Owens suffers from Ron Sexsmith Syndrome? RSS is that little-publicised but extremely frustrating affliction which strikes talented singer-songwriters who are perfectly capable of crafting a gloriously melodic…
