Stewart Smith

Cry Parrot New Year Fest - Nice & Sleazy, Glasgow, Fri 13 Jan

Snapshot of Scotland’s restless underground featuring Sacred Paws

1 Feb 2012

Not so much a ‘hot tips for 2012’ shindig as a snapshot of Scotland’s restless underground, the second night of independent promoter Cry Parrot’s new bands residency is dominated by electronica, but there’s room for polyrhythmic guitar’n’drum jams too.

Lindstrom - Six Cups of Rebel

A blast taking in slamming synth boogie to shameless pomp metal

27 Jan 2012

(Smalltown Supersound) Like a cosmic disco Ulysses, Lindstrom has felt his way through space, to traverse the Balearic and land upon the wild party island of Six Cups of Rebel. This isle is full of noises, from slamming synth boogie to shameless pomp…

Group Inerane / Flower-Corsano Duo - Kinning Park Complex, Glasgow, Fri 2 Dec

Two transcendent groups in a Victorian school turned artists’ studio

9 Dec 2011

This was always going to be special: two of the most transcendent groups on earth in the bohemian environs of a Victorian school building turned artists’ studio. The diverse crowd is not left disappointed. Mick Flower and Chris Corsano mesmerise with a…

Carlos Paredes - Guitarra Portuegesa / Movimento Perpetuo

9 Nov 2011

(Drag City) Fêted by Six Organs of Admittance and the Kronos Quartet, Carlos Paredes was a virtuoso of the Portuguese guitar, a small 12-stringed instrument with a crystalline sound. Paredes was known as ‘the man of a thousand fingers’ and these…

Various Artists - Whaur the Pig Gaed On The Spree

Alasdair Roberts-curated comp of Scottish song recordings from 1950s

9 Nov 2011

(Drag City) In the summer of 1951 Alan Lomax made his first song collecting tour of Scotland, aided by the great Scottish poet and folklorist Hamish Henderson. Drawn from those recordings, this Alasdair Roberts-curated compilation does a superb job…

Sweetly strange singer St Vincent set for Stereo

Everything from Hollywood musicals to brutally cranked guitars

28 Oct 2011

St Vincent’s 2007 debut, Marry Me, was a striking introduction to Annie Clark’s baroque pop vision. At times it sounds like an avant-garde take on pre-war Hollywood musicals, with Clark’s multi-tracked vocals vying for attention with expressionist…

5 Reasons to Go See Toumani Diabaté

The Grammy-winning Malian musician has a rich history of collaboration

20 Oct 2011

1. His music is mesmerisingly beautiful Toumani Diabaté is a master of the kora, a traditional Malian harp-like instrument. His ability to weave a gorgeous tapestry of cascading melodies from the 21-string kora is magical. One thumb plays the tune and…

Eastern Promise brings live music and record fair to Platform, Glasgow

To Rococo Rot, Tarwater and Conquering Animal Sound

14 Sep 2011

The second Eastern Promise builds on the good work of last year’s festival by bringing an admirably eclectic bill of Scottish and international acts to Easterhouse. Underground pop legends The Pastels play their first show in over a year on the Sunday…

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…

St Vincent - Strange Mercy

Contemporary classicism with sharp beats, woozy synths and a personality of its own

24 Aug 2011

(4AD) Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, is an oddball pop whizz in the tradition of Kate Bush or Todd Rundgren, spinning gorgeous melodies from unconventional structures and inspired arrangements. Her voice is exquiste, but never merely pretty. Clark…

Tattie Toes - Turnip Famine

Debut from one of UK’s most inspiring underground acts

16 Aug 2011

(Pickled Egg) A Glasgow four-piece with a Basque singer, a Welsh violinist, a bassist from Bolton, and a puppeteer on drums, Tattie Toes have never subscribed to conventional notions of what a band should be. As a result, they’ve become one of the…

Sound installation the Ethometric Museum set for Edinburgh Festival

A world of sound, where science meets music

16 Aug 2011

Enter Ray Lee’s Ethometric Museum and be transported to a science fiction world of cosmic tones and esoteric technology. ‘Ethometric instruments represent the pinnacle of the little known – and some would say questionable – science of Ethometric…

Bert Jansch set for 2011 Edinburgh Festival date

Returning folk hero, pal of Neil Young and Devendra Banhart

16 Aug 2011

One of the great acoustic guitarists, Bert Jansch comes to Edinburgh fresh from an American tour with Neil Young and a London show with folk-jazz supergroup The Pentangle. Jansch has been doing an annual Festival show since the mid-90s, touching base…

The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient

Heartland American rock meets shoegaze guitars and spectral keyboards

10 Aug 2011

(Secretly Canadian) Philadelphia’s The War On Drugs aim to fuse the heartland American rock of Dylan and Springsteen with shoegaze guitars, spectral keyboards and motorik beats. Nice idea, and on songs like ‘Best Night’ it works quite well…

Nick Pynn

One-man folk orchestra

8 Aug 2011

Nick Pynn’s set-up resembles a slightly madcap music shop. An array of stringed instruments hang from their stands, some conventional, others more esoteric. One such instrument is the cocolele, a ukulele fashioned from a coconut shell. Pynn plays it…

Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival 2011 - highlights

Tommy Smith, Courtney Pine, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and more

8 Jul 2011

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble A high energy blend of New Orleans horns and live hip hop beats, this Chicago nine-piece return to raise the Spiegeltent from its moorings. Barack Obama, Jay-Z and David Byrne are among the fans of this exciting block party…

Lee Konitz, Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat among highlights Glasgow Jazz Festival

Michel Legrand, Zu and Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra also appear

29 Jun 2011

A veteran of Miles Davis’ Birth of Cool sessions, Lee Konitz is one of the Festival’s most prestigious bookings. A key player in the development of cool jazz, the alto saxophonist has become more experimental with age. His playing partner, Polish…

Mulatu Astatke set for Glasgow Jazz Festival

Ethio-jazz pioneer visits Scotland for the first time

21 Jun 2011

An alto saxophone line snakes slowly over shimmering vibraphone and sensuous Latin percussion. Horns create a dreamy, exotic mood as Ethiopian modes meet Western scales. A buzzing guitar or grooving organ might come in, bringing a touch of slow-burning…

Paul McCartney - McCartney II

1980 album a work of bonged-out pop genius

13 Jun 2011

(Commercial Marketing) A relative flop in 1980, McCartney II is a work of bonged-out pop genius. The ‘hits’ – the dork disco gem ‘Coming Up’ and the beautiful ‘Waterfalls’ – although wonderful, only hint at the oddness within. ‘Temporary Secretary…

Richard Youngs - Amplifying Host

Resolutely avant-garde workings of simple folk songs

13 Jun 2011

(Jagjaguwar) A Glasgow-based librarian with a cracked choirboy voice, Richard Youngs alternates between experimental releases on tiny labels, and more ‘songwriterly’ albums on US indie Jagjaguwar. This is one of the latter, but it’s resolutely…

Fire! With Jim O’Rourke - Unreleased?

Members of The Thing, Tape and Wildbirds & Peacedrum

13 Jun 2011

(Rune Grammofon) Saxophone behemoth Mats Gustafsson is best known for his work with baws-oot jazzers The Thing, but Fire! is a relatively controlled affair, more rock-oriented improv than free jazz. Gustafsson, bassist Johan Berthling (Tape) and…

Polar Bear, The Vaselines and Alasdair Roberts set for Doune the Rabbit Hole

Music festival in leafy grounds of a Perthshire country house

30 May 2011

Situated in the leafy grounds of a Perthshire country house, Doune The Rabbit Hole is a magical, family-friendly affair, inspired by Lewis Carroll and the early free festivals. Ursine jazzers Polar Bear headline on Friday, with The Vaselines and the…

Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang - Aestuarium

27 May 2011

(Ideologic Organ) Ideologic Organ, Edition Mego’s ‘old records’ wing, have given this 2005 recording by Sunn O))) and Mick Patton collaborators Jessika Kenney and Eyvind Kang the handsome reissue it deserves. A Stephen O’Malley sleeve graces this…

5 Reasons to Go See. . . Khaira Arby

25 Apr 2011

She’s Mali’s biggest star Arby is known in Mali as ‘The Nightingale of the North’, and her music reflects the cultural diversity of the Sahara region. ‘Timbuktu is a multicultural city and has been for many hundreds of years. I sing in several…

Electronica/drone trio Emeralds return to Glasgow

The krautrock-influenced noisemongers play The Arches on Mon 23 May

20 Apr 2011

The American underground has fallen in love with the crystalline textures of vintage synthesisers. Like their friend James Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never, Emeralds drink deep from the kosmische fountain – the DNA of Ashra, Popol Vuh and Tangerine…