The Skinny Scotland October 2014 by The Skinny

.CO.UK

INDEPENDENT FREE

CULT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

Scotland Issue 109 October 2014

MUSIC Ex Hex Clint Mansell The Twilight Sad The Phantom Band End of the Road Horsebeach Dope Body Helmet FILM Yann Demange on '71 Aubrey Plaza & Jeff Baena Africa in Motion Play Poland CLUBS Clark Slam ART Jonathan Meese Melanie Letore THEATRE Cryptic Nights Glasgay! TRAVEL Reeperbahn Festival FASHION London Fashion Week S/S15 BOOKS IDP:2043 Charlaine Harris Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival

" W E B RI N G S O M E T H I N G D I FFE RE N T T O T H E TA B L E "

B I RD H E A D H I T

P.34 Africa In Motion

P.19 Jonathan Meese

P.36-37 Melanie Letore

P.60 Glasgay!

October 2014 I N DEPEN DENT

CULTU R AL

JOU R NALI S M

Issue 109, October 2014 ÂŠ Radge Media Ltd. Get in touch: E: hello@theskinny.co.uk T: 0131 467 4630 P: The Skinny, 3 Coates Place, Edinburgh, EH3 7AA The Skinny is Scotland's largest independent entertainment & listings magazine, and offers a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business. Get in touch to find out more.

E: sales@theskinny.co.uk All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher.

Printed by Mortons Print Limited, Horncastle ABC verified Jan â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dec 2013: 32,104

Editorial Editor-in-Chief Music & Deputy Editor Art Editor Books Editor Clubs Editor Comedy Editor Deviance Editor Events Editor Fashion Editor Film & DVD Editor Food Editor Games Editor Tech Editor Travel Editor Intern

Rosamund West Dave Kerr Adam Benmakhlouf Alan Bett Ronan Martin Vonny Moyes Tasha Lee Anna Docherty Alexandra Fiddes Jamie Dunn Peter Simpson Darren Carle Cathleen O'Grady Paul Mitchell Kate Pasola

Production Production Manager Lead Designer

Eve Somerville Maeve Redmond

Sales Commercial Director Sales Executives printed on 100% recycled paper

Company PA Sales Director Publisher

Contents

Nicola Taylor Tom McCarthy George Sully Gillian Brown Kyla Hall Lara Moloney Sophie Kyle

THE SKINNY

Contents 06 Opinion: Hero Worship; Stop the

Presses; Shot of the Month; Spot the Difference; Crystal Baws; What Are You Having For Lunch?

08 Heads Up: Here’s yer events calendar for October. Use it diligently.

The Pleasance Sessions are here – we look ahead to the ten day festival, and catch up with Edinburgh radges Birdhead ahead of their Pleasance gig.

The Twilight Sad are back on typically ‘cheery’ form – the band bring us up to date with developments ahead of the release of their fourth LP and their Pleasance Sessions show.

It’s Halloween! Here’s an interview with Aubrey Plaza and director Jeff Baena on zombie comedy Life After Beth.

Clark returns to his trusty computer for his new self-titled album, while trying to stay away from the internet.

Berlin-based painter Jonathan Meese discusses Pump Up the Vampire, Pump Up the Vampire, Pump Up the Vampire, Smell!

The latest offering from immersive theatre/art programmers Cryptic Nights sees artist Joshua Payne bring Out of Body to CCA.

Baltimore noise rock foursome Dope Body return with new album Lifer – we catch up with vocalist Andrew Laumann and drummer David Jacober.

Mary Timony of Helium and Wild Flag fame is back – in party mood – with the debut LP from new band Ex Hex.

26 What would a John Carpenter film set

in 70s Belfast look like? Speaking to director Yann Demange, we reckon it wouldn’t be too dissimilar to his blistering debut film ‘71.

Folkies, families, a storming set from The Flaming Lips and much, much more – we take a look back at “twinkly” boutique festival End of the Road.

reports on the sights and sounds of the city’s annual Reeperbahn Festival – a sort of German SXSW.

Deviance: One new mother debunks some of the myths surrounding the radiance of child bearing.

Food & Drink: Excited about Halloween? We’ve found some horrendous foodstuffs to well and truly squash your appetite, and handily paired them with some terrifying movies for a multi-sensory experience.

Introducing cli-fi (climate fiction) in the

30 form of new collaborative graphic novel

IDP: 2043, looking 30 years into a dystopian Scottish future.

Returning to Glasgow after their last gig was nixed by a power cut, Page Hamilton and Helmet are back in town to play classic album Betty from cover-to-cover.

REVIEW Music: Bronto Skylift, SOHN, and the much-anticipated Kate Bush live; new albums from Caribou, Scott Walker and Sunn O))), Flying Lotus and more in review; Manchester’s Horsebeach in profile; plus The Phantom Band’s Rick Anthony picks out his Halloween playlist featuring Fantômas and a 1960s US country duo. Clubs: Glasgow legends Slam return with a brand-new album this month, plus a look ahead to the biggest and best club nights on the way in October.

56 Books: True Blood author Charlaine

Harris discusses new projects and dealing with fan backlash, plus reviews including IDP:2043 and Furies female poetry.

Tech: We round up some of the best apps for book fans, whether you’re writing, reading, or sneakily listening to audiobooks at work.

Film: Gia Coppola’s debut film Palo Alto lights up the big screen (I wonder how she got her big break?) and Blacula, WolfCop and Zombeavers come to DVD, making this the ideal month for lovers of goofy, politically incorrect horror movies.

60 Theatre: As the nation recovers from

that there everlasting referendum debate, a look back at The Arches’ Political Parties. Plus, Glasgay! returns for a banner year.

29 Programmers from the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival discuss this year’s spoken word and moving image strands.

Fashion: It’s that time of year again – The Skinny’s fashionistas have gazed into the crystal ball of London Fashion Week to furnish you with this handy S/S15 trend report.

40 Travel: The Skinny’s man in Hamburg

20 Former Pop Will Eat Itself frontman Clint Mansell reflects on his new career as Darren Aronofsky’s go-to film composer.

LIFESTYLE Showcase: In the final part of our 2014 degree show coverage, GSA photographer Melanie Letore presents Places.

Art: We welcome a new Art editor and a new monthly events column filling you in on all the visual goings on across the nation.

62 Competitions: You could win… Dr.

Martens vouchers! Or tickets to Simple Things festival in Glasgow.

63 Listings: What’s on in Dundee,

Edinburgh and Glasgow from the end of September 'til the start of November.

The autumn film festival extravaganza continues with programmes from Play Poland and Africa in Motion arriving in Scotland this month.

October 2014

Contents

Editorial

Hero Worship: Elliot Goldenthal Helmet founder Page Hamilton traces his mentor in film scoring back to God

ow that it’s officially autumn / winter, an eye cast back at this year’s Scottish summer reveals a series of joys bookended by twin traumas. The season kicked off with the burning of the Mack building, a disaster whose recovery in the form of Phoenix fund, global support network and the astonishing preservation plans of the Glasgow fire department reveal the best of the community spirit and civic pride that this country can offer. At the other end of the spectrum, after the Commie Games and the festivals are spent, lies the referendum, tumultuous weeks culminating in abrasive days revealing the best and worst of Scotland and the UK. The worst as exemplified by the twists and turns of the politicians, the frustrating misrepresentations by the national media painting a nuanced debate on nationhood as something inward-looking and borderline racist, the subsequent clashes which revealed the dark fact that bits of that were partially true. The best being the grassroots organisations that have sprung up to imagine and argue, passionately, for a better society, and are currently finding the means to carry on after that decisive no thanks. Here’s to their continued endeavours, to remain hopeful, idealistic and inclusive in building that vision, and keeping this newly enfranchised generation active and engaged. Signs remain positive for Scotland’s creative communities bouncing back, which is good because that’s mainly what we write about. On our cover you will see local boys Birdhead, a noisy Krautrock-inspired duo who’ll be playing at our Pleasance Sessions gig this month alongside long-standing favourites The Phantom Band and Remember Remember. They tell us about honing their line-up and why they enjoy their sound being dubbed radgecore. Phantoms' mainman Rick Anthony (aka Redbeard) also shares an insight into his favourite horror scores (tis witching season after all). This month also sees the return of The

Twilight Sad, back with their fourth album Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave and on traditionally dour form in our interview on p12. Music also has some words with film composer Clint Mansell on coming to terms with his career path, Baltimore’s Dope Body on new release Lifer, which, oddly, also sees them coming to terms with their career path, and veteran hired gun Page Hamilton of NYC brusiers Helmet. We squeeze the last gasps out of the summer festival season with reports from End of the Road and Hamburg’s Reeperbahn Festival. Getting further into the Halloween spirit, Film speaks to Aubrey Plaza, aka April from Parks and Recreation, about her new zombie comedy Life After Beth. Director Yann Demange and writer Gregory Burke discuss new film ‘71, set during the Troubles in Belfast. Autumn film festival season rumbles on with Play Poland, and Africa in Motion’s inspiring programme bringing film from across the African continent to Scottish screens. Books has a look at new dystopian Scottish graphic novel IDP:2043, created collaboratively by an array of writers and artists and depicting a climate change-addled nation of vertical farms and societal division 30 years hence. It also peruses the spoken word strand of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. In Art, we introduce a brand new events column to make sure you don’t miss out on any of that free wine *ahem* I mean art. We also speak to Berlin-based painter Jonathan Meese, popping up in The Glue Factory with an eagerly-anticipated and imaginatively-titled exhibition, Pump Up the Vampire, Pump Up the Vampire, Pump Up the Vampire, Smell! Fashion has taken its biannual jaunt to London to suss out the trends on display at Fashion Week. Find out your future spring / summer 2015 style in our special report. As per usual, much more happens besides – read on. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in Malawi.

Shot Of The Month

One of the longest relationships I’ve had in music is with film composer Elliot Goldenthal. He has this strange legacy – a direct link back to God, basically. Let me explain; he studied with Aaron Copeland, who is one of the greatest composers ever. Copeland studied with Paul Vidal, who arranged for the great Franz Liszt, who in turn as a 12 year old played for Beethoven himself. He originally invited me to work on the movie Heat back in 1995 to record the guitar parts. At the time I had no idea it could turn into this landmark soundtrack. I got over to Los Angeles for the gig and he said ‘You should be scoring movies.’ So I took his advice and started studying orchestration. He invited me into a collaboration; straight away, he had a lot of ideas that he wanted me to

try to execute, at other times he’d simply encourage me to improvise – putting my guitar skronk to work. I’d have to say that he’s the one collaborator I’ve had that pushed me forward the most; our ongoing partnership has influenced where I’m at now, both as a player and writer. I’ve since helped score four movies for his company and we've been lucky enough to play on the same films as the London Symphony Orchestra on the soundtrack to the Neil Jordan movie The Good Thief. We even recorded a Frank Sinatra cover with Bono. The seeds of all of that were planted by Elliot. Helmet play Glasgow Cathouse on 29 Oct

Spot the Difference

Sohn, Stereo 16 Sep by JayJay Robertson

an you spot the difference between these two Ewoks? If you think you can see it, head along to theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and let us know.* You might just be in with the chance of winning a lovely book, Weak Messages Create Bad Situations by David Shrigley, courtesy our pals at Canongate.

Chat

*Hint: It’s not that one checking his e(wok)-mails. Competition closes midnight Sun 2 Nov. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full Ts&Cs can be found at www. theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

THE SKINNY

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Crystal Baws

The celebrity iCloud hack: same old motivation, different medium

With Mystic Mark

Words: Natasha Bissett

ARIES With a sense of inevitable resignation you realise youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been using your flatmateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bumhole toothbrush for the past week. Still, if you will insist on all the toothbrushes being stored in the same jar, this was bound to happen sooner or later.

TAURUS At the centre of the stampede to get the latest fashions, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re proud to follow the herd, although you like to express your individuality within it by accessorising your enormous body with a nose ring or some stylish ear tags.

he internet has officially replicated what tabloid media has been doing for decades. The leak of female celebritiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; nude photos via 4-chan and Reddit is just the next step up from what the paparazzi and tabloid media do every day. The methods are different, but the underlying motivation is the same: money. Open up any tabloid and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guaranteed to be photos of celebrities that werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t posed on the red carpet. Standard fare includes celebrities going to dinner with family or friends, enjoying the sun and surf at the beach, going shopping, indulging in greasy take-away on a big night out, or slipping out of a nightclub with a mysterious paramour. Alongside the hastily-snapped shots is the inevitable commentary on their clothes, their hair, and their weight, as well as speculation about their relationships. Celebrities know how to play the game, too; thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s big money for exclusive photos of their intimate lives: their children, their homes, their weddings and family moments, their bodies. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s money in photos, and the more gossip-worthy, the better the pay-off. Many paparazzi resort to trespassing and spying to get the best pictures. So if weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re talking about the line between business and invasion of privacy, the hacking and selling of celebrity photos, whether professionally taken or on personal devices, seems a lot like business as usual. Instead of hiding in the rose bushes, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hacking your iCloud. That the invasion has now moved online is exactly why this scandal makes people more uncomfortable than usual, if the rampant advice about securing your iCloud account is any indication. The discomfort with being vulnerable online

is heightened when the most private detail of a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life â&#x20AC;&#x201C; their nakedness â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is at risk of being public property. But unlike the paparazzi skulking in the rose bushes, this was a systematic effort to hack celebritiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; online lives, and for many people that makes it analogous to someone breaking into your bedroom and rifling through your undies. And they were doing it for the money. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;OriginalGuyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, who leaked some of the photos from his â&#x20AC;&#x153;collectionâ&#x20AC;? on 4-chan in the hopes of getting $40,000 (about ÂŁ25,000) for the whole lot, admitted it was a group effort over several months. The scandal revealed that there is a black market for celebrity nude photos in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;darknetâ&#x20AC;? (secretive private networks), and just like art, the rarity and height of celebrity increases value. OriginalGuy was opportunistic in his realisation that money that could be made outside of the darknet, but another opportunist was not so clever. Not so savvy about his anonymity, Bryan Hamade was named and shamed online after revealing his PC network in a screenshot. He wanted to make a quick buck from selling the photos he gathered from 4-chan and Reddit, although he has denied allegations that he is a hacker. The vigilante sleuthing and the outing of Hamade revealed his identity, businesses and affiliations, and then published them right when the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s media would propagate the information. It proves that in the eyes of the web, privacy is a right only for those savvy enough to hide themselves online. Certainly, in this view, celebrities are not entitled to it, and the internet does not suffer fools like Hamade gladly.

Caribou

Good news for art fans! Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve launched a weekly exhibitions round-up, keeping you up-to-date with the comings and goings in the Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee arts scene. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a midweek guide to which exhibitions and events are launching in the week ahead, as well as the shows you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford to miss but might be about to unless you get your skates on. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find the round-up at theskinny.co.uk/art every Wednesday. Liverpool Music Week returns for its 10th edition this month, with Caribou (pictured) heading up the opening night party and CHVRCHES closing the show nine days later. Between those two sit shows by Mogwai, Forest Swords, Wild Beasts, Liars and dozens more. Our intrepid music team will be on hand â&#x20AC;&#x201C; head to theskinny.co.uk/music for the latest news, reviews and shots from the gigs across the city. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hiring! The Skinny is looking for a graphic designer to help us put this fine magazine together. If you know your way around inDesign, have a keen eye for fine detail and can work quickly and accurately, then get in touch. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also looking for a new Theatre editor to head up our coverage in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re knowledgeable and opinionated about the thespian world north of the border, and able to write, edit, and manage a team of writers, then weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to hear from you. Get more info on both roles at theskinny.co.uk/about/get_involved

GEMINI Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been doing some pretty haunting farts on the tube.

CANCER Always a fan of triple penetration, in October you begin to see the fruits of your No vote in the indy referendum as all three Westminster party leaders shuffle into position to force their unlubed cocks into your taut voting hole.

LEO You treat STDs like PokĂŠmon: not only have you collected them all, but you have an insatiable itch to watch them battle each other for supremacy of the no manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land that is your crotch.

VIRGO In October, for almost no reason at all, a colourful Google deathbot explodes through the front door of your home and gores you to death with its graphene tusks.

LIBRA You miss the bus to football practice and have to drag your ball bag all the way to training all on your own. As an added irritation, the ball bag catches on a nail and splits in the middle of the road, with everything spilling out only to be kicked by kids or run over by passing cars.

SCORPIO You develop an exoskeleton and waterhelmet for your pet goldfish so it can boldly go where no goldfish has gone before: for a walk in the park.

SAGITTARIUS After a military coup, Krarlak has been deposed and you begin rooting through the rubble of your shattered personality for anything salvageable.

CAPRICORN Your primary goal in life involves ensuring that no one else achieves any of their own goals.

This month's cover image was provided by photographer Kat Gollock. Kat Gollock is an Edinburgh-based photographer whose commercial work consists predominantly of portraiture, events and music photography. She has had work featured in various publications including Variant Magazine and the online art journal The Grind. She also teaches photography and has been involved in several art-based youth engagement and community outreach projects. katgollock.com

October 2014

AQUARIUS It occurs to you that, from Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s point of view at least, the world is a post-apocalyptic nightmare with much of the planet infested by cannibalistic zombies desperate to eat his flesh and drink his blood. No wonder he never came back.

PISCES You discover evidence that it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t your mother who groined you into this world, it was in fact The Queen. Her Majestyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gigantic and noble pulsating egg sac hatched each and every single one of us. Thanks maâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;am.

Opinion

Heads Up Compiled by: Anna Docherty

One of those biggie 35-day 'months', encompassing the last days of September, all of October, and then a bit o' November. Basically all of the events, ever – including The Pleasance Sessions, Scotland Loves Anime, Jonathan Meese, Africa in Motion, and some Halloween freakiness...

Tue 30 Sep

Wed 1 Oct

Thu 2 Oct

Following the excitement of not one, but two 4th birthday parties earlier in September, i AM residents Beta & Kappa hunker down for s'more guest action before the month is out – taking to their Tuesday Sub Club lair with dubstep innovator Loefah in tow, slipping between danceable sub-bass and bruising techno-tinged territory as he goes. Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm, £6 (£5)

Borders company Firebrand showcase their new production of David Greig's Outlying Islands – which had its premiere at the Traverse back in 2002 – centred on two young naturalists who arrive on a remote Hebridean island to conduct a wildlife survey. Emotional discovery, sexual passion, voyeurism, and murder ensue... Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 1-4 Oct, £16 (£13/£8)

The Cryptic Nights lot host their latest sensorymessin' piece, Out of Body – a psychedelic playground put together by composer and artist Joshua Payne, exploring different neuroscientific phenomena through visual and musical illusion, with punters viewing through specially-designed periscopic visors. CCA, Glasgow, 2-4 Oct, various times, £5

Loefah

Out of Body

Outlying Islands

Wed 8 Oct

Thu 9 Oct

Fri 10 Oct

Following support dates with Jack White and a headline slot on T in the Park's BBC Introducing stage, feral Glasgow rock'n'rollers The Amazing Snakeheads bring their particular brand of mayhem to Dundee, still riding high on debut LP, Amphetamine Ballads. Also playing Edinburgh's The Caves (5 Oct) and Glasgow's The Art School (11 Oct). Beat Generator Live!, Dundee, 7.15pm, £8

The tricksy aerial performance merrymakers at Vision Mechanics take to the outdoors for Embrace – a promenade performance through the forest (well, the Botanic Gardens) inspired by the Indian legend of Amrita Devi, using aerial, shadow, and installation to question how far we'll go to stand up for our beliefs. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 8-11 Oct, various times, £12 (£10)

The Pleasance Sessions returns for its sophomore October-brightening fest of music, film, comedy, and spoken word – this year kicking off with a headline set from The Twilight Sad, hopefully cherrypicking from their forthcoming LP, Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave, with support from Hidden Orchestra. The Pleasance, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £10 (£6)

Japanese animation showcase par excellence, Scotland Loves Anime, returns for its fifth year – taking to both Glasgow (10-12 Oct) and Edinburgh (13-19 Oct) with more stellar hand-drawn cinema from the land of the rising sun, including a coup of a premiere of the first Dragonball Z feature film in 17 years, Battle of the Gods. Fanboys unite. GFT/Filmhouse, various dates and times

The Amazing Snakeheads

Photo: Jassy Earl

Tue 7 Oct

Embrace

The Twilight Sad

Battle of the Gods

Wed 15 Oct

Thu 16 Oct

Fri 17 Oct

Imbued with an unwavering discipline and dedication to his craft, hip-hop royalty Sage Francis put end to his four-year hiatus with the release of Copper Gone in June – featuring beat production from such long-time collaborators as Buck 65, Alias, and Cecil Otter. This month he takes said LP to a live setting, taking in Glasgow as part of his sprawling Euro/UK tour. Òran Mór, Glasgow, 7pm, £15

Peter Zummo leads a six-strong collab project – the Peter Zummo 6tet – for which musicians divided by an ocean meet for the first time to perform a series of open-form compositions, with NY represented by Zimmo, Ernie Brooks, and Bill Ruyle, while team GB has Oliver Coates, Keith McIvor (aka JD Twitch), and Ralph Cumbers. Summerhall, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £12 (£10)

The literary lovelies at Rally & Broad (aka Rachel McCrum and Jenny Lindsay) go all out for their season three relaunch – hosting a night of consciously outspoken work from word/graphic artist Inua Ellams, author Anneliese Mackintosh, singer/songwriter Hailey Beavis, slam poet Toby Campion, and more. Also taking to Glasgow's Stereo on the 26th. The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, 7pm, £5

Peter Zummo

Sage Francis

Wed 22 Oct

Thu 23 Oct

South-meets-north for a Tuesday nighter of joy, as Leeds-based post-punk quintet Eagulls cart their wares up to Glasgow for a headline set (motorik beats and screaming guitars most definitely in tow), with support coming from local guitar popsters Deathcats and their inimitable brand of fiery post-surf hardcore. This one could get sweaty... King Tut's, Glasgow, 8.30pm, £7

Playing their rescheduled date from last October, Paddy Kingsland, Dr Dick Mills, Roger Limb, and Peter Howell of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop take to a live setting to recreate some of their most famous compositions (aka that Doctor Who theme), joined by Mark Ayres as MD and ex-Prodigy sideman Kieron Pepper on drums. The Art School, Glasgow, 7pm, £15

Following a run at Edinburgh Fringe (and four Skinny-stars fae us), English comedian and novelist Mark Watson takes to Dundee for an airing of his darkest and most personal show yet – Flaws – in which he humourously explores human character defects and the effects his own considered flaws have had on his life. Whitehall Theatre, Dundee, 7.30pm, £16

Eagulls

Photo: Sam Huddleston

Tue 21 Oct

BBC Radiophonic

Rally & Broad

Mark Watson

Tue 28 Oct

Wed 29 Oct

Thu 30 Oct

Mobile film event Play Poland returns to Edinburgh, with a highlight of this year's programme again being their concurrent exhibitions of Polish art – which includes a takeover of the Filmhouse corridors with a showcase of Polish cinema posters, featuring eminent artists like Jan Młodoženiec, Jakub Erol, and Andrzej Pagowski. The Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 25 Oct – 7 Nov, free

Witty indie-pop trio The Wave Pictures play a special set in support of their new tour-only LP, The Wave Pictures Play Artistic Vice By Daniel Johnston – a fanboy's dream of an album recorded in one day, and covering Daniel Johnston's Artistic Vice from beginning to end, after they provided backing band support on his 2009 UK tour. CCA, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £8.50

Hailed for diverting a generation of indie kids from a bleak future with lovely big dollops of Detroit techno and Germanic electro, dancefloor DJ extraordinaire and Phantasy Label boss Erol Alkan – well-kent for his tight productions and damn good remixes – makes a return visit to Dundee, holing up for a pre-(pre?)-Halloween bash. Reading Rooms, Dundee, 9.30pm, £5

Opening after-dark for a special lit-up nighttime experience amongst the shadowy greenery, the Royal Botanic Gardens host Night in the Garden – an outdoor light and nature trail created with Scottish light artist Malcolm Innes, winding its way along a one kilometre trail of light effect and interactive installations. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 30 Oct-23 Nov, £12.50 (£6)

Jan Młodoženiec

Chat

The Wave Pictures

Erol Alkan

Photo: Todd Hart

Mon 27 Oct

Night in the Garden

THE SKINNY

Mon 6 Oct

Magicing up Faskally Wood with a load of other-worldly light and sound effects, Enchanted Forest opens its 2014 run with a special charity night (before continuing 4-26 Oct), with this year's show composed around the theme 'Elemental' (i.e. with added trippy elemental effects). Proceeds go to CHAS and Autism Scotland. Faskally Wood, Pitlochry, various times, from £14 (£7)

Glasgow media dudes Tenement TV host the sophomore Tenement Trail all-day mini fest, stretching across five neighbouring venues (King Tut’s, Flat 0/1, Nice 'N' Sleazy, Broadcast, and O2 ABC) – manned by the genre-hopping likes of Hector Bizerk, Randolph's Leap, Deathcats, Pronto Mama, TeenCanteen, Atom Tree, and more. Various venues, Glasgow, 2pm, £10

Spoken word merrymakers Illicit Ink return with their bimonthly Underground night (the sinister elder sister to their newer Skyground night) – this time hosting a technology-themed outing under the banner 'Technobabble', with a selection of writers, performers, and storytellers reading live their dark and unsettling tales of technology. The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, 8pm, £5 (£3)

Weegie indie foursome Casual Sex – the sleaze-heavy brainchild of vocalist and guitarist Sam Smith – take to the hometurf of the CCA for an intimate set of their popheavy synthesised sounds o' joy, marking the release of their double A-side single (from their forthcoming debut LP) out on the same day. Support comes from Ubre Blanca and Sluts of Trust. CCA, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £8

Enchanted Forest

Hector Bizerk

Casual Sex

Illicit Ink

Sun 12 Oct

Mon 13 Oct

Tue 14 Oct

The Glue Factory play host to the first exhibition in Scotland by Berlin-based artist Jonathan Meese – jollily entitled Pump Up the Vampire, Pump Up the Vampire, Pump Up the Vampire, Smell! – featuring new work made during a mini residency at The Glue Factory, accompanied by a limited edition publication produced on site by Risotto. The Glue Factory, Glasgow, 11 Oct-2 Nov, free

E'bodys favourite spoken word merrymakers – erm, that'd be Neu! Reekie! – pop up for a curated outing at The Pleaseance Sessions, taking in live music from TeenCanteen and FiniTribe, a rare spoken word set from Stanley Odd's Dave Hook (aka Solareye), poetry from Liz Lochhead, and a few other lyrical/literary delights along the way. The Pleasance, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £9 (£6)

Prepare for a twisted Americana meeting of minds, as angsty country chap Grant-Lee Phillips plays a special co-headline set with alternative country godfather (and Giant Sands frontman) Howe Gelb – with Phillips playing tracks from his most recent LP, Walking On Green Corn, and Gelb similarly giving latest solo record, The Coincidentalist an airing. King Tut's, Glasgow, 8pm, £20

If you missed it in't cinemas earlier in the year, Southside Film Festival host an intimate film club screening of Pulp: A Film about Life, Death and Supermarkets – capturing Jarvis Cocker et al playing their last concert as a unit in December 2012 to a home crowd at Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena, cut with band chatter and portraits of their home city. The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £6 (£5)

TeenCanteen

Jonathan Meese, untitled

Photo: Adrian Barry

Sat 11 Oct

Pulp

Grant-Lee Phillips

Sat 18 Oct

Sun 19 Oct

Mon 20 Oct

We (aye, us – The Skinny) pitch up for our very own night as part of The Pleasance Sessions, bringing proceedings to a triumphant close with The Phantom Band (playing their first Edinburgh show in some years) and Remember Remember both cherrypicking from their respective third LPs, plus dance-inspired 'burgh funsters Birdhead. The Pleasance, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £10 (£6)

Glasgow DIY label Cry Parrot bring the collaborative forces of Joe McPhee and Chris Corsano to town – two constantly adventurous figures in contemporary free-jazz, improvisation, and punk (aka expect the unexpected). Or, y'know, Lady Gaga's also playing the intimate (ahem) surrounds of the Hydro that night... We won't judge. Nice'n'Sleazy, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £8.50

Well-kent for their visceral ensemble performance, Company of Wolves turn their attention to the history, biology, and mythology of our eating habits – blending movement, live song, and text to examine our needs for food, security and intimacy, and how the two often get confused. Also at Edinburgh's Summerhall 16 & 17 Oct. Platform, Glasgow, 7pm, £4.50 (£3.50)

The Phantom Band

Fri 24 Oct

Sat 25 Oct

Sun 26 Oct

Showcasing the best in African cinema, Africa in Motion returns for what will be its 9th year, opening the celebrations with the UK premiere of Olivier Delahaye and Dani Kouyaté's Soleils – a philosophical road moviecum-unconventional love story about an old man entrusted with curing a young girl struck with amnesia. The Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 8:45pm, £8.20 (£6)

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision continues the revelling with a special Xplicit outing at the newlyopened La Belle Angele, featuring the bass-heavy line-up of award-winning English DJ/producer and co-founder of RAM Recording Studio, Andy C (aka Andrew John Clarke), joined by reliably versatile Manc D'n'B MC, Tonn Piper. La Belle Angele, Edinburgh, 9pm, £16

Complete with dapper purple suit and wine glass sitting on his palm like an ornament, award-winning comic Alexis Dubus once more morphs into Marcel Lucont (his French love expert alter ego) – with his new stand-up tour, Is, finding him musing on mortality, morality, and masculinity. Also playing Glasgow's The Stand the following evening. The Stand, Edinburgh, 8.30pm, £12

Soleils

Andy C

Seven Hungers

Joe McPhee

Marcel Lucont

Fri 31 Oct

Sat 1 Nov

Sun 2 Nov

Mon 3 Nov

There may be Halloween club nights of every hue to pick from (see listings), but for summat a little different, Southside Film Festival take to the decadent (read: creepy) surrounds of Pollok House for a special screening of British-Italian director Nicolas Roeg’s Don't Look Now, preceded by a two course Italian supper and Prosecco. Pollok House, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £30

Still in Halloween mode, Tramway welcome choreographer Marc Bruce for a live dance reworking of Bram Stoker's Dracula – performed by a troupe of ten dancers exploring classical and contemporary dance styles, with the Count himself played by multi-award winning Rambert graduate Jonathan Goddard. Tramway, Glasgow 30 Oct-1 Nov, 7.30pm, £15 (£12)

Drawing Halloween weekend to a close, the folks behind last year's Day of the Dead Glesga event return for another tongue-in-cheek night based upon the annual Mexican festival, Day of the Dead, featuring performances from Rapido Mariachi, Colonal Mustard and The Dijon 5, and DJs Tigerbeat, Gerry Blythe, and Jill Mingo. Plus skull facepainting. Obvs. Stereo, Glasgow, 8pm, £10

Self proclaimed 'improv warlord' Billy Kirkwood returns to brighten our Mondays with his improvised comedy sketch show, Improv Wars. Built on an anything-goes attitude, he'll be joined by team captains Gary Dobson and Stu Murphy, leading a select team of guests who'll do their best to make merry with whatever the audience throw at 'em. The Stand, Glasgow, 8.30pm, £4 (£2)

Don't Look Now

October 2014

Dracula

Rapido Mariachi

Billy Kirkwood

Chat

Photo: Kat Gollock

Sun 5 Oct

Photo: Euan Robertson

Sat 4 Oct

Photo: Graham Smith

Fri 3 Oct

Auld Reekie Strikes Back As The Pleasance Sessions returns for a second season, we speak to its chief organiser about the work behind the scenes at the capital’s ten-day gathering of Scottish labels, promoters, personalities and publications

sk a Glaswegian about Edinburgh’s arts scene and there’s a fair chance they’ll tell you the capital crams its cultural activities into August, whereas Scotland’s biggest city thrives all year round. Like most stereotypes, it’s wildly inaccurate but does hint at a wider truth. Fans of live music in the east coast are forever taking the train to Queen Street for gigs, and recent years have not been kind to Edinburgh venues; The Picture House on Lothian Road is just the latest example to bite the dust. Which is why the return of The Pleasance Sessions this month is to be welcomed. Based in the Scots Baronial splendour of the Pleasance Theatre, just a short walk from Waverley Station, the festival takes place on ten consecutive nights from 9-18 October. Organised by the Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA), but open to all, what makes this something special is the range of artists, record labels, music gurus and publications that are involved in curating the individual sessions. The Skinny will present The Phantom Band on 18 October along with Remember Remember and Birdhead, but there’s gems to be found on each evening. The Twilight Sad will be joined by the Hidden Orchestra on the opening night, and there’s showcases from the likes of Neu! Reekie and Olive Grove Records. We spoke to Rae Barker of EUSA to ask just what it is that makes The Pleasance Sessions such a beacon of light in Edinburgh’s grey autumn nights.

Feature

Please introduce yourself and tell us how the festival came into being and what its aims are... I look after the programming for The Pleasance Sessions and also organise the project within Edinburgh University Students’ Association. We have a small, but great team working on the festival and I can’t take credit for the work they do – but it’s my role to ensure it gets done. I look after the programming of the Pleasance, Teviot and Potterrow venues on an annual basis. We’ve always wanted to showcase the Pleasance Theatre a little more, but it wasn’t until early last year that we had the resources in place to be able to deliver a campaign of this size. Our members have said that they would like to see more live music within the venues, and we know that Edinburgh lacks a bit of a live music buzz – not that it doesn’t offer great gig venues, but there is a trend that people head to Glasgow for gigs. Also, every musician that plays the Pleasance Theatre tells us that it’s an incredible space to play, and the sense of occasion always experienced by audiences led to the idea of The Pleasance Sessions. There’s a rich variety of curators involved in the festival; how did you choose the organisations and promoters you’ve come to work with? Scotland is rich in talent and I suppose you could say it’s tough to choose who to invite. I’m excited this year about having Olive Grove’s first Edinburgh showcase and Middle of the Road’s

Casual Sex

first label showcase – headlined by the brilliant Roddy Hart & the Lonesome Fire – and replicate some brilliant Glasgow shows like Beerjacket’s 10th anniversary show. Inviting somebody like Vic Galloway along to put together a line-up, or Neu! Reekie, is an easy decision. Aside from our media partners, the only other night that we have invited back is the fabulous Insider Festival’s Night At The Theatre. Were you pleased with how the programme was received last year? We were overwhelmed with the response from last year. The fact that we have been nominated for ‘Scotland’s best small festival’ at the Scottish Event Awards after just one year is amazing. It’s a hard act to follow and I can’t deny that it comes with a certain element of pressure. However, as with everything, you learn as you grow – we have squeezed the festival into a straight ten-day run this year, and we have invited the Independent Label Market to come along on Saturday, 11 October. Plus we are bringing back Och!Toberfest, where we invite some of Scotland’s favourite breweries to join us in the Pleasance Courtyard with plenty of haggis. What gives The Pleasance Sessions the edge over other university gig nights? The Pleasance Sessions is not just for students, anyone can come along. The calibre of the acts, and the collaborations involved, is certainly

MUSIC

something that sets it aside from a traditional gig. Having curators come from across Scotland to showcase in our unique venue creates a strong sense of togetherness. There’s a lot to choose from, but which acts are you personally most looking forward to seeing? I answer this differently every day. Hidden Orchestra twinned with The Twilight Sad is going to be incredible. I’m also really looking forward to seeing Remember Remember in the Theatre. Dave Hook never ceases to amaze me and Jo Mango is doing something very special with her set. I’m borderline obsessed with LAW’s live performances and we finish with The Phantom Band – which I’m sure is going to be one hell of a finale. Finally, why should a gig-goer from say, Glasgow or Dundee, make the trip through to Edinburgh for the Sessions? I travel from Edinburgh to Eigg, Aviemore and Glasgow for gigs, and the Pleasance Theatre has a palpable sense of individuality. It’s rare that you find yourself completely immersed in such a sense of community spirit at a gig, and the Sessions manages to deliver that for each show. The Pleasance Sessions runs between 9-18 October at the Pleasance, Edinburgh. See listings for full details. dustymoose.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Photo: Kat Gollock

LAW returns to The Pleasance

Photo: Sonia Kerr

Ubre Blanca

Photo: David P Scott

Interview: Chris McCall

Flying the Nest Kicking off closing night at The Pleasance Sessions are the inimitable Birdhead – Edinburgh's own dance-inspired 'radgecore' duo. We found them at war with a Shanghai photography collective over a Twitter handle

eing the first band on at any show can be a daunting experience. Sparse crowds, indifferent punters and the constant din of bar conversations are all obstacles opening acts have to contend with. So, when we were planning our night of live musical entertainment at this month’s Pleasance Sessions, it was crucial to book a group that could seize people’s attention – and not look out of place on a bill that includes such Scottish heavyweights as Remember Remember and The Phantom Band, both of whom have stellar new albums to promote. Birdhead are not the kind of act to wilt in the spotlight. While there are more than a few tough duos – from Cutty’s Gym to Bronto Skylift – out causing a stir with little more than a guitar and drum kit at their disposal, this Edinburgh act are just that bit different. The pairing of drummer David Nicklen and guitarist, vocalist, loops and keys man Stephen Donkin has proved an inspired choice, and already thrown up some of the most singular guitar music to emerge from Edinburgh in recent years. Tourist, the stand out single from last year’s Pleasure Centre LP, is a good place to start if you’re beginning from a position of total unfamiliarity – but then some people come away from Birdhead gigs still feeling none the wiser. For a rough amateur’s guide to this outfit, try and mix the metronomic drumming of Jaki Liebezeit with dance-style synths, granite-hard riffs, and some latter-day Mark E Smith distorted vocals for good measure, and you’re just about half way there. It’s a winning formula that’s landed them on BBC radio playlists, seen their recent T in the Park set broadcast to thousands and won support slots for the likes of Death In Vegas. All things considered, they’ve more than earned a place at The Skinny’s Pleasance Session on 18 October. Just don’t call them noisemongers. “We always have trouble describing ourselves to people who have never heard us before,” explains Donkin. “I like to name-drop Neu! and Harmonia, because I do genuinely love all that stuff – but it doesn’t necessarily come across in the music. In a live setting, we are a

October 2014

Interview: Chris McCall Photography: Kat Gollock

pretty heavy, shouty band, and I guess that’s where the ‘noisemongers’ tag comes from. I cringe at the ‘electro rock’ tag as well – it conjures images of the worst kind of bands imaginable to me. Someone once called us ‘radgecore’ – which I was quite down with.” Nicklen agrees. “When asked about the band, I mention Krautrock, but given that not many people really know what I’m talking about – and the more Krautrock I listen too, the more I realise the spectrum of genres that term actually covers – I don’t think I’ll be using it again. Usually, I start with: “Do you know a band called The Fall?” and take it from there.” While any group bold enough to compare themselves with Prestwich’s longest-running musical ensemble is usually guilty of wishful thinking, Birdhead are on surer footing. Like The Fall, their sound is all about the rhythm, and it powers along like the tracks of a Mark V tank crashing through an abandoned First World War trench. When in their element, their music’s dalliance with looping effects, synths and drones recalls other such Kraut-inspired garage rockers like the Monks or latter-day dance mentalists Factory Floor. You can draw your own conclusions when they share the stage with Remember Remember and The Phantom Band, a hometown gig that Donkin is particularly looking forward to. “I actually love both these bands. I listened to The Wants on repeat for months and could probably sing you every word of it. I was absolutely cheesing when we were asked to play alongside them both. The last time I saw Remember Remember was at Electric Circus and they were totally mesmerising and hypnotic. That said, I think we bring something different to the table. For a start, we have far less personnel than those bands do... but will hopefully make just as much noise. I think we are a spikier proposition, so I’m hoping people will remember seeing us while they neck their first pint.” The Birdhead story began when Nicklen, a long term Edinburgh resident originally from Scunthorpe, met Newhaven native Donkin when

the latter joined a mutual friend’s band as bass player. A year down the line, the pair were firm friends and beginning their own musical experiments. As is often the case with the most innovative groups, they didn’t just arrive at their sound fully formed – it would take months of evolution, and the departure of several bandmates before the Birdhead formula was discovered.

“Someone once called us ‘radgecore’ – which I was quite down with” Steven Donkin

“After the demise of our first band, we kept working together on various different projects, including a kind of lounge band and a straight up garage act,” Donkin recalls. “I was still playing bass, and Dave was playing guitar. We kept shedding members as things didn’t work out until eventually it was just Dave and I. “We kept rehearsing just the two of us, to stay active at doing something. We would take turns playing guitar and drums. One day, I brought my laptop in with a bass loop on it to play away to, and during that first session we wrote the bulk of what became Tourist. We realised we had something then and there, and decided to press on with that extremely rudimentary setup. We have since become a little bit more refined with our live setup, but not much.” As with all two piece groups, there were those that wondered if it was merely a temporary arrangement before other suitable members could be found. Not so, says Donkin. “We have, at times, tried playing with other people, in an experimental way. But coming from having played in bands with loads of other folk before, we know what the perils are. More people means more

MUSIC

opinions; more voices, more egos, more levels to tweak, etc. With just the two of us, everything is simple – except it takes us longer to write stuff and we have to carry all the gear ourselves. “There are loads of great two pieces in Scotland at the moment though, from Black International to Pinact to Ultimate Slaymaster, all doing cool shit. I think if you have music you want to play and it’s good enough, it doesn’t really matter how many of you are playing it. And sometimes restrictions breed the best kind of creativity.” While declaring themselves satisfied with Pleasure Centre, Birdhead are already planning to push on with their next album, which they have “pretty big plans for” and aim to release in 2015. They’ve been keeping live bookings to a minimum to focus their energies on writing, but did find time to play a summer show back in Nicklen’s hometown of Scunthorpe – the capital of the UK steel industry and an unlikely hotbed of live music. “It’s a great wee town which most bands understandably bypass, so I feel it’s my duty to head home once in a while and punish the ears of my ever dutiful family and friends,” Nicklen enthuses. “Scunthorpe has always had a pretty lively local music scene, we kind of had to make our own fun.” Aside from hitting up the Pleasance Sessions, and taping a new album, Birdhead have one other task on their schedules – securing the @Birdhead twitter handle from a Shanghai-based photographic collective of the same name. “As obsessive Google-baiters, we are very well aware of our Chinese counterparts,” notes Donkin. “I tweet them about once a month asking them to relinquish @Birdhead but have as yet had no reply. One day, somewhere, we will meet and sort this whole sorry business out. In the unlikely event that you are reading this gentlemen, please get in touch so we can join forces and become a Captain Planet-style amalgamation, conquering the world with mad music and arty nature photos.” Birdhead play The Skinny’s Pleasance Session at the Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh on 18 Oct

Feature

Breaking Sad Having stayed the course throughout a particularly harsh decade for independent rock music, James Graham and Andy MacFarlane say The Twilight Sad won’t be moulded by the zeitgeist

Interview: Jazz Monroe Photography: Beth Chalmers

little under a decade ago, Scotland’s guitar rock saviours were cusping transcendence. After signing with Fat Cat at their third ever gig, the then four-piece had kick-started a resurgence in Scottish indie’s international pedigree. But when their initial momentum burnt out, the spark threatened to follow. Bassist Craig Orzel left in 2010, before No One Can Ever Know, the Sad’s brutally underrated third LP, met a wintry reception at first (later vindicated as the ‘People’s Choice’ nominee for the SAY Award the following year). Today, they’re still seeking equilibrium. Singer James Graham has a day job tying loose ends for Mogwai’s Rock Action label, while Andy MacFarlane, guitarist and co-founder, is cooped up radio-editing Last January, the forthcoming single from the Sad’s make-or-break fourth LP Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave. “I was hoping Tim Westwood would do it,” Andy says of the edit, “but sadly he’s not about at the moment.” Given the mood in the camp, you do wonder how far they’d go for the cash... It’s not that they’re after much, you see, but it’s a shit decade for indie labels and frankly the Sad are hard up. “Nobody’s selling a lot of records,” says James, “so the way for bands to make a living is through syncs. And I think our music, apart from my stupid accent, would be good for stuff like that.” Are there many sync scouts trawling for furtive indie bands, then? “The music we write isn’t happy-go-lucky, don’t get me wrong,” he says, grinning. “But there are darker films and TV programmes – stuff like Breaking Bad – that our music would fit perfectly. And I don’t understand why we haven’t got anything like that.” Twilight Sad breaking primetime? It’s not so far-fetched. In a world where Mogwai’s Les Revenants soundtrack has springboarded them to their commercial zenith, the cinematic brood in that group’s wake are increasingly marketable. So why no Sad? “There’s a lot more politics to it now,” suggests Andy, “which is quite frustrating. We don’t have the money behind us, and we don’t have a mastermind to get us places.” James agrees: “We have people who are meant to work for us in that context, and to be straight up, we haven’t got anything.” He chuckles, exasperated. “I don’t wanna sound like I’m complaining, but the fact is, we haven’t.” Is there a weak link? He pauses. “I think we’ve done as much as we can. There’s nothing more that we could do. We’ve made the music we want to make, we’re extremely proud of it. But once you’ve made the record, you put that in the hands of other people. You can shout and email as much as you want, but it’s up to them to put your music in front of the right people. I mean, I’m racking my brain and there’s really nothing more that we could’ve done.” It’s a grim night in Scotland, a month ahead of release day, and ten days before the Union decides not to break up, after all – not quite. James and Andy’s future is just as shaky, but for now they’re pretty relaxed. James had intended to watch a Euro 2016 qualifier but we natter right through it, later to find that England have won two-nil. The legacy of Scottish miserablism sits on their shoulders. If their early trajectory represented the first big weekend of the summer, the years since have felt like a final comedown. While major-label love granted Chvrches and Frightened Rabbit endless Stateside circuits, the Sad swapped their cusp for the brink. Nobody Wants to Be Here..., recorded over three weeks at Mogwai’s Castle of Doom studio, is potentially a shot at resurrection:

Feature

propellant, amply chorused and reliably epic. Still, early whispers of a return to their guitarheavy debut (not entirely off the mark) were quickly overshadowed by in-band discontent: catching up with The Skinny this April, James admitted approaching the record as their last. Has his optimism renewed? “Since the start I’ve been an overthinker,” James explains, “but we went through a particularly rubbish year before writing these songs. Things weren’t going too well for us, on numerous levels.” “I loved doing the first two albums,” Andy adds, “but by the third, we were so run down and nothing was working out. At that point, we couldn’t see beyond our next album.” “Every night we put absolutely everything into it,” continues James, “but constantly hit a brick wall. But there’s a group of fans who’ve travelled up and down the country, over to America, to see us. There’s been a lot of faith shown in our band. There’s Mogwai, how they’ve helped us out, and even bands like Frightened Rabbit, Chvrches – these people constantly talk about our music. We seem to be a band that bands like, but I genuinely think this record’s a statement: not to prove people wrong, but to prove people right.” Surely they knew you were right all along? “Yeah, but...” he trails off. “I want to prove it to other people as well. I’m proud of all the records, but this one, although it keeps the same ethos, it can reach new people. I can categorically say these won’t be the last songs I write. These songs, to me, proved I have a lot more to say. Writing these songs with Andy showed me how much I need this in my life. The thought of not doing it anymore terrifies me.” While the Sad’s rhythm section – Mark Devine and bassist Johnny Docherty – is key, it’s James and Andy’s friendship that goes furthest back. After attending a tiny school in Banton, James – who’d been the only boy in class – had a tricky high school transition. “I think I had

lunch on my own that first day,” he recalls. “I don’t blame you, Andy – I think you went home for lunch, so you’re off the hook. Misery guts me sat at the lunch table all on my own.” He thinks a moment. “I suppose that was the start of the downward spiral.” Far from lank-haired outcasts rifling

“This record’s a statement: not to prove people wrong, but to prove people right” James Graham

Communist pamphlets in the back row, the pair had a musical confidence that earned their classmates’ respect. “We were in music class one day,” James remembers, “and the music teacher went, ‘Can anybody sing?’ And Andy went, ‘James can!’” Could you? “I had no idea, actually. You were obviously just being a dick Andy, eh?” Andy smirks. “So anyway, I went up and sang Australia by the Manics, and that was that.” Since day one, songs like That Summer, At Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy (the first James ever wrote) have earned the band a disturbed reputation. Listening to their music, there’s a persistent image of a boy peeking through the bannister as violent parents kick off in the living room. Subsequently – and thanks partly to Dave Thomas’s darkly suggestive artwork – there’s a misconception that James himself had a difficult childhood; in fact, The

MUSIC

Skinny has it on good authority that the Grahams are proud, attendant fans at many of their gigs. Would James be comfortable elaborating? He laughs. “I get that a lot. My mum and dad are actually the biggest supporters of our band. The songs aren’t about me having a really bad childhood; it’s about, from the outside, looking in at other people in my community. And the shite that happened to my family – not in my family. It’s about other dickheads influencing our lives, whether or not they realise. Writing these songs is about making people feel things they wouldn’t usually feel, things they’re scared to feel – loss, anger, depression. To write a love song for somebody would probably be the hardest thing. I’ve never done that. Nine times out of ten, that’s only going to come across as corny.” That raises the question: which are the acceptable happy songs? Reeling, the pair muttering between themselves. “Fucking hell, fucking hell, you’re asking a question there,” James says. “I’ll have to come back to you on that.” “That annoying guy’s got a song called Happy,” offers Andy, perhaps struggling with the concept. “Yeah,” James clarifies, “but we need an actual example of a happy song that’s good. You think that Pharrell song’s shite.” Again, they confer privately. “Well, you tend to find a lot of happysounding songs that are actually pretty grim,” Andy says, evidently trying his hardest. “The happier moments of The Cure were really uplifting,” James says, “but er, with dark lyrics. A happy song with happy lyrics? That just sounds shite, nobody wants to hear that. “Well,” he concludes, smiling, “maybe they do. But not miserable old me.” The Twilight Sad play the The Pleasance Sessions, Edinburgh on 9 Oct. Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave is released on 27 Oct via FatCat www.thetwilightsad.com

THE SKINNY

October 2014

THE SKINNY

Life and Beth Best known for her role in US sitcom Parks and Recreation, Aubrey Plaza goes from deadpan slacker to braindead zombie with her new film Life After Beth. Plaza and writerdirector Jeff Baena discuss bloody break-ups, cult indie hero Hal Hartley, and... stoves

“Y

es, breaking shit was very interesting to me; I really wanted to break some shit.” Aubrey Plaza has just been asked whether the physical aspects of her role in horror-comedy Life After Beth were of particular interest. Her response also reflects the go-for-broke nature of director Jeff Baena’s messy but fun feature debut. It’s the story of Zach (Dane DeHaan), a young man whose recently deceased girlfriend (the eponymous Beth, played by Plaza) mysteriously returns from the dead. Her parents (played by John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon) think it’s a miracle resurrection. Zach seems onboard with the idea for a while too, especially since Beth appears to have no recollection of their break-up directly prior to her demise, but he slowly realises that her situation is more zombie than JC. Meanwhile, other departed members of the community start re-appearing with new surges of life. Mayhem steadily escalates to the point where a bloodied, super-strength Beth is lurching around with a stove strapped to her back. When The Skinny meets Plaza and Baena in an Edinburgh hotel on the day of Life After Beth’s UK premiere at the city’s film festival, the latter is keen to point out that the stove gag was a key visual he had in mind from his screenplay’s inception ten years ago. “For me it was starting off the movie with some dramatic elements and being more rooted in the emotionality of what [Zach] is going through, and then slowly letting that progress to the point where you have [Beth] on top of a cliff [wearing] a stove.” What’s most interesting about Baena’s approach is how a lot of the overt zombie elements stay on the periphery until the film’s final act, and how, were you not aware of the narrative’s direction from promotional materials, one might plausibly believe Beth’s parents’ biblical interpretation of their daughter’s resurrection. “That was my intention,” Baena says of filtering the entire film through what DeHaan’s Zach sees. “I always wanted it to be more contingent. It’s not like you’re watching a Michael Bay movie and you’re following the lead actors and they’re a military general and a scientist and all the people who know the answers. If it really happened,

October 2014

you’d have no idea what’s going on. Everything would be peripheral, and it was also a function of the budget since we didn’t have a lot of money, so by keeping it more arbitrary we were able to get away with having glimpses as opposed to featuring things.” Unlike most zombie movies, Life After Beth doesn’t explore any social commentary. Instead it hinges on an emotional undercurrent. “It’s definitely something that attracted me to the screenplay,” Plaza says. “I’d never really read anything like that before, and I thought it was really unique how the movie felt really emotional – it felt like a metaphor for a break-up, and those are the things that stuck with me. And I thought it would be fun to play a more physical character. I’ve never really done that before, and I liked the challenge of trying to figure out the different stages of turning into a zombie and how that manifests physically in your body.”

“Every single zombie that you see in these movies was a person, whether they have a shred of their humanity or whether it’s full-fledged zombification” Jeff Baena

“I was investigating, I guess, the emotional carnage,” Baena adds. “Like Aubrey said, there’s definitely a through-line of a break-up. You know, if you break up with somebody and you get back together and you try to make it work, it’s always a disaster and it kind of slowly tears you apart. But

with the way your mind processes information, you always remember good things and it’s hard to remember the bad, so you end up just getting back into things that are not really healthy for you and then, of course, it rears its head again and it’s a disaster. And I wanted to make it really intimate so that these zombies are actually people. Every single zombie that you see in these movies was a person, whether they have a shred of their humanity or whether it’s full-fledged [zombification]. It’s not something you can brush off and treat lightly.” Though Life After Beth is his directorial debut, Baena’s previous screen credit is as cowriter on David O. Russell’s existential comedy I Heart Huckabees, and that high-profile gig may well have attracted the stacked cast he’s assembled for Beth; not just rising stars in Plaza (best known as the sardonic April in beloved US sitcom Parks and Recreation) and DeHaan (The Place Beyond the Pines, The Amazing Spider-Man 2), but also the likes of Anna Kendrick, Paul Reiser, and the aforementioned Reilly and Shannon. He also snagged unusual collaborators in another department, with Californian rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club making their film-scoring debut. Baena says “Twelve years ago, when we first became friends, [BRMC’s Robert Levon Been] knew I wanted to direct stuff and we always talked about collaborating at some point, and they were at a point – this is when they were younger – where they thought doing movie scores and commercials and all that kind of stuff was a big-time sell-out, and they were against it. But they were willing to do it for me, they said, and I revisited it years later and they were OK with it. I think they enjoyed it, so they want to get into it more.” With Life After Beth getting buzz at this year’s Sundance festival, are they both now having horror gigs thrown their way? Both express similar feelings regarding genre material: “I’m not attracted to genre or anything like that,” Baena says. “If the story connects and the characters are interesting then I’m interested. I’m potentially developing a TV show with John C. Reilly that has a horror element to it, but that’s me and him. That’s not people bringing that to me.”

FILM

Interview: Josh Slater-Williams

Plaza interjects with some surprise that her director has not been offered other horror material, as this has evidently not been the case with her. “I’ve been offered some horror scripts in the past and I haven’t done any of them. I’m not a huge fan of just gory stuff, and I don’t know how that would be to be, like, covered in blood and being in some kind of slasher movie or something. But if it was a good story I would do it. I’ll do anything if it’s good.” As our time runs out, one final question comes up regarding one of those potentially good projects that Plaza has in the pipeline. Having already featured in Whit Stillman’s Damsels in Distress, Plaza has recently worked with another 90s indie darling director in Hal Hartley (Trust, Simple Men), who cast her, along with regular collaborators Liam Aiken and Parker Posey, in his Kickstarter-funded film Ned Rifle, the final part of a deadpan comedy-thriller trilogy that also includes 1997’s Henry Fool and 2006’s Fay Grim. As enthusiastic as she’s been during the interview, Plaza’s demeanour noticeably increases in perkiness when Ned Rifle is brought up: “Working with Hal was really, really awesome. I really like some of his movies too, and so it was really surreal, especially to do the third movie in a trilogy of movies that I had seen. It was really like a weird time to just be thrown into this weird world, and he really creates this universe when you’re shooting with him. It’s like you just get on the Hal Hartley train and you just have to go with it, because the way he shoots is just really different from anything I’ve ever done before. But he’s a really smart and gentle person, and he has a really specific vision in his mind, which you can tell when you watch his movies.” Baena interjects with some admiration for Hartley’s methods. “He’s kind of badass, He doesn’t really care about making successful... anything... he just doesn’t listen. He just does exactly what he wants to do, so I hope it turns out good.” With Ned Rifle and Baena’s TV show in the works, their lives after Beth certainly sound promising. Life After Beth is released Fri 3 Oct

Feature

“I wanted it to be monolithic; vast” Ahead of his appearance at Simple Things in Glasgow next month, Clark discusses his upcoming album on Warp, his evolving approach to technology, and live performance as a vital form of feedback

Interview: Ronan Martin

“I

f you’re going to have the balls to do an eponymous album, seven albums in, then it better be good.” Chris Clark is fully aware of the gallantry involved in simply attaching his surname to his latest album, due for release on Warp next month, and he’s evidently weighed up all of the considerations involved in making such a declarative gesture. Often an approach adopted by debut artists introducing themselves to the scene, or those releasing retrospective compilations of their life’s work, an eponymous album coming from an artist as established and celebrated as Clark suggests a fair degree of personal faith in the purity of the material. “It felt like the best move,” he asserts. Having already had several acclaimed releases – including 2006’s Body Riddle, the brilliant IDM offering which many regard as his finest hour – fans of Clark will be keen to hear what exactly makes this upcoming effort so definitive. The producer himself admits that the project had to evolve from its initial foundations before he saw its full potential. “In the first two weeks, when I just had the early thin and wispy sketches, I was like ‘do I really want to go with the Clark album?’ “Then I just started warming to the task, burning through material at a ferocious rate. The computer just heated up to the task and everything else just slipped out of focus. I know it sounds a bit OTT or something, but me and the album became one. At the end, when I was finishing There’s A Distance In You, it was like, ‘Yep, this is definitely the eponymous record I needed to make.’” The album certainly has the feel of having had Clark’s heart and soul poured into it and is perhaps his most cohesive work to date – tracks merge together seamlessly, even with the considerable variation in pace and intensity evident throughout. “It’s one long slab of electronic music that’s been condensed into a single piece,” he explains. “I wanted it to be monolithic; vast. I don’t think of the tracks as separate things really. It’s a unified slab of techno, distilled into various forms, but still ultimately techno. I wrote it all in one protracted four month session, which I’ve never done before. Quite often albums are collections of tracks but this is the work of one experiment, obsessively tweaked, chiselled away at and finally abandoned over a set period of time. I think it gives it a unity. I want it to play like a film.” His success in creating something akin to a cinematic experience is clear from the first listen of the album. The brooding backdrop, for what is arguably Clark’s most distinctly techno-focussed release to date, is one awash with ambient textures sourced from the natural world. The interplay between these peripheral organic elements and the mechanised groove which forms the album’s core is particularly striking. “There’s lots of thunder and snow, weirdly,” he reveals. “I knew the album would come out in winter, so it was quite strange making this crisp, atmospheric winter sounding record on pretty, balmy spring days. I love those ‘WTF’ moments you get when you hear something that sounds like distant thunder, but it’s actually a close mic’d pile of snow being scrunched by a boot. I love that total acid, trippy space where the sound source is completely oblique, but adds this widescreen grain and texture to the overall feel of a track.” What’s remarkable about the album is the way in which it alternates between moments of immense beauty and more raw and powerful material, without ever losing the sense of coherence

Feature

that Clark has evidently worked so hard to instil in it. He admits that he agonised over the ordering of tracks for some time before committing himself. “But it’s a delicious kind of agony,” he adds. “It’s like a workout; the more thought you put into it, the more it just all opens out, like planning chess moves or whatever.” Given his past testimony regarding the number of unreleased tracks he has to draw from – he now estimates the figure could lie somewhere in the thousands – one might have expected the album to have formed through Clark recalling these ideas and moulding them to suit his current agenda. But, save for a couple of hooks on two tracks, the entire album was cooked up from scratch in four months, and he is quick to downplay his considerable cache of unreleased ideas. “It feels a bit flippant to boast about that; a bit like boasting that you own a sketchbook. “It’s all about the album for me – the discipline you need to put this thing into a coherent whole. It’s much harder than simply just ‘boshing out tracks.’ I mean I’m sure Gordon Ramsay makes himself baked beans on toast every day but it’s not what he should be presenting to the public.” Fans of Clark’s work over the years will have become accustomed to a particularly resourceful production approach which makes extensive use of live instrumentation and analogue machinery – for his last album, Iradelphic, he utilised a modular synth setup and employed the vocals of former Tricky collaborator Martina TopleyBird. At that time he was clear in his intention to move away from software as much as possible, which is why his approach on Clark may come as a surprise for some. “This is basically a computer album,” he reveals. “Computers as music making tools are just too good to ignore these days. This one I’m on now kind of feels like an extension of my brain that I’ve totally customised. I rarely use the internet on it. In fact I’m thinking of totally disconnecting and just typing out emails on a different

machine. I just use it like a massive sampler/ synth/tape machine. I used a few top rifle mics on the album and, sure, there are field recordings all over it, but it’s all heavily processed and tweaked. “I also hired some old 80s synths, which was fun, and because I hired them I used them really thoroughly. People seem to get a bit annoyed when you tell them you mainly use a laptop, like they’ve bought into this pernicious myth that music making is about equipment – status symbols. It can get a bit Top Gear very quickly.”

“Computers as music making tools are just too good to ignore these days” Clark

At this point in his career, Clark seems to have fully settled in his methods and his approach – where once there may have been a more dogged commitment to avoiding computers, now there is an understanding that their use may better serve his needs, used in tandem with his beloved synths and outboard gear. His settled approach may also have a lot to do with his enduring relationship with Warp, the label through which he has released all of his albums. “I just get so turned on by people who are fully committed to creative things,” he explains, when asked about his loyalty to the label. “I mean I go to those places every day and can sometimes be so relentlessly anchored in music that it seems a bit OCD or whatever. Warp always seem to be a magnet for this type of person. They have good business sense too; they’ve

CLUBS

helped me turn that weird loner type creative and nervous musical energy that I had as a ‘yoof’ into a... product” He jokes about how ‘clinical’ that sounds – the notion he has been turned into a product, but such is the way with music promotion and, truth be told, Clark seems to have maintained a commendable level of humility when compared to some Warp artists that spring to mind. His music has always been there for people to dip into and engage with – and he has earned much critical acclaim over the years – but crucially, his music itself has mostly done the talking and if anything, you could reasonably argue that he is a rare case of an artist who is drastically under-hyped. Chris himself explains that he believes playing gigs is the best form of feedback he can get and he uses live shows as an opportunity to “recontextualize the album for huge soundsystems.” For him, too much discussion around music happens online and creates what he calls a “saturated mess.” “At a gig, I can look out and see one person losing it in (or on) ecstasy with dance moves, one angry looking person who looks like they want to kill me, and someone else who looks like they are about to have multiple orgasms on the spot. That’s the best sort of feedback you can get; real and totally in the moment. I’m old school in that I prefer real time conversations, I guess. I like being in a room with another human – the real time biology of it. I like knowing that their brain is in relative proximity to mine, fizzing away with friendly or combative empathy. Skype chats, Facebook [and the like] don’t really do it for me in the same way. “I’d get music software installed in my brain at the drop of a hat though,” he adds. “...As long as it wasn’t connected to the internet.” Clark appears at Simple Things Festival, Glasgow, Sat 1 Nov His new album, Clark, is released on 3 Nov via Warp throttleclark.com/clark/

THE SKINNY

Admission Free

Matthew Richardson PM 20.09.14 – 02.11.14

Open: October - March April - September August

Tues – Sun 10am – 4pm 10am – 5pm Mon – Sun 10am – 6pm

Collective Gallery City Observatory & City Dome 38 Calton Hill, Edinburgh, EH7 5AA + 44 (0)131 556 1264 mail@collectivegallery.net www.collectivegallery.net

Funded by:

THE SKINNY

Eat, Drink, Sleep, Paint Berlin-based painter Jonathan Meese discusses his upcoming exhibition in the Glue Factory, art as instinct and the polarising responses to his work

Photo: Jan Bauer

Interview: Adam Benmakhlouf and Arne Wern

Meese in his Berlin studio

‘A

RT IS THE TOTAL POWER, ART IS THE CHIEF, ART IS NR. 1, ART IS HUMPTY DUMPTY, ART IS NO PROBLEM, ART IS DR. NO, ART IS TOTAL BEAUTY, ART IS BABYANIMALISM, ART IS TOTAL FUTURE, ART IS TOTAL RADICALISM, ART RULES, ART LEADS, ART FORMS, ART IS THE SUM OF ALL EVOLUTION, ART IS THE TOTAL GAME, ART IS TOECUTTERISM, ART IS TOTAL LOVE, ART IS NO IDEOLOGY, ART IS NO POLITICAL SYSTEM, ART IS TOTAL ACTIVISM, ART IS TOTAL NEUTRALITY, ART IS TOTAL INSTINCT, ART IS “TOTAL DICTATORSHIP OF ART.”’ So begins Meese’s kindly polemical 13 pages of blue biro on unlined paper, in which he answers all 50 questions we submitted to him in excited and upbeat coiling handwriting. It’s this same affirmative and forward motion that led to the decision to export Meese to Glasgow this month. While Linsey Young – director of unconventional Glasgow gallery Young Team – was in Berlin, she was introduced to Jonathan Meese through a mutual friend who sensed they would get along. They discussed Akademie Isotrope, a Hamburg-based reaction to the art school as a formal institution. This pedagogical experiment first operated out of a bar-cum-exhibition space, then later in the connected flats on the ground floor of an apartment building. They decided to somehow transport to Glasgow this same spirit of irreverent, collective and direct activity. Thus in October Pump up the Vampire, Pump up the Vampire, Pump up the Vampire, Smell! will take place. Describing how the show has been formed, Young‘s enthusiasm for Pump up the Vampire elides the efforts that were no doubt expended taking care of all the pressing practical hurdles – permission from Meese’s gallery, premises, funding. Instead, Young speaks with some amazement at the ease with which the project seems to have come together. Speaking to Young and Meese, it comes across that instead of substantively setting out

October 2014

the shape of their Glasgow project, what they have created is a procedure that allows for work to emerge. Meese describes “a big and powerful installation.” This work will be constructed from materials “bought and found in Glasgow.” Meese will complete a short residency in the Glue Factory and the work he exhibits will be completed between his arrival and the opening of the show. During Meese’s time in Glasgow, he’ll visit the Barras market, where he will source a lot of the materials that will form his installation. Collecting in this way builds him a “protective wall against reality.” However, he is not precious with his collections. In one particular documentary Meese pulls some books from the library shelving installed in his home at the time, saying “these books are so important, that I can cut them up and rip pages out because what’s in them is needed somewhere else.” With his collection of skeletons and infamous library of porn, he disrupts the usual tidy environments of consumer goods. Building work from collected objects and materials is an exciting revival of how Meese worked when he first started showing art. At that time, “it was mainly installations because I needed to show what I had [the objects he had collected]”. In this way Young satisfies her primary objectives to establish an environment in which Meese could return to making the kind of work he produced while in Akademie Isotrope. The involvement of writer and academic Roberto Ohrt also engages with the legacy of the Akademie Isotrope, as Ohrt established the group in Hamburg. As well as writing the essay for the exhibition publication, Ohrt is also the inspiration for the show’s title. In a meeting with Young, Meese described Robert Ohrt as “a vampire that pumps the blood back in.” Young too describes Ohrt as giving “life and energy to things in a pleasingly sinister way.” Meese will also be

creates culture-zombies, ideology creates optimised mediocracy… we’re starting to live in the most shallow times.” Ideology and reality operate imperceptibly and ubiquitously, reactionarily pervading good taste and good behaviour. But Meese assures that “working and playing without ideology is the most natural thing to do.” It is for this reason that Meese identifies “instinct” as the most beautiful part of the body, “situated in the heart. Art is Heart – BLOOD.” Meese repeatedly speaks about art as instinct, something that is more than necessary – in the same way it feels a bit funny to describe the blood circulatory system as “necessary.” In this way, for Meese a lot of the luxuries that are not studio practice are treated as excess. For Jonathan Meese example, he does “not really got to openings any more, too many people, it’s too much.” There is Meese gives a sense of what will take place no room for these diversions as he is extremely during his occupation of the Glue Factory when busy, so that in the evening he prefers to sleep. he speaks about what takes place in his usual When asked about sports, he responds, “Meese’s workspace. There’s nothing casual or cool when favourite game is sleeping.” Meese discusses the value of his studio: “My In opting for a handwritten response, Meese Atelier is my castle, my bunker of Art, my life line allows for one complete and instinctive expresfull of canvasses, oilpaint, acrylic colours, colsion, uninterrupted by breathing or clearing the our, colour but also black and white… it looks as though I am dancing through the atelier because throat. This unforgiving immediacy of his artwork and communications generally have polarised I work on a lot of paintings simultaneously. (Art reactions to his work to extremes. He admits, is duty. Meese’s duty is Total Art).” Painting for Meese is a vital activity that is “generally speaking “Many people love my work, many hate it and hate me personally.” His understanding is that totally easy, but totally exhausting. It has simply “maybe ‘radicalism’ combined with role playing to be done, the dictatorship of art demands it. […] Art is like sleeping, eating, drinking, digesting frightens in a world of political correctness. Art is no entertainment programme, Art is an or… Art is the total balance of pressure.” In short, der…” Though Meese speaks over and over in affor Meese “ART IS TOTAL INSTINCT,” as he begins firmative statements, the tone isn’t patronising: his interview responses. there is no restatement of general knowledge. Meese expands on what he considers to be “instinct” and contrasts it with ideology and real- These are exclamations that are made in the face ity. On the one hand, “Art is based on instinct, not of the easy assumptions of common sense. creativity. (Art is Babyanimalism).” Yet, “ideolPump Up the Vampire, Pump Up the Vampire, Pump Up the ogy is always against Art, Ideology is against Vampire, Smell! is at The Glue Factory, Glasgow evolution, ideology tries to manipulate people Preview Friday 10 Oct 7-9pm, exhibition runs 11 Oct-2 Nov and ideology washes brains, disgusting ideology writing and drawing the publication in collaboration with Ohrt, and it will be available at the opening. It was important to Young that the publication was not expensive, and it has been priced at £10 to make sure that anyone who wants a copy can afford one.

“Many people love my work, many hate it and hate me personally.”

ART

omgyoungteam.tumblr.com

Feature

Silver Screen Dream Ahead of a five-date tour that takes in Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket this month, film composer Clint Mansell takes stock of his career so far and explains why he’s still coming to grips with his current job title

Interview: Darren Carle

f the notion of a job for life is a rather antiquated outlook in the everyday world of humdrum menial work, then it’s a modern dilemma multiplied by a factor of about ten in the music industry. Exacerbated by dwindling record sales, today’s pop hopefuls tend to have a shelf-life only marginally longer than that of a Ginsters pasty. Combined with a creative urge to forge pastures new, the average muso can often be found idly dreaming about that elusive project that will restore balance to their own personal equilibrium. Or, sometimes, you’re just the right mopey guy, kicking your heels in the right place at the right time. So it was for Clint Mansell, at least the way he puts his transformation from goodtime frontman of ‘grebo’ hucksters Pop Will Eat Itself into celebrated soundtrack composer for films such as Black Swan, The Wrestler and Requiem for a Dream. “I moved to New York after leaving PWEI,” he says of the unlikely overhaul. “I had intended to write a solo electronic record but I couldn’t finish anything. I was uninspired, I had a very negative frame of mind – still do really.” With that view, it’s perhaps a little less surprising that Mansell found himself working on the soundtrack to Pi, a surreal, psychological and mathematical mindfuck written and directed by a then unknown Darren Aronofsky. “I met Darren through a mutual friend,” he continues. “He was looking for funding for Pi but he had no industry involvement and no real connections to the musical world. We talked about music that we liked and disliked and connected over our mutual appreciation of John Carpenter, hip-hop, anime and electronic music. I read the script and Darren asked me to write a piece of music based on that... we went from there.” However, due to being an outsider to the industry, Aronofsky was unable to secure the rights to many of the existing electronic compositions he had hoped to use, and furthermore didn’t have the money to pay for them all in the first place. In lieu of this, Mansell ended up composing the bulk of Pi’s soundtrack with further tracks from the likes of Autechre, Orbital and Aphex Twin sprinkled throughout. “It was a huge learning curve for me but it was a great experience,” he says. “As we had no industry interference we just did what we wanted and responded to one another. I think it gave us a good shot at creating our own vibe.” Though well received, it was Aronofsky’s follow-up feature Requiem for a Dream in 2000 that put the director firmly on the radar, culminating with an Academy Award nomination for Ellen Burstyn’s incredible performance. Having gelled together so well on Pi, Mansell was back on board for Requiem, and the results didn’t disappoint. “Darren is always looking for more, and one of the things that we originally connected over was how we felt that modern film music was just so much wallpaper,” says Mansell on the continuation of their alliance. “Creative relationships are never easy, and maybe they’re not supposed to be, but if you keep challenging one another and the results come then it’s worth the journey.” As for ‘wallpaper music,’ Requiem could never be called such a thing and we’d wager that anyone who watched it originally will have had the film’s central motif, Lux Aeterna, on internal rotation for some time afterwards. As a change from Pi’s electronic score, Mansell wrote many parts of Requiem to be performed by the Kronos Quartet, a loose and hugely celebrated ensemble from San Francisco. The enormity of the step-up was, however, lost on Mansell. “I was an electronic punk rocker at that time – I’d never heard of

Feature

Photo: Ivan Bideac

them,” he admits. “I soon learnt though. I remember listening to them when we were recording and Darren saying to me, ‘We just haven’t earned this yet.’” A large portion of the world also found itself infected with this particular earworm when the main composition was re-recorded for a Lord of the Rings trailer and subsequently used and abused by other film promos, TV advertisements, countless YouTube videos and, er, Top Gear. “It’s like having children, I imagine,” says Mansell of the song’s ubiquity at the time. “You produce them and then they go off and live their own lives. You can’t make the choices for them.” Mansell’s style of creating pieces with central themes that seem to have their own personality fared well with the pair’s third collaboration, 2006’s The Fountain. Though receiving mixed reactions, mainly due to its triple time narrative, the film has found a steady cult following, with Mansell’s work going some way to helm the disparate story lines together. “Originally, we thought about a different style of music and themes for each time sequence but it felt schizophrenic with that approach,” he explains. “Then we realised that it’s actually one man’s story and the music should be the connective tissue. This allowed me to re-use and develop the themes to support the journey.” Since then, Mansell has continued to work on all of Aronofsky’s films right up to this year’s biblical epic, Noah. However, this relationship is certainly not a monogamous one and Mansell has shacked up with others, notably director Jon S. Baird on last year’s black-hearted comedy Filth and Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie, for 2009’s sci-fi drama, Moon. “I look for things that speak to me, something that allows me to channel my feelings, my experience and my view into the film in a positive way,” he says of his composing choices so far.

In terms of influences, he rattles off a rich list of visionaries to whom he can doff his cap: the aforementioned Carpenter; Michael Small, the man behind the sounds of The Parallax View and Marathon Man, and David Lynch’s partner in odd, Angelo Badalamenti. However, it’s a figure much closer to home who really stoked the fire. “Growing up watching films with my dad,” he states, was a huge influence. “I was a teenager in the 70s and there was great film and TV music everywhere: Klute, Assault on Precinct 13, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Thunderbirds, Joe 90, Stingray, Star Trek, Dr Who. It was an unbeknown influence at that time.”

“I thought film score composition was a job that other people did, it seemed impossible to break into” Clint Mansell

Of his tenure with Pop Will Eat Itself, Mansell is pretty straight-talking on what it taught him as he entered the film world. “Work harder,” he stonewalls. “Writing anything, in any style, needs to work as an overall cohesive unit. If it doesn’t feel right, you keep working on it until it does. Ultimately, it’s the director’s overall vision, but the important thing is to work on the right project with the right collaborators so that everyone is pulling in the same direction. Hopefully then you have free reign to bring your ideas to the project.”

MUSIC

He remains tight-lipped on his future recording plans for fear of a jinx, but his upcoming five-date tour will be brief respite from the studio, and an overdue celebration of his scores to date. “It’s a nine-piece band; string quartet, piano, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards... neo-classical, modern classical, I guess,” he says of the setup. “We play a cross-section of my film music from Pi to Moon to The Fountain and Requiem for a Dream. It just depends on how much I like each score, how we can perform it and if it will work in a live setting.” It’s certainly a far cry from Mansell’s old touring days with The Poppies (as they were affectionately known), as he himself compares in a single sentence. “I get to sit down when I play now and less leather pants,” he jokes. More seriously though, he is able to take stock of his position and how fortunate he feels he has been. “I thought film score composition was a job that other people did, it seemed impossible to break into,” he admits. “Darren said to me after we finished Pi that he thought I could have a career at it, if I wanted. I still don’t consider myself a jobbing film composer but I’ve been doing it longer than I was in a band so it goes to show what I know.” Having already performed an impressive and unlikely volte-face in becoming one of Hollywood’s foremost film composers, we’d never second guess Clint Mansell’s next career move. But should he want one, it seems he may have found a job for life. Clint Mansell plays the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, 10 Oct, and the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, 14 Oct www.clintmansell.com

THE SKINNY

October 2014

MUSIC

Feature

Out of Body The latest immersive offering from Cryptic Nights comes from artist Joshua Payne – he tells us what to expect Interview: Jean-Xavier Boucherat

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

tlantan indie quintent Manchester Orchestra (O2 ABC, Thu 2 Oct) visit Glasgow at the start of the month to show off fresh fifth LP Hope – or rather, also show off its companion Cope released in April this year, of which Hope is an acoustic re-recording. You might be wondering what a rock troupe from Georgia, USA has to do with our fair town of Manchester, but it’s the rainy city’s famed musical heritage which inspired the name. Wholesome, emotive, and heavy in equal measure, the band’s decade-long history ensures a quality night. They might have penetrated popular culture quite aggressively with the ear-worm melody of that one single (Rather Be), but there’s more to Clean Bandit (O2 Academy, Mon 13 Oct) than radio-play pop. Debut record New Eyes showcases their accessible blend of classical and electronic music, which – while far from a novel idea – is executed with polish and maturity. Touching on electronica, deep house, and plenty of original compositions alongside judicious classical references, there are fewer gimmicks here than some might say. If that’s all too contemporary for you, keep one Friday in October clear in your schedule. The rich soul of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (O2 ABC, Fri 24 Oct) is the perfect antidote to the week’s stresses and distractions, whether you want to cut loose to their infectious, revivalist funk or lose yourself in Jones’ heady vocal. As a band they might be a relatively recent formation, but they channel that 1960s/70s sound crystal clear. We know what you’re thinking: after all that 70s soul you want to keep the weekend going with some experimental, game-changing acid house. Fortunately 808 State set up their decks (and instruments!) at the O2 ABC on Saturday 25 October for a live set, perfect for reliving the relentless pulse of Pacific 202 in person. And yeah, there’s an afterparty from 11pm – free entry with your gig ticket – at the O2 ABC2. Bargain. John Cooper Clarke (O2 ABC, Sun 26 Oct) – the bard of Salford himself – saunters up to Glasgow the very next day (maybe he’ll be at the 808 State after party?) to unspool his iconic, biting punk-poet artillery. A counterculture king from the late 70s and early 80s, his political satire and galloping wordplay are as unmatched now as they were then. To round off the month, check out touring hip-hop outfit eMC (O2 ABC, Tue 28 Oct), a fearsome foursome of Wordsworth, Punchline, Stricklin and the inimitable Brooklyn talent that is Masta Ace. Having dropped latest EP The Turning Point earlier this year, this tour is rumoured to be in advance of a sophomore album, long overdue since 2008’s The Show. Rocking on up to Sauchiehall Street and see the Four Brothers do their thang in person is highly recommended. [George Sully]

www.o2abcglasgow.co.uk

Feature

oshua Payne is currently preparing for us an experience he intends on making so rich in sensory stimulation that the press release alone would likely fry the minds of any synesthetes among us. Out of Body is an open-ended piece of immersive theatre that will challenge its audiences to navigate a maze of live music, interactive electronics, and kinaesthetic imagery built to elicit responses from all five senses. The images themselves will be ‘activated’ by a pair of periscopic visors given out to those who enter, which as Payne gleefully informs us will force participants to “relearn the size of their own body in space. It’s sort of like being a baby and working out that the things waving in front of you all the time are actually your own arms.” But how will this work exactly? “Essentially the visor introduces noise to the visual-spatial signal chain in the participant’s brain,” he explains. “The result of this noise is that your environment exists a few inches below where it has done the rest of your life, and the sensation is that you are floating just above your own body.” The periscopic visors are Payne’s twist on a regular convention in immersive theatre, i.e. masks, “but with added functionality.” He suggests that without them, audience members merely “play themselves,” thus enforcing the very distinction between audience and performer that immersive theatre attempts to tamper with. Without masks, we risk stepping into an intensely personal realm, possibly one of painful selfrealisation, and while nobody’s suggesting that’s a bad thing, Payne’s got different ideas, with an aim to creating something far more in the way of escapism – “I don’t want anyone to be reminded that they have a life, a job, or any responsibilities while they’re inside the show. If they start relating the material to their real life then I hope we

THEATRE

can put it down to emotional resonance. I’d like to think that in some way we are kind of hypnotising them… it should feel like a slightly different universe that we’re sending them into.” In other words, this is no Theatre of Cruelty. All this begs the question, what might the ambitions behind something as grand in scope as this be? On that front, it’s great news – Payne just wants you to have fun. In fact, the success of the whole thing kind of depends on it – “My real ambition for this show is that people have a big party, and when I say party, I do mean dancing and drinking and hanging out to live music. There’s sort of a reliance on the audience playing with us, the cast, in order for the magic to happen.” Payne will be working in collaboration with fellow creatives Vanessa Coffey, Michael Butcher, Alexander Horowitz, and Ed Crawley of All Eyes Wide, “but,” he adds, “there’s this whole unknown collaboration that we’re trying to accommodate, which is the audience, and they outnumber us considerably, so they will impact on the show a lot. There’s a lot that could change from hour to hour within the space. I’m excited about that.” Out of Body will be the latest installment of the Cryptic Nights programme, with further events planned for November courtesy of artist Josh Armstrong. Payne’s show will hopefully demonstrate once again how well the CCA-based collective remember the future. “I think we’re waiting for a breakthrough in immersive theatre,” he says, “and that’ll likely come from technology… theatre relies and thrives on human interaction though, so it’ll need to be an incorporation of that with high tech.” Out of Body runs 2-4 Oct at Glasgow CCA. Times vary, admission every 30 minutes, see www.cryptic.org.uk for details

THE SKINNY

Struggling To Breathe Dope Body’s Andrew Laumann and David Jacober say the Baltimore noise rock four-piece are fighting for air on their riotous latest album, Lifer

Photo: Sal

Interview: Simon Jay Catling

“Y

eah, I’m looking forward to it,” reflects David Jacober on his band’s forthcoming tour. “Good to get some fresh air, y’know?” Dope Body haven’t had much of that lately. Confining themselves to their rehearsal space in the middle of Baltimore – Jacober’s blunt description of it as “a rundown piece of shit” bringing to mind flickering bulbs, forlornly peeling paint and sweat-saturated carpets – they’ve spent the last nine months playing, playing, then playing some more; coming in early, finishing late; dodging the junkies hanging round their rehearsal block as they leave; stepping over them as they return the next day to agonisingly skim another layer of fat off a song’s already flayed, taut physique. Baltimore has given a lot to the popular music canon in the last few years; currently that’s taking the form of a histrionic quasi-motivational speaker and his deadpan synth-pop chums. However, although Dope Body singer Andrew Laumann actually lives with Future Islands’ Samuel T. Herring, his own band are drawn more towards the grittiness and the shadows of the city that can keep someone there, as opposed to the sort of bright glittering pop that helps them get out. “It’s a great city and as an artist it’s affordable,” says Jacober. “But things change even from neighbourhood to neighbourhood. A couple of months ago someone was doing a drive-by shooting, and they missed the person they were aiming for and killed a little three-year-old girl on her porch. And that was a five minute walk from my house where it feels totally safe. So it’s definitely fucking crazy.” It’s these kinds of experiences that partly inform the Drag City Records’ four-piece’s sound which, until forthcoming record Lifer at least, had best been encapsulated over their six years together on the remorseless head punches of 2012’s Natural History, veering with gapped-teeth between noise rock and post-hardcore, the two ultimately coming together in brutal conflict on eighth track Weird Mirror. “I think part of what we do is just about people who are rough around the edges and fucked up,” comments Jacober. “We

October 2014

grew up in suburbs outside Baltimore around some pretty trashy people and we don’t deny that.” The claustrophobia on that record has been replicated on Lifer, easily linked to the real-life suffocation of their rehearsal space self-imprisonment, but whereas previous releases revelled in the cloying atmosphere, their new album pushes back, attempting to open up some breathing space among its battling elements. “I think we’re getting more mature as songwriters,” Jacober says. “The first couple of records are balls to the wall, which is cool; but our tastes are changing a little bit. We’ve been listening to more electronic music, and our own tastes our changing constantly too – listening to our solo records you could never guess we were in the same band.” The title Lifer suggests a slightly more introspective, considered look at where the group are at this point in their time together. It was, after all, a record that Jacober admits could’ve been their last, one made by people stuck at that point in their 20s where their own identity is becoming clearer. “I think after we’d given it that name it took on more meaning for me,” Jacober admits. “It felt like ‘this is what we’re doing. It could be for the rest of our lives or this could be it, but we’re in it together.’ A bit like realising where you are in life, I guess. We’re not old but we’re starting to feel like ‘OK, this is us.’ We might just be in rock bands the rest of our lives, and we might not be famous but we like doing it. I know Andrew will hate that answer and think of something completely different.” Andrew Laumann’s words, as much on a laptop screen as when hollered down a mic, strike out at you. The vocalist’s email missive is candid, unafraid to take aim at a gentrifying Baltimore and the next group of kids who “simply don’t care anymore” about keeping its music scene alive; but there’s plenty of self-admission too. “The word ‘lifer’ kept coming back to me,” he reflects. “As our last tour waned on and we aged from boys to slightly older boys, I wondered what the hell I was doing with my life. I was surrounded by strong personalities of people who were either

very young and making decisions that would limit the scope of what they would be able to do, or older influences who’d long ago chosen a path and are forced to live with its consequences.” Laumann admits he’d never seen himself as sticking to one path – “a master of none,” he claims; but if you include early cassette Twenty Pound Brick and a split LP with Brooklyn duo Orphan, alongside 2011’s more time-signaturerestless Nupping, Dope Body are now on their fifth album. “I’ve realised I am a ‘lifer’ in my own sort of way,” he writes. “I’m not going to go back to school, I’m not going to get a straight job and I’m in too deep in this lifestyle. I owe too much to my bandmates or the slew of people who have supported us to stop now. For better or worse I’m an all or nothing kind of guy, so I decided to keep going.”

“It feels like this could fall apart at any moment” Andrew Laumann

So it was that the group wound up at Serious Business Studios in Manhattan, recording Lifer in four 13-hour blasts with producer Travis Harrison, who’s built a small cult following for his label with releases for veteran Goldsmith’s College-formed punk group The Homosexuals. The necessity to record there came out of a desire to put the band in a situation that felt different from the norm, to focus their minds on what they were in the studio to do. “I would like to never record in the city we live in again,” says Laumann. “Which is no offence to Baltimore or its producers, but we cannot let our daily lives interfere with the recording process when we’re in an unnatural place with a job to do.” In keeping with their method of writing the record, the group continued to keep playing it live over and over again, before picking out the best cuts at the end – recorded to analogue tape. “The best

MUSIC

performance we can give is when we are exhausted and really feeling it, so usually the best sessions were late at night after being in the studio all day,” Laumann says. “It was bitter cold out and snowing the whole time and we were in this tiny little studio in SoHo. It didn’t feel limiting though, we work best when we’re up in each other’s shit.” Like Jacober, Laumann admits that Dope Body are changing as an outfit. Building their reputation live, having toured Natural History for 19 months straight, the group have always sought to insert the intensity borne out of their beginnings playing in warehouses and basements in Baltimore. “Playing how we did wasn’t the complete scope of our abilities and we’ve realised it was necessary to really try to play quieter to make when it was loud more important,” he opines. This is reflected most clearly on Echo, which dies right down to its embers in its poised verse, before roaring back into engulfing life. It is, to put a sweeping analogy to it, an apt summation of Dope Body themselves, recently feeling like they were fading away after tour-on-tour of little more than petrol money and backseat sleeping; only to re-gather and, with Lifer, hopefully reach further than ever before. “The very idea of being in a band in the year 2014 is pretty stupid,” Laumann says. “I feel like we’re holding onto some sort of dead art like analogue photography or something. None of it adds up.” But Dope Body aren’t going anywhere soon. “It feels like it could fall apart at any moment, but that gives us an obligation to each other to make it work or self-destruct,” he adds. “We’ve been apart a while and are itching to get on the road. We are still inspired to prove to the world what we’re worth. I don’t know what a healthy band looks like and I wouldn’t want to know because our friction is what makes us work, a sum of multiple egos fighting against each other, gears in the machine, but we find fuel in the fodder.” And just maybe a chance of some breathing space before they go at it all over again. Lifer is released on 20 Oct via Drag City dopebody.tumblr.com

Feature

The Joy of Hex When indie rock supergroup Wild Flag went on hiatus, Mary Timony didn’t exactly rest on her laurels. The moonlighting guitar teacher returns this month with Rips, the excellent debut by ‘party band’ Ex Hex

Photo: Jonah Takagi

Interview: Will Fitzpatrick

“I

just didn’t have it in me any more.” Mary Timony pauses, reflecting on the solo career that she effectively brought to an end in 2009. “I think things end up better when there’s a lot of people making decisions. When you’re on your own it’s kind of a vacuum – I just find it hard to stay motivated.” The Shapes We Make, the last album to bear the former Helium star’s own name, hit the shelves in 2007. Since then, she’s played in a series of bands – most notably the acclaimed supergroup Wild Flag – but today we’re here to discuss the debut release by arguably her most exciting band in years. Ex Hex, a trio completed by drummer Laura Harris and bassist Betsy Wright, are about to release Rips, the most deliberately fun record Mary has made so far. Tipping its hat to the classic powerpop of The Nerves and the glitter-stomp urgency of glam, this new collaborative experience certainly seems to have reawakened the fire within her. “It’s like we’re a sports team,” she explains. “We’re all like, ‘try and make it really good!’ When you know there’s other people involved you know you have to do better and it pushes you. It just works better.” This confidence is well-founded. Whereas her previous projects have tended towards the cerebral, the angular or the heart-stoppingly intimate, Ex Hex is openly less complex. “I’ve been through a lot of different phases; it’s hard for me to stay consistent with a particular style of music for some reason. But this band feels less of an art project and more like fun. We just wanna make music that we really like, and we feel really excited about it. I’m less focussed on stuff like artistic expression.” If that latter point makes Mary seem like she’s living for the moment rather than shooting for the stars, it’s worthwhile considering that Ex Hex is entirely consumed by a sense of all-conquering joy. This is music made for its own ends, and it’s thoroughly enjoyable for that. The songs themselves, however, were originally

Feature

intended for another project entirely. “I had been writing for Wild Flag,” she says, referring to her collaboration with Sleater-Kinney alumni Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss. “I was writing really straight-ahead pop songs, and then I’d take them into the band and they’d become deconstructed, but since that band wasn’t doing another record I had stockpiled about four. I just kept writing in the same style; it’s a really different kind of music than I was doing before – I put my guitar into standard tuning, which I hadn’t done for a while, so they sound a lot more traditional.” Although recent indications suggest that Wild Flag is over, with just one well-received album to their name, our heroine is scarcely fazed by the process of starting out with another new band. “It’s good! It doesn’t even feel that new ‘cause we’ve been playing for a year, I guess. We’re still learning but we’re in a little bit of a groove.” How does it differ to playing in Wild Flag? “Hmmmm. The biggest difference is Ex Hex all lives in the same town. With Wild Flag, I live here [Washington DC] and the other guys lived in Portland, Oregon – Ex Hex are able to play a lot more. But every band is different – every person is different, so every group of people is gonna have a different feeling to it. I would say Ex Hex is just a little more of a party band.” Was it strange working with Carrie and Janet, given that they already had an existing musical chemistry? “Actually that made it really good – they really have a powerful connection from playing together for so long. It was a blast; we toured all over the place… it was really exciting and fun to be in a band where the emphasis was on the live shows. I don’t know if we’ll do another record; I have a feeling that they’re just too busy now.” When Wild Flag’s hiatus period began, Mary began looking for new people to jam with, and the pieces all fell together when Laura and Betsy jumped on board (“As soon as we played together, there was a really good energy,” she

affirms cheerfully). Their choice of name followed swiftly, although eagle-eyed observers might be keen to point out that ‘Ex Hex’ was also the title of Mary’s third solo LP back in 2005. “Back then I was thinking of changing the name of my band. I thought Ex Hex was a cool band name, but then I was like, ‘Ehhh, I’m not gonna do that, I’ll just call the record Ex Hex.’ When we were brainstorming names for this band, everyone kind of gravitated towards it; there’s no real connection to the solo record at all.”

“I don’t like the style of teaching where you’re making kids into these little robots that can do everything you can do. Music was where I found my own identity” Mary Timony

Having used the phrase to mark two significant career points, do those words have any particular significance? “Well, originally the meaning was a hex that you don’t have any more – like moving away from the bad times, or something.” Mary laughs. “But mostly I just think the words sounded cool together.” As regards their forthcoming album itself,

MUSIC

it’s clear that she takes a great deal of pride in the fruits of the trio’s labour. “I feel good about it! We worked really hard, and I’m pretty happy with how it came out. It was good fun, you know? I’m not sick of it yet, which is good!” Talk turns to her other life as a guitar teacher – since that role lends a very specific perspective to musical understanding, does it influence the songwriting process? “Maybe, it might make me try to simplify a little bit, or be more conscious and aware of everything that’s happening. Yeah, I could see in a sense that it might be true, and it might be part of the reason why these songs are stripped down. That’s a good way of looking at it.” How does the experience of teaching compare with that of performing? “It’s really different. I really love performing – that’s just the most fun thing ever, but teaching is a really different part of my brain and personality. I love connecting with the kids and watching them get excited about music. I don’t like the style of teaching where you’re making kids into these little robots that can do everything you can do. Music was where I found my own identity – I want to facilitate them having that too, if they want.” And what of Helium, we wonder? With many of her contemporaries reforming their old bands, fans could be forgiven for wondering whether Mary has similar plans for her much-loved guitarmanglers. She hesitates. “I wouldn’t really play Helium songs. I’m trying to get those records reissued cause I’ve heard it’s hard to find them… but in terms of revisiting, it doesn’t interest me, to be honest. I just like doing new stuff – I don’t wanna just chill out and be like ‘I’m fine with that stuff I did before.’ I feel like I’m constantly figuring out how to do it better. When I really run out of ideas, I’ll feel OK about going back and playing the old songs. I don’t wanna slow down yet!” Rips is released on 13 Oct via Merge Records exhexband.com

THE SKINNY

October 2014

Troubles Brewing ’71 is a heart-stopping tale of a greenhorn soldier (Jack O’Connell) who gets separated from his unit in 1971 Belfast. Director Yann Demange and writer Gregory Burke explain why this sinewy thriller is much more than a history lesson

ann Demange looks ever so slightly jetlagged. He’s just got back from the Toronto Film Festival, where his directorial debut, ’71, was screened to rapturous praise. It’s a blisteringly powerful portrayal of a young British squaddie’s attempt to make it back to his Belfast barracks after being stranded behind enemy lines at the height of the Troubles. “Some directors go in and out of a festival,” says the 37-year-old director. “I’m like, ‘Forget that! I might never make another film that goes to a festival!’ So I’m there for the duration, I watch films, I go to the parties, I try to help promote the film. This is my first experience of this.” Demange speaks, in turn, with studied eloquence about the weight of history that lies behind ’71 – both politically and cinematically – and with boyishly infectious enthusiasm about the reception it has received. Demange was born in Paris to an Algerian father and a French mother, but moved to London when he was two or three (“depending who you ask”). “I was obsessive about films,” he says. “We used to bunk off school and go to the cinema. I’ve never confessed to that!” Graduating through the world of music videos and TV (he helmed the acclaimed series Top Boy), Demange had been looking for a project for a first feature. He never expected it to be about the Troubles. “I had no burning desire to make a film about Northern Ireland,” he confesses. “But, as soon as I read it I thought it could transcend the specificity of the Troubles – and have a universality. It reminded me of The Battle of Algiers; it reminded me of Iraq, Afghanistan. What’s sad to say is that I read it and thought, ‘this is so pertinent.’ Yes it’s in the context of the Troubles, and you have to be truthful and honest about that, but I don’t want to give a history lesson. It could be about humanity, and the shades of grey.” ’71 is also the first foray into cinema for screenwriter Gregory Burke, best known for the searing and acclaimed play Black Watch (similarly

Feature

Interview: Sam Lewis

about young soldiers stranded in Afghanistan). Like Demange, he believes the success of ’71 lies in the way it resonates with contemporary events. “People are saying, ‘this is exactly like in our country.’ Young guys want adventure and to make a living, and the next thing you know, you’re in a situation where all bets are off. Everybody’s pursuing their own agenda. I think that’s why the film’s hit a nerve – these situations are relevant. Although we just set out to make an action movie – an art-house action movie!” Indeed, it’s ’71’s blending of politics and aesthetics that allows it to rise above the level of ‘mere’ historical drama. Demange and Burke both quote John Carpenter’s Escape from New York and Walter Hill’s The Warriors as reference points – decidedly apolitical, straight-up action movies with a focus firmly on a hero’s journey to get out alive, rather than on the nuances of geopolitics. That emphasis on one man’s struggle to survive the night was partially inspired, Burke says, by Mel Gibson, of all people. “I had just seen Apocalypto at the time, and I said ‘We could do something like that, where a guy has to get back.’ So the idea was Apocalypto set in Belfast.” At the centre of ’71 is Jack O’Connell’s (Skins, Starred Up) soldier, stumbling bewildered from horror to horror, with no idea where to go or whom to trust. The film pulls no punches in depicting the British military’s collusion with paramilitary forces, playing one side off the other. For Burke, this was about pulling genre strings as much as depicting hard truths: “It was about jeopardy – you need a reason he can’t just flag down a jeep that’s driving past, or see a guy who he thinks is a soldier and just go up to him... The tactics were quite crude in those days – the MRF [Military Reaction Force – a covert British intelligence unit] were almost operating as another gang. But some of that is a device. It’s about finding a way to make everybody potentially hostile to him. He’s on his own.” For Demange, the film had to rise above the war movie genre: “It couldn’t

just be a genre movie for the sake of it, it had to have a reason to exist, and something to say. And to have a soulfulness, a lyricism to it.”

“Why are our kids joining the army? For what? As a filmmaker, that’s what made me passionate about it.” Yann Demange

Both Demange and Burke are effusive about O’Connell’s central performance, at once brusquely masculine and visibly fragile. In an ambiguous, amoral world it becomes harder to do the right thing, especially for a character like O’Connell’s Gary Hook, a young man from Derbyshire in the early 1970s, left with little choice other than to join the army. “This film is about a boy trying to define what sort of man he’ll be,” Demange explains. “What sort of choices he’s going to make. Belonging against being your own man.” ’71 depicts a generation of young men cut adrift from society, young British soldiers hung out to dry by their superiors, as well as Irish boys – like Barry Keoghan’s reluctant gunman Sean, caught up in the emergent Provisional IRA – having to make desperate decisions about what side to take in a society on the verge of collapse (1972 would go on to be the bloodiest year of the Troubles). “Gary and Sean,” Burke explains, “are just two young boys that have been drawn into different gangs.”

FILM

Demange says that his status as an outsider allowed him a unique perspective on the conflict. “When we moved to London, the Troubles were going on; it was like the white noise in the background,” he explains. “No one in my household could understand what was going on – we spoke French at home! It’s not until I decided to take this film on that I got to grips with the sectarian divide. I’ve always had that outsider’s gaze.” Burke was keen to ensure that sense of feeling alien in a familiar environment carried over into O’Connell’s portrayal of Hook. “What struck me about Belfast was how physically it resembles a northern English mill town. A young soldier from the north of England would think it was very familiar. We didn’t want to make it about a Scottish soldier because Scottish people have more of a grasp of sectarianism. We wanted it to be a guy who didn’t know one side from the other; he didn’t know where he was going or what he was doing. The 70s in Belfast were chaotic enough for something like that to have happened. We were told a true story about two young soldiers who got caught in a riot and shot by the IRA. We just made it that one of them gets shot, and one of them runs.” ‘71 depicts the Belfast of the time as a gateway to hell, full of shadowy figures murkily lit by Molotov cocktails and burning cars. Demange talks about the influence of Sam Peckinpah’s dark body of work, and some of that ferocity certainly carries over into ’71, full of twisted morality and visceral violence. “It was messy,” says Demange. “There’s a cynicism that kicks in. Those Peckinpah films caught that vibe, the vibe that’s in the air now – that the game is rigged. Why are our kids joining the army? For what? As a filmmaker, that’s what made me passionate about it. Because it’s worth telling. And it makes you angry.” ‘71 is released 10 Oct by StudioCanal

THE SKINNY

This Must Be the Place As festival season hurtles towards a close, End of the Road showed them all how it's done

Words: John Nugent

ore manageable than Glastonbury, less twee than Latitude” is how stand-up Stu Goldsmith at the festival’s comedy stage sums up End of the Road; it’s a pretty neat summation for a weekend which combines thoughtful music programming, boutique civility, and spurts of inspired lunacy, all set – natch – in a valley of impeccable English countryside. And impeccable it remains throughout. Most music festivals become landfill sites within minutes of the gates being opened; rarely has a festivalgoer felt so compelled to find the correct recycling bin. Like any self-respecting ‘boutique festival’, there’s ample peripheral entertainment, much of it in twinkly fairy-lit woodland glades. Wander long enough around the well-manicured gardens that make up the site and you’ll stumble upon art sculptures, piano bars, outdoor ping-pong, a cinema, even croquet. Croquet. You won’t find croquet at Reading or Leeds. At one point, innocently walking past a children’s workshop, The Skinny finds itself roped into playing backing cowbell for an impromptu song entitled ‘Pancakes’. But the real music lineup is the undisputed focus. This is a place for music lovers. Think 6 Music, Rough Trade, Uncut, ATP without the Butlins redcoats or financial snafus. Four-piece guitar bands are an omnipresent sight on an End of the Road stage, and acts like Wild Beasts, The Horrors, and British Sea Power all put in workmanlike sets. But it’s the more unusual offerings that linger longer in the mind. Take, for example, the delightfully bonkers Three Trapped Tigers, whose manic brand of discordant noise-rock punctures a jagged hole in Friday evening’s otherwise gentler bill. Their sound – Aphex Twin meets demented videogame music from 100 years in the future – is strange company, and not easy to get a purchase on. It’s hard to tap your feet, let alone mosh, to a 7/8 time signature, but they make enough of a racket to demand attention. At their core lies a remarkable drummer with an itch that conventional percussive techniques just can’t scratch, and at one stage he bashes away with such thunderous vigour that a cymbal comes crashing off, to be sheepishly replaced at the end of the next ‘song’. Even without this logistical plot twist, the whole thing feels utterly thrilling and not a little mad. None of that malarkey for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, who spend a highly agreeable hour twangling away with their well-honed class of warm Californian indie. In both lyrics (“I’m contractually obliged not to care”) and stage presence, Malkmus has a lackadaisical charm that’s immediately disarming. And while his brand of rock doesn’t exactly raise pulses, it’s unfussy and cool, often drifting into baggy guitar solos, like a bunch of dudes jamming in a garage. The inevitable request for a Pavement song comes from the crowd, but if Malkmus has grown bored of politely batting away these entreaties, he doesn’t show it. A crueller observer might see a reflection between crowd and performer here – both are stubbornly ignoring their ‘90s heyday as they stare down the barrel of middle age. As if to reinforce the point, during the Jicks set one mother in the crowd busies herself with some knitting on a picnic mat, while her ear-defender-wearing young son dances merrily. Median attendee age at End of the Road is probably around 35, though that figure is driven down by the high proportion of ankle-biters. Sometimes you see the disparity in age groups. Connan Mockasin closes the Big Top on the first night with a raucously enjoyable funkpsych-pop set, laced with the kind of ‘70s sleaze that, while entirely non-threatening, nonetheless

October 2014

Photo: Richard Gray

“M

prompts parents to call bedtime. Things get sexy quickly. “If 25% of you get naked,” the shaggyhaired Mockasin proposes during his encore, “we will get naked”. Even a respectable English crowd of this calibre struggle to resist that sort of offer, and suddenly there’s a lot of flesh on show, both on stage and in the pit, all grooving to lyrics like “You’re such an easy flirt”. Unexpectedly hungry for a bit of edge, a sizeable young crowd then trundles along to one of several late-night surprise slots booked into the Tipi Tent. Listen to the hushed whispers of frenzied speculation and you hear Bowie or Prince, but with the Tipi Tent roughly the size of Bowie’s living room, perhaps the promise of ‘surprise’ is a little too tantalising. When the warbly folk stylings of The Barr Brothers are revealed, 45 mins late, having already booked in for an afternoon slot on the main stage, there’s audible disappointment: 2am is approaching and the under30s were after something a little bouncier. It’s a rare, minor misstep – this is a programme where the fingerprints of curation are everywhere. You don’t have to look far to find it again: few would be bold enough to book acts like the Radiophonic Workshop, the pioneering BBC electronic outfit responsible for theme tunes like Doctor Who and Hitchhiker’s Guide. Or John Cooper Clarke, delivering keen and funny poetic observations to an appreciative audience. Or the incredible ‘Gene Clark No Other Band’, featuring members of Beach House, Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes and Fairport Convention, in what is effectively a world premiere recital of the Byrds frontman’s classic 1974 album. Or, indeed, St. Vincent. Having already headlined these fields once before with regular collaborator David Byrne, Annie Clark goes it alone with a supremely confident performance, mostly taken from her recent self-titled LP. Maybe we’re just all thinking about her more now, but with such art-pop sensibilities, jaunty dance moves, and curious interludes, there’s surely a touch of Kate Bush here. Clark may not quite be reenacting her own drowning – as Bush was in London that very evening – but there’s plenty of entertainingly

baffling moments to ponder. At one point, she rolls slowly down some giant steps and sticks her legs in the air, in darkness and silence. We’re not really sure why, but we dig it. Crucially, she sounds terrific: taut, courageous, brimming with ideas. The beautifully awkward Digital Witness is greeted with the loudest cheer. Here, futuristic bleeps are less common than vintage dazes, and those who like their music with a psychedelic Americana tinge are wellcatered for. There’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra, who manage to be rocking, if repetitive. There’s Temples, who seem time-warped from an Old Grey Whistle Test episode, all big hair and fuzzboxes. And there’s the fabulously-named Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, who attract a sizeable crowd, unfairly but ostensibly there to catch a glimpse of a John Lennon progeny. The joy of a festival like this is that unknowns prove to be the highlights. St. Paul and the Broken Bones are barely known in this country, as evidenced by the slim crowd that initially greets them at the main stage. But they blow socks off. The brief is simple: authentic, straightforward Motown, direct from the Deep South. The band, brass section present and correct, cut an unassuming form. Then an unlikely frontman emerges in the shape of Paul Janeway. Eyes closed, you’d think he was some sort of generously-bosomed African-American lady. Look to the stage and you see a chubby white guy, bespectacled and cheapsuited, like a cross between an IT management consultant and Alan Carr. We’re bemused, but one hoof of his preposterously powerful lungs instantly wins us over. Practically willing away the Saturday afternoon drizzle with his soaring melisma and clumsy pelvic thrusts, Janeway is the surprise star of the weekend, in an extraordinary, soulful, hugely fun set that channels everything from Sam Cooke to Otis Redding. A set-closing rendition of Try A Little Tenderness and Janeway has the crowd in the palm of his hands. It’s little wonder he trained to be a preacher back in Alabama. The Broken Bones deliver such a blinding performance that it has the effect of making the

MUSIC

others a seem little bland by comparison – which, facing a schedule stuffed with folksy offerings, can be problematic. There are some nicely-positioned hangover-soothers: Lau, Stealing Sheep and Lyla Foy are friendly and inoffensive enough. Johnny Flynn, on the other hand, sounds a bit bored, and his Sussex Wit backers veer closer to Mumford than you’d care for. Perfume Genius turns shoegaze into melodrama, and his afternoon set threatens to bring the mood down a tad. It takes The Flaming Lips to change the mood of the whole weekend. Wayne Coyne, dressed in a skintight leotard (and “freezing his balls off”); turns everyone’s moods inside out – and then showers them in sequins. It’s an old journalistic cliché to say something is “on acid”, but watching a set like this, you begin to wonder if at least a small tab of some sort of hallucinogen hadn’t been slipped into your pint at some point. By song one, there’s giant inflatable animals – something of a trademark – and exploding glitter cannons; by song two, the words “Fuck Yeah End Of The Road” are spelled out with balloons onstage and left to surf the crowd. By the time the set concludes, appropriately enough, with Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, we’re left dazzled, exhausted, and pondering how many thousands went into the glitter budget. The Lips have a decent following over here, but their back catalogue is hardly littered with anthemic hits. Only one of their fourteen albums has ever made the top ten in the UK. A common line among the post-match analysis heard around the site went: “I didn’t really know many Flaming Lips songs, but holy shit, that was a show!” In many ways, they were the perfect headliners: winning over newcomers and old-timers alike with a mix of theatrical showmanship and sheer rock’n’roll flair. End Of The Road knew exactly what they were doing. www.endoftheroadfestival.com

Feature

THE SKINNY

Word Power The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival enters its fifth year with the theme of power, adding a new literary strand to its many activities. The Skinny chatted to Festival Manager Gail Aldam to find out more.

ail Aldam’s enthusiasm about the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival is infectious. When asked to pick out highlights for 2014 – the 5th year of what is now one of the largest social justice festivals in the world – she reels off a list, then adds to it as the conversation progresses. This year’s line-up is a frankly impressive one, with a particularly strong series of events in their brand new literary strand. “We don’t just focus upon mental ill health, but on recovery, and on mental well-being as well.” Aldam explains. “We don’t explore just the obvious links but many themes within the mental health banner.” The festival team’s core aims have stayed the same since the festival began – raising awareness and challenging people’s perceptions of mental health. Highlights of this year’s festival include an evening with Hollie McNish, who will be reading her poetry at the festival as part of her UK tour. The poet is known for her warmth, humour and intelligence – “We’re really pleased to have Hollie on board!” confirms Aldam. In Edinburgh,

Interview: Ceris Aston Illustration: Harvey Herman

audiences will have the opportunity to experience the Voices of War event at the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle. The evening will combine readings of war poetry, including the renowned works of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, with pioneering work from their psychiatrist Captain WHR Rivers. The event, which will look at their lasting legacy, of how we work with today’s veterans, promises to be both powerful and emotive. In another highly-anticipated event, author Nathan Filer will be discussing his critically acclaimed debut novel The Shock of the Fall – “a really frank story of someone struggling with schizophrenia and the mental health system,” explains Aldam. This year’s literary events explore mental health and illness throughout history, taking us from such contemporary works as Filer’s 2014 debut to a discussion of James Boswell’s Life of Johnson – a 1791 account of Boswell and Samuel Johnson’s discussions on melancholy and madness. These events demonstrate some of the diversity of SMHAFF – with around 300 events around Scotland, the festival this year aims to

provide a platform for those who are oppressed and marginalised and to bring their messages to a wider audience. This year sees the festival’s first International Writing Awards, run in partnership with Bipolar Scotland and presented in Glasgow’s Mitchell Theatre. “We launched the competition back in May,” recounts Aldam. “We had entries from all over the UK and across the world as well – people entered poems, diary entries, news articles – on the theme of power.” The festival theme explores the feelings of disempowerment felt when struggling with mental ill health and the empowerment of engaging with the arts and creating. Mental health workers and activists have been working with artists across Scotland and beyond, aiming to create great arts events and challenge misconceptions about mental health. The programme is spellbinding, with an extraordinary diversity of talent and creativity. The festival’s legacy is set to last long beyond these few vibrant weeks in October. “Projects which start during the festival continue

year round – something which came out of the festival is the Fruit Tree Foundation, which stemmed out of the music of the festival in 2010. It’s a youth mentoring project supported by the Mental Health Foundation, and it’s actually coming back to the festival this year.” The festival team hope to take the SMHAFF brand into other arts festivals in 2014 – as Aldam enthuses, “the aims of the festival are so important that we want people talking about it year round.” A festival that began as an idea, which became a weekend of film, has become an unmissable cultural event, with literature as a new string to its bow – a phenomenon which has inspired mental health festivals across the world. From Dumfriesshire to Detroit, from Finland to NYC, the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival has shown us that the arts have the power to effect extraordinary change.

festival, centres on four victims of torture from across the globe. We follow them as they try to rebuild their lives, careers and relationships, and see how their torment has left them feeling like they’re paralysed, unable to move on: “After I was let go I had nightmare after nightmare, fantasy after fantasy, of doing the worst things imaginable to my torturer,” Hector Arisitzábal, a political prisoner from Columbia, says in the film. “I came back, I worked, but I wasn’t there.” Iboga Nights and The Mars Project are concerned with different nightmares: for the former it’s drug addiction, in the latter it’s schizophrenia. But, refreshingly, both challenge the stigma surrounding their respective conditions, as well as the establishment’s attitude towards them. “They are films that question the way things are done normally through the medical system,” says Warden, “and that’s not to say that they have the right or wrong approach, but we’re willing to

entertain those perspectives and to have conversations about them.” In Iboga Nights, filmmaker and former methadone user David Graham Scott investigates a radical and risky treatment for opiate addiction: ibogaine. Derived from African shrub Tabernanthe iboga, it’s a hallucinogenic that many have found to be a miracle cure to get off drugs, Scott included. Iboga Nights is a kind of sequel to Detox or Die, Scott’s 2004 film in which he documents his own withdrawl from of methadone using ibogaine. In this new work he follows several individuals who find themselves similarly out of options and ready to try the treatment. The Mars Project, meanwhile, follows Khari ‘Conspiracy’ Stewart, a hip-hop artist diagnosed with schizophrenia, who’s chosen to channel the voices he hears in his head into his music, rather than try to suppress them. His approach to his condition chimes with legendary Scottish

psychiatrist R.D. Lang’s attitude to mental illness: “Madness need not be all breakdown. It may also be breakthrough.” This questioning of authority and preconceived wisdom won’t just be happening on screen. Almost all screenings at SMHAFF have some post film discussion to allow the audience to have their own voices heard. “We bring filmmakers and/or experts from the mental health area in question, as well as people who have had their own mental health challenges,” says Warden. “It’s really trying to raise awareness, raise issues and to start conversations that will go on long after people leave the cinema.”

The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival runs from 1-19 Oct at venues across the country mhfestival.com

Film Power Cinema welcomes you in; it invites you to walk in someone else’s shoes, see the world from their point of view. Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival film programmer Richard Warden explains how he’s utilised these qualities at this year’s event Interview: Jamie Dunn

“O

ur festival was founded upon the belief that arts and film have the power to raise awareness of social injustice and to stimulate change,” writes Lee Knifton, director of The Scottish Mental Health Art and Film Festival (SMHAFF), in this year’s programme. Power is the theme of this eighth edition, and, as festival chair Isabella Goldie notes, it’s an essential issue for mental health discussions. “Having the power to determine our destiny is absolutely vital for our mental health, while disempowerment erodes our sense of self,’ she says. ‘People adopt creative means to explore the complexities of these issues, from personal expressions of power through visual arts and film, to songs of protest and political theatre.” Cinema’s power isn’t just limited to delivering a message or giving the disenfranchised a voice, however. The medium’s chief power, perhaps, is its ability to channel empathy. “David Puttnam put it this way,” explains SMHAFF’s film programmer Richard Warden: “‘Film is the most powerful medium for developing understanding that has ever been.’ That’s putting it rather boldly, but I do agree that film is an inherently engaging medium. You have sight and sound at work; you’ve got your brain thinking about things while your heart is potentially pounding; you have the opportunity with the right film to step into someone else’s world.” It’s this latter quality that gives a work like Beneath the Blindfold its own, devastating power. Ines Sommer and Kathy Berger’s documentary, which has its UK premiere at the

October 2014

FILM / BOOKS

Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival runs 1-19 Oct at venues throughout Scotland. See its website for full listings and details: mhfestival.com

Feature

Visualising Scotland’s Future A special collaborative graphic novel — involving the diverse talents of writers and artists from Irvine Welsh to Pat Mills — IDP: 2043 aims to paint a picture of Scotland’s future and strike a blow against anyone viewing the form as any sort of literary lesser

he Edinburgh International Book Festival is one of the most prestigious literary events in the world, drawing from across the globe and the literary sphere and calling together the wise voices of the world’s most famous writers to meld with the younger, rougher tones of the up-and-coming to turn Charlotte Square gardens into a cacophony of book-love. In recent years, the festival’s Stripped events have championed the graphic novel form and, in 2013, a very special work was commissioned to mark the festival’s 30th anniversary: IDP: 2043. A speculative imagining of what Scotland might look like in another 30 years’ time, IDP: 2043 depicts a world completely re-moulded by climate change. With sea levels rising drastically, huge parts of Britain have become uninhabitable and Scotland’s high-rising hills have suddenly made it the place to be. With an entire nation crammed into its highest peaks, the resultant overpopulation has led to the creation of vast slums built from shipping containers to house those made homeless by the rising tides: Internally Displaced Persons. Society’s upper echelons now occupy luxurious neighbourhoods composed of towering skyscrapers which see them peering down on the huddled masses from almost literal ivory towers. Some of these towers are also used for vertical farming, superficially as an answer to the food-shortage of the climateravaged future world but primarily as a method for the powerful, to keep those beneath them helplessly dependant. A reality TV show called Sky Farm, set on one of these towers, allows them to provide both the panem et circenses to keep the main population in line and stars the novel’s lower class hero Cait as a presenter and a relatable face for her fellow slum-dwellers. After she

Feature

inadvertently finds herself on the wrong side of the nation’s most powerful, she’s flung ass first into a frantic quest to escape their clutches, doing her best to solve her boyfriend’s murder, expose the Sky Farm’s evil underbelly and remain as free from bullet holes as possible along the way. While Glaswegian novelist Denise Mina lays the trail for the story to follow, each individual chapter is handled by a different pair of contributing writers and artists. The result is a kaleidoscopic combination of different styles that switches the entire feel of the book from section to section. The dark dystopian hues of comic legend Pat Mills merge with the unthinkably adorable illustrations of French artist Barroux, while Adam Murphy’s colourful cartoons sit nervously next to the curse words and heroin-soaked stylings of novelist Irvine Welsh. In addition to all this, Will Morris adds a rise-and-fall crime tale in nostalgic monochrome. Hannah Berry and Dan McDaid bring Mills' and Welsh’s words to the panels, and Kate Charlesworth and Mary Talbot combine their talents to create the novel’s final chapter and round out the project’s impressive line-up. One of the goals of the festival’s Stripped segment has been to aid the rise of graphic novels as a form, expanding their audience and legitimising their image. By bringing together the talents of writers and illustrators from different corners of the literary world – acclaimed prose writers, academics, graphic novelists and children’s book illustrators – IDP: 2043 strikes a powerful blow to any idea of graphic novels as a lesser.

A Conversation with IDP: 2043 graphic novelist Hannah Berry: The Skinny: How does it feel being here as a graphic novelist, at a festival where traditional prose still dominates? Hannah: It sounds quite silly but I still feel quite special walking around literary festivals. I’m quite lucky to get to sit here and be handed nice mugs of green tea. The only downside is the inevitable number of articles in newspapers and things saying ‘Kapow! Comics not just for kids anymore!’ It’s like, we know! That’s the only downside. The exact same thing that happens every time a good animated film comes out. I know! We just need to sit people down with something like Grave of the Fireflies and then, when they leave weeping, they’ll understand. Sounds like a plan. So with the REFRAME exhibition, Hoax: Psychosis Blues, Above the Dreamless Dead and now IDP 2043, a lot of your recent projects have been collaborations – has this been by design or just coincidence? I know, I’ve never collaborated before and then this year’s been like a collaboration frenzy. I think I just got lonely, I wanted to work with some other people: friends! I don’t know, maybe I said something to someone, like ‘I am lonely’, and people heard the cry and offered me work. A while back you said in an interview that you’ve ‘always harboured a hatred of things written by committee’ and Denise Mina expressed a similar sort of initial unease at the idea of collaboration. Yeah, it can go so wrong, there are so many that

BOOKS

Interview: Ross McIndoe

fall apart quite dramatically. This was the first time that I’d illustrated a long comic that had been written by somebody else and it was actually quite pleasing, quite fun to do. IDP 2043 has been described in a lot of places as a ‘new kind of dystopian sci-fi,’ would you agree with that? Someone actually got in touch via email and told us it was cli-fi: climate fiction. So that was something new and exciting that I’d never heard of. I think science fiction has to have a nice dystopian element, and the dystopian element has to be about things that people are actually worried about. Whereas it used to be social decay and corruption – society sort of tearing itself apart – now I think it’s the climate aspect. So I suppose that’s reasonably new-ish. Denise Mina also described it as “a comic for people who don’t read comics,” how does that one fit? Yes I think it is and I think it’s also quite a nice mix of styles so everyone can sort of latch on to the style they like the most. I guess it’s nice to show the range of work that’s out there, that it’s not all big muscles, tights and boobs. Something for everyone to be drawn to. [Followed by several minutes of effusive apologies for the awful accidental pun and requests for it not to be included. No such promises are made.] IDP: 2043 is out now, published by Freight Books Hannah Berry launched IDP: 2043 at Edinburgh International Book Festival in August with Denise Mina, Pat Mills and friends freightbooks.co.uk

THE SKINNY

October 2014

THE SKINNY

Turn the Page Before Helmet knuckle down to a new studio album this winter, Page Hamilton gets reacquainted with an old friend named Betty

Interview: Dave Kerr Photography: Sarah Roberts

A staggering influence on both the nascent North American posthardcore movement of the early 90s and the wider alternative rock world as we now know it, Helmet’s mainstay unearths the albums that guided his hand

wo years after taking their major label breakthrough Meantime on a worldwide victory lap, this autumn New York crushers Helmet are dusting down another old acquaintance on its 20th anniversary. Forgoing the minimalism and clinical precision of its predeccesor, Betty was a progressive fusion of hard riffs, wry lyrics, freejazz improvisation and punishing rhythms with a devil may care attitude; this was the album where Helmet literally found their groove. Founder Page Hamilton reflects on its genesis and warns Glasgow to mark a ‘once in a lifetime’ gig on the calendar. This isn’t the first time you’ve embarked on an anniversary tour of this sort. As a concept, did you have any reservations about playing an old album in full? For me, a lot of people have been doing this – that’s the bullshit factor, like Bon Jovi performing their Slippery When Wet album or whatever the fuck. At the end of the day, this gives us an opportunity to come over here. It’s difficult for rock bands; I guess it’s a dance music DJ world now. I don’t really follow that scene but they’re getting a hundred thousand dollars a gig and we’re getting five thousand. So we want to play. If there’s ‘a story to tell,’ as they say in the music business, then our story is to play this fuckin’ album. I really like doing it, there’s a challenge here in re-learning Betty and a certain discipline that comes with it. I mean, the song Sam Hell hadn’t been played before this tour, and Silver Hawaiian hadn’t been played by this particular lineup. I didn’t realise Helmet fans held it in such high esteem, so that’s been cool. Meantime is widely regarded as a true, heavy, genre-crossing classic, but Betty took creative leaps and bounds just a few short years after it. What went right, and what if anything would you go back and do differently? There might be a line here or there on Betty where I’ll have thought about using a particular word and I’ve backed out. The trip back then was to take this poetic, E.E. Cummings style stream-of-consciousness approach to writing lyrics – that’s just what I was going through at the time. Looking back on it, I wouldn’t have had a co-producer. We did Meantime on our own with our engineer Wharton Tiers who also worked on Strap It On. We were fine back then, we were a self-contained unit and I was essentially the producer. Everybody was more interested in the band after Meantime’s success. It wasn’t on such a massive scale as Nirvana, but we sold 600,000 plus albums, which was a lot for some heavy underground band from New York City. Our label and management all had their ideas, like ‘hey, let’s get clever and work with this hip-hop producer that you liked.’ T-Ray had done some remixes on Just Another Victim and as nice a guy as he was, he was more in the way than he was helping me. The engineers we started with were his, and they just weren’t familiar or comfortable with how to record a heavy rock band. So we ended up switching engineers a couple of times; we brought in Martin Bisi, and then Andy Wallace – thank God – was available to mix it. He dealt with some problems, like tracks that got slammed to tape a little bit and came out with distorted vocals – specifically the song Tic. As far as what went right: When we turned in the work, our record label said ‘well, we thought maybe you’d make Meantime II, so we’re surprised by this but we do really like the album.’ I think a rock band should get that kind of rise out of their label – I think you should push forward. The feeling was ‘ach, fuck everybody – I’ve got this great

October 2014

Five Point Plan

Words: Page Hamilton 1. Led Zeppelin – IV (1971) This was the first Zep album I got; I picked it because of the cover, exchanging my christmas gift copy of A Night on the Town by Rod Stewart when I was 15. Black Dog is the reason I started playing guitar. 2. Wire – Pink Flag (1977) As a member of Band of Susans in 1988 I became acquainted/ obsessed with Wire, we were direct support on their US tour; 26 years later we are still friends and they are still heroes of mine. I’m very fortunate to have played on Object 47 (another great album). They asked me to replace Bruce several years ago but I couldn’t figure a way to maintain Helmet and be in Wire between the US and Europe. I was able to sit in for several songs in LA a few years ago and as we suspected the musical chemistry was fucking incredible. They still rule.

idea for an album with this woman in an English garden on the cover.’ It was perfect. Today, I love playing this album live, and in hindsight I think we did the right thing with it. We didn’t want to feel like we’d sold out by simply trying to repeat the success of Meantime. If you don’t step in a few piles of shit along the way you’re probably not trying. If you don’t take risks, you don’t progress for the next time. Your Meantime date at the Cathouse in 2012 was cancelled at the last minute. Do you have some making up to do with Glasgow, or vice versa? I was on the tour bus having a nap, then I woke up and did my vocal exercises, walked upstairs and the place is a pitch black. I’m like ‘what the fuck is going on?’ The bouncer tells me the power went out. I had a great night anyway and ended up dating a girl from Glasgow I met that same day. I even spent Christmas and Hogmanay there; we went to Glen Coe and had a big steak pie. In terms of the show in October, I’m pretty excited about this one. It’s going to be a once in a lifetime thing where we play both albums in one night. I want to start with Betty, play that, then do Meantime in reverse sequence. It makes a lot of sense to start with Role Model and end with In the Meantime. The band’s crossover appeal was a phenomenon from the start, when you consider that Helmet’s earliest champions ranged from the BBC’s John Peel to Phil Anselmo from Pantera. Have you ever been stunned by a superfan?

Some of the guys I grew up listening to – that’s always shocking, like Elton John or Gene Simmons. I first met David Bowie at a festival in Germany in 1997 and he says ‘I love Helmet.’ I’m just stood there laughing, like, ‘Yeah, right.’ I ended up playing in his band. Playing with David Bowie – no one’s going to tell you that isn’t cool! It was fuckin’ amazing; he was pretty rad. As I was writing Betty, my vinyl copy of Aladdin Sane lived by my bed. I’d lay back and read lyrics before I went to sleep and that was the album for me. It’s a masterpiece. Working with Bowie was a huge high point. But I told him from the start: I’m not really a guitarist, I’m more of a shit sculptor. Can we expect to hear new material on the horizon? There seems to have been a misconception on the internet that you have over 70 songs ready... Yeah, that was a miscommunication with a journalist when I told him about how many songs from the catalogue we have rehearsed. It’s funny, I’ll be reading Rolling Stone and see some band saying something ludicrous like ‘we’ve written a thousand songs’ and it’s like, ‘Yeah, but do we wanna hear ‘em?’ How can you feel good about them all? I’m such a control freak that it’ll take me a long time just to get one out. I’m very slow like that – try to work very methodically. I have new songs written and after this tour I’ll be writing away in January and February. I’ve taken care of a film project I was working on so now I can focus on Helmet again – we’re shooting for next summer to get an album out.

MUSIC

3. Killing Joke – Killing Joke (1980) Helmet has recorded covers of Requiem and Primitive. 34 years later this album still sounds fresh, exciting and intense. This is one of the albums that got me back into rock after missing a bunch of the 80s pop and rock music while studying jazz and classical guitar at University of Oregon and Manhattan School of Music between 1979-1987. 4. Band of Susans – Hope Against Hope (1988) This is the album BOS made prior to me joining in 1988, it completely changed my approach to guitar sound and eventually lit a fire under my ass to form Helmet in 1989. Robert Poss showed me how he constructed his songs with a four-track and drum machine; he is one of my biggest influences as a guitarist. It was like going to the Poss school of distortion, feedback and noise manipulation. 5. Glenn Branca – Symphony No. 6 (Devil Choirs at the Gates of Heaven) (1989) I played on the recording of this amazing piece. The rhythmic super-imposition in Glenn’s music is one of the most basic elements in the music of Helmet (drums in 4/4, guitars in 6/4, for example). Clear, strong rhythmic figures = clear, strong riff... See Beethoven’s 5th, John Williams’ Star Wars. Glenn is one of the most intense musicians I’ve ever worked with, this is how you write and perform music. Helmet play Glasgow Cathouse on 29 Oct and Manchester Sound Control on 30 Oct helmetmusic.com

Feature

Cinematic Reflection

In this year's Play Poland programme we find a selection of films that are at once comforting and disconcertingly alien Words: Lewis Porteous

Kebab and Horoscope

he irony of Anna and Wilhelm Sasnal’s It Looks Pretty from a Distance, a meditative highlight of the fourth Play Poland festival, is that the environment in which its actions unfold is far from appealing in any conventional sense. Clear streams are shown to girdle lush green landscapes, but both are littered with rusting metal, crumbling brickwork, dilapidated shacks, bear traps and beer-swilling human life. The movie’s title refers to the sinister impulses that lie dormant within monotonous day-to-day activity, but at few points will viewers find themselves drawn to the stark, gritty world inhabited by its characters. From the outset, the directors walk us through a lawless frontier of tragic, tarnished beauty. A certain bleak sensibility has come to define a large portion of contemporary Polish cinema. This seems unlikely to have bolstered the country’s tourism industry, but growing numbers of international movie audiences are finding it irresistible, probably for the same reasons that Scandinavian imports are currently proving worldwide hits. Both film industries reflect familiar Hollywood narratives using cracked mirrors, presenting us with work at once comforting and disconcertingly alien. Most UK audiences will have had first-hand experience of the kind of grey cityscape that features so prominently in Grzegorz Jaroszuk’s Kebab and Horoscope, but the eccentrics grown from the cracks in its concrete exhibit an otherworldly, deadpan quirkiness. To see such child-like innocents thrive within a blandly adult world of overcast rooftops and carpet retailers is a jarring experience that could rightly be described as Kafkaesque. Blemished as the country’s industrial and agricultural locales appear, they’re imbued with an utterly alluring sense of character. Demand for vibrant cinema has proven so strong that this year will see Play Poland take place within seven UK cities (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberfeldy, London, Birmingham, Sunderland and

Belfast) and eventually set up shop in Norway, Canada and the USA, nations whose growing Eastern European expat communities are prominent and valued presences. The festival offers the opportunity for homesick Poles to reconnect with their native culture, and for their neighbours to engage with them both in thoughtful discussion and the pursuit of an honest laugh. Additionally, as with all film festivals worth their salt mines, its audiences will be given the chance to embark on dialogues with filmmakers themselves. A Q&A session with Maciej Pieprzyca, director of Life Feels Good, a bold, controversial and multiple award-winning study of cerebral palsy, looks set to be a particular highlight of the event’s UK stretch. Perhaps most anticipated, however, are screenings of Wojteck, the Bear that Went to War, a film which tells the story of the General Anders’ Army mascot who, like many other Polish soldiers, settled in Scotland after years spent travelling the world. The animal’s unlikely tale has already captured the world’s imagination and it’s thanks to the efforts of the Wojtek Memorial Trust that a tribute to the ursine icon is due to be erected in the capital’s Princes Street Gardens. The Festival’s press release is knowingly hubristic in suggesting Play Poland has the power to achieve the stature of the Edinburgh Fringe, but there’s no denying that patron Richard DeMarco has a proven track record for backing successes. The Traverse Theatre founder has here placed his name alongside a host of culturally significant talents, legendary Polish graphic designer Andrzej Pagowski among them. If Play Poland’s focus is more specific than that of the Fringe, it’s certainly just as accessible and extensive in its efforts to reach out to audiences. Play Poland takes place 9-30 Oct See website for full programme details playpoland.org.uk

Forward Thinking Later this month, Scotland's biggest showcase of African cinema returns to screens in Edinburgh and Glasgow. We unpack some of Africa in Motion 2014's potential highlights Words: Chris Buckle

ight back to its debut edition in 2006, the Africa in Motion film festival has struck a balance between old and new; between presenting landmark classics from the continent’s key auteurs and showcasing emerging talent from Casablanca to Durban. In its ninth year, the festival formalises this joint interest in past and present by taking its theme from the concept of Sankofa – an adinkra symbol usually depicted as a bird with its head turned backwards, moving forwards while recognising where it’s been. Under a banner of ‘looking back, reaching forward’, the resulting programme is notable for its temporal breadth – from colonial cinema of the silent era through to contemporary science-fiction. The most prominent expressions of the ‘looking back’ side of things are two strands that recognise 20th anniversaries – one positive, one traumatic. The former celebrates two decades since South Africans of all races went to the polls in the first democratic general election; the latter, 20 years since the Rwandan genocide. In the first strand, the sufferings and legacies of apartheid are the explicit focus of several films on the schedule, including American filmmaker Lionel Rogosin’s 1959 documentary Come Back, Africa and Oliver Schmitz’s Mapantsula, banned on its release in 1987 but now considered a key example of anti-apartheid cinema. Alongside these historically significant texts are new documentaries that contemplate the period’s politics, including Prisoner 46764: The Untold Legacy of Andrew Mlangeni (about an ANC member arrested

Feature

at Rivonia and imprisoned on Robben Island alongside Mandela) and Meg Rickard’s 1994: The Bloody Miracle, which interviews some of those who attempted to violently derail the country’s burgeoning democracy. Elsewhere in the strand, and in keeping with the theme of moving forwards as well as looking back, there are films with more contemporary focal points – most notably Future Sound of Mzansi, in which DJ and rapper Spoek Mathambo provides a guide to the country’s vibrant electronic music scene, from kwaito to shangaan electro and beyond. Meanwhile, for those who prefer music movies with a more populist, triumphof-the-underdog feel, Here Me Move promises Johannesburg’s answer to Streetdance et al – after which you can try out your pantsula moves at the closing party in Edinburgh’s Summerhall. The Rwanda strand is smaller but similarly multi-faceted. The ‘94 genocide itself is confronted and commemorated in Keepers of Memory, in which director Eric Kabera (who will attend the festival to lead a pre-film masterclass and post-film discussion) revisits massacre sites and gathers eyewitness accounts. Kabera also makes an appearance in Finding Hillywood (tagline: ‘The power of film to heal’) which profiles Rwanda’s growing film industry and the part it has played in the country’s ongoing recovery. Elsewhere in the listings, AiM’s pan-African curation takes in both well-established national cinemas (including Nigeria’s 2013 African Academy Award winner Confusion Na Wa) and countries

Future Sound of Mzansi

with less familiar filmmaking heritage (e.g. Botswana – represented by intriguing rockumentary March of the Gods: Botswana Metalheads). Indeed, the programme draws from all across the continent, from the Maghreb (including the UK premiere of Moroccan filmmaker Mohamed Amin Benamraoui’s Adios Carmen, set during the Spanish occupation) through Mali (Abderrahmane Sissako’s much-anticipated, Cannes-winning Timbuktu), Burkina Faso (which supplies opening film Soleils) and Ethiopia (Angelina Jolie exec-produced legal drama Difret). AiM also considers Africa’s global diaspora: for instance, Jogo de Corpo (Body Games) follows capoeira mestre Cobra Mansa as he unpicks the Brazilian martial art’s African origins, while They Are We sees the Cuban descendants of a girl sold into slavery in the 1830s reunited with distant relatives in Sierra Leone. Finally, a

FILM

different kind of outsider insight is offered by 1927 silent film Siliva the Zulu, one of the latest examples of the festival’s commitment to unearthing lost African classics. A combination of ethnography and romantic fantasy directed by Italian explorer and filmmaker Attilio Gatti, Siliva inevitably presents Africa through a colonial prism, but is nonetheless highly valued as a rare document of Zulu tribal customs and everyday life. So whether you nurture an existing passion for African movies or are looking to broaden your world cinema horizons, AiM’s cultural, ethnic and genre diversity offers plenty to discover. Africa in Motion takes place 24 Oct-9 Nov. See website for more details: africa-in-motion.org.uk For your chance to win a pair of tickets to AiM’s screening of 1994: The Bloody Miracle at Summerhall on 5 Nov, head over to theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions

THE SKINNY

October 2014

Melanie Letore "M

y work is about place, and the light that permeates through it. I am interested in how we experience place, and how to transmit that experience in the photographic medium. I work intuitively, recording isolated fleeting moments. My aim is to identify and document my singular points of intimacy with places to which I do not belong, both in the recognition of elements I seem to know and in the momentary feeling of closeness to the place. The photographs are intended to provide a contemplative space. "What happens in these spaces seems to be some form of waiting: humans are absent but their presence is felt nevertheless through the objects, buildings and man-made landmarks depicted. There is thus a certain sense of loneliness. My attraction to these places originates from their light and colour. I am interested in light, its weightlessness, how it fills a space, in what direction it goes, how it is reflected on surfaces, how it filters through, what temperature it is. Large areas of colour give a feeling of immensity to places. "The edge of the photograph itself becomes a limit between what is included and what is excluded. I am interested in how the space within is divided, how the colour areas inside a photograph lead the eye and guide it through the image."

French-Swiss photographer Melanie Letore completed her Foundation Diploma in Art and Design at Central Saint Martins in 2010 and graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art Photography at the Glasgow School of Art in 2014. The photographic series Places was created in 2013 and 2014 in various locations in Great Britain, France, Switzerland and Italy. A recipient of one of the Phoenix Bursaries, set up by the Glasgow School of Art after the fire in the Mackintosh Building in May 2014, she will be working in Iceland for a few months. She plans to continue the series Places and further develop her practice. melanieletore.com rectangledays.wordpress.com

SHOWCASE

THE SKINNY

October 2014

SHOWCASE

Photo: Catwalking

Fyodor Golan

Burberry Prorsum

JJS Lee

London Fashion Week: SS15 Preview Neon & Brights Classic rave tunes. Not normally something you would connect with a fashion writeup, but this season they proved crucial as inspiration for a whole host of designers as ‘I once loved Nu Rave’ hues of neon engulfed the catwalks. Nowhere was this more apparent than at Fyodor Golan (where neon hues were artfully paired with iridescent and textured fabrics). We at The Skinny are particularly obsessed with pastel pink ‘Rave Fontana’ dress, complete with highlighter stripes and an ostrich feather back. Yes, you read that correctly. Elsewhere, highlighter hues and brights were seen at Fashion East (including very cool highlighter eyeshadow looks) Christopher Raeburn & Ashish. Special mention to Sophia Webster, whose accessories and presentation location screamed ‘it’s 3am in a warehouse right now’. If you think it can’t be sophisticated think again – Lucas Nascimento artfully juxtaposed bright orange knitwear with burnt orange bottoms for a modern, subdued take on the look. Get your glowsticks out.

Lifestyle

Denim The Central Saint Martins graduate and NEWGEN sponsored designer Faustine Steinmetz’s collection was a definite stand out. Using a presentation format for her debut LFW showcase, models stood on revolving podiums and lounged on plinths; this meant we could get an up-closeand-personal look at Steinmetz’s exquisite collection. On display were jean and jacket combos constructed from recycled denim yarns: handdyed, hand-spun and hand-woven with unravelling threads, traditional pleating and stitching techniques – creating an almost couture-like level of craftsmanship and look (as well as the stunningly intricate garments, we have to note the collaboration with jewellery label Niomo, who produced witty pieces in silver cast from security tags). For those not quite as daring with their denim, Joseph showed 90s grunge inspired, oversized dresses in blue and indigo, with jackets sewn around the waist as an unexpected detail. What we weren’t expecting to see was Burberry Prorsum getting in on the act! As well as their signature trench made out of the humble material, they also showed tight fitting, bias cut dark

denim jackets – some with peplum details, others with shearling trim and patchwork details. These were paired with delicate skirts and trainers. This trend was also seen at Toga, Marques’ Almeida and E Tautz. Suit Up The suit was given a new lease of life this season – welcome news for any office fashionista. J JS Lee had something for everyone, from white and navy combo looks to subdued neon separates and (the crowning moment) a navy suit and shirt combo with neon panelling. Fans of skirt suits could opt for Bora Aksu’s crochet structured jacket and skirt combo. For a truly modern look, Teatum Jones’ entire collection would sit well in the boardroom, though their structured culotte/ jacket look would arguably turn the most heads. Finally, Mary Katrantzou showcased a variety of fashion forward but office friendly looks. Wear any of the first three looks and you are guaranteed to ace that presentation. Black for Summer A trend close to our (black, black) hearts was

FASHION

the use of black for spring / summer seasons. Eudon Choi produced a collection that could be easily introduced into an everyday wardrobe. Not deviating too far from his usual statement minimalism but with a hint of Little House on the Prairie (that’s right, stay with us people), he took inspiration from fine artist Georgia O’Keeffe – heavily referencing his menswear beginnings, with double breasted boxy jackets and suits in black. Feminine touches were in the form of pastel hued ditzy florals, made into three piece suits with contrasting black details (arms, buttons, etc). Black was seen in wide leg shorts, full length dresses, waistcoats and trench coats. Jean Pierre Braganza’s collection Architectonic was filled with black – there were monochrome highlights, a sprinkling of crystal embellishments and a contrast between fitted pieces and those with fluid lines and draping. The use of black silk, on all kinds of pieces from shorts to jumpsuits, helped soften quite a masculine feeling created by the cuts and colour palette. Key pieces included a panelled black jumpsuit, a black halterneck dress and a black boxy shaped mini dress with flowing train and crystal copper

THE SKINNY

We look into the crystal ball that is London Fashion Week and predict the trends you’ll be wearing in Spring / Summer 2015 jewel embellishments. Queen of clean, perfect minimalism and luxe tailoring, J JS Lee, showcased black on black stripes and square details (matt and gloss) on her trademark boxy shirts and drop-waist midi length dresses.

“Sophie Webster's accessories and presentation location screamed ‘it’s 3am in a warehouse right now’” Amongst many others going over to the dark side, Tom Ford used black in a very 70s glam rock collection – think sheers, mini skirts with thigh high

October 2014

Ashish

Topshop Unique

Words: Alexandra Fiddes & Emma Segal

splits, sequin nipple covers... and Taka Naka went for clear lines and conceptual silhouettes, based on the simplicity of modern architecture.

complete with sequinned octopuses and sparkly starfish headpieces, in a collection that also felt seaside but this time more Ariel the mermaid than retro Brighton. Traditional Patterns – Gingham & Stripes The nautical theme continued at JW Gingham was a trend also seen in volume at Anderson, where there was a mix of ‘brave’ and New York Fashion Week, with the fabric shown ‘safe’ pieces. For example, conservatively cut at Altuzarra, Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la short sleeved coat dresses were paired with Renta and others. In London however, the classic wide, waist cinching belts and oversized, floppy fabric was given a twist. At Ashish it was reworked fisherman hats or gloves in leather (that all in either lime green, yellow or burnt orange with looked like waterproofs). Pieces of rope were white all in sequin form. Richard Nicholl used it strung through buttonholes on waistcoats and for his jumpsuits, loose fitting shirts, shorts and blue and white skirt suits had cropped jackets blazers. Which looked surprisingly fresh and new and midriffs exposed. Strange but good. alongside holographic, shimmering metallic and Preen by Thornton Bregazzi mixed nautical pastel pieces. We loved the gingham waistcoat and tribal stripes. There were asymmetrical hempaired with white sports dress and holographic lines, heavily banded sports luxe wear in primary mini-backpack. colours (we loved the cricket jumper) striped Stripes are a trend that just won’t quit. long-sleeved polos, and bright primary colour Topshop Unique drew inspiration from the zip details on minimal scuba-style jackets. More faded, retro grandeur of British seaside towns, beaded and tasselled bodycon dresses created with V-necks, zip up polo tops, bowler bags and a tribal feeling towards the end but skillfully concropped jackets with flippy skirts and high-waist- tinued the style of the Breton-striped garments ed slim line trousers – all stripy. Ryan Lo’s stripes seen earlier in the show. were knitted into sugary pink and blue dresses

FASHION

Growing Up The spirit of fun is alive and well in London. It just feels a little... well, different. The urbanyouthful looks of key designers took on a distinctly adult approach in execution. H by Hakaan Yildrim translated his playful bee theme into infinitely wearable jumpers, skirts & outerwear. The emphasis was on geometry and structure – with everything from cylindrical shapes to hexagonal motif skirts & outerwear that, while playful, had a serious undertone to it. Faustine Steinmetz made us rethink the beauty of denim. Richard Nicoll showed us how to incorporate new technology into garments in a way which makes them sophisticated, not tokenistic. Ashish, who is showing maturity with each passing season, presented a more subdued look with some highly wearable sequin jean and snakeskin separates that felt distinctly sports-luxe while still being fun. It’s encouraging to know that we can still have fun and head to the bank (that’s what ‘grown ups’ do, right?). londonfashionweek.co.uk

Lifestyle

Photo: Christopher Dade

Eudon Choi

Don’t Fear the Reeper(bahn)

Photo: Heiko Sehrsam

Don’t let Hamburg’s reputation for rock’n’roll hedonism shy you away; who better to organise a punter-friendy music conference that the Germans? Vic Galloway takes in the Reeperbahn Festival

n the swirling, heady maelstrom of glowing neon signs, sex shops, strip shows and swaying drunken crowds, the infamous ‘Rope Walk’ or Reeperbahn in Hamburg comes alive every night of the year as locals, tourists, stag parties and thrill-seekers search for good times and fast, furious fun. With bars and clubs open until at least 6am, music booming from every piss-splattered doorway, 24 hour kebab houses, and women of the night selling their wares, it’s an outright and overwhelming assault on the senses. One must enter this debauched, Babylonian world and immerse yourself. So, where better to host a music festival? Last year, I travelled across Germany on a music journalist convoy that took in the four major music cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf, Berlin and Hamburg. I discovered huge amounts about a country not necessarily renowned for its creative output, and quite frankly was mightily impressed. Learning more about its krautrock, post-punk, electronica and indie scenes was an eye-opener; but meeting those involved and watching a blossoming, artistic culture close-up left a huge impression on me. As with most things, the Germans run a tight ship with meticulous attention to detail. When it comes to live music, they deliver high-spec PA systems, well-managed venues and a booking policy that takes in the avant-garde, the downright commercial and everything in between. My 2013 music tour finished at the astonishing Dockville Festival in Hamburg in August, but I felt I needed another fix so returned to the Reeperbahn Festival in September. This year saw me pay the event a second visit to find out more. The Reeperbahn is situated in the St. Pauli district of the city. The football team may be more notorious for its jolly-roger, skull and crossbones merchandise than its actual skills on the pitch, but the area’s anti-fascist, anti-racist, open-minded aesthetic is also extremely attractive. The Beatles’ story is very much celebrated here, and the St. Pauli attitude salutes the libertine life and rock’n’roll’s ongoing mythology. The streets are filled with resident punks, metallers and rockabillies supping beers on the steps of the former squats and communal buildings that line the harbour. Away from the main drag, you’ll find a

Lifestyle

honeycomb of unending cafes, bars, restaurants, shops and boutiques as well as a young, hip crowd and visible, political counter-culture. As always in any city however, hipster areas can be somewhat co-opted by the mainstream. Branded hotels, high street stores and fast food chains are all evident, and yet somehow don’t really encroach on the anti-authoritarian atmosphere. It’s still untamed, seedy, scuzzy and exciting. It brims with low-life and wild energy. Aside from this specific stretch, Hamburg is a hyper-modern, urban sprawl with environmental sustainability close to its heart. Home to what must be the largest port in Europe, it prides itself on being a successful, expanding, international hub with excellent transport links and an overtly high standard of living. The juxtaposition between St. Pauli and other leafier neighbourhoods is clear, and yet they definitely seem to complement each other. This year the Reeperbahn festival celebrated its ninth birthday. Originally, organiser and founder Alex Schulz visited the South by South West (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas 10 years ago, and, feeling inspired, decided to try something similar along this raucous strip in his home city. Conveniently, the district hosts a sweep of bars, venues, clubs and halls of all sizes that already promote music, and other less salubrious types of entertainment; plus a range of spaces that are transformed solely for the festival’s purpose. All in all, it has the perfect location and a hand-built infrastructure. As a 13 year long veteran of SXSW, I’ve watched that particular festival grow larger and become gradually more corporate and bloated. Reeperbahn, on the other hand, seems to be hitting its stride. During its short lifespan it has expanded, in terms of spread of venues across the town and number of acts in attendance, but is still totally manageable. There are no queues to get in to see buzz bands, and most venues are within an easy walk of each other. Ultimately it’s a music showcase festival, but now also has an arts programme and a separate conference specialising in visual, multimedia and digital innovation. Large swathes of the European and Scandinavian music business set up their own specialist parties, but thankfully it’s not solely an industry event. The public can attend

and do so in their droves. Much like Glasgow’s Stag and Dagger, but over the course of four nights, you pay for a wristband and run from show to show. As the creative industries morph, mutate and change, you find punters, bloggers and fans sidling up next to A&R, agents, radio jocks and journalists. The main difference between Reeperbahn and a similar UK event is the opportunity to discover music that often remains largely unknown at home. The UK tends to be fairly trend-orientated, whereas on the continent there’s often a more unprejudiced, broad-minded approach. English may be the international language, but respect for different cultures is certainly apparent. Listening to artists singing in their own indigenous languages, using different tempos, rhythms and influences; it feels like you’re experiencing an authentic melting pot, rather than an array of homogenised acts that a few London tastemakers have decided are cool. As well as searching out new talent to feature, one of my key motivations to return is to help develop relationships between the festival bookers and Scotland’s own vibrant music scene. This year we were represented by Mercurynominated and SAY Award winning Leithers, Young Fathers with their dark, brooding, postdub, tribal hip-hop; Glasgow’s progressive emo tykes, Flood of Red; and a new, melodramatic indie combo out of Glasgow called White, featuring members of Kassidy, The Low Miffs and Garden of Elks. Unsurprisingly, Young Fathers delivered one of the festival’s stand-out performances and were lauded for it, while Flood of Red played to a packed out and highly appreciative venue. White’s show was actually their first ever live performance, at the legendary Molotow club, and very impressive it was too! You are bound to hear more of their Roxy/Chic/ABC styled pop in the near future. Other highlights included a rapid-fire set from new Domino guitar-slingers The Bohicas, Canadian syncopated popsters We Are The City, unlikely Norwegian R’n’B hero Truls and astonishing performances from dark-soul diva Cold Specks and reggae-pop temptress Hollie Cook. I was also lucky enough to catch South African singer-songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou,

TRAVEL

Slinky French outfit The Do and a seriously groove-laden work-out from Brooklyn’s phenomenal Sinkane. Germany’s own stoner-rockers Kadavar, piano-abusing composer Hauschka and Shellac-loving noise-rock duo D.Y.S.E also wowed crowds and sent me running to the merch stand. Unfortunately, anticipated shows from Blonde Redhead and Fat White Family were cancelled due to ill health. When not marvelling at the music and art on offer, the venues themselves also impress at every turn. Take for example the monumental Uebel Und Gefärlich – once an indestructible, World War 2, Nazi-built bunker and fortress; it is now a 1000 capacity club with various additional floors and rooms and concrete walls that are reportedly 10 feet thick. No need to worry about noise complaints then! Other notable spots include the ever-dependable Knust, the peaceful St. Pauli Kirche and the world-renowned Kaiserkeller where The Fab Four cut their teeth in the 1960s. This year’s statistics are staggering. There were around 600 events within 70 venues, 30,000 attendees and roughly 3,400 trade and media representatives from 39 different nations. During the days, over 100 panels, talks, workshops and networking events took place; at night-time the streets turned feral, the alcohol flowed and the air exploded with live music. It takes a huge amount of clinical organisation but of course, this being Germany, everything went like clockwork. Only an hour and a half from Edinburgh airport, with a direct rail link to the Reeperbahn itself; no visas are needed and artists can attend for a tenth of the price of a trip Stateside. And without sounding overtly political or partisan, I have also come to realise the European Project is definitely working. At 5am I found myself sat around a table geeking-out about music, drinking, sharing and laughing with people from Iceland, Slovakia, Romania, Ireland, Estonia and Germany. Put simply… Reeperbahn Festival, du bist der beste! Vic Galloway presents on BBC Radio Scotland at 8pm Mondays and co-presents RAPAL TV on BBC Alba at 10pm Thursdays. reeperbahnfestival.com

THE SKINNY

My Pregnancy Experience: Lessons in Feminism Part Two The experiences during and post-birth may not be what we’re encouraged to believe

“L

ove your pregnant body,” they would tell me. The books, the magazines, online forums and health professionals are quick to assure you that your changing shape is something to love and enjoy. As a long-term sufferer of body dysmorphia and eating disorders, the body that I had spent so many years aiming to manage and be in control of was now at the mercy of a growing parasite. The weight gain and swelling was no surprise to me, but where in all of the text books was the ‘pregnancy beard’? As I stroked my tuft of developing goatie, I quickly realised ‘they’ would feed me a pregnancy experience based on a patriarchal ideology of femininity. And my hormone induced chin hair was too ‘manly’ for this pregnancy ideal. It took nine months for me to accept the lack of control and place trust in the growing foetus that required my intravenous support and nurturing. And now, post-natally, I have the arduous task of regaining control or learning to accept I may never have control again. I have, as yet, not learned which it is. I have lost friends who could not understand I did not identify with their own experience of pregnant motherhood. They felt it inappropriate that, after my failed attempts at previous pregnancies, this time around I did not coo at the quickenings or feel a warm connection to the potential life form growing inside of me. It was perhaps a safeguard I had employed to ensure should the worst happen (again) I would not

October 2014

Words: Jessica Walsh Illustration: Alessandra Genualdo

be completely devastated by loss (again) but I simply did not feel the sense of divine femininity I expected to feel. Because of my loss of control, I felt I had lost my connection to my own sense of femininity and womanhood and my pregnancy was, ashamedly, a nine-month inconvenience – a necessary vessel to my ultimate goal of motherhood. Nobody told me my experience of motherhood would be as unique as my pregnancy. It was assumed as a woman I would naturally adapt to my ‘calling.’ I was told my hatred for my new body would simply disappear at the first sight of my child. Eight weeks later I’m still waiting. The expectant ‘maternal’ instinct was definitely apparent when my baby was hauled out of the gaping hole in my stomach and quickly whisked away to be weighed, screaming the room down with her mighty lungs. In my paralysed state I could do nothing but cry for her swift return to my chest and begged my husband to not take an eye off her for a second. Yes, I would gladly rip limbs off those who presented a risk to her, but even now, eight weeks after her birth, I have a distinct detached approach to my parenting. Trying not to become dangerously in love with someone in case they are taken from me. It’s a feeling most people around me cannot relate to and incorrectly call ‘baby blues.’ It seems, in my experience, that if you can’t push a baby out of your vagina you are less of a woman. My pregnancy and birth was a

juxtaposition of empowerment and disempowerment. Through circumstances beyond my control, I had been robbed of the opportunity to have a vaginal birth, which was in the interests and well-being of my daughter, but however made me feel somewhat less of a woman. My vagina, uterus and cervix, all designed for the one thing that I would not be able to do. In my own mind I would feel satisfied to know that it didn’t matter to me how my baby would be delivered as long as they were healthy, so it confused me when professionals would sigh in a sympathetic tone how sorry they were for my C-section. In the back of my mind, I did sigh in relief that my baby would not have to pass through the vagina that was ritualistically raped for so many years. It perturbed me that such a thing of beauty’s first encounter would be with something so horrific. The focus on breastfeeding by maternity professionals is incomprehensible. After being encouraged to watch their breastfeeding propaganda videos in both antenatal classes and in the hospital waiting rooms, it becomes an unethical and dire decision to consider formula feeding your child. It was two major infections in my C-section wound that rendered me unable to breast feed my baby, passing the infection on to her through my breast milk and consequently ‘drying up’ before I recovered. Even the many years of struggling with my body dysmorphia, and the body shame that comes with it, could never prepare me for the

DEVIANCE

sense of guilt I would feel towards my now useless breasts. Perhaps after all these years of me believing otherwise, the time had come to resign myself to the fact my breasts were merely ‘fun bags;’ further compounding the lesson I learned in sexually abusive childhood that my body is indeed a sexual object. When I recount my experience to those involved in my postnatal care, they agree it has not been a straightforward time for me. “There’s always next time,” they reassure me. When I explain I only intend to have one child, they look aghast. Their reply; “Oh that’s what they all say.” It is fair to say that before I committed to the vocation of motherhood, I was viewed in many circles as a barren landscape of wasted femininity. There was an air of judgement surrounding my decision to not procreate. Some, questioning the stability of my marriage, wondering about my sexuality, others feeling pity at the effects of my abusive childhood. Similarly, through the process of becoming a mother I have now, somehow, consigned myself and my body to making baby humans. Either way, opinionated folk who are keen to tell me what I should be doing with my body have been plentiful. My journey is one I will never repeat again – not based on this pregnancy experience, but because, after all my experiences of not having a choice, I choose not to.

Lifestyle

THE SKINNY

Food and Drink Survey 2015: Chewing it over

Food News Spirits, genetically-modified meat, the power of cinema and some famous folk off the telly – it’s all kicking off in October’s Food News

As our fourth annual Food and Drink Survey continues, we take a closer look at four of the categories you’ll be voting on

Words: Peter Simpson

y now, we assume that you’ve all carefully considered your options and cast your votes in this year’s Skinny Food and Drink Survey. You’ve filled out our online form at theskinny.co.uk/ food, recruited your friends and colleagues to do the same, and probably even tweeted about it using the hashtag #skinnyfoodsurvey. Good on you, we’ll leave you in peace to enjoy the magazine. But say for the sake of argument that you haven’t filled out our super-quick and mega-easy survey, possibly because you missed last month’s issue or are just a bit lazy. Maybe you lost your computer, or accidentally forgot that the internet existed. Well, we’re here to help. There’s no man or woman left behind in this survey, so let’s review exactly what we’re asking you for so we can all get on with our lives. PUBS We want to know where you go for a pint. Or maybe a glass of wine, or a neon-coloured cocktail served in a glass skull. This category gets straight to the heart of this whole ‘ask people where to go’ exercise – we all have our favourite places,

October 2014

Nice'n'nSleazy

Hula Juice Bar

Peter's Yard

Brew Lab

but that in and of itself might not make those favourites any good. Is your top pub great because of its drinks, the welcome, the memories, or do you like it because it has its own dog? Or is it all of the above? By asking you all, we can work out which places have staying power and lasting appeal, where the people of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee go when all else fails. Now, if those places happen to feature their own animals, it’ll certainly liven up the results.

NEW PLACES We’re looking for places that have opened their doors since January – that’s the only criterion. Obviously, they have to have something to do with food, but this category runs across any, all, or none of the categories in this year’s survey. If it’s new, and it’s foodular, it’s in the running. New venues, interesting concepts and changing faces make things interesting, so let us know which is your favourite new spot from 2014.

CAFES Cakes. Coffee. Tea. Sandwiches. Maybe even some soup. Cafés are the daytime equivalent of the pub, they’re homes from home, places to meet up or hide out. And the great thing is that there’s so many great options for you to choose from – it’s just a case of picking your favourite and sticking to it. Are you a ‘cosy living room’ sort of person, or do you like your walls distressed and your espresso pored over by a man with a beard? Either way, let us know.

DATE PLACES Again, it’s open season – we aren’t going to tell you which types of food and drink venues will best suit your attempts at romantic conquest. We will, however, print the most popular answers in January’s magazine so don’t go completely wild. Tell us where you head with a significant other whether it’s for drinks, coffee, or the kind of meal that really tests your resolve to appear ‘charming.’ Vote in The Skinny Food and Drink Survey at theskinny. co.uk/food, and use the hashtag #skinnyfoodsurvey to share your selections

FOOD AND DRINK

e’ll get started this month with gin. Not just ‘a’ gin either – an entire gin festival. Glasgow GinFest brings together some of Scotland’s finest distillers for an evening of music, food and botanical shenanigans. Learn a bit about gin from the experts, try a whole host of gins, and use the word ‘gin’ so much that it loses all meaning. Trust us, it’ll happen. 4 Oct, 5pm, Barras Art and Design, 54 Calton Entry, £6.50, ginfactoryglasgow.co.uk Next this month, good news for fans of televised cooking competitions. While The BBC Good Food Show at Glasgow’s SECC is effectively a giant farmer’s market in a huge soulless shed, the Show does offer the opportunity to bask in the glory of the judges from both The Great British Bake Off and Masterchef as they demonstrate their magnificence. If you’ve ever wanted to make snarky remarks within earshot of John Torode and Gregg Wallace, or berate Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry with some crème pâtissière-based heckling, now’s your chance. 17-19 Oct, 10am, Glasgow SECC, tickets from £19.25. From baking to brewing, and the chance to stick your nose in some tasty, tasty beer. From our recollection, beer production is all about putting large amounts of grain into larger amounts of water, but luckily Bruce Smith of Edinburgh’s own Stewart Brewing will be on hand during Hop Lab with actual, genuine facts to help you understand the process. Part of Midlothian Science Festival, the event will explain the how, what and why of the hoppy witchcraft behind beer-making, as well as clarifying the order in which to put your grains into your water. 15 Oct, 7.30pm, The Papermill, nr Lasswade, Edinburgh, free, tickets from midlothiansciencefestival.com If you prefer your food science to be of a more meaty nature, then check out Glasgow Skeptics’ provocatively-titled event Would You Eat a GM Chicken? Professor Helen Sang leads a discussion on the role of genetically-modified food in feeding a growing population, and the ethics and hazards of – and we believe this is the correct scientific term – ‘fiddling with poultry.’ 13 Oct, 7pm, Admiral Bar, 72a Waterloo St, free. Finally this month, a chance to stare in wide-eyed wonder, as The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival plays host to the debut Scottish screening of Mugaritz BSO. Mugaritz, near San Sebastian, is among the world’s top restaurants, and the film charts the journey of a group of musicians working alongside head chef Andoni Luis Aduriz to create music to accompany his crazy, avant-garde grub. The film comes across like a foodie version of Fantasia, but with Mickey Mouse and his dancing elephant chums replaced by a Michelin star chef trotting around the world armed with bizarre and exciting ingredients. Aduriz will be in attendance on the day to answer your dumbfounded questions, and there’s a host of rum cocktails thrown into the bargain. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll sit agog as a man eats an entire walnut, shell and all. Like we said, wide-eyed wonder. 10 Oct, 3.30pm. George Square Lecture Theatre. £20, tickets from edinburghspanishfilmfestival.com

Lifestyle

The Horror, the Horror Halloween is upon us, and we can’t have you scaring on an empty stomach. We put on a brave face to draw up a horrific, but filling, menu for the big evening. Please, don’t try the fish

Words: Peter Simpson

h October, you spooky beast. A time of shedding trees, darkening evenings, and the ironic terrorising of children and the overly emotional. Halloween’s an odd ‘day,’ as it doesn’t really stand for anything other than to perpetuate a kind of fancy dress arms race. Go to a gig, head to your local arthouse cinema or slump in your favourite boutique, slightlycrafty bar on 31 October and you won’t be able to move for grown men and women dressed as animals or zombie nurses. That said, we wouldn’t be doing our duty if we didn’t give you some foodie ammunition to get you through. Here’s our three-course Halloween menu, featuring three of the most horrific foods we’ve experienced, coupled with three of the creepiest food-related films we could find. You’ll scream, you’ll cry, and you won’t even have to wear a costume. Might need a bib, though... STARTER Shirako, paired with Theatre of Blood The ideal starter should be a short, sharp shock – nothing too heavy, but a way to get your tastebuds ready for the rest of the meal. You don’t want to spoil your appetite, after all. Well, shirako certainly isn’t too heavy. It will give your tastebuds a workout, but the appetite thing might be slightly more problematic. You see, shirako is a Japanese delicacy – cod sperm. Our tipster reliably informs us that shirako is a short, floppy shock that no-one really recovers from. Accidentally ordered from a Japaneselanguage menu in a Kyoto restaurant, it sways around in the dish like a half-set jelly, and smells like, well, fish sperm. As for the taste, you don’t

Lifestyle

Shirako

want to know. ‘Not good’ is the jist, and that was delivered through the frantic waving of arms and attempts to repress newly-rediscovered memories. As for accompanying film Theatre of Blood (1973), its foodie moment comes in the midst of some slightly campy 70s horror. The scene in question sees Vincent Price and his hilarious moustache take revenge on a critic by feeding him a pie. The critic’s pet dogs are in the pie, which is where the horror comes in. It’s the ideal starter for a foodie-terror marathon, with enough material to get you ready for the rest of the evening without spoiling your appetite. That’s us condoned dog-eating on the grounds that it doesn’t take up too much of your time and dismissed a Japanese delicacy, so let’s move things along. MAIN COURSE Surströmming, paired with Delicatessen For a main course you need something substantial, with real bite. Delicatessen (1991) scores on both counts, and it has a legit food angle as well as it’s largely about a man who eats people. It’s… perfect? Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet of Amelie fame, it centres on a French tower block owned by a corrupt landlord who also dabbles in the odd spot of murder and for-profit cannibalism. His tenants rise up in a variety of convoluted ways to nip his bizarre eating habits in the bud, thus providing a victory to downtrodden renters everywhere. It’s a comedy-horror-drama in which a dodgy landlord gets his comeuppance, and it features a foodie subplot, and it’s in French. Substantial, we’re sure you’ll agree.

Of course, size and heft isn’t everything, and sometimes a relatively slight dish can pack a serious punch. That’s certainly the case with surströmming, although when we say ‘punch’ we mean ‘Oh no, it’s a chemical weapons attack disguised as dinner, send help.’ Surströmming is a traditional Swedish delicacy whose ingredients are simple – herring, a can, and time. Essentially, the fish goes in the can with just enough space to let it ferment, and then instead of getting rid of that space and putting the lid on, surströmming makers just shrug and stick the thing in a cupboard for a few months. Over time those three initial ingredients are later joined by a few others – noxious gas, a horrendous smell, and the potential for a massive explosion. It’s banned by a host of major airlines in case it takes down a plane, it smells so bad that most people only eat it outside, and of the top ten Google results for the dish one was a story about a lost tin that had raised the roof of a building by two centimetres, and another told of a huge Swedish warehouse fire fuelled by exploding tins of this stuff. Those two incidents both took place in the past eight months – how’s that for ‘substantial’? DESSERT Durian, paired with The Stuff The end of a meal is a chance for an indulgence, something that’s a little bit interesting and probably not that good for you. The Stuff (1985) is certainly indulgent – it’s a comedy-horror about a dessert with a mind of its own and a desire to kill. Basically, a huge underground pool of suspicious ice cream-like material

FOOD AND DRINK

photo: Mark Phu

Durian

photo: Francis Chung

Surströmming

is found in the ground. Rather than stop to consider whether eating this mystery food is really such a good idea, everyone just shrugs and starts chowing down before complaining when dead bodies start turning up everywhere. It’s schlocky nonsense of the highest order and there are plot holes you could drive a bus through, but it’s just the thing to take the edge off a gruelling evening of Halloween horror. That said, dessert is also a time when things are starting to wind down, and you might just want everyone to leave. Well, break out the durian and get ready for the quickest round of goodbyes you’ve ever heard. If you’ve been to Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore and found yourself sauntering through a market before catching a whiff of the new perfume ‘Eau de Death’ and suddenly needing to make a violent escape, you’ve smelled the durian. If you ever feel your nostrils burning in a greengrocer, it’s the durian. It looks like a giant spiky kidney, or a real-life version of one of those shells from Mario Kart. The interior looks a lot like a cottage cheese model of a foetus. It’s banned from the Singapore subway – seriously, it gets its own mention on the signage on the MRT. ‘No chewing gum, no food, no feet on the seats, and no durians.’ It isn’t even classed as food! It’s horrifying, bizarre, and yet strangely endearing. It’s a lot like Halloween itself – it makes no sense and you really wish it didn’t exist, but it’s here now so you may as well hold your nose and get used to it. Phagomania is on paternity leave

THE SKINNY

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Pact Coffee – Zero to V60 Fancy making top-notch coffee at home? Pact can show you how, and with the chance to sign up to their coffee delivery scheme from just £1, you can make great coffee without breaking the bank

60 – it may sound like a new way of measuring how fast your car can go, but it’s actually a quick and simple method of making great tasting coffee at home or at work. Just a few simple steps, a few small pieces of kit, and some highquality ground coffee beans are all it takes. Coffee drippers have been around since the turn of the 20th century, with the first massproduced dripper launched in Germany in 1908. While the concept may have been around for nearly a hundred years, the V60 is a 21st century take on the idea, launched in Japan in 2005 by Hario. The V60 gets its name from its shape (sideon, it looks a bit like a V) and the 60-degree angle with which the filter slopes down. It’s a striking little thing, with its clean lines and sharp look, and its size means you won’t need to get rid of half of your kitchen to make room for it. But what exactly makes a V60 so good, we hear you ask. Well, a number of things – for starters, there’s the shape. The V60 is conical, with spiral ridges inside the filter itself; the importance of this is that it allows the coffee in your filter to drain evenly into your cup, but also allows your ground beans the chance to breathe, so you get a well-rounded flavour from your coffee. The cone shape also ensures that the water stays in contact with the coffee for a long time, which in turn makes your drink tastier. The hole in the base of the V60 is larger than it is in other pour-over designs which allows for a more even flow of coffee into the cup, and then there are the V60’s paper filters, which are super-thin and

October 2014

don’t leave any real aftertaste. The whole system is designed to create a tasty brew with a minimum of fuss – it’s no more tricky than brewing up a cafetière or slinging some horrible instant coffee into your mug, and allows you to make a great cup of coffee for one or two people without a lot of waste or preparation time. To use your V60 you won’t actually need much more kit than you would for a cup of instant, and the results from Pact’s speciallyselected beans are worlds better. Simply boil your kettle, then leave it to cool off a little. As you wait, place a paper filter in your V60, then place the V60 on top of your favourite mug. Run a bit of water from the kettle through the filter to rinse it, then add a tablespoon of Pact coffee to your filter. Next – and this is the important bit – pour a little water over the coffee grounds and let them ‘bloom.’ This is the stage where things get interesting – the grounds will start to bubble as they take on the water, and the aroma of the coffee will start filling the room. Your friends and colleagues may start to gather round at this point – you have our permission to shoo them away. After around 30 seconds, pour through enough water to fill your cup, and that’s it. Don’t stir it, or fiddle with it – it’s done. Great coffee, really easy and really quick. You could say it makes coffee in ‘zero-to-V60,’ but we don’t think that’s necessary. Sign up at pactcoffee.com using the code SKINNY14 to get your first bag for just £1 T+Cs apply, check pactcoffee.com/terms

FOOD AND DRINK

Lifestyle

THE SKINNY

Gig Highlights

Before the Dawn

35 years after she last performed a full concert, we finally get to see Kate Bush live Words: Dave Kerr

W Photo: Kirstin Kerr

appy October! The leaves have gone all tertiary on you, and you’ve probably just spent a month guiltily realising your autumnal aspirations for productivity were doomed, from the off, to be aggressively ignored along with that academic diary you wasted 15 quid on. You tried – that should be rewarded. Harness that devious little pixie inside you, get out of the flat you’re not yet centrally-heating “because it’s only October,” and sink your teeth into the nourishing musical spread that the central belt has laid out this month. If indie rap is your cup of tea, the ‘indefatigable’ Atmosphere are paying Glasgow a visit (O2 ABC on 2 Oct), bringing with them a scintillating new release spanning 20-tracks long and a rainbow of genres wide. They’re famous as the daddies of backpacker hip-hop with the notoriety of early mixtapes of their adolescence, but in latter years Slug and Ant have incorporated extra players and emerged a brooding hunk of an act. Long-time fans might feel intimidated by their breaching the barricades of original hip-hop sounds – but have faith that all the jazzy keys, classical instrumentation and squidgy beats are a welcome seasoning to the sound – and imperative to protect the mantra-chant lyrics from getting a bit Macklemore. Nestled snugly in the synth-pop craze with which we’ve all become well acquainted, Conquering Animal Sound’s most recent EP could be easily dismissed as a sheep in a vast electro-herd, shepherded by gurning collies with a hankering for crackly drops and Gameboyish trills. Honestly, On Floating Bodies does owe some of its charm to time-tested tricks and hooks. But the album relies not on its enigmatic ambience and catchiness – rather, it is a thoughtful construction of dirty electro-drones, arresting vocals and calculated percussion. Think Laura Mvula on a spaceship. Glasgow's Stereo, 3 Oct. If you’ve been following our music section even from afar since August, you’ll have gathered we’ve got a bit of a thing for FKA twigs – and for good reason. Her records are immaculate, her performances are stratospheric. Head down to Glasgow's Òran Mór on 6 Oct and have your imaginations and eardrums imprisoned by this wizard of music. Post-punk ‘Wegians Casual Sex are coming home to sing some sleaze into the microphones of Glasgow’s CCA (6 Oct) following the release of their AA-side A Perfect Storm. Though mostly post-punk/Krautrock, their tunes sometimes feature subtle interludes of funk, meaning a live show might just give you the chance to dance along to something a bit tweaky and upbeat without it reeking of Pharrell. For once. Emperor of easy-listening, Dan Croll’s debut LP brings a satisfying combination of guitar,

African polyrhythms and cucumber-cool vocals. Released in March, it piggybacked through spring on the backs of those waiting for beer gardens and rooftop barbeques, so you might be worrying that it’s a little too zesty to be enjoyed this late in the year. Sound about right? Don’t be such a grumpy bastard. Forget about your dissertation for a night and have a boogie to the summery pipings of Sweet Disarray. Pretend you’re in Benicàssim spilling Estrella all over your t-shirt if it makes things easier. Edinburgh’s Liquid Room, 17 Oct. The eccentric Robyn Hitchock is ceaselessly interesting – his staggering discography including 20 original studio records speaks for itself. For some indecipherable reason, fewer people take notice of him these days, so his following has become a little more culty than before. That’s alright, we’ll just smugly feast together on his recent LP, a glorious collection of original tracks and clever covers. It’s worth a listen just for the devastatingly lovely San Francisco Patrol. Exhibiting a triumphant interaction between Hitchcock’s candid vocals, whispery harmonic murmurs and flutters of cello, and you’d be a bit foolish to pass up on the chance to witness this masterpiece in person. Find him in close quarters at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus on 19 Oct. Get a second serving of post-punky glam-rock from The Pop Group on 20 Oct at

Edinburgh's Voodoo Rooms. After disbanding in the 80s, the band reformed in 2010 and have been promising us a new record ever since. It’s set to be a pretty exciting gig if the reunion statement was anything to go by: “There was a lot left undone... Let’s face it, things are probably even more fucked now than they were in the early 80s... and we are even more fucked off!” See precisely how fucked off at Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms, 20 Oct. Nearly ten years since they last touched down in Scotland, our September cover heroes Death From Above 1979 are back in musical matrimony and heading over to Glasgow's Garage this month (22 Oct) to slam us headfirst into their new album, The Physical World. Underscored by a tangible urgency, Grainger’s primal yowling and the spiralling guitar make for a record more filthy and frantic than a misguided fumble in the back of a taxi. The album was produced by Dave Sardy, who, according to bassist Keeler in an interview with Rolling Stone, is “really good at making records that annoy people.” We’d beg to differ – The Physical World achieves a careful equilibrium between focused production and benefit-of-the-doubt rawness that makes for an album which, despite its melodrama and angst, is rousing and thoughtful in equal parts. [Kate Pasola]

Do Not Miss THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS, EDINBURGH, 9-18 OCT hat? You haven’t heard? After last year’s Sessions went down a storm, EUSA have convened a posse of local promoters this autumn, offering ten whole nights of music, spoken word and theatre for you to get stuck into. We’ve gone ahead and curated one for you on 18 Oct, bringing together some incredible Scottish acts, so save the date now and start looking forward to Birdhead, Remember Remember and The Phantom Band. We’ll be there shindigging along to this gorgeous pile-up of home-grown talent, and we’re cordially extending the invitation to you, merry reader, to join us. See listings and our cover story for a full rundown on the players. [Kate Pasola]

October 2014

Remember Remember

MUSIC

Photo: Damian McGlynn

hat Kate Bush has presented across her 22-night London residency is a rock opera from the old world – an immersive bombardment that could compete with any staged realisation of Tommy or The Wall. The scarcity of pictures from the production – some 18 months in planning – combined with a tabloid preoccupation with a certain lack of ‘hits’ leaves punters free to idly speculate over its specific content in the Apollo’s substantial queue. With the mystique surrounding these concerts, one might expect our eccentric heroine to arrive on stage by wolfback. The reality is perhaps more of a surprise; the shy retirer mythologised by the press shimmies onstage barefoot in a conga chain with her seven-piece band, gleefully pirouetting like Stevie Nicks. Arriving a full 35 years after Bush’s last full-blown live outing ended on the very same stage, there’s a sense that the voice and muse have been left protected by her refusal to engage with the rock’n’roll treadmill. Back then, the critics called 1979’s Tour of Life ‘a theatrical feast of mime and magic.’ 2014’s Before the Dawn puts similar crafts to work – extravagant set pieces set in the sea and sky are coloured by gothic costumes that wouldn’t look out of place at a pagan ritual, with wooden marionette puppetry and sleight of hand stage manoeuvres which would have the crowd believe she’s about to take flight. Business up front, the first set serves as a primer – introducing a music troupe reassuringly deft at handling the sacred source material and a quintet of actors and backing singers who multitask throughout the night. Running Up that Hill (A Deal With God) makes an early entrance, duelling drummers kick the shit out of tomtoms to recreate its rolling thunder. King of the Mountain steadies the pace before the room is plunged into a lightning storm that heralds the beginning of a different kind of concert altogether, drawing on the folk traditions of her youth while pointing to moments of her catalogue that still sound like the future. Two albums 20 years apart lend their narratives to the pair of distinct acts that follow. 1985’s Hounds of Love provides the base for The Ninth Wave – a seaborne tragedy about a mother lost at sea, while Sky of Honey has 2005 album Aerial to define its dawn setting, with Bush’s son, Bertie, playing the eponymous frustrated Artist at the heart of the story. Many of the original skits and effects from both are brought vividly to life; the glaring lights of a search helicopter roam overhead and a demented preacher rants to the tune of Waking the Witch. “I feel I gotta get up on the roof,” she bellows during Aerial’s mantra-like chorus. One final, full band encore of Cloudbusting takes us there, underlining a surreal, astonishing live comeback from a determined visionary. Now, how do we bring her back to The Usher Hall?

On the eve of the independence referendum, the denizens of Òran Mór take a break from contemplating their future to enjoy reflecting on the past. “This is clearly a retrospective”, promises a cheerful Tanya Donelly just after a dark and dangerous rendition of Belly’s Low Red Moon, her set beginning in the present (the mellow country-folk of Mass Ave) before moving backwards through her ‘97 solo debut and even a cut from her Throwing Muses swansong The Real Ramona (a transformed Honeychain that makes the most of moonlighting Magnetic Fields cellist Sam Davol’s mellifluous playing). Ending on a high with a spry Slow Dog, the crowd reaction suggests many would have been happy for her to play all night – which, it turns out, she very nearly does. Throwing Muses kick off their headline

rrrrr

Ghoul. The Highland duo have been silent since attracting a steady level of acclaim a few years back, with rumours suggesting they’d called it quits. “Do we start the gig now? I forget, we’ve not done one in ages,” asks Niall Strachan as he picks up his guitar. Without waiting for an answer they’re straight into the barnstorming Bird Catcher. The volume is not so much loud – it’s a level beyond that in which your jeans flap in the sound rushing from the stage. Bronto live is an exhilarating experience, but not one everyone in the room is visibly enjoying. The partnership between Strachan and drummer Iain Stewart is a sight to behold, their combined power has only increased in the time they’ve been away. “582 people bought our first record, over a 56 year period,” Strachan deadpans. With any justice, they ought to do better this time round. [Chris McCall]

Sharptooth are the kind of band that your elderly relatives would find too loud if they played your wedding; more gothic fuzz pop than the schizophrenic noisecore that summary might imply, they’re nevertheless a valued addition to tonight’s line-up, with forthcoming single Sister a clear stand-out. Felix Champion have built up a solid reputation on the local circuit since releasing their debut single last year and are now shaping for the release of their first album in November. If new track Canyons is anything to go by, it’s sure to be a beauty. The four-piece are at their best when nailing down some super-tight math-rock riffage, but some of the vocals tonight are lost among the brontoskylift.bandcamp.com thunderous mix. There’s a clear sense of anticipation when headliners Bronto Skylift take to the stage, here to launch their terrific second album Date with a

Review

Photo: JayJay Robertson

commentary. “He was only 29, and things couldn’t get much worse. But they did – because he died.” There’s also a felt avatar of Evans himself, who rrrrr sits alongside Rhys as he sings the plaintive title There’s no support tonight, just the unusual sight song, accompanied only by guitar and a few basic of the ABC being filled with rows of plastic seatvocal effects. ing and a school-sized projector screen standRhys never loses his audience throughout ing on stage alongside a Spanish guitar. But then the show, and the narrative is engaging enough this isn’t your typical gig, as Gruff Rhys explains to keep even those previously unfamiliar with when he arrives on stage shortly before 8.30pm. American Interior happy. It helps that he employs “Before I start singing, I’m going to play an intro- a wide range of styles in his songs, from Walking ductory video. If you’ve watched this you will be into the Wilderness, a self-described power alright for the rest of the night.” A short film on ballad, to the jaunty folk story of 100 Unread the legend of the Welsh prince Madoc follows, Messages. There’s even time in the encore for a which is the basis for Rhys’s American Interior few of his other solo works, such as the miniature project. pop masterpiece that is Sensations in the Dark. But this is no retelling of a woolly fairytale. Rhys has never been a musician short of ideas, Through the next hour and a bit, he shares the which he has executed with varying degrees of story of the late 18th century farmhand John success. But retelling the story of Evans must Evans – who travelled in search of a fabled tribe rank as one of his best. [Chris McCall] of Welsh-speaking Indians founded by Madoc american-interior.com – via song, pictures and some amusingly droll

kristinhersh.com

Bronto Skylift

Bronto Skylift / Felix Champion / Sharptooth Nice N Sleazy, 12 Sep

Gruff Rhys O2 ABC, Glasgow, 5 Sep

set in streamlined three-piece mode, helmed as ever by the formidable Kristin Hersh. Last year’s Purgatory/Paradise LP initially takes the spotlight, and tracks like Sunray Venus and Sleepwalking offer fine displays of her throatily emotive vocals and guitar playing prowess. It’s not without hitches (“all the fuck ups for you!” she laughs when her guitar tuning slips) but the band bundle forward with invigorating energy, and Hersh is a captivating stage presence. Nonetheless, when step-sister Donelly returns and initiates a run of early tracks, the uplift is palpable. Devil’s Roof sounds particularly robust, while the grungy pop hooks of Say Goodbye in the encore finally bring Donelly’s shift to a close. With the rest of the encore offering a concise post-Donelly highlights reel (from a propulsive Shark to a high-contrast Pearl), Hersch ensures the future of Throwing Muses remains bright after all these years. [Chris Buckle]

SOHN

SOHN / FYFE / Atom Tree Stereo, 16 Sep

rrrrr

Glaswegian trio Atom Tree fill the basement venue with decadent, buoyant electronica, boasting cymbal crescendos and twinkling melodies, drawing an impressively busy audience for an opening act. Julie Knox, sultry and central, lays down a confident vocal, while Shaun Canning’s deft fingers rock the keys, toying with the established pace of crowd favourites like Die For Your Love, drawing out the bass like a big flirt. Anyone who’d swung by Paul ‘FYFE’ Dixon’s Soundcloud and sampled his richly layered compositions might feel short-changed at the simplistic setup tonight: just a synthpad, steel guitar, and a drummer. But the humble man’s voice – reedy, urgent and brimming with soul – wins over the crowd from the first verse of Conversations. Lead single For You is achingly powerful, and he eschews the studio version’s sax solo for a segue into the beachy St. Tropez, before closing all too soon with early release Solace.

MUSIC

As a venue, Stereo is a no-nonsense, rough and ready joint. But dark maestro SOHN has transformed the stage into a neon opera: black curtains, smoke, and a gimmicky lighting rig become a mesmeric, transcendental experience, breathing and glowing as the music pulses. His album’s titular track Tremors is ecstatically welcomed, and Tempest’s stop-start intro falls away to a staggering a capella rendition, showing off Mr. Taylor’s vocal prowess. Between all this the man himself is, despite the gloomy aesthetic (dig that monastic black hood), affably chatty and self-deprecating. Ushering the packed crowd closer to the stage, he triggers Artifice, sending revellers into a sweaty mass that’d make Golden Teacher proud, before seamlessly transitioning our rhythmic applause into the gallop of Lights. Closing with iconic number The Wheel, the audience is euphoric. The lights go up and attendees are trembling; “vibrations of tremors that shook long ago,” so the man says. [George Sully] sohnmusic.com

THE SKINNY

Photo: JayJay Robertson

rrrrr

Gruff Rhys

Photo: Stuart Downie

Throwing Muses / Tanya Donelly Òran Mór, Glasgow, 17 Sep

Photo: Ross Gilmore

Throwing Muses

The Horrific Eerie Compelled by Satan as the witching season approaches, The Phantom Band’s frontman presents a Halloween compendium of recommended listening to keep the guisers off yer porch

1. Slayer – Seasons in the Abyss (1990) My sister and I got this tape out of Kemnay library when I was about 12 years old. Listening to it on my personal stereo on the way home in the car was a transformative experience; a realisation that music, just like film, had the power to unnerve and scare. The main riff from Dead Skin Mask remains as potent to me to this day.

Words: Rick Anthony Photography: Euan Robertson

before you know it you are blissfully singing along to some of the most right-wing Christian lyrics you’ve ever heard. Satan’s Jewelled Crown being a perfect example.

4. Fantômas – Delìrium Còrdia (2004) One track clocking in at 74 minutes that is written as a concept album about surgery without anaesthesia is a fairly terrifying prospect before you even get round to listening 2. Fever Ray – Fever Ray (2009) to it. Once you do you are transported to a truly From the creepy black and white eerie landscape of incidental noises and abrupt cover to the brilliant pitch bend- shifts in dynamics and textures that all help creing vocals, this record conjures ate a truly singular musical experience. up stark, eerie weirdness and reframes it in a near pop set5. Michael Hurley – Armchair ting. Tracks like When I Grow Up could actually be Boogie (1971) construed as quite sweet when you listen to the I was introduced to this record by lyrics, but the overall package remains a fantastic Duncan [Marquiss, The Phantom lesson in the aesthetics of the eerie. Band guitarist] and instantly fell in love with it. The opening track 3. The Louvin Brothers – Satan Werewolf is a wonderfully creepy ballad that uses is Real (1959) the aesthetics of horror to express feelings of As well as having one of the alienation to heart-breaking effect. greatest covers in music history this record also contains 6. Julee Cruise – Floating into some of the greatest harmothe Night (1989) nies. These guys had their personal demons and Everyone loves Twin Peaks, this record lays them out in stark relief. The right? This is the album (writsoothing country lullabies set a trap for you and ten by David Lynch and Angelo

October 2014

Badalamenti) that came out around the time of the TV show and it contains some of its most enduring musical moments. The theme tune Falling is the obvious hit but there are plenty more dark gems where that came from. Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart, for one, is simply extraordinary. 7. Tom Waits – Bone Machine (1992) Never a stranger to darkness, just about every Tom Waits record contains a track or two of eerie splendour, but Bone Machine with tracks like Dirt in the Ground, Murder in the Red Barn and Black Wings (to name but three) probably edges it in the creepy stakes. A tour-de-force from start to finish with plenty moments of light amid the dark, it’s a perfect primer for anyone coming fresh to Tom Waits’ considerable back catalogue. 8. Alasdair Roberts – No Earthly Man (2005) This record contains many wonderful moments of creepy beauty as Roberts gives his take on traditional folk songs amid fantastic production by Will Oldham. My favourite track is the stunning seven plus minute Lyke Wake Dirge. I used to listen to it over and over again on walks home in the dark just to give myself the heebies… extraordinary.

MUSIC

9. Various Artists – Which Way Does the Blood Red River Flow? (2013) I bought this record a couple of weeks ago almost entirely because of the brilliant cover (the main reason it’s on this list, if I’m being honest) and when I got it home I was not disappointed by the music. A selection of tracks recorded for the Testament label between 1961 and 67, and featuring some of the most intense blues of the period. I’m still getting to know it, but Peg Leg Howell’s take on Blood Red River, Jimmie Tarlton’s Banks of the Ohio and Fred McDowell’s Get Right Church are all particularly satisfying on early listens. 10. John Carpenter – Anything… (1974-) Yeah, yeah – it’s a cop-out and it’s obvious and blah blah blah… But come on; shut up, turn off the lights, put the Halloween score on in a darkened room and let them shivers creep. The Phantom Band play The Pleasance Sessions alongside Remember Remember and Birdhead on 18 Oct; Dundee Non-Zeros on 11 Dec and Glasgow Arches on 12 Dec phantomband.co.uk

Feature

Album of the Month The Twilight Sad

Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave [FatCat, 27 Oct]

rrrrr

When The Twilight Sad stormed into our hearts with their haunted, haunting debut EP, few could’ve detected their nascent crossover impulse. While their output since has hardly dived into the mainstream, it’s at least true that the Kilsyth trio's sound, with each release, newly evolved and streamlined, propelled by a synthdriven switch-up that’s perhaps alienated a small element of their fanbase – one they needn’t miss. On album four the band limber up and shoot for the sky, albeit on a cloudy day. There are concessions to the anthemic (Drown So I Can Watch) and pounding minor-key thrillers (I Could Give You All

That You Don’t Want) but rumours of a new accessibility have been exaggerated, largely because the Sad remain pathological gloomsters with nary a silver-lining to hang a chorus on. This should trouble nobody, give or take their psychologists. Like predecessor No One Can Ever Know, the album buries dark treasures in bleak haze, a sequence of gentle revelations that emerge with shyness but linger indefinitely. And while songs like Last January are determinedly direct, Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave is mostly concerned with consolidating the band’s under-appreciated riches. A miserable success. [Jazz Monroe] Playing The Pleasance Sessions, Edinburgh on 9 Oct and Glasgow's O2 ABC on 19 Dec.

A Winged Victory for the Sullen

Caribou

Die! Die! Die!

rrrrr

Atomos [Erased Tapes, 6 Oct]

A Winged Victory for the Sullen’s self-titled debut predetermined its melancholic mood via evocative track titles (Requiem for the Static King, Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears, All Farewells Are Sudden). Its august successor Atomos, by contrast, gives no such extratextual cues, with all eleven pieces christened equally and numbered I to XII (IV is passed over for reasons unknown). Across 63 sublime minutes, Atomos sustains an atmosphere that’s calm and clear enough to reflect varied emotions: elegiac, yes, but also suggesting warmth, positivity and countless sentiments too ephemeral to pin names on. Composed and recorded in a fraction of the time it took to complete their debut, the album sees Adam Wiltzie and Dustin O’Halloran evolve their neoclassical sound in subtle ways, retaining a palette of piano, strings and electronic drones but unlocking new potential: for instance, the garbled chatter that haunts both IX and X, the latter’s grandeur yielding to the encroaching distortion. With luck, AWVFTS will take the title’s Greek meaning (‘indivisible’) to heart, allowing this superlative partnership to flourish indefinitely. [Chris Buckle]

Carnivores

Let’s Get Metaphysical [Small Town America, 27 Oct]

rrrrr

“When was the last time you did something for the first time?” asks Kenny Leckie, raising an interesting point. Can you recall hearing a new guitar band who genuinely sounded like nothing before? Paisley trio Carnivores opt for a different approach, filching ideas from all and sundry. In mashing up the last 20 years of six-string-slingers, they also suggest that the distinctions between subgenres ain’t so cut-and-dried. Let’s Get Metaphysical is chock-full of tunes. The title track jangles pacily through a minefield of Devo jerks, hinting at the stop-start complexities to follow, before the band’s influences leap most noticeably to the fore: check the harmony-laden Crooked Teeth (Weezer) and Lion Tamer’s tidal wave of riffs (Converge). Other sterling efforts imply a plethora of seeminglydisparate influences (often within the same song) whilst managing to stay neatly cohesive. With the promising groundwork laid in this mastery of everyone else’s special moves, it’s exciting to imagine how their own hyperkinetic ideas might evolve. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Our Love [Merge, 7 Oct] Previous Caribou albums have borne out the view that Dan Snaith’s output tends to be on the ‘grower’ end of the spectrum. Our Love, Snaith’s fourth official album under the moniker doesn’t buck this trend, though it never quite reaches the peaks of its predecessors. Part of the problem is how uneven a journey it feels overall; Snaith is vocally absent for a large stretch of the ten tracks, while fullyrealised, alt-dance cuts rub shoulders with half-formed song ideas which, at times, struggle to take off. Of the former category, lead single Can’t Do Without You and second half highlight Back Home are like old friends within a few spins; of the latter, the title track is left meandering while a track named after late sound engineer Julia Brightly promises much though escapes us with the feel of a tune too busy to stay for a dance. Even so, with more pluses than minuses Our Love stacks up to an often compelling offering, yet it leaves the unmistakable aftertaste of a missed opportunity. [Darren Carle]

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead IX [Richter Scale Records, 20 Oct]

rrrrr

Funny thing, perspective. Sometimes a band’s most spectacular achievements come so early that memory renders them frozen in the moment, as with ...Trail Of Dead’s spectacular Source Tags and Codes in 2002. The roar, the songs, the incandescent rough’n’tumble of imagination that spewed forth from every track… so imposing is the shadow cast by that record that it’s difficult to identify those monolithic feats of imagination with the sturdier rock band they’ve grown into. It’s a shame too, because these noisy Austinites still have plenty to offer. Conrad Keely’s youthful rage may have subsided as the years roll by, but he’s rarely written choruses as stridently magnificent as Life Without a Liar’s effortless refrain, while the understated Bus Lines pushes this knack for simple hooks into unexpectedly sedate pastures. Solid rather than molten, storming rather than stunning, their ninth album offers a refinement of their youthful flights of fancy, proving that ageing gracefully is no bad thing. [Will Fitzpatrick]

SWIM [Small Town America, 6 Oct] It’s not all lackadaisical jangles in New Zealand indie rock, y’know. OK, anyone familiar with the proto-slackerisms of the Dunedin Sound might be forgiven for expecting a nation under Lou Reed’s off-kilter groove; ditto those with their ears pointed towards the city’s legendary Flying Nun Records. Still, they might want to bring their earplugs for Die! Die! Die!’s fifth album. In handily contrarian fashion, this noisy trio are here to showcase bigger weapons in the Kiwi arsenal. Did we mention it just happens to involve Goliathan sheets of eardrum-lacerating distortion? Probably should: the phenomenal tones’n’drones that reverberate throughout Best’s shoegazing squall lend teeth to the solid muscle of garage rockers Out of Mind and Get Hit, with the pace scarcely letting up across SWIM’s 12 thrilling tracks. Andrew Wilson’s voice fights against the melee, hopping effortlessly from caustic snarl to ethereal croon, but there’s no doubt that the guitars are the stars here. A fuzzy, scuzzy delight. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Insect Heroes

Apocalypso [Lost Map, 13 Oct]

rrrrr

Technically, releasing music these days is a bit of a doddle: fire it online and job’s a good ’un. But getting people to seek out and actually listen to your creativity, never mind part with cash for the pleasure of doing so, remains an uphill struggle that leaves plenty of promise underexposed. Case in point: Glasgow-based oddballs Insect Heroes, who self-released their intriguing, intoxicating debut Apocalypso via Bandcamp back in 2012, followed by a limited physical release last year. Neither won the album the attention it deserved, but the band’s subsequent acceptance into Lost Map’s musical menagerie should belatedly rectify that. Lo-fi sci-fi artwork pre-empts the charmingly rough-edged, otherworldly treats within, ranging from the delightfully kitsch Beautiful World to the lurching melody of Spacesuit. “I sold my soul for another shot at pop music” goes one chipper chorus; don’t let Apocalypso’s second shot in the spotlight pass you by. [Chris Buckle]

Playing Glasgow School of Art on 14 Nov

Playing Glasgow’s 13th Note on 25 Oct

Kiasmos

Dope Body

We Were Promised Jetpacks

rrrrr

Kiasmos [Erased Tapes, 27 Oct]

Kiasmos is all about the slow build. The venture has been more or less resigned to the backburner for the last several years, as collaborators Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen busied themselves with more principal projects (piano-led solo work and synth-pop act Bloodgroup respectively). But, finally, the two musicians have carved out enough time in their schedules to indulge their mutual passion for low-key electronica – and the resulting album unfolds in a suitably unrushed fashion. Lit opens Kiasmos with atmospheric synths, metronomic percussion and a two-note piano refrain; the elements added and subtracted steadily to subtle but compelling effect. It’s characteristic of the album’s blend of minimal techno and neo-classical, a combination that interlaces digital components (programmed beats, loops) with acoustic (piano, finger clicks); the pristine with the comfortingly imperfect. With echoes of the gentle, pastoral quality of Four Tet’s early albums, Kiasmos is understated almost to a fault but nevertheless immersive. [Chris Buckle]

Review

Lifer [Drag City, 20 Oct]

Dope Body’s Lifer wears the fug of the band’s rehearsal room – the Baltimore four-piece barely left it while thrashing this record into shape. They took a similar approach to 2012’s Natural History, but where that album revelled in a tightly hewn tautness, Lifer is more interested in dynamics. Intro promises of the kind of opening salvo that live would have tops off and torsos colliding; but follow-up Repo-Man initially toys with the idea, withdrawing before eventually coming through with a suitably full-throttled chorus. It sets the stage for an album that veers further away from the group’s noise rock paradigm than ever before, Rare Air being particularly notable for its almost post-punk-sounding spindly guitar lines. Even In the End’s more typical, but in its thunderously hammered-out repetition it too suggests another direction; but then it’s that constant questioning of their sound even as they hurtle purposefully forward that makes Dope Body so exciting. [Simon Jay Catling]

Unravelling [Fat Cat, 6 Oct]

The effervescence of youth can work wonders on a debut album but how often does such vim dissipate on subsequent works? Edinburgh’s We Were Promised Jetpacks are, perhaps, this formula in reverse. Their keenness to barrel out an uptempo number on 2009’s These Four Walls was exuberant but at times unfocused, whilst 2011 follow-up In the Pit of the Stomach cut a similar path but showed much more promise. With Unravelling, WWPJ have delivered on that promise with a tact that trades in their over-zealousness for a more restrained but, crucially, more satisfying sound. Better production certainly helps, improved musicianship and song writing are no bad backups either, but a keener sense on when to hold back means the subsequent sonic peaks on Unravelling are all the more satisfying. From the fist-clenching howl of Keep It Composed to the brooding burr of an Aidan Moffat-led Moral Compass, Unravelling is pure sinew where once there was fat. [Darren Carle] Playing Glasgow QMU on 13 Dec

RECORDS

THE SKINNY

North Atlantic Oscillation

Ex Hex

rrrrr

The Third Day [Kscope, 6 Oct]

Hardly original but big on heart and soul, this is sophisticated and intelligent dream pop. With the genre tropes of the late 80s shoegaze scene increasingly up for grabs, North Atlantic Oscillation borrow smartly (pulsing bass, shimmering guitars), though singer Sam Healey’s uncommonly high pitch makes them more Lush than Ride. This third album from the Edinburgh trio proffers crisp, clean arrangements and a refreshingly un-cynical worldview. Sure, at times, it’s too shiny and could do with a bit of scuzz, perhaps the odd wig-out. Hard-asses might balk at the tone: all wide-eyed wonder and spaced-out reverie. But still, much of The Third Day does what it does exceptionally well. August is sleek electro-guitar pop and the instrumental Penrose is beautiful. It runs out of steam towards the end (the first half contains the tunes, while the second focuses on atmosphere) but on its own limited terms, it’s a winner. [Gary Kaill]

“I got no regrets,” Mary Timony proclaims, midway through Ex Hex’s debut album. As with many of the tracks here, it’s a worldly-wise dismissal of some creepy ne’er-do-well, glistening with spine-tingling pop nous and punchy rifferama – but it’s hard not to hear that one line and not think of the tantalising promise of her recently-departed supergroup Wild Flag. If only they’d stuck around, they might have come up with something nearly as sublime as Rips. OK, it’s dumb, but knowingly, self-embracingly so. You could call it powerpop if you wanted, with the spectre of Cheap Trick haunting the bouncy likes of How You Got That Girl, though the bubblegum rock of Radio On and War Paint call The Runaways to mind just as easily, with Timony’s luminescent guitar-playing as much a hypnotic treat as ever. “There was nothing left to find,” goes the album’s final line, “and nothing left to know.” Sounds like she’s got it all figured out. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Peaking Lights

Wampire

rrrrr

Cosmic Logic [Domino Records, 6 Oct] Ooh, a boy-girl electro duo! You’d think, with the market as flooded as it is, these analogue kids would have the savvy to perhaps get a foothold by testing the format a little. Sure, a trio’s just another mouth to feed but still, it worked well enough for CHVRCHES. Actually, scrub that, because Peaking Lights are distinct enough (and odd enough) to demand smarter comparisons. For a start, they’re not particularly pop. There’s a taut, reedy quality to Aaron Coyes’ and Indra Dunis’s compositions that favours arrangement over melody: words flesh out the soundboard rather than carry narrative. Cosmic Logic demonstrates its craft via studio smarts rather than deep song craft. And Dunis is no Lauren Mayberry. Her reserved vocal style suits the psychedelic meandering of Tell Me Your Song, and the overall 8-bit aesthetic, but not perhaps anything more outwardly melodic. Cosmic Logic, ultimately, is cool to the touch. Admirable? For sure. Likeable? That’s your call. [Gary Kaill]

The first sound heard on Bazaar is cackling laughter – the kind that might punctuate dastardly villainy of one shade or another. It serves as a droll reminder (as if their moniker alone weren’t enough of a clue) that Wampire don’t take themselves overly seriously, with the Portlanders’ second album sharing debut Curiosity ’s goofy tendencies as well as its off-the-cuff catchiness. The track that follows this preliminary mirth (driving, synthled micro-anthem The Amazing Heart Attack) presents Wampire at their most upbeat and appealing, driven by pacey kick drum, crunchy guitar riffs and the redolent fumes of 80s nostalgia. The energy is conserved on Bad Attitude, which coasts on knowing sneers and boisterous fretwork, before Fly on the Wall and Wizard Sleeve establish a smoother groove (and simultaneously confirm the band’s fluctuating musical interests). Dabbling so widely arguably leaves some flavours under-developed, but it’s a compromise we can happily live with. [Chris Buckle]

Flying Lotus

Melvins

rrrrr

You spend most of a certain fellow Warp producer’s exile gaining a rep as one of the most forward-thinking producers around, nipping off for a quick side project after several critically renowned releases; Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar guest on your grand return as proof of how far you’ve come, only for one listless blimp over London to divert attention back to the other guy. Richard D James, you shitter. However, if the build-up to Flying Lotus’ fifth LP has been put in the shade, musically he’s still burning brightly. You’re Dead’s first quarter is among the producer’s most linear work to date, frequent volleys of woodwind and the guesting Herbie Hancock’s scuttling keys tumbling together in strained coherence. It’s when Lamar and Snoop arrive on Never Catch Me and Dead Man’s Tetris that things get weird, double speed turning to half, free-form jazz segments appearing and dissipating. It’s fragmented and yet, as ever, seems to make total sense. [Simon Jay Catling]

Ah, the ever-reliable Melvins, forever ploughing their enduring furrow. Still, even when your old tricks are among the greatest, it doesn’t hurt to rope in some folks with a few new ‘uns: Hold It In duly sees the veteran sludgesters joined by Paul Leary and Jeff Pinkus of the Butthole Surfers, blowing tripped-out fairy dust across the familiar metallic crunch. It’s there in the galvanised chug of Brass Cupcake – a newly acquired sense that things could unravel at any minute, emphasising the gleeful rage of Buzz’n’Dale’s long-honed riffage. Eyes On You goes one step further; a demented, jittering boogie that resembles a shellshocked ZZ Top being flung into oncoming traffic. Naturally, their muscular creepy-crawl remains intact, but You Can Make Me Wait sees them experimenting with vocoder-soaked space rock, as unearthly sounds zip past a disconcertingly catchy pop tune. Fuck the old dogs/new tricks narrative: this is exhilarating – Butthole Melvins forever! [Will Fitzpatrick]

Johnny Marr

rrrrr

This collaboration between Scott Walker and Sunn O))), two absolute titans of cranium melting, sonic frequencies was greeted with fearsome trepidation. But how different could Walker possibly sound with Stephen O’Malley’s men as his backing? Not very different at all. ‘A beating would do me the world of good,’ bellows Scott on Brando, the opening track. But there are no real beatings on offer here; instead Soused is the most straight-ahead album the typically esoteric Walker has offered in years, largely stripped of the playful experimentation and surreal extemporisation of the masterful Bish Bosch. The real standout here is Fetish, with strangled saxophones and dark intonations about a ‘choo choo Mama’, but the other four tracks fail to scale such peaks and instead sit between sporadic crooning and extended drones. Nevertheless, Soused does sound incredible, O’Malley’s guitars are utterly colossal, the feedback alone towers with portent while Walker’s voice is still wracked with perfectly pitched anguish and torment. [Colm McAuliffe]

October 2014

rrrrr

“My faith is for real and my mind is free,” breathes Katrin Hahner, aka Miss Kenichi, on Who Are You. Like much of The Trail, Hahner’s third album as Kenichi, it seems to walk a fine line between amdram outpouring and committed confessional. Hahner’s delivery, at times, inches into the theatrical as she declaims rather than sings. And musically, the detailing often feels a bit off: the everpresent organ swell and the sparse arrangements create a muted effect that’s difficult to penetrate. And yet… There’s a shining light somewhere within this unyielding record’s dark heart. Part way through, as The Night shifts gear via exquisitely assembled flute and guitar, or as surprise horns carve Dreams into a mini noir symphony, it all starts to gain definition and shape. A bewitching torch song transformation of Robert Plant’s Big Log seals the deal, and repeat plays trample those initial doubts. The Trail is a graceful, gloom-pop triumph. [Gary Kaill]

Bell Gardens

Slow Dawns For Lost Conclusions [Rocket Girl, 28 Oct]

rrrrr

Following 2007’s minimalist monument And Their Refinement of the Decline, ambient-drone duo Stars of the Lid parted company and formed new musical pairings – Adam Wiltzie with A Winged Victory for the Sullen and Brian McBride with Bell Gardens. Now, by curious calendrical coincidence, both projects return with second albums within weeks of each other, making October a windfall month for fans of elegantly sedate soundscapes. Unfortunately for McBride, the scheduling quirk does Slow Dawns… few favours, with his second collaboration with Kenneth James Gibson coming off badly in any head-to-head comparison with Wiltzie's Atomos: less inspired, less enriching, just less. But contemplated per se, the album’s qualities become clearer: opener Darker Side of Sunshine conveys a rich, hymnal beauty built from layers of pedal steel, piano and softly sighed vocals, while the slowburn simplicity of Sail is subtly impactful. Too safe to truly enthral, Slow Dawns… nevertheless finds moments of enlightenment. [Chris Buckle]

RM Hubbert

Hold It In [Ipecac, 13 Oct]

Scott Walker + Sunn O))) Soused [4AD, 20 Oct]

The Trail [Sinbus/Rough Trade, 20 Oct]

Bazaar [Polyvinyl, 6 Oct]

Playing Glasgow CCA on 24 Oct

You’re Dead [Warp Records, 6 Oct]

Miss Kenichi

Rips [Merge, 6 Oct]

Playland [Warner, 7 Oct] There’s a freewheeling vitality to Marr’s second solo venture that not only lifts the weight of history but makes a mockery of the musical bed-hopping that’s defined his recent output. He had these up his sleeve and was happy to be knobbing around with Modest fucking Mouse? Playland, true to its name, is exhilarating. After last year’s likeable enough The Messenger, this is richer by far: the tunes are plentiful, the production old school and beefy (fat bass, cool synth), the guitar playing, you know, not bad. After an unexpectedly forceful opening brace, Dynamo flicks off one of those riffs and Playland catches fire. The “again and again and again” hook on the crunching title track slyly references another seminal 80s act but this is Marr’s vision alone. “All I need is out there… all I need is myself,” he sings on 25 Hours: a delicious contradiction; one that pitches maturing worldview against deepening self-awareness. Exceptional. [Gary Kaill] Playing Glasgow’s O2 ABC on 27 Oct

RECORDS

Ampersand Extras [Chemikal Underground, 13 Oct]

rrrrr

Oh, this is too much. After three albums of beautiful, lilting guitar instrumentals (to which you could fairly attach genre descriptors like ‘flamenco,’ ‘folk’ and ‘post-rock’ without really nailing what’s going on), RM Hubbert returns with another spectacular offering. Only this time, he hasn’t even brought us anything new – Ampersand Extras is merely a collection of outtakes from the aforementioned trio of records. That even his rejects are so fucking good speaks volumes. Hubby’s sporadic collaborators offer enjoyable detours, especially in the case of Alan Bissett’s warm narration on Song for Jenny; ditto Elliot’s murky atmospherics, courtesy of author and occasional Mogwai collaborator Luke Sutherland. It’s his own fleet-fingered compositions that truly stop the heart, however: PB and the poignant Hanging Pointers braid themselves subtly around simple patterns, creating something extraordinarily complex and resonant in the process. Entire conurbations of sumptuous melody and fascinating texture – and yet so very nearly thrown away? Bloody hell, imagine that. [Will Fitzpatrick]

The Top Five 1

2 3 4 5

The Twilight Sad

Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave

A Winged Victory for the Sullen

Atomos

RM Hubbert

Ampersand Extras

Dope Body

Lifer

Scott Walker + Sunn O)))

Soused

Review

In June Interview: John Thorp

Photo: Gwen Riley

Arriving seemingly from nowhere, then selling out the first pressing of his LP, Horsebeach is the project of one Ryan Kennedy, combining a sunny Stateside lilt with a moodier Mancunian worldview to attractive effect. He tells the story of his debut record

way from the constant chatter and search for Manchester’s most exciting new band, Ryan Kennedy has been slowly but surely crafting the sound of Horsebeach, originally an unambitious – albeit fulfilling – one-man project whose debut self-titled album has quickly blossomed into one of the sleeper hits of the year. Heavily indebted to the breezy US contemporary rock of Real Estate and Ducktails – indeed, Kennedy references both projects, fronted by Matt Mondanile, as the real arrival point for his music – it nonetheless possesses, from its drizzly cover art to its more dour moments, a rainy-day quality that might only have emerged from Manchester. “A lot of people have said that is has that sunny, Brooklyn style with the damp of Manchester,” Kennedy admits. “And a lot of people have also asked me what influenced me growing up.” (It’s just over a month since the album debuted, selling out a limited run of copies, and the 23-year-old has already fielded a plethora of interview questions on an international scale.) “The first Ducktails record, I heard that and thought, ‘it’s just some guy with a cassette in his room,’” he says. “And Real Estate, the way their guitars intertwine. Our instrumental is called June in reference to Real Estate’s April’s Song. It’s a way of paying subtle homage to it.” The homage itself may not be so subtle, but Kennedy captures a similar wistfulness with at least equal sincerity and, as a DIY album (“I just did it for myself, really,” he shrugs), Horsebeach is imbued with a level of real, warm detail. What’s more, it doesn’t chime with the current, noisier end of Manchester’s local band scene. “As I was recording I was watching that scene, or at least I noted it as I was developing it. There was this lo-fi, fuzzy DIY stuff around

Feature

Manchester. And this is so clean, so I never really felt a part of that stuff.” Far from a deliberate contrarian, Kennedy instead lives a life absorbed in music. Locking himself away for a two-week stretch, the recording of the LP was a personal and fairly intense process – and when not expanding his vision for Horsebeach, he can be found behind the counter at Piccadilly Records, sifting, selling and recommending. Perceived as a dream job by many musicians, does the literal and audible volume of music casually observed on shift ever interrupt his own creative process? “If I’m deep in the process of writing a song I’ll try to keep listening to new music at a minimum, otherwise I start to lose direction slightly,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll abandon songs halfway through because I’ll hear something that completely changes the way I feel about my writing process. It’s quite fragile.” Taking his annual leave from the shop to focus exclusively on the project proved to be the answer for Kennedy, free for a short time from the dub techno, jangly indie reissues and anything else from the store’s eclectic soundtrack. “I bought a tape-to-tape machine and just recorded," he explains. “I just wrote it all down and went for it. I decided to ditch computers, but the rest of it is all just going into my tape deck. I locked myself in a room, to focus; I get pretty intensely passionate about it.” If Horsebeach has proved a pleasant surprise for newfound fans, the process of making the LP proved similarly enlightening for Kennedy himself, especially in regards to his distinctive, unmannered vocal delivery. Although, as with much of the record, his vocals are often skilfully drenched in reverb and other effects, the biggest change is in octaves. “Horsebeach wasn’t set

up for me to be the vocalist,” he says. “The first material was recorded while I was at university in Salford, so the walls were paper thin. The initial recordings are me trying to sing without anyone hearing me.” Now armed with extra decibels, Horsebeach have expanded to fulfil the demands of a live setup; the band were personally invited to play at Primavera’s winter festival, Club Primavera, in Barcelona this November. Their drummer, Matt Booth, has a relationship with Kennedy stretching back a number of years and into a real grab bag of musical endeavours, some far removed from the easy going nature of Horsebeach. “We did a thing called LEDC, which was really sleazy electro. That was probably the worst of them,” Kennedy recalls.

“The initial recordings are me trying to sing without anyone hearing me” Ryan Kennedy

“I do like playing with a full band. I did look at looping it all, but it’s just nice to be onstage with other people, much as I also like being alone,” he muses. That aloneness is a trait that’s arguably audible in the record’s relatively intimate feel. However, only the lyrics of two of the album’s ten tracks reflect any aspect of Kennedy’s own life. A

MUSIC

heartfelt song about his girlfriend, at first glance ill-advisedly titled Dull, is a memorable, personal paean telling of ‘bodies intertwined hopelessly,’ and cites poet W.B. Yeats as an influence. “I always struggle with lyrics,” he admits. “I can write melodies for days, but I really have to go to town on lyrics.” Kennedy feels “lucky to be from Manchester,” but there’s mercifully little to no posturing northern grit or Morrissey-lite misery on record. Just as he notes that his musical idols are never less than delighted to be playing in his postcode, is there an air of escapism to Horsebeach that has ensured its emptying from the shelves of his workplace at such a pace? Is it a loved-up record? “No, I’d say it wasn’t,” reckons Kennedy. “It’s funny that you mention escapism, because escapism is a great way to escape morbid reality, but the problem is, my fantasies themselves are a morbid reality. It’s difficult to conjure up anything particularly fantastical in Manchester.” With a manager now in tow, the recent second pressing of the record finally meeting demand, more dates in the works and label interest beyond the berms of Manchester, you’d imagine many would disagree with this claim – still, Kennedy is keen not to contrive anything. “I’m currently recording new stuff,” he reveals. “It’s not coming easy at the minute, because I have much more to do now the band is going more seriously, whereas previously there was no expectation.” As his heroes might say: take it Easy. Playing Victoria Baths, Manchester on 12 Oct horsebeach.bandcamp.com

THE SKINNY

Going Back to Go Forward Legendary Scottish techno duo Slam are set to release Reverse Proceed, their first album in seven years, later this month. One half of the duo, Stuart McMillan, talks us through the origins of the record

f you’re listing key figures in Scotland’s electronic music scene, and those who have played a pivotal role in making Glasgow the hotbed of talent it is today, then Slam’s name is likely to crop up almost immediately. The duo of Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle has long been at the heart of the techno community in this country and they were one of the earliest Scottish DJ and production outfits to make an impact worldwide – both through their own releases and those of their legendary label, Soma. Given their instrumental involvement with various events throughout the year – the likes of T in the Park and their regular club nights Pressure and Return to Mono, to mention a few – it’s no surprise that studio time these days is hard to find. Yet seven years on from their last full length offering, and off the back of a string of dancefloor singles, Slam return this month with a new album, Reverse Proceed. It’s a carefully sculpted voyage from ambient and delicate beginnings through to the kind of scintillating, heads down techno the duo frequently belt out to big rooms across the globe. Ahead of the record’s release, Stuart takes time out of a visit to India to give us the lowdown on what it’s all about. First up, what takes you to India? We are here for the Go Madras festival which is an electronic music festival on the beach at the Radisson Hotel just outside Chennai. The festival has beautiful scenery and cool people. The main focus is techno, something that’s kind of new for India, and it’s exciting to come here and play the music to a new crowd. It’s also been one of our lifelong ambitions to come to India. We feel privileged to be here! Reverse Proceed will be your first album for 7 years! How did the record come about and why the delay? We had decided that we didn’t want to release an album for a while after the last one, Human Response, partly because it’s such a daunting

October 2014

Interview: Ronan Martin

process making one in the first place – and also because we wanted to concentrate on more dancefloor-orientated stuff. We’ve been on a roll making club tracks and remixes for a while. We had releases on many great labels; obviously for Soma and for Paragraph, the newer label we set up, and also for Drumcode and Figure amongst a couple of others. Eventually it was less tangible. We’ve had a strong history in making albums over the years and I guess that’s ingrained in our DNA now. Albums are places you can show more creativity. Did you set out to have such a gradual progression on the album or did it develop naturally? We set out to make the album in this way, and inspirationally it’s loosely based around the long DJ sets you might hear us play, when we get to do five hours at Fabric for instance, or the warm-up at Pressure or Return To Mono at the Sub Club. In those cases, as DJs we always start with ambient soundscapes then build it slowly into techno. This was the intention and inspiration for the album. Each track was written with each slot in mind based around a sequence from a Cirklon Sequencer, kind of like jigsaw pieces slotted together making a continuous mix with no breaks. There’s quite a difference stylistically between this and Human Response – perhaps no surprise given the seven year gap. How have your tastes and creative tendencies developed over time and do you both share the same influences? Yeah, there is a difference but, as you say, I would hope after seven years things were going to change and we would try and push new boundaries for ourselves. I think our musical tastes have inherently changed naturally over time. For the inspiration for this album we actually went way back. We were listening to a lot of krautrock – YMO and stuff like that. We also found inspiration from early electronic stuff from the E.M.S. which was created by British electronic pioneers Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary and David Cockerell

in the late 1960s. This is stuff that might have influenced the music that influenced us in the first place, which was Detroit techno. We wanted to try and take something coming from the spirit of that early experimentation in electronic music, but make our own interpretation. Though clearly exploring different territory at times, there are also some brilliant archetypal Slam moments like when those synths emerge to take us out of the ambient section of the record. Do you find that kind of signature sound is hardwired to an extent? It’s something we don’t really think about, but I’m glad that our signature sound still remains even though we have taken lots of new influences and used new recording procedures to make the record.

“Making albums is ingrained in our DNA” Stuart McMillan

How do you work in the studio? Is there a clear division of labour or more of a sporadic approach? Each track had its own different story to tell about how it came about. The most exciting thing about this project was trying to take things away from staring at a computer or a laptop screen and to make music more organically. The process was roughly based around me playing with the Cirklon sequencer and the modular synth and Orde would maybe be knocking out patterns on the 909. The beauty of working this way meant that we could somehow inject a more human element into making electronic music, playing the modular almost like an instrument. We would take maybe ten minutes of a live pass of each track and then we would use the computer to edit and tweak the final mix. It was important for

CLUBS

us to take this album outside a normal working environment as well, so we recorded this album with Simon Stokes at his Shoogle studios, which is in Royston where he does the Soma Skool tutorials. You’ve been very busy over the years, with lots of different projects going on. How have you found balancing DJing and running so many high profile events with allowing yourselves time to get into the studio? It’s hard sometimes. When we are locked down doing an album we have to allow ourselves a short time frame to do it. Also for Soma and Slam events we have a good team – if it wasn’t for Dave Clarke, the third member of Slam, it would be almost impossible to run those other ventures. Also, at Soma we have a great team in the office. It’s all about good teamwork with like-minded people. It would be completely impossible to do it all with just the two of us. Finally, where did the album’s title come from? The title Reverse Proceed comes from the process with which we made the album. Conceptually it’s about stepping back and using older methods along with modern technology to try and create something new. We made an album in 1999 called Twisted Funk under the moniker Pressure Funk and we decided we wanted to try and get that energy back into the recording process. For the Pressure Funk album we were using the Roland TR-909 with its external instrument feature, effectively using it as a step sequencer. We then discovered the Sequential Circuits Cirklon sequencer, which coincidentally was made in Paisley by a guy called Colin Fraser. So it’s not only Scottish techno, it’s been made using (partly) Scottish technology as well! Essentially the title came about from acknowledging the inspirational and tactile way electronic music was made in the past, yet also using modern technology to move things forward... hence Reverse Proceed. Reverse Proceed is out on 27 Oct via Soma

Feature

Clubbing Highlights Illustration: Ailsa Sutcliffe

e kick off in Glasgow where Rubix have the pleasure of hosting the long overdue return of world-renowned selector Gilles Peterson. At a time when DJs are everywhere, many with a limited arsenal and questionable skills, Peterson encapsulates all of the qualities of a true master of the craft. Emerging from the pirate radio scene of the mid 80s in Britain, Peterson’s roots are in jazz, funk and soul, but his tastes are as broad as his collection is sprawling. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin’ Loud and Brownswood Recordings, the former Radio 1 regular has released everything from soul and funk to hip-hop, garage and dubstep. Not seen around these parts for six years, Peterson’s appearance is clearly one of the picks of the month (Thu 2 Oct, Sub Club, £8-12). On 10 Oct, we’re headed over to SWG3 to take in a live set from legendary Chicago group, and founding fathers of acid house, Phuture. Composed of DJ Pierre, Spanky and Lothario Lee (who takes the place of original third member Herb J), the US group are credited with the birth of the acid sound which went on to dominate much of dance music from the late 80s into the 90s – particularly in the UK. Their seminal hit Acid Tracks, the product of a revelatory experience playing with the little-known Roland TB-303, was something of a game changer and introduced the world to the gratifying bass squelch of what has since become a revered piece of equipment. With the warehouse setting providing a perfect backdrop, and with the kind of full on live set they delivered for the Boiler Room earlier this year as a benchmark, we suspect this one will be special (£12-15). On the same evening that Phuture roll into town, another Chicago-bred maestro hits Glasgow for the second instalment of La Cheetah’s 5th Birthday celebrations. Now based in Detroit, Theo Parrish needs little introduction for those with a penchant for authentic deep house – the type that leaves most of today’s cookie-cutter imitations seeming dull and lifeless by comparison. His back catalogue, much of which has been released through his own impeccable Sound Signature label, is brimming with seminal records and his soulful, raw take on house has clearly been a key reference point for other Motor City players such as Omar S and Kyle Hall. Most importantly, Parrish is a selector whose passion is rarely matched and the joy with which he sifts through jazz, funk, hip hop and whatever else takes his fancy is usually infectious enough to carry entire clubs along with him. It’s no surprise he returns for the club’s birthday, as his last two sets were among the best in La Cheetah’s five year history (Fri 10 Oct, £13 adv). Next up we have something of a mini festival on the cards as Magic Waves invite a troupe of international DJs and producers to join a selection of local talent for what we suspect will be one of the most interesting nights all month. Headlining is French artist Bernard Fevre under his Black Devil Disco Club guise – a project which has its origins in Fevre’s 1978 Disco Club album which first unleashed his synth-driven European disco style. Fevre launched this contemporary update of the project in 2006 and has proven his continued relevance with last year’s Black Moon White Sun album. Elsewhere on the bill is prolific DJ and remixer Arthur Baker – whose work with the legendary Tommy Boy label saw him produce Afrika Bambaataa’s Planet Rock amongst others. Fevre and Baker are joined by a host of other names including Rotterdam-based house and techno head, Mark Du Mosch, and EBM artist Emile

Preview

Strunz (Fri 24 Oct, SWG3, £8 adv, £12 on door). Next, it wouldn’t be October without a Halloween night and Glasgow has a couple of good shouts, depending on your tastes. The Arches as ever plays host to that end of the month stalwart Pressure and their Halloween Special also doubles up as a launch party for Reverse Proceed, the long awaited album return of hosts Slam. Expect snapshots from a record which finds them on their best form in years. Also on the bill is UK techno vanguard Dave Clarke who – on a good night – is one of the best DJs you’ll see (Fri 31 Oct, £16 earlybird, £20 adv). If you’re looking for a more intimate techno thrill on the 31st, we’re inclined to nod favourably in the direction of Nice ‘N’ Sleazy where the ever-scrupulous Slabs of the Tabernacle have lined up what may well be one of the best nights of the month when they host London-based DJ Leah Floyeurs. Melding together jacking Chicago house, penetrating Detroit techno and dark Drexciyan style electro, Floyeurs is a DJ we suspect should have a much wider audience. A few hours spent trawling through her ‘Leah with Sound’ mixes on Timeline Music’s visual internet radio station – which you can check out on YouTube – should be enough to tempt you in the direction of Sleazy’s. In support is Tabernacle’s Andrew Ingram, who was the first contributor to our Skinned mix series earlier this year. Safe to say, he’s a favourite (£4). Other Glasgow nights well worthy of consideration include Detroit innovator Derrick May, appearing at the Art School (Fri 17 Oct, £5-12), Offbeat’s party with Dutch techno maestro Orlando Voorn on the same night (La Cheetah, £5 adv), and ghetto house goodness when Void and Footwork showcase the Dance Mania label, featuring Jammin Gerald and Houz Mon amongst others (Sat 11 Oct, £tbc). Moving on to Edinburgh, we start at Sneaky Pete’s where In Deep welcome Glaswegian duo Auntie Flo and Esa, who are transporting their Highlife vibes up north from their base in London for the evening. Since emerging in 2011 with the instantly captivating single Oh My Days, Auntie Flo AKA Brian D’Souza has done a lot to further diversify the output of his hometown and enhance the electronic music pedigree which Scotland can lay claim to. Advancing a style which merges elements of house, afrobeat and bass music, D’Souza’s take on music doesn’t pay much need to boundaries – genre-based or geographical. The Highlife club concept, which sees him team up with Esa Williams on percussion, is a celebration of melodies and rhythms from around the world and there’s always likely to be something fresh on the menu (Friday 3 Oct, £4). The following week it’s all about Jackhammer, as they host brothers Lawrence and Lenny Burden, who comprise Detroit’s Octave One. Emerging back in 1990 with the single I Believe, the Burdens have gone on to become one of the most celebrated and enduring acts to hail from the Motor City. Advancing a rhythmic, and unmistakably funky brand of techno, Octave One to this day embody the roots of the genre in a way few others manage – sure there are 4/4 drum patterns and mechanised hooks, but the duo always seem to bring out the soul in the music they make (no surprise if you’ve heard their seminal hit Blackwater, with vocalist Ann Saunderson). Their live sets are usually pretty special too so this one is worth noting in the diary (Fri 10 Oct, The Caves, £10). Next up, we’re heading along to Nightvision, as the series continues in fine form with a back

to back set by Bicep and Leon Vynehall. Having expanded their operations greatly since they first started their Feel My Bicep blog, Northern Irish duo Andy Ferguson and Matt McBriar have quickly emerged as one of the most talked about DJ and production outfits in house. They’ve now amassed a considerable back catalogue for their time in the game, with releases on Throne of Blood, Aus and their own Feel My Bicep outlet finding their way into many a playlist. Joining them for the night is Brighton-based Leon Vynehall, whose album Music for the Uninvited has been one of the deeper highlights of 2014 so far (Fri 24 Oct, La Belle Angele, £16-£18) Finally, for your Edinburgh Halloween outing, it seems rather fitting that you should head to Substance to take in the rather solemn, though entirely captivating, sounds of Shxcxchcxsh – an act whose murky style is thankfully much more clearly pronounced than their infuriatingly

CLUBS

illegible moniker. Hailing from Sweden, the duo mark their spot somewhere between probing techno and ambient IDM, with tracks often dominated by the merging of overdriven kicks, swirling noise, while lighter ethereal melodies often creep in to temper the gloom. In other words, this should make for a perfect Halloween party, and one which doubles up as Substance’s 8th birthday bash. To round things off alongside trusted resident Gavin Richardson, Glasgowbased All Caps co-founder Ryan Martin is also in attendance. A solid line up all round (Fri 31 Oct, Bongo Club, £6). Other notable picks in the capital include eclectic UK veteran Bill Brewster (Fri 17 Oct, Sneaky Pete’s, £4), mash-up pioneers 2ManyDJs’ turn for Nightvision (Sat 18 Oct, The Liquid Room, £22), and Rinse FM spinner Oneman who takes to the decks for Juice at Sneaky Pete’s (Thu 23 Oct, £8.50). [Ronan Martin]

THE SKINNY

The Ultimate Burger Challenge

Do you have what it takes??

1 Burger, 45 Minutes

READY, SET, GO! October 2014

Edinburgh

True Blood: Fans Bite Back In what is for her a post-Sookie Stackhouse era, author Charlaine Harris looks past crazed fans and forward to her ongoing Midnight Texas series of novels and the resurrection of Aurora Teagarden for a major new TV series

hen Charlaine Harris published the final True Blood novel, she did not get quite the rave response she had become accustomed to. Instead, she found herself the victim of a furore that involved suicidal fans, threats to her life, and the slightly more pedestrian promise of returned books. Though hardly a Rushdie-esque Fatwa, the reaction was alarming and Harris quite rightly felt intimidated. “At the height of it all I considered hiring a bodyguard for public appearances,” she says in her laid back Southern drawl, “but now I’ve decided that the people who like to get crazy over these things will have found something else to go crazy over.” And the reason for the uproar? Fans were unhappy with the romantic conclusion of the vampire series, with many feeling that protagonist Sookie ended up with the wrong man, or – more accurately – with the wrong supernatural creature. It was partly the lure of Sookie’s convoluted love life that secured Harris an army of readers, loyal or otherwise. The series has been released in over 30 countries, topped the New York Times bestseller list and spawned seven seasons of astonishingly popular show True Blood (to put it in perspective, only The Sopranos trumps it for HBO ratings). Yet no-one could have predicted the level of online hysteria which met the release of the last book, and the 62-year-old author was left completely baffled. “It was very painful and upsetting that people went so overboard in their reactions to something that was only ever meant

IDP: 2043

By Denise Mina, Pat Mills, Hannah Berry, Dan McDaid, Will Morris, Adam Murphy, Kate Charlesworth, Mary Talbot, Irvine Welsh & Barroux

to be fiction,” she says. However, Harris has not let the drama surrounding the final novel tarnish her affection for the series. She fondly remembers her excitement upon discovering that Alan Ball, creator of hit show Six Feet Under, had decided to adapt the series for television. “It was certainly never an experience I expected to have!” she comments, “I felt very fortunate that HBO wanted to make it.” As the programme took the world by storm, Harris continued quietly tapping away at her keyboard in the small town of Magnolia, Arkansas. Content with the role of author, she let Ball take the show in his own direction — though was careful never to allow the adaptation to influence the direction of her writing: “To be honest, after Season 2 the plot veered so far away from my original stories that I felt like they were completely separate anyway.” Despite the colossal cult following of the True Blood series, Harris says she will never go back: “I love Sookie and all that she’s given me, but it was time to move on.” And move on she has, with the first of a trilogy of graphic novels, The Pretender (illustrated by Christopher Golden) released this year, as well as the Midnight Texas Trilogy, which she recently toured the UK to promote. The release of both a trilogy and a graphic novel in just a few short months would usually be enough to fluster even the most prolific author, yet Harris is already “extremely excited” about her next project. Hallmark

Interview: Rosie Hopegood

Channel are about to begin the adaptation of her Aurora Teagarden books, featuring the unlikely heroine of a murder mystery solving librarian. This time the author won’t be taking a backseat: “I’ll be more involved in the process than I was with True Blood. I’m feeling really good about it, and I’m looking forward to seeing how another network operates.” The show’s screenwriters are currently busy modernising the 25-year-old novels. “It seems like a long time ago and really it is. I mean, this is the pre-cell phone era we’re talking about!” she says. Whether Hallmark Channel manages to follow in HBO’s hugely successful

Rogues

Cold City

By George R R Martin and Gardner Dozois

By Cathy McSporran

rrrrr

footsteps remains to be seen, but Harris’s name alone is sure to draw in viewers. Alongside her writing, Harris is senior warden at her local church, a role which may seem to sit a little incongruously beside her day job. When questioned on this point she shrugs off the dichotomy in her characteristic no-nonsense manner. “I’m in the entertainment industry, not the conversion-to-wicker industry. I’m just hoping to entertain people and take them away from their daily worries for a little while,” she laughs. Midnight Crossroad is out now, published by Gollancz, RRP £18.99

Furies: A Poetry Anthology of Women Warriors By Eve Lacey

rrrrr

Commemorating the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s 30th Birthday, IDP: 2043 harnesses the talents of ten acclaimed writers and artists to tell the story of what Scotland might look like 30 years from now. It’s not a pretty picture: climate change has devastated Britain to the point where only the Highlands remain above water, forcing scores of newly made refugees – Internally Displaced Persons – to seek shelter in sprawling slums built from old shipping containers. Up above them those with the funds to weather the storm sit comfortably in luxurious apartments. Vertical farms have been built to feed the poor and keep the rich in business, spawning a reality show named Sky Farm which offers a glimpse of the world above to those trapped down below. With each chapter handled by a separate set of artists and writers, the book dances vibrantly between completely different styles, re-inventing itself with each new segment and culminating in a poignant environmental warning told as a quick-witted, high voltage thriller. Expertly matching authors with the perfect artists to paint their words, each chapter of IDP: 2043 recreates the sense of beginning something completely new and newly fascinating, without ever wandering too far from the story that makes it so compelling or the themes that make it so unnerving. [Ross McIndoe]

Thanks to Game of Thrones, George R R Martin has leapt from fantasy ghetto to mainstream. The same can’t be said of Gardner Dozois, although the multi-award winning former editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine is arguably just as influential a figure in SF/Fantasy. So, what to expect of Rogues, the seventh themed anthology that Martin and Dozois have put together in just five years? An opportunity to read the best new writing, hooked with the bait of a new Game of Thrones story? Sadly, though the pair deliberately ‘mix-up’ genres from one story to the next, this remains an all-too-repetitive collection; while some stories are entertaining enough, the result’s hardly a ground-breaking collection. While one assumes Dozois does the heavy editorial lifting (Martin still has some eagerly awaited books to write, after all), the big man remains a commanding presence with invited writers as diverse as Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, and Connie Willis echoing his choice of strongly-narrated stories featuring characters or situations steeped in their own work. The result is that this 800+ page anthology is best approached if you already have some previous experience of the respective authors’ imaginary worlds. [Paul Cockburn] Out now, published by Titan Books, RRP £30

Do you believe that different realities can intersect? In her debut novel, Cathy McSporran has created two worlds, which protagonist Susan flips between. It’s a tale of two Glasgows – one where Susan has been committed to a psychiatric hospital following a drugs overdose, and is controlled by prescription drugs. In the ‘other’ Glasgow – that Cold City: wolves roam, militant pagan groups dominate, and there’s a permanent covering of snow and ice on the Clyde. When she first arrives here Susan’s family and friends are shocked to see her as they thought she was dead. Her memory fails her – even she can’t explain what happened or where she’s been. This is a thought-provoking story which questions a person’s consciousness and psyche. As Susan slips unpredictably back and forth, often waking up in deep snow, the reader accompanies her on a journey of mental breakdown and becomes fond of her fighting spirit. This text is bound by narrator Susan’s typical Glaswegian humour which surfaces unexpectedly and therefore creates even more impact. Is Susan ‘deeply disturbed’? What has she invented, and what is real? Cold City is a captivating mystery which introduces you to a major new voice in women’s literary fiction. [Tina Koenig]

The Furies are infernal goddesses of justice and vengeance, daughters of Gaia and punishers of wrongs. In For Books’ Sake’s first anthology – in aid of Rape Crisis England & Wales – women writers rewrite the world with empathy, passion and fury. ‘It is hard to talk about rape,’ writes Bridget Minamore – but poets in this book do so fearlessly, gracefully and with honesty. ‘These secrets that we hold/ Are hunted snakes on silver leashes,/ Venom restrained only by memory.’ Their words celebrate women, survivors and warriors, in a collection which gives voice to the unheard. Sometimes painful, sometimes empowering, the anthology explores a wealth of women’s experience, creating herstories that subvert and interweave with male-dominated histories. ‘I stand like marble under the cross, but you see when I left/ there, I ripped up my dress and let go pure snot and eye-water,’ reveals Malika Booker’s Mary Magdalene, while Diana Brodie’s A Daughter Sings From the Earth quietly asks: ‘Why does Icarus, my brother, need wings?’ Furies brings together a collection of writers from around the world, uniting their voices in a powerful chorus that challenges and changes the status quo. Furies is an exquisite, compelling read. [Ceris Aston] Out now, published by For Books’ Sake, RRP £9.99

Out now, published by Freight Books, RRP £8.99

Out now, published by Freight Books, RRP £14.99

Feature

BOOKS

THE SKINNY

Bibliophile, meet technophile Words: Jenni Ajderian

Image: Caroline Madigan

The best smartphone complements to your reading life

ook-lovers of Scotland, why just read? Advanced capabilities and an open app-publishing market means that there is a veritable cornucopia of apps out there just waiting to enhance your bibliophilic experience. You can write: Your pal’s running late, the train is delayed, you’re waiting for your ASDA shop to get in. Perfect time to brainstorm some ideas for your bestseller. Writing.com’s app Writing Prompts is a simple app that generates a set of ideas to spark your imagination and get you writing something, anything, whenever it’s convenient for you. Random combinations of settings, characters and moods can give you a few starting points, or you could request a random pre-written phrase, and let your muse figure out how the story got there. As ever, the app only provides the inspiration, but it’s the pseudo-random

October 2014

nature of these constantly-regenerating prompts that can rouse the writer within. You can listen: Combining audiobooks and written text, the giants Kindle and Audible have joined forces to bring us Whispersync for Voice. Using the Kindle app, you can upgrade your existing library to be linked to an audiobook, and switch between just text and accompanied text and audio within the same app. Toggling between the two, and keeping your place at the same time, means you can read the story when it’s convenient, or have it spoken to you while your hands or eyes are otherwise engaged. Since the written and spoken forms are presented simultaneously, similar apps have been produced and billed as language-learning devices, though Amazon’s grasp of user-friendly interfaces gives this the edge.

You can judge: We’ve all been scanning QR codes for a while now, but Snaptell have taken Optical Reader technology a step further to recognise the titles of books. The app can then search online for Amazon reviews, recommendations, and pointers for where to get the best price both online and in local bookstores. Quick and simple to use, this little free app also works with CDs and DVDs on sale in the UK or the US. Judging a book by its cover just got easier. You can insult: Tired of duelling with swords and not words? Frustrated that you always leave the tavern before coming up with the silver-tongued insult that could have spared your good name? Fret no more, cus, for the Bard himself is here to help. One of a whole genre of insult apps, Shakespeare Insults holds a cache of Billy’s greatest hits. Along with

BOOKS

all the cross-dressing and murder, Shakey’s plays were full of sizzling one-liners, thou doghearted barnacle, all of which are sure to bring the pain when simply biting your thumb won’t quite do. You can, well, read: While we’re all happy to download the classics for free, it would be nice if those struggling emerging writers out in the world could afford to pay their rent. IndieBound combines a love of reading with community-spiritedness and a hint of exclusivity with their social reading, bookbuying and networking app. Only available on iOS for the moment, but covering both the UK and the US, IndieBound lets you locate your local independent bookstores and make your purchases from their online stores. As well as helping out new writers, you can help put a little bit of cash back into a local business, instead of going to one of the giants of the High Street.

Feature

October Film Events T

'71

’71

The Babadook

rrrrr

Director: Yann Demange Starring: Jack O’Connell, Sean Harris, Killian Scott Released: 10 Oct Certificate: 15

Director: Jennifer Kent Starring: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall Released: 24 Oct Certificate: 15

Yann Demange’s debut feature is a blistering, disturbing portrayal of one British soldier’s attempt to get back to his Belfast barracks after being stranded behind enemy lines during the Troubles. Jack O’Connell gives a muscular performance as Gary Hook, a young recruit injured in a riot and lost among rows of red brick houses. Initially his concern is to avoid the IRA gang chasing him through the city. As the film progresses, however, it becomes less and less clear whom he can trust. Although the story is rooted in reality – Demange’s up-close, visceral style owes a debt to Paul Greengrass – the film succeeds as much as an action movie as a political thriller. O’Connell takes a similar place to Kurt Russell in a John Carpenter film: he’s thrown into a bewildering, nightmarish world, and his challenge is to survive against the odds. Scripted by Gregory Burke (the man behind acclaimed play Black Watch), ’71 is authentic and powerful, and deals with the shady politics of the era without ever being bogged down by them. [Sam Lewis]

Mining terrifying themes of maternal instincts, debut writer-director Kent’s cerebral spook story marks her as a talent to watch. Essie Davis is extraordinary as recently widowed Amelia, who’s struggling to juggle the responsibility of young son Samuel’s behavioural issues while maintaining her job and their home. But when Samuel starts interacting with seemingly imaginary creature the Babadook, things get much more sinister than simply making ends meet. Refreshing for several reasons – not least for having the balls to offer a child protagonist who is a genuine little shit – Kent’s picture has all the requisite creepy atmosphere of your standard possessed-home flick, but its trump card is an almost unbearable dread born of its smartly handled ambiguity. Is there an evil spectre in here? Could Amelia actually be doing this all herself? Is it a bit of both? A mother harming her child is a thought so appalling it doesn’t require additional theatricality, so that Kent makes it all work and actually manages to instil some humour too is testament to her skill. [Chris Fyvie]

Northern Soul

Palo Alto

Director: Elaine Constantine Starring: Steve Coogan, John Thomson, Lisa Stansfield Released: 17 Oct Certificate: 15

rrrrr

Director: Gia Coppola Starring: Jack Kilmer, Emma Roberts, Nat Wolff, Zoe Levin, James Franco, Val Kilmer Released: 17 Oct Certificate: 15

Back in the 60s and 70s, a generation of music fans fell in love with an underground dance movement known as northern soul. Flourishing in the north of England, it was embraced by disenfranchised youths who sought out venues – such as Wigan Casino – where they could spend all night dancing to obscure tracks that had been imported from America. In Northern Soul, we’re invited into this world via John (newcomer Elliot James Langridge), a reclusive Lancashire schoolboy who, when we first meet him, hasn’t quite found his place in life. This changes, however, when he befriends Matt (fellow newcomer Joshua Whitehouse), a would-be DJ passionate about the soul music scene. The story that follows contains a fair amount of sweaty, amphetaminefuelled dancing, which director Elaine Constantine complements with a selection of toe-tapping soundtrack choices. You get a sense that she is more interested in the music scene than the characters themselves, but the authenticity on display is impressive throughout. A Northern Saturday Night Fever? Oh, go on then. [Stephen Carty]

Ever wondered why Renaissance dreamboat James Franco was taking all those Ivy League writing courses? Turns out he was penning short story collection Palo Alto, which follows a handful of dazed and confused teens in the Californian town of the title. Director Gia Coppola (granddaughter of Francis, niece of Sofia) deftly shapes those stories into dreamy vignettes centred around Teddy (Jack Kilmer, son of Val), a sweet, listless stoner, and April (Emma Roberts, niece of Julia), the girl he fancies from afar. Like her aunt Sofia, Coppola has an uncanny knack for mood. The film’s atmosphere is balmy, ripe for teenage antics and anguish. We drift from the lazy after school hangout hours to the high-sexed hothouses that are teenage house parties. Coppola’s style is swoony and elegant: her camera (under the control of Autumn Durald) effortlessly glides as we follow Teddy on his skateboard or April on the soccer field. She’s a dream with actors too: Kilmer and Robert’s tender, heartfelt performances give real depth to familiar coming-of-age pangs and pinings. [Jamie Dunn]

Tony Benn: Will and Testament

rrrrr

Life After Beth is a romantic zombie comedy drama. Or, as anyone fond of cinematic abbreviations might say, a rom-zom-com-dram. Dane DeHaan plays Zach, a grief-stricken teenager who is struggling to cope with the recent death of his beloved girlfriend, Beth (Aubrey Plaza). Not long after the funeral, however, Beth turns up at her parents’ house as if nothing has happened, and it soon becomes clear that something isn’t quite right. Beth’s zombification is a gradual process – an interesting change to the norm – and Plaza’s committed performance sells the various transitions her character goes through. Unfortunately, though, the film itself is tonally uneven and thinly stretched – even at a relatively brisk 85 minutes – while certain members of the cast seem to be on a different page from everyone else. There are pleasures to be found, including Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s ominous electric-guitar score, but Life After Beth is one or two re-writes away from where it needs to be. [Stephen Carty]

Review

Escape From New York

All Night Horror Madness also returns to Scotland this month, at the ‘officially haunted’ Cameo in Edinburgh (11 Oct) and the Grosvenor in Glasgow (18 Oct). As well as the usual vintage trailers and raffle, five films are showing throughout the night, ranging from trash and exploitation (Tourist Trap, Street Trash) to arthouse horror (Flesh for Frankenstein). Also screening is David Cronenberg’s early foray into psychological body horror The Brood, and 80s zombie horror-comedy Night of the Creeps, ensuring that, despite the comfy seats at both cinemas, no one will be sleeping.

rrrrr

Life After Beth

Director: Jeff Baena Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C Reilly Released: 3 Oct Certificate: 15

he BFI’s Sci-fi: Days of Fear and Wonder season beams down, with events across the country. At the GFT (10 Oct) guests are invited to dress in their finest Barbarella-inspired costumes for Peaches Christ’s BEAR-BARELLA, a campy extravaganza featuring the San Francisco drag queen Peaches Christ herself. Celebrating the cult-classic Barbarella, this interactive evening includes Roger Vadim’s film and a pre-show performance. The season also includes a special Escape From New York Treasure Hunt. Beginning at the GFT (26 Oct), guests must navigate Glasgow, solving a series of clues, in order to discover the location of the film’s screening.

Director: Skip Kite Starring: Tony Benn Released: 3 Oct Certificate: 12A

“Life is like a pebble dropped in a pool.” So muses Tony Benn near the start of this heartfelt look back on his life. If this is true, the late MP was more like a boulder. Skip Kite’s film shows, through interviews with Benn and archive clips from his career, how he made his political splash in the 60s as part of Harold Wilson’s Labour government, and how he continued to make waves long after he was pushed to the party’s fringes. As great company as the man himself is, this hymn to Benn is ultimately disappointing. Despite seemingly unlimited access to this passionate firebrand, Kite fails to get under his skin. Part of the problem is the film’s strange framing structure. Continually we come back to a black box stage where Benn is shown pottering among the flotsam and jetsam of his life – above him, his most damning newspaper headlines float ominously, like Damocles waiting for a nasty paper cut. It’s an abstract, chilly device that doesn’t sit well with the straight talking, warm subject. [Jamie Dunn]

FILM

BEAR-BARELLA

The inaugural Spanish Film Festival takes place this month in Edinburgh (8-12 Oct), with a packed programme of films and events. The festival opens with a special screening of documentary In a Foreign Land, featuring a Q&A with its director Icíar Bollaín. At the University of Edinburgh, Michelin-starred chef Andoni Luis Aduriz presents gastronomic-musical collaboration Mugaritz BSO, followed by a rum cocktail tasting. Check edinburghspanishfilmfestival.com for the full line-up. The always popular Scotland Loves Anime festival returns to the GFT (10-12 Oct) and Filmhouse (13-19 Oct). There’s something for everyone here: as well as anime classic Ghost in the Shell, the season includes the first new Dragonball Z movie in seventeen years, Dragonball Z: Battle of the Gods, video gameinspired Bayonetta: Bloody Fate, and Giovanni’s Island, based on true events following World War II. The latter’s director, Mizuho Nishikubo, will be in attendance to answer questions. BAFTA-winning director Michael B Clifford will be at the Cameo (16 Oct) for a Q&A following the screening of his latest documentary, Bicycle, charting the history of, well, bicycles. As more and more people abandon four wheels for two, this quirky film comes at the perfect time, and features interviews and anecdotes about the humble bike and its place in the British psyche. [Becky Bartlett]

THE SKINNY

Animal Farm

rrrrr

Director: John Halas, Joy Batchelor Starring: Maurice Denham Released: 27 Oct Certificate: U

A classroom favourite, Halas and Batchelor’s animated adaptation of Orwell’s classic political fable arrives on Blu-ray with a crisp high-definition transfer. Sixty years on, it still holds up and, for many, remains the definitive adaptation. Bankrolled by the CIA, who insisted on changing Orwell’s original ending, the evils of communism were never less subtle but that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot to enjoy. Indeed, the animation, while crude by today’s standards, lends itself particularly well to the story’s darker moments, most memorably the fate of Boxer, the beloved farm horse, and some grisly executions. The inconsistent tone and lack of subtlety will mean it’s not for everyone, but it’s important to view it in context and, helpfully, extras include commentary from film historian Brian Sibley and a making-of featurette. A great opportunity to check out what is both a worthy adaptation and a genuine piece of anti-communist propaganda. [Scott McKellar]

Ghost in the Shell

Director: Mamoru Oshii Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka Released: 29 Sep Certificate: 15

rrrrr

It’s no exaggeration to say that Ghost in the Shell is one of the most influential sci-fi films of the last two decades. Set in a futuristic cyberpunk world, Mamoru Oshii’s anime classic has inspired numerous live action pictures over the years – including, most notably, The Matrix. Adapted from Masamune Shirow’s manga series, it follows an elite public security agency as they attempt to track down an elusive hacker known as the Puppet Master. The film is occasionally guilty of clumsy exposition, and the intricacies of the plot can be difficult to follow on first viewing, but there are more than enough positives to compensate, as Oshii fuses stylish action sequences with arresting visuals and thought-provoking questions about what it means to be human. Ghost in the Shell isn’t perfect, but it has an appealing dream-like quality, and the animation is incredibly striking. [Stephen Carty]

Blacula – The Complete Collection

Director: William Crain, Bob Kelljan Starring: William Marshall Released: 27 Oct Certificate: 15

rrrrr

Today, a torturous pun in the title usually indicates a horror with tongue lodged tightly in cheek (see this month’s undead rodent feature Zombeavers). So it’s something of a surprise to discover the kitschy qualities of iconic Blaxploitation horror Blacula don’t eclipse some unexpectedly serious undertones, with a plot that sees African prince Mamuwalde (William Marshall) petition Count Dracula for an end to the slave trade, only to wind up shackled and damned. Awakening two centuries later in superfly 70s LA, Mamuwalde spies the double of his deceased wife, and sets about re-claiming his reincarnated bride. Blacula remains eminently watchable thanks to classically trained thespian Marshall, whose natural, dignified gravitas shines through shoddy post-transformation makeup. Sequel Scream, Blacula, Scream (also included), is a slicker outing, offering a more innovative, voodoo-laced take on vampire lore, and while neither film is particularly scary, they’re much more enjoyable than the gimmicky premise implies. [Chris Buckle]

Moebius

Director: Kim Ki-duk Starring: Cho Jae-hyun, Seo Young-ju Released: 13 Oct

rrrrr

Kim Ki-duk’s recent films have been as ugly in form as they have been in content. Moebius, his latest psychosexual drama, is no different. Shot hand-held by the director himself, it has the look of a poorly lit home-movie. We open with a wildhaired matriarch taking skewed revenge on her cheating husband by lopping off their teenage son’s penis. This mutilation sets off a series of twisted acts – including two further castrations! – which are framed, preposterously so, as a kind of Buddhist cause-and-effect cycle. What makes Moebius more palatable than, say, Ki-duk’s similarly themed Pieta is that the South Korean bad boy peppers his film’s nastiness with baroque humour. Like in earlier work 3-Iron, dialogue is eschewed, leaving this Oedipal soap-opera to play out like a Greek tragedy crossed with a slapstick body horror. It should be risible but Ki-duk’s committed cast’s laser-like intensity gives his insane vision a warped grace. [Jamie Dunn]

Zombeavers

WolfCop

rrrrr

Director: Jordan Rubin Starring: Chad Anderson, Lexi Atkins Released: 20 Oct Certificate: 15 The concept of ferocious undead beavers gorged on college kids’ flesh is chucklesome enough to hide a multitude of sins, and Jordan Rubin’s picture certainly stretches that goodwill for a pretty tiresome first half. A standard setup of partying teens in an idyllic lakeside retreat may have been better played straight given the arch, zero-budget tone; some good stuff could have emanated from the cast spouting hokey dialogue in the face of an infestation of fluffy, toothy doom. Instead, Rubin and screenwriting partners Al and Jon Kaplan wait too long to unleash their beasties and lay on some very broad, eye-winking gags, all ranging from ropey to risible with delivery to match. That said, once the critters do attack the frantic pace and inventive gore is loads of fun, and the characters are brought to life by having something more to do than simply act as conduit for pontificating on genre cliché. [Chris Fyvie]

October 2014

Director: Lowell Dean Starring: Leo Fafard, Amy Matysio Released: 13 Oct Certificate: 15 Yet another doolally 80s horror pastiche, WolfCop remembers the rule that some of its predecessors (notably Hobo with a Shotgun) forgot: never let the nastiness outweigh the laughs. And while this tale of an alcoholic Deputy gaining newfound respect for the law when he gets in touch with his inner beast is pretty nasty (foulmouthed, gory, wilfully sleazy), some great oneliners, snappy montages and the most hilariously awkward sex scene outwith a Stallone picture keep things the right side of grotesque. Leo Fafard, decidedly lupine even without prosthetics, does well with his dual-role – pathetic when the booze is flowing, charismatic when the fur starts flying – and enjoys good chemistry with tinfoil-hat-sporting chum Willie and improbably proportioned barmaid/femme fatale Jessica as they tackle even more improbable organised crime and witchcraft in a sleepy Hicksville town. It’s a bit A-Team, a bit Steven Seagal, kinda MacGyver, and a whole lot of fun. [Chris Fyvie]

FILM

Review

]

The Arches Referendum Festival As Scotland went to the polls, The Arches celebrated the debate with a week of performance

ith Scottish Independence being the hot topic of conversation, not just across Scotland but across the world, The Arches bring their Referendum Festival in an attempt to explore, enlighten, and entertain. To begin proceedings Robert Ormerod presents his exhibition Political Youth, a series of photographs depicting the political youth of our generation, the future of politics summed up in posed photographs. Reading the thoughts and ideas of those depicted it is easy to wonder how they will adapt as they develop their future

Words: Christine Lawler

is an inventive piece filled with humour and with some fine tuning should become a fine piece of theatre. Chaired by David Archibald, The Symposium: Imaging Scotland – Pasts, Presents, Futures provides an actual panel comprising of passionate artist Julia Taudevin, knowledgeable Professor Johnny Rodger, and controversial journalist Alex Massie discussing the topic ‘what should artists and writers do with Scottish history.’ Though it drifts from the topic slightly it is a very interesting conversation, which does not descend into mud-slinging of any kind despite evident contempt for one another’s points at times. Preceding the panel, an engaging discussion comes from Alan McCombes who looks at the history of Scotland, which is the topic of the book he and Roz Paterson have produced, Restless Land. Marcus Montgomery Roche: Vote for Me and Trigger: How to Choose? by Davey Anderson and Gary McNair both serve to explore voting and the decisions we face raising questions on political careers. how do we know what is right? Can we ever really Rob Drummond’s Wallace gives some insight into this as he depicts the hypocrisy of know what is right? With the interactive perforpolitics through his work-in-progress which is the mance of Vote for Me the audience has a chance highlight of the festival. The façades of a politito really think about their decision and what it cal TV panel slip and secrets are revealed while may mean, maybe allowing a taster for the day of Drummond himself plays the misguidedly patrivoting itself. otic audience member Wallace. The second part On the eve of the result comes The Arches mirrors the first as politics play out in 1291 show- Political Party. A chance to blow off steam and ing how little has changed in terms of conspiracy consider both sides as the result becomes imand greed for power before we come back to the minent. Hosted by comedian David Bratchpiece, present with Wallace trying to redeem himself. It many artists and performers join him to play a

Glasgay!

Glasgay! is to be an even bigger celebration than usual this year as the festival turns 21 and it's producer, Steven Thomson, celebrates his tenth year at the helm Words: Christine Lawler

Lady Fingers and Empires Biscuits

Preview

teven Thomson has brought Glasgay! from a small festival lasting two weeks to the monthlong affair it is today, attracting thousands of visitors and a wealth of talent from established acts and emerging artists from all over the world creating an international celebration of true equality. Over the ten years of Thomson’s tenure there have been many awards given to him as producer, to the festival, and to Glasgow as Glasgay! has grown in strength, gaining funding and sponsorships to continue its annual appearance on the Glasgow scene. This year is an exploration of historical, contemporary and social taboos with a look at how the lives of the LGBTQI community are understood and accepted. Glasgay! in general goes a long way in achieving wider acceptance, and with a strong line-up of old hands and fresh voices it is safe to say this year can only push it further. The big name of the festival comes in the controversial shape of John Waters, a film-making legend who does not have the word taboo in his vocabulary, making him the perfect guest for this year’s theme. Waters will surely bring plenty of laughs, debauchery, and wit to the stage with This Filthy World Vol.2. The controversy continues with theatre piece Cardinal Sinne by Raymond Burke, a tale based on the allegations of child abuse against the church. Dark subject matter to be used for comedy and maybe not to everyone’s taste, however as this year Glasgay! is all about exploring taboos it seems to fit into the programme very well. Alongside names such as Pamela Carter who brings Slope, an exploration of the love affair between 19th-century poets Verlaine and Rimbaud, comes new writing from Village Pub Theatre who hail from Leith to present a series of script-in-hand performances covering subjects such as sex, HIV, and power with the aid of Guy Fawkes, hotels and butchers. Drew Taylor’s Howl(ing) looks set to be a

THEATRE

part in the occasion with music from Glaswegian band Errors – collaborating with Jamie Wardrop, Carla Easton of TeenCanteen, and jazz vocalist Jude Williams performing ‘songs of yays and nay’ while Andy Wake from The Phantom Band has a spell as DJ. As well as music, the BB Motorcycle Club combine biking, ballet, and boxing with their Revvvverendum, The Curio Cabaret Takeover supply a show hosted by Sita Pieraccini filled with song and sparkle, and spoken word plays its part with Kirstin Innes and a host of special guests. With cocktails inspired by Tunnocks Teacakes and Irn Bru bringing merriment to the night it is a Scottish extravaganza that doesn’t disappoint. As the result resonates around the world the aptly named What Now Brunch gives a chance to digest it along with coffee and bacon rolls with the cast of Wallace playing host. A quiet affair, begging the question, would more have attended had the result been different? With the Referendum Festival over and the Independence matter seemingly settled the question is will Scotland ever be the same again? Will performance continue to be influenced by this historic topic or is it now just business as usual? The passion the referendum has caused is certainly intense and could be used to great effect, channeled to fuel further debate and intensify performance. Or it could fizzle out under a damp sky leaving it just another piece of Scottish history. So, what now? thearches.co.uk

highlight, in association with Glasgay! and the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival, using the poem of Allen Ginsberg as the basis for a post-referendum performance. As does Rosana Cade’s presentation of Lady Fingers & Empire Biscuits which takes a look at the relationship between Britain and India, in particular at the idea that India never condemned same sex relationships until Britain’s rule in 1860. This performance should be well informed as Cade herself travelled to India to research and interview for this piece. Alongside the annual appearance from Craig Hill with Give Him An Inch..., Stephen K Amos brings his new show Welcome to My World, Sarah Pascoe vs History explores romance, existentialism and culture while Vikki Stone: Instrumental brings quirky back with an inventive and musical performance. The film portion of proceedings brings a wonderful selection covering a range of topics such as race, gender, and gay marriage with classics such as Dog Day Afternoon and the more recent 2014 film Love is Strange, all being shown at Glasgow Film Theatre. A decent portion of this year’s Glasgay! programme is made up of emerging artists giving them an excellent platform to get their work seen and be creative in their content, especially for those whose work roots itself in queer discourse, such as Rosana Cade. Being part of an impressive festival such as Glasgay! will surely do no harm to their reputations. 2014 is a special year for Glasgay! and with such a varied programme it will be hard for this one to fall flat. And, with the intensity of the referendum still lingering, the festival may go a long way in clearing the air and pushing Glasgow forward into a brighter future. Glasgay!, 20 Oct-15 Nov glasgay.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Scottish Art Events Allow us to introduce our new monthly guide to Scotland’s art exhibitions and events

Photo: Ruth Clark

Words: Adam Benmakhlouf

courtesy the Artist and The Modern Institute/Toby Webster Ltd

Duncan Campbell ‘It for others’, 2013 16mm film transferred to digital video 54 minutes Commissioned by The Common Guild for Scotland + Venice 2013

Jim Lambie

his exhibition was amazing! Five Skinnies! But it finished last week... An all-too-familiar moment of disappointment. This has gone on for too long – it’s no longer acceptable for shows to come and go without the measures put in place to alert you, the interested parties, to their existence. In a bid to combat this, please welcome our new monthly visual arts column. In Dundee Contemporary Arts, an exhibiton by Heather Phillipson accompanies the Discovery Film Festival. Working across most of the disciplines, Phillipson’s variously excited, poignant and brash (in the best way) works will be exhibited as part of the youth-oriented film festival held annually at DCA and running this year from Saturday 25 October til Sunday 9 October. Already open and finishing on the 25 October, the Common Guild in Glasgow exhibits the final part of its Scotland+Venice representations with Duncan Campbell’s films. On display are two films that play one after the other on a 90 minute loop that will start at 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm, with an additional screening at 4.30pm on Thursdays. Also already into its run at the time of print and on until 2 November, Gregor Wright’s exhibit in the CCA spreads itself across foam figures, clay dinosaurs and wall drawings. Several events accompany this exhibition, including a screening of 1980 sci-fi flick Death Watch (Wed 8 Oct 2014, 7pm) and a Halloween symposium – 7pm, with free t-shirts. Heading Southside to the Queenspark Railway Club, from 2 – 25 October Michael White exhibits drawings he made while on Jobseeker’s, using the related documents and correspondences as his substrate. Over in Tramway, Alan Michael presents new paintings and photo based work as part of the last run of GENERATION exhibitons – on until 26 October. For those with a spare half hour, it would be wise to head to Kendall Koppe and Mary Mary. In Kendall Koppe, Josh Faught exhibits heavy

October 2014

knitted blankets, with their pockets for book shaped and see-through forms with covers stuck on their fronts and backs – finishing 30 October. Upstairs in Mary Mary, it’s less cosy with the immediately chemical smell and rungless ladders of Aleana Egan’s installation – on throughout the month. Over in Edinburgh, Jim Lambie’s GENERATION exhibition is in its last few weeks in the Fruitmarket, closing on 19 October. Heading to the Mound, the RSA are displaying the work produced by the recipients of the Residencies for Scotland programme. The first half of the exhibition ends on 5 October, then the next set of artists are exhibited from 11 October til 9 November. With the Edinburgh Art Festival a month gone, there’s still a last chance to catch Owen Logan’s EAF exhibit at the Stills gallery. As part of group show The King’s Peace: Realism and War, Logan’s Masquerade: Michael Jackson Alive in Nigeria (2001-2005) plays against straight documentary photography and, with a strange humour, draws parallels between Jackson’s biography and the recent history of conflict in post-colonial Nigeria. There are also the last few free events that have been arranged across several venues as part of this summer’s GENERATION programme. On the evening of 9 October at the Scottish National Gallery, Bobby Niven and Graham Fagen will deliver artist’s talks. The next day in Glasgow, Raydale Dower will present a performance in Tramway – 10 October, 7pm. Back to Edinburgh but this time to the Scottish National Gallery where on 13 October Dr Sarah Lowndes will deliver a lecture on Art and Music in Glasgow Since the 1970s. In the same venue on 23 October, Martin Boyce will discuss the 2002 installation Our Love is Like the Flowers, the Rain, the Sea and the Hours, which he recreated for GENERATION. Please send details of art events and exhibitions to adam@theskinny.co.uk

ART

Preview

Win £250 to spend at Win a Festival Package Dr. Martens Store to Simple Things! T

o celebrate its new The Spirit of ’69 collection Dr. Martens has teamed up with The Skinny to offer readers a chance to win £250 to spend in one of its UK stores. The Spirit of ’69 collection remembers first generation skinheads and their passion for style and detail, materials and practical durability with its Dr. Martens footwear, shirts from Brutus, Edwin Jeans and MA-1 flight jackets from Alpha Industries and a special edition Trojan Record box. The Spirit of ’69 campaign features two modern day skinheads, Michael and Anita, and was shot by renowned subcultural observer and fashion photographer Gavin Watson. #STANDFORSOMETHING For your chance to win, head to theskinny. co.uk/about/competitions and answer the following question: Which photographer shot the Spirit of 69 campaign for Dr. Martens? a) Gavin White b) Gavin Watson c) Gavin Black Competition closes midnight on Sun 2 Nov. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at www. theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

Competitions

Dean Blunt

f anyone’s itching for another multi-venue urban music festival long after the balmy Spring fling that is Stag & Dagger, worry not. Bristol-based city shindig Simple Things will be coming to Glasgow for the first time ever this November, providing a quality bill across the O2 ABC, The Art School and Broadcast, featuring (among others) the likes of Nightmares on Wax, Actress, Hookworms, Haxan Cloak, Dean Blunt, and a showcase from LuckyMe. The Skinny has teamed up with Simple Things to offer a whole heap o’ swag: two lucky winners can each win a pair of tickets to the festival, a hotel stay, and a goodie bag full of albums and merch from the festival artists. To be in with a chance of winning, head along to theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and answer the following question:

Experimental outcast Dean Blunt recently claimed to listen to nothing but... a) Oasis b) Megadeth c) Steve Harley and the Cockney Rebel

Competition closes at midnight on Sun 26 Oct. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/ terms

THE SKINNY

Glasgow Music

TOWER OF SAINTS (THREE BLIND WOLVES + GAV PRENTICE) 13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £5

Collab project of Dutch singer/ songwriter Harmen Ridderbos and Finnish violinist Heta Salkolahti. ELLA EYRE

Tue 30 Sep JULY TALK

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £8

Canadian indie-rock ensemble led by the twin singing talents of Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay. MOUNTAINS UNDER OCEANS + HALO TORA

THE ROXY 171, 20:00–22:30, £4

Double dose of experimental Glasgow bands, currently out on their joint UK tour.

DAN SARTAIN (THE JACKHAMMERS + HOMESICK ALDO)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Alabama rock’n’roller straddling the line somewhere between rockabilly and blues. AUXES (GREAT COP + MANUSCRIPTS)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Furious German punk rock unit, out and touring their new LP.

Wed 01 Oct

BLUE ROSE CODE (DANNY THOMPSON)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £14.50

PICTUREHOUSE ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £12

The Dave Browne-led Irish outfit return after a 10-year hiatus. DAVE PHILLIPS (OKISHIMA ISLAND TOURIST ASSOCATION + MOURN)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £5

Live video set from the Zurich based noise activist, with a lengthy CV that includes everything from seminal grindcore unit, Fear of God, to legendary actionist group, Schlimpfluch Gruppe.

Fri 03 Oct ATTICA RAGE

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £10

The Ayrshire heavy rockers take to the stage for their usual bonerattling live outing. THE BEVVY SISTERS

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £10

All-female Edinburgh trio uniting the richly seasoned voices of Heather Macleod, Kaela Rowan and Roberta Pia. ANDREW ROACHFORD

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

London-based, Edinburgh-born post-folk singer/songwriter Ross Wilson does his thing, big on the Celtic lullabies and Caledonian soul.

The soulful London-based singer/ songwriter – and main force behind Roachford – plays a solo set.

MONO, 19:30–23:00, £11

Still partying like nu-rave never went away, the Shrewsbury-viaLeeds group hit the road again.

FUTURE OF THE LEFT

The Welsh alternative rockers tour their current re-jigged, beefed-up line-up. TEA STREET BAND

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £6

Up and coming Liverpool troupe who’ve been described as like 808 State having a meeting mid-Channel to hear some French electronic by Space Disco You. THE MENZINGERS (THE SMITH STREET BAND + THE HOLY MESS)

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:30–22:30, £12

Live set from the American punk unit. MAX JURY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £8

Young Iowa singer/songwriter built on a love of great American songwriting from the likes of Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons and Paul Simon. JIMMY LAFAVE

ORAN MOR, 19:30–23:00, £15

The first Scottish date in some 15 years for the Oklahoma singer/ songwriter, opening this year’s Glasgow Americana Festival.

ALL BECOMES CLEAR (ALL BUT GENTLEMEN + STOLEN SOUND + ROLLER RINK + EAMONN MCNAUGHTON) PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5

Lake District rockers taking their cue from the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age and Foo Fighters. GOODCOPGREATCOP

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Vibrant, emo-tinged indie rockers from Perth.

Thu 02 Oct

MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA (KEVIN DEVINE)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £14

The Atlanta-based lot (aye, get over it, they’re not from Manchester) play a set of heavy rock, predominantly cherrypicked from their new LP, Cope. STRAND OF OAKS

MONO, 20:00–23:00, £9

THE SUNSHINE UNDERGROUND

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £13.50

CONQUERING ANIMAL SOUND

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £7

The lo-fi Glasgow noisemakers (aka Anneke Kampman and James Scott) perform using loops and samples, continuing with their template of building the songs from their roots as the intricate melodies unfold.

CARL VERHEYEN (THE BLACKBERRY BRANDIES)

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £14

The Supertramp legend calls in to play material from his own substantial solo back catalogue and hopefully the odd surprise. APES

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £6.50

Hip-hop duo hailing from Minneapolis, consisting of rapper Slug and DJ/producer Ant.

MARMOZETS + LONELY THE BRAVE (ALLUSONDRUGS) KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £9

Cheeky young alternative math rock lot Marmozets take to the road alongside self described ‘epic rock’ foursome Lonely the Brave.

October 2014

TENEMENT TRAIL (THE ROCKALLS + VLADIMIR + DIRTY DIAMOND AND THE GUNSLINGER + LAURA ST JUDE + TEENCANTEEN + PRONTO MAMA + MODEL AEROPLANES + HECTOR BIZERK) BROADCAST, 14:45–23:00, £10

Glasgow media dudes Tenement TV host the sophomore Tenement Trail all-dayer across five neighbouring venues, with Broadcast casually moving from the all-girl pop of TeenCanteen to the hard-hitting hippity-hop of Hector Bizerk, who take the closing slot.

TENEMENT TRAIL (NEON WALTZ + RANDOLPH’S LEAP + CHERRI FOSPHATE) KING TUT’S, 21:00–00:00, £10

Glasgow media dudes Tenement TV host the sophomore Tenement Trail all-dayer across five neighbouring venues, with King Tut’s welcoming a trio of good ‘uns in the form of Cherri Fosphate, Randoph’s Leap and Neon Waltz.

Sat 04 Oct

EMELLE (THE CHELSEAS)

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5 ADV. (£6 DOOR)

Leith’s favourite scallywags return with a newish line-up and their fearsome brand of indie-folkmeets-punk. DISTRICT 55 (BELTUR + DIO APOSTLES + ONEMANREVIVAL)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £5

The melodic heavy rock four-piece break out the riffs, as per the District 55 law. TYCHO (CHRISTOPHER WILLITS)

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Formerly the output of one man, Scott Hansen, which has now grown into a trio following the release of his second LP, Awake. HEADLESS KROSS + IKARIE XB-1 + SUNSMASHER + OF SPIRE AND THRONE IVORY BLACKS, 20:00–00:00, £5

Four of Scotland’s heaviest riff peddlers gather under one trembling roof. HEIGHTS

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:30–22:00, £7

The original punk rockers take to the road, a little balder but still in possession of all the hits.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

FLAT 0/1, 15:45–01:00, £10

Glasgow media dudes Tenement TV host the sophomore Tenement Trail all-dayer across five neighbouring venues, with Flat 0/1 making merry from 3.45pm-1am, soundtracked by Atom Tree, Camfires in Winter, Blood Indians and more.

American hardcore punk supergroup composed of Keith Morris, Dimitri Coats, Steven Shane McDonald and Mario Rubalcaba.

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

ATMOSPHERE

TENEMENT TRAIL (BLOOD INDIANS + SAM FENDER + TWIN MIRRORS + HAVE MERCY LAS VEGAS + APACHE DARLING + JIM VALENTINE + THE VELVETEEN SAINTS + CAMPFIRES IN WINTER + ATOM TREE)

Sun 05 Oct

The melodic hardcore outfit from Welwyn Garden City embark on what will be their final tour.

LA-based hip-hop rapper, producer, director and actor, aka Marcus Jamal Hopson to his mammy.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 14:15–23:00, £10

Glasgow media dudes Tenement TV host the sophomore Tenement Trail all-dayer across five neighbouring venues, with Nice ‘n’ Sleazy’s kicking off at 2.15pm and taking in the genre-hopping likes of Deathcats, Acrylic and Friends In America.

The Australian rockers make their UK debut with a string of four dates.

Stage moniker of Timothy Showalter, a singer/songwriter hailing from Philadelphia, weaving true stories into his indie folk sounds. HOPSIN

TENEMENT TRAIL (VIOLET DRIVE + ACRYLIC + DEATHCATS + TRIBAL HIGH + SCARY PEOPLE + ROXY AGOGO + MEDICINE MEN + CRASH CLUB + FRIENDS IN AMERICA)

BUZZCOCKS (THE DOLLYROTS)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

TENEMENT TRAIL (COPPER LUNGS + WAITING FOR GO + BOMBSKARE + TIJUANA BIBLES + VUKOVI) O2 ABC, 17:00–22:00, £10

Glasgow media dudes Tenement TV host the sophomore Tenement Trail all-dayer across five neighbouring venues, with King Tut’s kicking off at 5pm and welcoming Copper Lungs, Waiting for Go, Bombskare, Tijuana Bibles and Vukovi (in that very order).

OFF! (CEREBRAL BALLZY)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £12

OLOF ARNALDS

MONO, 19:30–23:00, £9

Icelandic singer and multi-instrumentalist, classically educated on the violin, viola and self-taught on guitar and charango (aka one talented lass). OWEN MCGARRY

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Electronic pop-meets-rock Belfast singer/songwriter, currently out and touring the UK. GULP

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £6

The project of Lindsey Leven and Super Furry Animals’ Guto Pryce tour their warped and wonderful Welsh psych pop, with acclaim ringing out for their debut album Season Sun, out on Sonic Cathedral. BLITZ KIDS

CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £8

Alternative rock foursome formed by a band of school chums from Nantwich. STURGILL SIMPSON

ORAN MOR, 19:30–23:00, £13

Nashville singer/songwriter on the road in support of second album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, coming from the tradition of outlaw country that includes legends Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard.

Mon 06 Oct CASUAL SEX

CCA, 19:30–22:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

The Glasgow indie foursome – the sleaze-heavy brainchild of vocalist and guitarist Sam Smith – mark the release of their double A-side single (from their forthcoming debut LP) out on the same day.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13

Young Brit School graduate built on feisty songwriting, a bountiful crop of curly hair and powerhouse vocals that belie her years. FKA TWIGS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £10

The Artist Formerly Known As Twigs, before anyone knew she’d ever been called Twigs, plays a live set off the back of some major hype. AVI BUFFALO (HAPPYNESS)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £10

Alternative-styled Long Beach ensemble founded by singer/ songwriter and guitarist, Avi Zahner-Isenberg.

Tue 07 Oct

THE TREATMENT (BUFFALO SUMMER + MASSIVE) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Classic rock sounds from the Cambridge quintet of young chaps. JUNGLE BROTHERS

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

Veteran hip-hop group best known for the ground-breaking Straight Out The Jungle, released in 1988.

THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE (PINACT + CHAOS AT MIDNIGHT) KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7.50

The London-based alternative ensemble play tracks offa their new LP, Feel Something. MATT HENSHAW (CALUM CAMPBELL)

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5

The Ilkeston-based singer/songwriter makes the trip north for a set of his unique acoustic rhythm and gospel. 7 OF 7 (BLUE NOVA + STORM OF EMBERS + ABANDONED STARTS) 13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Glasgow-based progressive rock unit built on a diet of drums and a trio of guitars. VERSE METRICS (MEMORY MAN)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Melodic and mathy rock from the tune-laden Scottish outfit.

Wed 08 Oct DRY THE RIVER

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £10

London-based quintet of the ‘stealth rock’ variety, out and celebrating the release of their sophomore LP. ELIZA AND THE BEAR (MODEL AEROPLANES)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Five piece euphoric indie pop/ rock lot hailing from London and featuring neither Eliza, nor indeed a bear. TARIBOWEST (WITHOUT AEROPLANES + POCKET APOCALYPSE)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

A selection of super-heavy sounds curated by Vasa’s J Niblock and Detour’s Ally McCrae. HEYROCCO

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £6

South Carolina band of school chums who brand their thing ‘Disney grunge’. SHINY DARKLY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £6

Copenhagen noise rockers making dark pop sounds wrapped in a simple lo-fi form.

OLIVE GROVE RECORDS SHOWCASE (CALL TO MIND + JO MANGO + THE STATE BROADCASTERS) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £5

Special showcase from DIY label Olive Grove Records, with Call To Mind, The State Broadcasters and Jo Mango representing on the night. Part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival.

Thu 09 Oct TOM VEK (FUN ADULTS)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £11

More dreamy, lo-fi rock from the self-taught multi-instrumentalist musician, known to his mammy as Thomas Timothy Vernon-Kell. MACHINES IN HEAVEN + ATOM TREE

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:30–22:00, £7.50 (£5)

Glasgow indie-rock combo Machines in Heaven play a special double headline set with ambient electronic Glasgow buddies, Atom Tree, as part of this year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts Film Festival.

THAT FUCKING TANK (LEPI + CUTTY’S GYM) 13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

More in the way of baritone guitar and drums rock from the Leeds noise duo. KORY CLARKE

CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £11

The Warrior Soul frontman takes to the road solo, with his new LP stripping the rock sounds back to their bare bones.

THE LAWRENCE ARMS (SAM RUSSO + BANGERS) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £14

Chicago punk rock outfit formed at the tail-end of the 90s. ALEX VARGAS

Sun 12 Oct

DANNY AND THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD (TREVOR MOSS & HANNAH LOU + JIM DEAD)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £8

Genuinely affecting country-folk from the Australian-born, south London living, Danny George Wilson and his merry band. Roald Dahl similarities left at the title. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:30–22:00, £12.50

Alternative Californian quintet led by heavily-tattooed frontman Jesse Rutherford. SOUTHERN

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £TBC

London-based singer/songwriter of the acoustic noise soul variety.

Brother and sister duo from Belfast making blues meets folk tuneage.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £8.50

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £15

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £6

SYLVAN ESSO

Amelia Meath’s supposed-to-be solo project, which turned into a duo when she met electronic producer Nick Sanborn. THAT FUCKING TANK (LEPI + CUTTY'S GYM)

13TH NOTE, 20:00-23:00, £TBC

More in the way of baritone guitar and drums rock from the Leeds noise duo. STRUGGLEFEST: WARM-UP

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

The DIY punk label present a special precursor to their annual festival event.

Fri 10 Oct

THE TRAVELLING BAND

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £7.50

Manchester alternative folkies, all shimmering and harmonic in their understated psychedelia kind of way. MAX RAPTOR (FREEZE THE ATLANTIC + TRUE ARCADIAN + BAREN)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £6

Midlands foursome fusing classic punk attitude with plenty of ballsy riffs and raucous lyrical chants, as you do. SKELETAL FAMILY + SALVATION

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13

A rejuvenated Salvation take to the road with fellow 80s alternative scenesters Skeletal Family for a double headed six-date nationwide romp.

CRUCIFIED BARBARA (SUPERCHARGER + JUNKSTARS) STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £10

Swedish metal four-piece who took their name after finding a crucified sex doll at Roskilde Festival in Denmark. Standard. EBO TAYLOR

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–22:00, £10 (£8)

The Highlife legend brings his nine-piece live band to Glasgow, 79-years-old and still going strong.

Sat 11 Oct

THE AMAZING SNAKEHEADS

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–22:00, £8.50

Glasgow-based rock’n’rollers gently imbuing their sound with a bit o’ garage blues. PETE WYLIE (TOM CARROLL)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £12.50

The Mighty Wah! frontman sings some songs and tells some tales.

MFM’S DIRTY TAKEOVER (THE HOLY GHOSTS + DEAD SEA SOULS + HOLY PISTOL CLUB + THE VAGABOND POETS + THE TRIPPS + OUTSTANDIFOLD AND THE WETTYGRIPPERS + MATT SCOTT + LOSING GROUND + ALANA AMRAM + THE ROUGH GEMS) CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:00, £6

My First Music host a live music takeover, featuring a headline set from ‘burgh rock’n’rollers The Holy Ghosts, amongst others.

STRUGGLEFEST 2014 (PREVENGE + WANK FOR PEACE + THE SINKING FEELING + BONEHOUSE + THE GREAT ALBATROSS + BAD LUCK + ALGERNON DOLL + BRIGHT SIDE + GREAT COP)

STEREO, 15:00–22:00, £10 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

Struggletown Records host the inaugural Strugglefest 2014, celebrating the best of DIY punk, indie, emo, hardcore and grunge from the past three years. ROYAL WOOD & MAEVE O’BOYLE

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £10

Local lass Maeve O’Boyle plays a double headline set with Canadian singer/songwriter Royal Wood.

WAYNE HUSSEY

The lead singer of The Missions and Sisters of Mercy guitarist goes it alone. UNITED PROGRESSIVE FRATERNITY

CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

The spirit of Australian progressive rock unit Unitopia lives on, with ex-Unitopia members Matt Williams on guitar, Dave Hopgood on drums, Tim Irrgang on percussion and Mark Trueac on vocals. SKILLET

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £15

Tennessee Christian rock unit consisting of husband and wife coupling John and Korey Cooper, alongside fellow band members Jen Ledger and Seth Morrison. RONIN (THE RICH + NAKED NELIS + HAYZNJAYZ)

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:00, £5

Up-and-coming ensemble with foundations firmly planted in rock and elements of alternative, blues and pop.

Mon 13 Oct CLEAN BANDIT

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, FROM £15

Eccentric young pups from London, building their sound on the instrumental core of bass, drums and strings, bolstered by a variety of budding vocalists.

ERLAND & THE CARNIVAL (THE JOHN STEEL SINGERS)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £8

Former Verve drummer bloke Simon Tonge takes his band back on the road in support of their third LP, Closing Time. GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS + HOWE GELB

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £20

Twisted Americana meeting of minds, as angsty country chap Grant-Lee Phillips co-headlines with alternative country godfather (and Giant Sands frontman) Howe Gelb.

Tue 14 Oct CATFISH KEITH

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

The blues singer/songwriter and master of the slide guitar plays a live set. OPETH

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £22

The Swedish progressive metal kings return to the UK. PATENT PENDING

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £9.50

Infectious and energetic punk-rock outfit hailing from Long Island, New York &ndash; chock with fist pumps and pop hooks, as standard. KISHI BASHI (BEATY HEART)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £8

The singer, violinist and composer continues his solo orchestral project – known for playing around with a dazzling array of vocal and violin loops. ATILLA

CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £9

American deathcore unit intent on bringing the party spirit back into heavy music. CLINT MANSELL

OLD FRUITMARKET, 20:00–23:00, £25

English musician, composer and former lead singer of Pop Will Eat Itself, performing a special set alongside his band, pianist Carly Paradis and the Sonus Quartet. STATES AND EMPIRES

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Welsh rock band formed from members of Attack! Attack! last year. PRECIOUS FEW

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5

German duo often drawing comparisons to the likes of Nico and PJ Harvey.

Wed 15 Oct JAY BRANNAN

MARK MORRISS (COMMON GROUND + FEED OF CLAY) CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £12

The NYC singer/songwriter does his lo-fi indie folk thing, which he self describes as like ‘the little mermaid on crack’, which is nice.

The Bluetones frontman takes to the road lonesome, now firmly a solo entity following the band’s split (and farewell tour) at the end of 2011.

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

CCA, 19:00–22:00, £9

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £10

NELL BRYDEN

The young New York-based singer/ songwriter plays a solo set. THE HOLD STEADY

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

GLASS ANIMALS

Baroque folk trio with distinct pop(ish) influences, still riding the wave of their debut LP, ZABA. PAUL MILLS’ MIND EXCURSION

Brooklyn-based indie rock outfit, frequently addressing themes of drug addition and religion in one fell swoop.

The drumming legend brings his blinding live funk band back to slap you stupid.

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £28.50

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18

SURVIVOR

Longstanding American rockers – formed way back in’t 1978 – responsible for the amazingness that is Eye of the Tiger. SAGE FRANCIS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

The hip-hop icon returns after four-year hiatus, touring his new LP, Copper Gone – featuring beat production from such long-time collaborators as Buck 65, Alias, and Cecil Otter. BLOSSOMS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £6

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

IN FLAMES

Gothenburg noisy metal unit on the go since 1990. NICOLE ATKINS

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

American pop-meets-rock singer/ songwriter demonstrating a new depth and maturity of late. HUNDRED WATERS

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £9

LA-based indie lovelies out and touring their new LP, The Moon Rang Like a Bell. SIVU

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £8.50

Manc mosaic-like five piece mixing pop nous with psychedelic blurriness.

The Cambridge-born, Finnishnamed chappie does his singer/ songwriter thing.

PIVO PIVO, 20:00–23:00, £4

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £10

ALL SUNS BLAZING

JOHN WHEELAR

Glasgow rock’n’rollers led by lead songwriter/guitarist Henry Reilly.

The Hayseed Dixie man takes to the road solo.

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Sat 18 Oct

TETRA (HAAST + LYLO)

Indie-meets-rock Glaswegians giving birth to their new Ep in’t Bloc+’s dark lair.

Thu 16 Oct BLACK VEIL BRIDES

BARROWLAND, 18:30–23:00, £20

Glam metal-styled Hollywood rock quintet ; back-combed, leatherclad and eyelinered to the max, as per the Black Veil Brides law. ARABROT (RABBITS + CLOCKED OUT + HOLY MOTORS)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Norwegian noise-rockers hailing from Haugesund, named after their city’s garbage disposal, apparently. TREMBLING BELLS (ELA ORLEANS)

MONO, 19:30–22:00, £6

Kings and queens of modern folk, currently in the midst of recording a new album and music video, and bolstered by a newly-recruited 5th member (Alasdair Mitchell from Hidden Masters). BLACKBERRY SMOKE

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

Georgia-based rockers who have been together for more than a decade. CLOUD BOAT (FACE VS HEEL)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £5

London-based duo ditching their electronically embellished brossinging-around-a-woodlandcampfire schtick for a more full-band sounding aesthetic on new LP, Model of You.

WOMAN’S HOUR (AJIMAL + COEUR)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £9

The Secretly Canadian-signed four-piece from London continue their steady ascent. GRANT NICHOLAS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

Feeder man goes solo. One can only speculate as to what music listening device his tour bus might contain. JESS GLYNNE

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Wild-haired British singer/ songwriter who featured on Clean Bandit’s 2014 single, Rather Be.

LECHEROUS GAZE (LOS TENTAKILLS + THE JACKHAMMERS)

NICK HARPER (AARON FYFE)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £10

The English singer/songwriter and guitarist does his acoustic folk-rock thing, complete with trademark acerbic lyrics. WASHINGTON IRVING

CCA, 19:30–22:00, £8

The indie-folksters (whose story began in a basement flat back in February 2008, fact fans) play a special set joined by a selection of musical pals. SONIC HEARTS FOUNDATION (KILL SURRRF)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £2

The atmospheric Weegie indierockers play their deft mix of fuzzed-out shoegaze dynamics and slightly more conventional indie and pop. HOLY MOUNTAIN (HALFRICAN)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £8

The doom’n’roll Glasgow trio emit their usual sludgy sonic assault at intensely-loud levels. Amen. CHERRY SUEDE

13TH NOTE, 19:00–23:00, £13 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

Acoustic up-close-and-personal encounter with Randy Scott and Randy Young (aka Cherry Suede), playing a selection of new songs and classics. TO ROCOCO ROT (THE NATIONAL JAZZ TRIO OF SCOTLAND)

PLATFORM, 19:00–22:00, £10

Atmospheric Berlin-based trio sparingly stocked with isolating electronics and organic krautrock grooves, celebrating the release of their new LP on Berlin’s City Slang label (their first full-length since 2010’s Speculation). ANDREW MONTGOMERY

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

Scottish singer/songwriter who is best known as a member of late 90s Aberdeen indie-rock outfit, Geneva. NASHVILLE PUSSY

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £12.50

Atlanta outfit still trying to extract every last drop of longevity from the tattered cliche sex, drugs and rock’n’roll.

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

THE EMPATHY (PARDON THE PEOPLE + THE NAKED FEEDBACK + SONS OF SAM + PATERSANI)

Fri 17 Oct

Energetic ensemble mixing original material with crowd-pleasing covers.

Filthy American rock’n’roll-styled scamps. BAD MANNERS

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

More in the way of party ska hits, with the larger-than-life Buster Bloodvessel still gurning away at the helm. VOM (THE WRONG BOYFRIENDS + THE FNORDS + ANTIQUE PONY)

13TH NOTE, 20:30–23:00, £5

Headline set from the apocalyptic goth outfit, with suitably dark and noisy supports.

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:00, £5

Sun 19 Oct WHEATUS

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12

New York indie-popsters led by Brendan B. Brown and his heartfelt nasally drawl, forever defined by hit single Teenage Dirtbag.

Listings

15 TIMES DEAD (BRAVADO + NICOLA MADILL) PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £3

Longstanding Glasgow metalheads whose brain-pounding riffs are somewhat of a calling-card. MAVERICK SABRE

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

London born, Irish-raised, soulful hip-hop singer/songwriter discovered by Plan B. CHUCK PROPHET

ORAN MOR, 19:30–23:00, £16

American singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer who hit the road straight outta high school in the 80s with psychedelic roots band Green on Red. BURY TOMORROW (HANDS LIKE HOUSES)

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £11

The Portsmouth/Southampton hailing five-piece bring the rallying metalcore sounds, as per. GREGORY ALAN ISAKOV (DAWN LANDES + SCOTT MCWATT)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW

THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £14

Americana string band from Nashville, fusing all-acoustic old-time instruments with original songwriting. HOW TO DRESS WELL

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £10

Moniker of experimental pop producer Tom Krell, the man who shot to fame in 2010 with his debut album, Love Remains, and continued this upward trajectory with his next release, Total Loss. LOLA COLT

MONO, 20:00–23:00, £8

London-based six-piece, taking their name from a 1967 Spaghetti Western. ULI JON ROTH

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

The inimitable German guitarist plays the only Scottish date of his Scorpions Revisited Tour 2014. DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £14.50

Johannesburg-born indie-meetsfolk singer/songwriter more at home on the road that not.

Toronto-raised duo built on primal, frills-free noise architecture – out and touring their new LP, The Physical World.

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:30–22:00, FROM £35

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–22:00, £15

LADY GAGA

The American songstress (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta when she’s not on stage) takes in the European leg of her ARTPOP tour. ANNIE EVE

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £8

London singer/songwriter built on a diet of hushed and intense acoustica, out and touring her debut LP. ALESTORM

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £14

Aberdeen purveyors of ‘true Scottish pirate metal’, out and touring their new LP, Sunset On The Golden Age.

JOE MCPHEE + CHRIS CORSANO (URINE GAGARINE) NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £8.50

Collaborative set from the two constantly adventurous figures in contemporary free-jazz, improvisation and punk.

Mon 20 Oct

JON ALLEN (LAINIE & THE CROWS)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £13

Acoustic singer/songwriter armed with his kit-bag of soulful, gravely tunes. HOUNDS OF HATE (NO TIME + IN TONGUES)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £6

The Pennsylvania-based chaps bring the rough, abrasive and aggressive hardcore, as is their merry way. AFTER THE BURIAL

CATHOUSE, 18:30–22:00, £10

Progressive hardcore metal hellraisers hailing from Twin Cities. YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS (HAIGHT)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £16

Longstanding Welsh post-rock unit formed back in 1978, composed of Alison Statton’s vocals along with the minimalist instrumentation of brothers Philip and Stuart Moxham.

Tue 21 Oct

EAGULLS (DEATHCATS)

THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP

The pioneers of electronica, famed for their landmark sound design and musical themes for the likes of BBC’s Doctor Who, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Timewatch, Newsround and more, take to the road for their rescheduled live tour. ASHTON LANE

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £10

Scottish troupe imbued with catchy radio hits and uplifting soulful melodies.

Thu 23 Oct JOHN KNOX SEX CLUB

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £6

Rather ace Glasgow quintet and their helter-skelter brand of art-rock, out and celebrating the release of their new LP. STEVE HARLEY

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £28

London-born singer/songwriter best known for his work with Cockney Rebel in the 70s, playing a duo of consecutive evenings. SHARPTOOTH (TUFF LOVE + PENNYCRESS)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

More noisy and dark haunting lullabies from the all-female four piece, launching their new single on the night. PEATBOG FAERIES

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

More high octane instrumental contemporary folk from the Isle of Skye crew. THE CORONAS

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Irish indie-rockers led by Danny O’Reilly, who started penning tunes at the tender age of 13. THE WORLD ALIVE

CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £11

Telle Smith-led Arizona metalcore outfit. DIAMOND HEAD

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

Stourbridge heavy metal outfit on the go since 1976.

HOLLYWOOD ENDING

Stevenage ensemble informed by all shades of deviant rock’n’roll.

Anarchic Leeds-based five-piece still hard on the touring schedule in 2014. O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

Young pop-rock scamps out and touring their new LP. ARTIFICIAL RED

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5

Melodic, groove-lead and thrashinspired metal lot. DEC ‘91 (POLARNECKS + JASON RIDDELL)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Single release party for Glasgow’s Craig Patrick Ferrie (aka Dec ‘91), with pals Polarnecks and Jason Riddell on support.

Wed 22 Oct

THE SUBWAYS (YOUNG AVIATORS)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £12

The alternative indie-rock trio wind down after a busy festival season with, erm, more giggage. CARRION SUNFLOWER (VOE)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Dark neo-folk types riding along on a wave of suitably lo-fi tunes. STEVE HARLEY

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £28

London-born singer/songwriter best known for his work with Cockney Rebel in the 70s, playing a duo of consecutive evenings.

Listings

BAD BREEDING

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £6.00

Longstanding London-based folkrock crew in a re-jigged guise, but still featuring founding members Phil Odgers and Stefan Crush on lead vocals and guitar. HAWKLORDS (THE COSMIC DEAD)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Born from the disbanded Hawkwind, Harvey Bainbridge and Steve Swindells et al join forces for a live re-group.

SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS (LEE FIELDS) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £25

Brooklyn ensemble intent on replicating the exact character of vintage soul, all authentic and heartfelt. PEAKING LIGHTS

CCA, 20:00–22:00, £12

Married psych-pop duo made up of Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis, out and touring their latest LP, Cosmic Logic.

THE WOLFHOUNDS (NO MORE TIGER)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £8

English indie types, dipping into post-punk and garage sounds as they go.

Sat 25 Oct TWIN ATLANTIC

BARROWLAND, 18:30–23:00, £16.50

The Glasgow alternative rock fourpiece do their Brit-rock thing, built on stabbing guitars and vocalist Sam McTrusty’s distinctive style. CARNIVORES (HUXTABLE)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Math-rock trio from the west of Scotland, describing themselves as two parts pop, two parts noise and one part prog. LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £12

The American goth rockers bring the rammy, led by hellraiser of a frontman JD Wilkes.

JUNEBUG (ANNA SWEENEY + KUNG FU ACADEMY)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £5.00

Acoustic rock Glasgow quartet blending a mix of distortion with acoustic harmonies. AFTERLIFE (PSYKO DALEK + THE KING LOT)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £7

Glasgow rock-meets-metal hellraisers formed in early 2011 during a period of creative down time. JUNGLE

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Once-mysterious now inescapable London 6music botherers extracting all the juicy innards of tribal funk music and leaving behind the hollow outer shell for our ears. THE PAT MCMANUS BAND

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £11

Blues-meets-rock trio headed up by former Mama's Boys and Celtus guitarist/violinist, Pat McManus. 808 STATE

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

Longstanding Manc electronic ensemble taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. CARNIVORES

13TH NOTE, 20:00-23:00, £TBC

Math-rock trio from the west of Scotland, describing themselves as two parts pop, two parts noise and one part prog. BLACK RIVERS

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £10

Fri 24 Oct

The brothers behind Manc outfit Doves (aka Jez and Andy Williams) regroup as a new duo.

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Sun 26 Oct

UNITED FRUIT (ALGERNON DOLL + DIALECTS)

More satirical and biting political verse, delivered in Cooper Clarke’s rapid-fire performance style – aka punk poetry at its finest.

SCOTT MATTHEWS

The Ivor Novello-award winning singer/songwriter plays an intimate set in celebration of the release of his new LP, Home Part 1. NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £6.00

Mighty Glasgow quartet known for their all-out post-hardcore abrasion served at F1 velocity. TWIN ATLANTIC

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £16.50

The Glasgow alternative rock fourpiece do their Brit-rock thing, built on stabbing guitars and vocalist Sam McTrusty’s distinctive style. THE RISING SOULS (JACK ROWBERRY + LEMONHAZE)

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:00, £5 ADV. (£6 DOOR)

Scottish acoustic rockers infusing their sound with blues and soul.

JOHN COOPER CLARKE

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

NICK MULVEY

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

The founding member of Portico Quartet does his solo singer/songwriter thing. THE STRUTS

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £6

Indie rock four-piece hailing from Derby, casually strutting on to the scene much as their name would suggest. ASKING ALEXANDRA (THE GHOST INSIDE + CROWN THE EMPIRE + SECRETS)

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £16.50

More hardcore-meets-screamo inspired rock’n’roll from the English five-piece, led by Danny Worsnop, playing two consecutive nights at Glagsow’s Barrowland.

THE SENSATIONAL FRANCIS DUNNERY BAND CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £20

The guitar master straps on his electric guitar to play a cherrypicked set of hits. TONY MOLINA

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Rule-breaking San Franicsco songwriter making adventures in power pop.

DISPOSABLE (CIRCLE OF TYRANTS + ALE SHORES + OUR SUN IS DEAD)

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:15, £5

The dreadlocked riff demons bring the heavy rock and metal soundscapes.

Mon 27 Oct KYLA LA GRANGE

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Watford singer/songwriter in possession of a heartstopper of a pop vocal. JOHNNY MARR (CHILDHOOD)

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £24

The celebrated Smiths guitarist plays a selection of tracks from his second solo LP, The Messenger. THE EXCITEMENTS

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £12

Dynamic soul outfit hailing from Barcelona, fronted by charismatic lead singer, Kok-Jean Davis. KLAXONS

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

FRAMING HANLEY

HALEY BONAR (MEMORY MAN)

BEDNAREK

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £12

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £7

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £23

The Nashville four-piece tour in support of latest LP, The Sum Of Who We Are. THE DATSUNS

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

The New Zealand rockers get back on the live circuit to tour their new LP, Deep Sleep.

BONE ISLAND

Sat 01 Nov

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5

D.C. pop rockers creating 70s rock’n’roll with country, blues and rock elements.

REV REV REV (THE CHERRY WAVE + MUSICIANS OF BREMEN)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Tripped-out, fuzzed-up shoegazey garage rock for your general aural pleasure.

Thu 30 Oct CRAFT SPELLS

BROADCAST, 19:30–23:00, £8

Four Seattle lads playing some fine indie-pop tunes for your general delectation.

THE KIMBERLY STEAKS (THE ATOMS + MAXWELL’S DEAD + THE LEMONAIDS + PARTY ASYLUM + KNEE-JERK REACTION + PURE PARA)

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £16.50

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

Tue 28 Oct KATY B

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

Pop’s goldengirl continues her quest for world domination. WAKEY! WAKEY!

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Occasional One Tree Hill cameo musician Michael Grubbs brings his alternative indie-rock band over from the States. HYDE & BEAST

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £7

Collaborative project between two drummers, who be Futureheads’ Dan Hyde and Golden Virgin’s Neil Bassett. EMC

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Hip-hop crew composed of rappers Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Punchline and Stricklin. THE WAVES PICTURES

CCA, 19:30–22:00, £8.50

Witty indie-pop trio headed by vocalist and guitarist Dave Tattersall, playing a special set in support of their new tour-only LP release – recorded in one day, and covering Johnston’s Artistic Vice from beginning to end.

DAVE ALVIN & PHIL ALVIN WITH THE GUILTY ONES

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:30–22:00, £17

The American roots musician performs with his live band, with recent work marking a return to his rock upbringing.

MORE DANGEROUS THAN A THOUSAND RIOTERS (AS WE DRAW)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Fearsome and super-tight politically-charged French hardcore punk rockers.

Wed 29 Oct CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

Polished one-woman show taking her shambolic sense of humour to covering the likes of Cave, Waits and Bowie in her own inimitable way. PHANTOM BRAKE PEDAL

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

The Dundee alternative rockers build their usual wall of creative and atmospheric rock sounds. HELMET MEANTIME + BETTY

CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £15

Bang yo’ head like it’s the early 90s as Page Hamilton’s men celebrate their 20th anniversary, playing their Betty and Meantime LPs live and in their entirety.

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, FREE

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

The Atlanta garage rockers return to the UK in support of new LP, Underneath The Rainbow.

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

More hardcore-meets-screamo inspired rock’n’roll from the English five-piece, led by Danny Worsnop, playing two consecutive nights at Glagsow’s Barrowland.

TOXIC ROCK’S HALLOWEEN NIGHT (FY!M + ATIMILLA + MONKEY PUZZLE)

Rock and punk promoters Toxic Rock spook out Pivo Pivo with their annual Halloween bash, featuring a showcase of noise.

THE BLACK LIPS

The prototype London psychedelic nu-ravers continue to tour hell out of their new LP, Love Frequency. ASKING ALEXANDRA (THE GHOST INSIDE + CROWN THE EMPIRE + SECRETS)

Alternative Minneapolis songstress discovered during an open mic event in Duluth by one of her musical heroes, Alan Sparhawk of Low.

The super-tight Glasgow pop-punk ensemble take to their favourite basement lair. ROYAL BLOOD

Recent album chart toppers, made up of Michael Kerr (bass and vocals) and Ben Thatcher (drums). Guitar music’s back, or something. REPEATER (GREAT COP + CIVIL ELEGIES)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Post-hardcore DIY gig/club effort, with a selection of live acts dropping by in pre-Halloween mode. INDIANA

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £8

Nottingham singer/songwriter Laura Henson, better known as her stage name, Indiana. MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £10

Live band project of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Worden, airing tracks from their fourth LP.

Fri 31 Oct

ZOE MUTH AND THE LOST HIGH ROLLERS

CCA, 20:00–22:00, £12

Young Seattle native Zoe Muth does her lovely Americana thing, aided-and-abetted by her live backing quartet, The Lost High Rollers. THE LAFONTAINES

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Motherwell outfit deftly combining portions of hip-hop, pop, rock and electro into one melodic block of noise. RHODES

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

Singer/songwriter hailing from Hitchin, touring with his debut album, Raise Your Love.

SHEETS OV SAMHAIN (GHOLO + KABOBO + MISFITTS + WHEEZURR + IKARIE XB-1)

THE COURTNEERS

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £19.50

The Manc indie foursome give their new LP – Concrete Love – a proper live airing, playing two consecutive nights at Glasgow’s Barrowland.

SIMPLE THINGS (AUTECHRE + NIGHTMARES ON WAX + CLARK + ACTRESS + LUCKYME + LONE + SEVEN DAVIS JR + DEAN BLUNT + THE HAXAN CLOAK + LUMA + VITAMINS + HOOKWORMS + EAUX + GENERAL LUDD + KOGUMAZA + MERMAIDS + ATOM TREE + MACHINES IN HEAVEN + HANDPICKED + SLOW REVOLT)

O2 ABC, THE ART SCHOOL & BROADCAST 13:00–22:00, £20 EARLYBIRD (£25 THEREAFTER)

Simple Things arrives in Glasgow with a host of stellar electronic and alternative acts in tow, playing across a trio of venues – O2 ABC, The Art School and Broadcast – featuring the likes of Autechre, Actress, Lone, Hookworms and oodles more.

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £19.50

The Manc indie foursome give their new LP – Concrete Love – a proper live airing, playing two consecutive nights at Glasgow’s Barrowland. CICERO’S SECRET (DESPITE THIS + THE ALTER-NATIVES + PLEASE)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £6

Renfrewshire-hailing hard rockers with a penchant for furious riffs. ZOLA JESUS

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Experimental musician and songwriter Nika Rosa Danilova (aka Zola Jesus) plays a trademark gothic electronic set, bringing summat nicely dark for Halloween gig-goers.

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £TBC

Edinburgh rock unit formed in early 2006 through a shared love for Weezer, Howards Alias, Reuben and Millencolin.

Sat 04 Oct MICHELLE SHOCKED

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

Stage persona of American singer/songwriter Michelle Karen Johnston. HORSE

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

Scottish singer/songwriter with a career spanning some 25+ years, playing a selection of her personal favourites.

THIS FEELING (CARAVAN CLUB + THE DURTY WURKS + BLACK CAT BONE + EMELLE) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:00–22:00, £6

The London rock’n’roll night takes a trip north with a selection of live bands taking to the stage. THE SHOWS (THE COLIN ADAMS BAND)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £5

West Lothian ensemble dabbling in diverse genres of electro, hip-hop and rock. SKY VALLEY MISTRESS

Tue 30 Sep

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

LITTLE PEBBLE (GUMMI BAKO)

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:30, £5

ALLAH-LAS

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £9

Los Angeles-based rock quartet keeping true to their Californian roots, building their sound on fuzzy harmonies, well-worn Fenders and suntans. ALISON BALSOM

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £22.50

The multi-award-winning trumpeter takes to the road for her first UK headline tour.

Thu 02 Oct

BLUE ROSE CODE (DANNY THOMSON)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £TBC

London-based, Edinburgh-born post-folk singer/songwriter Ross Wilson does his thing, big on the Celtic lullabies and Caledonian soul. PAUL MCKENNA BAND + THE OUTSIDE TRACK

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £14

A duo of traditional Celtic music acts join forces for the evening.

DECAGRAM 1.9

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 21:00–03:00, £4 (£6 AFTER 12)

Stellar night based on unique collabs, featuring a live set from Mickey 9s, plus DJs Ultravonic and Matthew Collings, visuals from Magda Pierwiastek and films between sets. ATHENIA (LINDSEY SMASH + MAKING HER PROUD)

OPIUM, 19:00–22:30, £6

Thu 09 Oct

THE TRAVELLING BAND (THE HOLY GHOSTS)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:00–22:00, £7

Manchester alternative folkies, all shimmering and harmonic in their understated psychedelia kind of way. CURTIS STIGERS

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £25

The American jazz vocalist returns to the stage, trusty saxophone well-and-truly in hand. THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS: THE TWILIGHT SAD (HIDDEN ORCHESTRA)

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–23:00, £10 (£6)

The Sad Boys kick off the sophomore year of the The Pleasance Sessions, playing a headline set and hopefully cherrypicking a track or two from their forthcoming LP. Support from Hidden Orchestra, you say? Colour us excited. SCO: TICCIATI CONDUCTS MAHLER

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £10

Conductor Robin Ticciati leads a recital of Mahler’s Symphony No 4, amongst others. GENERATION BY NIGHT (A LA FU)

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, 17:00–19:00, FREE

National Galleries of Scotland’s GENERATION exhibition after hours pop-up, this time taking in a DJ set by A La Fu, as well as an informal writing and drawing session. THE ALTERED HOURS (THE GREEN TAMBORINE BAND + THE ROUSE)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

Irish psych types, crossing the sea for their UK tour.

Fri 10 Oct SOULACOASTER

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £7

12-piece monster of a soul ensemble, packed with classic hits made famous by the genres legendary singer/songwriters.

THE WYNNTOWN MARSHALS (THE KING LOT)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £9

The Americana-styled Edinburgh lot with a penchant for guitars, catchy choruses and using music as a storytelling medium. EAGULLS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

Anarchic Leeds-based five-piece still hard on the touring schedule in 2014. THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS: VIC GALLOWAY PRESENTS... (CASUAL SEX + LAW)

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–23:00, £8 (£5)

Sun 05 Oct

BBC Radio Scotland DJ Vic Galloway hits The Pleasance Sessions with Casual Sex, LAW and a few other special guests in tow.

THE CAVES, 19:15–23:00, £8

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £12

The Dundee metal quintet tour their self-titled debut EP. THE AMAZING SNAKEHEADS

RSNO: ELGAR’S CELLO CONCERTO

Glasgow-based rock’n’rollers gently imbuing their sound with a bit o’ garage blues.

Peter Oundjian and the RSNO perform Elgar’s haunting Cello Concerto, amongst others.

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:30, £5.00

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, FREE

POLAR BEARS IN PURGATORY

THE REAR VIEW BAND

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £30.25

Fledgling Ayr trio of the melodic and upbeat pop-punk variety.

Six piece party band riding along on both male and female vocals.

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:15–22:00, £9

Sat 11 Oct

ACE ELEMENTARY (HAMISH J. HAWK)

British/American singer/songwriter originally from Edinburgh, currently living and working in New York, when he’s not on’t road touring.

MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER

Rare show from the multi-award winning American singer/songwriter, performing some of her greatest hits with the Scottish Festival Orchestra. HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:30–23:30, £5 (£4)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, FREE (BUT TICKETED)

THE COURTNEERS

TAKING CHASE (DICK DANGEROUS AND THE LOVEBASTARDS + ELK GANG)

Full band release of the sixth Little Pebble LP, joined on the night by Fence Records and Nekkid Rekkids chum, Gummi Bako.

RIXTON

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Scottish singer/songwriter, one of the original members of The Bevvy Sisters and now going it solo.

Blues rock influenced Northwest three-piece.

Edinburgh indie-rock quartet with added pop overtones.

Manchester four-piece navigating the pop rock meets r’n’b genre, drawing comparisons to the likes of Maroon 5. Also Shane Richie’s son features.

LINDSEY BLACK

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:00–22:00, £4 ADV. (£6 DOOR)

Edinburgh Music

13TH NOTE, 20:00-23:00, £TBC

Halloween-themed gig showcase, taking in a suitably dark and noisy bunch of scamps.

The latest in what we’d imagine is quite a short line of Polish reggae sensations.

ANDREA BALENCY + NLF3 + MAYHEGO

French showcase of alternative talent hitting the ‘burgh as part of the Oui Love tour.

Fri 03 Oct

UNIVERSAL THEE (ECHO ARCADIA + THE MONA LISAS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

FREDDIE STEVENSON

ANGELA BROWNRIDGE

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £15 (£12)

Selections of recitals from the talented pianist, who won a piano scholarship to Edinburgh University and has since played worldwide. TOWN OF SAINTS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Dutch-Finnish indie folksters who started out as street musicians.

Tue 07 Oct SAM BROOKES

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

Edinburgh-based alternative indie lot led by husband and wife pairing James and Lisa Russell, providing an interesting quiet/loud contrast.

Seasoned folk singer/songwriter who’s been slowly evolving since his days as a young chorister.

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 22:30–03:00, £5.00

Edinburgh pop-punk quartet imbued with some feisty metal overtones.

Young Iowa singer/songwriter built on a love of great American songwriting from the likes of Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons and Paul Simon.

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12

Wed 08 Oct

DUNT

RSNO: OUNDJIAN CONDUCTS SCHEHERAZADE

Peter Oundjian and the full RSNO launch the new season in a blaze of Scheherazade.

MAX JURY

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £8

VLADIMIR (THE PHANTOMS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Noisy indie-rock ensemble hailing from Dundee.

DANNY AND THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD (TREVOR MOSS & HANNAH LOU + LAINIE AND THE CROWS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £9

Genuinely affecting country-folk from the Australian-born, south London living, Danny George Wilson and his merry band. Roald Dahl similarities left at the title. WAYNE HUSSEY (WAYNE HUSSEY)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £15

The lead singer of The Missions and Sisters of Mercy guitarist goes it alone.

THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS: OLIVE GROVE RECORDS PRESENTS... (SKINNY DIPPER + WOODENBOX + THE MOTH & THE MIRROR + CALL TO MIND) THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–01:00, £10 (£6)

Glasgow’s Olive Grove Records and their little family of musicians head Edinburgh-way for a stint at The Pleasance Sessions. COPPE’ (CHRIST. + A BAD MAN)

THE FRUITMARKET GALLERY, 19:30–23:00, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

The godmother of Japanese eclectronica returns to the UK in support of her acclaimed 15th LP, Void, marking what will be her debut appearance in Edinburgh. MAKING HER PROUD (SEEDS OF SORROW + BEYOND THE BOUNDS)

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £TBC

Metal-meets-punk Fifers formed at the end of 2013.

THE SKINNY

Edinburgh Music Sun 12 Oct JAKE BUGG

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £27.50

Young Nottingham-born folkmeets-indie singer/songwriter, known to his mammy under the slightly less cool moniker of Jake Edwin Kennedy.

ART OF PRIVILEGE (TRANSCENSION + A RITUAL SPIRIT + INHERIT THE EMPIRE) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–22:00, £4

Edinburgh-based grunge-rock foursome led by Martin Gray on vocals and rhythm guitar.

THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS: NEU! REEKIE! PRESENTS... (DAVE HOOK + LIZ LOCHHEAD + RICHARD JOBSON + TEENCANTEEN + FINITRIBE)

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–23:00, £9 (£6)

The stellar night of avant-garde poetry, music and short film pitches up at The Pleasance Sessions, taking in music from TeenCanteen and FiniTribe, spoken word from Dave Hook, poetry from Liz Lochhead and a few other lyrical/literary delights. DISPOSABLE + NO, NOT NOW

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:30–23:30, £5 (£4)

Showcase night taking in heavy rock and metal sounds. DAN WILSON

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £15

Singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional cartoonist, perhaps better known as the Semisonic frontman.

Mon 13 Oct

THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS: BEERJACKET (ROSS LEIGHTON + FAKE MAJOR)

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–23:00, £8 (£5)

The one-man alternative folk band that is Beerjacket (aka Peter Kelly) hits up The Pleasance Sessions to play a special 10th anniversary show.

Tue 14 Oct

THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS: MIDDLE OF NOWHERE LABEL SHOWCASE (RODDY HART AND THE LONESOME FIRE + MISS IRENIE ROSE + PETE ROE + COLIN MCLEOD) THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–23:00, £10 (£8)

Based ‘somewhere in the Highlands of Scotland’, DIY label Middle of Nowhere present a mini label showcase of their roster, as part of The Pleasance Sessions.

Wed 15 Oct STATES AND EMPIRES

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, FREE

Welsh rock band formed from members of Attack! Attack! last year.

Thu 16 Oct

FATHERSON (MODEL AEROPLANES)

POTTERROW, 19:30–23:00, £10

The Kilmarnock trio do their alternative rock-meets-powerpop thing, playing what will be their biggest Edinburgh show to date. CATFISH KEITH

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £12

The blues singer/songwriter and master of the slide guitar plays a live set. CHERRY SUEDE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Acoustic up-close-and-personal encounter with Randy Scott and Randy Young (aka Cherry Suede), playing a selection of new songs and classics.

HANZEL UND GRETYL (DEADCELL + METALTECH)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £13 (£11)

NYC industrial metal outfit formed by members of Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas back in’t February 1993.

THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS: THE LIST PRESENTS... (TWO WINGS + UBRE BLANCA + PREHISTORIC FRIENDS + TYCI DJS) THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–01:00, £6 (£5)

Genre-hopping showcase night from The List mag, bringing Two Wings, Ubre Blanca, Prehistoric Friends and more The Pleasance Sessions way.

October 2014

GENERATION BY NIGHT (JOANNA NICHOLSON + MATTHEW WHITESIDE) SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, 17:00–19:00, FREE

National Galleries of Scotland’s GENERATION exhibition after hours pop-up, this time taking in experimental musicians Joanna Nicholson and Matthew Whiteside’s response to the exhibition. PETER ZUMMO 6TET

SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30, £12 (£10)

Peter Zummo leads a six-strong collab project performing a series of open-form compositions, with NY represented by Zimmo, Ernie Brooks, and Bill Ruyle, while team GB has Oliver Coates, Keith McIvor and Ralph Cumbers. ANGUS MUNRO

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £5

THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS: THE SKINNY PRESENTS... (THE PHANTOM BAND + REMEMBER REMEMBER + BIRDHEAD) THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–23:00, £10 (£6)

We pitch up for oor own wee night at The Pleasance Sessions, bringing the nine-day fest to a close with the crackin’ line-up of The Phantom Band and Remember Remember (cherrypicking from their respective third LPs), plus dance-inspired funsters Birdhead. SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: HAYDN & MAHLER

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £10

Conductor Robin Ticciati and mezzo soprano Karen Cargill lead a special performance of Haydn and Mahler classics. NICOLE ATKINS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

Piano singer/songwriter blessed with a mesmerising four octave vocal range.

American pop-meets-rock singer/ songwriter demonstrating a new depth and maturity of late.

Fri 17 Oct

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £7

NICK HARPER

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £10

The English singer/songwriter and guitarist does his acoustic folk-rock thing, complete with trademark acerbic lyrics. TOM BAXTER (TOM BAXTER)

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Suffolk-born, London-based singer/songwriter building his sound on his masterful guitar-playing and raw, confessional lyrics. DAN CROLL

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £10

Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts graduate and winner of the Musicians Benevolent Fund’s National Songwriter of the Year Award continues his ascent. AYAKARA

THE MASH HOUSE, 18:45–22:00, £5

Alternative Edinburgh bunch mixing myriad different styles into their own energetic sound, launching their new LP on the night.

WILLIE AND THE BANDITS

Genre-spanning British ensemble mixing genres of blues, rock, Latin and folk.

Sun 19 Oct

IRRATIONAL FEVER (TOY MOUNTAINS + THIRTEEN-SEVEN)

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

Energetic metal hardcore lot hailing from Glasgow. ROBYN HITCHCOCK

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £9

Self-described as making ‘paintings you can listen to’, the London-based singer/songwriter tours with his latest album, Love From London. JAMES LISNEY + JOY LISNEY

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £15 (£12)

Special performance of Beethoven's five sonatas for piano and cello, played by James Lisney (piano) and Joy Lisney (cello). EUGENE MCGUINNESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS: THE INSIDER FESTIVAL PRESENTS... (JO MANGO + THE BLACK DIAMOND EXPRESS + ALISTAIR OGILVY + BEAM)

Experimental Domino records singer/songwriter with a primal and playful approach to musicmaking.

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–01:00, £10 (£8)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £15

Insider Festival pitches up in the decidedly un-mountainous surrounds of The Pleasance for a curated evening of music, featuring pals of the fest playing across the Pleasance Theatre and Cabaret Bar space.

CHRISTIAN WALLUMRØD ENSEMBLE

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:00, £15 (£12)

Norwegian composer and pianist Christian Wallumrød presents his latest ensemble in a UK premiere – performing music from his new ELP, Outstairs. MERRICK’S TUSK (CITIZEN MOGO + KAPIL SESHASAYEE)

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

Melodic rock lot for fans of early Jimmy Eat World and The Appleseed Cast.

Sat 18 Oct ELVIS COSTELLO

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £30.25

The Grammy Award-winner and Music Hall of Fame inductee draws upon 35 years of – let’s face it, a pretty damn impressive – back catalogue. JOHN WHEELER

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £12 (£10 ADV)

The Hayseed Dixie man takes to the road solo.

MARK MORRISS (COMMON GROUND + VIBE) ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £12

The Bluetones frontman takes to the road lonesome, now firmly a solo entity following the band’s split (and farewell tour) at the end of 2011. JOHN NEWMAN

CORN EXCHANGE, 19:00–22:00, £19.50

The young singer/songwriter and producer does his thing, responsible for a slew of UK dance hits in recent years.

VETUSTA MORLA

The Spanish indie outfit showcase tracks from their third LP, La Deriva.

Mon 20 Oct SKID ROW

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

American heavy metal gurus led by Sebastian Bach. THE POP GROUP (JD TWITCH)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £17.50

Hard to believe, but this is the first ever UK tour for the 1978-formed avant-garde punk band from Bristol. PRECIOUS FEW

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

German duo often drawing comparisons to the likes of Nico and PJ Harvey.

Tue 21 Oct

UNITED FRUIT (FATALIST + WE ATE THEM OFF THE FLOOR)

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

Mighty Glasgow quartet known for their all-out post-hardcore abrasion served at F1 velocity. THE SUBWAYS (YOUNG AVIATORS + MAN OF MOON)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £12

The alternative indie-rock trio wind down after a busy festival season with, erm, more giggage. WE ARE THE OCEAN

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £10

Essex-based rock quartet led by Liam Cromby and his catchy choruses. SETH LAKEMAN

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £21

The Devon folk singer/songwriter and virtuoso fiddler does his damned impressive live thing, shredding strings as he goes. MAN MADE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

Alternative Manc trio layering spacious vocals over solid drums and jangling guitars, with Nile Marr (son of Johnny) at the helm.

Wed 22 Oct

Sat 25 Oct

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:00–22:00, £7

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £22

JOHN KNOX SEX CLUB

Rather ace Glasgow quintet and their helter-skelter brand of art-rock, out and celebrating the release of their new LP. PERSIAN CLASSICAL CONCERT

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £25

HEATHER PEACE

The Lip Service actress does that other thing wot she does: setting soaring vocals to jazz-soaked piano and pop guitar riffs, touring on the back of her second LP, The Thin Line.

Persian classical singer/composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian leads a special concert of Persian music.

NORMAN SILVER AND THE GOLD (FULL MOON FREAKS + SEAN WASTE)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £5

The Edinburgh-based country punk lot play a set of their selfdescribed ‘uncheerful country and western’ &ndash; jolly bunch, so they are &ndash; with support from Gallivant records label mates Full Moon Freaks and Sean Waste.

HEYROCCO

South Carolina band of school chums who brand their thing ‘Disney grunge’.

Thu 23 Oct SCOTT MATTHEWS

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £13.50

The Ivor Novello-award winning singer/songwriter plays an intimate set in celebration of the release of his new LP, Home Part 1. CLICK CLACK CLUB (HSK TRIO + TEA LEAF 3)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:30–23:00, £6 (£4 STUDENTS)

Experimental music club bringing the good times with their Beefheart-inspired funk. LITTLE COMETS

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £11

Kitchen sink-styled indie-rock quartet led by the dynamic Robert Coles. SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: HAYDN’S HARMONY MASS

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £10

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5.00

Violin virtuoso and conductor Pinchas Zukerman leads the Canadian orchestra in an evening of music that includes Zukerman’s signature solo violin piece, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. DEAN OWENS

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £TBC

Edinburgh-based singer/songwriter, previously the frontman of Americana act The Felsons.

DAN WILLSON + SARAH HAYES + BLUE ROSE CODE (DAN WILLSON (WITHERED HAND) + SARAH HAYES + BLUE ROSE CODE) ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £8

Edinburgh Carers Council fundraiser featuring the talents of Dan Willson (aka Withered Hand), Sarah Hayes (of Admiral Fallow) and folkie singer/songwriter Blue Rose Code (aka Ross Wilson).

Fri 24 Oct QUERCUS

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:00, £20 (£16)

A trio of award-winning musicians – June Tabor, Huw Warren and Iain Ballamy – come together to create a new body of lyrical chamber music, weaving together folk and jazz soundscapes. RSNO: METAMORPHOSEN

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12

The RSNO take in a collection of hope-bringing orchestral masterpieces, including Strauss’ Metamorphosen. RULO Y LA CONTRABANDA

THE CAVES, 20:00–23:00, £13

Special acoustic set from the Spanish ensemble, led by Raul Gutiérrez (aka Rulo). LOUISE DISTRAS

BANNERMANS, 20:00–00:30, £5

Critically acclaimed female punk rocker carrying the torch of Billy Bragg and Joe Strummer. THE CANDIDATES

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, FREE

Expect good ol’ soul, motown and dancefloor classics, as The Candidates play their first Electric Circus show. CANDELA

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

Band of Brighton chums experimenting with the funk/rock template.

Bannermans celebrate Halloween with a three-strong line-up of horror metal acts. Obvs. THE HOOK ‘N’ PULL GANG

KIRK FLETCHER

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £16

Mon 27 Oct BEN WATT TRIO

The Everything But The Girl joint singer/songwriter is joined by producer and former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler and ex-Talk Talk drummer Martin Ditchman in a rather high profile trio.

Tue 28 Oct THE BARR BROTHERS

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £12

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Glasgow Clubs Tue 30 Sep KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Perth-born pianist Alistair Beatson collaborates with Scottish Ensemble for a special concert taking in Mozart and Haydn, amongst others. FLYTE

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £7.50

Melodic London foursome led by Will Taylor, known for their exuberant live performances.

Wed 29 Oct RALEIGH RITCHIE

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £8

The Plan B-collaborating Columbia artist hits the road. DELTA SLEEP (AXES + VERSE METRICS)

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

English quartet making chirpy guitar-driven melodies, held together by jazz-influenced percussion and relentless bass.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic alternative indie music. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over three rooms. NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Hip-hop and gangsta rap brought to you by the Notorious B.A.G and pals. FRESH BEATS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£3)

Split up night of chart classics in the main hall and underground hip-hop in the wee room. OPTIMO

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

THE ARCHES, 22:30–03:00, £10

I AM (LOEFAH)

Resident young guns Beta Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, this edition joined by genre-defying DJ chappie, Loefah.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £15 (£5)

OLD SKOOL

The optimo boys curate their occasional fun night, with all proceeds going to Maryhill Food Bank.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

SCOTTISH ENSEMBLE + ALASDAIR BEATSON

Fri 03 Oct

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, complete with a hot tub and giant inflatables, because that’s obvs a normal Tuesday night oot.

Wed 01 Oct

Dynamic soul outfit hailing from Barcelona, fronted by charismatic lead singer, Kok-Jean Davis.

The cosmic-heavy Out Of Orbit residents welcome MWX for a guest slot &ndash; one half of neon dazzled and cassette distributing club night, Maxi Dance Pool.

HARSH TUG

Experimental folk ensemble formed by brothers Brad and Andrew Barr, who taught themselves how to play – at first on cardboard boxes and home-strung imitation guitars, then on actual, zebrastriped electric guitars and drums. THE EXCITEMENTS

OUT OF ORBIT (MXW)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2-£4 AFTER 12)

Two floors of the best in rock, metal and industrial tunes picked out by DJ Barry and DJ Tailz.

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:30–22:00, £15.50

Born from the disbanded Hawkwind, Harvey Bainbridge and Steve Swindells et al join forces for a live re-group.

Helping the Rubix lot kick off their autumn season, BBC Radio legend Gilles Peterson makes his first appearance in Glasgow in six years.

HALLOWEIRD

BILLY LOCKETT

HAWKLORDS

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your Friday dancing pleasure.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £9

Northampton singer/songwriter skilled on the ol’ piano, which he taught himself to play in a basement, aged eight, as you do.

RUBIX (GILLES PETERSON) SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £TBC

Sun 26 Oct

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £16

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12 (£10)

SCREAM BABY SCREAM (DEAD XIII + GOULS STNE VALLEY)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £9 (£7)

Live weirdness from Infinite Hive’s stable, y’know, in honour of Halloween an’ that.

STAR ROVER (THE MARIONETTES)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £12 (£10)

CANADA’S NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA

OPIUM, 19:00–22:30, FREE

Metalcore Dundonians upping the noise levels with their hurricanelike brand of metal, playing a free entry set with donations to Macmillan Cancer Support.

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

Unsigned Edinburgh alternative popsters build on brash songwriting and tonnes o’ guitars.

The world renowned blues guitarist does his thing.

Blues-meets-rock trio headed up by former Mama&rsquo;s Boys and Celtus guitarist/violinist, Pat McManus.

EXCELLENT CADAVER (THE FALLING RAIN + DOG TIRED + EXILE THE TRAITOR + RAMAGE INC)

After disbanding in 1988 and consequent reshuffles, the Edinburgh outfit return to the live circuit following studio time.

Estonian conductor Tnu Kaljuste directs the SCO in a selection of haunting works, amongst them Haydn’s Harmoniemesse. THE PAT MCMANUS BAND (THE AMORETTES)

Fri 31 Oct

TAKE IT SLEAZY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

An unabashed mix of 80s pop, electro and nu-disco. They will play Phil Collins. SUB ROSA

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm. DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Disco-styled party bolstered by added karaoke fun. BEAST WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The midweek residents serve up their usual rammy of pop-punk and hardcore, whilst the bar doles out lethally alcoholic slushies. Slurp. DUKE DUMONT

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £15

Early doors DJ set from the London producer, hailed namely for his barking mad electro output. NIGHT OF THE JAGUAR

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The NOTJ collective nestle into their residency on the Art School roster, known for their love of all things musically unusual.

Thu 02 Oct NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

XXL

The Mark Ames-founded London gay night makes a return trip Glasgow-way. ALPHA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly mash-up of new tunes and big floor fillers from across the alternative spectrum. In O2 ABC 2. YES! GETS MEAN

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Gay indie night with a playlist that mixes oldies and newbies, this edition hosting a special pre-club screening of Mean Girls (9pm). MISSING PERSONS CLUB (VOISKI)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 ADV. (£8-£10 THEREAFTER)

Monthly evening of techno from the MPC crew and guests, this time joined by French techno producer, Voiski. NUDES ON MARS: MIDNIGHT MOVIES SPECIAL

STEREO, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2 AFTER 12)

Nudes on Mars host their first Midnight Movies party, celebrating Jodorowsky’s 1970 psychedelic western, El Topo, with Los Tentakills playing live, plus DJ Flore de Hoog on decks, and extra tequila on’t bar. NUMBERS (JACKMASTER + SPENCER + DEADBOY) THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£7)

The mighty Numbers crew finally make their return to The Art School, with Jackmaster sharing duties with label mate Spencer, while Deadboy’s Dancehall takes a solo four-hour session downstairs in The Vic. ROOT OF SOUND

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Thu 30 Oct

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs.

The alternative indie and electro DJ maestro drops a set.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £7

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Sat 04 Oct

KING EIDER

Edinburgh-based folk-blues quintet rich with alternative melodies.

CORRUPT MORAL ALTAR (SUFFERINFUCK + DUNE + ENDLESS SWARM) OPIUM, 19:00–22:30, £8

Malevolent Liverpudlians riding along on Chris Reese’s vocal assault barks, shrieks and shreds. THE BLACK LIPS

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

The Atlanta garage rockers return to the UK in support of new LP, Underneath The Rainbow.

HIP HOP THURSDAYS

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop. JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer. IN THE BASEMENT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Thursday session of alternative sounds. HIGH RISE

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 12)

All three High Rise residents go back-to-back for the full four hours.

NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk. BLACK TENT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Indie, electro and anything inbetween with Pauly (My Latest Novel), and Simin and Steev (Errors). ABSOLUTION

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

Alternative weekend blowout, taking in metal, industrial, pop-punk, rock, emo and ska over two floors.

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spun by DJs Billy and Muppet. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. DEATHKILL 4000 BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Industro-rock noise party with live players and bespoke visuals to boot. HOT DUB TIME MACHINE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The dance party journey through time returns to make merry for a one-off airing, sticking to its tried-and-tested schtick of playing a hit a year from 1945 to present day, accompanied by screens playing the original videos. MADE IN GLASGOW

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 22:00–03:00, £8 (£5)

A new venture from the Let’s Go Back... team, with main residents Wardy and Bosco manning the decks. SECONDCITY (DALE HOWARD)

SWG3, 22:00–03:00, £8 EARLYBIRD

American-born British DJ and producer, responsible for the number one hit, I Wanna Feel. THE MELTING POT (FRANCOIS K)

THE ADMIRAL, 22:30–03:00, £12 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

The Melting Pot crew this month disco down with French star of the underground, Francois K – offering a rare chance to see a chap of his stature in an intimate venue (aka make haste). WILKINSON (ETHERWOOD + I SEE MONSTAS)

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £12

The Ram Records’ D’n’B DJ/ producer mans the decks for a high-intensity live show.

STREETRAVE: 25TH BIRTHDAY (M PEOPLE + DAVID MORALES)

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £20 EARLYBIRD (£24.50 THEREAFTER)

Streetrave celebrate a massive 25 years with a headline set from that there 90s dance lot M People, plus David Morales and many more. MILITIA

STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £5

The new techno night returns for a second outing after its unveiling in August. GLITTERBANG

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Sweatcore disco hits played out by James T and Ramo, with a Gina G tune or two on a promise. SUBCULTURE: 2020 VISION TAKEOVER (RALPH LAWSON + EJECA)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10 EARLYBIRD

The Subculture crew hand over the reins to their old chums 2020 Vision for the evening, with big daddy Ralph Lawson playing alongside experimental Belfast chappie Ejeca. WE ARE SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£3)

Weekend student superclub playing all the dance and chart you can handle.

Sun 05 Oct COUNTERFEIT

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Monthly mix of nu-metal and hard rockin’ tunes with DJ David Lo Pan. ZION TRAIN SOUND SYSTEM

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:00–02:00, £7

Cult pioneers of their own unique dub/dance crossover sound, Zion Train take to the road in celebration of their 25th anniversary. FLY CLUB (JASPER JAMES)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

The Fly Clubbers hand over the decks to bright young Glasgow house music talent Jasper James for the evening. SUNDAY SCIENCE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

New Sunday-bothering night playing house, r’n’b and hip-hop tunes, with added LED frickin’ lazers, just cos.

Mon 06 Oct BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning the disco beats.

Listings

DISCO RIOT

SUBCULTURE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

Glasgow Clubs

Disco-styled party bolstered by added karaoke fun.

CHEEKY MONDAYS

The midweek residents serve up their usual rammy of pop-punk and hardcore, whilst the bar doles out lethally alcoholic slushies. Slurp.

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Trade night with DJ Gavin Somerville spinning chart, hip-hop and r’n’b classics.

Tue 07 Oct KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic. I AM (MULLEN + BETA)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, with a special guest or two oft in tow. UNICORN CHASER

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Fledgling night from Ewan Chambers and Konx-om-Pax, promising the best in party music. And all for gratis. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, complete with a hot tub and giant inflatables, because that’s obvs a normal Tuesday night oot.

Wed 08 Oct SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm. DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Disco-styled party bolstered by added karaoke fun. BEAST WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The midweek residents serve up their usual rammy of pop-punk and hardcore, whilst the bar doles out lethally alcoholic slushies. Slurp.

Thu 09 Oct NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop. JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

ENJOYABLE MOVEMENT BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The Cosmic Dead chaps trip out with an evening of rollin’ Krautrock DJing for your general aural pleasure.

PHUTURE (JONNIE WILKES + YOGI HAUGHTON + BILLY WOODS + BOSCO + ROB MASON) SWG3, 21:00–03:00, £12.50 EARLYBIRD (£15 THEREAFTER)

The original creators of acid house play a special set, with founders Spanky, DJ Pierre and Herb J all in tow, bolstered by local DJs on support. ALPHA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly mash-up of new tunes and big floor fillers from across the alternative spectrum. In O2 ABC 2. REVEALED RECORDS PARTY (DYRO, THOMAS NEWSON, KILL THE BUZZ, JULIAN CALOR)

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £22.50

The celebrated dance label disco down with a selection of label talent.

LA CHEETAH’S 5TH BIRTHDAY: PART 2 (THEO PARRISH) LA CHEETAH CLUB, 22:00–04:00, £13

The 5th birthday celebrations continue with a six-hour set from Sound Signature boss Theo Parrish, soundtracking the whole night from start to finish. RETURN TO MONO: 10TH ANNIVERSARY (NICOLE MOUDABER)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Monthly night from Soma Records taking in popular techno offerings of all hues, this edition celebrating turning the grand ol’ age of ten, joined by fledgling electronic house star Nicole Moudaber.

Sat 11 Oct NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk. ABSOLUTION

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

Alternative weekend blowout, taking in metal, industrial, pop-punk, rock, emo and ska over two floors. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spun by DJs Billy and Muppet. LOVE MUSIC

WELCOME TO THE BLACK LODGE THE FLYING DUCK, 17:00–03:00, £5

All-day happening of surreal adaptations and interpretations of Twin Peaks, taking in performance, installations, live music, cherry pie, coffee and spectral DJs until late. OPTION ONE (LA FLEUR)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

The Option One team welcome Swedish DJ/producer La Fleur for a deck takeover, with support from the club residents. 20 YEARS OF SUBCULTURE (DIXON)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £12 EARLYBIRD (£15-£18 THEREAFTER)

In honour of their 20th year of being, the Subculture residents host a rather special five-hour set from visionary Innervisions man, Dixon. WE ARE SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£3)

Weekend student superclub playing all the dance and chart you can handle. 90S ROLLER DISCO

THE GARAGE, 20:00–22:00, £5

DJ playlists of the best of the 90s to accompany your falling over (sorry, we mean skating).

Sun 12 Oct VERTIGO

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

DJ Kelmosh plays a mix of rock, dance and indie hits. FLY CLUB (WAZE & ODYSSEY)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

The Fly Clubbers hand over the decks to LA-based house duo Waze & Odyssey for the evening. SUNDAY SCIENCE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

New Sunday-bothering night playing house, r’n’b and hip-hop tunes, with added LED frickin’ lazers, just cos.

Mon 13 Oct BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning the disco beats. THE FUR COATS

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Chicago ensemble playing snarky, old style flavoured pop punk songs. CHEEKY MONDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

Trade night with DJ Gavin Somerville spinning chart, hip-hop and r’n’b classics.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Messy Saturday night uber-disco featuring a rotating schedule of live talent.

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Tue 14 Oct

HIDE VS FACT (BURNSKI + RICK MAIA)

Hide and FACT join forces for a oneoff clubber’s musical journey, with Burnski and Rick Maia holing up on the decks. OUT OF ORBIT (DIRTY TALK)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2-£4 AFTER 12)

The cosmic-heavy Out Of Orbit residents welcome Bristol body music purveyor Dirty Talk into their lair for the evening.

Fri 10 Oct OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your Friday dancing pleasure. DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

Two floors of the best in rock, metal and industrial tunes picked out by DJ Barry and DJ Tailz. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic alternative indie music. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over three rooms. COMMON PEOPLE

THE FLYING DUCK, 21:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Celebration of all things 90s, with hits a-plenty and a pre-club bingo session. FRESH BEATS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£3)

Split up night of chart classics in the main hall and underground hip-hop in the wee room.

Listings

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

FANTASTIC MAN

WRONG ISLAND

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

The legendary Teamy and Dirty Larry spin some fresh electronics for your aural pleasure.

DANCE MANIA: VOID VS FOOTWORK WAREHOUSE PARTY (JAMMIN GERALD + HOUZ MON + HOMMA HONGANJI)

SWG3, 22:00–03:00, £TBC

Void and Footwork join forces for a wee perty in’t warehouse, with guests Jammin Gerald, Houz Mon and Homma Honganji manning the decks

KNEE DEEP IN GLASGOW: HOT SINCE 82 (ROUTE 94 + JAYMO & ANDY GEORGE + ANDHIM) THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £15

House DJ and producer Hot Since 82 (aka Daley Padley) drops by for a guest set, as part of Knee Deep’s Glasgow takeover, with support from Route 94, Jaymo & Andy George and Andhim. FROGBEATS (STRAY)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £7 EARLYBIRD (£9-£12 THEREAFTER)

Glasgow collective Frogbeats bring rising London-based producer Stray north of the border to headline their inaugural night at The Art School. PUSH IT 3

STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Selections of female hip-hop, R’n’B and pop all night long.

KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic. I AM (DJ FUNK)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, with a special guest or two oft in tow. UNICORN CHASER

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Fledgling night from Ewan Chambers and Konx-om-Pax, promising the best in party music. And all for gratis. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, complete with a hot tub and giant inflatables, because that’s obvs a normal Tuesday night oot.

Wed 15 Oct NOT MOVING

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

South African house, grime, jungle, r’n’b and hauntology – a tropical mix, ayes. SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm. CAROUSEL

THE KING’S THEATRE, 14:30–17:00, FROM £10

What We Did Next present Rodgers and Hammerstein’s darkest musical, touching on issues at the time unheard of in musical theatre.

BEAST WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

NIGHT OF THE JAGUAR

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The NOTJ collective nestle into their residency on the Art School roster, known for their love of all things musically unusual.

Thu 16 Oct LATE

THE ARCHES, 19:30–00:00, £8

Scotland’s first club night for people with learning disabilities. NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop. JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer. SOMA (KARENN)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Soma present a collaborative outing from two of the most consistent and fresh new producers to recently emerge from London: Pariah and Blawan, playing under their Karenn guise.

Long-running house night with regulars Harri & Domenic manning the decks all night long. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spun by DJs Billy and Muppet. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. SINGLES NIGHT

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Andy Divine and Chris Geddes’ gem of a night dedicated to 7-inch singles from every genre imaginable. STRANGE PARADISE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Party night from floral-shirted Wild Combination man David Barbarossa, specializing in leftfield disco, post-punk and far-out pop.

THE HIGHLANDER IBIZA REUNION (ANDY RAESIDE + MICHAEL PATERSON + DJ MATT FINLAY) O2 ACADEMY, 22:00–03:00, £11

The Highlander Ibiza return to Glasgow for their annual reunion party, bringing the Island’s atmosphere to the Weege once more. TYCI (DEUX FURIEUSES + FLORE DE HOOG)

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

Two floors of the best in rock, metal and industrial tunes picked out by DJ Barry and DJ Tailz. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic alternative indie music. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over three rooms. OSMIUM

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Italo, disco, synthpop and funk with the e’er capable Osmium residents. FRESH BEATS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£3)

Split up night of chart classics in the main hall and underground hip-hop in the wee room. ALPHA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly mash-up of new tunes and big floor fillers from across the alternative spectrum. In O2 ABC 2. OFFBEAT (ORLANDO VOORN)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

The Offbeat crew take to their now regular home of La Cheetah, with club favourite Orlando Voorn in tow. SENSU IS 10: LIFE AND DEATH SHOWCASE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Barry Price and Junior continue to provide the cutting edge electronic from across the globe, ten years old and still going strong. DERRICK MAY

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £5 EARLYBIRD (£8-£12 THEREAFTER)

Techno pioneer and all-round-legend Derrick May drops by The Art School for a sprawling four-hour set, as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival.

Sat 18 Oct NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk. ABSOLUTION

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

Alternative weekend blowout, taking in metal, industrial, pop-punk, rock, emo and ska over two floors.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

The party sounds of Ean, Smiddy and Kenny White on decks. DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Disco-styled party bolstered by added karaoke fun. GOOD GRIEF’S GOOP SHOP (ULTRA DEMON + HERBERT POWELL + GARDEN OF ELKS)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

The DIY label and zine collective present their monthly clubmeets-gig outing and fresh zine launch combined. BEAST WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The midweek residents serve up their usual rammy of pop-punk and hardcore, whilst the bar doles out lethally alcoholic slushies. Slurp.

Thu 23 Oct NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Fri 17 Oct Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your Friday dancing pleasure.

SO WEIT SO GUT

AUDIO, 23:00–03:00, FREE

SYMBIOSIS: 10TH BIRTHDAY

A new venture from the Let’s Go Back... team, this edition welcoming Glasgow house duo Silicone Soul, with support from residents Rebecca Vasmant and Bosco.

OLD SKOOL

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm.

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop.

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12)

The cosmic-heavy Out Of Orbit residents take in the techno, acid and warp-drive beats of their rising star of a guest, Kunst.

SUB ROSA

The all-female collective, blog and fanzine bring together a selection of live acts and DJs for their monthly party night, this time as part of Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival. Innovative D’n’B beats in a relaxed, bass-rich environment, back from their summer break to mark their 10th birthday.

OUT OF ORBIT (KUNST)

Wed 22 Oct

MADE IN GLASGOW (SILICONE SOUL)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£5)

WE ARE SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£3)

Weekend student superclub playing all the dance and chart you can handle.

Sun 19 Oct EASY

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Anything goes night of requests to mix-up your Sunday. FLY CLUB (HNNY)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4 EARLYBIRD (£5-£7 THEREAFTER)

The Fly Clubbers hand over the decks to Sweden’s HNNY (pronounced ‘honey’) for the evening. SUNDAY SCIENCE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

New Sunday-bothering night playing house, r’n’b and hip-hop tunes, with added LED frickin’ lazers, just cos.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

STRETCHED (GUS STIRRAT SHARKS)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Jazz-influenced sound sauna, moving through mathcore to postrock, with a few live acts thrown in for good measure. KUNST (FRANK MITCHELL + THE CREEPS)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

The Frogbeats crew pump out selections of electro-swing for your Thursday night pleasure, joined by guest Sam Binga. OUT OF ORBIT (HUSH)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12)

The cosmic-heavy Out Of Orbit residents welcome founder and creative force behind RPZ, Hush, for a disco-heavy guest slot. NO GLOBE VS HUNTLEY AND PALMERS: CARISMA

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £3

CHEEKY MONDAYS

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your Friday dancing pleasure.

Tue 21 Oct

EZUP: 1ST BIRTHDAY (DIXON AVENUE BASEMENT JAMS)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

The EzUp lot take to their now regular La Cheetah lair, celebrating their 1st birthday with Glasgow’s Dixon Avenue Basement Jams rocking the party all night long. BELL TOWERS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £4

The energetic Australian party DJ and house music maestro takes over Sleazys for the evening, with support from Slabs of the Tabernacle’s Joel Shaw. BIGFOOT’S TEA PARTY (ND_ BAUMECKER)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7

The Nomadic techno and tech-house night makes its semi-regular trip to Subbie’s basement, with Ostgut Ton producer and resident-in-chief of Berlin’s infamous Panorama Bar, nd_baumecker, in tow.

MAGIC WAVES GLASGOW MINIFESTIVAL (ARTHUR BAKER + BLACK DEVIL DISCO CLUB + MARK DU MOSCH + ALESSANDO ADRIANI + EMILE STRUNZ + LAZERCAT + CASIONOVA + FLIGHT RECORDER + NAKS + SURF DANCER)

SWG3, 21:00–02:00, £8 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

Intergalactic FM bring their popular Magic Waves Festival to Glasgow for the first time, featuring friends and residents from across the globe. OLUM

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Glorious return for the legendary Glaswegian club institution. WE ARE SATURDAYS

NU SKOOL

FROGBEATS (SAM BINGA)

Fri 24 Oct

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Evening of bass quakes for your general dub, reggae and dancehall pleasure.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

BURN

Trade night with DJ Gavin Somerville spinning chart, hip-hop and r’n’b classics.

STRAWBERRY JAM SOUND SYSTEM

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Weekend student superclub playing all the dance and chart you can handle.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning the disco beats.

First ever headline show for the Holland DJ duo, aka Thom Jongkind and Idir Makhlaf.

Square Root resident Frank Mitchell joins the Kunst team for the evening, with stellar support from The Creeps (aka Mark Maxwell and Aleks Jurczyk’s new live project).

No Globe and Huntleys and Palmers team up to welcome Argentenian disco-meets-house duo Carisma (aka Carolina Stegmayer and Ismael Pinkler) for their inaugural Scottish date.

Mon 20 Oct

BLASTERJAXX (IBRANOVSKI) THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £24.50

OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

Two floors of the best in rock, metal and industrial tunes picked out by DJ Barry and DJ Tailz.

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£3)

Sat 25 Oct BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk. ABSOLUTION

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

Alternative weekend blowout, taking in metal, industrial, pop-punk, rock, emo and ska over two floors. SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

Long-running house night with regulars Harri & Domenic manning the decks all night long. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spun by DJs Billy and Muppet. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. CHASE AND STATUS

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £18 EARLYBIRD (£23 THEREAFTER)

Manc DJ duo and dance music’s hot property, effortlessly marrying liquid funk with rich ragga sounds, much to many a clubber’s delight. BALKANARAMA (SMASH KAFANA)

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:30–03:00, £9 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic.

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic alternative indie music.

All singing, all dancing Balkanstyled club orgy, with an early live jam session followed by live guests, belly dancing, bespoke visuals and free plum brandy for all.

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over three rooms.

KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

I AM (TOM SHORTERZ)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, with a special guest or two oft in tow. UNICORN CHASER

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Fledgling night from Ewan Chambers and Konx-om-Pax, promising the best in party music. And all for gratis. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, complete with a hot tub and giant inflatables, because that’s obvs a normal Tuesday night oot.

PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

RUSTIE

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £15

The Glasgow-based man of the moment, in the world of dance music anyway, plays a special full live A/V homecoming show as part of his Green Language tour. FRESH BEATS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£3)

Split up night of chart classics in the main hall and underground hip-hop in the wee room. ALPHA

THUNDER DISCO CLUB

The Thunder Disco Club residents churn out the 90s house, techno and disco hits, as is their merry way. HOUNDIN’ THE STREETS

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Nothing but bare bone rattling, foot tapping, ass shaking hip-hop classics, new wave and disco. TEENAGE RIOT

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Members of Glasgow’s posthardcore noise-masters, United Fruit, curate their lively event of big-beat alternative indie.

AFTERLIFE (PSYKO DALEK + THE KING LOT) STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £7

Glasgow rock-meets-metal hellraisers formed in early 2011 during a period of creative down time. CONCRETE ROSE

THE FLYING DUCK, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Fem Bitch Nation's Julia Scott opens the last Saturday of the month with some an exploratory landscape from hip-hop, dancehall and ethic beats. #NOTSOSILENT VS ANGLES

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 AFTER 12)

After booking an array of top guests over the last two years, #notsosilent cool their jets with friends Angles &ndash; hosting a residents night of in-house talent.

Sun 26 Oct SLIDE IT IN

CATHOUSE, 23:00–04:00, £2 (£1)

Full-on mix of nu-metal and hard rockin’ tunes over two floors, with DJs Mythic, DJ Nicola and Div on decks. FLY CLUB (THEO KOTTIS)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

The Fly Clubbers hand over the decks to Moda Black signee Theo Kottis for the evening. FIRE FIGHTER FUNDRAISER (LINO G ROCHA + TOM MCGUIRE & THE BRASSHOLES + MC4 + DJ JAMES COMBE)

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–00:00, FROM £8

After the devastating fire at the Glasgow School of Art, a selection of bands come together for an evening of music and dance. Proceeds to Firefighters Charity. SUNDAY SCIENCE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

New Sunday-bothering night playing house, r’n’b and hip-hop tunes, with added LED frickin’ lazers, just cos.

Mon 27 Oct BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning the disco beats. CHEEKY MONDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Trade night with DJ Gavin Somerville spinning chart, hip-hop and r’n’b classics.

Tue 28 Oct KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic. I AM

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, with a special guest or two oft in tow. UNICORN CHASER

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Fledgling night from Ewan Chambers and Konx-om-Pax, promising the best in party music. And all for gratis. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, complete with a hot tub and giant inflatables, because that’s obvs a normal Tuesday night oot.

Wed 29 Oct SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm. Disco-styled party bolstered by added karaoke fun.

DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

BEAST WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The midweek residents serve up their usual rammy of pop-punk and hardcore, whilst the bar doles out lethally alcoholic slushies. Slurp. NIGHT OF THE JAGUAR

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The NOTJ collective nestle into their residency on the Art School roster, known for their love of all things musically unusual.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly mash-up of new tunes and big floor fillers from across the alternative spectrum. In O2 ABC 2.

THE SKINNY

Thu 30 Oct NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop. JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

CLASSIC GRAND’S HALLOWEEN CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £8

Classic Grand’s annual Halloween bash, with resident DJs, apple dooking and a cash prize for the best costume. THE GARAGE’S HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£3)

Multi-floor spanning Halloween blow-out, featuring competitions, fancy dress speed dating and a whole load of cheesy dance tunes.

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Sat 01 Nov

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

The Edinburgh indie-pop institution return for another dalliance in Glasgow.

SUB CLUB HALLOWEEN

Pre-Halloween party starter from the Subbie residents, warming y’all up for Optimo’s annual Espookio the following evening.

Fri 31 Oct OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your Friday dancing pleasure. DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

Two floors of the best in rock, metal and industrial tunes picked out by DJ Barry and DJ Tailz. PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic alternative indie music.

UNPOP GLASGOW

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 21:00–03:00, £3

CLUB NOIR: 10 YEARS OF HALLOWEEN BURLESQUE

O2 ACADEMY, 21:00–03:00, £15.50

Glasgow’s burlesque star teasers in a special Halloween edition of their raunchy cabaret club, celebrating 10 years of spooky good times.

Sun 02 Nov

DAY OF THE DEAD GLESGA

STEREO, 20:00–03:00, £10 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

Sophomore outing for the tonguein-cheek night based upon the annual Mexican festival, Day of the Dead, featuring performances from Rapido Mariachi, Colonal Mustard and The Dijon 5, and various DJs. Plus skull facepainting. Obvs.

OPTIMO ESPOOKIO

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Optimo host their annual Halloween special, going dark with a suitably haunted soundtrack and spooky fx, bolstered by their somewhat competitive costume competition which has seen everything from Super Mario to, erm, a sanitary towel.

Edinburgh Clubs

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

SHAKE APPEAL

Damn fine evening of hip shakers and neck breakers, combining everything from Buddy Holly to Motorhead. CATHOUSE HALLOWEEN

CATHOUSE, 21:00–04:00, £10

Cathouse bring the mayhem with their version of a Halloween party, set across three rooms and including costume competitions and some dangerous Jagermeister sponsorship. ALPHA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly mash-up of new tunes and big floor fillers from across the alternative spectrum. In O2 ABC 2.

GBX HALLOWEEN 2014 (GEORGE BOWIE + FLIP & FILL + ULTRABEAT + MICKY MODELLE + SPARKOS + MARC LOAGE) O2 ACADEMY, 21:00–03:00, £16

Glasgow DJing legend George Bowie hosts a special Halloween edition of his GBX club night. SAMHAIN

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5

The Duck's irreverent Halloween celebration, taking in ceremonial performances and installations in the downstairs 'Otherworld', plus performances from Sly and The Family Drone, Fem Bitch Nation, Sharptooth, Froth and more. NIGHTRAVE (TEKI LATEX + JOE HOWE)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£10 AFTER 12)

Nightrave bring the party once more, with Teki Latex and Joe Howe from Sound Pellegrino joining ‘em for the evening, plus support from Numbers P.O.L. Style and the club residents. That do you? SHEETS OV SAMHAIN (GHOLD + KABOBO + MISFITTS + WHEEZURR + IKARIE XB-1)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Halloween-themed gig showcase, taking in a suitably dark and noisy bunch of scamps. SLABS OF THE TABERNACLE HALLOWEEN PARTY (LEAH FLOYEURS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £4

The Slabs boys stage a Halloween takeover of Sleazys, welcoming London-based techno/electro nut Leah Floyeurs for a special guest set. BAWS OOT

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £7 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

The i AM club residents pitch up at Stereo for a Halloween special, joined by German techno fiend Zombie Nation for some nostalgic electro yeeha’.

October 2014

Tue 30 Sep HIVE TUESDAYS

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk. SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of live guests. ROUTE 66

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Student fun night spinning motown, blues, hip-hop and funkstyled dancing tunes.

Wed 01 Oct COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. WITNESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines.

Edinburgh Clubs STROBE ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2.50 AFTER 12)

Fri 03 Oct

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of.

MISFITS

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms. PLANET EARTH

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8 EARLYBIRD (£10 THEREAFTER)

The Electrikal bunch return for a special one-off event with three sound systems and two very special guests: Aphrodite and Om Unit. ZION TRAIN SOUND SYSTEM

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £7

Cult pioneers of their own unique dub/dance crossover sound, Zion Train take to the road in celebration of their 25th anniversary. THE NEXTMEN (DJ RITCHIE RUFTONE)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:00–03:00, £6

Eclectic production duo carving up shiny gems from London’s low-end underbelly. IN DEEP (AUNTIE FLO + ESA)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

The In Deep champs welcome Highlife tagteam Auntie Flo and Esa four a set of their divine house and Afro grooves.

Sat 04 Oct TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the classic and modern spectrums. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard. VEGAS!

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:30–01:00, £6 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

SPEAKER BITE ME

Thu 02 Oct

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £18.50

SHANGRILA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £4

Unique night with décor inspired by various festivals across the globe, manned by rotating DJ guests adopting a different theme to each week. HULLABALOO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

PULSE VS KARNIVAL (DUB FIRE)

Two of Edinburgh’s biggest house and techno crews join forces, throwing up a headline set from Grammy-winning DJ Dub Fire as they go. MESSENGER SOUND SYSTEM

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£7 AFTER 12)

Conscious roots and dub reggae rockin’ from the usual beefy soundsystem. GROWN UPS

SUMMERHALL, 20:00–01:00, £6 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

Mash-up mix of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Mumbo Jumbo’s Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin, bolstered by Tall Paul’s vintage selections.

All-vinyl club for fully-fledged music fans, with DJs Kinghorror and The Spotlight Kid digging into their dusty record boxes.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

We Own residents Kottis and Kirk Douglas’s new night, playing house tracks dear to their hearts.

HI-SOCIETY

Playlists of student-friendly chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room.

Mon 06 Oct MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

ELECTRIKAL SOUND SYSTEM (APHRODITE + OM UNIT)

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo.

FIFTY/FIFTY (MR O)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

New weekly Sunday party spread across two rooms, a guest DJ or two oft in tow.

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs.

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic alternative indie music.

The Evol DJs worship at the alter of all kinds of indie-pop, with their only rule being that it’s gotta have bite.

JUICE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics.

PROPAGANDA

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

THE CLUB

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3 MEMBERS)

TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 12)

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae and dancehall.

COALITION

Sprawling party night spread across four rooms – with a main room of house and electro beats, bolstered by a UV Room, a Photobooth Room and a Mixology Room.

50s-themed party fun night, with Frankie Sumatra, Bugsy Seagull, Dino Martini, Sam Jose and Nikki Nevada. Plus Vegas showgirls ago-go, natch.

CHAMPION SOUND

Sun 05 Oct

OUTCASTS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Tue 07 Oct HIVE TUESDAYS

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk. SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of live guests. FLARE (KLINGANDE)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £12 (£10)

The Flare residents pull out the big guns with a guest set from French melodic house duo, Klingande.

Wed 08 Oct COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. CHAMPION SOUND

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 12)

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae and dancehall. TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson. WITNESS (FRIEND WITHIN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines – with special guest Friend Within providing the raw 808 rhythms.

Thu 09 Oct JUICE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo. SHANGRILA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £4

Unique night with décor inspired by various festivals across the globe, manned by rotating DJ guests adopting a different theme to each week. HULLABALOO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Mash-up mix of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Mumbo Jumbo’s Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin, bolstered by Tall Paul’s vintage selections. HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Playlists of student-friendly chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room.

Fri 10 Oct MISFITS

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms. PLANET EARTH

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

PROPAGANDA THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3 MEMBERS)

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic alternative indie music. XPLICIT

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£7 AFTER 12)

Heavy jungle and bass-styled beats from the inimitable Xplicit crew, likely with a guest or two in tow. AUDACIOUS (HITORI TORI + KOOLMORF WIDESEN + THE PARLIAMENTALIST)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5 BEFORE 12)

Hardstyle breakcore night for your dancing pleasure, welcoming a selection of guests into their lair for the evening.

DUBCOMBE RECORDS SHOWCASE (MAXIROOTS + MIGHTY OAK + ESCAPE ROOTS SOUND + CURTIS GEARTY) BOTECO DO BRASIL, 22:00–03:00, £5

A selection of crews come together for a heavy bass night of dub, dubstep and reggae, pumped out through the full Mighty Oak Soundystem. JACKHAMMER (OCTAVE ONE)

THE CAVES, 23:00–03:00, £10

The Jackhammer crew up our dose of all things techno with their usual monthly outing, with American techno chappies Octave One in tow. IN DEEP (GHOST CULTURE + JON K)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

The In Deep champs welcome London’s Ghost Culture for a guest set – expertly blending delicate songwriting with dusty analogue electronica.

Sat 11 Oct TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the classic and modern spectrums. MUMBO JUMBO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£7/£5 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Funk, soul, beats and mash-ups from the Mumbo Jumbo regulars and pals. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard. DR NO’S

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4 BEFORE 12)

Danceable mix of the best in 60s ska, rocksteady, bluebeat and early reggae. BEEP BEEP, YEAH!

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

Retro pop stylings from the 50s to the 70s, via a disco tune or ten. TEESH (HARRI & DOMENIC)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

DJ Cheers – frequent flyer at many a Sneaky’s night – finally gets his own show on the road, this edition welcoming Subculture duo Harri & Domenic for a guest set. NIGHTVISION: KNEE DEEP (HOT SINCE 82 + HUXLEY + ANDHIM + LAURIE NEIL)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, FROM £12.50

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision continues, handing over the reins to the Knee Deep crew – who in turn welcome Leeds-based producer Hot Since 82, and more.

Sun 12 Oct COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs. THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of. FIFTY/FIFTY (YAMWHO?)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

New weekly Sunday party spread across two rooms, a guest DJ or two oft in tow.

Mon 13 Oct MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics. NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 14 Oct HIVE TUESDAYS

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk. SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of live guests.

Wed 15 Oct COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. WITNESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines.

CHAMPION SOUND (MUNGO’S HI-FI + MC SOLO) THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 12)

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae and dancehall. TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

Thu 16 Oct JUICE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo. SHANGRILA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £4

Unique night with décor inspired by various festivals across the globe, manned by rotating DJ guests adopting a different theme to each week. HULLABALOO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Mash-up mix of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Mumbo Jumbo’s Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin, bolstered by Tall Paul’s vintage selections. HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Playlists of student-friendly chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room. STROBE

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2.50 AFTER 12)

Sprawling party night spread across four rooms – with a main room of house and electro beats, bolstered by a UV Room, a Photobooth Room and a Mixology Room.

Fri 17 Oct MISFITS

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms. FOUR CORNERS

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

Soulful dancing fodder, from deep funk to reggae beats with your regular DJ hosts. PLANET EARTH

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3 MEMBERS)

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic alternative indie music. WONKY

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

A cast of players take care of all your hardtek and breakcore needs, with full UV decor and glowstick action.

UNPOP: 5TH BIRTHDAY WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £5

Fun indie-pop dance party for the twee of heart and loose of limb, celebrating its 5th birthday with mixtapes, badges and cake for the earybirds. IN DEEP (BILL BREWSTER)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

The In Deep champs welcome yer man Bill Brewster for a guest set, mixing things up with his blend of anything from house to hip-hop.

Sat 18 Oct TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the classic and modern spectrums. THE EGG

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£5 AFTER 12)

Art School institution with DJs Chris and Jake playing the finest in indie, garage, soul and punk – now taking up a monthly Saturday slot, in what is their 20-somethingth year. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard. BIG ‘N’ BASHY

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£6 AFTER 12)

Mighty mix of reggae, grime, dubstep and jungle played out by inimitable residents Brother Most Righteous, Skillis, Era and Deburgh. POP ROCKS!

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all). WASABI DISCO (SHIT ROBOT)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

Heady bout of cosmic house, punk, upside-down disco and, er, Fleetwood Mac with yer man Kris ‘Wasabi’ Walker &ndash; this edition joined by DFA star and LCD Soundsystem associate, Shit Robot, out and celebrating his new LP release. NIGHTVISIONS: 2MANYDJS (HOSTAGE)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, FROM £12.50

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision continues its merriment, with notorious Belgian mash-up party starters 2manydjs holing up in The Liquid Room for the evening.

Sun 19 Oct COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

Wed 22 Oct COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. WITNESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines. CHAMPION SOUND

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 12)

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae and dancehall. TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

Thu 23 Oct JUICE (ONEMAN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo, with Rinse FM’s Oneman dropping by for a guest set. SHANGRILA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £4

Unique night with décor inspired by various festivals across the globe, manned by rotating DJ guests adopting a different theme to each week. HULLABALOO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Mash-up mix of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Mumbo Jumbo’s Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin, bolstered by Tall Paul’s vintage selections. HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Playlists of student-friendly chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room. STROBE

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2.50 AFTER 12)

Sprawling party night spread across four rooms – with a main room of house and electro beats, bolstered by a UV Room, a Photobooth Room and a Mixology Room.

Fri 24 Oct MISFITS

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms. PLANET EARTH

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

BALKANARAMA (SMASH KAFANA)

POTTERROW, 22:00–03:00, £9 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

All singing, all dancing Balkanstyled club orgy, with an early live jam session followed by live guests, belly dancing, bespoke visuals and free plum brandy for all. IN DEEP (DEEP SHIT)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of.

The In Deep champs host a return guest set from Foals’ Edwin Congreave and Friendly Fires’ Jack Savidge in their party-ready DJ duo guise, Deep Shit.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

FIFTY/FIFTY

New weekly Sunday party spread across two rooms, a guest DJ or two oft in tow.

Mon 20 Oct MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics. NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 21 Oct HIVE TUESDAYS

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk. SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of live guests.

THE DARK ROOM

Dark psytrance-styled night, featuring a batch of DJs from various Scottish tribes. CONFUSION

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

All-new spin-off night from the Confusion is Sex peeps, placing its focus on bringing in guest DJs, MCs and live acts from outside Edinburgh.

PROPAGANDA (PIGEON DETECTIVES)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3 MEMBERS)

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic alternative indie music, this time featuring a special set from the Pigeon Detectives.

NIGHTVISION: FEEL MY BICEP (BICEP + LEON VYNEHALL) LA BELLE ANGELE, 21:00–03:00, FROM £12

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision continues, with Feel My Bicep bloggers/DJs Andy Ferguson and Matt McBriar (aka Bicep) manning proceedings, joined by Brighton-based producer Leon Vynehall.

Listings

The Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Sat 25 Oct TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the classic and modern spectrums. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard. MAGIC NOSTALGIC

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£8 AFTER 12)

A hodgepodge of quality tracks chosen by JP’s spinning wheel – expect anything from 90s rave to power ballads, amidst a whole lotta one-hit wonders. RIDE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

31 October 8 November 2014

The Ride girls play hip-hop and dance, all night long – now in their new party-ready Saturday night slot.

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

Thu 30 Oct SHANGRILA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £4

Unique night with décor inspired by various festivals across the globe, manned by rotating DJ guests adopting a different theme to each week. HULLABALOO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

HI-SOCIETY

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

Playlists of student-friendly chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room.

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 STUDENT AFTER 12)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2.50 AFTER 12)

DR NO’S

Danceable mix of the best in 60s ska, rocksteady, bluebeat and early reggae.

ROBIGAN’S REGGAE (SISTA LEXXY + FLY T) WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£7/£4 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Dub, reggae and dancehall clubbing spectacular, joined by a duo of Capital 1212 guests.

NIGHTVISION: XPLICIT (ANDY C + MC TONN PIPER + ENO + G-MAC + MC BZ)

LA BELLE ANGELE, 21:00–03:00, FROM £10

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision continues, this time with Xplicit taking the helm for a basstastic night ably headed up by award-winning, genre pioneering and all round musical superstar, Andy C.

Sun 26 Oct COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs. THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of. FIFTY/FIFTY (ELHOI VG + EMILIO MADRID)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

New weekly Sunday party spread across two rooms, a guest DJ or two oft in tow.

Mon 27 Oct MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics. NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 28 Oct HIVE TUESDAYS

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk. SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Listings

TRIBE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4 BEFORE 12)

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae and dancehall.

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £6

Monthly offering of new wave, disco, post-punk and a bit o’ synthtastic 80s with your hosts Chris and Big Gus.

Pre-Booking Recommended www.RealMaryKingsClose.com 0845 070 6244

CHAMPION SOUND

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £1 (£3 AFTER 12)

Swinging soul spanning a whole century, with DJs Tsatsu and Fryer.

SOULSVILLE

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

BETAMAX

A week of special events!

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines.

Mash-up mix of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Mumbo Jumbo’s Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin, bolstered by Tall Paul’s vintage selections.

MADCHESTER

Discover The Real Mary King’s Close as never before...

WITNESS SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of live guests.

Wed 29 Oct COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits.

STROBE

Sprawling party night spread across four rooms – with a main room of house and electro beats, bolstered by a UV Room, a Photobooth Room and a Mixology Room. EROL ALKAN VS JD TWITCH

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £15

Remix DJ extraordinaire Erol Alkan takes to Sneaky’s basement lair to play a one-off versus set with one half of the Optimo tagteam, JD Twitch.

Fri 31 Oct MISFITS

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms. PLANET EARTH

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3 MEMBERS)

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic alternative indie music. SUBSTANCE: 8TH BIRTHDAY (SHXCXCHCXSH + RYAN MARTIN) THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6

VITAMINS’ GHOST TOUR SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

Taking on a ghostly guise in honour of Halloween, Vitamins DJs ‘Skeleton Sam’ and ‘Tanner the Skinner’ provide the spooky goings on in Sneaky’s basement grotto. ETC27: VOODOO ZOMBIE PIRATE FREAKOUT!

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5 IN FANCY DRESS)

Edinburgh Tekno Cartel bring the sleazy bass and techno beats to your Halloween prodeedings, marking the day in zombie pirate style (aka make like the living dead), with the residents sharing DJ duties across two floors.

Dundee Clubs

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–03:00, £12

HALLOWEEN @ PARADISE PALMS (ANKLEPANTS) PARADISE PALMS, 20:00–01:00, FREE IN FANCY DRESS

Fresh from his Boiler Room set, the suitably weird and masked-up Anklepants plays a special Halloween outing at Paradise Palms. CIRCUS LATES’ HALLOWEEN PARTY (BAND OF GOLD) ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12/£3 IN FANCY DRESS)

Electric Circus disco down for their Halloween club party, taking in a mix of live music and DJs from 11pm.

BUSKERS, 19:00–00:00, £8

ZION TRAIN SOUND SYSTEM

Thu 16 Oct

Cult pioneers of their own unique dub/dance crossover sound, Zion Train take to the road in celebration of their 25th anniversary.

Fri 03 Oct ROOMS RESIDENTS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £TBC

The Reading Room residents hold the fort for the evening, playing good vibe tunes all night long. WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go.

Sat 04 Oct AUTODISCO

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £TBC

More electro-funk, house and disco with your regular hosts Dave Autodisco and Dicky Trisco. MASK

FAT SAM’S, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£5)

Classy club takeover snaking its way across four rooms, with a VIP lounge to boot. ASYLUM: WILD WILD WEST

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’, this edition with a special Wild Wild West theme.

Fri 10 Oct

Micro-label Lost Map go all out for Halloween, pitching up at The Mash House for eight-hours of musical shenanigans, headlined by longstanding London rockers the Archie Bronson Outfit.

A FESTIVAL OF HOUSE (GRAEME PARK + THE RHUMBA SOUNDSYSTEM)

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £5 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

Thu 02 Oct

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £3 BEFORE 11.30PM, £5 AFTER

LOST MAP’S HALLOWEEN SPECIAL (ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT + TUFF LOVE + OUR LADIES OF SORRIW + INSECT HEROES + CARBS + RIVER OF SLIME + OPERATOR)

ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

The Rhumbas Festival Of House returns, this time bigger and better &ndash; sprawling over three days and three venues, with Buskers’ closing session featuring chilldown sets from Graeme Park and The Rhumba Soundsystem.

Thu 09 Oct

House, tech-house and techno from resident DJs Peter Annand and Jack Swift.

FAT SAM’S, 20:00–03:30, £28

The Rhumba’s Festival Of House returns, this time bigger and better – sprawling over three days and three venues, with Fat Sam’s main event taking in a toomany-to-name programme of big name DJs.

Sun 12 Oct

Edinburgh clubber’s institution headed up by DJ Gavin Richardson, this edition marking the club’s 8th birthday with the usual dark electronic tuneage, joined live by Shxcxchcxsh and All Cap’s Ryan Martin. CREATURES OF HABIT

A FESTIVAL OF HOUSE (JAMES ZABIELA + FOALS DJS + MARSHALL JEFFERSON + JOEY BELTRAM + JEREMY OLANDER + FRIENDLY FIRES DJS + SLAM + HORSE MEAT DISCO + DAVE SEAMAN + FARLEY JACKMASTER FUNK + DANNY RAMPLING)

ROOMS THURSDAYS (JON K)

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £TBC

Reading Rooms’ regular Thursday nighter welcomes Manc underground house specialist Jon K for a guest set. READING ROOMS CLUB TAKEOVER. A FESTIVAL OF HOUSE (A GUY CALLED GERALD + DICKY TRISCO + IS KILL) READING ROOMS, 22:00–03:00, £12

The Rhumbas Festival Of House returns, this time bigger and better sprawling over three days and three venues, with Reading Rooms opening session taking in DJ sets from A Guy Called Gerald, Dicky Trisco and Is Kill. WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go.

Sat 11 Oct ROOMS RESIDENTS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £TBC

The Reading Room residents hold the fort for the evening, playing good vibe tunes all night long.

ROOM THURSDAYS

Wed 29 Oct

Wed 22 Oct

READING ROOMS, 21:30–02:30, £5

MARRYAT HALL, 19:30–22:00, £12 (£10)

EROL ALKAN

The Trash founder, Bugged Out resident and all-round DJ extraordinaire takes control for the evening, best known for his tight productions and damn good remixes.

Thu 30 Oct ROOM THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4

Thursday nighter – as the name would suggest – promising to play anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 31 Oct WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go. JUNGLISM

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 23:30–02:30, £3 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

Friday night party of drum’n’bass soundscapes, ripe for dancing feet.

Dundee Music

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4

Thursday nighter – as the name would suggest – promising to play anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 17 Oct

MUNGO’S HI-FI (SOLO BANTON)

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £6 (£8 AFTER 11.30)

More heavyweight selections from Mungo’s Soundsystem, with underground bass head Solo Banton on guest duties. WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go. GORILLA IN YOUR CAR

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Hardcore, emo, punk and scenester selections. Also perhaps the best-named club night in Dundee’s existence.

Sat 18 Oct LOCARNO

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £TBC

Rockabilly, doo-wop, soul and all things golden age and danceable with the Locarno regulars. MASK

FAT SAM’S, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£5)

Classy club takeover snaking its way across four rooms, with a VIP lounge to boot. ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Thu 23 Oct ROOM THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4

Thursday nighter – as the name would suggest – promising to play anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 24 Oct ROOMS RESIDENTS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £TBC

The Reading Room residents hold the fort for the evening, playing good vibe tunes all night long. WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go.

Sat 25 Oct BOOK CLUB

READING ROOMS, 21:00–02:30, £TBC

The Good Stuff DJs spin all genres of disco house and techno, alongside anything else they damn well fancy. MASK

FAT SAM’S, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£5)

Classy club takeover snaking its way across four rooms, with a VIP lounge to boot. ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Fri 03 Oct

NEVILLE STAPLE BAND

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £15

The Specials frontman and British ska figurehead takes to the road with his live band ensemble. RANDOLPH’S LEAP (ST. KILDA MAILBOAT + BLOOD INDIANS)

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Glasgow melody merchants continue to twist the folk-pop genre into odd knots, creating witty ear-worms of joy as they go.

Sat 04 Oct BIG COUNTRY

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £25

Dunfermline-born 80s rockers formed when Stuart Adamson left The Skids in 1981 and recruited guitar partner Bruce Watson, now back and touring under their new line-up.

Tue 07 Oct

THE AMAZING SNAKEHEADS

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £8

Glasgow-based rock’n’rollers gently imbuing their sound with a bit o’ garage blues.

Thu 09 Oct

DANNY AND THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD (TREVOR MOSS + HANNAH LOU)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £8

Genuinely affecting country-folk from the Australian-born, south London living, Danny George Wilson and his merry band. Roald Dahl similarities left at the title.

SCOTT MATTHEWS

The Ivor Novello-award winning singer/songwriter plays an intimate set in celebration of the release of his new LP, Home Part 1.

Sat 25 Oct

THE SCOTTISH FIDDLE ORCHESTRA

CAIRD HALL, 19:30–22:00, £18 (£16)

Orchestral music for reels and jigs, featuring local soprano Colette Ruddy and Greenock-born Dennis Haggerty.

DUNDEE PUNKTOBERFEST (HI FI SPITFIRES + BILLY CLUB + CERTAIN DEATH + CHAOS 8 + POTENTIAL VICTIMS + EK DECAY + THE EDDIES + THE CUNDEEZ + SUNDAY PUNK CLUB + SPAT + SUBVISION + THE RED EYES + OVERDOSE + THE ROTTEN APPLES + SKIZOFRENIK + CRIMEDESK + ALTERED STATES + PUNKADELIC) BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 13:00–23:00, £10

A punk fest, during October, in Dundee – in case the name hadn’t already given that away – featuring the likes of The Cundeez, Spat, Altered States and more.

Glasgow Tue 30 Sep RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material. STILL GAME

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:30–22:00, FROM £30

Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernanpenned comedy centred on pensioners Jack and Victor, reuniting the full cast for the first time in six years.

Wed 01 Oct COMEDIAN RAP BATTLE

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£4)

Ro Cambell and The Wee Man’s comedian rap battle-off, where a select batch of comics compete to see who’s got the most swagger when it comes to hippity-hop wit. NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

Thu 02 Oct VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 03 Oct

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Fri 10 Oct

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act.

CAIRD HALL, 19:00–22:00, £25

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

JAKE BUGG

Young Nottingham-born folkmeets-indie singer/songwriter, known to his mammy under the slightly less cool moniker of Jake Edwin Kennedy. ELIZA AND THE BEAR

BUSKERS, 19:00–23:00, £8

Five piece euphoric indie pop/ rock lot hailing from London and featuring neither Eliza, nor indeed a bear.

Sat 11 Oct

MAX RAPTOR (FREEZE THE ATLANTIC + SPEAKING IN ITALICS)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £6

Midlands foursome fusing classic punk attitude with plenty of ballsy riffs and raucous lyrical chants, as you do.

Wed 15 Oct NEON WALTZ

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 19:30–23:00, £6

Psychedelic indie-rock ensemble from the wilderness of Caithness, where they write and play melodic, sun-drenched, sonic soundscapes in a remote croft.

LAUGHTER EIGHT

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit. GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (RAY BRADSHAW + EDD HEDGES + FERN BRADY + DAN NIGHTINGALE)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–21:30, £15

Longrunning comedy club the Gilded Balloon hit up Drygate for a new residency, combing the joys of a craft brewery setting with a rotating schedule of live comedy talent.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (RUDI LICKWOOD + PAUL MYREHAUG + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 04 Oct THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act.

THE SKINNY

Comedy LAUGHTER EIGHT

JIMEON: IS IT?!

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

THE PAVILION THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £17.50

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

THE SATURDAY SHOW (RUDI LICKWOOD + PAUL MYREHAUG + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

More inspired ramblings from the Northern Ireland comedian and actor (aka Jimeon McKeown).

THE SATURDAY SHOW (BRENDON BURNS + WENDY WATSON + MC JOE HEENAN)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Sun 05 Oct

Sun 12 Oct

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his guests.

Mon 06 Oct

Tue 14 Oct

IMPROV WARS

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6

More improvised comedy games and sketches, with an unpredictable anything-goes attitude – as indeed it should be.

Tue 07 Oct RED RAW

RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 15 Oct

TONY LAW: ENTER THE TONEZONE

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £14 (£12)

Sat 18 Oct

LEE EVANS: MONSTERS

THE SSE HYDRO, 20:00–22:00, £30

The fidgity, sweaty funnyman tours his new show, Monsters, on the road for a mighty 60-date tour. THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

THE SATURDAY SHOW (BENNETT ARRON + JOHNNY CANDON + BRUCE FUMMEY + MC BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Sun 19 Oct

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his guests.

Mon 20 Oct

STEPHEN K AMOS: WELCOME TO MY WORLD

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Tue 21 Oct

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

Thu 09 Oct VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

THE THURSDAY SHOW (BRENDON BURNS + WENDY WATSON + MC JOE HEENAN)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 10 Oct

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (SCOTT AGNEW + PAT CAHILL + RIA LINA + MARK NELSON)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 22:00–00:00, £15

Longrunning comedy club the Gilded Balloon hit up Drygate for a new residency, combing the joys of a craft brewery setting with a rotating schedule of live comedy talent.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (BRENDON BURNS + WENDY WATSON + MC JOE HEENAN)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

Thu 16 Oct

LEE EVANS: MONSTERS

THE SSE HYDRO, 20:00–22:00, £30

The fidgity, sweaty funnyman tours his new show, Monsters, on the road for a mighty 60-date tour. VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

THE THURSDAY SHOW (BENNETT ARRON + JOHNNY CANDON + BRUCE FUMMEY + MC BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 17 Oct

LEE EVANS: MONSTERS

THE SSE HYDRO, 20:00–22:00, £30

The fidgity, sweaty funnyman tours his new show, Monsters, on the road for a mighty 60-date tour. THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit. GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (MICKEY DWYER + ALFIE BROWN + BEC HILL)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–21:30, £15

Longrunning comedy club the Gilded Balloon hit up Drygate for a new residency, combing the joys of a craft brewery setting with a rotating schedule of live comedy talent.

Sat 11 Oct

THE FRIDAY SHOW (BENNETT ARRON + JOHNNY CANDON + BRUCE FUMMEY + MC BRUCE DEVLIN)

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

October 2014

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. PAUL FOOT: HOVERCRAFT SYMPHONY IN GAMMON #MAJOR

ORAN MOR, 20:00–22:00, £12.50

Rant-heavy comedian from Bucks, with a Guild of Connoisseurs, rather than fans – as you do.

CRAIG HILL: GIVE HIM AN INCH

TRON THEATRE, 22:00–23:30, £16 (£12)

The cheeky chappie brings his new show to Glasgow as part of Glasgay! 2014 – presented in his usual live and unleashed manner.

Sun 26 Oct

TOM STADE: DECISIONS DECISIONS

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £16 (£14)

The free-thinking philosopher returns to ponder timeless questions and reflect upon life’s choices and decisions, imbued with his usual added mayhem.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12

Wed 08 Oct NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Fresh from touring Australia, New Zealand, and a stint at Edinburgh Fringe, the English comic does his feel-good thing.

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

THE SATURDAY SHOW (NATHAN CATON + MARTIN MOR)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Mon 27 Oct

The multi award-winning Canadian nonsense-maker pitches up with his particularly addictive brand of silliness. NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

LAUGHTER EIGHT VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 22 Oct NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

Thu 23 Oct VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland. THE THURSDAY SHOW (NATHAN CATON + MARTIN MOR)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 24 Oct

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit. GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (RAY BRADSHAW + NATHANIEL METCALFE + RHYS MATHEWSON + ROB DEERING)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 22:00–00:00, £15

Longrunning comedy club the Gilded Balloon hit up Drygate for a new residency, combing the joys of a craft brewery setting with a rotating schedule of live comedy talent.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (NATHAN CATON + MARTIN MOR) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 25 Oct

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act.

MARCEL LUCONT: IS

The award-winning witty Frenchman does his endlessly charming thing, musing on mortality, morality and masculinity as he goes. Most likely with a wine glass sitting on his palm like an ornament.

Tue 28 Oct RED RAW

THE FRIDAY SHOW (PETE JOHANSSON + MIKE GUNN + TONY JAMESON + MC SCOTT AGNEW) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. LEE MACK: HIT THE ROAD MACK

THE KING’S THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, FROM £28.50

The multi-award winning comic takes to the road for his first live tour in over four years, trademark high energy banter and sharp oneliners all well and in place.

Sat 01 Nov

JIM DAVIDSON: NO FURTHER ACTION

The multi-award winning comic takes to the road for his first live tour in over four years, trademark high energy banter and sharp oneliners all well and in place.

Edinburgh

LEE MACK: HIT THE ROAD MACK

THE KING’S THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, FROM £28.50

The multi-award winning comic takes to the road for his first live tour in over four years, trademark high energy banter and sharp oneliners all well and in place.

Thu 30 Oct VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland. THE THURSDAY SHOW (PETE JOHANSSON + MIKE GUNN + TONY JAMESON + MC SCOTT AGNEW)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase. LEE MACK: HIT THE ROAD MACK

THE KING’S THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, FROM £28.50

The multi-award winning comic takes to the road for his first live tour in over four years, trademark high energy banter and sharp oneliners all well and in place.

Fri 31 Oct

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (RAY BRADSHAW + LLOYD GRIFFITH + KEARA MURPHY + JOHN HASTINGS)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–21:30, £15

Longrunning comedy club the Gilded Balloon hit up Drygate for a new residency, combing the joys of a craft brewery setting with a rotating schedule of live comedy talent.

JIM DAVIDSON: NO FURTHER ACTION

THE PAVILION THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £25

The longstanding English comic and TV host does his usual politically incorrect thing, following a winning stint on Celebrity Big Brother.

Thu 09 Oct

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

THE THURSDAY SHOW (TANYALEE DAVIS + DANNY PENSIVE + TOM TOAL + MC SUSAN MORRISON)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase. THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

THE FRIDAY SHOW (TANYALEE DAVIS + DANNY PENSIVE + TOM TOAL + MC BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. MEN WITH COCONUTS

THE GRANARY, 20:00–22:00, £6 (£5)

Thu 02 Oct

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Fri 03 Oct

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (JUNIOR SIMPSON + MC RAYMOND MEARNS) THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. COMEDYDOO (HARRY GARRISON + GUS LYMBURN + ROSS LESLIE + MICHAEL CAMERON) THE WHITE HORSE, 20:00–22:00, £5

Fresh line-up of fledgling comedic talent, topped off with a national headline act and a jovial compere. MEN WITH COCONUTS

THE GRANARY, 20:00–22:00, £6 (£5)

Fringe favourites Improv FX – made up of West End actors, physical comedians and musicians – stage their fast-paced sketch show, inspired wholly by audience suggestions. THE UGLY ANIMAL PRESERVATION SOCIETY

EDINBURGH ZOO, 19:00–22:30, £15

Simon Watt and his comedic chums set out to raise the profile of some of Mother Nature’s more aesthetically challenged animals – interpreted via stand-up, natch – taking to the fitting surrounds of Edinburgh Zoo’s Jungle Comedy Cafe.

Sat 04 Oct

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Fringe favourites Improv FX – made up of West End actors, physical comedians and musicians – stage their fast-paced sketch show, inspired wholly by audience suggestions.

Sat 11 Oct

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups. THE SATURDAY SHOW (TANYALEE DAVIS + DANNY PENSIVE + TOM TOAL + MC BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Sun 12 Oct

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (BRUCE FUMMEY) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues.

Mon 13 Oct RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Tue 14 Oct

TONY LAW: ENTER THE TONEZONE

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £14 (£12)

The multi award-winning Canadian nonsense-maker pitches up with his particularly addictive brand of silliness.

Wed 15 Oct

PAUL FOOT: HOVERCRAFT SYMPHONY IN GAMMON #MAJOR

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–22:30, £12.50 (£8)

Rant-heavy comedian from Bucks, with a Guild of Connoisseurs, rather than fans – as you do. THE MELTING POT

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4 STUDENTS/£2.50 MEMBERS)

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

Series of comedy sketches picked by the audience and performed by a varying troupe of actors and musicians.

Mon 06 Oct

THE THURSDAY SHOW (BRENDON BURNS + DAISY EARL + MC JONATHAN MAYOR)

RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Tue 07 Oct G-SPOT

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £5

MC Jojo Sutherland leads an all-new camp-styled evening of comedy and cabaret shenanigans.

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

LEE MACK: HIT THE ROAD MACK

THE KING’S THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, FROM £28.50

Wed 29 Oct Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

The longstanding English comic and TV host does his usual politically incorrect thing, following a winning stint on Celebrity Big Brother.

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4)

More fast-paced and anarchic skits and character comedy from The Stand’s resident sketch comedy troupe and their special guests.

Fri 10 Oct

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Fri 17 Oct

THE BROKEN WINDOWS POLICY

THE PAVILION THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £25

THE THURSDAY SHOW (JUNIOR SIMPSON + MC RAYMOND MEARNS)

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 08 Oct

Thu 16 Oct

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (BRENDON BURNS + DAISY EARL + MC JONATHAN MAYOR)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. MEN WITH COCONUTS

THE GRANARY, 20:00–22:00, £6 (£5)

Fringe favourites Improv FX – made up of West End actors, physical comedians and musicians – stage their fast-paced sketch show, inspired wholly by audience suggestions.

Sat 18 Oct

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Sun 26 Oct MARCEL LUCONT: IS

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12

The award-winning witty Frenchman does his endlessly charming thing, musing on mortality, morality and masculinity as he goes. Most likely with a wine glass sitting on his palm like an ornament..

Mon 27 Oct RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Tue 28 Oct BRIGHT CLUB

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £5

A selection of comedic academics do a stint of stand-up for your entertainment and enlightenment. Laughs and learning in one neat package = tick.

Wed 29 Oct

THE BEST OF SCOTTISH COMEDY

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£3 MEMBERS)

A selection of top comics from the contemporary Scottish circuit do their thing, aye.

Fri 31 Oct

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

Mon 20 Oct

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend. RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 22 Oct JOKE THIEVES

THE FRIDAY SHOW (JANEY GODLEY + STU AND GARRY + MC JOE HEENAN)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. JEREMY HARDY

TRAVERSE THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £14 (£5 UNEMPLOYED)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6

The former Perrier Comedy award winner and Radio 4 stalwart does his stand-up thing, hopefully touching on his adventures in tracing his family history as he goes.

Thu 23 Oct

Fringe favourites Improv FX – made up of West End actors, physical comedians and musicians – stage their fast-paced sketch show, inspired wholly by audience suggestions.

Will Mars hosts his live comedy swapfest, where a handpicked batch of comedians perform their own jokes and then nick each others. THE THURSDAY SHOW (MICK FERRY + MATT GREEN + MC BRUCE DEVLIN) THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 24 Oct

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups. THE FRIDAY SHOW (MICK FERRY + MATT GREEN + MC SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. MEN WITH COCONUTS

THE GRANARY, 20:00–22:00, £6 (£5)

Fringe favourites Improv FX – made up of West End actors, physical comedians and musicians – stage their fast-paced sketch show, inspired wholly by audience suggestions.

Sat 25 Oct

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

MEN WITH COCONUTS

THE GRANARY, 20:00–22:00, £6 (£5)

Dundee Wed 01 Oct

ROSS NOBLE: TANGENTLEMAN

CAIRD HALL, 20:00–22:00, £25

The freewheeling Geordie comic takes to the live stage as part of his Tangentleman UK tour, likely as unprepared and demonic as ever.

Fri 10 Oct

JONGLEURS COMEDY CLUB

DUNDEE REP, 20:00–22:00, £12

The famed comedy club hits Dundee for its monthly outing, joined by three comics, a compere and a whole lorra laughs.

Sat 11 Oct ELAINE C SMITH

DUNDEE REP, 19:30–22:00, FROM £16

The comedienne, actress, singer, writer, raconteur, political activist and star of Rab C Nesbitt returns with her new one woman show – a mix of intelligent stand-up, storytelling and music.

Thu 23 Oct

MARK WATSON: FLAWS

WHITEHALL THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £16

The English comedian and novelist returns with his darkest and most personal show yet, humourously exploring human character defects and the effects his own considered flaws have had on his life.

Tue 28 Oct JEREMY HARDY

THE GARDYNE THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £15.50

The former Perrier Comedy award winner and Radio 4 stalwart does his stand-up thing, hopefully touching on his adventures in tracing his family history as he goes.

Listings

Theatre Glasgow CCA

CRYPTIC NIGHTS: OUT OF BODY

2–4 OCT, TIMES VARY, £5

Cryptic Nights’ latest sensorymessin’ piece – a psychedlic playground put together by composer/artist Joshua Payne, exploring neuroscientific phenomena through visual and musical illusion, with punters viewing through periscopic visors. Showing every 30 minutes.

Citizens Theatre HAMLET

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 19 SEP AND 11 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

Dominic Hill’s reworking of the Shakespearean domestic tragedy of two families, brewing on love, longing, loss and the failure of each generation to live up to the expectations of the next. Matinee performances also available (Sat & Tue, 2pm/1.30pm). IN TIME O’ STRIFE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 14 AND 18 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 1984 miners’ strike, NTS present a new adaptation of Joe Corrie’s 1926 play, telling the tale of a Fife mining community buckling under the strain of a seven-month lockout, complete with folk-punk soundtrack. KILL JOHNNY GLENDENNING

22 OCT – 8 NOV, NOT 26 OCT, 27 OCT, 2 NOV, 3 NOV, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £8.50

Murderous comedy of the Glasgow underworld, taking aim at the tabloid celebrity and macho glamour of the gangster life. Matinee performances also available (Sat, 2pm). TOMAS/FANTOM

29 OCT – 1 NOV, TIMES VARY, £12 (£8.50)

Gaelic drama double bill, taking in a Gaelic version of Burns’s Tam O’ Shanter poem (Tomas) and Kenny Macrae’s murderous tale based on the legend of serial-killer Mac an t-Sronaich (Fantom).

Platform SEVEN HUNGERS

16–20 OCT, WEEKDAYS ONLY, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Physical theatre performance using movement, live music and text to dig into the history, biology and mythology of our eating habits.

The Arches HOWL[ING]

21 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Drew Taylor’s devised poem for a post-referendum Scotland, using beat poet Allen Ginsberg’s seminal piece HOWL as a basis, accompanied by music from Julia Doogan. THERE’S NO POINT CRYING OVER SPILT MILK

2–3 OCT, 6:00PM – 7:00PM, £8 (£6)

INSIDE OPULENCE 2–3 OCT, 7:15PM – 8:00PM, £8 (£6)

Part of a rising wave of Scottish dancers currently exploring new ways to choreograph, talented chap Jack Webb presents hos new piece centred on three performers’ mysterious descent into madness. Part of Arches LIVE. SMASHY, SMASHY

10 OCT, 6:00PM – 8:00PM, FREE

Performer Harry Giles leads an interactive piece in which audience members take part in the building of a cardboard city, before smashing the bugger to smithereens. Part of Arches LIVE. RECOVERY

10 OCT, 7:15PM – 8:15PM, £8 (£6)

Immersive sound-based sensorial experience performed using live singing bowls, medicinal noise music, restorative attention and chakra clearing frequencies. Part of Arches LIVE. THERE THEY CARVED A SPACE

10–11 OCT, 6:00PM – 7:00PM, £8 (£6)

Emilia Weber and Claire Healy present a quietly poignant work that asks us to consider our society’s attitude to shelter, while reflecting critically on cultural ideas about space, place and politics. Part of Arches LIVE. LADY FINGERS AND EMPIRE BISCUITS

23–25 OCT, 7:30PM – 8:30PM, £12 (£10)

Choreographer Marc Bruce presents a dance reworking of Bram Stoker’s Dracula – performed by a troupe of ten dancers exploring classical and contemporary dance styles, with the Count himself played by award winning Rambert graduate Jonathan Goddard. SCOTTISH BALLET: UP CLOSE

24 OCT, 25 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

Programme of excerpts featuring the work of James Cousins and Helen Pickett, as well as fresh choreographic talent from Scottish Ballet’s own talented company of dancers.

The King’s Theatre CAROUSEL

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 14 AND 18 OCT, TIMES VARY, FROM £10

What We Did Next present Rodgers and Hammerstein’s darkest musical, touching on issues at the time unheard of in musical theatre. STONES IN HIS POCKETS

27 OCT, 7.30PM FROM £10

A rural community in County Kerry is turned upside down by the arrival of an American film crew on location to capture the ‘real’ Ireland. THE FULL MONTY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 23 SEP AND 25 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

New stage adaptation of the BAFTA award-winning film about six steelworkers with nothing to lose, well, except their clothes. SUNSET SONG

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 21 OCT AND 25 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

WHINGEING WOMEN

7–11 OCT, TIMES VARY, FROM £15

Theatre Royal

SCOTTISH OPERA: LA CENERENTOLA

15 OCT, 17 OCT, 19 OCT, 23 OCT, 25 OCT, TIMES VARY, FROM £10

New production of the classic rags to riches tale, set to Rossini’s sparkling score. DANGEROUS CORNER

27 OCT – 1 NOV, TIMES VARY, FROM £10

Brand new production of another timeless J.B. Priestley mystery.

SMOKIES

Visual story (told without words) from Solar Bear Theatre Company, telling the tale of two lonely old spinsters who make a living catching and smoking fish on a remote shore. TOP HAT

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 7 AND 18 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £14

Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen star in Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger’s Hollywood dance musical hit of the 1930s. Matinee performances also available (Wed, Thu & Sat, 2.30pm).

Royal Botanic Garden EMBRACE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 9 MAY AND 11 OCT, TIMES VARY, £12 (£10)

The aerial performance specialists at Vision Mechanics take to the outdoors for a promenade performance inspired by the Indian legend of Amrita Devi, using aerial, shadow, and installation to question how far we’ll go to stand up for our beliefs.

Royal Lyceum Theatre KILL JOHNNY GLENDENNING

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 17 SEP AND 11 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £15

TOMORROW

3–11 OCT, NOT 5, 6, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £15 (£12)

New work from Vanishing Point exploring what it is to grow old and be cared for, in a world where myth and spirituality have been subsumed by what we all know to be true – that we are born, we live and we die.

SOUNESS

7 OCT, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £5

Bold new play by Alan Bissett, charting the rise and fall of one of European football’s most iconic and divisive talents, Graeme Souness, presented in script-in-hand format. CARDINAL SINNE

22 OCT – 1 NOV, NOT 26 OCT, 27 OCT, 7:45PM – 10:00PM, FROM £8

Religious romp presented in a mix of traditional comic farce, soliloquy and litany, investigating the root and responsibility of institutions in their perpetuation of sexual inequality and bias.

Edinburgh Playhouse JERSEY BOYS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 8 AND 25 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

True life story of multiplebucketload selling group The Four Seasons, from their beginnings to their extended run along the hit parade. Matinee performances also available (Thu & Sat, 2.30pm). BARNUM

28 OCT – 1 NOV, TIMES VARY, FROM £12.50

Musical retelling of the life of Phineas T Barnum, the American showman and businessman best remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus.

23–25 OCT, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £6 (£4)

New showcase session featuring both emerging, and more established, voices from Edinburgh – taking in a range of new work for the theatre over three consecutive nights.

DANCE DERBY

29 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £14 (£12)

SCOTTISH BALLET: THE CRUCIBLE/ TEN POEMS 25 SEP, 26 SEP, 27 SEP, 3 OCT, 4 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

Double dose of emotionally charged texts – The Crucible and Ten Poems – brought to life by Scottish Ballet’s athletic and expressive dancers. BREATHE

10–11 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £15

Tender new dance work from Errol White Company, taking in a series of encounters exploring the remnants of lives and the dust of a shared history. INSTITUTE

24–25 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £18.50

Acclaimed physical dance/theatre company Gecko return with an intimate and oft-funny exploration of what it means to care. THRILLER LIVE

27 OCT – 1 NOV, TIMES VARY, FROM £17

Touring concert celebrating the career of the undisputed King of Pop, paying homage to Jacko’s legendary O.T.T. live stage performances.

King’s Theatre THE MOUSETRAP

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 27 OCT AND 1 NOV, TIMES VARY, FROM £15

Agatha Christie murder mystery, famous for being the longestrunning show of any kind in the history of British theatre, out and celebrating its 60th year. THREE SISTERS

Edinburgh

TRAVERSE HOTHOUSE

A couple whose marriage is on shaky foundations win a holiday to Paris in a magazine competition, where together they bicker their way through the sights, cuisine and sleazy underbelly of Paris... and quite possibly fall a little back in love.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1 AND 18 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Deadpan look at living with loss, told from the perspective of a young police officer who’s boyfriend is missing.

Drew Taylor’s devised poem for a post-referendum Scotland, using beat poet Allen Ginsberg’s seminal piece HOWL as a basis, accompanied by music from Julia Doogan.

APRIL IN PARIS

THREE SISTERS

30 SEP – 4 OCT, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£7.50)

16 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1 AND 4 OCT, TIMES VARY, £20 (£15)

Tron Theatre

ONE DAY ALL THIS WILL COME TO NOTHING

Art Glasgow

HOWL[ING]

Dundee Rep

Collaboration between choreographer Jérôme Bel and the actors of Zurich’s Theater HORA – Switzerland’s best-known professional theatre company comprised of actors with learning and mental disabilities

Nostalgic, humourous and often harrowing personal journey through one man’s life in the town of Linwood and the car factory that is no more.

Scottish Borders-based Firebrand in collab with Heart of Hawick rework David Greig’s acclaimed play, set in the summer of 1939 when two young Cambridge naturalists arrive on a remote Hebridean island to conduct a wildlife survey.

Dundee

DISABLED THEATER

LINWOOD NO MORE

OUTLYING ISLANDS 1 - 5 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

CCA

GREGOR WRIGHT: DINOSAUR EXPERT I’M FEELING LUCKY

19 SEP – 2 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Glasgow artist Gregor Wright presents a new body of work created in a temporary studio within an empty Victorian office complex in Glasgow, taking in life-sized foam figures, clay sculptures, dinosaurs, wall drawings, sculptural paintings and rubble. CONOR KELLY: DO YOU FEEL LIKE WE DO?

19 SEP – 4 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

17–18 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £15 (£12)

9 OCT, 9 OCT, 10 OCT, 11 OCT, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£7.50)

OOG

Multi-award winning performer Al Seed returns with his first entirely movement-based solo piece since The Factory – an intensely physical performance, driven by a blistering soundtrack.

2–3 OCT, TIMES VARY, £8 (£6)

Listings

31 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £14

DRACULA

30 OCT – 1 NOV, 7:00PM – 8:00PM, FROM £8

Supposedly no-holds-barred exposé of the modern British woman, starring Gail Porter.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 30 OCT AND 1 NOV, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Following his acclaimed adaptations of The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya, John Byrne turns his attention to Chekhov’s tragicomedy about dashed hopes and unrequited love.

Sell a Door Theatre Company revive Alastair Cording’s faithful adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s classic story, marking 100 years since the outbreak of WWI.

Performer Dylan McCaughty returns to the theme of celebrity obsession and, inspired by that scene from Ghost, leads audiences through an intimate séance with the aim of making contact with Patrick Swayze. Part of Arches LIVE.

Festival Theatre

Taking its starting point from the British ruling force in India that instated the Indian Penal Code in 1860, Glasgow artist Rosana Cade explores the export of British Victorian ideas about sex and how they have permeated through time.

Collaboration between composer Alexander Horowitz and performance-maker Aby Watson, exploring the difference between childhood ambition and adult reality through live music, choreography and multimedia. Part of Arches LIVE. SUMMONING SWAYZE

Tramway

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 21 AND 25 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Following his acclaimed adaptations of The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya, John Byrne turns his attention to Chekhov’s tragicomedy about dashed hopes and unrequited love. REGENERATION

30 SEP – 4 OCT, TIMES VARY, FROM £14

Pat Barker’s moving retelling of the story of Siegfried Sassoon, set in Edinburgh and commemorating the centenary of the WWI. SUNSET SONG

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 7 OCT AND 11 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Sell a Door Theatre Company revive Alastair Cording’s faithful adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s classic story, marking 100 years since the outbreak of WWI.

(£12.50 MATINEE)

Murderous comedy of the Glasgow underworld, taking aim at the tabloid celebrity and macho glamour of the gangster life. Matinee performances also available (Wed & Sat, 2pm). BONDAGERS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 25 OCT AND 15 NOV, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £12.50 (£10)

Sue Glover’s lyrical play with music and song following six female land workers as they graft and dance their way through a year on a 19th Century Borders farm. Matinee performances also available (Wed & Sat, 2pm).

Summerhall SEVEN HUNGERS

16–20 OCT, WEEKDAYS ONLY, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Physical theatre performance using movement, live music and text to dig into the history, biology and mythology of our eating habits. TRAGIC (WHEN MY MOTHER MARRIED MY UNCLE)

10–11 OCT, TIMES VARY, £12 (£8)

Iain Heggie’s contemporary language adaptation of Hamlet, bringing the text to vivid and humourous life.

Traverse Theatre

WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 9 AND 11 OCT, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £16 (£13 STUDENT/£8 UNEMPLOYED)

Iranian dramatist Nassim Soleimanpour’s unique theatre experiment, performed cold with no rehearsal, no director and a different actor each night. HELA

3 AND 4 OCT, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £16 (£13 STUDENT/£8 UNEMPLOYED)

Performance based on the story of Henrietta Lacks, whose cancer cells – taken without permission in 1951 – provided raw material for some of the most important scientific discoveries of the past 100 years.

Energenic danceathon performed by ten dancers, two actors and a sixpiece jazz ensemble, played alongside a live soundtrack of songs from the 1930s performed by soprano Nadine Livingston. IN TIME O’ STRIFE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 7 AND 10 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

7.30PM £16 (£14) 16 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

New body of work from Glasgowbased artist Conor Kelly which finds him embracing the enchanted origins of painting and pointing to the social potential of the art object in a de-materialised 21st century. HRAFNHILDUR HALLDORSDOTTIR: NATURAL HISTORY

10–26 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

New body of work from Icelandic Glasgow-based artist Hrafnhildur Halldorsdottir, taking as its loose starting point the traditional practice of the tapestry and turning the format into a sculptural investigation into form and process. A PLACE TO SIT

25–27 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of textiles by people with dementia that use Alzheimer Scotland’s services at Oxford Street, Glasgow – with the work the result of a residency by textile artist Deirdre Nelson, organised as part of Luminate festival.

Gallery of Modern Art

NATHAN COLEY: THE LAMP OF SACRIFICE

15 MAY – 1 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Interested in how people relate to architecture and what they choose to believe, Nathan Coley presents an installation featuring models of 286 ‘places of worship’ that he found in the 2004 edition of the Edinburgh Yellow Pages. Part of GENERATION.

SARA BARKER: FOR MYSELF & STRANGERS 27 JUN – 5 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Interested in what she terms ‘biological space’, Glasgow-based artist Sara Barker showcases a new series of sculptures that include brazed, welded and cast metals, sometimes divided by glass structures that frame and contain the work. Part of GENERATION.

Glasgow Print Studio

ELIZABETH BLACKADDER: ETCHINGS AND SCREENPRINTS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 24 AUG AND 5 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

The longstanding Scottish artist showcases a selection of etchings and screenprints, known for carefully arranging objects in a shallow pictorial space to create intriguing and subtly decorative images. ALASDAIR GRAY: A LIFE IN POSTERS AND PRINTS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 11 OCT AND 16 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Part of a season of Alasdair Gray exhibitions, with this one looking at his print practice and its development over the years through working with Glasgow Print Studio. GREGOR SMITH

3 OCT – 2 NOV, NOT 6 OCT, 13 OCT, 20 OCT, 27 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo showcase from the landscape artist, known for his etchings and watercolours that are rich in atmosphere and translucency.

Glasgow School of Art RICHARD WALKER: STUDIO PAINTINGS

4 OCT – 2 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

New paintings detailing Richard Walker’s own studio space, on the top floor of Kinning Park Complex in Glasgow – a space with blacked out windows for which he uses a data projector, lights and mirrors to illuminate the different areas. In Reid Gallery. POSTERS OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION

20 SEP – 31 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase bringing together examples of Cuban state-sponsored propaganda poster art which flourished during the Cold War era, illustrating the aesthetic that the country’s artists and graphic designers developed. In the Reid Gallery.

THE GAMBLERS

22–25 OCT, TIMES VARY, £12 (£9)

New all-female version of Gogol’s classic play, in which the women gamble, hustle, cheat, drink, swear, sing and dance. And never apologise for it. THE DRAWER BOY

28 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £16 (£14)

Michael Healey’s bittersweet tale set in Canada in 1972, when an eagereyed young actor arrives on a small farm to do research for a role in a play about country life. QUENTIN CRISP

29 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £17 (£15)

New solo performance fresh from a run at Edinburgh Fringe, showing the late, great Englishman in New York and London, drawing on Quentin’s own writing and performances. SCOTTISH BALLET: UP CLOSE

24 OCT, 25 OCT, 31 OCT, 1 NOV, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

Programme of excerpts featuring the work of James Cousins and Helen Pickett, as well as fresh choreographic talent from Scottish Ballet’s own talented company of dancers.

The Gardyne Theatre AVENUE Q

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 21 AND 25 OCT, TIMES VARY, £14 (£12)

Colourful revival of the singalong tale of a New York street populated by an unholy comedic alliance of humans and puppets.

MOYNA FLANNIGAN: STARE 29 MAY – 2 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Edinburgh-based artist presents a new body of work drawing on the story of Adam and Eve, in particular the figure of Eve as an original model of Woman, to reflect an underlying conflict between individualism and conformity. Part of GENERATION.

Glasgow Sculpture Studios TESSA LYNCH

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 27 SEP AND 29 NOV, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

New body of work by GSA graduate Tessa Lynch, born out of her one year Glasgow Sculpture Studio Graduate Fellowship - a fellowship awarded annually to a graduate of The Glasgow School of Art’s Master of Fine Art programme.

THE SKINNY

Hunterian Art Gallery MACKINTOSH ARCHITECTURE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 18 JUL AND 4 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

First major exhibition devoted to Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s architectural work, featuring over 80 architectural drawings from The Hunterian and collections across the UK, many never before exhibited. MACKINTOSH TRAVEL SKETCHES

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 18 JUL AND 15 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase exhibition of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s watercolours, sketchbook pages and sketchbooks, demonstrating the range of his travels and his interest in Scottish tower houses, medieval English churches and vernacular architecture. WILLIAM DAVIDSON: ART COLLECTOR

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 18 JUL AND 4 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Collected works from the late William Davidson’s collection, one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s most important patrons, taking in a selection of gifts, bequests and loans from the Davidson family archives illustrating the scope of his collection.

The Common Guild DUNCAN CAMPBELL

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 20 SEP AND 25 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Third in a trio of solo shows as part of GENERATION, presenting work by the artists in The Common Guild’s Scotland + Venice 2013 exhibition – with Campbell’s films looking at representations of people/events at the heart of very particular histories.

The Glue Factory

JONATHAN MEESE: PUMP UP THE VAMPIRE, PUMP UP THE VAMPIRE, PUMP UP THE VAMPIRE, SMELL!

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 11 OCT AND 2 NOV, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

Young Team present the first exhibition in Scotland by Berlin-based artist Jonathan Meese, featuring all-new work made during a mini residency at the Glue Factory, accompanied by a limited edition publication produced on site by Risotto.

Tramway CATHY WILKES

28 JUN – 5 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Glasgow-based artist known for her imaginary environments that variously resemble interiors, uninhabited worlds and spaces of loss, engaging with the fabric and industrial history of Tramway to further explore these themes. Part of GENERATION. MICK PETER: ALMOST CUT MY HAIR

15 MAY – 5 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Known for transforming drawn imagery derived from fiction, illustration and graphic design into 3D installations, Glasgow-based sculptor Mick Peter displays a pair of ‘folded’ sculptures created especially for Tramway’s Hidden Gardens. Part of GENERATION. ALAN MICHAEL

20 SEP – 19 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Known for referencing Pop Art and Photorealism, Glasgow artist Alan Michael showcases a selection of paintings and photo-based works combining images of ‘high art’ or cultural resonance with banal everyday commodities. Part of GENERATION.

LUCY SKAER

WHERE DO I END AND YOU BEGIN 1 AUG – 19 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase in collaboration with the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme, uniting curators from five Commonwealth countries (New Zealand, South Africa, India, Canada, and the UK) to explore common-wealth via 20 artists’ work. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Collective Gallery

VANESSA BILLY: SUSTAIN, SUSTAIN

11 OCT-21 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Swiss artist Vanessa Billy marks her first Scottish solo exhibition, showcasing a body of recent sculptural works combining different everyday transient materials and found objects.

Dovecot GEM

3 OCT – 8 NOV, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Showcase exhibition of jewellery, gem-cutting and contemporary practices from Afghanistan, originally produced as part of the British Council’s South Asia season in 2013.

E.D.S. Gallery

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 18 JUL AND 25 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

AULD ALLIANCE CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS @ E.D.S. GALLERY

Solo showcase from the contemporary Scottish artist, including the installation of four key pieces – a drawing, a 16mm film, and two wooden sculptures – inspired by surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, whom Skaer visited in 2006. Part of GENERATION.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 4 OCT AND 1 NOV, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Kendall Koppe

Franco-Scottish collab of artists spread across two venues, with E.D.S. Gallery playing host to Samantha Boyes, Jacob Kerray and Ross MacRae (for Scotland), and Hélène Lhote, Paella, Dix10, Roma Napoli and Black Sifichi (for Paris).

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 5 SEP AND 31 OCT, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

Edinburgh Printmakers

JOSH FAUGHT: I KNOW I CAME INTO THIS ROOM FOR A REASON

First solo exhibition in the UK for California living-and-working textile artist Josh Faught, investigating notions of support, transition and the passage of time, with specific interest in the emergence of twosided weave structures in the 19th century.

Mary Mary

ALEANA EGAN: THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF LIVES

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 6 SEP AND 1 NOV, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

Mary Mary re-open after their summer break with a new body of work from Irish artist Aleana Egan, known for her intuitive approach using simple materials, assembled or barely transformed, to create works with a restrained tone and structure.

The Lighthouse EDWIN PICKSTONE: THIS DOT, RIGHT HERE, THIS ONE.

26 SEP – 2 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Artist in Residence at The Glasgow School of Art, Edwin Pickstone demonstrates the letterpress process by setting up a functioning letterpress printshop in the gallery and producing a series of prints throughout the run.

RGI Kelly Gallery

The Modern Institute

4 OCT – 1 NOV, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

13 SEP – 25 OCT, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

THE AIRDRIE BOYS

Double header exhibition from Dan Ferguson and John Cunningham, both born in Lanarkshire and educated at Airdrie Academy, before going on to study drawing and painting at Glasgow School of Art where they went on to become senior lecturers.

JEREMY DELLER

New body of work by the London-based artist and 2004 Turner Prize-winner, incorporating a selection of painting, printmaking and photography on the theme of land.

Street Level Photoworks

The Modern Institute @ Airds Lane

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 26 AUG AND 19 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 20 SEP AND 1 NOV, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

COMMON GROUND

Documentary photography showcase bringing together new work from two photographic collectives taking an outward-facing view of their respective home countries of Scotland and Wales.

The Arches

KATIE GALLAGHER: AMERICAN APAREL

2–11 OCT, 11:00AM – 11:00PM, FREE

Glasgow-based artist Kate Gallagher – the winner of the Blackbox Award for Visual Art – presents work created during a two-month residency funded by The Arches. Part of Arches LIVE.

October 2014

ANDREW KERR: THE OTHER SHOP

New body of paintings from the Glasgow-based artist, known for his small figurative works on paper and delicate paintings, often of his own working environment.

The Old Hairdressers HOME IS SOMEWHERE ELSE

8 OCT, 6:00PM – 10:00PM, FREE

One-night exhibition/performance showcasing the work of three artists who grew up in the Lanarkshire town of Bellshill – Kris Boyle, Martin John Henry and John Farrell – bolstered by live performances from Babygod, Sluts of Trust and Memory Man.

iota @ Unlimited Studios BRIAN CHAMBERS: LANDSCAPES, LITTLE & LARGE

2–18 OCT, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Following his well-received show at iota last year, Scottish landscape artist Brian Chambers returns for another solo showcase of vibrant landscape works, little and large. CAROL KIDD

23–25 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Self-taught and intent on exploring her own potential, musician/ artist Carol Kidd pops up at iota for a weekend showcase of work, spending time in-gallery to meet with visitors.

Edinburgh City Art Centre A-Z: AN ALPHABETICAL TOUR OF SCOTTISH ART

26 APR – 16 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Informative exhibition cutting across time periods, themes and media to explore the breadth and diversity of Scottish art, representing the key movements that have shaped Scotland’s artistic identity. URBAN/SUBURBAN

1 AUG – 19 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Collective exhibition looking at the theme of architecture and the built environment in recent Scottish art, based on work acquired through the National Collecting Scheme for Scotland. Part of GENERATION/ Edinburgh Art Festival.

Inverleith House TONY CONRAD: INVENTED ACOUSTICAL TOOLS 1966-2012

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 25 OCT AND 18 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE

First UK showing of musical instruments developed by the highly influential American artist, filmmaker and musician Tony Conrad, exploring his relationship with improvisational sound and free invention.

Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) RESIDENT 14

6 SEP – 9 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Group exhibition presenting a selection of the most recent RSA Residency for Scotland artists, highlighting the results of opportunities taken with residency centres and centres of excellence across Scotland.

Scottish National Gallery GENERATION @ SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY

28 JUN – 2 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Celebrating art made in Scotland in the last 25 years, the Scottish National Gallery’s GENERATION exhibit includes installations from Steven Campbell and Martin Boyce, plus new work from Karla Black and David Shrigley. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival. THE ART OF GOLF: THE STORY OF SCOTLAND’S NATIONAL SPORT

12 JUL – 26 OCT, TIMES VARY, £8 (£6)

NANA SHIOMI: ‘REVERSE: UNIVERSE’

Story of the birth and evolution of golf, bringing together works of art, rare memorabilia and significant museum pieces from the game’s history – beginning in the early 17th century with paintings of the playing of ‘kolf’. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 20 SEP AND 1 NOV, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

14 JUN – 12 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

FIRST SIGHT

First Scottish solo exhibition of prints by Japanese artist Nana Shiomi, whose method of woodcut print is based on the traditional manner with water-soluble pigments onto absorbent paper using a variety of hand printing methods.

Showcase of recent additions to the Scottish National Gallery’s collection of drawings, watercolours and prints – taking in a diverse selection of around 30 works on paper acquired over the last five years.

Ingleby Gallery

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

THOMAS JOSHUA COOPER: SCATTERED WATERS

11 OCT – 29 NOV, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

New body of images from California-born, Glasgow-living landscape photographer Thomas Joshua Cooper, chronicling his adopted land through the rivers that help to define its identity.

Institut français d’Ecosse

AULD ALLIANCE CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS @ INSTITUT FRANÇAIS D’ECOSSE

3 OCT – 1 NOV, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Franco-Scottish collab of artists spread across two venues, with Institut Français d’Ecosse playing host to Rachel Maclean, Samantha Boyes and Jacob Kerray (for Scotland), and Black Sifichi, Roma Napoli, Hélène Lhote and Paella (for Paris).

GENERATION @ SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART

28 JUN – 25 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Celebrating some of the best art to come out of Scotland in the last 25 years, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s GENERATION exhibition includes installations by Ross Sinclair, Graham Fagen and Simon Starling. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

GENERATION @ SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

28 JUN – 2 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Celebrating art made in Scotland in the last 25 years, the Portrait Gallery’s GENERATION exhibition forms a three-headed showcase alongside the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Scottish National Gallery. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival. REMEMBERING THE GREAT WAR

4 AUG – 5 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

Marking the centenary of the outbreak of the WWI, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery display various portraits and related works in various media - including work by artists Sir James Gunn and Sir William Gillies, who were wounded in action.

St Margaret’s House Art’s Complex BLACK CUBE COLLECTIVE

19 SEP – 5 OCT, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Sophomore annual showcase from Edinburgh-based arts organisation Black Cube Collective, bringing together over 50 emerging artists from the UK and beyond.

Stills

THE KING’S PEACE: REALISM AND WAR

1 AUG – 26 OCT, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Group exhibition expanding on the themes of Owen Logan’s photo-essay, Masquerade: Michael Jackson Alive in Nigeria (2001-2005), following the exploits of a costumed performer as he travels across the country. Part of GENERATION/ Edinburgh Art Festival.

Talbot Rice Gallery COUNTERPOINT

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 2 SEP AND 18 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Non-thematic group show featuring eight contemporary artists who question the social role and function of art, aiming to expand critical and conceptual thinking about visual art in relation to other subjects. Part of GENERATION/ Edinburgh Art Festival.

Dundee Cooper Gallery

ANNA OPPERMANN: COTONEASTER HORIZONTALIS

16 OCT – 13 DEC, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

First major UK exhibition of late preeminent German conceptual artist Anna Oppermann, featuring her celebrated 1984 ensemble Cotoneaster Horizontalis shown for the first time alongside drawings, prints, collages, documentary films and archival material.

SCALES OF LIFE VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 4 OCT AND 10 JAN, 9:30AM – 4:30PM, FREE

Inaugural exhibition in the new gallery in The Centre for Translational and Interdisciplinary Research, featuring works by Thomson & Craighead, Elaine Shemilt, Tabitha Moses and Helen Chadwick. In the Lifespace gallery (open Sat and by appointment).

DCA

HEATHER PHILLIPSON: SUB-FUSC LOVE-FEAST

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 6 SEP AND 9 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Multi-format London-based artist Heather Phillipson showcases a suite of constructed ‘landscapes’ – a colourful mass of videos, text, cut-out ‘nature’ images, soundscapes and recurring materials.

Generator Projects

FORM:PERFORM:REFORM

20 SEP – 5 OCT, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

Group exhibition looking at the role narratives and myth play in understanding the role that surrounds art and artists – and culture generally – in modern society. VIEW

17 OCT – 9 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of both installed and event-based artworks which through their own processes highlight a relation that can occur between design and contemporary art, intended as an initial response to Dundee’s Waterfront redevelopment.

The McManus A SILVERED LIGHT

6 DEC – 30 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of Scottish art photography selected from Dundee City’s permanent collection, showcasing images from over 50 photographers collected in the 28 years following the purchase of two important early photographs by Thomas Joshua Cooper in 1985. EDUARDO PAOLOZZI: JEPPERS CREEPERS

13 SEP – 2 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase of Dundee Collections own collection of work by Scottish sculptor and artist Eduardo Paolozzi, including the major work Jeepers Creepers which he gifted to the city in 1972.

19 JUL – 19 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8 (£6)

Showcase tracing the discovery of Impressionism by American artists in the late 19th-century, divided into four groups and including John Singer Sargent, William Merritt Chase and the American group known as ‘The Ten’. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 19 SEP AND 18 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

12 OCT – 29 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

London-born, Edinburgh-based painter Brian Cheeswright displays a haphazard, half-way retrospective in the development of his practice, moving between the expressive, the gestural and the romantic, the cynical and the absurd.

Showcase of works from the Paisley-born artist, celebrating his innovative and richly varied portraiture across an exhibition of 60 drawings, paintings and multimedia works from throughout his career. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

AMERICAN IMPRESSIONISM: A NEW VISION

Interview Room 11

BRIAN CHEESWRIGHT: 36 YEARS OF BRAIN FEED

JOHN BYRNE: SITTING DUCKS 14 JUN – 19 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

MAKING HISTORY

Solo exhibition of recent work by Sandy Stoddart (Sculptor In Ordinary to The Queen of Scotland), of which the main focus will be the creation of a new figurative statue of William Birnie Rhind commissioned by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

The Fruitmarket Gallery JIM LAMBIE

27 JUN – 19 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo showcase of the renowned Scottish artist, bringing together early sculptures and recent work – including a new version of ‘Shaved Ice’ that will fill the ground floor with floor-to-ceiling mirrored ladders. Part of GENERATION/ Edinburgh Art Festival.

University of Dundee THE WORD IS ART

9 AUG – 11 OCT, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of text-based artworks from the University’s Museum Collections, including Ian Hamilton Finlay, Tom Phillips, David Mach and more, as part of the word and image conference Riddles of Form. In the Lamb Gallery.

Listings