The Skinny Scotland September 2014

.CO.UK

INDEPENDENT FREE

CULT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

Scotland Issue 108 September 2014

MUSIC Tricky Interpol Nick Oliveri Liverpool Psych Fest The Vaselines Jo Rose CLUBS La Cheetah's 5th birthday Enzo Siragusa Lobster Theremin ART Bob & Roberta Smith Art Parties Arika Episode 6 New Weather Coming Where Do I End And You Begin Caitlin Hynes FILM Anton Corbijn Take One Action Scotland Loves Animation Pawel Pawlikowski Harry Treadaway Anthony Baxter BOOKS Salena Godden Hollie McNish Alan Warner Linda Grant TECH Another World Christopher Brookmyre

“ N O O N E 'S C O M E A LO N G TO D O W H AT W E D O ” D E AT H FRO M A B OV E 1979 S T RI K E AG A I N

MUSIC | FILM | CLUBS | THEATRE | TECH | ART | BOOKS | COMEDY | FASHION | TRAVEL | FOOD | DEVIANCE | LISTINGS

P.26 Arika, Mike Q

P.36 Bob and Roberta Smith

Image courtesy Mike Q

P.29 Interpol

P.44 Take One Action, Giraffada

September 2014

Issue 108, September 2014 Š 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.

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

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

4

Contents

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

THE SKINNY

Contents

41

Honeymoon star Harry Treadway tells us why he keeps coming back to the horror genre.

06 Chat & Opinion: Spot the Difference

42

Legendary game designer Éric Chahi discusses Another World's enduring influence.

43

Author Linda Grant discusses new novel Upstairs at the Party.

44

Film festival season is upon us – first off, Take One Action arrive with a programme aimed to spur us into change the world activism. Further away, although not as far away as, say, China, Dunoon & Berwick both host their own cinematic festivals.

45

You've Been Trumped director Anthony Baxter explains why he needed to revisit the battle for justice with new documentary A Dangerous Game.

looks at some owls; Shot of the Month; Stop the Presses; Crystal Baws; What Are You Eating For Lunch?

08 Heads Up: You must go to all of this stuff – our Events Ed says so.

10

Grainger of resurgent Toronto duo Death from Above 1979 explains the road back.

12

The Vaselines don their leathers and seek inspiration in the proto-punk of ye olden times for their rawkin’ third LP.

15

Bristolian triphop daddy Adrian Thaws, AKA Tricky, turns to the clubs, claims you totally don’t know him at all.

17

Fuse head honcho Enzo Siragusa speaks of rave culture’s retreat to the underground ahead of his upcoming appearance at Nightvision.

46

18

Punk feminist poet Salena Godden takes on the snobbery and that surrounds poetry.

LIFESTYLE Showcase: Our pick of Gray’s School of Art’s 2014 degree show, Caitlin Hynes displays her multimedia artwork.

48

Travel: One writer recalls travelling in Kurdistan and Syria in happier times.

19

Spoken word star Hollie McNish believes she’s provoking the mainstream into sorting its shit out.

49

Deviance: An expectant mother comes to terms with the fact she has deeprooted gender stereotypes.

21

Anton Corbijn explains why the late Philip Seymour Hoffman was his most wanted man.

50

Fashion: Looking ahead to Vanilla Ink Studios’ Scottish Jewellery Week and GSA’s Masters Fashion Promenade

51

Food & Drink: We launch our annual Food & Drink Survey and bring you all your food news, plus Phagomania looks at guacamole alongside a guide to the annual Chili Cook Off.

22 As La Cheetah celebrate their fifth

birthday this month, some of the club’s key players tell us why it’s the perfect place to get taps aff.

25

26

Jacqueline Donachie’s nationwide public art project New Weather Coming has attracted mixed reactions – here’s why we like it.

Vast EAF Commonwealth-inspired exhibition Where Do I End And You Begin, running in City Art Centre until October.

Arika are back with Episode 6, a weekend of events, performances and discussions dissecting notions of gender, identity and culture.

55

63

Clubs: Beneath the Label with Lobster Theremin, clubbing highlights for September and a DJ Chart courtesy Mosaic boss Steve O’Sullivan.

65

Art: Reviews of Open Dialogues at RSA and Internet Curtains in Tramway.

66

Film: Documentarian Frederick Wiseman gives another forensic study of an American institution and David Cronenberg’s cinematic love affair with Robert Pattinson continues.

67

DVD/Books: Speaking of Cronenberg, the erstwhile king of venereal horror’s debut film, Shivers, comes to Blu-ray; while in Books, Hannu Rajaniemi brings his Quantum Thief trilogy to a close with The Causal Angel and A Guide for The Perplexed, a 493 page conversation with the filmmaker Werner Herzog, is published.

28 Fans of anime rejoice – Scotland Loves Animation is back to entrance.

29 Interpol founder Daniel Kessler reached deep for the NYC trio’s fifth album, El Pintor.

30 Author Christopher Brookmyre spills on the narrative behind his pioneering new videogame collaboration, Bedlam.

33 A teenage nun and a chain-smoking

Jewish lush go on a road trip. Not the start of a bawdy joke, it’s the plot of Pawel Pawlikowski’s latest film, Ida.

34 Liverpool International Festival Of

Psychedelia’s visual director discusses the evolving aesthetics of an age old movement.

36 What connects a Michael Gove col-

ouring-in book, a bouncing gay disco soundtrack, and a dirty protest using cake icing? They’re just some of the antics inspired by Bob and Roberta Smith’s newly released film Art Party!

38 One of the nation’s most celebrated

authors, Alan Warner talks candidly of referendum, ageing and critics.

September 2014

REVIEW Music: St. Vincent, Lady North and FKA Twigs live; new releases from Goat, Homeboy Sandman, Bronto Skylift and more in review; Mancunian songwriter Jo Rose in profile; plus Nick Oliveri retraces his adolescence, winds up smoking weed at a party with AC/DC. Classic Oliveri.

68 Theatre: Highlights of the month ahead, from Don Quixote to 1984.

70

Listings: Music, Clubs, Theatre, Comedy and Art in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow for the month of September.

78

Competitions: Win passes for Scotland Loves Animation or tickets to Take One Action screenings.

Contents

5

Editorial

The Right to be Forgotten The right to be forgotten makes a strange exception of online life

S

eptember marks the end of an epic summer up here in Scotland, which kicked off with the astonishing programme of events around Culture 2014 back in June, turned Glasgow into an enormous amusement park for the duration of the Commonwealth Games in July and ended with the Biggest Edinburgh Festivals Ever as all those Games tourists spilled over into the capital to sample some of those hilarious comedy shows.

Apparently there’s some golf thing happening later on, but that’s not particularly cultural is it?

So we’re ignoring that.

This month, of course, sees the conclusion of the will-they won’t-they debate to end them all, as we all finally get to vote on Independence. At this stage in the game the arguments pro and con have been resounding for months, demonstrating a level of engagement and consideration that makes me very proud of our wee nation, regardless of which way the vote goes. The most important thing at this stage is that everyone casts their vote – I hope you’ve registered, voter registration ends on the day this issue hits the streets.

We’re choosing to mark our referendum issue by leading with… a dance-punk duo from Toronto! Death from Above 1979 return with their sophomore effort a mere decade after their debut, and we’re pretty into it so our Music ed quizzed drummer-vocalist Sebastien Grainger about dealing with the responsibilities of audience expectation. Music continues with indie legends The Vaselines, another pair who take their sweet time over releases, as they return with their third album, V is for Vaselines, just 25 years after their debut.

Flying the flag for prolificacy, we’ve got Bristolian maverick Tricky, who gave us some time to discuss his eleventh studio album, the sort-of eponymous Adrian Thaws. ‘The rock world’s most prolific wildman’ Nick Oliveri kindly allowed our Music ed to have an exclusive rifle through his adolescent record collection, and we salute debutant Mancunian songwriter Jo Rose. Stretching this productivity comparison to breaking point, we have words with the unremarkably prolific Interpol’s Daniel Kessler, introducing fifth album El Pintor.

Books this month celebrates a pair of stars from the resurgent poetry scene, namely Salena Godden and Hollie McNish. McNish discusses being called an ‘ugly lesbian bitch whore’ on YouTube for her beautiful, considered spoken word performances exploring experiences of motherhood, femininity and politics. Meanwhile, punk feminist Godden does her best to outrage our Books ed’s Edinburgh sensibilities to explain the role of the poet as a narrator of the times.

We also touch on that there referendum with an interview with one of Scotland’s most celebrated authors, Alan Warner, who is eloquent and vocal in his support of the Yes campaign.

Art takes a look south of the border, reporting back from the Bob & Roberta Smith Art Parties! which popped up across the country in protest at Michael Gove’s frankly shit proposal to cut back art education in secondary education. We also take a closer look at Jacqueline Donachie’s New Weather Rising project, which has led to hilarious uproar in the Daily Record with outrage from Oban councilmen protesting calling a trailer ‘art.’ Working on the basis that anything that prompts the reaction “I like nice paintings – I don’t believe in this pile of bricks stuff and things like that,” deserves a closer look, we sent an art writer in to investigate.

We are also especially pleased to have spent some time with photographer-director Anton Corbijn over in Film, promoting third feature A Most Wanted Man, and to have had the opportunity to give some space to Albert Baxter, who follows up You’ve Been Trumped with A Dangerous Game, a further investigation into how the mega rich exploit and corrupt the resources of nations across the world.

This is another bumper issue of the magazine, so highlights are literally too numerous to mention. Read on for Clubs’ words with Enzo Siragusa ahead of his Nightvision set, La Cheetah’s fifth birthday, Film talking to Pawel Pawlikowski and Harry Treadaway, a memoir of a time spent with the Yazidis of Kurdistan, a detailed look at Arika’s Episode 6, bringing ballroom to a Tramway near you this month… And, as ever, much more besides. [Rosamund West]

Shot Of The Month FKA Twigs, Stereo 29 Jul by Kirstin Kerr

6

Chat

T

he issue of the “right to be forgotten” is a complete farce. As a result of EU bureaucrats trying to impose rights on the online world that do not exist in the real world, Google has been forced to play the part of a self-sabotaging censor. It makes the whole situation comically amateurish as Google wobbles between public interest and defending online reputations.

The real world has no take-backs. There’s no Undo button hovering over your head. You can’t reload a past save. There is no time-travel.

Life is linear and just keeps going, no matter how much you wish otherwise. In 2010, European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding said, in a Berkeley Journal of International Law article: “Internet users must have effective control of what they put online and be able to correct, withdraw or delete it at will.” This was later expanded to remove outdated 'irrelevant' information from search engine results.

The expectation that people have the right to modify past online content, uploaded by them or about them, is imposing something online that isn’t normal in the real world. So, why is there the same expectation that we can do this online?

Critics have called the right to be forgotten “censorship,” logistically “unworkable and wrong in principle,” and “airbrushing” the past.

Google’s adherence to the Right to be Forgotten ruling and deletion of links from search results has spurred The Telegraph in particular to report when its stories are removed. Google tells it that a link will not appear in European Google searches. In response, news agencies are rehashing old news to keep their links alive, causing the so-called “Barbara Streisand Effect” (in reference to the singer inadvertently making the sale of her house newsworthy by trying to keep it a secret).

And in a bizarre twist, Google has deleted the links to Telegraph articles which report the deletion of original articles. It’s a strange dance of delete, report, delete, report.

Had Google not reported these deletions to the site owners, would they have even realised?

Would anyone have cared?

In the US, there’s also the issue of the freedom of the press and freedom of speech, enshrined in the Second Amendment, which holds that factual and newsworthy stories in the public interest are protected, even if it harms the subject. Stories in the public interest are stories and

Words: Natasha Bissett Illustration: Emer Tumilty

facts that it’s important for the public to know, because it may affect them now or in the future.

It’s a core tenet of credible journalism around the world.

Google and Bing have upheld this principle of public interest while offering services to facilitate the removal of unwanted URLs from their search results. Both companies state that public interest content, such as scams, malpractice, crime and public conduct, may be retained even if requested for removal. Not surprisingly, reports have surfaced of people in the UK trying to wipe out public stains from their digital reputations, including a doctor and an ex-politician. By the end of July, Google had reportedly received over 90,000 requests from around the EU, amounting to over 320,000 URLs to be omitted from search results. Half of those requests were approved, 30% were rejected and 15% prompted requests for further information.

But some of the more recent deletions have been related to people with criminal episodes in their past, like the woman jailed for running a prostitution ring, a drunk driver who crashed his car, or the arrest of terrorist suspects.

There’s the argument for giving a second chance, especially to people who have gone through the justice system, but we can’t ignore the role that Google (and other search engines) play in the way we access information. It would be logistically cumbersome to update all the news stories about people accused, arrested or convicted of criminal activity, but I advocate common sense.

Rather than request to have those links scrubbed from Google, what about instituting a better awareness of out-of-date links, or a kind of digital statute of limitation? Instead of occasionally showing a date next to a result, the results could specify how many days, months and years have passed since publication. Of course, there are these tools built in to Google already, but it relies on the user inputting specific information and search criteria, and it seems that people are pretty lazy when it comes to the internet.

Better yet, how about using a bit of common sense rather than making assumptions when Googling someone? Remember what they say: assumptions make an ass out of you and me. Give people the benefit of the doubt that they can change, remember that everyone makes mistakes, and consider that maybe the results were contextual.

THE SKINNY

Crystal Baws

Spot the Difference

With Mystic Mark ARIES After tasting your sperm the witch doctor concedes that you probably have a low sperm count. His prescription is to sleep with a decorative pejazzle of carnelian and chrysoprase crystals over your sac. Due to the healing potency of the crystals, by dawn wild bunches of new balls have grown like grapes all over your groin. With a sperm count that’s out of control, desperately you dig through layer upon layer of excess new ball to find the crystals as the rest of your body sinks beneath a clammy grave of gland.

TAURUS Your DNA sequence is absolutely riddled with typos.

GEMINI If you want a vision of the future, imagine an arse shitting on a human face – forever.

CANCER The worst part of going to the dentist is the bit when your owner crams you in the cat basket.

LEO You wouldn’t be caught dead fucking a necrophiliac.

VIRGO This month you finally begin following through at work on all your tasks, goals and farts.

LIBRA As the great philosopher Kanye West said, that which does not kill us makes us stronger.

SCORPIO After a brutal assault on Sagittarian spaceports, asteroid mining facilities and planetary destructo-rays, triumphant Scorpio forces finally crush the barbaric regime and take control of the Sagittarian system. As marine-bots clack their claws against the docking bay of Orbital Space Command HQ, via hologram the segment-bodied Scorpion commander urges the remaining population to save themselves by swearing an oath of obedience to Krarlak, Destroyer of Moons.

NEW SCORPIO This month evil Scorpio forces invade your star sign, putting your beloved Sagittarian Space Emperor to the laser guillotine and enslaving your sign under the iron fist of Krarlak for all eternity. Billions of Sagittarian refugees stream into space or are turned into glue by the merciless occupiers. Next month your sign will be assimilated completely, so please check the bumper two-part Scorpio horoscope.

Hail Krarlak!

CAPRICORN This month someone steals most of your car.

AQUARIUS The worst things in life are also free.

PISCES As a Christian and a Daily Mail reader, you’re furious about the shocking number of foreigners St. Peter allows through Heaven’s ‘open gate’ every year. To counter, in September you commence an intensive anti-missionary campaign to the developing world to try and cunningly convert people away from your faith.

September 2014

The first award went to the winner of The Skinny / Innis & Gunn Short Film Award, which has been running since February. Our crack team of industry judges sifted through the shortlist to crown Rory Alexander Stewart for his short film Good Girl. He’ll be receiving £3000 and industry support to produce a follow-up, set to be screened at Glasgow Short Film Festival in early 2015.

In the comedy categories the awards came in the form of golden chickens, specially made from plaster, spray paint and the interior of a rubber chicken by your kindly local magazine editor. The nominees in full were:

C

an you spot the difference between these two owls? 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, Strange New Things by Michel Faber courtesy our pals at Canongate. *Hint: It’s not that one has a magazine.

Competition closes midnight Sun 28 Sep. 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

Fringe Genius Richard Gadd Sam Simmons WINNER: Barnie Duncan Best Debut Nick Coyle Pierre Novellie WINNER: Natasia Demetriou Talk of the Town Luisa Omielan Juliette Burton WINNER: The Colour Ham Massive thanks to Creative Exchange for the venue, Innis & Gunn for the beer, all of the acts for their most excellent performances and time, and all the nominees for being so very gracious.

Particular mention must go to Comedy editor Vonny, who organised the acts, the judging panel and the presentation, and whose idea this whole Fringe awards thing was in the first place.

The Skinny Awards

NORTHOFENGLANDERS: Do you like to laugh?

Then we've got just the thing – we've curated a line-up of ten up-and-coming comics as part of The Liverpool Comedy Festival, at The Kazimier on Tue 30 Sep – fresh from the Fringe! Come and support some of the Northwest's most exciting talent at The Skinny Spotlight. See facebook. com/theskinnymag for more details.

MIND THOSE PLEASANCE SESSIONS? Tickets are on sale now for our contribution to the programme on Sat 18 Oct, which features two of the most remarkable Scottish groups of recent times appearing on the same bill for the first time.

That’ll be The Phantom Band (playing their first Edinburgh show in some years) and Remember Remember cherry-picking from their respective third albums, with Edinburgh psych rock duo Birdhead and special guests to be announced in the coming weeks.

www.jockmooney.com

THE SKINNY AWARDS We celebrated the end of the Edinburgh Festival with our first ever awards show. The Skinny Awards’ inaugural outing took place in Creative Exchange down in Leith on Thursday 21 August, compered by the wonderful Jay Lafferty, and featuring the comedic talents of Mae Martin, Doug Segal, Trent Weinbach and Trevor Lock.

The full line-up and tickets are available at dustymoose.co.uk and retail at an extremely walletfriendly ÂŁ10, with students picking them up for an even more wallet-friendly ÂŁ6. BARGAIN.

Opinion

7

Compiled by: Anna Docherty

Taking in culture of every hue, this month's Heads Up calendar includes Take One Action film fest; the inaugural Scottish Jewellery Week; the return of Arika; the kick-off of Nightvision; beer, glorious beer (thanks, Craft Beer Rising); and a selection of special events counting down to the Referendum...

Wed 3 Sep

Thu 4 Sep

Kicking off the month of their 4th birthday celebrations in style, i AM young guns Beta & Kappa hit up their Tuesday night Subbie residency for a special guest outing – joined by underground dance producer Daniel Avery and his acid-flecked tunneling soundscapes of tranceyness. See 16 Sep for the birthday celebrations proper. Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm, £6

California residents Moon Duo (aka Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada) hit Scottish soil to lead y'all down their usual sonic labyrinth of stargazing krautrock jams – bringing the locomotive rhythms, and shamanic vocals for their first ever Aberdeen set, before hitting Edinburgh's The Caves the following evening. The Tunnels, Aberdeen, 8pm, £10

As part of The Arches Referendum Festival, Scottish photographer Robert Ormerod brings together a selection of visually-interesting expressions of public opinion, photographed in situ, from flag-waving to homemade signs. Tweet your contributions to @robertormerod with the location postcode and hashtag #indycation. The Arches, Glasgow, until 19 Sep

Daniel Avery

Photo: Sam Huddleston

Heads Up

Tue 2 Sep

Moon Duo

Mon 8 Sep

Tue 9 Sep

Wed 10 Sep

Edinburgh's Cab Vol kick off their newest Mondaybothering night (just in time for the influx of freshers, whyofcourse) – with the Partial residency launching with a guest slot from seasoned Manc dance DJ/ producer Zed Bias, playing what's to be one of his final outings, following announcent of his retiral at the end of 2014. Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, 11pm, £5

In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the 1984 miners’ strike, National Theatre of Scotland take to Edinburgh's Trav with a new adaptation of Joe Corrie's 1926 play, In Time o' Strife, telling the tale of a Fife mining community buckling under the strain of a sevenmonth lockout, complete with live folk-punk soundtrack.

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 9-13 Sep, £16 (£13)

Following sold out runs at both Southside Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe, the Write It! collective return with s'more The Referendum Review Show – taking in a series of new sketches and music looking at the issues and consequences surrounding the big debate, featuring John Love, Angie Cassidy, and more. The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, 10 & 11 Sep, 7.30pm, £5 (£3)

Zed Bias

In Time o' Strife

Mon 15 Sep

Theatre hotshot Rob Drummond previews his latest work-indevelopment, Wallace, a timely politicised piece – ending its run on the day of the Referendum – taking the form of a theatrical panel debate questioning how we make decisions, where our principles come from, and why independence and identity matter. The Arches, Glasgow, 14-18 Sep, 7.30pm, £12 (£10)

Made up of a reformed physicist, an ex-forensic scientist, and a one-time primary school teacher, The Skinny Award-winners The Colour Ham hole up for their Glasgow residency – taking the basics of sketch comedy and adding a whole lot of mental (y'know, like rewriting Pinocchio through the medium of a military crotch, that kinda thing). The Stand, Glasgow, 8.30pm, £5 (£3)

Rob Drummond

Photo: Eoin Carey

Sun 14 Sep

Thu 18 Sep

Fri 19 Sep

Sat 20 Sep

With the day of the Referendum finally nigh, the Philanthrobeats clubbing crew ride out the voting anticipation in the only way they know how – by throwing a giant party, o'course, under the banner 'Leave Your Vote At The Door' – with guest DJs including Subculture's Harri, Optimo's JD Twitch, and Philantrobeats' own Fortywinks.

Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm, £5

Take One Action returns with another thoughtprovoking programme asking big questions and exposing injustices, opening with the UK premiere of Arash Riahi's Everyday Rebellion – a documentary exploring the creativity of non-violent resistance and modern forms of civil disobedience. Followed by director Q&A. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 8.30pm, £tbc

Edinburgh club series Nightvision revels in its weekend-long opening shenanigans (see also the Chase & Statusheadered Friday nighter) – with Saturday handing over the reins to the triple-whammy line-up of Russian techno queen Nina Kraviz, Puerto Rican house music don DJ Sneak, and London electronic chappie Enzo Siragusa.

The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, 9pm, from £15

JD Twitch

Everyday Rebellion

Robert Ormerod, photograph

The Referendum Review Show

The Colour Ham

Nina Kraviz

Wed 24 Sep

Thu 25 Sep

Fri 26 Sep

One of the few Edinburgh providers of proper draught cider, the Jolly Judge hosts its sixth annual Real Cider Festival – serving up a hand-selected and diverse range of delicious alcoholic appleyness over seven days, including Gwatkin, Gwynt Y Ddraig, Lilleys, Sevren, Cairn O' Mhor, Thistly Cross, Wilkins, Westons, and more. Jolly Judge, Edinburgh, 24-30 Sep, free

Birthed in Australia, the Ocean Film Festival heads out on its UK tour, stopping by Edinburgh's Queen's Hall for a screening of ocean-themed films from independent filmmakers and ocean enthusiasts across the globe – amongst them artist Jason Taylor's underwater sculpture project, documented in People Under The Sea. The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £12.50 (£10.50)

Risk-taking Düsseldorf composer Volker Bertelmann (aka Hauschka) takes to a live setting to do his e'er impressive 'prepared piano' thing – which involves sounding like an ensemble of musicians and instruments when in fact he's just one man, performing at one piano. He'll be playing tracks offa his intricate new LP, Abandoned City. CCA, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £12.50

8

Chat

Jolly Judge

People Under The Sea

Hauschka

THE SKINNY

Sat 6 Sep

Sun 7 Sep

As part of his multi-format book, documentary, and LP project, American Interior – chronicling Snowdonia farmhand (and distant relative) John Evans' journey to the US to find a lost tribe of Welshspeaking Native Americans – Gryff Rhys takes to the stage for a live set of power presentations, tales of exploration and a good few songs. O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm, £16

The Glasgow Psych Fest returns for what will be its sophomore year – this time taking over the 13th Note and Stereo with a psych-load of bands from near and far, amongst 'em Woven Tent, Tut Vu Vu, The Yawns, Battery Face, Helicon, Trembling Bells, and more. 13th Note & Stereo, 6 & 7 Sep Glasgow, 6.30pm, £10 adv. (£15 door)

After a stint at the Edinburgh Fringe, Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister bring their cabaret of political comedy – Aye Right? How No'?: The Comedy Countdown to the Referendum – back home to The Stand, keeping things fresh via a constantly changing raft of guest talent and an emphasis on comedy over agitprop indy lecturing. The Stand, Edinburgh, 8.30pm, £7 (£5)

Tut Vu Vu

Warranting a trip to Aberdeen, The Twilight Sad chaps hit up The Lemon Tree as part of their threedate Scottish mini tour (also taking in Dunkeld and Strathpeffer), offering punters a first live listen to tracks from their forthcoming LP, Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave. Support comes from United Fruit. The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, 7.30pm, £13.50

In cahoots with Scottish jewellery studio Vanilla Ink Studios, Dundee plays host to the inaugural Scottish Jewellery Week 2014 – a highlight of which will be Vanilla Ink's collection launch-cum-street party, offering a glimpse into the Inkers’ collections with a catwalk show, photography display, and pop-up shop. The Old Flour Mill (Exchange Court), Dundee, 7.30pm, free

Hector Bizerk host a special September weekend of festivities – under the banner Hectember, obvs – playing a matinee and evening show to launch their new EP, The Fish That Never Swam into the World, with support throughout the day from Bombskare, Jun Tzu, and a selection of local community music groups. The Art School, Glasgow, 2pm & 8pm, £5/£8

The Twilight Sad

Vanilla Ink Studios

Wed 17 Sep

Taking to their regular Sub Club lair in celebratory mode, resident DJs Beta & Kappa hunker down for i AM's 4th Birthday – bolstered for the occasion by a return guest set from the Optimo chaps (aka JD Twitch and JG Wilkes), before the celebrations continue into their Edinburgh residency at Cabaret Voltaire two nights later. Double the party! Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm, £tbc

Following its premiere at Sundance, cinematically staged Nick Cave doc, 20,000 Days on Earth, gets its gala preview at London’s iconic Barbican – beaming to a cinema near you via satellite, complete with live performance from Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, and Barry Adamson, plus a Q&A with the creative team behind the film.

Various cinemas, see 20000daysonearth.com

i AM's Beta & Kappa

Photo: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Tue 16 Sep

Sun 21 Sep

Mon 22 Sep

Tue 23 Sep

Continuing the boozin' into Sunday, Drygate Brewing Co. host day three of weekend-long craft beer slurpfest Craft Beer Rising, serving up over 200 beers from 45+ breweries, bolstered by talks and demonstrations, live DJs, and a selection of street food traders. Tickets include £5 drink tokens, a glass, and a programme.

Drygate Brewing Co., Glasgow, 19-21 Sep, £20

Returning for its sophomore year, Stirling Fringe flings ten days of culture Stirling's way (19-28 Sep), with a highlight being another outing for Alan Bissett's oneman tour de force, Ban This Filth – where he plays himself and controversial late radical feminist/anti-porn campaigner, Andrea Dworkin. Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, Stirling, 7.30pm, £7 (£6)

Back and open after its refurb spruce-up closure during August (see listings for details of the opening weekend shenanigans proper, 5 & 6 Sep), Bloc+ host a double dose of fine Scottish indie-rock care of Campfires In Winter and So Many Animal Calls – both of whom have had previous releases on the venue's own BLOC+MUSIC label. Bloc+, Glasgow, 9pm, free

Drygate Brewing Co.

Hector Bizerk

20,000 Days on Earth

Alan Bissett

Campfires In Winter

Sat 27 Sep

Sun 28 Sep

Mon 29 Sep

Mexican deli par excellence, Lupe Pintos host the Edinburgh edition of their infamous Chili Cook-Off, where folk are invited to dress up (moustache + sombrero = sorted) and trail the participating venues – amongst 'em The Hanging Bat, Black Bird, and Burger. – to vote on their favourite chili, before votes are tallied and the chili king is revealed.

Various venues, noon, Edinburgh, £10

For part one of their 2014 fest, Episode 6 (26-28 Sep), Arika host a conversation about the movement for prison abolition – with activist Reina Gossett, professor Saidiya Hartman, and race theorist Charlene Sinclair discussing the logic of race and sex that underpins the criminalisation and mass incarceration of communities.

Tramway, Glasgow, 4pm, £14 festival pass

On a roll since their return from a 20-year 'tea break' in 2009, Scottish indie-pop miscreants The Vaselines take to home soil in celebration of the release of new LP, V for Vaselines – produced at Mogwai's studio, Castle of Doom, and featuring collabs with members of Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub, 1990s, and more. The Caves, Edinburgh, 7pm, £12.50

September 2014

Lupe Pintos

Photo: Euan Robertson

Sat 13 Sep

Photo: Ian Martin

Fri 12 Sep

Photo: Euan Robertson

Thu 11 Sep

Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister

Saidiya Hartman

The Vaselines

Chat

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Photo: Pete Dunlop

Gruff Rhys

Photo: Alan McCredie

Fri 5 Sep

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THE SKINNY

Ride the Lightning Once described as ‘Marilyn Manson with melody’ and ‘Slayer down the disco with Michael Jackson,’ Death From Above 1979’s Sebastien Grainger stops this nonsense with cold hard facts and a kick-ass new album Interview: Dave Kerr Photography: Andrew Graham

“I

t’s the same world as ten years ago, we haven’t added any planets to the universe,” Sebastien Grainger analogises of the protracted period between Death From Above 1979’s debut LP and their long-awaited next step, The Physical World. In their first life, the Toronto duo burned out almost as quickly as You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine’s lightning bolt left the bottle. Exhausted by heroic touring commitments (agreeing, as they did, to play almost every gig that was put their way), ‘a punk band with pop aspirations’ was evidently a difficult proposition for the duo to fully realise at the time.

Blaming growing pains for DFA1979’s early demise and quietly retiring the name shortly after a lengthy run of North American arenas at the invitation of Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age, Grainger and sparring partner Jesse F. Keeler left a lingering question over the band’s legacy while it was still very much in its ascendancy: was this a punk rock victory or a whisper of what might have been?

Following multiple projects over the years – Keeler most notably operated as one half of electro remix kings MSTRKRFT, while Grainger found form as a chameleonic solo artist – their disco metal Frankenstein jolted back to life in 2011. Treading cautiously back to the stage with an unannounced appearance at SXSW, their resurrection was formalised – as post-millennial big deal reformations often are – by a triumphant set at Coachella a few weeks later.

Since battening down the hatches and saying very little to the press on the subject of new material, Death From Above 1979 have reclaimed the element of surprise. Having relocated to Los Angeles last year, Grainger found a productive stride and worked with Keeler to lay down the foundation for their long delayed studio return. The results are genuinely electrifying; that propulsive energy is here in abundance – raw, heavy and carrying an undeniable pop nous, The Physical World has been well worth our patience.

“We’ve been sitting on it for so long,” Grainger enthuses, brimming with conviction for what’s about to hit you.

circuit was keeping the band on rails?

“Really, it’s a matter of honouring this band.

There wasn’t a myth when we were first around, there wasn’t anything to honour. There was just the moment. In that moment, I think we were too wound up with it and it was unsustainable. At that time I was so wrapped up with the band personally that I only identified myself as being part of it. When I started to reject that concept, that’s when shit went bad. In this particular period, the band is a completely separate thing; it’s like a third individual. Jesse and I are able to have our lives and feel a certain way about each other or about ourselves and then have this thing that we honour called Death From Above 1979. We have a respect and an excitement for the band and in the sense the audience would because it’s this external third thing that happens when we get together. That didn’t exist before; I was just this dude in the band. Now I can look at it objectively and go ‘This fuckin band is awesome,’ and ‘What would make it better?’”

When a popular band reconvenes the motivation often looks uncertain from the outside – whether it’ll be a retread of the glory days or a more daring foot forward. At what point did the possibility of another Death From Above 1979 album become a reality?

“After we’d played a number of shows under the ‘reunion’ umbrella, the conversation between Jesse and I started with: ‘If we want to continue doing this, be it next year or beyond, we can’t just keep playing the same songs.’ Not that it wasn’t fun for us, but at a certain point it becomes kind of a cheap novelty. We discovered in 2011 that there was a real active audience for our music that had grown since we’d last played together.

That audience became a concern – it became something that we cared about. Before, it was hard to tell whether we had it.

We did feel the ascension of the band in the first era; we‘d play a city once, then we’d go back and play to double the number of people at the bigger club. All of those steps had happened, but that was just the groundwork. We never really got to play for an audience, even in Toronto; we never The Skinny: You’ve come a long way from the played the big club and reached this thing we band we first saw laying waste to the Edinburgh were building up to. When we came back, we reVenue all the way back in 2005. How was it to alised that all of that work had come around, but walk on to the main stage at Coachella after all we didn’t want to rip people off. It wasn’t enough that time away? for us to just give them the old show. We wanted Sebastien Grainger: “It was a strange transito do something better for ourselves and wanted tion. Those early gigs, like the Edinburgh show, the band to grow. We didn’t want to rush anything were very visceral and there was a very physical out either; we were looking at the landscape of connection between the audience and the band what’s happening in music and still no one’s come because we were sharing the same air, sweat and along to pop the bubble, so we’re still in a good temperature – everything was very connected. place. We’re excited again.”

Playing a stage like Coachella is very sterile and it becomes like Broadway in a sense. That was The attitude from the camp seems to be ‘You difficult, because the pressure, the build-up and asked for this, so don’t complain if you don’t the expectation was enormous. At the end, it’s enjoy it.’ Is another chapter for this band ultijust a fuckin’ show; sometimes you have a good mately what you wanted or is this strictly for one, sometimes you have a bad one. That one, for the fans? me, I fuckin’ hated it [laughs]. It was all too much. “The form of Death From Above is very straightThat’s not to say I don’t like playing festival stages forward; when Jesse and I play together, that’s – we’ve done it and killed it. But it really was a the band. It’s not like if you were starting this baptism by fire into this new era of the band.” new thing or trying to find a new sound – we have that already. We have the form and we both have You’ve said previously that new material will an age of experience between us to do the thing permit you to play the gigs you want to play, that is Death From Above. There’s no pressure and give you the freedom to do what you from fans, aside from the occasional tweet, want. Was there a sense that the reunion like ‘where’s your new shit?’ That doesn’t really

September 2014

resonate with me. It was a thing we internalised – let’s make something that we are really into and excites us. The philosophy has always been: if we like what we’re doing, then other people will enjoy it too, because we like good stuff. And that’s not in a cocky way! I think I have pretty good taste in music, so if I’m going to venture to make music and I’m going to enjoy it, I’d hope there’s an audience for it. Everyone who makes music may have that same attitude, but the impetus is always to do something that excites the two of us together.

Everything else is external.”

“There wasn’t a myth when we were first around, there wasn’t anything to honour” Sebastien Grainger

Musically and lyrically, what fuels the band now? Is there some sense that the other projects you’ve both played with since have been to the benefit of your collective songwriting?

“I think so. The scene that we came out of originally was very different. The music we made was music we liked, that we enjoyed. It was also in opposition to what was happening around us. It was a contrarian reaction to the scene in a sense, we weren’t trying to fit in with what was happening in the hardcore and rock’n’roll scenes that we ended up playing in. That still exists – we’re still contrarian. No one’s come along to do what we do; there’s very little interesting angular rock music with the breadth that we give it. We’re always trying to make big fuckin’ tunes; that’s what we do. If we achieve that, great. If we don’t then, oops, we fucked up. The ambition of the band is similar and the climate is a little similar as well. Lyrically, I think I’m pulling from a larger well of experience. I’m not just finding themes to write about, but things that I feel. The ability to write a fictional song – a song that’s a story about something that didn’t exist previously – that’s something I’ve developed over the years. I’d have liked to do that on the first record, but I just didn’t have the skill.”

You hired Dave Sardy – whose CV reads like a roadmap through some of the most respected dance, rock and hip-hop albums of the last 20 years – to produce The Physical World.

Unsurprisingly, it sometimes sounds like a bulldozer. Were you in safe hands?

“He was Jesse’s first choice, because I think his real skill is that he’s really good at getting certain sounds. He’s also good at recording music that’s sort of undeniable, you could say. There’re a lot of songs he’s produced that you can’t really ignore. We felt similarly about our band and figured it was a good match. Then when you look at his CV, from producing Slayer to LCD Soundsystem – those are two pretty disparate sounds and I think that we meet somewhere in the middle there.

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We had a new ambition for this record that was maybe a little bit bigger than the last one so it made sense to work with someone who has that experience.”

Is there a satisfaction that you get out of this band that, as yet, you haven’t been able to find in any other?

“Absolutely – I just don’t listen to heavy music.

I enjoy writing and performing it, but it’s not something I gravitate towards. It really is the only therapy I have. It serves that purpose almost entirely for me sometimes. In the setting of a small show, that’s something the audience is more likely to appreciate; when you’re having a super visceral cathartic show where you’re just pounding away, you’re singing too hard and you’re playing too fast. Those gigs where, if you were to play the tape back it would sound like shit, but the people there had the most incredible time and so did you. Sometimes people just want to wile out and go crazy.

The main thing is that it’s the best collaboration I’ve ever had. I’ve worked with a lot of other people and as far as a true, equal collaboration goes, I’ve never had another like this. I enjoy making solo music where I’m a bit more of a fascist, and really love playing with other musicians on stage. On my solo record my band really gelled, but there was always this underlying feeling that ‘this is mine.’ With Death From Above I don’t feel like it’s mine – it’s ours. That’s why it works for me; I’m a fan of Jesse’s and he’s a fan of mine.

That’s where the band meets, and it’s mostly with humility. Once the live show starts, it get a little bit more verbose…”

You both have numerous other projects faring well in their own right, is there a balance to be struck in terms of the time you put into this?

“Time permitting. I finished a solo record while we were still making this record, so they were kind of interwoven. What I’ve discovered with Death From Above in making this record is that, aside from certain sonic inclinations I might have, compositionally pretty much anything can go into this band. Thematically, there’s not a lot of stuff that I can write or melody that I can think of that wouldn’t be appropriate on top of Jesse’s bass sounds.

For the sake of honouring the energy and momentum that we have, I’ve made the personal decision to save everything for this. Just because it demands so much energy, it demands so much creatively and just in terms of physical energy for me, there’s not a lot of room for anything else when I’m fully immersed in this. If there’s something I just have to get out on a keyboard or an acoustic guitar then I’ll do that, but it’s gonna be limited to what I can do, given the timeframe.”

Does Death From Above 1979 finally feel like a long-term prospect – might we see a third album before this decade’s out?

“We take the same approach now as we did back then. If we still enjoy doing it, people still want to see it and it doesn’t feel like a fucking joke, then we’ll do it.”

The Physical World is released on 8 Sep via Last Gang/ Fiction. Playing Glasgow Garage on 22 Oct www.deathfromabove1979.com

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“We’re a rock band.

We’re happy with that” A full 25 years since their debut, Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee return with a third album as The Vaselines. The duo talk about yoga, still getting a kick out of music and why they’re most definitely not a twee band from Bellshill

Interview: Chris McCall Photography: Beth Chalmers

T

he Vaselines are a rock band from the East End of Glasgow. If you think that’s a statement of the blindingly obvious, you’re in the minority.

Music magazines, websites and Wikipedia still regularly report that Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee hail from Edinburgh or, somewhat bizarrely, Bellshill. Kelly, who was most definitely born in Calton and grew up in Parkhead, winces slightly when the ‘B’ word is mentioned. “I’m constantly telling people on Twitter that we’re from Glasgow,” he sighs. “Even last week, Mojo had a thing on ‘50 indie songs you must hear.’ We were number 24 and described as a four piece band from Bellshill. I went straight on Twitter and told them.

“I think it’s because 53rd & 3rd [the late 80s indie label that first signed the duo] was based in Edinburgh, and we’ve also got a connection to the Bellshill scene of the early 90s – we’re friends with Duglas [Stewart] from the BMX Bandits and Norman [Blake] from Teenage Fanclub. Frances knew them before she knew me. But I really can’t understand why people don’t accept it when we say we’re a Glasgow band. I’ve nothing against Edinburgh or Bellshill, but it’s a basic journalistic fact that people should get right. I was born in Calton, near the Barrowland. Frances is East End as well. Not Bellshill.”

The Skinny meets The Vaselines, well, one half of them anyway, in a Byres Road cafe to talk about their new album, V for Vaselines. McKee is otherwise engaged in France at an annual yoga retreat, but will later cheerfully respond to questions via email. Their third LP is a step up from 2010’s Sex With An X and something of a departure in lyrical content from 1989’s Dum Dum. It should also slay another lingering myth that surrounds The Vaselines: that they are somehow ‘twee’.

“It’s just a terrible, patronising name,” explains Kelly. “Although we were contemporaries with that kind of thing – and I’ve nothing against any of the bands that were – but we’ve never wanted to be called twee. The Kinks are one of my favourite bands, but you would never call them twee, even though Ray Davies has quite a soft, gentle voice. Sometimes you read that one of your songs is listed as the twee genre, and you think... we’re not. Our voices are quite soft, but we don’t have rock ’n’ roll screaming, so people think it’s a bit twee. We’re a rock band, and we’re happy with that.”

While writing V for Vaselines, Kelly and McKee, now in their late 40s, rediscovered their love of The Ramones and a passion for writing short, direct songs. “It was inspired by the brevity – how you can say everything in the song in a minute and a half or two minutes,” adds Kelly.

“We didn’t want to go away and sound like the Ramones or anything. We wanted to get back to what The Vaselines were like, writing really short songs.”

It’s true that some of their best loved tracks, like Molly’s Lips or Monsterpussy, don’t trouble the two minute mark. But V for Vaselines sheds the innuendo without losing their trademark good humour. It’s another stellar chapter in the Vaselines’ remarkable story, which began with two singles and an album released with little fanfare in the late 80s. They had split before almost anyone outside of Scotland’s central belt had the chance to hear them. But, crucially, the few people that did get their hands on the records loved

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them – and their popularity grew from there.

Fast forward two decades and their live comeback was topped with a memorable sell-out show at Glasgow’s ABC in 2008. It was also around this time they realised they had built up a global fanbase without realising it. Sex With An X, their first new material in 21 years, was released on Sub Pop, the seminal Seattle label that also kickstarted the career of a certain Vaselines über fan by the name of Kurt Cobain, who covered Kelly and McKee’s songs pretty much any time he had the chance, most famously on Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York. V for Vaselines is, however, self-released on the band’s own Rosary Music imprint.

“There were at least ten major labels wining and dining Eugene and I, but in the end we decided that we would go it alone, especially since we wanted to have total control: just like the Daleks,” McKee writes. “However, back to the real world.

Music is changing, the way people listen to music is changing. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the attitude of record labels. More and more, musicians are cutting out the middle men as they are no longer required. Things have become very safe again and it is strangling music.”

Kelly is philosophical about the process. “I can understand that people might like the band, but might not see it as a viable business proposition, that it’s not going to make enough money... so we had to do a self-release. I think it’s their loss; I think it’s a good record. It might not make anyone rich, but I think it’s still a worthwhile thing to do; to put out a piece of music because you believe in your own talent.”

When The Vaselines return to the stage to

promote the album next month they’ll be accompanied by a new look band. Michael McGaughrin remains on drums, but Stevie Jackson and Bob Kildea, who have played with the group since they reformed, are now back on full-time duty with Belle and Sebastian. That prompted the signing of Olympic Swimmers bassist Graeme Smillie and Sons & Daughters guitarist Scott Paterson.

“It’s always very difficult to move on to different musicians,” McKee said. “It’s just like when you chuck your boyfriend/girlfriend – you can’t imagine finding another until you do. There is always the initial breaking-in period, but after that you forget all about the previous ones and focus on the new energy that has been added. Each musician is unique and each brings that to The Vaselines. They put a new slant on old songs, so it’s very exciting for us to hear that.”

With two records in four years and several tours under their belt, it’s easy to forget just how unlikely a Vaselines reunion once seemed. Prior to reforming for Sub Pop’s 20th anniversary, their last public appearance was to support Nirvana at Edinburgh’s Calton Studios in October 1990 alongside L7 and Shonen Knife. Kelly had little faith that they could make a success of the band during those intervening years. “People were saying: ‘Don’t ever get the Vaselines back together!’

Friends of mine have said to me over the years: ‘Oh, if you get back together you’ll totally make a killing.’ But I just thought: You’re completely wrong, there just isn’t an audience for it. And we haven’t made a killing, so they were wrong! But there is now an audience in different parts of the world that there wasn’t 20 years ago. It’s great to be able to go to different places and play. It’s one

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of the best things about being a musician, you can travel the world and someone else pays for it.

We love playing live more than anything.”

Those presuming we can now look forward to a steady stream of new Vaselines material may be disappointed, however. “I think the way we’re looking at it just now is that we probably won’t do another record. But that could change in a couple of years. This one feels worth the six months it took to get it released, but now we just want to get it out in the shops. I won’t even start thinking about writing something for a while. But you never know. I was playing something last week and I kept thinking: is that a Vaselines song? Is it?

Maybe I’ll put it aside... so you never know.”

Tea finished, Kelly prepares for the short walk back to his West End home. Has he never been encouraged to follow McKee’s lead and take up the yoga? “No. But when you hang around with someone who looks after themselves, you do pick up a few wee things.” McKee, however, seems confident her songwriting partner can be won round. “He did join in a yoga class that I took when we played All Tomorrow’s Parties. I suspect he is working out his moves at home until he has reached perfection; he is a Capricorn after all. And then when he can show off he will come pouncing into class and impress all the ladies and gents around him. I am expecting that moment to come very soon.”

V for Vaselines is released on 29 Sep via Rosary Music. The Vaselines play Edinburgh Caves the same day thevaselines.co.uk

THE SKINNY

September 2014

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THE SKINNY

When Adrian Melts Enjoying a prolific streak, Tricky returns with his eleventh studio album, Adrian Thaws. We speak to the Bristolian maverick about his new release, personal independence and the problem of superstar DJs

“I

t’s just my birth name. Thaws means when ice thaws so this album could be called When Adrian Melts. My first album was my mum’s name and now I’ve come to the point of using my birth name. People still don’t really know me, it’s saying ‘you still ain’t got a clue who I am’.

The Skinny meets Tricky in London’s opulent Mayfair hotel to discuss his (almost) eponymously titled new album, Adrian Thaws. This is his eleventh solo release, a revivified short sharp shock of club and hip-hop influenced outrospection. Following 2013’s False Idols, it’s his second release in under eighteen months, a prolificacy attributed to forming his own label after a troubled dalliance with Domino Records.

The issue of identity looms large within Tricky. His persona, once delicately balanced between the foreboding and the febrile, appeared to settle upon a very uneasy truce: Tricky became a self-styled “Mr Darkness,” a portentous harbinger of anti-pop, as much at odds with himself as with the dark forces of the record industry. But on the evidence of Adrian Thaws, Tricky in 2014 is awash in brio and swagger.

“Music’s easy to make. Don’t let any artist fool you that it’s to do with talent or intelligence or genius,” he declaims.

Yet his passive aggressive rhetoric belies quite a few paradoxes at play. On the one hand, he boasts “I don’t give a fuck about what people think about me,” yet when The Skinny questions the origins of lead single, the thumping electronica of Nicotine Love, he replies it was a riposte to a Facebook message from a fan who expressed surprise at Tricky’s interest in house music. “I do a thing called Tricky’s Choice which is DJ-ing with YouTube,” he explains. “So I choose a YouTube video and post it every few weeks. But there was a funny comment under some house tune I posted.

Some girl said ‘Wow! Tricky likes house music!’

But how the fuck would this girl know what I like?

It was so ignorant. Social media is good and bad.

Bad because it gives ignorant people a voice. Just because I don’t do it doesn’t mean I can’t do it.

I can make house tunes in my sleep. It’s got one

September 2014

Interview: Colm McAuliffe

beat, once you’ve got that one beat, you’ve got a house tune. People have this horrible habit of projecting their thoughts onto others. That song is a reaction to that: you ain’t got a fucking clue, you’ve never met me, don’t be surprised about what I like or what I do. I’m still finding myself – tomorrow I might wake up and find I love house music and only do house music! People are a work in process; when you judge them, I find it really ignorant and annoying.”

“People are a work in process; when you judge them, I find it really ignorant” Tricky

Tricky has never shied away from his influences; rather, he inveighs them as a sort of alternative education experienced on the Knowle West streets of Bristol. But two of the covers on Adrian Thaws come from strikingly different schools; the smooth, sensuous lovers’ rock of Janet Kay’s Silly Games and the menacing proto-gangster rap of London Posse’s Gangster Chronicle. “I’ve always wanted to cover Silly Games but needed to find the right person to cover it with,” Tricky says. “My daughter was listening to Little Dragon and Tirzah. I didn’t know who Tirzah was and I was going to go for Little Dragon but my daughter said ‘Tirzah would suit you more.’ And after I heard Tirzah for the first time I thought this is the person who can do Silly Games. And she takes it somewhere else.”

London Posse were trailblazers in the UK rap scene of the late 1980s and this isn’t the first time Tricky has invoked them on record. “London Posse were one of the few bands I travelled for.

They weren’t famous, it was all on tapes, cassettes. MC Bionic, it’s funny, I flew him to New York to do some songs on Juxtapose. For me, that guy is the best rapper England has ever had.

Young artists would still be rapping in American accents if it wasn’t for Bionic. He was the first guy to rap with a Cockney twang. I know his lyrics off by heart, one of the few rappers I can recite.

He influenced so much that guy, I had to cover that song. The sampling on Gangster Chronicle [the song employs the same John McLaughlin and Mahavishnu Orchestra sample later utilised

by Massive Attack on Unfinished Sympathy] – London Posse used the sample way before Massive Attack. Way before. People need to know their history. We’ve been doing it live for about five years.”

This theme of educating, or re-educating, people repeatedly crops up. Tricky appears to hanker back to the days when rap and hip-hop and club music were on the margins, on the periphery of the mainstream. And his role is that of teacher, to tackle complacency on the dancefloor. While the Adrian Thaws album certainly isn’t backward-looking or overtly didactic, it is a defiant ‘fuck you’ to the predominance of the DJ figure as an iconic figure, a nearly God, if you will. “I don’t really go out to clubs now because DJs have become superstar DJs,” he says. “Clubs are based around alcohol and drugs. When I was a kid, you went out just for the music. Not for the superstar DJ. There wasn’t this thing where DJs were expected to play a certain thing. DJs played anything what was good. Anything. Now you’ve got these DJs playing what people want them to play. When I was young, you learned something from DJs. Now DJs play not for themselves but for the crowd. And it’s all drug based; drugs I never did when I was young, like cocaine, and E, weren’t around. This album is what I consider club music.

Their laptops… DJs used to carry boxes of records! They’re overpaid, they’re not knowledgeable about music anymore, they’re just in a scene.

I think it’s all bullshit.”

Adrian Thaws isn’t a singular entry in the

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Tricky canon; all of his albums have been ‘fuck you’s in one way or another. But this relentless independent streak is arguably the man’s most defining and, at times, most frustrating feature.

Is it really possible to be truly independent in an industry as conceited and sycophantic as this?

“Martina [Topley-Bird] said once that I have no discipline and that’s why I got into trouble with the police and stuff,” Tricky says. “But you know, I got freedom now. Major labels are on a two year thing… I say things about Domino, I’m not slagging Domino off but I was stuck in that situation of being worried about my chart position and record sales and so on. Before I mixed the Mixed Race album, Laurence [Bell, Domino Records co-founder] would come to Paris and listen, to see if I was ready to mix. Now, this guy has never made an album in his life. How would he know? I’ve forgotten more about music than he ever knew. That I find weird. Now I’m on my own label, I’ve got freedom. For an artist, it’s the most important thing: if you’ve got freedom, you’re productive. Now I haven’t got that stuff around me, I’ve got more space to do what I want and if I’ve got space, I’m productive naturally. Asking someone permission – someone who’s not a musician – to mix is ridiculous. We’re talking about a guy who runs a record label. He’s a very good businessman but he knows nothing about music.”

Certainly Adrian Thaws is a remarkably wellappointed album. Its brevity ensures there is no filler, the guest vocalists – particularly Francesca Belmonte, whose furtively erotic vocals glide through the concussed jazz of I Had A Dream and the hi-NRG minimalism of Nicotine Love – play out the unstable and unsteady relationships evoked in Tricky’s lyrics, be it personally or politically. Is it his best album to date? For once, Tricky is coy in his answer. “It’s better than False Idols but… there’s better to come. We’re growing all the time.”

Adrian Thaws is released on 8 Sep via False Idols trickysite.com

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Positive Infusions Ahead of his set at Nightvision’s launch in Edinburgh this month, we catch up with Fuse head honcho, Enzo Siragusa Interview: Jean-Xavier Boucherat

L

ondon-based Enzo Siragusa’s been at it for a long time now. “There’s a lot of rave nostalgia in what I do,” he cheerily admits, which makes perfect sense given that he’s been raving for over twenty years. “Usually when I’m giving interviews or making music, I’m thinking about raves I’ve been to, like my first time in 1993.”

Shall we talk about his first rave then?

“Oh god err, it was Dreamscape, in Milton Keynes. I remember driving for two hours to get there. I was young. Back in those days I had a paper driving licence I could use. It wasn’t mine, it didn’t even have a photo on it, but man it got me in – 15 years old and I was in, and it was incredible! Back then it was all hardcore and jungle, mainly hardcore, that typical rave sound. I’m bringing it back! Come to Fuse man!”

Anyone’s who’s been to Siragusa’s long-running and much-followed club night might be faintly surprised to hear this, characterised as it is by a very particular dub-house sound. Deep, warm, and stripped-back, it doesn’t much resemble the grainy footage available from the era of wideeyed youngsters in ill-advised bucket hats. In fact though, Fuse was born out of one of rave culture’s defining characteristics, i.e. its nigh-on insatiable appetite. Original instances of the club in 2008 kicked off at ten o’clock on a Sunday morning – an after-after-party, that’s brought Siragusa to the attention of clubs Europe-wide.

This month sees him making his first ever trip to Edinburgh, where he plays alongside Chicago’s DJ Sneak and globetrotting house and techno don Nina Kraviz. The night is among the first of the Nightvision series put together

by Edinburgh promoters Musika and Explicit, who over the course of the next few months will bring names like Joy Orbison, Skream, and Levon Vincent to the capital. It’s never easy for Edinburgh clubbers, forever in Glasgow’s shadow,

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but the Nightvision series looks set to lend life to the already solid local scene that’s been ticking over for some time now.

Of course, with rents forever too-goddamnhigh and the barely veiled aggression of gentrification encroaching on spaces throughout the UK, all clubbing scenes face challenges. Siragusa has seen the electronic landscape transform over the course of his career, and laments in particular the decline of local scenes outside of the major cities. “I come from an era when every town had a nightclub. When I was growing up, I used to go to a place called the House of Windsor. Dance music culture exploded in the early 90s, it was easy for young people everywhere to just go out and rave.

Now that’s dwindling, even in major cities like Manchester.”

You won’t find the House of Windsor anymore, and recent years have seen a spate of further closures. “When we started Fuse in London, it was at a time when clubbing in London was taking a major hit. We lost nightclubs. We lost The End, we lost Turnmills, we lost The Cross, The Key, all of a sudden the scene had shrunk.” Of course, the vast majority of clubs work on borrowed time.

Clubs like The Cross and Bagley’s were caught up in colossal regeneration projects that would see them transformed into restaurants and boutiques. Turnmills was later demolished in what Kentish Towner blog described as a ‘brutal act of vandalism’ against the area’s industrial history.

The End club, a former postal-office sorting vault, was snatched up by an unfortunate developer mere months before the global economy came off the rails.

None of this deterred Siragusa however, who recognised the work that needed to be done to keep the local scene going. Like many, his night exists between shifting cracks – with serious, long-term residencies a luxury granted to few

these days, the night has seen various venue changes. This has done little to slow it down.

“We had to focus on the party itself, with a big emphasis on the sound, particularly in the booth – a good booth system is what allows DJs to truly express themselves. We also wanted to bring through a lot more local artists and Londonbased DJs. We built up a strong crew of residents, and I think that was really important. It’s about encouraging the DJs available.”

“I come from an era when every town had a nightclub” Enzo Siragusa

Of course, that’s not quite what Nightvision are doing, with their emphasis on outside guests.

I run this by Siragusa. “We did the same thing.

You have to entice people to come out, especially if you’re looking to get people in from surrounding towns – you need a line-up. You can’t pretend you can do it yourself.”

That said, Fuse do appear to have managed a great amount of it by themselves, having effectively built a brand tied to a hyper-specific dub-house sound and even a hyper-specific type of raver – in an interview for Resident Advisor, Siragusa discussed his night’s super strict door policy. He argues that it’s unsustainable not to be selective on the door when you run a night that’s dependent on a core crowd – “otherwise, they don’t come back.”

Is it difficult exporting that hyper-specific sound on tour? Does he feel he faces challenges that other DJs with more – quote unquote – universal sounds might not face?

CLUBS

“Not really,” says Siragusa. “Once Fuse took off I was getting a lot more gigs outside London.

Fuse was essentially an after-party, and my sound was very stripped back, so yeah, some people wouldn’t necessarily get it. You realise there’s certain sounds for certain times of day for certain dancefloors; you pick up on the vibe and energy of a crowd very quickly. It’s cultured that way, I mean, I come from the dancefloor… you can’t just turn up at the club and play an afterparty set for a bunch of people who’ve just shown up and are ready to party, and it’s great getting to play a lot more house and techno. So no, I don’t think there’s any challenges exactly…"

“I’m having a lot of fun though!” he adds, and it certainly looks that way. Fuse re-opened in May, and his touring schedule has taken him all over Europe, including his familial homeland, Italy.

“I seem to have struck a chord with my compatriots, they’re very excited about me. Someone recently listed me as one of Italy’s top DJs, which was nice – it’s totally wrong of course, I was born and raised in London, I’m a UK artist, but it’s still nice!”

There’s also been action on his Infuse label, with upcoming releases under his new Kilimanjaro handle, a duo featuring Siragusa himself and Alex Kidd. Despite the noticeable presence of a whole host of different influences, Siragusa doesn’t view it as any sort of digression from his earlier work – “Twenty years of DJing means I’ve been through house, hardcore, jungle, techno, many different genres, and Kilimanjaro is me reflecting on that. Much of it’s come from my jungle/drum and bass days in the early to mid 90s. There’s a lot of different sounds in my bag, and this is just one of them. It’s very natural.”

Enzo Siragusa plays Nightvision’s Launch Weekend Part 2 at The Liquid Room, Sat 20 Sep soundcloud.com/enzosiragusa

THE SKINNY

Narrating the Times The indefinable black, punk, feminist poet, writer and performer – most succinctly termed by Kerrang as ‘Everything the Daily Mail is terrified of,’ – Salena Godden talks tears, laughter and the poetry of toilet walls and lovers’ whispers

Photo: Justin Westover

Interview: Alan Bett

“I

t was a good cock, there’s no disputing it. It made her giddy just to look at it, throbbing, twitching and pulsating there within her hand...”

Salena Godden is on typically mischievous form, and from her diverse repertoire of poems she chooses to perform the most bawdy and deliciously vulgar at Neu! Reekie!. I’m unsure whether to be ecstatic or affronted; whether she is keen to offend tender Edinburgh sensibilities, or confident we have the mettle to take it.

She answers in a roundabout way when we meet the next evening. The sun is still bathing Leith, and drink is taken as a gang forms on the shore; Salena’s friends from the performance duo Shiny Shiny, building up to their next day gig at the Pussy Whipped festival, plus two young Scottish writers now in tow. “I did a gig only once,” Salena tells me “...where I did my more beautiful stuff and the audience were all in tears and that felt weird and I’ve never done it again... it didn’t make me feel good, I’d just made everyone cry. To make people feel is obviously the job but gosh... I thought I’m never doing that again.” So, perhaps it was for our own good that she instead spoke of ‘good cocks’ and ‘fisting love’ to ignite the Edinburgh crowd in shocked laughter. “If you make an audience laugh then you can make an audience care, and if you can make an audience care you can make an audience cry, and think. I go on that level and I like more than anything to get a room full of people laughing.”

For the uninitiated, how to describe Salena?

A London based poet, writer, and singer. “I find all the clichés really uncomfortable,” she claims. So let her describe herself. “Jamish is the word I call myself. I’m Jamaican, Irish, English, and I call that Jamish... All the other words like feminist writer, black writer, performance poet; all those other labels I find stifling and limiting.” She dismisses her regular tag of punk poet – protesting she’s far too young – although she did start her days reciting on stage alongside Irvine Welsh and the print rebels of the time. “I’m very flattered when people call me a renaissance woman. To me, I just tell stories whether that comes out as a

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poem, whether that comes out as a short story or whether it comes out as song.”

But punk need not be tied to era; it can exude in ethos and attitude, and does so from Salena with ease today. Possibly a result of being shown a fine time by the Neu! Reekie! crew, or perhaps she showed them one herself; the truth as always probably somewhere in-between.

Anyway, this has a ‘day two’ feel, where thoughts are lubricated and inhibitions melt away. “I don’t know why there’s this staid and quite starchy cupcake attitude around books, because to write a book is rock ’n’ roll, it’s hard work. And I don’t understand why everyone tries to act as if it’s some cheesy kind of quilty, blankety, cosy thing; a warm glass of white wine in a plastic cup. It’s not, it’s a fucking really wicked martini!”

Fishing in the Aftermath is her collection of poetry from 1994-2014, which published in July through Burning Eye. The titular piece gathered from the emotional debris she found circling her in New York on 9/11. While her words are most often listened to, enjoyed and endured by fans rather than read from the page, when I question her loyalty to either medium she kicks off in typical glorious fashion. “Don’t even go there!

I actually...” A pause, a stiff drink and gathering of thoughts. “...the page and stage debate is just old and tired and rinsed out and squeezed... it’s bollocks.” Salena takes a free and borderless approach to words, refusing to allow form to label her work. “Basically a good poem will be written on a toilet wall, a good poem will be whispered in the ear of your lover, a good poem will be remembered and recited to people sitting about at three in the morning drinking a bottle of whisky, going ‘this line, it moved me, I related to it.’”

There are more important arguments for the writer than how their work is compartmentalised, she believes, more prominent roles. “As a poet I believe your job is to narrate the times; you are making the document of our times in the way a journalist can’t. That’s what a poet does, you’re echoing, talking about what everyone’s thinking... my nudge when standing on stage is to get

everyone in the audience to go ‘Oh my god, I think that, I feel like that.’” Her work edges close to stand-up at times, and I ask about the relationship between these genres. It’s a comparison I imagine most poets would balk at, but it’s taken as a compliment by Salena who relates with the rhythm and repetition of the greatest comedians. “I think Bill Hicks was a brilliant poet, I think Lenny Bruce was a brilliant poet, I think Stewart Lee’s a brilliant poet, but we don’t call them poets we call them comedians... narrating the language of the people is poetry.”

“To write a book is rock ‘n’ roll... it’s a fucking really wicked martini!”

Salena Godden

The tone changes as we begin to discuss her upcoming autobiographical work, Springfield Road. And this change can be heard in the words of the work itself. While officially publishing this month, nostalgia-tinged sections read by Salena herself have existed on YouTube for some time. These are tales of an era she attaches to newspaper-wrapped fish and chips and roller skates you tied to your shoes. “I looked everywhere for a book which could describe my era, the late 70s and early 80s, and I couldn’t find it.

Even more so from a little afro, National Health glasses girl, sitting there just observing.” This is the role she feels she has taken in life, beginning at a young age. “I was an observer as a child, I just sat there watching, making shapes out of clouds but also making shapes out of the adults and the people above me.” It wasn’t only her age which legitimised this position; all aspects of her culture, race and upbringing made her a perfect storm. Her father was a white Irish jazz musician of talent, having played on Sergeant Pepper and

BOOKS

with Miles Davis and Salena Jones (from whom she takes her name), her mother a black go-go dancer. “It’s weird being me, not black enough to be black so I’m not really embraced by that team, not white enough to be white... not posh enough to be posh, and I speak too well to be poor enough... but actually from that stance it makes me an incredibly powerful writer and observer because I’m so not in anyone’s team, I’m just literally on the edge.”

More edge is provided by her favourite writer, Charles Bukowski – a character who seems at odds with her feminist thinking and a man exactly twenty years dead as we sit talking on the shore. She has a deep respect for the work. “It was brutal, and it was honest and it was talking about being skint and hungry and it was talking about being randy and they were the things that I totally related to... I engulfed it all.” To such an extent she was nicknamed Birdkowski in her early days (but which didn’t quite catch on like Salena Saliva). It’s that eternal question, differentiating between the artist and their art. “I think he was an absolute brute, he was awful... just a horrible old drunk man... but his writing, I just get it.” There’s a level of understanding and acquiescence. “We can all be a little arrogant and a little vulnerable, I just wish we could stop with the snobbery and the bollocks that surrounds poetry. I’d rather sit under the table than pull up a chair to join the salesmen and magicians! The books I love don’t come from a clean place, the writers I love to read are brutally honest and filthy. They exist on the outside... the outside may be cold, but it’s the best place to be.” It’s definitely a theory in line with the drunken poetry this afternoon has conjured. Then, as the evening sun extinguishes itself in Leith’s sparkling waters – aspirationally gentrified but still stained with the oils of industry – we gather up the retinue, of which I am now one, and drag ourselves to darker places along the port.

Fishing in the Aftermath - Poems 1994-2014, published by Burning Eye Books, out now Springfield Road published by Unbound, out Sep

THE SKINNY

Speaking Out Poet, mother, lover, daughter, friend, feminist and proper author Hollie McNish is one of the UK’s best-known spoken word artists. In a rare free moment ahead of her October tour, Hollie chats to The Skinny about luck, poetry and YouTube comments

Interview: Ceris Aston

H

ollie McNish has a number of awards and accolades to her name, from a treasured pasta necklace made by her daughter to third place in the World Slam poetry finals. As we speak, she has just finished recording her third poetry album, following critical acclaim for her earlier albums Touch and Push Kick. “There are five poems plain, and five with music. And now I’m annoyed that they aren’t written as well. Sometimes you just like to sit and read by yourself…” The poet, who has also published a written collection Papers, doesn’t distinguish between her written and her spoken poetry: “I don’t really get the difference. I never write poems just to read them out. I don’t even read them by heart – I used to get myself in a massive kerfuffle about reading by heart, but now I just read it.” As a side-note, she comments, “I always write poems that rhyme, which people tell me I need to get out of – but I am never going to write poems that don’t rhyme.”

Hollie is warm, funny and occasionally apologetic – catching herself if she veers onto a tangent, wondering out loud whether her answers are any good. She’s humble about her success, “It’s weird – I feel very grateful but also feel like I’ve just been lucky. I get lots of young people emailing me being like, ‘I want to get into spoken word, how do I do it?’ And I don’t really know!”

Reflecting, her advice is to “write poetry, read it out, do as many gigs as you can.” Having grown up in a village with no poetry scene, she recalls “I never stepped into an arts centre or a poetry café or anything like that before I was 24. I went in and asked if there were spaces on an open mic night, and then I ran away. Arts places can be quite intimidating if you don’t feel like you’re their type.”

Hollie’s poetry began with the diary she started writing aged seven. “They’re all things that have really happened,” she says. “When I was 15 I wrote about every boyfriend I had. The point was to get personal things off my chest. Then, if I read something in the papers then I’d write about it too.” She’s passionate about the importance of the arts for young people. “I think it’s brilliant for all kids to learn to express themselves. It’s good to give people an outlet for thoughts and feelings and anger and all sorts. That’s what it was for me.” When asked which poems she was most moved by, she gives a nod to Wilfred Owen before replying: “The ones that kids write when I do workshops with them in schools – these kids where the teachers say, they have no culture.

They have just as much culture as me. I have to hold back tears sometimes. What really gets me is people just writing down their thoughts and feelings.”

In recent years Hollie has braved the internet, posting videos of herself reading her poetry aloud. “I think YouTube is brilliant,” she enthuses.

“I’d just had a baby when I started putting videos on YouTube – I couldn’t go anywhere. It makes things more widely available.” Yet Hollie exercises caution with her praise: “I am wary about telling people just starting out to put themselves on YouTube. It isn’t necessarily good for people who are younger, more vulnerable. You get a lot of hate on YouTube. Just put your voice up – people prefer to slag off your appearance.”

Hollie’s unfortunately accustomed to the vitriol of the internet. “At first it was a bit horrible,” she remembers. “I like it when someone gives me criticism in terms of the poem – I learn from it. But sometimes people are offended by things I put up. I put up a video in support of the No More Page 3 campaign – [‘For just one day/ I’d like

September 2014

to hear what those men who mock me would say/ if everything, was the other way around’] I have never been called an ugly lesbian bitch whore so much in all of my life.

“When people are so horrible, you think they are sort of proving the point of the poem,” Hollie reflects. “It doesn’t bother me so much anymore.

It bothers my partner, and my mum as well. But I post the poems in places where I know people won’t like it – not just on The Guardian’s website – I posted the Page 3 poem on The Sun page, on men’s magazines.” While some have responded with abuse, others have been prompted to think about the everyday sexism women face. She muses, “I’d rather tackle the mainstream stuff – make mainstream things better. I don’t want to go to left-wing venues all my life and meet people who agree with me. I’d rather get more hate and maybe change a few people’s opinions about things.”

Hollie addresses a number of feminist issues in her poems – from attitudes towards breastfeeding to the narrow parameters of what women are supposed to find ‘sexy’. Embarrassed moves from ‘I whispered and tiptoed with nervous discretion’ to the affirmation ‘For God’s sake, Jesus drank it – so did Siddhartha/ Mohammed and Moses and both of their fathers… I’m sure they weren’t doing it sniffing on piss/ as their mothers sat embarrassed on cold toilet lids/ in a country of billboards covered in tits.’ Her poem about

Flo Rida’s song Blow My Whistle is a brilliant and hilarious deconstruction of the sexism in music videos:

“I post the poems in places where I know people won’t like it – I posted the Page 3 poem on The Sun” Hollie McNish

‘It brings me to the actual thing that I find kind of odd/ and that’s the image that this man has used to talk about his knob… In a fantasy of orgy dance where straight women go to blow his piece/ at least choose a metaphor that doesn’t fucking squeak.’ She has a point. Yet she doesn’t hammer it home, but laughs – and with humour, her point is won.

While Hollie has written powerfully against sexism and xenophobia, she asserts that “I’m not a political commentator, I’m a poet. Any subject

BOOKS

where I don’t have personal experience I wouldn’t write about.” It’s a response she’s well practised in by now, having fielded requests to write about issues from multiple sclerosis awareness to the current situation in Gaza. “When I wrote about immigration it was during my Masters [in Development and Economics]. I only put poems up when I am really sure of what I think – even if that will change at some point. I’ve been reading a lot about class issues recently and writing loads on the May elections – I might put up some of them.”

Hollie’s poems range from the mundane to the political, the sensual to the prosaic. “The poems I write are quite broad,” she considers.

“Not wanting to have sex after pregnancy – it’s an issue many women go through, and men feel awkward about.” Her only wish is that her dad would avoid mentioning her poems about sex, particularly at family dinners. “The only people I feel embarrassed around are my family, and people in my village – they know my opinion on everything before they’ve even met me.” Hollie’s warmth, wit and honesty have already won her a multitude of fans. Her tour in October will no doubt be an opportunity to win many more.

Hollie tours the UK next month, taking in Glasgow on 4 Oct and Manchester on 17 Oct holliepoetry.com

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Episode 6

Fri 26 — Sun 28 Sep 2014 Tramway, Glasgow

A F L OAT I OTA P R E S E N T S

N EVI LLE GABI E AU T U M N 2 0 1 4 S C R E E N I N G TO U R

Saturday 30 August

Summer Isles Festival * Achiltibuie Highland Music School, IV26 2YG Live Music from Hunter & The Bear

Saturday 13 September

UP Projects: The Floating Cinema St Katharine Docks, London, E1W 1LA

Wednesday 24 September

Findhorn Bay Arts Festival James Milne Institute, Findhorn, IV36 3YF Ar tists Panel at Kinloss Church Hall

Sunday 28 September EXPLORING THE ART AND POLITICS OF WAYWARD COMMUNITIES WHO REFUSE TO BE BOUND BY THE FICTIONS OF RACE, SEX OR THE TIGHT SPACES THEY ARE IN FLIGHT FROM.

TICKETS: FRI £4 EVENING PASS | CLUB £4 SAT & SUN £6 DAY PASS £14 FESTIVAL PASS

WWW.ARIKA.ORG.UK

FOR BOOKINGS: 0845 330 3501 WWW.TRAMWAY.ORG

CO-PRODUCED BY

20

Saturday 27 September

Scottish Fisheries Museum * Anstruther, Fife, KY10 3AB

* Ar tist Neville Gabie & writer Moira Jeffrey will discuss the film at this screening.

For more information and to book at place: w w w.inve rne ssoldtow nar t.co.uk www. nevi l l egabie .com | #AFLOATfilm

SUPPORTED BY

THE SKINNY

Third Time’s the Charm Anton Corbijn is one of the world’s finest rock photographers. He’s pretty handy with the moving image too. Here he discusses his latest film, spy thriller A Most Wanted Man, and working with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman

I

n this age of social networking and self-promotion, we all kid ourselves. Cast an eye over your friends’ Twitter feeds and Facebook profiles and you’d think you were part of some cultural glitterati, where every second acquaintance is a musician, filmmaker or visual artist. You know, and they know, of course, that their true profession should read barista, office temp or retail assistant, but we accept these false boasts because we make them ourselves too. But it’s not just struggling artists who tell these little white lies. People who have excelled professionally in one field often want to be recognised for other ambitions: the journalist with the failed book deal who claims to be an author, the actor who wrestles directorial command of their film project and instantly announces him/herself to be a filmmaker or the reality star with one novelty hit who changes their CV to read singer.

Not so Anton Corbijn. The Dutch photographer and music promo genius, who was responsible for some of the most indelible rock and pop images of the 80s and 90s, shooting everyone from U2 and Depeche Mode to Björk, Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen, has been reluctant to call himself a filmmaker, even though cinema has been the art form in which he has primarily work since his 2007 debut Control, a biopic of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, whose sunken cheeks Corbijn photographed within weeks of moving to the UK in his 20s. He declared at the start of his movie career that it would be a while before he considered himself a filmmaker: “After I’ve made three films I’ll either quit or become completely absorbed in filmmaking,” he said while promoting Control. Having followed up that film with the George Clooney-starring assassin flick The American, he’s now reached that magic number with A Most Wanted Man, an adaptation of John le Carré’s novel of the same name.

When we meet in an Edinburgh hotel on the day of A Most Wanted Man’s UK premiere at the city’s film festival, The Skinny asks if he’s come to a decision: will he quit or embrace the movie racket? Despite all his success in cinema (Control won numerous awards, including prizes

September 2014

at Cannes and Edinburgh; The American opened at number one at the US box office), the 59-yearold is still a little sheepish: “To me, Scorsese is a filmmaker, Lars von Trier is a filmmaker. Am I a filmmaker? Well, I don’t want to say I’m on that level, but, yeah, if you look at the time I spend on doing what I do in my life, then most of it is spent making films now, so in that sense I am. Plus,” he laughs, “I jumped straight into another film after this one, so I didn’t have to think about if I’m going to make another film or not.”

Back to film three: A Most Wanted Man centres on German spymaster Günther Bachmann (played with a world-weary brilliance by the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman), who’s tasked with preventing the kind of large-scale terrorist attacks that rocked the world at the start of this century. “9/11 and its aftermath, it’s what shapes the world we live in at the moment,” says Corbijn. “And I think it’s a pretty dark place.”

This, for Corbijn, is one of the chief reasons for his move towards filmmaking: “Music videos, they’re fun, but they’re more entertainment. My photography has always been more serious – not politically serious, but more about people’s own development or state of mind. But I felt it was important to work on something that affects our lives. I feel that the world is so polarised now, it’s so black and white, we judge people very quickly, and that’s all in the last ten years or so, and it’s been such a quick change.”

His new film certainly couldn’t be accused of being morally black and white. It’s a dense puzzle in shades of grey populated with characters whose motivations remain opaque ’til the final reel. Take, for example, Issa Karpov, the wanted man of the title, a Chechen refugee who enters Bachmann’s home turf of Hamburg illegally so that he can collect a large inheritance from his dead Russian father, a notorious gangster. While the US authorities are keen for Karpov, a suspected Muslim extremist, to be apprehended and interrogated, Bachmann’s instinct is to sit back and observe him – play the long game – which causes tension with his US counterparts who distrust his methods. Le Carré’s story, written in

Interview: Jamie Dunn

“With Control and The American that was more obvious I think. And because of the subject matter I wanted something that brings you into the action. Handheld camera gives you that immediacy, that urgency – that’s hard to achieve when the film is very static.”

Another element that draws you in are the performances. Russian actor Grigoriy Dobrygin gives an intense turn as the troubled Karpov, while Rachel McAdams and Willem Dafoe do good work as, respectively, a human-rights lawyer and a German banker who help Karpov get hold of his inheritance. But the picture belongs to Hoffman: hulking, intelligent and melancholy, it’s one of Anton Corbijn his finest performances. For Corbijn, no other actor would do: “Initially I looked at it as a solely While its themes and plot machinations German film, but once I let that go and it became could have been ripped from today’s headlines, an international film it was always Philip,” Corbijn A Most Wanted Man’s stylish gloom and sombre explains. It wasn’t only Hoffman’s acting talent tone call to mind the great paranoid thrillers of the 70s – think The Conversation and The Parallax that the Dutchman was drawn to. “He had many View. Corbijn doesn’t appreciate the comparison, of the characteristics in him that I wanted for the however. “I wouldn’t know the difference between role, including his size. It was important for me my film and other thrillers because I haven’t stud- that the character was someone who was not totally looking after himself, who was very occupied ied them,” Corbijn says gruffly. “That might be a on what he was passionate about, and there was bad thing or a good thing, I don’t know.” This is a typical Corbijn response. Later when asked about no vanity there; he did it because he believed in what he was doing.” Sounds like Hoffman alright. this film’s and The American’s similarity to the As well as being one of the much loved acwork of Jean-Pierre Melville he fires back, “It was tor’s final performances, the film has added interesting when people made that comparison poignancy in that it, along with The Master from with The American, because I hadn’t seen that movie [Melville’s 1967 masterpiece Le Samouraï], a few years ago, suggests that Hoffman was on the verge of a breakthrough: after a career spent just as I never saw a film called Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, which some people said Control working primarily as a character actor he was starting to be considered as a bona fide leading reminded them of. For this movie, I didn’t watch man. “It was hard for Philip to get leading roles, much at all.” but if you look at the ones that he did, they were A Most Wanted man does represent a shift so good you cannot believe he wasn’t always the in style for Corbijn, however. While Control and The American are both never less than gorgeous, leading actor,” agrees Corbijn. “At the same time, though, he was open to do a small role in my new taking the form of exacting tableaux and fasfilm. He liked to work with certain people again tidious framing, A Most Wanted Man’s handheld and again: Moneyball after Capote was not a big cinematography, by contrast, is raggedy and role but he liked working with Bennett Miller; he loose. “I wanted to get away from this idea that supported filmmakers.” everything is so composed,” says Corbijn. “And of course I still think it looks quite beautiful.” So A Most Wanted Man is released 12 Sep by Entertainment One it looks less like a photographer’s movie, then?

2008, proved to be prescient: “The period that we filmed was late 2012, and then after that came the Boston bombing, a guy from Chechnya, and then you had the NSA revelations about spying on Merkel and Germany. It’s very interesting how current the film is.”

“It’s very interesting how current the film is”

FILM

Feature

21

Five and Counting As La Cheetah, one of Glasgow’s best loved clubs, approaches its fifth birthday, some of its key players discuss its lasting appeal Interview: Ronan Martin andering into an empty La Cheetah Club on a quiet Wednesday evening is an odd experience, particularly if your abiding memories of the place are so tied up with lively crowds, blaring tunes and often stifling heat. Brightly lit on this occasion, without smoke or darkness, the humble basement room could feasibly fool those unfamiliar with the club into thinking that there’s not much to be missed by night. This of course belies the fact that over the course of five years, La Cheetah has emerged as one of the best spots for electronic music the city has to offer – no mean feat amid an ever-flourishing Glasgow scene so often and (rightly) celebrated that it almost becomes trite to keep doing so.

On this occasion though, there’s an unfamiliar calm about the place as some of the venue’s key players and promoters assemble to discuss the club’s significance ahead of its fifth birthday celebrations. An early point of agreement for all assembled is the special atmosphere the club engenders when in full swing. Kev Chan who represents CODE, a night devoted to dark, driving techno, is clear about why the place simply works. “People just love playing here because it’s hot, sweaty and loud. You can’t complain about that.” Of the many guests CODE have had down, including the likes of Spanish techno king Oscar Mulero, Chan says most have immediately taken to the hyped Glasgow crowd and the particularly warming ambience and intimacy of the venue.

It must be said that the evolution of the club as a space over the last five years has been dramatic. Long used for club nights in the venue’s Twisted Wheel days and before, the basement always had atmosphere, yet back then it still felt like merely a wee room below a pub. On taking up the lease, La Cheetah’s current owner Dario Bernardi slowly started to make his mark in a way no one else before had quite managed. “I knew what I was looking for with the club but never thought I was going to be able to mould it,” he admits.

“For the vision that I had, there wasn’t a lot of room. When it came to sound systems and the booth and the visuals, everything had to be calculated in the sense that it had to fit in the room and we had to be able to get the maximum out of it. Financially as well, it takes time for that kind of thing. So much money went into the bar itself and other bits and pieces, that I didn’t have a massive budget to bring in a Funktion One soundsystem or anything to start with. All these things, as they were added, meant it started to evolve more into the club it is now.”

With the fundamentals in place, the programming then becomes decisive and, though it’s a venue closely tied with the sounds of classic house and techno, La Cheetah also regularly caters to a broader-based demographic. Pistols at Dawn has been running every other month for around a year and a half now and focuses primarily on Balearic beat, particularly disco and more leftfield interpretations of that sound. “We felt that Glasgow was very much dominated by house and techno,” says Pistols promoter Chris Devlin.

“There were loads of DJs we wanted to see but the only people putting them on were Melting Pot and they were concentrating more at the higher end of the scale. It was the smaller, more niche DJs that we mostly wanted to see.”

Having sold the idea to the club’s Events Programmer and resident DJ Grahame Ward AKA Wardy, the Pistols team have since settled in nicely, alternating between hosting niche guests and bigger names from within the Balearic scene.

“Alfredo coming down was huge,” says Devlin,

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Photo: Harrison Reid

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reflecting on the night in 2013 when one of Ibiza’s original icons – now in his early sixties – took to the booth.

“He’s a hero of ours but he hadn’t played in Glasgow for about 12 years at the time. So we booked him and people went fucking wild for it. At the end of the night he played Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill – which isn’t something you’d expect to hear in a club but it just worked so well. People were hugging each other; it was unbelievable.”

The more open music policy of Pistols at Dawn is very much in keeping with the ethos of the club as a whole, Wardy explains. “We work with an idea of keeping things underground, but with as wide a spectrum, encompassing as much different electronic music as possible. If there’s something experimental and I think it’s worthy of a spot, then I’ll definitely look into it.”

A more recent arrival which perhaps tends more towards that experimental side is Kunst, headed up by Kris Bell and Frankie Gallagher.

With a knack for bringing some of Glasgow’s best underground DJs – the likes of Mark ‘Mother’ Maxwell and former Monox favourite Alan Currie – down to delve into lesser known techno gems, Kunst has been perhaps a surprisingly successful night, given its Thursday night slot. It was launched in memorable fashion with a headlining modular synth set by Aleks Jurczyk of Rubadub – not exactly commonplace fare for a Thursday night. It’s a testament to La Cheetah and Glasgow in general that such ambitious midweek nights find a home and develop committed followings, even when the space may not be packed out to capacity every time. “A lot of people are shocked at how much energy there is in the crowd for a Thursday night,” says Bell.

Another aspect of La Cheetah which has endeared it to residents and patrons alike is the sense of liberty afforded to the community of clubbers who gather there, many of them on a weekly basis. “I wouldn’t say there are no rules

here,” admits Bell. “But there’s more of a relaxed crowd. It’s good that way; you can party pretty hard here and people are relaxed about it. It’s not like you feel on edge like you might at some other clubs. There’s a freedom here. You can act like a dafty and rip your top off and it would be acceptable.”

“Obviously, it’s the same as any other club,” Wardy is quick to clarify. “If someone completely steps out of line they would have to go – but some clubs take that too far. I think we have a better balance in here.”

It’s that feeling of community and a shared passion that cements many of the best venues in Glasgow, and La Cheetah has a particularly strong sense of camaraderie compared with most. “My favourite night so far was when DJ Sotofett came down to play for us,” explains Offbeat’s Joe McGhee. “At one point there were three people on people’s shoulders, banging the roof and most people had their tops off.”

Glasgow’s proclivity for the ‘taps aff’ mode of partying is often something which takes international guests by surprise. This was perhaps at its most surreal when Offbeat invited hyperactive ghetto house don DJ Funk down for what McGhee describes as the “sweatiest fucking club ever.” On encountering the masses of topless males bouncing around before him, the Chicago veteran later remarked that he thought he may have been playing at a gay night.

A similarly memorable evening in the club’s history thus far was provided by notsosilent, a clubbing collective which now has bases in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. Craig Mullen, who takes charge of the Glasgow side of things, now laughs as he recalls their party with prolific German producer, Move D – whose set was nearly interrupted when the neon La Cheetah sign above the booth fell, clattering Mullen on the head. “It nearly knocked me out,” he says.

In the end, an impromptu DIY job was completed – with the sign drilled back into place – all

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while Move D continued to blitz his way through his set in a cramped booth. The atmosphere was so overwhelming that the guest even found himself partaking in what’s now almost an obligatory local custom. “He’s 47 and it was the first time he’s ever taken his top off in a club,” jokes Craig.

Such nights have defined La Cheetah’s five year history – whether characterised by brilliant performances, dancefloor high jinks, good humour or a combination of all three – and it’s no surprise that the club is showing no signs of letting up. Beginning this month they will toast their anniversary by bringing in heavyweights Levon Vincent, Theo Parrish and Matthew Herbert, all of whom come with trusted reputations and loyal followers. Herbert was one of the club’s first big name guests, which makes his return extra special, and Parrish has twice played sets that rank among the best in the club’s history.

In discussing their plans for the future, owner Dario and events head Wardy drop more than a hint or two about the club’s room for expansion, both within the Glasgow premises and perhaps even further afield. “There’s also a record label in its infancy,” Wardy reveals. “It’s tentative at the moment but we’re working towards that anyway.”

As Dario points out, there’s such a strong pool of talent coming through the club that they have a solid base to work on when taking the leap into the world of releasing music through their own platform.

All told, it would seem La Cheetah is in a fairly buoyant position after five years. “In regards to the reputation of the club, it has surpassed what I thought I could have possibly done with it,” admits Dario. “It’s not just me who has done it though. It’s been the whole team who have done it. I just laid the foundations for the first couple of years.

“We’ve went as far as we can go with it for the moment, but there are definitely other things I have planned for the future, so we will take it onwards from here.”

THE SKINNY

How Near is Here?

Symposium & Intensive Programme on Locality Symposium | Monday 8 September Intensive Programme | Tues 9 - Fri 12 Sept For details and booking: www.collectivegallery.net With contributions from artists, organisations & academics including: Alexandra Baudelot | Emma Balkind | Chloe Cooper | Julie Crawshaw | Janna Graham | Kate Gray Charlotte Knox-Williams | Kristina Norman | Mitch Miller Eastern Surf | Harry Weeks | Albena Yaneva

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THE SKINNY

The Art of Nations As Glaswegians loiter in a post-Games zeal, curators of Edinburgh Art Festival reconceptualise the Commonwealth bonanza with a didactically international exhibition, Where Do I End And You Begin, at City Art Centre Words: Franchesca Hashemi

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ore than twenty artists and seven curators from different corners of the Commonwealth present the ‘common wealth’ of Where Do I End And You Begin as an iconic history but also a reflective and personal interpretation. The result? Moments of brilliance, as seen in Berliner Antonia Hirsch’s colourful depiction of the tulip during the Dutch Golden Age, coexisting within a sporadically overwhelming environment.

Video installations feature heavily throughout WDIEAYB, with Canadian artist Pascal Grandmaison’s Soleil Diffèrè revisiting the islands from Montreal’s Expo 67 World Fair.

Shooting from neglected areas, Grandmaison captures a renewed yet bleak vision of landscape and autumnal structures. Not quite matching Grandmaison’s vogue, Uriel Orlow’s mass of multi-medias are hard to concentrate on given the complexity of layout. This criticism is only applicable in context of WDIEAYB – perhaps as a solo exhibition the Kingdom of Benin can be paid due attention.

Auckland artist Steve Carr’s Burn Out shows a beat up car on 16mm film speeding towards the camera before ‘burning rubber’ and slamming itself into submission. It is another riveting motion picture but arguably just outside the communal concept. In contrast, Shannon Te Ao’s videos, which focus on the people's tribe’s struggle, contain a morally apt premise.

As is inevitable in a show of this breadth, some works strike an off note. Yvonne Todd’s series of socio-documentary photographs seem overtly personal to the artist, which can be oddly

off-putting. Conforming to that ideal, Derek Sullivan’s Parisian-style Kiosk blends into the Art Centre’s entrance in a wholly uninspiring manner.

There are historical associations, however, that hit the mantra running. For instance, Mary Sibande’s double entendre I’m a Lady features model-cum-muse Sophie, who is traditionally clad and contemporarily coloured in a bold portrait. The opposing feature, a tentacled purple sculpture, shows The Allegory of Growth fitting to generations of colonised African women. Under the pretext of portraying the forgotten, Mary Evans’ Transplanted is a frieze of empty gold frames and portraiture silhouettes, resembling an old European regality while outlining ethnic souls lost within infiltrated lands.

New Delhi artist Masoom Sayed creates a modern dialogue between the resolutely architectural and drunkenly modern. Her five model structures are cut outs from alcohol packaging and print media, and show thumb-size figures of servants and masters. It’s a reminder of the racist hierarchy which wrought Britannia’s Commonwealth. Yet Sayed’s precision in creating skylines and stages illustrate the perspective that people of all creeds will someday be judged from the same place.

From the tiny to tent-like, Flaghall by UKbased artists Emma Rushton and Derek Tyman is a focal point of the show. Covered in patchwork and showing fictional countries and flags, this is a clear reference to the invasion and recreation of imperially ruled countries. Yet inside the cosy wee place, visitors are invited to watch a

Shannon Te Ao, Follow the Party of the Whale, 2012

documentation of Scottish landownership via a video lecture by the writer Andy Wightman.

Flaghall is the most timely piece on show and a tastefully informative contribution.

The fourth floor of City Art Centre gives way to the mesmerising reconstruction of a 1950s South African living room from Johannesburg artist Kay Hassan. The walk-through installation combines apartheid and oppression of black music – featuring a vinyl collection any musician would bow down to. Through this, Hassan creates the most visually stimulating and romantic

Engaging Trailers

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Part of GENERATION, Jacqueline Donachie’s New Weather Coming is touring Scotland in a bid to engage the communities and day-trippers

New Weather Coming II Gourock

September 2014

Photo: Alan Dimmick

Words: Adam Benmakhlouf

etting driven up and down the country until the end of next month in the name of the GENERATION festival, three itinerant neon green sculptures made from trailers are making stops all along the length of Scotland. Though a particularly artificial shade of green, their artist Jacqueline Donachie colour matched the exact shade against photos of a very specific moment in Scottish weather when despite a backdrop of dreich skies, a ray of sun collapses on a patch of land.

In Kyle of Lochalsh, one of the neon green trailers was covered in seaweed in a relatively endearing instance of youth rebellion, only for it to be cleaned up by some of the staff from the hotel whose carpark it occupied. Donachie’s work has before been defaced by one group only to be restored by another: the 1999 work The Disk, a circle of coloured concrete disc in Darnley, was covered in mud and grass and broken bottles, before some girls restored it good as new so they could roller skate on it.

Accompanying the sculptures, a book of Stories and Pictures is being given out by a team of travellers to day-trippers on ferries, trains and coaches. The Stories of the first part of the book are fragments of text encountered by Donachie, whether in overheard speech, public notices or posters. Phil Collins/Poly Bags/Plockton is one example of the book’s juxtapositions: a familiar shifting of subject matter and tone that comes with what’s overheard on the bus.

The primary audience are the holiday crowd, who in the face of cheap flights to everywhere are spending their annual leave taking the long train or coach ride to another part of Scotland. It’s an older idea of holidaying, and part of the romance is breaking the usual first rule of commuting: no eye contact. Donachie’s encouraging strangers to

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addition.

WDIEAYB is an adventurously complex entity. The vastness of the project occasionally lacks lustre; however, as a common wealth show featuring an astonishing collective of artists, it effectively displays the magnitude of challenges existing within anybody’s interpretation of the Commonwealth.

Where Do I End And You Begin, City Art Centre, until 19 Oct, free edinburghartfestival.com

encounter one another with the work. A certain suspicion on the part of the public is often the response at the sight of a smiling person with a well-bound, nicely produced book. First guess: proselytism. Second guess: moneygrabber. After a few sentences of explanation, the limited edition book is received with appreciation – and a trace of bemusement.

New Weather Coming coheres well with GENERATION’s decentring logic, with books being given along routes to outskirts of Scotland.

In doing so, it’s another example of the festival organisers paying more than lip service to a push to connect with the 16-25 year old audience nationally, not just in cities. Left in car parks and locations where a brand new bright green sculpture wouldn’t be expected, they’ve to be happened upon by surprise as a bright spell after a downpour.

Thinking of the sort of artistic landscape facing young artists now, GENERATION is one more formal acknowledgment of a shift in Glasgow’s status. No longer does it feel like the underdog, or a surprising inclusion in a list of art centres of the world. Asking Donachie whether there’s any danger of a complacency amongst the next generation, she draws attention to the fact that it remains difficult to earn a living as an artist in Glasgow and that the fuss about fame and wealth only applies to a handful of artists. She stakes a lot in the new generations that “aren’t tied down with kids, mortgage, middle age to come through and question what the ‘established’ artists are doing.” And thinking of this next generation, Donachie hopes that a bunch of teenagers are given a book, see a sculpture, and begin to think about their own environment.

Catch the sculptures in Mallaig Harbour, until 7 Sep

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Make a Way Out of No Way

Ayana Christian

Killer of Sheep – Dir. Charles Burnett, 1977

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Photo: Michelle Blioux

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Image copyright Ballroom Throwbacks

M Lamar

Interview: Eric Karoulla

Image copyright British Film Institute

Reina Gossett

Image copyright Sabelo Narashimhan

Experimental cross platform programmers Arika return to the Tramway with part 6 of their episodic series of multi-arts festivals, drilling down into questions of identity, gender and culture

dinburgh-based company Arika bring Episode 6: Make a Way Out of No Way to the Tramway.

Each Episode involves a three-day programme of events that are held together by a common theme. Then, each Episode informs the direction of the next one(s) through the discussions and questions that arise from engaging with it. For example, Episode 4: Freedom is a constant struggle concerned itself with radical black artforms like Free Jazz and improvisation and whether they ever did, and do express freedom. This seems to have led Arika to explore other forms of oppression – not only through race – contemplating day-to-day and other performances of gender, and sexuality as highlighted in voguing, drag, and clubbing communities, which were included in Episode 5: Hidden in Plain Sight to the Tramway stage.

“What we’re interested in is unpicking the problems of identity, of how aesthetics has a role in that – and then these different categories of identity, like male, female, sane, able, cultured, black,” explains Barry.

Arika’s events around these themes tend to take on the shape of performances, discussions, screenings and workshops that try to poke at the questions they are asking. In particular, Episode 6: Make a Way Out of No Way comes in the form of poetry readings, film screenings, performances, and discussions. Arika’s array of artistic and scholarly contacts offers a wide variety of approaches and perspectives to the topics raised, allowing for audiences to engage with ideas and concepts, while being able to interact with people who might experience these issues on a day to day basis. For example, Episode 5 saw members of the ballroom (voguing) community meet and compare their experiences alongside academics investigating alternative methods of archiving, and remembering, such as the way Houses in the ballroom community pass on certain moves tied to the history of the House.* The newest episode is no different, bringing a variety of guest speakers and performers to the same space.

Columbia University professor Saidiya Hartman kicks off Episode 6 with a reading on wayward communities – that is, communities that are difficult to control or predict and prone to seemingly perverse behaviour. She introduces the concept of waywardness and communities that break away from the constructs of race and sex. This is taken slightly further with discussions on the prison abolition movement in From Subjection to Subjection, as well as in the explorations in Fugitivity to Waywardness. In the latter, she is accompanied by Duke University professor Fred Moten. Moten’s research interest lies in black studies, and the various ways blacks, blackness or black (as a colour) are represented in culture and politics.

Meanwhile, the twin brother of Netflix celebrity Laverne Cox, M Lamar presents queer black requiem opera Speculum Orum: Shackled to the Dead. Inspired by the negro spiritual and his classical vocal training, Speculum Orum tosses listeners back into the harsh reality of the slave

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ship, where shapeless moans and sounds tell the story, rejecting ‘proper’ language as we know it.

The project stands as both an exploration of how far sounds and language can be pushed in order to convey such a situation, and as an investigation into blackness, as informed by Moten’s theories.

Later on, Miss Prissy, MikeQ, The Legendary Pony Zion Garcon and Danielle Goldman present You’ve Never Seen Pain Expressed Like This, a two-hour freestyle performance-conversation that seeks to explore big questions about injury, pain, and improvisation as a practice of Freedom through movement and speech, with the help of some of the best dancers out there. Storyboard P was crowned King of the Streets on several occasions at BattleFest – a flex tournament launched in 2007. He is joined by Miss Prissy – the Queen of Krump – and The Legendary Pony Zion Garcon who also performed at the club event in Episode 5. Speaking of clubs, Episode 6 also features a clubbing event which is going to be held at Stereo, with MikeQ behind the deck.

Aside from performance and discussion, Arika also throw some film screenings into the mix. Specifically, Episode 6 features two films: Killer of Sheep (1977), and Dreams Are Colder Than Death (2014). Directed by Charles Burnett, Killer of Sheep has been hailed as ‘an undisputed masterpiece of African-American filmmaking’ by the British Film Institute, while Arthur Jafa’s Dreams Are Colder Than Death tackles black relationships to death, violence, fantasy, love and memory. Jafa attempts to find a new way of approaching film, making parallels with the patterns jazz and improvisation artists take.

Arika’s festival format means spending an entire day at the Tramway attending events and participating in various discussions and workshops. The position of the venue outwith the City Centre makes a Festival pass a sound choice for the audience – it’s cheaper than paying for all the individual events – and for the organisers, in terms of maintaining the audience for each event. Trying to turn up to all events in such a compressed amount of time can cause information overload, however. With each event full to the brim with ideas and concepts to take on, it does get quite hard to concentrate without time to process. Our advice? Pace yourself. As seen by the variety Arika offers, they are willing to explore their chosen theme in depth, and through any medium and artform necessary. Inviting guests from the US, where blackness has a completely different meaning, the company underline the differences between local and US ways of dealing with oppression while thinking about similar behaviours. *The House in the ballroom community is a form of family, with members of the LGBTQ community banded together under a house ‘mother’ or ‘father.’

Episode 6: Make a Way Out of No Way, 26-28 Sep, various times, various prices arika.org.uk

THE SKINNY

August 2014

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Review

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Scotland Loves Anime Scotland's number one Japanese animation showcase, Scotland Loves Anime, returns with more great handdrawn cinema from the land of the rising sun

Slum Village

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uper Furry Animals frontman and Neon Neon instigator Gruff Rhys will be performing much of American Interior at the O2 ABC on Friday 5 Sep, the album component of a conceptual multimedia experience inspired by the tribulations of an ancestor, hapless 18th century Welsh explorer John Evans. Yeah, we know. Classic Gruff.

On the same night, you could instead opt for Fatlip and SlimKid3 performing their seminal debut Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde (O2 ABC2, Fri 5 Sep) in its entirety. It’s a classic of early 90s alternative hip-hop, masterfully composed of timeless jazz samples and rhymes so dope you could toke ‘em, and a guaranteed neck-breaker of a live show.

Either act serves as a warm-up to the weekend’s main event, the launch of the annual Culture Fest, headlined by Mr. Dutty Man himself Tony Matterhorn (O2 ABC, Sat 6 Sep) and his infectious dancehall hits. Culture Fest is set to be a fixture for anyone in need of quality alternative acts (check out madcap Scottish tribe Clanadonia Band).

Hot off a string of European tour dates, Nashville country three-piece Natural Child (O2 ABC2, Wed 17 Sep) stop by the month-long Americana festival that is No Mean City for a night of garage rock and blues. They’ll be serving up cuts from new record Dancin’ With Wolves (released on the eccentric Burger records, home of the Black Lips with whom they’d recently toured) alongside earlier material.

1970 game-changer The Man Who Sold The World might be a gem in the Thin White Duke’s illustrious crown, but it’s the bandmates who were (some say) the real architects of its greatness.

Original producer and bassist Tony Visconti & Woody Woodmansey on drums reunite at the O2 ABC on Saturday 20 September to play David Bowie’s career-defining record in full. Forget Space Oddity; plug into All The Madmen et al and rock out.

No Mean City trots on with two ace midweek nights: Christian Bland and The Revelators (O2 ABC2, Tue 23 Sep), the Texan psych-rock troupe formed by the titular guitarist (he of The Black Angels fame), and banjo-touting soul singer extraordinaire Chastity Brown (O2 ABC2, Thu 25 Sep), her enviable ‘fro in tow.

Detroit threesome Slum Village (O2 ABC, Sun 28 Sep) round off proceedings, sole surviving founding member T3 joined by Illa J (younger brother of the late J Dilla) and Young RJ. Slum started, like many significant hip-hop acts, in the early 1990s (originally called Ssenepod, aka ‘dopeness’ backwards y’see), and while their changing roster may have suffered a tragedy or two over the years, the classic sound lives on: phat hooks and hard beats. [George Sully] www.o2abcglasgow.co.uk

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ith any hopes of Disney making a 2D feature animation again looking increasingly unlikely, and even SpongeBob SquarePants venturing into CGI territory for a forthcoming movie sequel, it’s primarily left to the East nowadays for more traditional animation to thrive. Returning to Edinburgh and Glasgow this October for a fifth year, the Scotland Loves Anime festival showcases some of the best of contemporary and classic Japanese animation, mostly of the hand-drawn variety, on the big screen where so much of it belongs but is rarely seen by Western audiences (unless it’s another Miyazaki masterpiece picked up by a big distributor).

The festival features many UK or Scottish premieres, and the most high-profile of these is Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, the first theatrically released spin-off in years for one of anime’s most well-known and commercially successful properties worldwide. Any twenty-something who came of age during the anime on UK TV boom of the early 2000s (thanks, Cartoon Network) will want to get themselves to either GFT or Filmhouse to catch the gloriously daft super-powered fights, slapstick and general shoutiness through cinema speakers.

Battle of Gods is part of SLA’s In Competition strand, which also includes Giovanni’s Island, a recent prize-winner at both the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Montreal’s renowned genre-focused festival Fantasia. Recipient of favourable comparisons to Studio Ghibli’s Grave of the Fireflies, the film concerns two brothers living on the small island of Shikotan (located among the Kuril archipelago between Japan and the east of mainland Russia) in 1945, whose lives are uprooted when Soviet troops occupy the place at the tail end of World War II. The film’s director, Mizuho Nishikubo, will be in attendance at the GFT screening.

Also in competition are Bayonetta: Bloody Fate, an adaptation of a popular action video game, and Appleseed Alpha, a CGI instalment of the popular cyberpunk series. Playing out of competition, but also UK premieres, are K: Missing Kings, a sequel to the TV series K, and Lupin the

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3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie (actually a European premiere), a cross-over between two of anime’s biggest franchises, wherein high school detective Conan attempts to apprehend Arsène Lupin III, the world’s number one thief.

Science fiction tends to be one of the most explored genres in Japanese animation, and this year’s SLA shines a spotlight on some established sci-fi favourites. Glasgow attendees will get an exclusive opportunity to see the influential (and often ripped off) animation milestone Ghost in the Shell on the big screen once more, while Edinburgh’s Filmhouse has the festival’s only screening of aerial war romance The Princess and the Pilot, based on a popular young adult novel.

Both venues will screen the 1987 effort Wings of Honneamise, one of the most acclaimed Japanese animations ever made, in which a young astronaut enlists in a controversial space program in an alternate version of Earth. There’s also Time of Eve, an ensemble piece concerning human and android interaction in the not too-distant future.

Finally, there’s an Edinburgh-exclusive focus on major animation house Studio BONES, the makers of such anime series as Fullmetal Alchemist and Wolf’s Rain, with its president Masahiko Minami coming to visit Filmhouse. The beloved movie version of Cowboy Bebop will be screened, as will 2007 effort Sword of the Stranger, a film about a stranger from a strange land who may or may not have a sword, but probably does because that’s in the title. BONES’ recent TV series Space Dandy also gets a spotlight, and that show’s premise concerns an alien hunter who travels around space with a robot assistant and a space cat named Meow, having adventures and repeatedly breaking the fourth wall. Essentially, it sounds like the greatest show of all time. To confirm if it is, get yourself some SLA tickets right... meow. (Sorry.) [Josh Slater-Williams] Scotland Loves Anime runs 10-12 Oct in Glasgow and 13-19 Oct in Edinburgh See website for full screening times and more details: lovesanimation.com

THE SKINNY

Back in Black With his band about to release fifth album El Pintor – their first since the departure of talismanic bass player Carlos Dengler – Daniel Kessler tells us why Interpol’s muse is on the rise fter touring is done and I’m just playing my guitar, not putting any pressure on myself and things kinda start coming – a good body of songs that start to get my attention – that’s when I start to think: I really wanna work on these with the guys. To me, those are exciting times, very pure times, you know?” Daniel Kessler is on the other end of a transatlantic phone line, talking to The Skinny from his home in New York City. But his breathless enthusiasm, that’s right here in the room with us. He’s not the only member of Interpol who has perhaps been guilty of being taciturn with the press in the past, often simply refusing to entertain questions that don’t appeal, and certainly unwilling to suffer fools gladly.

To paint Interpol as inscrutable is, certainly on this evidence, unfair. Kessler is in good humour as we discuss upcoming fifth album, the excellent El Pintor. With bassist Carlos Dengler now departed, the trio return after four years away and, while much of the Interpol palette is still in evidence (Kessler’s chiming lead guitar, Paul Banks’ astringent vocals, and Sam Fogarino’s increasingly unmistakeable rhythmic throb), they continue to explore.

Lyrically, tonally, there’s reflection amidst that de rigueur sense of menace. There’s a soulfulness on the likes of My Blue Supreme and Tidal Wave that adds a welcome breadth. El Pintor is refreshingly not Interpol-by-numbers.

“I really, really need to see what will happen when Paul and Sam start to add their parts,” continues Kessler, returning to his theme. “And that takes me back to the beginning of the band.

An excitement thing, seeing what we can do together. And when we got together this time, we hadn’t had any discussion about what we were going to do. Whether we were going to do anything. There was a real purity. And when you do get together, and you have all of these things to say, I think it kind of speaks for itself: you do have good chemistry, and you do have a lot more you want to say.”

It’s tempting, as ever, to start slapping on labels. So, this is Interpol’s first album in four years, the longest break of their career. While some of those who side-stepped 2010’s selftitled release were simply unwilling to accept anything other than a complete re-write of their 2002 debut Turn on the Bright Lights, the trio continue to show a healthy mix of both respect and disdain for their formative years. Interpol still sound, to all intents, like Interpol. Kessler is keen to explore: “Whenever I go about writing songs, I try not to overthink too much. These are the songs that came out. These are the songs that came to me after the last touring campaign.

They just felt right when we dressed them up into pieces of Interpol music. They’re just where we wanted to be, and I guess I can understand you saying it sounds like an Interpol record. I’ll take that. It probably does sound recognisably like the band and at the same time I do think that there is probably a sense of progression in our song writing.”

At times, El Pintor breaks thrillingly free from expectations. Paul Banks adopts a winning falsetto on several tracks. This is Interpol revealing their softer, more soulful side, perhaps.

“Yeah, I’d have to agree,” says Kessler. “I’m happy for you to describe it as soulful. I think that’s a good way of putting it. Certainly on a song like My Blue Supreme, what brings us all together is a desire to essentially mix all of these elements and not overthink it, and just explore what we feel like doing and gravitate towards what’s right

September 2014

for us. We don’t really know what we’re going to do until we start doing it. This is how it happened here this time. But you really appreciate it when you don’t need to have much conversation – you just need to play together. And when I brought these songs to Paul and Sam, they both in their own ways dived right into them and made them…our music, Interpol music.”

Besides a sound that early commentators were keen to attribute to an unfairly narrow lineage but is now distinctly their own, Interpol’s offstage persona is similarly atypical. No spats with other bands and certainly no narcissistic posturing. They’re refreshingly boring on that score. “I think that’s fair,” offers Kessler. “I think so. Look, I think that’s the way it really should be. It feels pretty intuitive to me for it to be that way. And at the same time, I’ve nothing against the sport of rock ‘n’ roll banter, talking in the press, talking the thing up. It’s just not in my nature to do that; making proclamations one way or another. I like to do things this way because, artistically, I go back to why I wanted to start a band. I wanted that moment – that moment where you, you know, you leave rehearsal and you’re like, ‘Man these songs are sounding good!’

The first few days we were rehearsing, we had a real bounce in our step, a real high. I still have that. I still want that. To me, you do this stuff because you have to do this. You don’t get in the club and then stay in the club because you feel you have to stay in the club. You stay in the club because you have something you want to put out there, something you have to say. So, for me, still, everything else falls into place intuitively.”

“You stay in the club because you have something you want to put out there, something you have to say” Daniel Kessler

Of course, getting a record out there is one thing. Getting people to buy it is something else entirely. And yet, Turn on the Bright Lights became a crossover success quite quickly. “Well, yes. Remember, we played our first show in March 1998 and we didn’t make that record until the very end of 2001. And as for people taking to the record, it wasn’t due to a hit single. There was more of a sense of discovery and word of mouth. Incredible. A natural growth. That was really great to see but I was not expecting it. We had all those years to get to know each other, to learn how to play together, and to not have that much encouragement to go on, it does make you somehow comfortable. You’re just doing your thing. I never stopped and took stock of our situation as much as much as I might have done.”

Kessler is effusive about the response to their recent UK dates: “You know, for the first time I started to see these fans in maybe their forties alongside kids who were 16.” It makes it difficult, when listening to a seasoned musician do anything but romanticise the slog and the

Photo: Eliot Lee Hazel

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Interview: Gary Kaill

eventual breakthrough, to envisage that oftmythologised awakening where suddenly a sea of faces singing your songs back to you makes worrying about the rent a thing of the past.

Was there a ‘Made it!’ moment? “Mmm. No, not really so much like that for me,” says Kessler.

“I did all the management stuff for the band in the early days, sending off demos to everyone I could think of to get anything, to get any interest. So in the midst of having to coordinate all that stuff, the big moment for me was having Matador tell us they wanted to put out our record. They were one of my favourite labels. That was enough right there. What a fortunate situation – to be making a record but also to be working with one of your favourite record labels. It’s a

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dream, I think, really. Apart from that… actually, no, that was it!” He laughs. “All we could think was, ‘Thank God we finally get to do this.’ Plus, I’d reached a comfortable position internally a year before, maybe eight months before, where I was thinking that if no-one ever wants to do anything with our music, well…” He stops to recall. “We’d reached a point where I personally felt that, artistically, this was enough for me. If nothing happens, I thought, well we did it. I genuinely did think: I’m getting enough, I’m getting something pretty big out of our music.”

El Pintor is released on 8 Sep via Soft Limit. Playing Manchester Albert Hall on 8 Feb 2015 interpolnyc.com

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Person-First Shooter Forget the typical gruff space marine or silent protagonist of many first-person shooters. Bedlam is set to put you in the cyber-shoes of a smart-talking Scottish lass who unexpectedly finds herself in a game within a game. Author Christopher Brookmyre and developer Nick Witcher explain all

Interview: Darren Carle

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hroughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, the computer and videogame industry had a rather unhealthy and unsustainable fascination with movies. Just about any Hollywood film of the time found itself with a game tie-in, costing developers a sizeable chunk of their budget, which invariably lead to a poor quality finished product. Since then, the gaming industry has ballooned and thrown up its own titles that can rival any star-studded flick, to the point that films based on games are now becoming the more common crossover, with equally disastrous results.

Meanwhile, games developed on the back of novels have had a much more steady and successful translation, pound for pound, with recent titles such as Enslaved, The Witcher and Metro 2033 proving that there’s plenty of gaming gold ready to be mined from literature old and new. Entering into this field is Bedlam, a 2013 novel by acclaimed Scottish writer Christopher Brookmyre that is now being turned into a firstperson shooter by Brighton-based development team RedBedlam. However, it’s no straight forward conversion, as Brookmyre himself explains.

“I would say the book and the game are pretty much the definition of a symbiotic relationship,” he begins. “They were developed in parallel and initially the main impetus was all about the game. When I came up with the concept for it I quickly realised that the best way to develop the story was to write it as a novel. I wrote an outline for the game first, so RedBedlam had something to work with. Then I wrote the novel based on that outline, but since then it’s been back and forth between the two.”

On the other end of this working relationship is Nick Witcher, marketing director with RedBedlam and Brookmyre’s first point of contact. “I’d been reading Chris’s novels for over a decade and was always struck by how often he referenced computer games,” explains Witcher on why he approached Brookmyre in the first place. “I figured he may have an idea stored away for a game and because he’s such a creative writer I thought if he did, then it would be blinding.”

Brookmyre’s resultant pitch and subsequent book saw everyman Ross Baker physically merged into Starfire, a fictitious first-person shooter from his youth. Slowly, Baker wrestles with his existence and the mystery of the brave new world he inhabits, all told through Brookmyre’s inimitable black, sweary humour.

Bedlam, the novel, was well-received, not least because it stood out in the cynical world of typical, cash-grabbing, game-to-book crossovers.

Unsurprisingly then, Brookmyre chose an unconventional route when he finally sat down to pen the game itself.

“One of the things we discussed early on was how much we had enjoyed the first expansion packs for Half-Life,” says Brookmyre of the main difference between book and game. “You were playing as Corporal Adrian Shephard but you’d occasionally catch a glimpse of [series protagonist] Gordon Freeman.” So with Bedlam the game, Brookmyre decided to tell the story not from Ross Baker’s point of view, but from that of a new female character, Heather Quinn, allowing both worlds to overlap in the same way as Brookmyre and Witcher had so enjoyed in Half-Life.

“We also wanted the character to be like women we know,” expands Witcher on what he calls the game’s ‘eureka’ moment. “Our friends

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that play games, they’re a bit geeky and love blasting someone in the face with a shotgun – in a first-person shooter of course – so it was really important that our female lead character was a believable person. It really helps that Chris has a great reputation for writing strong female characters in his novels and the whole idea just made perfect sense.”

In a medium that has a dearth of strong female protagonists, Bedlam is taking a risk right from the start, but it’s not the only gamble on show, something evident from the very opening act. “The first levels are deliberately retro looking with nineties textures and really bad enemy AI,” laughs Brookmyre. “But early on there’s a glitch, like something’s gone wrong with the game, and if you walk into the glitch you’re suddenly transported to this other type of world where the textures are state of the art and the whole feel of it is completely different. So it’s that kind of thing that’s going to hopefully make the player question what the real story is.”

It’s a story that the team eventually hope to expand upon, with a planned trilogy of games and books in the pipeline. However, all is dependent on the success of this first outing, which the team have been working hard, and thriftily, to accomplish. “I have a lot of ideas about where I’d like to take the story, and obviously if the game is a success and we have more money for a sequel, that will allow us to do more complex things,” says Brookmyre. “As it stands, I think our current budget is about half a million pounds, which is nothing in these terms. But we have a small team who have done pretty remarkable things and the infrastructure they’ve developed over the past decade will help it look like a more polished product. Nonetheless, there are limitations with what we can do.”

In this respect, when talking to Brookmyre,

it comes across as very much a case of ‘art from adversity,’ clearly relishing the challenges presented by such a relatively small-budgeted game. “There are occasions where you make a virtue of it and other times you just have fun with it,” he explains. “For example, all of Quinn’s communication between worlds is done with a comms system, so you never see anybody’s lips move because that would have cost far too much money for the budget we have. I think it would be a mistake to even try to compete with the tripleA titles – it’s all about the ways in which we tell the story.”

“I think it would be a mistake to even try to compete with the triple-A titles – it’s all about the ways in which we tell the story” Christopher Brookmyre

That adherence to narrative first and foremost is evident in the current game build, available to PC on Steam early access at the time of writing. Had it been any other way, Brookmyre’s involvement may have seemed redundant, which Witcher was more than aware of. “Conceptually, it seems like quite a big idea for a small independent team to be working on,” he admits. “But when we got the first script through, I loved it.

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I knew it needed a lot of work to turn it into a game but overall the concept worked for me and it made me laugh, which is something we’re keen for players to experience.”

That experience is ready to drop as RedBedlam put the finishing touches to Bedlam for its slated full release later this month. With that, we ask both about their own gaming nostalgia, the games they themselves would like to be sucked into in the same style as Ross Baker and Heather Quinn. “When I wrote the book I was mostly thinking about Quake II,” says Brookmyre.

“I’d played lots of Quake but Quake II was, for me, the beginning of online-gaming as a community and as a cultural phenomenon. I was heavily involved in that community with my 36k modem, but the minute you drew a good weapon and got a power-up, that was usually when your phone connection hung up, leaving you just standing there, easy pickings.”

Yet where the writer has a known videogame lineage, the game’s own developer has a much more unconventional background. “I wasn’t much of a gamer,” reveals Witcher of the period in question. “I liked driving and footy games but getting introduced to Half-Life and then Counter Strike, I felt like I’d discovered a new planet and a new way of living – especially after I got my first headshot!”

A new planet and a new way of living is exactly the quandary Heather Quinn finds herself in. Even with twenty years of development since the genre took shape, plus a wealth of intelligence and humour embedded in its own narrative, Bedlam is still a videogame that’s aiming for the kill-shot.

Bedlam is available now on early access Steam, with the finished game scheduled for release later this month bedlamthegame.com

THE SKINNY

August 2014

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Back in the Habit Ida marks Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski’s return to his home nation and his return to form. The My Summer of Love director speaks to us about Ida’s surprise success and how making it allowed him to escape the boredom of cinema

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year has passed since Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida was first unveiled for festival audiences, and in the course of that year it has quickly become one of the most awarded and critically acclaimed pictures on the circuit. This minimalist 1960s-set drama about a young nun exploring her past while on a road trip with her chain-smoking, sexually liberated aunt has also proven to be an unlikely box-office success, having made over $3.5 million in the United States (more than films like Under the Skin or The Raid 2, despite playing on fewer screens) and it has now been selected as Poland’s official entry for next year’s Academy Awards.

All of which has come as a major surprise to the film’s director. When he was snowbound in rural Poland with an untested lead actress and a director of photography who had never shot a feature before, he was convinced that he was making his most obscure film to date. “We were making a film that was clearly not going to be commercial, although it has turned out to be commercial, strangely enough,” he says. “And because we would have such a limited audience, I just wanted to do it the way I wanted to do it and take risks.” Stung by the hostile reception to his 2011 Paris-set mystery The Woman in the Fifth, Pawlikowski decided to return to his native country to rediscover his passion for filmmaking.

“I always assumed that this film could be my last film, and I just didn’t want to think that I hadn’t done it the way I wanted to do it.”

The resulting picture is not simply a considerable departure from Pawlikowski’s own body of work but a film that feels bracingly out of step with the style and fashion of contemporary cinema, and it seems that was one of the prime motivating factors behind his choices here.

“It was just a case of being tired of cinema,” he admits. “I’m not talking about commercial films necessarily, but especially middlebrow films, you

September 2014

Interview: Philip Concannon

know; the good ‘quality’ films are the worst. I was tired of all the trickery and devices of cinema – all those close-ups, tracking shots, helicopter shots, beautiful lighting, emoting – and one of the key phrases on the set was ‘God, this feels too much like cinema.’ We would say that if it was over-lit or if the framings didn’t feel accidental enough, or whatever. So it was an escapist film in a way, trying to escape my boredom of cinema.”

“My films are always the result of where I am, what I’ve discovered and what’s in my head” Pawel Pawlikowski

Pawlikowski does concede that it took some time to get everyone on board with his vision, however. “Of course there were murmurings from the financiers: ‘Why can’t they emote more? Why can’t the camera move? This is going to be a disaster.’

The rushes didn’t have a very good reception,” he recalls with a smile.

Ida simultaneously feels like something old and something new. With its static and square black-and-white images, it often resembles a picture made in the early 60s, but Pawlikowski’s off-centre framing and the expressive lighting makes every shot feel distinctive, unusual and fresh. I assumed that the film’s extraordinary cinematography was the work of a master, perhaps a veteran of the Polish new wave, but

nothing could be further from the truth. When his regular DP Ryszard Lenczewski left the production after one day, apparently in disagreement with the direction the film was taking, and his attempts to secure a last-minute replacement came to nought, Pawlikowski was forced to promote his young camera operator Lukasz Zal to the position. “I had no choice other than to go with the guy who was there, and he turned out to be great. Good energy, total courage and he was really excited, and that’s all you really need.”

In fact, the whole of the production appears to have been blessed by such happy accidents.

The heavy snowfall that disrupted the shooting schedule gave Pawlikowski the time he needed to rewrite the whole of the film’s second half, and he can also be thankful that his friend and fellow director Malgorzata Szumowska spotted Agata Trzebuchowska in a Warsaw café.

Trzebuchowska is a real discovery. Her soulful screen presence, with her beautiful features accentuated by Zal’s use of light and shadow, is quietly mesmerising, and she charts her character’s development throughout the course of the movie in almost imperceptibly subtle but resonant ways. A star is born, we might think, but Pawlikowski suggests that this may be the only time we see this young woman on screen. “She was interested in meeting me because she had seen my films and she liked Last Resort and My Summer of Love, but she has no ambition to be an actress,” he says. “Agata is actually just doing her final exams this week in Warsaw where she’s studying philosophy and history of art, so she’s very aware of aesthetics and what they mean and she was interested in the process of filmmaking. I don’t think she’s an actress type, though: she doesn’t enjoy being the centre of attention, and that’s actually why I chose her, because she doesn’t have a histrionic bone in her body and she doesn’t need to perform to be alive.”

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However, Pawlikowski does leave the door ajar for any top European directors who might be reading: “I mean, never say never. If Sorrentino or someone like that called her then I’m sure she’d be interested.”

As for the director’s future plans, they remain very vague. He has a number of projects at various stages of development, one of which is set in Poland and another in England (where he has spent most of his career), and he talks with some passion of a script about Johann Sebastian Bach that he has been working on, but he can’t say for sure what his next move will be. “Generally all my films, including my documentaries, act as markers for where I am,” he explains. “I’m not a professional filmmaker, it’s just a little part of my life and it’s not how I define myself. It’s not really important whether I make the film in Poland, England or wherever. The films are always the result of where I am, what I’ve discovered and what’s in my head.”

For now, Pawlikowski is simply enjoying the journey that Ida has taken him on and is trying to come to terms with the film’s unexpected and continuing success. “It’s hard to understand,” he admits. But he thinks he may have pinpointed one reason why the film has struck such a chord with audiences: “I remember seeing a poster for this film in Paris when it came out in February, and they chose a really good poster in Paris, the wide shot of the monastery with the nun walking in the snow, and it really jumped out at you,” he recalls.

“All of the colours and movement, and suddenly you had this black-and-white space in the middle of it. I think a lot of people crave the silence, the simplicity, the meditation or whatever the quality is that takes you out of modern culture, just for a moment.”

Ida is released 26 Sep by Curzon Film World

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A Psych For Sore Eyes As Liverpool Psych Fest stakes its claim to be Europe’s premier site of sonic worship, The Skinny questions the festival’s visual experts on the aesthetics of psych, plus their plans – and the music – for this year’s event Interview: Colm McAuliffe

DAN TOMBS

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hat is the psychedelic experience in the 21st century? Is it, as Aldous Huxley asserted, the sensation of being “transported, carried away toward that Other Earth of the Platonic Dialogue, that magical place where every pebble is a precious stone”? Or is it the truly modern psychedelic trip composed of slack-jawed gurning in a damp field to the sound of fuzz guitars and wah-wah pedals? Either way, it’s impossible to ignore the simply staggering proliferation of psychedelic festivals on the modern festival circuit. From every two-bit town to raging metropolis, the psychedelic festival has become ubiquitous, the default adjective for any musical gathering worth its tabs. Does this dilute the whole notion of a psychedelic festival? Not necessarily, you see, especially when it comes to Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia, the full and rather grandiose title of unquestionably the UK’s, if not Europe’s, premier psych fest.

The festival takes place at the city’s Camp and Furnace venue which this year plays host to a frighteningly feral music line-up. But more of that shortly. What makes Liverpool stand out above the parapet is the carefully curated visual style and art direction from the festival; the festival’s aesthetic is as much a part of the event as the music and audience. Sam Wiehl is the chief designer for Liverpool Psych Fest and sees his role as interdisciplinary curator, bringing together all of the art and visual aspects under a cohesive banner. “This year we have shifted the principal medium in the run up to the festival,” reveals Wiehl," with video becoming central to the aesthetic. We have been releasing video trailers in the run-up and this will form part of the AV set-up across the venue. I’ll also be anchoring the visual goings-on in the Furnace – our largest festival space – over the weekend.”

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But what of psychedelia? Has the term been diluted somewhat due to over-exposure? “I think the term ‘psychedelic’ is pretty broad these days, which gives ‘psych’ festivals a huge breadth of freedom to curate from,” he says, “meaning a wealth of really interesting, expansive artists playing together – often in some ways crossing over genres. This broad church is one of the key aspects, I suppose. I think you can find a lot of psychedelia in many areas of music; if it’s transportive, in our mind it’s psychedelic.

“There’s a strong global community of psych culture bubbling at present; it does feel like a truly global ‘moment,’ and this means that people travel a lot to various festivals, helping their growth. We saw this with our first international event, Eindhoven Psych Lab, in June. There is a genuine community of enthusiasts out there and it’s brilliant to be able to put on shows that bring the community together.”

Wiehl has grand plans for this year’s festival, all of which are underpinned by a strong theoretical foundation; you’ll find no half-assed fractal wall projections or pseudo-horror graphics under his command. “We’re really keen to develop a broad visual aesthetic at the festival. Innerstrings Psychedelic Lightshow will be doing their amazing oil-based wall transformations with us again this year – aided by some very special guests – and we have a brilliant analogue video artist also taking over one of the spaces.

“My own work tends to be quite momentumdriven and also this year I’ll be using more film.

I think that the only aspect the visuals have to fulfil is that they’re completely immersive and transportive. Complementing the performances, a strong visual presence can be a really powerful addition to a show – and many forms can work.

We like the way the rooms at the festival all have

their own individual ‘feel’ and concept. They all share the idea of creating a world which you can either drift off into or be completely bombarded by. I personally like the intensity of light and use a lot of white-light projections and strobes within performances – that’ll definitely be going on over the two days.”

Last year’s festival saw the pairing of Spaceman 3 luminary Sonic Boom and Londonbased screen printers Heretic at a bespoke gallery space in the festival. The two created an entirely mesmerising and enveloping sphere of warped and wonky psychotropics; Wiehl is relishing the opportunity to consolidate and build upon this legacy for 2014. “This year’s visual art programme is more expansive,” Wiehl proudly notes, “including an exclusive installation by Dan Tombs – who has worked with Jon Hopkins, East India Youth et al – plus we’ll also have a live screen printing workshop. There is also a brilliant cinema programme curated with Tusk Festival in Newcastle and Piccadilly Records will be pitching up with a new pop-up, their Psychedelic World of Wax Wonders.”

Indeed, Dan Tombs’ installation piece is rather conceptual, based upon the concept of circuit bending, the deconstruction and re-wiring of cheap electronic devices to create entirely new hybrids. “It’s interesting to see what is redundant in the world and modifying it in a small way to change the possibilities,” says Tombs. “I’m a great believer in the idea of a common consciousness and am thinking of some sort of border-less, state-less way in which you can bring everyone together in a short period of time – that’s the interesting thing about the festival, you create a new world for people which is a very exciting experience. I’m thinking of subtle ways in which I can involve this in the video work. My

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current thinking is to try and explore the idea of people’s colour perceptions. I’m quite fascinated by the idea that we have no idea if we all perceive colour in the same way; we all agree that the sky is blue and the grass is green but are we actually seeing the same thing? So, I’m trying to think about using that, along with using a large amount of old television sets to make the installation – which naturally will all have different representations of the same video signal – and playing around with changing the formats of the videos, using different international standards, and then rewiring it a little bit. Then I want to arrange the sets in a column or pyramid so you can walk around 360 degrees effectively.”

And what of the music? The line-up for Liverpool Psych Fest is stellar – mental Gothenburg psy-magicians Goat headline, but dig a little deeper and some more gems are to be found: Parisian Orval Carlos Sibelius beautifully melds Kosmische cool with a glistening ear for melody worth of vintage XTC; ditto Sudden Death of Stars and their ersatz prog folk and the often frightening Gnod, Salford’s premier purveyors of occultist sonic menace. Sam Wiehl is breathlessly excited about this year’s prismatic jamboree: ”There is a brilliant mix of AV artists creating work over the weekend across all the festival spaces, including brand new AV elements I am building at the moment, which are heavily video based. I’m also working with Rocket Records on a new visual set for Goat - just for the festival - which is really exciting. Oh, and I’m installing strobes. Lots of strobes...”

Liverpool Psych Fest takes place at Camp and Furnace + Blade Factory on 26-27 Sep www.liverpoolpsychfest.com

THE SKINNY

September 2014

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You Would Cry Too If It Happened to You We catch up with Bob and Roberta Smith about his newly released film Art Party, and, in a somewhat ambitious project, invite 12 artists, writers and critics from across the UK to respond to the film, the art and the afterparties

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hen Bob and Roberta Smith wrote his public letter of protest against the marginalisation of arts education from the curriculum to then education secretary Michael Gove, he was voicing the worries of the entire creative community in the UK. “It was actually a very spur-of themoment thing,” says Smith. “It was the day that Amy Winehouse died and that lunatic had just shot all those young people in Europe… so those issues of youth and creativity dying out were at the surface.”

Gove’s intention was to scrap some GCSEs, replacing them with a new system of EBacc (English Baccalaureate Certificates), which would redefine schools’ core subjects: English, Maths, Science, Foreign Languages, History and Geography. This meant that subjects such as Art (along with Design & Technology, Drama and Music) wouldn’t count towards the EBacc, and the subjects would be increasingly pushed out of secondary school education.

This was a pretty crazy thing for the government to propose, but if you’re not sure why, let’s for a moment talk figures: in January of this year, the DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sports) published statistics stating a 10% growth in the Creative Industries, outperforming every other industry in the UK. This sector also accounted for 1.68 million jobs (5.6% of all UK jobs), generated £8 million an hour and made up 5.2 % of the total UK economy.

Gove was forced to back-track somewhat on his EBacc plans last year after warnings it would not survive a change of government, but damage has been done and repercussions are already being felt. In 2013 there was a 14% fall in the number of children taking Art, and similar trends have been reported in Music, Drama and Design.

Some schools opted to scrap creative subjects completely. Furthermore, says Smith, although the plan was abandoned and Gove is now reshuffled, replaced with Nicky Morgan, “the concept of the EBacc hasn’t changed. The core subjects that

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make up the reconstituted GCSEs haven’t been changed. Morgan is just overseeing the process and hasn’t publically come out to speak in support of the arts. EBacc or GCSEs… it’s really just semantics.”

Smith’s Letter to Michael Gove and subsequent articles for the UK press resulted in the organisation of 2013’s Art Party Conference at Scarborough Spa, which brought together artists, teachers, performers and musicians for a day of agitprop action. This has been developed into a film that’s part road-movie, part documentary, part political fantasy. Directed collaboratively by Smith and Tim Newton, Art Party was released across the UK on the day of the GCSE results – Thursday 21 August. Galleries, arts organisations and cinemas across the UK organised Art Party afterparties, and we invited 12 critics, students, writers and artists from each of these towns and cities to respond to Smith’s Art Party, each attending an event simultaneously. Some of the results, published below, add another layer of critical collective action to the noisy and necessary bandwagon. (If you head to theskinny/co.uk/ art, you’ll find the full collection of 12 reports, including The Hepworth Wakefield, The Pad at Bedford Creative Arts, firstsite Colchester, Plymouth Arts Centre and Glynn Vivian Gallery, Swansea.)

Art Party the film is by no means the end for Bob and Roberta Smith. Now that it has been released across the UK, the artist is setting his sights on the run up to 2015’s general election.

“We’re going to ask organisations across the UK to host Cultural Question Times,” he says, “asking museums, galleries and libraries to gather parliamentary candidates from all the parties and bring them together to quiz them on their local and national cultural commitment.”

Art Party has the potential to go way beyond educational policy, becoming a vehicle for wider issues of how makers, producers, commentators and consumers of culture can participate in

Interview: Sacha Waldron Photohraphy: Chris Payne

active conversations with politics. “It’s now about how we go further,” says Smith. “We cannot stand still… the world does not stand still.”

Reports from the Art Parties Cornerhouse, Manchester

by Jack Welsh

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ugar. So much sugar. After a well-attended screening of Art Party, the third floor of Cornerhouse transformed into a bustling party venue dominated by Squirtapalooza: a monstrous cake installation constructed by Manchester bakery Home Sweet Home. Backed by a bouncing ‘gay disco’ soundtrack, Manchester’s Art Party afterparty slapped it on thick.

Flanked by tables of endless saccharin goods – giant party rings, ‘millions’, tongue painting lollipops and gloopy icing sugar – the party featured inclusive activities such as hitting a picture of the reshuffled Gove with cake (highly satisfying) and face painting with icing sugar.

Dirty Protest was an invitation for people to use a white cube as a mass canvas for fluorescent paints. The room was packed all night. Picking up a white plastic paint palette to get started, I had flashbacks to my own GCSE art class – particularly poignant given the context.

Amid all this mischievous, spontaneous creativity and outrageous fun hung a more serious question: was there any substance here?

I’d suggest that the answer lay in the conversations I had over the course of the evening with artists, marketing officers, staff from the main Manchester universities and a pastry chef, amongst others. What linked them was an early personal connection with creativity that underpinned their strong belief in the significant message driving Art Party.

These boisterous gatherings are successful because they physically bring people together and that is where Art Party’s strength lies: in

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mobilising a critical mass to support and defend the crucial role of creative education. What exemplifies this better than a room of adults wearing boiler-suits, painting furiously, Pet Shop Boys playing in the background?

Jack Welsh is an artist, producer and researcher based in Manchester and Liverpool.

FACT, Liverpool, by Ashleigh Owen

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eather forced us to retreat to the warm, dry indoors of FACT on the night of Art Party’s screening and afterparty, planned to take place in Ropewalks Square. There to greet us were the Bluecoat Print Studio running a screen printing workshop, and artist-led gallery Model selling prints from artists such as Emily Speed. Most notable on the night were designer/ developers Draw and Code, who over the years have established a reputation by generating immersive experiences through new technologies. Topically, Draw and Code decided to show us what Hope Street would look like without arts funding. Through the virtual reality headset, Oculus Rift, they had people explore this landscape with galleries, theatres and studios rendered as abandoned sites or turned into sterile offices and flats. Overall, however, due to the cancellation of the live music, the general atmosphere of Liverpool’s Art Party was less revolutionary rave and more of a grown up, mildmannered affair.

Admittedly, some aspects of the documentary-cum-political fantasy are hard to swallow, with serious speeches and inspiring interviews cut up with quirky footage of performances and parody. Yet there is an exuberant charm in musician Flame Proof Moth and in John Voce’s characterisation of Michael Grove that sweeps the viewer along. Overall, it feels as though Art Party’s efforts to seriously champion art’s place in society translate as a rather tame attempt at advocacy. This being said, I think the real point

THE SKINNY

behind Art Party is to emphasise the seriousness of having fun, and perhaps the personal benefits, joy and pleasure, that being creative can bring.

Ashleigh Owen is an artist based in Liverpool.

Turner Contemporary/LIMBO/Crate/ Resort Studios, Margate, by Charley Vines and Matthew de Pulford

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seaside walk. Foil-covered walls. Gin. Surreal pop stand-up. Participatory painting. Funk. Umbrella dancing. Stolen shoes. A Michael Gove colouring-in book.

The screening of Art Party at Turner Contemporary led to the first collaboration between Margate’s three artist-led organisations: Resort Studios, Limbo, and Crate. Held in the former furniture depository building where Resort Studios is based, the afterparty was organised to raise funds for the future projects of the artistrun spaces.

The party started with a walk from Turner Contemporary along the coast and up the hill into the exotic Cliftonville area of Margate. Here was to be found a room decorated in emergency blankets and tissue paper, with a bar built from left-behind removal crates serving flavoured gin and tonics. There was also a raffle draw with three prizes, the most desirable of which was a colouring-in book featuring illustrations of Gove in what can only be described as compromising scenarios.

DJs Wolf Zines, Prime and Chico provided music ranging from indie-pop to 70s funk, and performance artist Dul Fin Wah! re-told nursery rhymes and shared songs written in the week leading up to the party. Throughout the evening party-goers covered a wall in a collaborative mural with neon coloured paints, while local residents peered in curiously, occasionally braving the threshold to join in.

With a total profit of £5.16, the event paved a way for future alliance between the artist-run spaces involved, and acted as a reminder of why artists have no money and that sometimes it doesn’t really matter.

Charley Vines is an artist based at Crate, Margate. Matthew de Pulford is an artist and curator of LIMBO, Margate.

Crescent Arts, Scarborough,

by Jade Montserrat

"I

t looks a little like a doss-house," [Crescent Arts director] Stuart Cameron harks as we manoeuvere the sofa to face the screen, the exhibition space jam packed with banners and portraits of the ‘bogeyman’ Gove. But you don’t know until you try it! Richard Hamilton and Victor Pasmore will no doubt have had this sentiment in mind when they imagined the Art Foundation course, founded in Scarborough. Doss-house or not, through the course of the evening, this space becomes the hub of proceedings.

Crescent Arts is the diamond in the rough: Scarborough’s haven for contemporary art, progressive ideas and radical implementation.

So of course Smith was going to produce the Art Party at Scarborough Spa – a favourite for party political conferences (including, very recently, UKIP). Scarborough is a town that hinges on its illustrious past as a spa resort but now saddles up to ex-X Factor stars for its entertainment – apart from the Stephen Joseph Theatre. This is the venue that puts the town on the map, and it’s there where Art Party is screened to a full house.

Two years in the making, I treasure the very first visit Smith made to Crescent Arts. We flooded the office table with ideas, suggesting artists, art educators and institutions (Lynda Morris!

Jeremy Deller! David Shrigley!) who might champion freedom of expression on behalf of students and practitioners nationwide. Crescent Arts, 35 this year, was once one of those ideas, and with stalwart dedication, passion and stoicism, not only does it still support artists, it thrives. This is to the credit of Cameron who, supporting Bob and Roberta’s project, embodies the belief that

September 2014

‘true art is unable to be anything but revolutionary, aspiring to a complete and radical reconstruction of society… Only on a basis of friendly cooperation, without constraint from outside, will it be possible for scholars and artists to carry out their tasks, which will be more far-reaching than ever before in history.’

The ripple effect: what began as a playful, politically engaged conversation and was brought to public attention last November in the Art Party Conference goes way beyond both the party and the film. The project raises the revolutionary potential of artists and educators demanding the acknowledgment of the creative industries as our most successful export, and consequently expanding the core curriculum, turning STEM to STEAM. Jade Montserrat is an artist and writer based between Islington Mill in Manchester, Scarborough and London.

“We cannot stand still… the world does not stand still” Bob and Roberta Smith

ICA, London, by Emily Beber

‘W

hy did I go to art school? To express myself myself, man. To make ART.’ It began with humour. Protest placards, crude political slogans; sprawling wordplay upon house-sized banners. Then there was the letter, and then the Art Party. Bob and Roberta Smith’s public statements in the UK press have become, over the last four years, ever more fiercely political, more provocative, more absurd; harnessing humour as a method of exposure. The UK government, he feels, is beating the creativity out of society, starting in schools, where education reforms have created a hierarchy of subjects leaving art and design flailing at the bottom in the remnants of their own, empty materials. But rather than railing at the situation, Smith set up something that allegorises his concerns (if the government won’t fight for art, we will!) with a somewhat tongue-in-cheek ferocity.

The room I am standing in is full. Smith watches from the side, his toxic coloured suit jacket clashing with the sterile ICA walls. He stands out. A compilation of established artists flood the room in support of the ‘protest’ film we have just watched and in which many of them feature. It presents a powerful euphoria at times, amid the artists' speeches, the smashed Gove effigies, the protest calls from podiums decorated with caricatures of politicians’ faces, and the swathes of students, school teachers, councils and artists holding Gove-slandering banners and parading them across Scarborough beach.

The room seems drunk on this elation. Yet I am uncomfortable and a little troubled in some ways by the Art Party’s preciousness – this is a collective protest, but you must have a ticket to be a part of it, the propagandistic aesthetic of Smith’s artwork that calls upon mass movement seemingly undone by the utter criticality of supporting struggling arts institutions but then limiting a broader, public engagement with the event. Or, the collective agreement that art is ‘useful,’ ‘makes kids powerful,’ without really addressing its greater manipulation in the job market. The evening teases at these tensions, yet does not directly address them. Then again, perhaps this is just the beginning of Smith’s performance.

Emily Beber is a writer, editor and performer based in London.

Read all 12 Art Party reports at theskinny.co.uk/art www.bobandrobertasmith.co.uk

ART

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Imagining Scotland

As he publishes his new novel Their Lips Talk of Mischief, Alan Warner – one of Scotland’s greatest living authors – talks candidly of referendum, ageing and critics. And books, of course

t’s just shy of a month until Scotland’s most profound democratic instant, Edinburgh’s Parliament building is less than a hundred metres away, and Alan Warner is duly, obligingly making the case for independence. While a lot of Yes-ers are at pains to deny or conceal any sense of bitterness, Warner is less squeamish. He’s not afraid to rail against the perceived failings of UK governments past and present. “We’ve got to get away from the corrupt, Westminster bullshit that we’ve been putting up with for too long. With a few illegal wars thrown in there as well.” He’s on a double espresso with plenty of milk, and he seems game for a chat about big things.

Warner’s ‘Yes’ evangelism is rooted in a time-honoured, literary, Lefty political philosophy. Though he wields the phrase selfconsciously, it’s social democracy he’s after for Scotland. To the question of just why so many of his writerly peers are like-minded, he is thoughtful. Very thoughtful, in fact. Warner has been teaching creative writing at The University of Edinburgh. Regarding the politics of the contemporary Scottish writer, he begins to inhabit this role. He’s didactic and charismatic. “I think, to be a Scottish writer,” he sets out, “Because we’re a small country, a small group of writers, when you become a Scottish writer, interested in Scottish literature, there’s an archaeological aspect to it.” Warner then duly mines Caledonia’s literary history for all it's worth. He places himself at the sharp end of a centuries-old trajectory, sketching it all the way back to William Dunbar in the 15th Century. In between, Warner places Burns, Gaelic poets Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair and Duncan Ban Macintyre, Hugh MacDiarmid, Edwin Muir, Alasdair Gray and James Kelman.

It’s a formidable line-up. It’s also notable for its undiluted maleness. Given that Warner made his name writing compelling female protagonists, from Morvern Callar to The Sopranos and their sequels, it’s a surprise that no woman writers appear in his brief, annotated history of Scottish literature.

It’s Kelman he singles out in making the writer’s case for independence. His 1994 Booker Prize winning How Late It Was, How Late continues to divide opinion south of the border. One dissenting member of the Booker panel branded it disgraceful and crap; more recently, it’s been celebrated as one of the prize’s most deserving winners.

Warner remembers another critic, Mark Lawson’s response, not for its qualitative assessment, but rather for its inaccuracy. “He thought it was written in the first person. That’s primary school stuff.

It wasn’t Mark’s fault. He just couldn’t work out the dialect. It’s another world.” Of course, as Warner concedes, this all doesn’t necessarily impel us to independence on its own. “What it does do, is it makes writers aware of a tradition of resistance, of a tradition of trying to preserve aspects of their culture that could, and in fact almost did, wipe out Scottishness in the late 1890s and 1880s.” So independence becomes, in part, a process by which we might safeguard said culture. Warner is at pains to point out that not all Scottish writers favour a break from the UK. He mentions Allan Massie as a demurring voice. Others, worse perhaps, have yet to plump for one side or another, or are “sitting on the fence with sore balls,” as Warner has it.

As Scotland undergoes a period of heightened self-examination, so too does Warner. His latest work, Their Lips Talk of Mischief, centres on young, heavy boozing writers in London. Once a young, heavy boozy writer in London himself, Warner loots the past for inspiration. Asked about his preference for young protagonists, he chalks it up to the drama of youth. He is, he

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confesses, a “drama queen novelist, looking for drama.” But this may be his last youthful book.

Warner feels that, at 50, young people, at least today’s young people, are now beyond his understanding. Thriving on cannily delivered anecdotes, Warner recalls a conversation with boys outside a head shop. They ask him to buy some legal highs on their behalf. “I didn’t know what they’re fuckin’ talking about – get you what?!”

He emits a breathy, staccato laugh and mimics. “’Can you get us hoosy manoosy?’ ‘What?!’ You lose touch with all that stuff, thank God.” Warner’s last book, The Deadman’s Pedal, was hailed for its maturity. This ascription seems to trouble him, particularly if you infer from it that his earlier work was defined by a lack of maturity.

The distinction between style and content is crucial here. Though Deadman’s may have trumped Morvern Callar in terms of the maturity of its subject matter, his debut work was, Warner argues, more stylistically mature. On critics, he seems mistrustful, though they’ve been good to him over the years, for the most part. “The best backhanded comment I’ve ever heard was from Germaine Greer, who reviewed one of my novels, The Man Who Walks, on the telly. And Germaine said,” and here he lightens and softens his voice just a touch, “’This man will write a great book. This isn’t it.’”

Out nips another of his airy, propulsive chuckles. “I thought, I’ve got to hand it to her, it’s a beauty!”

“That sort of Scottish, autodidact, selfimprovement thing.

It didn’t improve me much, I’ll tell you that!”

Alan Warner

Warner has a desperate love of books.

Though it may seem obvious or even trite to mention – he’s an author, after all – it’s central to an understanding of the man. Accounts of Warner, particularly those chronicling his early career, tout his fondness for a drink. He’s hardly coy about it in person. But it’s when he talks about reading that his face truly glimmers. Though he has less time for it now, in the 80s he did little else, thinking, “Y’know, aye, I’ll educate myself.

That sort of Scottish, autodidact, self-improvement thing. It didn’t improve me much, I’ll tell you that! All these French novels about shagging.”

Where his peers might have kept track of their lovers in black books, he kept a tally of his reading conquests. In 1983, he proudly reports, he clocked up a mighty 250 titles. “Never slept much and I certainly didn’t work very hard.”

There’s something so pure in Warner’s reverence of the written word. At times, the big charmer interviews as if he’s trotting out a series of well-worn chat-up lines. He’s rarely short of entertaining, but occasionally there’s a slight dearth of authenticity. Not so when he talks about the work of others. What he says is notable because it’s so straightforward and, at least within the community of readers, universal. “What really got me was how much books moved me.” Neatly put.

Photo: Jerry Bauer

I

Interview: Angus Sutherland

Alan Warner was talking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival where he spoke on 21 Aug. Their Lips Talk of Mischief is out now, published by Faber & Faber

BOOKS

THE SKINNY

MUSIC: Emma Pollock

MUSIC: Simply Soweto Encha

MUSIC: The Pictish Trail

SPOKEN WORD: Alan Bissett

This year’s festival features over 50 events in 20 venues over 10 days across Stirling.

Highlights include Simply Soweto Encha, The Pictish Trail, Des McLean, Street Food Festival, children’s shows, art exhibitions, community events and a spectacular Final Fling Ceilidh.

And much, much more...

The Stirling Fringe Festival 2014 is supported by:

For more information go to www.stirlingfringe.com.

You can also follow us on facebook.com/stirlingfringe and

September 2014

twitter.com @stirlingfringe

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A R TISTS IMAGINE THE COMMONS 01 A U G U S T 19 O C T O B E R CITY ART CENTRE 2 M A RK E T S T, E D I N B U RG H E H1 1D E M O N – S AT: 10A M – 5 P M

//

S U N: 12 – 5 P M

A N D SI T E S AC R OSS THE CI T Y FREE ADMISSION

edinburghar tfestival.com STEVE CARR, BURN OUT, 2009, 16 MM FILM TRANSFERRED TO VIDEO, VIDEO STILL

Inspiring new ways

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THE SKINNY

Till Death Do Us Part This month sees the release of matrimonial chiller Honeymoon, in which a young couple’s lakeside getaway takes a turn for the worse. Star Harry Treadaway tells us why he keeps coming back to the horror genre

Interview: Chris Buckle

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ou don’t have to watch that many horror films to know that creaky cottages in remote locations are best given a wide berth. Yet against better judgement, that’s where newlyweds Bea (Rose Leslie, best known as Game of Thrones wildling Ygritte) and Paul (Harry Treadaway) choose to celebrate their nuptials in Honeymoon. “When filming, you can’t help but be aware that you are a couple, in a cabin, by a lake, in the woods,” Treadaway acknowledges over a plate of lemon drizzle cake, the day after the film’s UK premiere at Edinburgh Film Festival. “You can’t help but feel that that there’s something iconic, cinematically, about that setup – as much as when you’re on a horse in Monument Valley going ‘I’m playing a cowboy!’”

He’s referring to his role as villainous crossdressing outlaw Frank in last year’s The Lone Ranger, a project that the 29-year-old actor still seems fir up by a year after its release, despite the film’s (unfairly) rough treatment at the hands of critics and moviegoers. “Playing a cowboy is something that feels fundamentally cinematic,” he continues, “and equally, in a smaller way, there’s definitely something about being in a couple, in the woods, in a cabin. You feel like…”

He pauses. “Well, these things just aren’t going to go well…”

That’s an understatement. What starts out blissfully romantic quickly turns sinister as Bea begins exhibiting alarming behaviours – from forgetting her beau’s name to going on naked night-walks in the woods. Husband Paul is left wondering what, exactly, has got into her (so to speak). Factor in lights at the window and bumps in the night – not to mention some alarming bruises and a couple of rattled neighbours – and their happily-ever-after starts to look distinctly unlikely. First-time director and co-writer Leigh Janiek handles this evocative setup smartly, turning in an effective, slow-burn chiller that benefits greatly from Treadaway and Leslie’s chemistry as a couple. “That was our challenge,” Treadaway suggests. “For me and Rose to find a relationship that was alive and real and had all the little details and potentially sickly things that a newlywed couple can have. If you have believed in them as a couple first, that hopefully makes the switch more disturbing.”

This is not Treadaway’s first encounter with the horror genre. In fact, with it coming close behind zom-com Cockneys Vs. Zombies (in which the undead cause a bit of barney rubble in ahld Landahn Tahn) and high concept Showtime/ Sky television series Penny Dreadful (in which Treadaway plays genre icon Victor Frankenstein), Honeymoon adds to a small but growing career trend. “I think that’s probably more a reflection of what is getting funded, than my choice to go and be a part of it,” he suggests, when asked to reflect on his relationship with the gorier, creepier, scarier end of film and TV. “I think if you look at what’s getting made, I’d say that horror seems to be one of the more marketable genres. Really, I just try and keep things as varied as possible and do as many different types of production, with as many different elements to them.” Since 2005 screen debut Brothers of the Head – a brash, brilliant calling card starring Harry and brother Luke as conjoined rock star twins – Treadaway has done well to keep things diverse, mixing up small parts in acclaimed Brit indies (Control, Fish Tank), television roles (Channel 4’s Cape Wrath, BBC’s Truckers) and the occasional lead (Pelican Blood, Hideaways).

“To me, Honeymoon feels wholly different from Penny Dreadful, which feels wholly different

September 2014

from Fish Tank, which felt wholly different from Brothers of the Head,” he continues. “I think your tastes and what you want to do shift as you move along, job to job. But also, honestly, I think an actor is lying if they say they design exactly what they end up doing, because, like anyone who’s self-employed, we can’t. You try and aim for people you want to work with but ultimately it’s a bit down to the gods as to what falls your way at certain times. But I was glad I got this one, and I made sure I taped hard for it… When I read it I thought, well, this is a story that for the majority of it is a drama about the unravelling of trust between a newlywed couple. I really bought into the relationship – it felt idiosyncratic and real, and that’s a rare thing to read in a drama, let alone in something like this. It starts with real love, and then it switches into something different – and for me, that’s probably one of the most appealing aspects, in a way; to have it come in the back door and bite you without you expecting it.”

The fact that he first read the script while on one of The Lone Ranger’s gargantuan sets also helped to stoke his interest. “That was an incredible, awe-inspiring production,” he beams, “with freight trains and towns and hundreds of millions of pounds and helicopters… It was huge in the most wonderful, enjoyable, childhood fantasy kind of way. But then when I read this script, which was basically two actors, one location, four weeks – well, as a starting point that’s very different so I was already interested. It also felt like it would be a good challenge psychologically and probably physically as well, to do this thing that was just the two of us... I think I just really like a mix of it,” he reiterates. “I love working on massive sets that have taken months to build, but equally there’s something really exciting about spending a week in a living room.” He further illustrates the difference in scale. “For The Lone

Ranger, I did 5 weeks of cowboy camp – learning to ride a horse, shoot a gun and twirl a pistol.

Whereas I think we shot Honeymoon in 24 days.

And I’m sure the budget of cowboy camp was probably as much as this entire film was.”

“I love working on massive sets that have taken months to build, but equally there’s something really exciting about spending a week in a living room.”

Harry Treadaway

Honeymoon’s 24-day shoot took place at the definitely-ominous-sounding Lake Summit – a reservoir in Henderson County, North Carolina.

“You drive off this pretty empty road, take a turning and go around a lake,” Treadaway recounts.

“There are houses dotted round but we were out of season so they were pretty much all empty.

And it really was the third character, this house, because it was like our stage. We did a whole week of night shoots, and it was pitch-black and very quiet, walking through a forest looking for your newlywed... It was great. I think being on location definitely added to the sense of reality,

FILM

for us.”

It also afforded Treadaway an opportunity to develop his interest in directing, by filming a music video for now-defunct indie band Tribes. “We did that the day after we wrapped – exhausted, absolutely knackered,” he laughs. “I live with the singer, Johnny [Lloyd, now launching a solo career], and this was an acoustic track at the end of their album which I loved. He asked me to direct a video so I thought we’d just rent an old 70s car and go driving around the Blue Smoky Mountains, make it some sort of remembered relationship sort of video.” The results dovetail pleasingly with Honeymoon – not only are there similarities in setting (rural USA) and themes (a couple falling apart), but casting too, with Treadaway and Leslie reuniting in front of the camera. “I managed to blag Rose into it by telling her it would only be a couple of hours…” He lets out a deep breath. “It took a lot more than a couple of hours…! But it was really fun to work on, [and] I’d definitely like to do more.”

Next on Treadaway’s dance card is season two of Penny Dreadful, scheduled to shoot later this year. In the meantime, he’s just happy to see Honeymoon reach the audiences it was intended for. “The wonderful thing about TV is, you’re making it and you know it’s going to be beamed right into people’s living rooms,” he notes. “That’s where it comes out, and that’s a really intimate, brilliant art form. But for a film to get made, and then bought, and then go round festivals, and then actually get out there – it’s like swimming upstream. So when one gets there, I feel like that’s great.” Seems that, as far as Treadaway’s concerned, Honeymoon has found its happilyever-after after all.

Honeymoon is released 12 Sep through iTunes and On Demand magnetreleasing.com/honeymoon

Feature

41

Worlds Apart With the recent 20th anniversary redux of Another World, we grabbed some time with game designer Éric Chahi to discuss the cult 90s title that’s proving as pivotal and cutting-edge now as it was back then

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are is the videogame that can survive twenty years of industry development, along with changing cultural tastes, and still feel fresh, relevant, even vital. Another World is one such game, perhaps the only of its kind; two decades later, it still feels like a curious oddity – in the best possible sense. Hence, last month game designer Éric Chahi and Digital Lounge re-released the strange and disquieting adventure of scientist Lester Chaykin in time for the original game’s 20th anniversary.

It wasn’t the first time Chahi had done such a thing, having re-skinned his signature title for PC five years ago, but this time Another World received the cross-format release that the original had enjoyed all those years ago. “With time I realised how much Another World has become something special for me and for some players,” explains Chahi on his decision to release the game once more. “That was the motivation behind the 15th anniversary edition. Last year I was excited with the idea of bringing it back to consoles but the graphics were a bit too pixelated and somewhat rough for the current hardware.”

As such, Chahi, along with developer Martial Hesse-Dreville, brought the visuals of Another World more in line with what an indie title on Xbox Live or PSN may look like in 2014. “I retouched all the art in an increased resolution and gave the backgrounds a more subtle tone to be better harmonised with the flat colours of the main characters,” explains Chahi. “I wanted to enhance the game graphically so it matched what we have in our memory from playing the game in the past.”

By this, Chahi means that Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition doesn’t exactly zing with cutting edge graphical technology but rather utilises a stylized retro look to, hopefully, make the game look as your memory may have tricked you into remembering it. Chahi even used his original toolkit on an Amiga emulator (the original format AW was released on) for the sake of authenticity. And like the recent Halo: Anniversary, there is even the option to toggle between both graphical modes at the touch of a button.

Of course, Another World’s look was only one part of its appeal. Its rotoscoped characters and hand drawn art may have struck a chord back in the early 1990s, but even back then, such surface

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Interview: Darren Carle

aesthetic would only have gotten it so far. What was undoubtedly more of a reason for the game’s eventual success was the uniqueness of its experience. At a time when console games were well on the road to ease and accessibility, as well as giving time-measured value for money, Another World seemingly bucked all received wisdom in this regard and produced a very singular, tough and relatively concise experience.

“I wanted to enhance the game graphically so it matched what we have in our memory from playing the game in the past” Éric Chahi

“It’s true, in the sense it was improvised,” says Chahi when asked if being created without constraint or expectation made Another World into the unique experience it is. “I didn’t know how the game would be precisely from beginning to end but I had a good feeling of the universe. I had the desire to create a game with the rhythm of a movie, so that was the constraint.”

Indeed, one aspect that makes Another World the game it is, is its highly directorial stance. Chahi’s touching story of alien friendship must be played out to the letter for progress to occur, something that drew criticism from players used to a lot more freedom of decision from their games. Its rough difficulty level was a further barrier for some, though it did have some unintentional benefits. “We had one day of play-testing with three kids where I could observe them whilst they were dying again and again” explains Chahi of the original game’s sadistic-sounding production. “It was then that

I realised that the game was very difficult. Later (for the console ports) the game received a lot of professional play-testing [and it] became more balanced with fewer bugs but curiously Interplay wanted to make the game harder in some parts to make sure it would play longer.” It’s an odd trade-off, sacrificing one desired selling point (ease and accessibility) in order to achieve another (value for money), but it was perhaps the only ace that Another World held in this regard.

Yet despite the criticism, Chahi hasn’t tampered with the core experience of Another World in the intervening twenty years, though he has made a concession or two. “There’s an easier difficulty level for those who are absolutely stuck,” he points out. However, this is not something that will affect the overall tone and approach of the game. “What makes Another World so difficult is the combination of reflection and dexterity,” he explains. “Mixing both aspects is a difficult equilibrium to reach. Sometimes players may focus on dexterity when reflection is the solution. Often the solution is the opposite of what is usual in other games; flight instead of fight for example.”

While protagonist Lester Chaykin may have been, rightly, more likely to flee a situation than tackle it head on, Another World came out fighting back in the 16-bit era, finding a home on almost every format imaginable. Unsurprisingly, a sequel was released, although the perceived notion that Chahi had nothing to do with it is not strictly true. “I gave my input about the main concept: replay the game from the viewpoint of the alien Buddy,” says Chahi, who envisioned both games taking place concurrently but from each of the protagonists’ viewpoints.

Sadly, Heart of the Alien was more of a direct sequel, picking up the story from Another World’s rather sombre ending. Its release as an exclusive on the doomed Mega CD perhaps cemented its demise after a lukewarm reception, and it now stands as more of a curiosity that few have actually ever played, The Skinny included. “I have a very mitigated appreciation of the end result,” says Chahi somewhat diplomatically.

After completing one more game, the unrelated Heart of Darkness for PlayStation in 1998, Chahi disappeared from the videogame landscape, returning properly in 2011 with

TECH

the Populous-inspired title From Dust. “The videogame field was mutating into an industry,” explains Chahi when asked about his hiatus.

“Publishers and studios were obsessed by computer graphics and as an author I felt uncomfortable with the industrial façade. But more than anything, I needed to take time to refresh myself after six years of development.”

Yet despite his absence, Another World has very much remained in the gaming consciousness. Indie heavyweights such as 2001’s Ico and 2010’s Limbo have both doffed their caps to Chahi’s best-known work, something he is more than happy with. “Yes, I played and loved them both,” he reveals. “I saw a conference where Play Dead, the developers of Limbo, talked about ‘die and retry’ (the term often used to describe games like Another World). I felt less alone as it is usually criticised as bad game design, but sometimes it is part of the game universe and can be used to describe it. Limbo made good use of it.”

Meanwhile the central relationship within Ico is reminiscent of the one in Another World.

The strange, cross-world partnering of two maligned individuals is a clear connection between both games, and showcases something of a growing maturity within the medium. “Ico is an incredible game,” says Chahi. “Holding the hand of Yorda brought a new kind of empathy in a game.

The fear of losing someone more than yourself.”

In that, Chahi is being incredibly modest, given that Another World predates Ico by close to a decade. Which is really the point and the reason why, after twenty years, Another World has become a cult classic, a pivotal title in the growing maturity of games and, in the same manner afforded to albums, films and books, a classic of its medium. “I knew it was very different, and seeing people’s positive reaction was encouraging,” Chahi reminisces. “But I didn’t expect such success – I was gobsmacked. I never thought it would live so long in the memory of players.”

Which it undoubtedly has, for twenty years at least and we’d wager for another twenty with ease. In a time of disposable gaming fodder like no other era before it, Another World is absolutely worth another visit.

Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition is available now on PC, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Wii U and 3DS anotherworld.fr/anotherworld_uk/

THE SKINNY

Abrasions of the Past Author Linda Grant has clothed past insecurities with a confidence drawn from her series of highly acclaimed novels, the most recent being Upstairs at the Party. She takes time out from Edinburgh International Book Festival to discuss just how

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work from novelist Linda Grant’s back catalogue, her memoir Remind Me Who I Am, Again sets a rule for her fiction: history abrades.

It nips at the heels. At York University, though, where the bulk of the action in her new novel Upstairs at the Party occurs, cloistered by geography and the self-centredness of youth, selves are fashioned out of thin air. Back-stories are sent the opposite way, out into the void. Here, her protagonist Adele hopes to excise herself from family, alive and dead, and from the influence that they wield.

Grant sees this fool’s errand mirrored in her own university years, and does so with a wry fondness. As students, she says, “We think of ourselves as a collection of attitudes towards the world. But in fact we are more than that, and where we come from has formed us, but we are, I think, trying to conceal it.” Adele remains an outsider. And, to make matters more fraught, all about her are bold and unapologetic personalities. Hardness becomes a substitute for the bombast of her peers. Grant talks about her own defensive hardening at university, her Scouse arrogance. “There’s that feeling of trying to cover up what you don’t know. The things which people who are posher than you take for granted.” It’s a keen contrast. In Upstairs at the Party, Adele is branded ‘primitive,’ and is duly buffeted by lofty ideas. The question of class is, perhaps

September 2014

inevitably, central to this opposition. Adele’s primitive designation is firmly rooted in having come from Northern working-class stock. The buffeting comes from her various class foils. The buffeters are, for the most part, comfortably middle class. And that comfort is key.

Whatever insecurities Grant may have felt during her university days, class-rooted or otherwise, she presents a confident front now.

Though her responses aren’t quite trotted out, they’re certainly the words of a veteran interviewee. Does she enjoy the publicity circuit, the festivals? At this Grant falters. Media training or reticence hold her back, but she gives voice to that first, authentic thought: “I mean, if any writer’s honest, the pleasure of coming to a literary festival is meeting other writers.” Which is refreshingly pander-free. And, true to her word, she’s arranged to meet Ian Rankin for a drink that evening. She concedes that they make an unlikely writerly duo.

Looming prior to famous friendships, her regular Guardian features and the string of acclaimed published works, are the peculiarities of 1960s York University. The institution limps out of Upstairs with a reputation sullied. This may surprise those keeping tabs on Grant’s accomplishments. The university awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2012. In fact, she tells me, it was her visit to receive this recognition that

Photo: Charlie Hopkinson

Interview: Angus Sutherland

spurred the novel in question. A suicide judders the heart of Upstairs, and, naturally, reverberates on to the novel’s close decades later. Upon discovery of the body, the students, rudderless, call members of the faculty. One response is callous, another is disinterested, which is somehow worse. Grant’s assessment of her unfictionalised alma mater is every bit as caustic. “There were at least two [students] that I know who were later diagnosed with schizophrenia,” she recalls.

“I mean, very serious mental illness, and the university did absolutely nothing to assist them whatsoever. Kind of worse than that, there was a degree of crossing the lines between the faculty and students.” Reluctant to go into specifics, her

stride appears to falter. But then she forges on as she began: “I mean, not a deliberate exploitation, but people who needed proper medical help being offered a different kind of help by academics.” She pauses for an instant, then comes to rest with, “So, as teenagers, we were caring for people who needed proper medical help.” Even by its absence, that place bears down.

Those great formative years at Upstairs at the Party’s heart, their trauma, judders on unabated. Grant’s own experience seems scarcely different. History nips, history abrades.

Upstairs at the Party is available now, published by Virago

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Lights, Camera, Take One Action The FarFlung Film Festivals Take One Action delivers another shot in the arm to complacent cinemagoers and encourages its audience to take what it sees on the screen and ask themselves 'how can I use this information to enact change in my own life?'

Fancy turning your film festival experience into a road-trip? Here are a couple of great festivals worth taking a few hours drive for

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t may be hard to believe today, but major film festivals like Cannes and Edinburgh were once socially conscious arenas in which the various issues and injustices of the day were hashed out.

But over the years celebrity has taken the place of politics, their principles diluted by flashing bulbs and red carpets. It’s been left to smaller, independent festivals to fight the good fight.

Outfits like Take One Action (TOA), whose USP is to use the issues on screen as a jumping off point for debate and discussion. Its audiences, usually left to be voyeurs alone in the dark, are encouraged to be part of a communal experience, and ask themselves, ‘How can I take what I’ve seen from the world on the screen and use it to enact change in the world around me?’

For film-fans living in Scotland, who are due to take collective action with their countrymen on 18 September, the festival couldn’t be more timely. “The referendum debate has really engaged the public’s political imagination in Scotland,” says TOA’s artistic director Simon Bateson. “This year we’ve really focused on harnessing this – on putting the inspiration, empowerment and confidence to make change happen in the hands of our audience.”

As ever, TOA serves up an impressive menu of screenings and discussions. The festival opens on 19 Sep, the day following the referendum, with Everyday Rebellion, a documentary that shows nonviolent activism in action, from the Occupy Wall Street movement to the story of a Spanish neighbourhood that comes together to stop the bank from reclaiming one of its resident’s homes.

Protest runs through the festival’s programme. It’s the subject of the spirited We Are Many, which looks back at the public anger

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that formed when Bush and Blair took the US and the UK into an illegal war with Iraq in 2003.

Combining archive footage of the largest mobilisation of ordinary people in history (it’s estimated that 36 million people around the world marched against war on 15 Feb, 2003) and talking head interviews, which range from weapons inspector Hans Blix to Noam Chomsky and the late Tony Benn, the film is a passionate celebration of the power of solidarity.

A new addition this year is a youth programme. TOA asked a group of socially active cinephiles between the ages of 16 and 26 to help curate this new strand. They’ve made some shrewd selections, including #chicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator, which shows how a 19-year-old college freshman was instrumental in coordinating protestors on the ground in Syria, all from her laptop while living in suburban Chicago. There are also two great family screenings: Aunt Hilda!, a vibrant hand-drawn animation from France about one eccentric plant-lover’s fight against an insidious corporation who have manufactured a GM super-plant that’s destroying all weaker species of flora; and Giraffada, an adventure story centred on a giraffe-obsessed Palestinian boy that also acts as a sly sendup of the absurdity of life behind the Separation Wall in the West Bank.

Political satire Ash and Money, which sounds from the programme like it’s the Estonian equivalent of The Thick of It, looks to be a another highlight. As does The Case Against 8, which chronicles the five-year campaign of the American Foundation for Equal Rights to have California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in 2008, overturned. A rare screening of Herbert J. Biberman’s 1954 miners’

strike drama Salt of the Earth, which was so inflammatory on its release that it was blacklisted for a decade, screens from 16mm and is followed by a discussion on the legacy of Scottish mining strikes and the role of women in the movement.

In fact, almost all of the screenings at TOA are followed by a ‘Beyond the Screen’ discussion.

Light Fly Fly High, the story of a defiant young female boxer born outside of caste in India who fights poverty, sexism and classism, as well as opponents in the ring, is followed by a conversation with inspiring sportswomen. After Inequality for All, which charts the history of America’s rich/ poor divide, representatives from Oxfam and Unison will be on hand to discuss the themes of the film. Binder 70, which follows an activist trying to protect huge areas of public land being auctioned for fossil fuel, is rounded off by a talk from Eco-Congregations and Stop Climate Chaos.

The don’t miss event at any TOA festival has to be its bike powered screenings. There are two on offer this year: Seed of Time and Once upon a Forest, both at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. The former deals with the world’s food security, the latter is concerned with celebrating the beauty of rainforests in the Amazon and Africa, but what the films are about is largely immaterial. The real joy of these screenings is that they demonstrate first hand the power of collaboration and solidarity, and wake us up to the energy that we take for granted in our everyday lives. In other words: these screenings are the embodiment of everything TOA strives to instil in its audience. [Jamie Dunn] Take One Action runs 19 Sep to 4 Oct See website for full listings: takeoneaction.org.uk

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here are two great film festivals with screenings shared across Glasgow and Edinburgh this month (Take One Action and Scotland Loves Anime). But if you fancy getting out of Scotland’s big cities there are two other film happenings worth taking a road trip for.

Dunnoon Film Festival’s sophomore year opens with the Glasgow-set musical God help the Girl, the directing debut of Belle & Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch, who’ll be in town to introduce the screening. It centres on a young woman who’s recovering from a spell in a mental institution by forming a band with a dorky guitarist who takes her under his wing. When we spoke to Murdoch he revealed that their idyllic summer was based, perhaps subconsciously, on the early “romantic” days of his own band.

Most of the screenings at Dunoon have a Scottish bent. There’s Jimmy’s Hall, directed by Ken Loach and written by Scot Paul Laverty, who’ll introduce the film and take part in an ‘In Conversation’ event where he’ll discuss his long collaboration with Loach; and a short film double-bill that pairs Black Angel, a 1980 fantasy film that was shown with The Empire Strikes Back on its UK release, and new film Broken, made by local production company UNSCENE. There are also screenings of two of Scotland’s great island-set films: Alexander Mackendrick’s booze-soaked caper Whisky Galore! and Powell and Pressburger’s swooningly romantic screwball I Know Where I’m Going.

Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival’s programme is more cutting edge. The theme of this tenth edition is ‘Border Crossing’ – something England’s most northern town knows a thing or two about. It opens with Serbian black comedy Mamarosh. Director Momcilo Mrdakovic’s film is sure to go down well with Berwick’s festival crowd, as it’s reported to be a paean to the glories of cinema and celluloid – think of it as a more droll, less sentimental Cinema Paradiso.

As well as cinema, Berwick serves up several artist instillations not to be missed. Chief among these is US artist Ben Russell’s 16mm work The Twilight State. Part documentary, ethnography and dream cinema, the programme describes Russell’s film as documenting ‘the dematerialisation of borders through the spiritual lives of the territory’s inhabitants.’ There’s also a chance to see Rachel Maclean’s A Whole New World, in which the Glasgow-based artist creates a surreal universe that suggests a post-apocalyptic British colony during the Empire’s heyday. She underscores this grotesque green-screen world with Disney songs and right-wing politicians’ speeches to create an eye-popping satire on the notions of nationalism.

The festival closes in style with Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida, a road movie of sorts in which a virginal teenage nun learns much about her family when she sets out on a journey with her chain-smoking, lascivious Jewish aunt. Read more about Pawlikowski’s film on p33, where we interview the director. [Jamie Dunn] Dunoon Film Festival, 12-14 Sep Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival See the festivals’ websites for full details www.dunoonfilmfestival.org berwickfilm-artsfest.com

THE SKINNY

Trump in the Rough Anthony Baxter’s A Dangerous Game revisits the Menie estate and the residents whose David v Goliath battle with property tycoon Donald Trump he documented in You’ve been Trumped. He explains how he found similar battles happening around the world

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f you were ever on the fence as to whether the Shredded Wheat-haired billionaire Donald Trump was a good guy or not, Anthony Baxter’s brilliant muckraking documentary You’ve Been Trumped from 2011 should set you straight. It showed how the property tycoon bulldozed his way into Aberdeenshire to build ‘the world’s greatest golf course,’ destroying a stretch of coastline and intimidating the local residents who didn’t bend the knee and sell him the homes they’d lived in all their lives. While making the film, Baxter got threatened by Trump’s security goons and manhandled and arrested by the local constabulary. The Scottish media and, most disconcertingly, the Scottish government were won over by Trump and the 6000 jobs he promised to bring to the region.

Cut to three years later and Anthony Baxter is back with follow-up A Dangerous Game to show that the golf course has been built and the precious coastline destroyed, but not much else has changed. The residents’ lives are still being made a misery by the Trump organisation and none of the promised prosperity for the region has materialised. Trump, meanwhile, has moved on to his next golf course in Ireland. Baxter spoke to The Skinny by phone from his home in Montrose to discuss the situation and explain how this second film led him to find similar tales all over the world.

The Skinny: What drew you back to this story?

Anthony Baxter: “It was two things really. One was the fact that when we showed You’ve Been Trumped in the communities around the world people were saying to me “The same thing is happening here!” It’s not always Donald Trump, but as Robert Kennedy Jr says in the film, “There are Donald Trumps everywhere.” What people like him represent is the billionaires who come into communities and say they’re going to bring all this economic prosperity, but in reality that seldom seems to happen and the price paid by the environment is enormous. The Scottish story was about a site of special scientific interest being

September 2014

destroyed to make way for a golf resort for the super-rich, but elsewhere it can be about water, as it is in Dubrovnik, the fear that a huge, sprawling golf resort will have a massive impact on the town’s water supply, or it’s about pesticides, as the fear is in The Hamptons, where a golf course is built on top of an aquifer. It was something I couldn’t resist trying to follow, particularly the Dubrovnik case.

“And then in Scotland, despite the huge outpouring of public opinion and shock that followed the screening of You’ve Been Trumped on the BBC, the harassment of the local people was continuing. So I found it extraordinary that when Michael Forbes won the Top Scot award in a public vote and when it was broadcast on BBC 2 people were appalled by what they saw, but I was aware that a bank of earth was still being heightened around Susan Munro’s house, that Molly Forbes, it turns out, still hasn’t had a full working water supply four years after the water was cut off to her and Michael Forbes by the Trump organisation. This has continued despite everything! And that was something that I found just too compelling to ignore. I just felt a need, really to highlight how power and money can manipulate the media.”

If the media and politicians hadn’t taken notice, Donald Trump certainly did…

“It was a complete shift and an unexpected shift really. But I think he was probably aware of just what a foothold the first film had – which he had dismissed completely, not only in Britain, but elsewhere – and that resulted in him agreeing to do an interview. It was an important thing to do because I wanted to be able to put to him what was continuing to happen on the ground, but also the wider issues as well. What people like him represent.”

Can you talk about the sit down – after all that time chasing him, were you satisfied with how it went?

“It was extraordinary on one level because I’m

sitting there asking questions that I tried to ask him in the first film, but I was also conscious that I didn’t want to look back too much; I wanted to look forward too. And he was charming when the interview started, and his mood changed as the interview went on. People often ask me what he’s like, but I don’t really care what he’s like as a person. It’s what he represents that I think is dangerous, not only for the future of golf, as we touch on in the film, but also the planet.”

He did threaten you with legal action on Twitter. Did anything come of that?

“He threatened to sue the BBC when they were airing the film: he launched an 11th hour legal bid to stop them from showing it, and, as you say, he’s tweeted before that he’s going to sue me, but the fact is we were just reporting the facts.

It’s quite difficult to see what legal grounds he would have and I think that’s probably what most lawyers would say as well.”

Can you lay out some of the facts and figures from the film? It seems the people of Aberdeenshire got little of what they were promised… “[Trump] came to Scotland, claimed he was going to invest 1.5 billion dollars and build 15,000 houses and a luxury hotel – and everybody reported that. And in actual fact he’s created in Scotland fewer than 200 jobs. All that’s happened is that a site of special scientific interest has been destroyed for a smattering of jobs. Alex Salmond was on camera saying 6000 jobs were going to be created. Well the figures suggest otherwise. It’s slightly depressing that politicians haven’t questioned the story and also there hasn’t been an investigation into what has happened in Scotland to make sure that this kind of thing can’t happen again, whether Scotland is an independent nation or not.”

You’ve touched on it already: the media have been pretty complacent on this story. As

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Interview: Jamie Dunn

traditional media slowly dwindles, do you see it as the responsibility of filmmakers to fill the gap?

“The traditional way of working was that journalists working on the ground would cover the boring council meetings, they’d go and sift through reams of documents to find a story, and then the local television and radio would pick up on those stories and would bring them to a wider audience. But that just doesn’t happen anymore.

It is often left to filmmakers to come in where traditionally there would have been someone else investigating the story. But the problem is that isn’t sustainable either, because filmmakers like myself aren’t earning a salary as it were and it’s hard to get these films off the ground.”

There’s some added whimsy in this film thanks to the presence of your golf-mad uncle, Denis.

Can you explain why you wanted him in the film?

“He represents what golf was really about when I used to come to Montrose on holiday as a kid.

It was really a golf course for the people. It was part of the town. It’s not an exclusive playground for the super rich. And Denis in a way epitomises that: he’s very into it being a game for everyone. But it’s been hijacked by these superrich people who build golf courses in places that cannot sustain them, like Dubai, where Donald Trump is building a new golf course in the middle of the desert where, whichever way you cut it, it makes absolutely no sense at all to move millions of tonnes of sand around, pipe in water and make this green oasis in the desert gated-off for very wealthy people. That is the polar opposite to Denis and his approach to the game.”

Is the story complete now?

“In terms of documenting it, it’s come to a natural close for me. But I think the story is likely to continue and I just hope that other journalists will pick it up and continue to investigate the claims made by Mr Trump and others like him.”

A Dangerous Game is released 12 Sep by Montrose Pictures

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SHOWCASE

THE SKINNY

Caitlin Hynes

“I

have been inspired by the concept of ‘pilgrimage’ – a journey which leads me, where the journey is the story. The idea of pilgrimage fascinates me: our lives viewed as a whole journey, where the journey can be physical or spiritual or both. We might be travelling to the Santiago de Compostella; visiting a site of family history; going through education; changing our appearance: I see these all as a form of pilgrimage. I think with many of these events it's the journey through the experience that is important. In my work faces are contorted – it is unclear if they are laughing or screaming. I often do not know which it is myself, but for me, everything is never quite as it seems; things are always somewhere on a spectrum, do I like this or hate it?... Was it as good as it seemed or am I looking over with rose tinted eyes?

Whether it is a moment in time or a memory, there is a little trigger that starts off a piece, and from then it is affected by everything that is happening around me. What happens in my surroundings dictates how my work is made.

It leads me to a physical and/or spiritual place, where my singular identity can join with others into a group identity, a group of believers. There is comfort and peace in belief and belonging. The masks were created as objects of initiation, so as to be accepted when wearing one, belonging to a group. My work is playful and fluid; I have been surrounded by images of icons and shrines and influenced by theatre, the characters, the props, and the staging.

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It is important for me to collect and create objects and artefacts, records and traces of my journey, where I have been and where I am going.

I value those things that are significant and meaningful, however small or ephemeral.

I use old bed sheets, used paper, things that people don't want anymore. I like the idea that the objects I have used have had a previous history. The dusty remains are lapped up in colours mixed up from my cardboard paint palette, drying in their new surroundings. My studio space at school often became the place where people would pass on bits of 'tat' they didn't want. I mix acrylic with fabric paint, I do what works best to produce the work in the way I want to make it.

My work is raw, humorous, messy and joyful and conveys an individual journey, as it happens, in the ‘now’ of this life. This is reflected in the way I make my work: it progresses and grows with me, I have a starting point which unfolds, sometimes unexpectedly, which makes the process of making work exciting."

Caitlin Hynes graduated from Printmaking at Gray’s School of Art in 2014. Her work has previously been exhibited at Peacock Visual Arts and AKI ArtEz in the Netherlands, and has been selected for RSA New Contemporaries 2015. She received a Highly Commended in the BP Fine Art Award and a SMART Gallery New Art Look to the North Award for her degree show. cargocollective.com/caitlinhynes

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Memories of a Recent Past One writer remembers his time with the Yazidis of Kurdistan and travelling in Syria, recalling a region of hospitality and beauty before the current turmoil fter we stop travelling and settle down for a little while, we carry around all the memories and stories, and we have to restrain ourselves from starting every sentence with ‘Y’know, when I was in...’. But aside from the past, we also start to worry about what’s happening in those countries right now.

At the time of writing, there are thousands of refugees scraping survival off the side of a mountain in Sinjar province in Northern Iraq.

These are the people of the Yazidi religion. These are innocents fleeing and dying in the face of persecutors utilising a so-called banner of God. These are human beings, harried, raped and crucified by soulless and vicious bastards. I wonder if these are people that I have met.

In March 2010 I travelled through the Kurdish Autonomous Region (KAR) of Iraq; I wrote about it in these pages at the time. Even in 2010 it was nigh on impossible to go into the ‘Arab’ parts of Iraq, so I never got anywhere near the sites of these atrocities. At the time of writing, the U.S. and France is sending military aid to the Kurds and the UK is open to the possibility.

Geopolitics is not my game and we all know what often happens when we arm groups to counter current threats, but the relative stability of Iraqi Kurdistan is something worth fighting for.

There is a shrine in the KAR called Lalish.

It is the spot where it is believed that the most venerated figure in the Yazidi religion, Melek Taus, descended to Earth. It is a series of shrines and tombs nestled in a cool, green valley and it is a focus of faith, pilgrimage, and community.

Families from the surrounding villages, the KAR, all over Northern Iraq, and from the small global diaspora, go there to pray and play and picnic. I

really enjoyed my short time there; it was interesting and peaceful and fun and, more than anything, it was just lovely. The men smoked, laughed and complained. The teenagers posed and strode about, flashed mobiles and spoke loudly. Kids ran about the paths and bushes, cackling in their games as their mothers bellowed at them and cleaned them while chatting and laughing on the blankets. Outside the entrance to the shrines, peacocks (being holy to the Yazidi, as Melek Taus resembled their form) strutted around their pens ignoring all the clapping and cooing children.

The entrance to the shrine is marked by a black wooden snake running up one side of the door and it is forbidden to step on the threshold of the entrance. The shrine is functionally a series of caves and pools that has been worked on and stabilised for at least a thousand years. The smooth and worn stones are always slick and it is easy to lose your footing. The smell is thick, damp and musty. It is not as grand as St. Peter’s Square or the Western Wall or the Great Mosque of Mecca, but it is intimate and natural, and if meaning can be found in those places, it can certainly be found here.

Me and some travel buddies had caught a lift to the nearest town to the shrine, where we had been taken in for the night by some friendly lads. They gave us fruit and Danish beer and we had a fun night talking and laughing. They drove us to the shrine, waited for us, took us to meet the Baba Sheikh (the Yazidi religious leader), and then drove us to a town on the Turkish border.

We thanked them and said goodbye and said we’d keep in touch. We didn’t. At least I didn’t.

Are they dead? Are they still there, those young lads and their families? The children scampering

Photo: David Holt

Krak des Chevaliers

Citadel of Salah Ed-Din

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around the hills: where are they? I don’t know if the wailing faces of petrified infants that I see on the news were babes in arms in Lalish on that pretty March day.

On the same trip in 2010, I came across the Turkish border heading straight for Aleppo. The first thing that struck me about the dictatorship was all the posters extolling the virtues of Assad.

I expect that many have been ripped down and many have been replaced by shiny political reinforcements in the neverending battle to control hearts and minds. I bought rosewater hookah tobacco for a friend in the Aleppo souk. The souk was one of the first and greatest treasures to be razed away from the occupying rebels by the government forces. All those spices, fruits, kitchen parts, oils, perfumes, watches, knives and lines of tinsel and masks lying under the Unesco protected rubble. I spent a few dusk hours listening to a classical youth orchestra in the Aleppo citadel. The holdfast stood in the heart of the city, strong against crusaders, colonists and peasants. A few shells made short work of the great stone door. All those arrow slits looking out over the ancient city were used by government snipers as they picked off careless rebels and civilians.

Away from the cities, some of the happiest memories of my life are exploring and scrambling around two Syrian crusader castles. Krak des Chevaliers is the more famous and the better maintained. High atop a range of hills, the walls are a sun-bleached statement of defiance that were impregnable for years and only broken by siege and surrender. Smoke rose over the Krak in 2012 and our best understanding is that a wall

TRAVEL

and a tower have been ripped down. I loved Qal’at Salah al-Din even more, spending hours tiptoeing along ramparts, rummaging in the undergrowth and climbing up broken towers, totally unsupervised and undisturbed by unconcerned and sunshy guards. It was some of the most fun I’ve had in my adult life. Who knows. Perhaps the damage it has sustained from shells and mortars and prolonged gun battles adds to the atmosphere.

In four months in the Middle East, the best kebab I’ve ever had was in Damascus. I spent one evening bar-hopping in the very cool Damascene Christian Quarter with some folk from the hostel.

We got chatting to two Kurds in a small park and we mentioned that it was one of our birthdays.

They disappeared and turned up half an hour later with two slabs of Efes beer and a birthday cake. The Christian quarter endured unscathed under the professed multi-faith protection of the government, but has since fallen victim to suicide bombs. Another Christian community as old as any in Europe is conducting an exodus.

Time, more recent travels, and literal distance inevitably separates us from reports of atrocities in places that deeply affected us.

Lalish is worth saving and worth visiting. The castles, mosques, monasteries and bars of Syria are worth saving and worth visiting. Every person I spoke to there is worth remembering and worrying about. I can’t truly grieve for every place in turmoil that I’ve ever been to. But there are places that have changed me that have been grievously hurt. And I will return when I can. Because the experience is worth the grief.

THE SKINNY

Photo: Franco Pecchio

A

Words: Ally McLeod

My Pregnancy Experience: Lessons in Feminism Part One Unexpected news in a pregnancy unearths some well-buried prejudices

Words: Jessica Walsh Illustration: Alessandra Genualdo

The Bisexual Myth One of these things is not like the others: unicorns, fairies, bisexuality Words: Conori Bell-Bhuiyan Illustration: Zuzanna Kwiecien

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W

e were utterly convinced the foetus inside my uterus was male. We had a ‘feeling’, compounded by dreams and old wives’ tales, and decided that we need not bother to agree on any female names. This was going to be the first boy and the family name would continue. The cycle of female offspring would be broken.

We asked the sonographer to check several times at the 20-week ultrasound scan when she announced she could see a vulva, and after ten minutes of zooming in on her genitals, we were finally convinced. "Yup, it’s a girl!"

After trying for a successful pregnancy for many years, it was a thrilling experience to get this far and be told that everything was well.

Empowered by the fact my once-baron soil was now fertile, I was fulfilling what, biologically speaking, I had been born to do. Realistically, it really didn’t matter what gender the child would be, ‘so long as they are healthy’ my husband kept reassuring me, while remaining honest that it was a shame he wasn’t getting the little boy we thought we were expecting. I chastised myself for the sinking feeling I felt in my stomach, knowing I was having a girl. I hated having any negative feelings about this little miracle. ‘Why am I not overjoyed?’ I asked myself – and more importantly, ‘Why am I so concerned with its gender?’

Lesson 1: No matter how liberal I believe I am, I have deep-rooted gender stereotypes.

It was fear that summoned these feelings to the surface. A deep-seated hypersensitivity to the many things my daughter will have to be afraid of when she enters this mortal world. A

September 2014

world that, based on my own experiences and understanding of life as a female, presents a whole host of challenges and risks that boys don’t have to encounter in the same way.

Suddenly we were in a minefield. How could we safeguard her? How could we nurture her to be an empowered person and not a manipulation of this media-led society? Is it okay to encourage her to experiment with different gender-defined toys and games? How will our own ideas about gender affect her self-perception? Most importantly, would it be appropriate for her to inherit the atticful of Star Wars toys?

Lesson 2: Parents have predefined, stereotypical, gender-specific roles. Within these roles, the male adopts a less active parenting role.

We greeted our bundle of joy into the world a month earlier than planned due to complications with amniotic fluid. My husband, adorned in fetching green scrubs, was with me throughout the entire Caesarian. “That’s more than most men of my generation would ever have done,” my mother reminds me, pointing out that the role of men in the pregnancy, birthing and parenting process has changed considerably in just one generation.

He would not have had it any other way.

From conception to birth and beyond, he was to play an equal and integral role in parenting.

Perhaps born of a desire to ‘provide’ what his own father failed to, more likely it came from his belief that it is his duty and honour to be involved in the upbringing of a new human life. Why then,

throughout the maternity experience, had he been allowed to feel like he had to conform to a predefined gender-specific parenting role?

He tells me how, in his opinion, while the focus of care lies correctly with the mother and child, an inherent sexism exists towards men and is allowed to perpetuate because of the culture within maternity services. “It was small quips, comments and gestures by females, both professionals, friends and family,” he tells me. “Being told that I would have to ‘pull my weight’ in the house ‘for a change’ or that I would have to resist carnal urges and ‘keep my hands off’ my wife’s engorged breasts. Yes, they were in jest, and they did not mean any harm, but they were wrong to say these things, and in doing so they only served to drive the wedge in the already large gap between gender-specific parenting roles."

“When I reflect on our maternity experience, I get a sense of a sisterhood of women,” he says. “A sense of a club that I cannot ever fully join because I cannot carry and birth a child.

Consequently, I am treated differently when it comes to the maternity experience. With only two weeks of paternity leave available to me, it was necessary for me to take holiday leave in order to support my family and enjoy my newborn.

If both parents are equally important, why should this be the case?”

While the birth of our daughter is the single happiest moment of my life, what I was expecting would be the most feminist experience of my life turned out to be one of the most prejudiced and stereotypical. Are we not born equal?

DEVIANCE

’ve come to understand that there is this odd myth about bisexuality: that it doesn’t exist.

That nobody is actually bisexual. That bisexual people are either gay and won’t admit it, or (more commonly with girls) straight and just going through some promiscuous experimental stage.

I have nothing against promiscuous experimental girls, but I’m coming to resent the assumptions people make whenever I use the word ‘bisexual’ to describe myself.

A while back, my girlfriend and I were at a small party in a bar, and instantly managed to be noticed and honed in on by the only other lesbian couple in the bar, a rather drunk late-40s pair who engaged us in an enthusiastic conversation about how far gay rights have come and how lucky our generation is. All good and lovely, but really, we were just trying to get a quiet drink, not hear a lecture on how lucky we are. Anyway, at some point in the conversation my girlfriend corrected one of the other couple by pointing out that I’m “not gay, she’s bisexual.” Both other women looked instantly affronted and one made a comment about how easy it is to be confused about these kinds of things.

I don’t at all like the implication that I’m confused about my sexuality. I’m not confused in the slightest – if I was gay, I’d say I was gay. However, I’m not. I’m bisexual, and if there’s anything I’m confused about, it’s the perpetual myth that this is a less valid sexual orientation than hetero- or homosexuality. Or the myth that bisexual is just another term for an ‘experimental phase,’ that it makes me less likely to be in serious relationships, or that I’ll eventually settle down with a nice man. That’s not how it works.

Perhaps the thing that annoyed me most is that two woman who’d seen progress made in gay rights and were clearly (and rightfully) proud of that could be so instantly dismissive of my own sexuality. They should be the first to accept others who aren’t the norm.

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Fashion Promenade

Introducing SJW This month sees the inaugural Scottiah Jewellery Week arrive in Dundee, courtesy of Vanilla Ink studios

It's time for GSA's Masters students to reveal their signature designs

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anilla Ink Studios has launched the first Scottish Jewellery Week, which will be held in Dundee from 12-21 September. The festival has been created to celebrate the craftsmanship of jewellers in Scotland and to offer a platform to the growing industry.

Vanilla Ink Studios was established to provide support to new talent in the jewellery industry by offering a studio space for recent graduates for a year. The studio is a state of the art workshop that allows the chosen designers to progress from education to develop and grow their own business. The festival itself will be held throughout different venues in Dundee and will feature exhibitions, a symposium, city-wide studio tours and a pop-up shop, all of which will add to the creative community in Dundee. Kate Pickering, founding director of Vanilla Ink and Scottish Jewellery Week has spoken about the importance of recognising not only Dundee, but Scotland as being a leading light in jewellery design. In a recent interview, Pickering mentioned that Dundee is “huge on design and redevelopment and we hope that Scottish Jewellery Week will not only enhance what is already happening, but aslo bring new crowds. Scotland is not big, but the jewellery community we have is strong; I want SJW to demonstrate that to Scotland and the wider community.”

Scottish Jewellery Week will begin with a free one-day talk entitled Making Jewellery Work at the Discovery Point. The lecture is in association with The Scottish Goldsmith Trust and will consist of presentations and panel discussions

about the jewellery business in Scotland discussing different steps to break into the industry.

SJW will also feature an exhibition where eight residents at the Vanilla Ink Studio will showcase their collections made throughout their year's tenure at the studio. The exhibition will be held at The Old Flour Mill, with a catwalk display during the opening night. The exhibition will coincide with a photography display by What Kirsten Saw and a pop-up shop hosted by Tea Green. Avery & Co are the official sponsors of SJW and will provide catering facilities during the exhibition’s opening night and host a pop-up restaurant during the symposium.

To draw the festival to a close, SJW will host an exhibition running from 19-20 September. The exhibition, 15 Years, at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design’s Main Entrance Gallery, will present previous graduates’ works from the college. Artists will open their private studio space to the public during the exhibition, with tours throughout Dundee, starting at The Old Flour Mill and finishing at Vanilla Ink. This will allow visitors to truly experience the workings of the artists and to better understand their craft.

SJW is a first of its kind festival in Scotland and looks set to act as a platform to showcase new talent that may not have been accessible without the support of Vanilla Ink. [Morgan McTiernan] For more information and for a full schedule of events please visit facebook.com/vanillainkstudios vanillainkstudios.co.uk

SHUJING LIU

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lasgow School of Art is known for producing a diverse range of talent in the arts, and it is seen as one of the most prominent schools in educating the next big stars in fashion. The annual masters degree show, which takes place from 6-12 September, will showcase works by graduating students across the wide range of subjects undertaken at GSA. Reaching the end of the week long showcase is the Glasgow School of Art 2014 MDes Fashion Promenades, which will be held on Friday 12 September in the Reid Auditorium. The event will present collections designed by the 2014 class of the Master of Design in Fashion and Textiles programme. The programme is designed to help textile graduates to refine their ‘design signature’ and to create a collection of garments highlighting their development.

Student Ting Chen’s womenswear collection is inspired by the Japanese motif Ukiyo-e, which translates as ‘pictures of the floating world’ and is a genre of woodblock prints and paintings that originated from Japan in the 17th century. The flat colours and abstract feel to the artworks is what drew Ting Chen to the Japanese influence.

Chen’s designs are made in fabrics of silk, satin and organza, where the most prominent pattern is of goldfish, which was taken from the movie Sakuran. In creating her designs, Chen’s initial pattern was hand drawn and then scanned into the computer for colouring. Her silhouette is influenced by the Japanese traditional garment of the kimono – she has used the crossover collar and loose sleeves in her designs.

Homegrown talent Kelly Mcgrath will also be showcasing her menswear collection at Friday’s event. Kelly Mcgrath takes her inspiration from her fascination with The Blitz Kids, who are known for launching the New Romantic subcultural movement. Mcgrath became inspired by the

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silhouettes from that period and built her collection around the high wasted tapered leg trouser, the oversized shirt and overcoat. Mcgrath’s illustrations, which complement the bold prints of the Blitz Kids era, stem from naturalist illustrators such as Swainson and Haeckel, where she visited aquariums and museums and took inspiration from the creatures she saw to create a portfolio of work that she later digitally printed onto fabrics.

Russian born Irina Gusakova’s collection grew from her inspiration by Op Art, in particular artists Bridget Riley, Rafael Soto and Lousie Bourgeois, whose works make use of optical illusions. Gusakova’s garments recreate the optical illusions through patterns which she achieves by working solely with stripes. She experimented with different techniques like patch-working, flocking and foiling, halftone and digital printing in finding new ways to portray stripes in the fabric. In order to enhance the illusory effect, Gusakova’s silhouettes consist of clean and crisp line of the 60s A-line shapes that are complemented with box pleats and folds.

Other interesting designers whose collections feature at the MDes Fashion Promenades include Pei Shan Wu, whose menswear look includes wood veneers, and designer Jade Starmore, a graduate of Communication Design at GSA before undertaking the MDes programme, who presents her knitwear collection.

With the variety of designers showcasing their collections at this year’s MDes Fashion Promenade, the event is looking to be a spectacular show of talent, where the students embrace their artistic ability to combine fine art with designing fashion. [Morgan McTiernan] Reid Auditorium, Renfrew Street, Glasgow, Fri 12 Sep, 7pm gsa.ac.uk

FASHION

THE SKINNY

Food News Festival season spills over into September’s food news, with beer, chilli, boating and industrial espionage on this month’s menu Words: Peter Simpson

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fter the madness of August, it’s a pleasure to see that the world of food is back to normal. No more bizarre one-offs or crazy events in weird locations – just perfectly normal stuff like tea and cakes on a canal boat. The Tea and Cake Cruise down Edinburgh’s Union Canal combines the joys of nautical adventure with the pleasures of tasty cake, while allowing nostalgic twenty-somethings to take Instagram shots of themselves pretending to be kids’ TV favourites Rosie and Jim. As we said, all perfectly normal. 28 Sep, 2pm. Edinburgh Quay, Fountainbridge. £15, re-union.org.uk Back on dry land, but with enough beer to float a boat down Sauchiehall Street, Craft Beer Rising takes over Glasgow’s Drygate brewery this month for three days of beer-based fun. There’ll be DJ sets from the likes of Optimo and ex-Portishead man Andy Smith, plenty of ridiculous street food to try out, and hundreds of beers from breweries around the world. It’s like an Edinburgh Fringe redux, but with top-notch craft beer in place of bad re-interpretations of Shakespeare.

What’s not to like? 19-21 Sep, various times.

Drygate Brewery, 85 Drygate. £20, craftbeerrising.co.uk If you prefer your foodie weekends to have Our fourth annual Food and Drink Survey gets under way Words: Peter Simpson slightly more heat to them, then the Scottish this month – here’s how (and why) you should get involved Illustration: Caroline Dowsett Braves Harvest Chilli Festival is for you. When we say ‘slightly more heat,’ we actually mean ‘everything in this place is coated in chilli so maybe t’s a long-awaited vote that could have a major and that’s what makes this survey so great. We breeze through the Survey in no time at all. wear gloves.’ The bars serve up chilli beers and impact on all of our lives. It’s a historic opSeeing as this is a public ballot and you’re all could tell you where to go, or what to order, or cocktails, the food stalls stock everything from portunity to let the world know what you really very busy people with lives to lead and people to which barman to avoid eye contact with, but it’s the obvious (salsas and dips that will make your think. It’s really, really, super important. But unonly by collecting the thoughts of as many of see, we feel it’s best to pander to you for a while entire face water) to the bizarre (chilli fudge, like other major votes you may have heard about, in order to convince you to vote in this year’s Scotland’s cultural community together in one which is apparently a thing), and there’s even there will be beer, and cake, and burgers the size Survey, just like they do in real elections. place that we find out which barman you really a chilli-eating competition for the competitive of suitcases.

Firstly, we trust you. You haven’t put much of want to avoid eye contact with. eating and violent sweating aficionados amongst Yes, time to dust off your notepads and Everyone has their own favourite places – a foot wrong in the first three years of this survey, you. 20-21 Sep, 10.30am. Scone Palace, nr Perth. pop on that t-shirt that’s ‘ketchup safe’ – it’s the hidey-holes where the chairs are comfy and and we’ve trawled through literally thousands £6.30, chillifest.net The Skinny’s annual readers’ Food and Drink the drinks are good, the cafés where you feel reof your votes in that time. Even those of you who Finally this month, we highlight the chance Survey. This is the fourth edition of our yearly laxed and at ease with the world until you get up waste our time with ‘hilarious’ joke answers are to snoop around a major commercial brewery poll where we ask you – the readers of this fair alright – it wouldn’t be a Skinny Food Survey with- to go and find yourself sprinting home because without being arrested. Yes, Doors Open Day magazine – to tell us where in Scotland you like to out some wise-arse writing in to impersonate a you were so ‘at ease’ you drank three flat whites is here once again, with the chance to gawp munch, slurp, booze and caffeinate. in the space of an hour. We just need to know famous Scottish celebrity (it seems the trick is at the industrial scale of Tennent’s Wellpark Last year, you cast thousands of votes for to end every word with an ‘h’). You take your food where we’re most likely to find you reclining or brewery high on the agenda for food types keen dozens of your favourite food and drink spots in and drink seriously, but not too seriously, and we buzzed up to the eyeballs on frothed milk. to work out just what actually goes into a pint Edinburgh and Glasgow, and it was a rip-roaring So that’s your job. Cast your votes at like that. of Tennent’s to make it so… ‘distinctive.’ If you success. It turns out you like cafes with highlytheskinny.co.uk/foodanddrinksurvey, look out Plus, there are just so many of you. We do prefer your beer-based rubbernecking to have descriptive names, bars that are all connected on these pages for more detail in the months like our food and drink here at The Skinny, but a more active flow, you can hit the streets with to one another á la The Usual Suspects, and nice ahead, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for there are only so many opportunities for us to Glasgow architects Dress For The Weather as comfy chairs and big sandwiches when you’re a updates on the vote, and let us know where you bomb around from bar to bar perfecting our they examine the design behind some of the city’s bit hungover. All solid choices in our book, so well craft beer rankings. But luckily for us, there are like to do the eating and the drinking. It’s a big best-known pubs. Their Typology Project event done. thousands of you who each have your own favour- responsibility, this democracy lark, but we think looks at the stylistic evolution of the city’s bars in With that in mind we’ve kept things much you’re up to the challenge. You might want to take what will presumably turn into a highly civilised ite drinks, venues and eateries, and by mashing the same this year. We’ve broadened the survey some napkins with you, though. them all together we tend to find a list of places pub crawl. Dodging from bar to bar while trying out to bring Dundee back into the fold (hello that pretty well sum up the best that Scottish to appear cultural – it’s as if August never ended.

Get the latest on this year’s food survey, and vote for your Dundonians!), but also narrowed things down to food and drink has to offer.

20-21 Sep, various dates and times, glasgowdoorfavourites in Scotland and the Northwest, at theskinny.co.uk/food #ScotFoodSurvey focus on the really important stuff and help you Each of these places is someone’s choice, sopenday.com

The Skinny Food and Drink Survey 2015

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September 2014

FOOD AND DRINK

Lifestyle

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The Chili Cook-Off Countdown

Ahead of the annual Lupe Pintos Chili Cook-Off, we take a numerical look at the battle for spicy supremacy in Edinburgh and Glasgow

Words: Peter Simpson

10: There will be ten venues at each of the cook-offs, each handing out samples of their own home-cooked chili to the good people of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Those good people will then become evil, cynical food critics for the afternoon, scoring the chilis and nominating their favourites. 10 is also the number of pounds you’ll need to fork out for a ticket for the day’s festivities.

9: It’ll take you nine minutes to walk from one end of the Edinburgh cook-off circuit – Lebowski’s on Morrison Street – to the other at the Golf Tavern.

Not that storming from end-to-end is the way to do this – slow and steady wins the race, but it also gets all the chili without accidentally scalding itself.

8: Spicy food seems uniquely placed to bring out the competitive edge in otherwise reasonable individuals. Expect this year’s venues to pull out all the stops to win your support, but don’t expect them to go too far. ‘Too far’ in this context would be something like… oh, eating 275 jalapeño peppers in eight minutes. That’s what chilli-eating world record holder Patrick ‘Deep Dish’ Bertoletti did several years ago. Mind you, call your child ‘Deep Dish’ and you are asking for trouble.

7: Chili has a special place in the culinary pantheon, partly because there’s so little agreement

as to where it actually originated. A number of US states and groups lay claim to the dish, but Texas went all-in back in 1977 when it declared chili con carne to be the official state food, and that’s Texas – they’ve never made or inflicted a bad decision on anyone.

6: Each of the top six venues from last year’s cook-offs return to attempt to defend their honour in the theatre of oregano-seasoned combat. In Glasgow, last year’s winners The Left Bank, runners-up The Roxy 171 and third place Stravaigin are all back looking to repeat their feats of 2013, while the Edinburgh top three of Lebowski’s, Henrick’s and The Cuckoo’s Nest will also be out to restore their bragging rights over their neighbours.

5: Five hundred tickets went on sale for each of the cook-offs in 2013, and expect to see similarsized crowds marching en masse between venues throughout the events this year. It can be a confusing sight for a Saturday lunchtime, particularly when so many of the participants dress in Tex-Mex-inspired garb. There’s nothing quite like hearing two Glaswegian ‘wrestlers’ discussing the finer points of chili preparation while on your way to the shops for a pint of milk.

4: It’s the fourth year of the cook-off, which began in Glasgow back in 2011. It branched out to include the capital in 2012, and the spirit of friendly

rivalry and smell of aromatic spices has never been far away since.

3: When undertaking the solemn duty of judging the chili, there are three things to consider.

Taste, texture and originality are the three criteria for the cook-off, with each chili being marked for its performance across the categories. Expect much umm-ing and ahh-ing, and the odd bit of frenzied re-scoring, as the afternoon wears on.

2: Glasgow and Edinburgh are the two hosts of the cook-off, with two very different locations planned for wandering chili lovers. In Glasgow, it’s a chance to take in the scenic delights of the West End and Kelvinbridge, while Edinburgh’s eaters will be firmly ensconced in the urban splendour of Tollcross, safe in the knowledge that their map for the day is basically a straight line covered in flecks of mince.

1: At the end of the day, there can be only one winner – you lot. Okay, there will be twenty chefs battling it out to bring you the best chili they can, but if you can grab a ticket you’re in for a day of wandering around town with spicy sauce on your grinning, ridiculous face. That makes you a winner in our book.

Edinburgh’s cook-off is on Sat 27 Sep, Glasgow on Sat 11 Oct, £10, numbers limited facebook.com/lupepintosdeli

Phagomania: Guac Attack

In honour of the Chili Cook-Off, we take a phagomaniacal look at everyone’s favourite Tex-Mex dip that isn’t salsa

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vocados, eh? What are they all about? They look like reptile eggs that have been left out in the sun, they bruise if you look at them too hard, and crack one open and what do you know, there’s an enormous rock in the middle. To misquote Edwin Starr, avocados – what are they good for?

Well, guacamole actually. It may look a little odd and require as much care as a newborn calf, but treat it right and it takes its place as the king of dips.

One place where they treat the guac with the respect it deserves is the Guac Bowl, an annual guacamole competition hosted by Adam Pava that takes the concept of ‘putting dip in a bowl’ and turns it on its head, then attaches rockets to the bowl and sends it flying around the room.

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We’re talking the whole gamut here, from giant guacamole skeletons to avocado-based simulations of arcade classics like Ms. Pacman. But, as Pava tells us, it wasn’t always this way.

He says: “Guac Bowl started over a decade ago, with very humble beginnings. At first, it was just my roommates and I all wanting to make the guacamole for our Super Bowl party. So I said ‘Fine, let’s each make one, and we’ll vote on which is best.’

“That was fun, so we decided to do it again the following year, inviting more friends to enter... But without telling anyone, I added a Best Presentation category to guarantee myself a victory! I knew nobody else would decorate their guacamole. It was a pretty basic presentation that year – just a lot of American flags; red, white

and blue chips, etc. and I called it Guac Bless America – but it struck a nerve, and unleashed the floodgates for years of more and more creative presentations.

“The following year, people really upped the creativity, making bigger and crazier presentations, and stranger types of guac, like guac ice cream and guac beer. That’s when we started the Best Alternative Guac category to account for all the non-traditional entries.”

Things got very ‘non-traditional’ very quickly, and the Guac Bowl quickly became a must-see online for its diverse (guacamole served from a pair of shorts) and unexpected (guacamole served from a giant plaster nose) design.

Pava writes: “I credit the growth of the party to my creative friends. I work as an an animation

FOOD AND DRINK

writer (a movie I wrote called ‘The Boxtrolls’ starring Simon Pegg is out in September!), and usually, the biggest entries come from one of two types of people.

“There are the art directors like my friend Rob Saccenti who made the Han-Solo-inCarbonite guac entry, and an Aliens-inspired entry, or the friends with way too much time on their hands like last year’s winner, Brandon Oropallo, who also made the giant nose the year before.”

So you see, all it takes to turn a stubborn avocado into a work of art is a little imagination, and a lot of free time. Better clear your schedule and make some space in the fridge... guacbowl.com

THE SKINNY

September 2014

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Gig Highlights

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eptember doesn’t have to be a bleak void that spans from post-festival comedowns though to premature Christmas shopping. Despair not – artists far and wide have been toiling to churn out new material like sweet melodic butter and are getting ready to celebrate with us in the flesh on our increasingly chilly shores. Get your jacket on and stop moaning, there’s an auditory cornucopia waiting for you all over Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Abrasive, scratchy and a massively unapologetic fusion of rock and electro, krautrock duo Birdhead are our kind of mental. Their music is a thoughtful sort of chaos. Going to see them live is probably a bit like a night out with that pal who gets wasted too fast – it's a lot to take on but if you’re in the mood and have a couple of drinks in you, a highly entertaining evening awaits at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus (6 Sep). You can also catch them at our Pleasance Session in Edinburgh – supporting The Phantom Band and Remember Remember no less – on 18 Oct. If your festival budget isn’t quite stretching to Tomorrowland this year, don’t fret. Kelburn Castle’s end of season Psychedelic Forest Carnival is back with a carnival twist. It’ll be almost as good as Tomorrowland too – they’re promising us “global sounds, dutty rhythms,

drums, brass, colour, light and celebration.”

Featuring The Busy Twist, Kakatsitsi Drummers and Samson Sounds, the night is set to be a mayhemic conglomerate of music, lighting and SFX, with a cross-section of a myriad different genres (13-14 Sep).

Following the 2013 release of their ninth studio album Purgatory/Paradise, Throwing Muses have returned from the US and are ready to perform what will hopefully be their sulkiest live set yet at Òran Mór. If you’re already a fan, it’s probably quite a big deal because Tanya Donelly is rocking up along with the rest of the band as a special guest, so you’ll be treated to the vintage blend of her trademark backing vocals along with mainstay (and stepsister) Kristin Hersh (17 Sep).

We Were Promised Jetpacks are also back in town, and we’re all pretty stoked to have their rhotic vocals rouse our eardrums and hearts in equal parts once again. WWPJ have mastered the art of an uncluttered track which hits the listener with a heaving stomp of passion. Now a five-piece with the permanent addition of Stuart McGachan, their forthcoming album Unravelling is a bold foot foward. Although it’s not out until October, you’ll no doubt be treated to some of their spangly new tunes on 19 Sep at The Caves.

Rae Morris has had a busy year of

Kristin Hersh

collaborations with Clean Bandit, Bombay Bicycle Club and Fryars (featured on her new single Cold). She’s 21, she’s from Blackpool, and she’s the coolest slice of ambient indie about. With plunging drops and carefully textured melodies, there’s an air of CHVRCHES – but a little more gravel. Or perhaps like Daughter, just a little less losing the will to live. Get down to Nice ‘n’ Sleazy in Glasgow on the 20th to see her deliver a scintillating set following her highlight performances at Reading and Leeds last month.

It doesn’t matter that everyone beat him to writing a song about a wrecking ball. Let Ryan Adams pluck his guitar at you and leave you swaying like you’re at a campfire, goddamnit. Head to Edinburgh Royal Concert Hall on 25 Sep to have your heart stroked with folk and enjoy the comfiest harmonies this side of Nashville. C’mon, we can all stop pretending to be cool bastards for just one night, can’t we?

Are we supposed to be over SBTRKT now?

Because that’s just not happening. His new single New Dorp, New York is more addictive than 90s confectionary, and after teaser interim EP Transitions, it’s high time he gave us our next serving of twinkly tracks and lucid vocals from crooners like Jessie Ware, Sampha and Denai Moore. The producer’s second LP Wonder Where

Photo: Scott Watson

Birdhead

Photo: Jassy Earl

Words: Kate Pasola

We Land is due for release on the 22nd of the month, which gives you a good five days to wrap your ears around it and get addicted all over again in time for his gig in O2 ABC Glasgow on 27 Sep. Bipolar Sunshine’s got exactly the kind of tunes that remind us we’re all just little humans with big ol’ feelings. His discography is studded with the anthems you’ve been waiting for to scream joyfully through the dry-ice of a divey club, and then to croak groggily the next morning. It’s quite formulaic and the lyrics aren’t brain-breaking, but it’s a gorgeous guilty pleasure. Electric Circus, 29 Sep. Coinciding with the release of their third full-length LP, The Vaselines will be filling the Caves with their rolling rhythms and chalky vocals on 29 Sep. Inspired by the punchy punk sounds of The Ramones, the duo filled their new album, V for Vaselines with shorter songs which “just get into people’s ear straight away then get out as quickly as possible.” The influence of producer Tony Doogan (Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai) makes for a selection of tunes which’ll hook onto your hunger for a bit of whimsy and nostalgia, but, dare we say it, this time with a satisfying measure of maturity. Guess that’s what happens when you’ve been around longer than Forrest Gump.

Hauschka Glasgow CCA, 26 Sep Every so often a musician emerges who transcends the usual relationship between humans and instruments; demonstrating a symbiotic partnership which leaves onlookers swinging between bemused wrinkled brows and aghast open mouths. That’s Hauschka. In a musical climate where it feels like everything you hear is a shit version of Pachelbel’s Canon or Jason Derulo, Hauschka is a blissful rose among

September 2014

boring thorns.

His chord progressions can stab you in the heart in all the right places then soothe you with their echoes; a divine balance of classical piano, surgically precise percussion, and trancey reverb. Oh, and it’s all done through the medium of ‘prepared piano’ – which involves attaching alien objects, hammers and dampers to the piano. Like a one-man band but not weird – only incredible. Get yourself to Glasgow CCA and discover something you’ve never heard before.

[Kate Pasola]

MUSIC

Hauschka

Feature

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Photo: Nick Bojo

Do Not Miss

St Vincent / Arc Iris O2 ABC, Glasgow, 26 Aug Both musically and visually, Arc Iris are a colourful affair.

Catsuited and rainbow-eyed, former Low Anthem member Jocie Adams delivers her baroque compositions on piano, guitar and clarinet, interweaving glissading vocal melodies with the virtuoso technique of pianist Zach Miller (the only other member present for the tour). Even in stripped-back form, their ornate style borders ostentatiousness, but the quantity of ideas and immensity of musical talent is impressive.

When the lights darken and it comes time for St Vincent to walk onstage, she doesn’t simply walk. Oh no. She judders stiffly like a robot, twisting her limbs and jolting her neck; an arresting choreography soundtracked by Rattlesnake’s squelching intro.

The entrance sets a theatrical standard for tonight’s entertainment, which is predominantly comprised of this year’s self-titled fourth album. When Annie Clark subsequently stipulates “I want all of your mind” on Digital Witness, there’s damn little anyone in the room can do to resist.

What her physical performance lacks in spontaneity and warmth it more than gains back in spectacle and singularity, with Clark proving a magnetic presence. Only a couple of overripe monologues threaten to over-do the mannerisms; the music’s eccentricities, by comparison, feel effortless and unforced.

As well as numerous highlights from St. Vincent – the charging rhythms of Birth in Reverse, the thunderous riffs that close Huey Norton, the candid beauty of I Prefer Your Love – earlier tracks are given minor makeovers and neatly integrated, culminating in a noisily extended Your Lips Are Red in the encore. Earlier, the stacked blocks at the rear of the stage – atop which Clark belted an ear-splitting Cheerleader, and from which she slowly crumpled at the close of Prince Johnny – seemed like straightforward props. By the time the last peals of feedback are silenced, you’re reminded (as per St Vincent’s cover art) of their true purpose: a throne, on which to coronate St Vincent’s ongoing ascent.

[Chris Buckle]

Lady North

Photo: Kat Gollock

rrrrr

MILK: PAWS / Lady North Electric Circus, 24 Aug “This one’s by Britney Spears,” deadpans the mischievous Scott Bullen, before launching into a twisted, demonic rendition of Toxic, distortion yowling from his guitar as he himself screams a vein-poppingly unhinged version of the pop-star’s lyrics. Normally an instrumental trio, Lady North own the Electric Circus stage, frontman Bullen having obvious fun with his newfound microphone: “I don’t normally have a mic – this is a novelty!”

It’s the instrumentation that defines them, of course; we’ve already been levelled by opening track (and lead single from imminent debut LP) Bum Jiggy’s caustic, jagged wires, and no sooner has the dust settled after their Queen B reprise do they let slip more polyrhythmic dogs of war. Wailing, syncopated loops race against Paul Bannon’s cheat-code level drumming, while Jamie Steel slaps urgent basslines, locked in communicative eye-contact with his bandmates. It’s more like a playful joust than a communal set, the eye-watering drums in particular keeping the manic Bullen on his toes.

Milk’s 2014 Festival Closing Party culminates in headline act PAWS, a motley Glasgow trio that lives up to the name of their latest album, Youth Culture Forever, with their warmly adolescent thrash-punk stylings. The audience doubles in size as the ruffians take to the stage, and the nought-to-sixty frenzy which kicks off is contagious. There is plenty from sugary debut Cokefloat! on offer here, but standout moments include a charged An Honest Romance, and a sprawling, set-closing War Cry, both from the new record. Between each kinetic track, Philip Taylor and his pals shoot the shit quite happily, gushing about Eastenders (“Stay outta trouble Phil, fuck’s sake”) or the karaoke they’d been tanking in their dressing room. These boys have grown only in age and professionalism; axe or sticks in hand and they’re still boys, channelling that unabashed, electric high school vigour. [George Sully]

ilovestvincent.com

FKA Twigs

FKA Twigs Stereo, 29 Jul

www.wehavepaws.com

PAWS

Photo: Kat Gollock

St. Vincent

Photo: Ross Gilmore

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At first, smoke clouds and backlighting sustain FKA Twigs’ mystery and unearthliness; that alien air steadily cultivated over the last 20-or-so months by a string of bold, body-warping promo videos and record sleeves. As she floats amidst the fog, pigtails darting away from her body with each flowing change in direction, lithe vocals cast an instant spell: from the metallic, barely-there whispers of Weak Spot to the sensual high notes of Lights On to the aloof incantations of Water Me. Behind her, a three-strong band produces a backdrop of crystalline beats and brooding bass, creating a compelling contrast: the viscous reverberations at one end of the mix against the immiscibly high vocals at the other.

Only between songs does the sphinx-like persona slip away, replacing the enigmatic FKA Twigs with Tahliah Barnett from Gloucestershire: giggly, grateful to be here, and for some reason keen to share the story of how her band first got together in a branch of Café Nero. Yet rather than puncture the magic, these prosaic interludes help to emphasise it: if this is what Barnett can achieve already, while still a little green, imagine the elaborate knots she’ll be tying peoples’ minds into in the future. [Chris Buckle] FKA Twigs plays Glasgow's Oran Mor on 6 Oct www.xlrecordings.com/fkatwigs

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Review

MUSIC

THE SKINNY

Photo: Kirstin Kerr

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Under the Influence: Nick Oliveri Currently touring with Californian punk veterans BL’AST! while readying a hard-hitting new solo LP for release, the rock world’s most prolific wildman retraces the soundtrack to his adolescence

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hese are the records of my youth that I still think stand up today. I collect vinyl; I’ve had to sell some over the years and I’ve bought them back for way more than I should’ve paid, but at the end of the day you can’t really be a musician without music now, can you?

1. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1970) I always turn to Black Sabbath’s self-titled – their first. It’s probably the heaviest record I’ve heard to date – even though there are a lot of heavy records out there – really doomy stuff. But if you think about the time – the year – this came out. The inverted cross on the inlay card – it’s pretty wicked looking. Everything about it – from the first chord you hear, the D flat – it’s just heavy. It can’t really be messed with.

Kyuss learned a lot from Sabbath – you can hear it on Blues For the Red Sun. But then Sabbath are obviously a key factor in a lot of bands.

great – one of my all time favourites. I love that band and Wattie Buchan’s as charismatic a frontman as they come. To think, I saw them when I was a kid with a band I find myself playing in now – Bl’ast! – back in ‘88. Bl’ast opened up for them in Long Beach at Fender’s Ballroom. It’s all come full circle. Troops of Tomorrow is the record!

6. The Ramones – Road to Ruin (1978) It may seem kinda obvious to say it, but The Ramones are also one of my all time favourites – I’ll have to go for Road to Ruin here.

I know it’s not the first three, with Tommy on ‘em. Well, he produced it but Marky took over on drums. It’s still badass though. You can sing along with every song on there.

7. Roky Erickson – The Evil One (1980) Seek this out – every song on this album is like a horror movie.

2. AC/DC – Back in Black It’s pretty fantastic. He’s got a (1980) great voice and a pretty interA soundtrack for me at first was esting approach to songwriting. Roky got dealt AC/DC's Back in Black. I do like a bad hand when he was institutionalised and Highway to Hell and Bon Scott a given forced electroshock therapy, I can’t even lot, but Brian Johnson’s a badass imagine the impact that must have had – there too, no doubt about it. This first record with him was a point where he hadn’t put out a record for was just incredible. I remember smoking weed for about 14 years, so it was pretty great to hear him the first time and that was on in the background record with Okkervil River a few years ago. He’s at the party I was at. I don’t know if I actually playing live shows again too, which is a victory. got laid that night, but I think I did! Anyway, AC/ DC were usually playing during every great ‘first’ experience I ever had in my youth.

3. Motörhead – No Remorse (1984) I know it’s a greatest hits record but I think No Remorse – which had the four new songs at the time on it – is one of their most representative. I saw Motörhead for the first time on the Orgasmatron tour in the spring of ‘87 and it was pretty amazing. I remember Cro-Mags opened up, it was just an insane experience for a child – I was 14 years old. Man, it was beyond everything you might imagine a rock show could be at that age; I was so in awe of it. They were larger than life. Having Phil Campbell play on my new record was a thrill – he’s a master.

4. Black Flag – My War (1984) When it comes to Black Flag? It’s My War for sure. This record’s just so pissed off and to the point. It’s another classic, and it’s still what I listen to if I need to get pumped up for a gig. The title track still sounds so furious and powerful – good on Chuck Dukowski for writing that one, just riffing on bass. I think what made that band work so well is that they were such different players to almost everything else that was known as punk rock at the time in the United States, and even today. I wish I was that calibre of player. They took such a unique approach to – literally – attacking their instruments.

5. The Exploited – Troops of Tomorrow (1982) Alright, not to suck any dick here just because they’re from Edinburgh, but let’s get this out of the way – The Exploited are

September 2014

“Slayer’s version of what metal could be was so different to what anyone else was thinking at the time. This was revolutionary”

8. Slayer – Reign in Blood (1986) I think this and the Sabbath record we spoke about are probably the best and heaviest of metal, in my opinion and in my heart. Slayer’s version of what metal could be was so different to what anyone else was thinking at the time; this was revolutionary. It’s innovative in every way, an onslaught of power and intelligent lyrical content. That record, from start to finish, it’s like getting your ass kicked and you’re on the ground saying ‘No more!’ record. Musically, they were insane, and I love it.

But they’re still kicking you and you’re kind of Lyrically, they’re on another plain too. stoked about it, like, ‘OK guys, cool – keep doing it.’ Brutal. They influenced so many bands. There 10. Led Zeppelin – Led are no barriers. And Dave Lombardo on drums?

Zeppelin (1968) Just insane.

The story I heard about this record – and you can kind of 9. Subhumans – From the hear it – is that they were just Cradle to the Grave (1984) recording their gig setlist live, Now, the title track for this is a from start to finish, in the studio. That’s pretty 17 minute song that takes up the great. I don’t know if there are any guitar overentire B-side. They have shorter dubs on there, I think Jimmy Page just goes with tracks that last for a couple of the lead while JPJ and John Bonham are holding it minutes – sometimes less – but by this point down on the bass and drums. I think it’s importhey were just jamming. It’s still a pretty flawless tant to have that kind of power in a band, to just

MUSIC

go in and nail it live. That doesn’t seem to be the way things are done these days. I guess with computers you don’t have to. That approach influenced a lot of the bands I was fortunate enough to be a part of in my youth, like Kyuss – we would go into the studio playing live and looking each other in the eye and trying to get it down in a full take. For me, Led Zeppelin captures the way a rock record should be made. Man, I wish I could make a record like that but I don’t have the skills or the gear Jimmy has. Pretty fantastic.

Leave Me Alone is released on 15 Sep via Schnitzel Records facebook.com/rexeverything666

57

Album of the Month Death From Above 1979 The Physical World Fiction/Last Gang, 8 Sep

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Trainwreck 1979, the lead single that ended Death From Above’s ten year recording hiatus last month, was almost custom built to engineer well-worn review phrases such as ‘immediately feels as if no time has passed.’ That’s not a slight on the Toronto-based duo, more an acknowledgment that they deal with some basic, primal, frills-free noise architecture. Like an accomplished chef given eggs, milk and flour, DFA can effortlessly take their rudimentary ingredients and cook up a storm of pancakes, Yorkshire puddings and ear-bleeding, punk-rock riffage you can shake your booty to.

Interpol

El Pintor [Soft Limit, 8 Sep]

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If opener and lead single All the Rage Back Home doesn’t hook from the off, fear not. Like much of this fifth album from the newly trim trio, bassist Carlos Dengler having now departed, it’s a grower. And for the devoted who prefer their Interpol in classic mould, it’s not all, um, doom and gloom – after the diversions of 2010’s Interpol, El Pintor finds more room for guitarist Daniel Kessler’s trademark nervy, switchback riffs.

With the headline writers still focusing on who’s out rather than in (singer Paul Banks fills in for Dengler on bass), El Pintor could easily have given the naysayers their wish. But Interpol return from extended hiatus revived, Banks’ falsetto on My Blue Supreme and Tidal Wave giving El Pintor a welcome soulfulness; its bustling vitality tracing a line back to 2002’s Turn on the Bright Lights. Expansive and texturally advanced, and arguably their strongest outing since that lauded debut, this is a welcome second coming. [Gary Kaill] Playing Manchester Albert Hall on 8 Feb 2015 www.interpolnyc.com

However, that analogy isn’t as accurate as it is terrible; there’s some progression and refinement at work throughout The Physical World for sure. Tone-changing middle-eights and rousing codas on the likes of Trainwreck, and Right On, Frankenstein add some variety while the title track finale is practically a prog freakout in comparison to all before it. And while production is still of course as you’d expect, both Jesse Keeler and Sebastien Grainger seem happier to strip back to their more poppy undercoat with centrepiece duo Crystal Ball and White Is Red. The Physical World is a secondary salvo that hits its mark with aplomb – let’s hope Death From Above’s next shot isn’t so long in loading up. [Darren Carle] Playing Manchester Gorilla on 21 Oct and Glasgow Garage on 22 Oct deathfromabove1979.com

David Thomas Broughton & Juice Voice Ensemble Sliding the Same Way [Song By Toad Records, 22 Sep]

Dorian Concept

Joined Ends [Ninja Tune, 22 Sep]

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It’s hard to feel totally at ease during Sliding the Same Way. Maybe it’s due to lyrics like 'I killed a man with a broken glass' in the opening song – a confession sung first in David Thomas Broughton’s sepulchral croon, then repeated in the light choral tones of collaborators Juice Voice Ensemble.

Or maybe it’s because the semi-improvised music never quite settles into a familiar shape, instead staying fluid, strange and wholly distinctive throughout. The various players’ malleable larynxes create an array of unusual textures and effects – whistling birdsong, staccato groans, spectral arias, beatboxed coughs – and it’s easy to forget that most of what’s heard was performed a cappella in a single take, accompanied only by Broughton’s plucked six-string. Fifty-one minutes is a long time to sustain such curious witchery, and the aesthetic flags on some of the album’s longer tracks; in all other regards, however, this is an unorthodox beauty. [Chris Buckle]

It’s been a five year wait for a new full-length album by gifted Austrian producer Dorian Concept. He’s released some club-oriented, delightfully skewed beats along the way, not least the sublime 2011 EP Her Tears Taste Like Pears. He’s performed with the Cinematic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, and remixed artists such as Cid Rim, Leatherette, and Nosaj Thing. Joined Ends is a confident step forward from all of this work, incorporating lush analogue synths, fuzzed-out vocal performances, and subtle, nuanced control over melody.

It’s hard to fault, or to pick highlights from, although Mint’s Daedelus-like, sinuous rhythm and lush organic tones are particularly exquisite, and the sparse, shimmering garage of Draft Concept, redolent of Martyn’s artful take on post-dubstep, enchants. Varied, textured, gorgeously produced, and with a light and airy sense of space, it’s a beautiful work, communicating a sense of craftmanship from its opening riff to its final beat.

[Bram E. Gieben]

David Thomas Broughton plays Electric Circus, Edinburgh on 14 Sep.

ninjatune.net/artist/dorian-concept

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Goat

Ital

Homeboy Sandman

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Commune [Rocket Recordings, 22 Sep] This mysterious Swedish collective certainly got chins-a-wagging in 2012, thanks to the sheer scope of their all-action psych-rock. This second LP picks up where debut World Music left off, picking purposefully at the same threads of pulsating hypno-groove. Caught unawares, you might mistake the San Francisco vibes of To Travel The Path Within for pure retro pop, yet amidst Commune’s wired and wonderful textures, it feels infinitely more complex than that.

Listen long enough and this record will do strange things to your mind – the Eastern-tinged guitar motifs of opener Talk To Gods don’t really alter much throughout the course of the song, but towards the last of its six minutes, they seem to unravel chaotically, strapping onto your synapses and pulling them down into the heart of the groove. By the time Gathering Of Ancient Tribes rolls around, they’re bordering on the transcendental – enigmatic, ebullient music that feels like its best secrets are buried tantalisingly within. [Will Fitzpatrick] Playing Liverpool International Festival Of Psychedelia on 27 Sep and Glasgow’s SWG3 on 28 Sep

Endgame [Planet Mu, 8 Sep] People were only just about getting to grips with Ital’s matrix-weaving series of EPs when he dropped his debut full-length for Planet Mu in 2012, a manically-warped take on house that stretched the genre’s conventions and structures beyond simple subversion, into a dark realm full of half-transmissions and intermingling sound nuggets.

We should now know what to expect from the New York producer, but Endgame is a delicious listen of catacombs and unforeseen exit points nonetheless.

Rooted around more rigid techno structures, there’s a dusty feel to Endgame, the relentlessly discomforting tremor of Whispers In The Dark and the asphyxiating atmosphere of Beacon billow with mushroom particle clouds on the impact of each beat, illuminated only by half-light. The record emerges into the shimmering light of day on a couple of occasions – on the chiming hiend of the title-track, and the panorama of Dancing – but quickly returns to its quietly discordant rattle and hum.

[Simon Jay Catling] www.planet.mu/artists/ital

goatsweden.blogspot.com

Hallways [Stones Throw, 1 Sep] With production handled by DJ Spinna, Jonwayne, a clutch of emerging beatmakers, and a fantastic contribution from minimalist composer Josef Van Wissem, Homeboy Sandman’s second full-length album for Stones Throw has enough complex, witty wordplay and dizzyingly experimental beat-work to satisfy any alternative hip-hop fan. Lead single America, The Beautiful, produced by Jonwayne, packs a devastating satirical lyric both laugh-out-loud funny and searingly insightful. The surreal, minimal Loads features a brilliant guest verse from Blu over a stripped beat. Activity’s lurching double-time raps and over-clocked string samples are as infectious as they are challenging.

An almost perfect marriage between the more ambitious, lyrics-focused artistry of East Coast hip-hop and the pioneering beat-work of the West Coast, this album is a strong argument for Homeboy Sandman’s increasing significance as a writer – an heirin-waiting to vocabulary-rich artists like Aesop Rock, but with a stoned, deceptively throwaway delivery like Madlib.

[Bram E. Gieben] www.stonesthrow.com/homeboysandman

Bronto Skylift

Martin Carr

Love Inks

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Date with a Ghoul [Self released, 11 Sep] From the opening bars of Bird Catcher, Bronto Skylift grab you by the scruff of the neck and pin you against the wall. Ordinarily, when confronted with this kind of brutal guitar, feverish drumming and frantic vocals, you would turn the music down and give yourself time to consider what the fuck had just come roaring out of your speakers. But Date with a Ghoul compels The Skinny to turn it up louder. This is a driving but strangely infectious mass of a record.

Credit is due to Jamie Savage at Chem19 for capturing this raw power on tape. ‘You can’t change me though you try!’ screams Niall Strachan on the appropriately titled Stormer, sounding like a direct challenge to the man at the mixing desk as Iain Stewart’s drumming prowess scales new heights. Cynics might say they’ve been tamed since their early days of hardcore jamming. Ignore them and laugh; this is a bold and brilliant album. Brace yourself for the live shows. [Chris McCall] Playing Nice ‘n’ Sleazy on 11 Sep brontoskylift.bandcamp.com

The Breaks [Tapete Records, 29 Sep] Two decades since the UK alt scene was trampled by the bovver boots of Britpop, fondness for the era grows apace. Thankfully, nostalgia appears to have kept its head, with more lobbying for the return of, say, Ride than the mid-table likes of Kingmaker. And as for The Boo Radleys? Initially bench-warmers for the burgeoning scene, they eventually hit paydirt with fourth album Wake Up! and its airwave-chomping single Wake Up Boo! The suspicion that their return would inspire polite interest rather than hysteria, though, is an unfair reflection of the continuing Scouse nous of leader Martin Carr. Equally at home with documenting domestic intimacies ('The day’s first kiss feels like a fist' – Mainstream) as it is celebrity culture (Senseless Apprentice), The Breaks is a modest but heartfelt work. It’s typified by the closing title track, a considered and compassionate coda whose 'If the breaks don’t come, we’ll just get by without them' refrain is universal and true. [Gary Kaill] www.twitter.com/martin_carr

Exi [Republic of Music, 8 Sep] …In which the Austin trio further refine their minimalist sound to yet more sombre proportions. Where jangling guitars once nagged and prodded atop simplistic electronics, here single chords hang heavy and suggestively between phrases, leaving Sherry LeBlanc’s gentle sighs to carry the melody. These hushed textures initially obliterate each track’s distinguishing features, until you’re hooked by an emotive sophistication generated almost entirely by space and nuance.

As ever with Love Inks, it’s difficult not to think of Young Marble Giants when the indie veterans’ ideas are co-opted so efficiently, but to reduce the younger band to post-punk pilferers is to denigrate their knack for excellent songs. 'Give me a break / Give me your lungs hollowed out,' goes opener Shoot 100 Panes Of Glass, where subtle character sketches lend morose beauty to a compelling hook. Meanwhile Kevin Dehan’s subtly-deployed basslines lend propulsion to the sterling title track; bewitching brilliance for lamplit nights alone. [Will Fitzpatrick] loveinks.com

58

Review

RECORDS

THE SKINNY

Perfume Genius

Half Japanese

Sinkane

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Too Bright [Turnstile, 22 Sep] Promises that Portishead’s Adrian Utley has helped Mike Hadreas turn his sound on its head for his third record may be a little exaggerated – but not by much. It’s still that effortlessly histrionic tumble and soar vocal of his that grabs the headlines on Too Bright, but it has to compete with an overcast atmosphere and a turbulence beyond the fragile sorrow of his earlier work.

My Body and Grid are striking in their ominous army-summoning drum thunder – PJ Harvey’s drummer John Parish is again involved – and perforating electronic shards that pull the tracks towards a flashing chaos. Lead single Queen is a defiant retaliation against his former gay panic, Hadreas sneering “no family is safe, when I sashay” with a new found scorn. Something’s changed within the vocal trapeze artist, and though No Good is a return to a more brittle familiarity, there’s a hard spine to Too Bright hitherto unseen. [Simon Jay Catling]

Overjoyed [Joyful Noise, 1 Sep] Oh, Jad Fair! A true rival to Guided By Voices’ Robert Pollard in the (mind-bogglingly) prolific indie veteran stakes, he’s also a testament to the power of unschooled and unfettered imagination, having penned scores of lo-fi classics without being bothered by such trivialities as learning how to tune a guitar. Overjoyed is the first album released under the Half Japanese moniker since 2001’s Hello, and guess what? It’s great.

A sense of optimistic romance dominates. “Don’t let your time pass you by,” he advises a lover during The Time Is Now, but such is the urgency of his wide-eyed delivery that it feels like he’s addressing each and every one of us. One for the world’s bedsits, all in all, but no less powerful for that – noisepop nuggets like We Are Sure and Our Love come doused with an inescapable joie de vivre, certain to burrow its way into the hearts of true believers everywhere. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Mean Love [DFA/City Slang, 1 Sep] Sinkane’s 2012 album Mars made a convincing case for Ahmed Gallab being the inheritor of Curtis Mayfield’s crown. On Mean Love, his delicate falsetto, the bright trumpet and flute stabs behind the vocals, the skittering percussion, all are still in evidence, as are the Sudanese and East African rhythmic patterns which give Gallab’s songwriting such an original twist. Opener How We Be revels in its low-slung, minor-key melodies and yearning lyrics. New Name brings the African influences to the fore, while Yacha is twined around a pleasingly funk-infused organ riff.

There’s nothing as overtly political as Mars’ standout track Runnin’. Tracks like Young Trouble lack the edge of his breakthrough, and digressions into country and western in the album’s second half are confusing at best. There’s a polish to Mean Love which is a sharp contrast to the grittier funk of its predecessor, the sum being a less ambitious outing overall. [Bram E. Gieben]

Pere Ubu

Pulled Apart By Horses

Vessel

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Carnival of Souls [Fire Records, 8 Sep] Roll up, roll up – but keep your wits about you.

Pere Ubu are back with Carnival of Souls, and judging by the album’s sustained air of menace, it’s the kind of carnival that will have you waking up the next day with a blinder of a headache and a missing kidney.

From the eerie organ sound of Drag the River to the abstract atmospherics underpinning Dr. Faustus (which reaches its ghoulish zenith with cries of “I’M DAAAAAMED!”), Carnival of Souls finds David Thomas’s art-rock stalwarts on more challenging form than last year’s Lady from Shanghai – itself no cakewalk for the casual listener. Tracks like Golden Surf II and Irene (noisy, propulsive rock and tender ballad respectively) provide key footholds amidst the unsettlement, while, elsewhere, echoes of Screaming Jay Hawkins and Mysterioso Pizzicato add to the sinister tone – making Carnival of Souls another fascinating wildcard in a career full of them. [Chris Buckle] Playing Manchester Band on the Wall on 15 Nov; Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms on 18 Nov and Glasgow CCA on 19 Nov www.ubuprojex.com

Nehruviandoom

Nehruviandoom (Sound of the Son) [Lex, 22 Sep]

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Blood [Best of the Best, 1 Sep] Pulled Apart By Horses have been successfully welding grimy blues rock to post punk sensibilities for some time. Third album Blood might not win over a new army, but those already tracking the Leeds band’s progress should certainly approve.

Their trademark sludgy guitars, occasional sweet melodies and Tom Hudson’s piercing howl are all present and correct. On Bag of Snakes you can almost feel the sweat flicking off a bundle of hair in front of you at one of their raucous shows, but it’s the full-on racket of You Want It and Skull Noir where they’re at their strongest.

That’s not to say Blood is all brawn and nae brains though – the hooks from Hello Men and Grim Deal will burrow into your consciousness and take some shifting. Reference points include The Jesus Lizard and Queens of the Stone Age at their most abrasive, and while no new ground is broken here, this is angry thrash done rather well. [Stu Lewis] Playing Glasgow Stereo on 22 Nov www.pulledapartbyhorses.com

Punish, Honey [Tri-Angle, 15 Sep] An album that begins with 12 seconds of almost unbearably tense silence, clashing, arrhythmic drum hits, drilling, and industrial noise will inevitably be called uncompromising, but Vessel’s austere, often challenging Punish, Honey is also sensual. The feral pounding of Red Sex, with its sinuously pitch-bent sirens, is redolent of a snake charmer’s dance. Drowned In Water and Light slowly unfolds graceful, funereal synths and warped tones, like a moth unfurling new wings.

There is ferocity in Euoi, and the cacophonous climax of Akin to Coal; Anima’s urgent, complex techno is buried under a VHS haze, de-rezzed to perfection. DPM’s rattling, over-clocked electro leaves you gasping for more, while Black Leaves and Fallen Branches powerfully evokes its title, like a graveside snapshot.

Vessel’s second full-length album once again showcases his masterful sound design, but where Order of Noise was guided by dub and techno, this feels like new ground being broken.

[Bram E. Gieben] tri-anglerecords.com

Spider Bags

Tricky

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Frozen Letter [Merge, 8 Sep]

Adrian Thaws [False Idols, 8 Sep]

The pairing of up-and-coming rap sensation Bishop Nehru and metal-faced veteran MF Doom might seem a strange one – Nehru’s been championed by big mainstream rap stars like Kendrick Lamar and Nas, while Doom remains the people’s champion of leftfield, abstract hiphop. Often Doom’s pairings with other rappers result in his best work – his tightly-constructed, effervescently weird imagery and triple-laced, complex rhyme patterns are a perfect companion for Nehru’s effortlessly slick, polished flow.

There are plenty of highlights, from the cartoonish beats of Coming For You, laced with brightly-coloured threats from Nehru, to the spaced-out pop-funk and surreal couplets from Doom on Disastrous. If the album has a flaw, it’s that Doom does not appear as a vocalist as frequently as you might hope – several tracks pair his skittish, schizophrenic productions with Nehru’s smooth flow, and his absence is felt. The duo leaves the listener wanting much more, which is no bad thing. [Bram E. Gieben]

Those bursts of skin-searing fuzz should do it: exhilarating heat courtesy of Dan McGee’s guitar, raising the temperature just enough to fry everything in its path. They’re handily layered across mouth-watering slices of prime garage rock, perfectly balanced on the line between worldly stoicism and righteous snot – so North Carolina’s Spider Bags can find space for Walking Bubble’s ruminatory sadguy strums amongst herky-jerky dance numbers like Japanese Vacation, and the rhythm remains unruptured. They’re not bad at this, you know.

The heads-down rumble of We Got Problems is the one moment where everything locks down to a furious caterwaul, as a guest solo from Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan wails away heroically; meanwhile, opener Back With You Again In The World builds from paint-peeling shuffles to a sax break that glows like The E Street Band drowning in toxic paint. “I’ll always be honest with you,” Dan intones through the chaos, and you believe him.

[Will Fitzpatrick]

Adrian Thaws is, of course, Tricky’s real name.

But don’t expect this album to reveal anything new about the Knowle West boy. Rather, Adrian Thaws is undeniably Tricky with all his trademark feverish whispers and ominous storytelling but it’s also his most cogent and focused album in years. Taking the unabashed hunger and rawness of last year’s False Idols, Adrian Thaws is a strikingly immediate, often abrasive album, which traverses the club and electronic influences over the course of his career.

Sounding sleekly modern rather than desperately modish, Tricky’s lyrical flourishes, touching upon political unrest (“My Palestine baby, I go to Gaza because it’s really love I’m after”) and vituperative ripostes (“Why don’t you… go and get fucked” repeats the chorus of Why Don’t You) can run a little glib, but the album shines amid the breathless female-male vocal interplay of I Had A Dream, the minimalist synth basslines and electro flourishes on lead single Nicotine Dream and the bare-faced swagger of Lonnie Listen. [Colm McAuliffe]

nehruviandoom.lexrecords.com

www.mergerecords.com/spider-bags

www.trickysite.com

The Vaselines

V Is For Vaselines [Rosary Music, 29 Sep]

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With their second album in five years, Kurt Cobain’s one-time “favourite songwriters in the whole world” can now claim to actually be more prolific than when they were first around in the late 80s. Frances McKee and Eugene Kelly haven’t yet felt the need to shift their sound on during this relative purple patch though – but when your songwriting chops are as effortlessly breezy as on V For Vaselines, why would you?

An album as edgy as a boiled egg, but as warmly comforting as your favourite shaggy jumper, tracks like The Lonely L.P. and Inky Lies’ playful vocal interchanges exemplify an endearingly infectious, succinct set of uplifting indie-pop anti-anthemia. Earth Is Speeding adds some lyrical urgency to proceedings, “moving too fast but it all seems so slow,” says McKee, offering a rare hint of the middle-aged duo struggling with the pace of the 21st century; for the most though, The Vaselines seem pretty at home nearly 30 years after first forming. [Simon Jay Catling] Playing Edinburgh Caves on 29 Sep www.thevaselines.co.uk

September 2014

Robert Plant

Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar [Nonesuch, 8 Sep]

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“The whole impetus of my life as a singer has to be driven by a good brotherhood,” says Robert Plant of his new album. Recorded with current touring set-up The Sensational Space Shifters it is, in his own words, “African trance meets Zep.” Much of Lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar is uncompromisingly true to that folk heritage: Little Maggie is a hot desert throb, a bustle of djembe drums and upright bass.

It has little in common with the restless roving that has characterised Plant’s recent work of late and yet, certainly when the electric guitars set Embrace Another Fall alight, it’s easy to trace a line to the psychedelic undertones of Led Zeppelin III or Physical Graffitti. Throughout, you marvel at the man’s continuing hunger.

With so many of his peers content to piss their riches, and their talent, up the wall, Lullaby… illustrates why there’s still little reason to point Percy at the porcelain. [Gary Kaill] Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters play Glasgow O2 Academy on 15 Nov

The Top Five 1 2 3 4 5

Death From Above 1979

The Physical World

Perfume Genius

Too Bright

Goat

Commune

Homeboy Sandman

Hallways

Robert Plant

Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar

www.robertplant.com

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Review

59

Ready to Bloom With a long-awaited debut solo LP featuring First Aid Kit’s Klara Söderberg finally out, Mancunian songwriter Jo Rose ponders whether he’s a singer songwriter or folk artist

“I

t’s not that I get uncomfortable when people call me a singer-songwriter – I am. But there’s a stigma attached to it, like I should be coming out and singing these lyrics that are rousing and totally autobiographical, when actually what I really love about music is the element of performance.” Jo Rose sits opposite The Skinny in the back room of a typically sedate Chorlton bar, de rigueur craft ales on tap, regulars bobbing in and out of the rain, some with dogs who receive a warmer greeting than their owners.

Rose’s Mancunian intonations mix with a trace of Irish ancestry to form a softly-spoken burr that doesn’t initially reveal its origins, as he quietly but assuredly deals with the two gaping pigeonholes that befall a solo musician with an acoustic guitar and a set of lyrics always freshly inked on his brain.

“It’s similar to the idea of being called a folk artist,” he continues. “There can be this perception that a folk artist will make these profound statements that everyone gets behind, but actually there are some characters that I adopt in my songs that I think I totally mistrust!” It’s not that Rose is averse to such heart-on-sleeve storytelling – influences from Neil Young to Gillian Welch, Gram Parsons to Ryan Adams, artists who’ve all bared their souls, are eagerly rattled off – but for him, writing lyrics and performing is something akin to acting. It doesn’t lessen the sense of engagement between the artist and his subjects, or make the vessels he creates to carry them any less authentic, while it also allows for a greater fluidity within the musical world that he’s created, offering a series of peepholes into it that go beyond the eyes of the first person. “There’s this Leonard Cohen quote from the documentary Bird on a Wire, where he says ‘sometimes you enter the song and it’s no problem at all, you feel welcome there; other times you’re rapping at the door and everybody knows it,’” Rose comments.

“That idea of this space not being your own, and of you having to go in as a performer or a guest is something I really like the idea of.”

It seems strange to say for a debut release by a hitherto largely unknown artist, but Rose’s first solo LP, Spurs, has been a long time coming.

Still only in his mid-twenties, he’s been performing in the public eye for around a decade, including being signed to a major record label, touring with the Manic Street Preachers, and recording with Radiohead and Stone Roses producer John Leckie before being dropped out the other end of the industry machine. This all came as frontman of Fear of Music, the sort of bratty rock fourpiece weaned on Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana and Radiohead, whose bubblegum rock racket was a sucker for teenagers living in the death throes of nearly half a century during which making a din was still an act of anti-parent rebellion.

The group were only in their mid-teens when they were signed, and though Rose’s transformation from a The Bends-era Thom Yorke-lite to a beautifully poetic, reflective storyteller has developed naturally with age, it’s still the sort of change that on the outside is the sort to have cynics trawling YouTube to smugly point out his past.

“I was more or less raised on country, roots and bluegrass; my parents would play it in the car all the time so I assimilated a lot of it,” says Rose by way of explaining his current guise. “I suppose the music I was listening to for Fear of Music was that sort of rebellious stuff you listen to for the sake of it – though it’s not something I’ve ever stopped listening to. I mean it was really fun, being in a band with all that bravado; but I’ve always been interested in making something more

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Interview: Simon Jay Catling Photography: Lucy Ridges

subtle and considered.”

Spurs itself bleeds back into Rose’s childhood in many ways, not just in the prairie-striding sway of country-inflected tracks like Balcony Doors and Another Name For Mercy, but also the way in which the music he listened to has resulted in an Americanised bent in his own voice, something he’s wholly comfortable about. “I don’t feel that’s something that’s radically inauthentic,” he explains, “I learnt to sing from American singers and you can see that through history – I mean Mick Jagger learnt to sing from American blues musicians.”

Then there’s his frequent use of religious imagery, partly a by-product of growing up with a strongly Catholic background on one side of his family and New Age influences on the other.

Neither are stances he aligns himself with, but lyrics such as “if God was on the scene as the countryside rolled indifferently by, every plant and tree would’ve caught fire” suggest a fascination on some level with religion, as well as the gentle extraction of the divine from the mundane in the line “in a passing car, I heard the chorus in the bars: ‘Hallelujah’ / I heard them in the street, singing all of their hymns.” In this sense Spurs reflects devotional music, the characters presented either striving for the ultimate or reacting to the epic; in either case there’s upper limit sought within the songs. “Another Name For Mercy is based on the idea of someone leaving a very oppressively religious space, and that line you mentioned is this character denouncing the idea of religious imagery, yet still allowing it to come into the song,” Rose says. “Look at someone like Nick Cave; he’s not particularly religious but he understands the power of such imagery… not that I’m saying I’m as good a songwriter as Nick Cave!”

“It’s been an odd record to work on because they were all the songs I wanted to throw away” Jo Rose

Against all that is the album’s wonderfully abrupt end. Mary’s Dress is the saddest song on the record, with the main character attending the funeral of his partner; it swells on a melancholic verse, an actual meeting of humanity with the afterlife after eight tracks of attempting to reach the beyond. Then there’s the black punchline “what am I gonna do with all these things I’ve brought for you, and all this fucking furniture?”

After a record lyrically searching for the epic, this sole obscenity speaks the loudest, a coarse direct expression in an album of eloquence. “All these songs are dramatically reaching for something, and that line’s so brutally material,” Rose smiles proudly. “It’s almost banal.”

The delicacy and timing of Rose’s delivery is such that he renders even album collaborators as distinguished as First Aid Kit’s Klara Söderberg and Canadian songwriter Gabriel Minnikin as mere supporting cast. Söderberg adds wistful harmonies on several tracks while Minnikin adds further guitar, banjo and backing vocals,

recorded in a small studio in Halifax. They’re among a cast of nine who helped realise the album, initially penned and performed in local bars and basements over a period of five years, into the deceptively deep arrangements that make up the delicate folds of its finished version.

Söderberg’s involvement came after Rose supported First Aid Kit at the Deaf Institute, the pair becoming huge fans of each other’s work, while he counts Minnikin and the rest as firm friends as well as fantastic musicians. “But it’s been an odd record to work on because they were all the songs I wanted to throw away,” he reflects. “I’d lived with some of these songs for four years so this was almost a case of turning them into something complete in order to abandon them.”

Rose then returns to another Bird on a Wire quote. “He’s saying how he wrote these songs a long time ago and now he’s in a position where he

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has to get up and parrot himself and how strange that is – and he’s right, it is. When I wrote King of Your Blue Eyes, for example, I had this idea of the world, that you had to shrink away from difference until you found this kind of unity; now I listen to it and I think it’s this obscene father figure who’s shouting all these impossible ideas at me! But I still love it…” There’s the feeling that, finally, after years of living with Spurs closely, he’s in effect giving it away by putting it out there. “I’m looking forward to that, though,” he says smiling warmly. “I’m looking forward to seeing how it gets on; it’s almost like it’s not mine anymore, but I’m still going to be going round speaking on behalf of it.”

Playing Manchester Mono on 13 Sep and Glasgow Old Fruitmarket with First Aid Kit on 16 Sep. Spurs is available digitally now facebook.com/jothomasrose

THE SKINNY

Get Up, Stand Up

WOZNIAK, Edinburgh post-rock collective from the fair streets of Edinburgh, Wozniak revel in ethereal fragility amid the power of crushing volume: true beauty from unfettered chaos. They are Sarah Cuthbert-Kerr, John Sinclair, James Urquhart & Simon Cuthbert-Kerr We stand for making loud noise with walls of feedback. We stand for keeping going until there’s nothing more to give. We stand for the power of noise to take you outside of yourself and provide a release, to evoke feelings and reactions and to let yourself get lost in the chaos. We stand for being part of a community of people who feel the same way, and for supporting those who are doing the same thing.

We have to communicate what’s inside us. The sound of Wozniak is the

Photo: David P Scott

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HALFRICAN, Glasgow he ragged rush of primal garage rock with two fingers to the mainstream. Glasgow’s Halfrican want the world, and they don’t care whether it feels the same. They are Sancho Büna, Choi Paul & Jet Jackson The group stands for true independence.

Sounds like a very clichéd value but with that comes confidence, and that breeds a more authentic artist – and in the run-up to the Scottish election, the idea of confidence is applicable to a country as well.

Halfrican was always meant to be an escape from Glasgow’s twee grey skies and damp air, however endearing and inspiring they can be. It began as a solo recording project, and quickly became a fully functioning band with the quick realisation that the influences and inspirations of the people involved were unlike anything

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combined influences and ideas of the different band members, brought together and expressed through our shared outlook. We don’t have a lot of lyrics, so we need to build our songs around a particular idea or reaction or mood using dynamics, momentum and noise. A lot of our songs are suggestive of moods rather than expressing things directly, but that doesn’t mean they’re vague – there are very tangible feelings of rage and sorrow in the songs. We’ve found that we’ve been able to connect with people who recognise their own sense of the world in our sound, and it’s exhibited in virtually everything the band does.

There’s an element of DIY to the band – we put on our own gigs and that gives us the chance to play with bands we like, and we’ve played for some brilliant promoters who work tirelessly to give bands exposure.

It might sound simplistic, but we really want people to continue to like what we do, and we hope that we can play with more great people in different places. We’re just about to start recording our debut album – hopefully that will be a fully realised statement of Wozniak’s sound.

Photo: Elinor Jones

Words: Will Fitzpatrick

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wozniak.bandcamp.com

that was happening anywhere.

The principle of a unique independent spirit is present in every aspect of Halfrican – looks, sound, licks.

We take inspiration from the classic aspects of teams, bands and gangs, but the ‘click’ cannot be faked. We share an unrelenting thirst to better ourselves and to continually move onwards, whilst also being cautious not to leave anything behind. We are outsiders as a band and as individuals within the Glasgow music scene – each of us has burned a lot of bridges, and it makes it all even more dangerous and exciting. We never set out to get in anyone’s face; we’re just us.

A united front is the best weapon against people who try to be difficult, or who are (just by nature) pricks. Of course anything different and independent will face opposition, and it’s something you have to be ready to face if you truly believe the status quo is shite – and you want to make a change. In an ideal world this philosophy and fearlessness would translate to everyone, the result being that people would be a lot more satisfied with their lives. halfrican.bandcamp.com

playing those riffs to other people in other sweaty rooms across the country. It’s fun and we want people to enjoy the same level of fun that we do.

Often people struggle with the idea that we can be serious about the music we make but not so much about our image, or the way we come across through all the ancillary stuff.

It’s always been a part of what we do, to have ALPHA MALE TEA PARTY, Liverpool a sense of humour about things but in a way that ll molten riffs and lurching time signatures, isn’t just slapstick and stupid; there’s always Liverpool trio Alpha Male Tea Party recently a more sinister edge to it, especially our song unveiled their latest album Droids – a veritatitles. It can be frustrating when people pick up ble weapon of math destruction. They are Tom on the garish nature of our image more than our Peters, Greg Chapman & Ben Griffiths creative output and use it as a way to paint us Really, truthfully and honestly we stand for negatively, but really that’s just what we do. We absolutely nothing. And that’s kind of the point – just get on with it and call them dicks while we’re not everything you do in life has to have meaning driving around in our family hatchbacks. Music is or subtext or agenda. We started Alpha Male Tea as much about personality as it is songs and for Party because we wanted to do something that us portraying ourselves through what we do, as was ours, free from any stereotypical ideals of punishingly pretentious as that sounds, is comwhat being in a band is and ultimately to create pletely central to it all. something that is completely honest and without alphamaleteaparty.bandcamp.com pretension, unlike this paragraph. None of us are under any illusion that we’re the most creative/ innovative band going, we just like playing riffs in a sweaty room together and, more recently,

Photo: Elinor Jones

Photo: David P Scott

Celebrating rebellious individuals, we asked four rising UK bands of various persuasions: what do you stand for?

ILL, Manchester anchester’s own ILL serve up art-damaged noisepop with heart and smarts.

Provocative, prescient and proudly feminist; and thrillingly discordant racket for your sick pleasure. They are Whitney Bluzma, Helen Shanahan, Fiona Ledgard & Sadie Noble We believe in being ourselves. We believe in creativity, experimentation and expression. We’re DIY; we won’t tolerate being told what to do. We produce our own recordings, make our own music videos and our own artwork. We believe in the power of subversion and disobedience. We believe in equality. We stand with queer and trans people.

We own every aspect of what we do.

Too often the dominant culture sidelines the people who don’t fit neatly into it. When you kick against that hegemony and express yourself truthfully, you have a voice. Society needs to have

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dissent and diversity in order for people to be truly free.

We make a noise.

A loud noise. There’s a lot of energy at our gigs. Our erstwhile percussionist Rosanne Robertson brought a lot of unconventional instruments to us: contact mics on vibrators, bomb shells, toys.

That playful irreverence continues to inspire us. ILL can’t be pigeonholed into any genre.

We’ll jump from a piano song about pinching Granny’s pills, to a full on noise jam, to a metal meltdown about meat. There’s total freedom.

It’s frustrating when people assume that because we’re an all female band, we don’t know what we’re doing, and patronise us. We get asked suspicious questions – “Do you hate men?”, “Are you a lesbian sex cult?” We mercilessly poke fun at these prejudices. We are fortunate to be able to say and do these things, to make songs criticising government, patriarchy, religious bigotry. We can be queer, loud, proud women. Globally, people risk arrest, imprisonment and even death for speaking up about these issues. In an ideal world, everybody would be free to love, sing, shout, scream and go around naked if they wanted to. And sound technicians would stop telling us what a decibel is. weareill.bandcamp.com

The Dr. Martens #STANDFORSOMETHING campaign represents people of different ages, backgrounds, occupations and personalities. Share your Docs style and what you stand for using the hashtag #STANDFORSOMETHING

September 2014

ADVERTISING FEATURE

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THE SKINNY

Beneath the Label: Lobster Theremin This month we lift the lid on Jimmy Asquith’s sonic lobster pot, as he talks spleen-rupturing techno and prepares the label’s first full length offering Interview: Ronan Martin

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t around this time last year, you could have been forgiven for raising a cynical eyebrow on being told to check out the first release from a fledgling new label called Lobster Theremin. An outlet with such a whimsical name could not really be serious in its endeavours, surely?

Yet such a name wedges in the brain and you just possibly went and gave that record a listen anyway. If so, it was probably around one minute into your first listen of Equation – the title track from Palms Trax’ debut EP – that your curiosity about this crustacean-referencing enigma was further stoked. By the time the track had finished, having been absorbed in its pulsating bass and drenched in its glistening synth and strings, you’ll likely have emerged with a considerable thirst for more from both the artist and the label.

Thankfully, that first record was no anomaly and 2014 has seen Lobster Theremin continue to establish itself as a venture very much worthy of your attention, continually diversifying its remit along the way. Whether through the searing techno of Snow Bone, a heady blend of acid and electro from Daze, or the continually dreamlike power of Palms Trax’ best efforts, the label has understandably gained many devotees among those with a penchant for full-bodied analogue jams.

Taking a break from a busy session putting together mail orders – an increasingly timeconsuming (though rewarding) chore, we suspect – label head Jimmy Asquith kindly answered some questions on the label’s mission.

The label’s output this year has been most impressive. I struggle to think of another label with such a seemingly mischievous aesthetic and tongue-in-cheek demeanour which has so quickly established itself as a ‘serious’ outlet.

The name ‘Lobster Theremin’, and that playful sketched logo, is increasingly associated simply with absorbing music and is maybe drawing more discerning nods than laughter and bemusement these days. How do you feel about that?

Thanks for the kind words and I’m chuffed you’ve been enjoying the output. I agree that the concept is quite daft in a sense, but I think maybe that distinction, along with the label’s musical output and visual concepts being a bit more ‘serious,’ means that soon the association becomes about the creative output that people are consuming, whether it be visual or musical.

It’s good to not take things too seriously, while simultaneously being dedicated to a more important cause: that of curating a quality and lasting product and experience.

The new record comes from Panthera Krause.

What can you tell us about that?

It was a case of luck and timing really. I was working in Kristina Records when his Yorikke 12” came out on Riotvan and was fully struck by it.

Everyone I recommended it to bought it instantly too. It had this really kind of naïve, MPC-based production value that made it sound fresh and immediate, plus the song-writing was top notch.

I then requested a bunch of tracks and from there we chose a few and he gave them a tweak for the release. Rules was always going to be a big one, although people are also going mad for the B2 Them Flutes. No-one’s openly praised Rewo yet though, which I find baffling as it’s my favourite track. When that sub bass comes in it’s just riding the groove-liner straight into the sun!

How would you account for the way the label has developed stylistically?

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I think so far we’ve managed to showcase a good number of the facets of how the label will be curated moving forward, although there are certainly themes and styles we’ve not quite touched on yet. All in all there are 20+ releases already planned out after the Panthera Krause release, and that’s just on Lobster Theremin and the black and white series. I think house has been the dominant genre so far but over the next few months there’s going to be a lot more techno and a very special electro release, plus some more leftfield and off-kilter bits.

Speaking of the white and black label series, what was the intention behind creating these offshoots?

The black label series is there to showcase a more pounding style of techno. The aim of the label isn’t to be a dance label per se, but to explore a range of themes. However, I do need an outlet for material which I feel is formally there to rupture spleens and for people to dance to from Friday night ‘til Monday morning. The white labels series is more to explore house music and more vintage styles.

Are there any plans to put out a long player from anyone?

It’s a timely question as one of the next releases will be our first album, a double LP from Chicago Jim. It was originally released on cassette and is an absolutely incredible showcase of vintage Chicago House. I actually imagined him to be a much older guy, but it turns out he’s a lot younger than I expected. I seriously can’t believe the moods he’s managed to create on that record; it’s a phenomenal body of work and is a 2xLP in a gatefold sleeve with original photography. It’s going to be a serious release!

“Budapest, Detroit, Chicago, Australia.

There’s really no border for this kind of thing” Jimmy Asquith

There are many apparent influences from classic Detroit and Chicago records running throughout the label alongside clear UK reference points. There’s also a shared eclectic dynamic and the DIY approach reminiscent of labels such as L.I.E.S in New York. How have your own tastes and your experiences of electronic music developed over the years and how do these factors determine the material you choose to put out?

It’s strange as I truly appreciate the early work of the 80s and 90s pioneers across house and techno, but what has always excited me more is new sounds and new talent. The way people take influences and tweak old ideas, or even just a refreshing take on a vintage style, can really enlighten how people perceive and experience music. It’s also rooted in the here and now and I feel that there’s definitely more room for label heads and curators who push genuinely talented new artists.

I think the similarity with L.I.E.S. extends to the passion for releasing new artists and also

the prolific rate at which we release records – although they’re definitely releasing more at the moment! Plus there’s some of the overlap in sound, but I think both labels have come from a different place. Most of the artists that have built the foundations of Lobster Theremin are not bound by location; most of them are not from London or even the UK. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not as tight knit. A lot of these artists were aware of each other online and for them to come together under a shared umbrella I feel is a good opportunity for all of us to build a unique group of international artists.

So do you intend to maintain close relationships with the producers on the label and build a catalogue around them, or do you see Theremin being more about continually unleashing new talent?

There’s a balance here. I’d thought about doing a Lobster Theremin night next year with every single artist who had released with us up until that point and realised that it would be 20 artists total with about 15 flying in, which is bonkers! But I work to maintain an ongoing dialogue with artists on the label. My Facebook chat literally pops up about 20 times a day with different people I’m chatting to about releases or shows or even just gear and jokes and memes. Route 8 and myself chatted for 9-10 months before he finally came

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to the UK and we got on like a house on fire, and that’s what I want for everyone on the label. Snow Bone, Manse and Ozel AB are in London, I fly out to see Palms Trax as he’s a close friend plus there are a number of future releasing artists over there too I try make time to see. Budapest, Detroit, Chicago, Australia. There’s really no border for this kind of thing. In terms of new talent there is literally so much that it’s coming out of my ears. I’m having to really knuckle down in terms of curating and making sure everything is the best it can be.

Finally, what’s the next order of business for the label and what can we expect going forward generally?

From September to November there will be three releases a month on Lobster Theremin with some material that’s been brewing since last year.

There’s a wealth of incredible techno in there and the black label will be getting pretty extended in that time! In the run up to October there’ll be another exciting announcement plus there’s loads of secret things I do that only people on the mailing list are aware of, but I suppose that’s why they stay on the mailing list. Under the surface there’s a lot more going on than people know about or would expect.

Panthera Krause’s Rules EP is out on Lobster Theremin now

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Clubbing Highlights W

Illustration: Thom Isom

e kick off in Edinburgh with a cheeky midweek outing as Witness bring in none other than Daniel Avery, surely one of the most talked about producers of recent years. Anyone to receive an early nod from Andrew Weatherall – not to mention from Optimo in the form of a release on their label – is bound to have something legit about him. Sure enough, last year’s Drone Logic, released through Phantasy, became one of the most acclaimed albums of 2013. With a style that blends elements of techno, acid and more ambient grooves, Avery managed to put together a record that pulses with the bass-induced vigour of club material, while also retaining something of a casual listening feel. Chuck in the fact he holds a residency at London’s revered Fabric and you have yourself an inviting prospect (Wed 3 Sep, Sneaky Pete’s, £8).

Next up we’re keen to see what all the Nightvision fuss is about. Unveiled in July, the series put together by promoters Musika and Xplicit is set to bring a host of big name talent to the capital over autumn and winter. This month sees the launch weekend split into two events, with drum ‘n’ bass stars Chase & Status among the guests appearing at part one (Fri 19 Sep, City, adv from £15/25). For part two, Russian techno diva Nina Kraviz, Chicago house mainstay DJ Sneak and Fuse London’s Enzo Siragusa take to the decks (Sat 20 Sep, Liquid Room, adv from £15/20).

It’s off to Cabaret Voltaire on 26 September, because any opportunity to see Omar S is an opportunity which must be taken. Over the past decade, Alex ‘Omar’ Smith has joined a long line of underground Detroit producers who have more than earned their stripes through consistently delivering deep house and techno which, quite frankly, shits all over much of the competition. With a back catalogue exhibiting equal parts soul and melody, equal parts brooding mechanical funk and always with something original to say, Omar S can rightly claim his place among the likes of Theo Parrish and Moodymann as a shining example of the Motor City’s house credentials (£10/12).

For our last Edinburgh outing, the second birthday of city-hopping party notsosilent looks like a very good shout as they will be joined by

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German production whiz and consistently in demand selector, Move D (AKA David Moufang) for the occasion. Surprisingly this will be his debut appearance in Edinburgh though we suspect the first of many. With a production career dating back to the mid 90s, Moufang has evolved his sound from more ambient techno leanings early on, to rich and often jazz-inflected deep house in more recent years. Having been a DJ since the late 80s, it goes without saying he has this party covered (Fri 26 Sep, Sneaky Pete’s, £10).

Heading over to Glasgow, and Slam’s longrunning Sub Club night Return to Mono this month delivers the goods with a live set from minimal techno godfather Robert Hood in his increasingly acclaimed Floorplan guise. Having carved out a signature sound in mesmerising minimal techno – inspiring countless others in the process – Hood’s more recent work has taken that hard edged sound and injected more of a soulful temperament into it. Still unrelentingly dancefloor, but perhaps appealing to house heads too, his tracks have rightly been doing the rounds a lot of late (Fri 12 Sep, £12 adv).

Friday 12 Sep could present a tricky decision for some as while Robert Hood takes to the Sub Club around the corner, New York’s Levon Vincent will be manning the turntables for part one of La Cheetah’s 5th birthday celebrations.

Offering a dark and dub-driven brand of house and techno, Vincent’s style perhaps owes as much to his current place of residence (Berlin) as it does to NYC. Much of the music he sculpts seems tailor-made for the shadowier recesses of the club and the intimacy of La Cheetah should make this one special indeed (£10).

Finally, towards the end of the month, we return to La Cheetah for one of the club’s longer running regular nights, CODE. On this occasion, they welcome David Flores AKA Truncate to the booth. Delivering uncompromisingly stern techno cuts on labels such as Mote-Evolver and his own self-titled imprint, Flores has more recently found a platform on Modeselektor’s increasingly varied 50 Weapons label. If his appearance at the Sub Club last year is anything to by, this one should go down a treat (Sat 20 Sep, £6/10).

[Ronan Martin]

DJ Chart: Steve O’Sullivan

After a long-awaited return to the techno fold, the Mosaic boss assembles eight slabs that define his craft Interview: Daniel Jones

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teve O’Sullivan has been a busy bee this year.

Not content with fostering three instalments of his Mosaic Split Series – Part Four, featuring solid efforts from Nail and Annie Errez, landed last month – the progenitor of dubbed-out techno on British soil is also set to revive his kinship with Ben Sims for the opening gambit of a new, tougher-sounding “Red Label” series. Both drops signal a statement of intent from O’Sullivan, to take Mosaic to another level following a near ten year hiatus.

There are also whispers of a forthcoming string of EPs for Sushitech, so it seems that there’s plenty more in the pipeline to appease any Bluespirit enthusiasts out there. In the meantime, why not viddy these hard-hitting selections plucked straight from the horse’s mouth – giddy up.

Steve Bicknell – Track 3 [Cosmic] One of the great underground heroes of UK techno returns with a four-track EP in typically dark and trippy style. Another master of the hypnotic minimal sound, and this is a great example.

Annie Errez – Auguste [Mosaic] You can’t do a chart without some shameless self-promotion, so here we go… this tune is on the most recent Mosaic release, and is an absolute belter. Having stopped the label for almost ten years, I decided I wanted to do things differently second time around and showcase new producers alongside the more established. This track is one of Annie’s two contributions to the fourth instalment in the series. It has everything that I love about music that crosses the techno and house divide – heavy raw drums, solid bass and a simplicity that avoids all the clichés that Floorplan – Never Grow Old (Re-Plant) [M-Plant] most music in the genre relies upon.

Robert Hood revamps two great cuts from last year’s fantastic Floorplan LP as only he can. This Bobby O’Donnell – Red [Strobewax] guy is the master of true minimal techno and Leeds-based imprint Strobewax are definitely a has maintained a level of quality control and rellabel to watch. Their three releases to date have evance over the last twenty-plus years that most been great examples of how to build upon the producers could only dream of. Fair to say, I’m a sound of the past, and I would’ve happily taken big fan! them all for Mosaic, which I guess says how much I love their stuff. Bobby O’Donnell’s track Red Joey Anderson – Sorcery [Dekmantel] is the bomb on this EP for me – techno-infused The album – After Hours – has been out for a house with a real UK edge… it doesn’t do much, while now, but it’s still well worth a mention. A lot but sometimes the best tracks don’t have to. of music these days can seem to lack a bit of soul and individuality but this one really works. It reNitzer Ebb – Shame [Mute] minds me in places of the classic Luke Slater and Taken from a bit of an oldie that I hadn’t listened Carl Craig LPs of the 90s with its use of well-worn to for a couple of years until recently. Touches of Detroit techno techniques and sounds. That’s not techno, EBM and industrial are thrown into the to say that this is just a retro fix; it’s quality from mix and it’s one of my all-time favourites. Some start to finish, and one that I can see myself still of the singles work better in their longer remixed listening to in years to come. Great stuff. form but, as a package this is classic and, dare I say it, timeless stuff.

Delta Funktionen – Silhouette (Marcel Dettmann remix) [Delsin] Prince Far I – Coming In From The Rock [Trojan] A superb remix from Marcel on one of the most This is what I put on when the wife is out and consistent labels around – Delsin. As someit’s time to turn up the sub… it takes me back to one who is known for his dub techno, I guess I when I was young and discovering dub for the shouldn’t really say that most of it sends me to first time. I think the first track of his I heard was sleep... but I guess I just have! Not much in this Bedward the Flying Preacher, which kinda blew genre really inspires as it’s incredibly derivative, me away when I first heard it. For the newcomer but there are, thankfully, a few standout guys to his sound this one may not be the most instant who are pushing the sound forward. I really love of albums, but there’s something about it that what Marcel has done here, I could easily have it always makes me come back even after all these on repeat all day. years.

CLUBS

THE SKINNY

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Own Art

Street Level Photoworks' Malcolm Dickson on a busy few months in the gallery

Open Dialogues RSA

rrrrr Featuring six newly distinguished names as an ode to New Contemporaries’ six years in existence, the Royal Scottish Academy teams up with GENERATION to deliver Open Dialogues.

Ernesto Canovas uses layers of oil and varnish to create two large paintings on canvas.

Both formats show a gradual dissolution of colour as starry blues, blacks and purples dominate one side and warmer pinks and oranges rage then fade into the other.

The darker, moodier canvas’s middle section is reminiscent of a spec from Mars, enlarged through ratio and left unfocussed. Not quite ethereal but in keeping with the spacey swirls of the resin-oil motion.

Adjacent to Canovas are the equally dreamy paintings from Eva Ullrich. Her five formats are absorptions of landscapes and environments. The tonal quality of Ullrich’s abstract works differs immensely, sometimes mellow and pale then suddenly rich with steely greys and copper flashes.

Interestingly, Geri Loup Nolan also reflects on serene settings as one video shows an Irish

Internet Curtains Tramway

rrrrr There’s an absence of straightforward flatness that comes up across the works in Internet Curtains. Iain Hetherington’s depiction of a Commonwealth cap protrudes from the canvas with a clumsy aggression, while Charlie Hammond’s tin foil paintings have been wrapped around some plates behind. More sculptural still, Alex Pollard’s screenprints are the fabric for slickly produced footwear.

Pollard’s perpendicularly arranged piles of cardboard draw attention to the just lop-sided hanging of Hetherington’s paintings, speaking to the rough and tumble of the cartoonish linedrawings of the sort of clouds that are just missing an all-caps 'KABLAMMO!' On these cardboard platforms, Pollard’s trainers and excessively dressy shoes are arranged in a manner that wouldn’t be out of place in a vulgarly expensive pop-up boutique.

So brand new, yet dated in their design, the footwear comes across as not fitting or robust enough for walking in.

Pollard’s floor-based pieces are often

September 2014

connection. All the media interconnect, especially the larger collage-prints showing graphic images of travel and skylines. Nolan’s largest piece, a dishevelled studio hiding at the very corner of the RSA’s gallery, can almost be mistaken for an actual workspace.

Across the hall, Nigerian-born Ade Adesina’s black and white etchings stem from his native country, where the brutality of modern development tears and rips through the wildlife and jungles.

The final two artists, Johnny Lyons and Stuart McAdam, choose similar media to exhibit their work: video installations, photography and progressive notes or objects that outline their process. Both artists exude a refreshing Scottish humour, particularly McAdam’s satirical cartoon of the ‘bloody artists.’

Lyons’ footage, however, shows him inhaling smoke from a gun while standing topless in a forest. Beneath the captured shots, a DIY bomb straddles the floor and neatly ignores the pedantry of political correctness.

[Franchesca Hashemi] RSA, Edinburgh, until 31 Aug

accompanied by his own paintings, and in this way there is a space for Hammond and Hetherington. In the face of the shoes’ and trainers’ industrial finish, Hammond’s not-straight lines and Hetherington’s painterly scribbles bring a greater sense of manual labour.

Contrasting the smooth flat cardboard of Pollard’s work, Hammond’s tin foils seem somehow both shrunken and bloated. Their cleaning product blues, hostel bed sheet pink and rusty brown lines colour the moment at which dirt meets bleach, and the substrate is as wrinkled as hand wrung clothes.

There’s a similarity to the sense of humour between the three artists, whether Pollard’s transformation into a brand of an outdated and unpopular music movement (Romo), or Hetherington’s self-deprecating rebranding of his There’s Wally series to include the Commonwealth cap. Hammond too takes a dig at himself, giving the impression (literally) that he’s wrapped his painting around some leftovers. It’s well-made work that can take a joke.

[Adam Benmakhlouf]

Ninja' by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

R

ecent months have neatly captured and conveyed the multi-faceted nature of our programming – from our contribution to GENERATION with the collected works of Wendy McMurdo, plus a diverse series of photography projects in public locations and offsite venues, including the Commonwealth Family Album, and the more participatory Caravan Gallery, whose portable gallery on wheels intersected with community locations across Glasgow. This all worked to ensure that a range of audiences could encounter quality photography work on the street, or in the more pristine environment of the gallery. It’s all about audience development, which ultimately has a knock on effect – be it visiting the gallery, joining a course, buying a photograph. And coming back for more.

The Commonwealth Family Album was devised with Festival 2014 to present a series of photography works in public places, looking at the edges on priority routes around the city during the Games time. Its broad aim was to show works which we felt were a good fit with the theme of celebrating people who make up the Commonwealth today, across different facets of daily life. The work was varied, from David Gillanders’ portraits of boxers in Glasgow’s East End, to a 50m collage of photography from Cranhill Arts’ Glasgow Family Album, Alex Rotas’ portraits of Master Athletes, Lucy Aston Holmes Queer Windows… A limited selection will be available to buy in our shop in due course.

We’re gradually adding special editioned prints from relevant exhibitions to the shop, such as the melancholic yet contemplative works from Martin Hunter’s Forth & Clyde series, Johan Nieuwenhuize’s abstract colour tone pieces in _IMG, and Wendy McMurdo’s edition.

We’re working with a couple of photographers on special editions to which we will give a focus profile – for example, some fabulous still lives by young artist Kotryna Ula Kiliulyte, atmospheric rugged landscape works from Alex Boyd...

These and more will unfold over several months and we will have some special events to draw attention to them.

We will continue to stock regular items in the photography of Harry Papadopoulos, David Peat, and Hugh Hood. It takes a considerable period of time to get sales going in photography especially – we are not on the fashion bandwagon and we are neither a supermarket nor a shoe shop that needs to change its products every week. Art has a different import which is not fickle or transitory – it is long lasting and the development of a market starts with the individual buyer and their liking for a work of photography.

Going the Distance, Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine til 28 Sep, then Eastwood Park Gallery, Giffnock from 13 Oct streetlevelphotoworks.org ownart.org.uk

Tramway, Glasgow, until 19 Sep

ART

RUN, JOG OR WALK 5K OR 10K EDINBURGH WINTER WARMER Sunday 2 November

GLASGOW WINTER WARMER Sunday 16 November

Sign up at bhf.org.uk/ winterwarmers

FIGHT FOR EVERY HEARTBEAT bhf.org.uk

Review

65

September Film Events T

A Most Wanted Man

A Dangerous Game

Director: Anthony Baxter Starring: Donald Trump, Alec Baldwin Released: 12 Sep Certificate: PG

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Attila Marcel

Director: Sylvain Chomet Starring: Guillaume Gouix, Anne Le Ny, Bernadette Lafont Released: 5 Sep Certificate: 12A

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In Anthony Baxter’s 2011 documentary You’ve Been Trumped, a group of residents of Aberdeenshire opposed Donald Trump and his attempts to transform a stretch of coastline into a luxury golf course. With A Dangerous Game, Baxter revisits the same residents — many of whom are still coping with the fallout — while examining the damaging impact of similar highprice golf resorts in various other countries. The filmmaker interviews a few frustrated activists and a handful of dismissive politicians along the way, but the highlight is a face-to-face showdown with Trump himself.

The film bubbles over with anger, but it’s a little too righteous and one-sided for its own good. Baxter presents us with some damning statistics (the Aberdeenshire course created fewer than 200 jobs when it was supposed to provide 6000), and the material he offers up makes for fascinating viewing. But the way Trump is vilified — though he’s not undeserving — is somewhat simplistic and reductive. Put simply, the issues at hand are more complicated than the picture would have us believe. [Stephen Carty]

The last few years have seen some of modern animation’s most acclaimed directors make forays into live action. Notably, Brad Bird and Andrew Stanton made the jump from Pixar to, respectively, the Mission: Impossible franchise and John Carter. With Attila Marcel, Sylvain Chomet (The Illusionist) follows that same path, albeit with a fairly modest feature in his native France.

Mute piano player Paul (Gouix) lives with his overprotective aunts and longs for his deceased parents, whose exact cause of death when he was an infant has eluded him for decades. He strikes up a friendship with kooky neighbour Madame Proust (Le Ny), whose drugged teas help him explore his memories, while some absurdist, mostly irritating comedy surrounds this main storyline.

Attila Marcel admittedly avoids pummelling one with as much whimsy as Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s worst efforts, whose films it somewhat resembles in story and tone, but there’s not much here to really engage with; Chomet carries over little expressiveness from his animations to live action filmmaking.

It’s never awful, but it’s always flat. [Josh Slater-Williams]

At Berkeley

A Most Wanted Man

Director: Frederick Wiseman Released: 12 Sep Certificate: PG

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Director: Anton Corbijn Starring: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams Released: 12 Sep Certificate: 15

Frederick Wiseman’s films are the purest examples of documentary filmmaking that it’s possible to find. There are no onscreen captions in his films, no music and no interviews; he simply sets up his camera and captures life with it.

In At Berkeley Wiseman’s subject is ostensibly the University of California at Berkeley, allowing us to explore the campus from the perspective of both students and staff, but his real concern is something larger and more universally resonant. As board members struggle to cope with increasingly tight budgets, and students protest against cuts, the film highlights the uncertain future of public education in today’s economic climate, and asks what price we can place on something that is so integral to the future of so many.

Hypnotically edited and intellectually stimulating, At Berkeley doesn’t feel a minute too long, even at four hours. Wiseman’s subtle artistry and insatiable curiosity has resulted in yet another masterwork, and it is further proof that he should be regarded as one of the world’s most vital filmmakers. [Philip Concannon]

Philip Seymour Hoffman dominates as German spy-master Gunther Bachmann in Anton Corbijn’s old-school espionage yarn. As is economically established, Bachmann is tracking Chechen-Muslim refugee Issa (Dobrygin), who, upon his arrival in Hamburg, is soliciting the help of a human rights lawyer (McAdams) to claim an inheritance. Believed to have ties with radical Islam, his motives cause concern to the authorities.

This is one of Hoffman’s final performances. It’s also one of his finest, taking a man who could have easily fallen into caricature – hard drinking, solitary, gruff – and constructing a believably flawed but stoic figure. The politics of the piece are equally well played, with Bachmann’s long-game approach to counter-terrorism coming into conflict with the gung-ho US operatives. Corbijn, though, never preaches. The elegance with which he attacks this quiet, contemplative tale about security and duty is as expected from his previous work; it may build gradually to its gut-punch finale, but gorgeously so. And you simply can’t take your eyes off the hulking anti-hero at the centre of it all. [Chris Fyvie]

Maps to the Stars

Director: David Cronenberg Starring: Evan Bird, Robert Pattinson, Julianne Moore Released: 26 Sep Certificate: 18

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Maps to the Stars is not a coherent whole, but rather an assemblage of sadistic caricatures of various Hollywood types – the washed-up and neurotic former star (Moore), the too-much-too-soon pre-teen brat superstar (Bird), the chauffeur who longs to act (Pattinson), etc. We’re meant to be disgusted by their shallowness, selfishness, avarice, but it’s difficult, because the whole thing rarely rises above in-jokey parody, and we hardly ever care enough about the characters to feel anything at all.

There’re a few attempts at pathos, but really it’s a film that deals in almost absolute irony, and it’s terrifying for it. Not terrifying in the usual Cronenbergian sense, but terrifying in that a director of Cronenberg’s ability actually believes such a film is worth making, has something human to impart. Because, finally, it isn’t, and it doesn’t. The irony’s corrosive all right, but what else is it doing here other than corroding? What are we left with by the satire’s end? Nothing but a few good jokes. [Kristian Doyle]

66

Review

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Finding Fela!

Director: Alex Gibney Starring: Fela Kuti Released: 5 Sep Certificate: 15

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The documentaries that roll off the Alex Gibney production line tend to be at their best when the filmmaker is investigating a big story. Films like Mea Maxima Culpa, We Steal Secrets or Taxi to the Dark Side are assembled with a journalistic rigour and the rhythm of a great thriller, but Gibney’s attempts to document the lives of artists have proven less successful.

Finding Fela! is as slick a piece of filmmaking as we have come to expect from Gibney, and it certainly manages to cover an admirable amount of ground, but this portrait of Fela Kuti only impresses in its breadth rather than its depth. As he cuts between a straightforward rendition of Fela Kuti’s eventful life and times and the creation of the Broadway musical Fela!, Gibney never seems entirely sure what the focus should be. Finding Fela! boasts some striking footage and terrific music, but it also feels baggy and inconclusive, and an object lesson in why singular, groundbreaking artists shouldn’t have their stories told in such conventional ways.

[Philip Concannon]

FILM

he newly established Scottish Queer International Film Festival presents its inaugural event this month, a screening of Tomboy (CCA Glasgow, 12 Sep). This award-winning French film, about a ten-year old girl who moves to a new town and presents herself to as a boy to the neighbourhood children, will be introduced by the SQIFF team as part of the lead-up to the main festival in September 2015. As well as the movie, there’s a selection of short films also screening.

A short season of European films, Blues in the Night, is showing at the GFT this month.

With movies spanning five decades, the season provides a chance to see how European filmmakers adapted the stylish, sombre style of classical Hollywood noir made popular in the 1940s.

Beginning with Manchester-set crime drama Hell is a City (6 & 8 Sep), the line-up also includes influential filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville’s last film, Un Flic (13 & 15 Sep), as well as Lars von Trier’s dystopian noir The Element of Crime (20 & 22 Sep) and Three Monkeys (27 & 29 Sep), from Nuri Bilge Ceylan. All the Saturday screenings will be introduced by academic and critic Dr Pasquale Iannone.

Both the DCA in Dundee (7 Sep) and the Cameo in Edinburgh (10 Sep) are offering audiences a chance to experience John Waters’ 1981 film Polyester as it was initially intended – in glorious, stinky Odorama. One of the trash director’s collaborations with iconic performer Divine, the addition of scratch ‘n’ sniff cards enable viewers to be truly immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of Waters' alternative suburban comedy.

Fans of ultra-deadpan cult star Bill Murray shouldn’t miss the Bill Murraython happening at the Grosvenor throughout the month. Four films are showing: Stripes (17 Sep), about two friends who decide to join the army for fun; What About Bob? (21 Sept); Kingpin (24 Sept); and Rushmore (28 Sept), the first of many collaborations between Murray and writer-director Wes Anderson.

Several sites (Grosvenor, GFT, Cameo) are showing a special screening of Nick Cave’s new film, 20,000 Days on Earth (17 Sept). A kind-of documentary, the film follows the multi-talented musician over the course of a fictional 24 hour period. With appearances from a number of the Bad Seeds and other friends and collaborators, the eagerly anticipated film has already won an award at Sundance Film Festival. This preview screening will be followed by a special satellite event featuring performances by Cave and special guests. [Becky Bartlett]

THE SKINNY

Benny & Jolene

Night of the Comet

Shivers

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Director: Jamie Adams Starring: Charlotte Ritchie, Craig Roberts Released: 15 Sep Certificate: 15 Nowhere near as irritating as the following description suggests, this ultra-low-budget indie teen movie is a cautionary tale of sacrifice and compromise. The titular Benny and Jolene are young folk musicians touted for mainstream crossover success, having inadvertently acquired a pushy manager, spaced-out roadie and gormless PR guru. With pressure applied to them from all directions, the duo spend 80 minutes struggling to retain their integrity, a revolving cast of grotesques showing up to bellow things like “grow up and get your tits out!”

Despite its pedestrian premise, the film’s gentle disillusionment feels particularly insightful, writer/director Jamie Adams steering clear of tired music-biz clichés in favour of sharp characterisation. As the will they/won’t they leads, Charlotte Ritchie and Craig Roberts have charm to burn and a nice line in improvised banter. The product of theirs and Adams’ labours may be somewhat slight, but it’s also very lovely indeed. [Lewis Porteous]

Director: Thom Eberhardt Starring: Sharon Farrell, Michael Bowen Released: 22 Sep Certificate: 15 Fans of 80s cheese will likely eat up Night of the Comet with a gagworthy spoon. With its B-movie horror aesthetic, campy Valley Girl dialogue, and shopping montage set to Girls Just Want To Have Fun, the film veritably screams 1984 (in the fun, non-Orwellian sense).

Set in a post-apocalyptic LA following the titular comet’s cataclysmic brush with Earth, the film follows the teenage Regina, her ditsy sister Samantha, and fellow survivor Hector as they fight off the zombified denizens who escaped full-on obliteration. Reg is a rare breed in a genre film: smart, capable, unapologetically sexual, and self-possessed. And the movie’s positive representation of otherness (including the Hispanic Hector) would shame many made in 2014, especially in horror. Comet is much more of a comedy anyway, mixed with a dash of sci-fi conspiracy and Tromastyle schlock shocks. Its style is cheesy and dated, sure, but its outlook is surprisingly forward-thinking. [Michelle Devereaux]

Director: David Cronenberg Starring: Vlasta Vrana, Joe Silver Released: 29 Sep Certificate: 18

Shivers, which introduced erstwhile ‘King of Venereal Horror’ David Cronenberg to the world stage, was at one point renamed They Came from Within. But the original title is much more apt: if its nastiness, nihilism, and depravity doesn’t give you at least one shuddering chill down your spine, you’d best get your head checked.

The film’s set in a modern (for 1975) Montreal apartment complex where phallic, slug-like parasites, “part aphrodisiac, part STD,” are unleashed on unsuspecting residents. The quasi-comical conceit turns queasy when they quickly spread, bursting from host to host in a literal orgy of frenzied sexual carnage – mostly in the form of assault, although once everyone has been infected it’s pretty much a sex zombie free-for-all. Cronenberg doesn’t just wallow in sleaze, however: he also cynically rebukes the naïve narcissism of 60s-style ‘free love’ through perverse parody. When total freedom from societal restraint gives way to biological enslavement, the brainless bugs have won. [Michelle Devereaux]

Madame DuBarry

Bad Neighbours

300: Rise of an Empire

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Director: Ernst Lubitsch Starring: Pola Negri, Emil Jannings Released: 22 Sep Certificate: PG “I think it’s outrageous that the king is carrying out his affairs of state here in his mistress’s pleasure palace.” With this gem from 1919, Ernst Lubitsch found the cloak of historical accuracy enough to mask his salacious tendencies before a prudish public. Madame DuBarry is a lavish, bedroom-bound epic which created such a demand for German cinema that nervous Hollywood studios promptly set about courting the director and his star Pola Negri, lest their product would be sidelined without the pair’s involvement.

Madame DuBarry shows the young Lubitsch as an artist of great range and points toward his later, better-known achievements. In Negri, meanwhile, we find an electrifying screen presence on par with Louise Brooks and perhaps even Marilyn Monroe.

The movie’s sexual politics may be of their time, but, as Negri exchanges favours with Emil Jannings’ smirking King Louis XV, it’s clear that a primitive magic is taking place. [Lewis Porteous]

Werner Herzog - A Guide for the Perplexed

By Paul Cronin

Director: Nicholas Stoller Starring: Seth Rogan, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne Released: 8 Sep Certificate: 15 What do you do if the neighbours won’t keep the noise down? New parents Mac (Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Byrne) are faced with this problem in Nicholas Stoller’s latest comedy, as their quiet suburban life is upset when a party-loving fraternity moves in next door.

Though both households reach an agreement, relations soon deteriorate and the Radners find themselves waging war with frat president Teddy (Efron) and his booze-chugging brotherhood.

The main problem with the various pranks that follow is that they generate few laughs. There are one or two amusing lines (“He looks like something a gay guy designed in a laboratory!” states Mac after seeing Teddy), but in general the improv-heavy exchanges are hit-and-miss. While Efron is perfectly cast as the unfeasibly chiselled frat king, the film’s most interesting thread — Teddy’s dawning realisation that his post-college prospects aren’t great — is the element that receives the least attention. [Stephen Carty]

Director: Noam Murro Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green Released: 29 Sep Certificate: 15 Part prequel, part sidequel (parallelquel?) and part sequel, this belated follow-up to Zack Snyder’s 2007 epic, 300 details how previous antagonist Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) became a towering god-king, but the focus is an ongoing sea battle between the Athenian fleet and the Persian navy. Leading the former is Themistocles (Stapleton), a war hero who attempts to hold off Xerxes’ vast armada until the forces of Greece unite.

What follows is another stylised orgy of hacking and slashing.

Incoming director Noam Murro adopts the same hyper-real visual style as Snyder, but the imagery and fight sequences feel more derivative than distinctive, while Stapleton doesn’t possess the same commanding presence as the previous film’s lead, Gerard Butler. Still, the film is worth watching for Eva Green, who devours everyone in her path as Xerxes’ ferocious second-in-command.

[Stephen Carty]

H is for Hawk

The Causal Angel

Flanagan’s Run

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By Helen Macdonald

By Hannu Rajaniemi

By Tom McNab

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As one might expect from a 493 page conversation with the filmmaker Werner Herzog, the most explosive moments come in the form of confrontations with his cultural bedfellow and bête noir, the late actor Klaus Kinski. It’s a shame then when he dispels the well-worn myth of directing him at gunpoint during Fitzcarraldo, as it makes a glorious and accurate metaphor. Kinski was a histrionic man for whom the camera was always running as he sashayed around the jungle in tailored fatigues by YSL. Herzog’s danger existed in reality, behind the lens – a promise to shoot Kinski if he abandoned set.

These pages speak his Teutonic drawl so clearly – there is no quickening of pace even as he drops in the most extreme detail. Contradicting his dismissal of his and Kinski’s love/hate relationship is the admission that ‘at one point I did seriously plan to firebomb him in his home.’ Their relationship spices the mix of this book rather than overpowers it and there is much more of interest, including rogue theories on guerrilla filmmaking in reference to his maverick works.

This can be an unwieldy tome and difficult to navigate. Cronin asks the right questions and edits well, but subject headings are loose and it meanders as conversations do, which makes this awkward as a reference resource. A Guide for The Perplexed is more an opportunity to uncover gems of insight and moments of madness, a gaze into the abyss. [Alan Bett]

Already hailed as a classic of the genre, H is for Hawk is a rich blend of memoir, biography and natural history. Broken by the grief of her father’s death, Helen becomes obsessed with fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a falconer. As a child she reads everything about falconry, including T.H. White’s The Goshawk, in which he struggles and mostly fails to train the bird. Despite the trauma and cruelty of White’s experience, she buys a goshawk and retreats inside the intense relationship of taming such a wild and ferocious thing.

‘It is not a biography of Terence Hanbury White,’ writes Helen, ‘but White is part of my story all the same. I have to write about him because he was there.’ As Helen develops a deeper relationship with the hawk, so her connection to White deepens, too. The book is thick with White’s life, as well as Helen’s, the two struggles connected by the hawk, by their enchantment with the trickiest of birds of prey to tame. The prose is energetic, fast-moving, and dappled with metaphors drawn from the natural world.

For the most part this style is fresh and surprising, but at times it can feel a little overwritten.

Helen’s skill, however, is to cover so much beneath the camouflage of ‘nature writing’ – with perceptive, far-reaching and rather beautiful results. [Galen O’Hanlon]

With The Quantum Thief, Hannu Rajaniemi set a new standard for science fiction that dared to imagine a post-human future. With its sequel, The Fractal Prince, he successfully built on his narrative foundations to add a greater depth to his characters – not least the gentleman thief Jean le Flambeur – and an added strength to his ideas. So it’s something of a relief to report that the trilogy’s conclusion, The Causal Angel, doesn’t disappoint.

Following closely on after the cataclysmic events that brought the second book to a close, Rajaniemi expertly shapes a novel that, while requiring concentration and a good memory, continually rewards with its ideas, imagery and heart-felt tale of one man’s determination to do the right thing in order to remain true to who he once was.

Certainly The Causal Angel can feel a daunting read – jumping into this novel is certainly not recommended without having read the first two – in part thanks to Rajaniemi’s continued strict adherence to ‘show, not tell’. Yet the succinctness of his prose and the thrillingly bizarre breadth of his ideas remain true delights and, perhaps best of all, he gives us something that is a genuinely satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.

[Paul Cockburn]

Got post-Commonwealth Games blues? Don’t worry, you can get your fix of Scottish sporting prowess with Tom McNab’s classic novel Flanagan’s Run, re-released to coincide with Glasgow’s year of hosting the competition in 2014. Originally published in 1982, the novel charts the progress of 2000 runners as they race from Los Angeles to New York. Scot Hugh McPhail, running in frayed tartan shorts, must dodge corporate officials and survive a trek across the treacherous Rockies to be in with a chance of winning the $150,000 prize money.

Set in 1931, McPhail’s Glasgow is very different to the one which recently received global attention: the city is adrift with groups of unemployed and despondent young men, who run races in frozen parks in the hope of winning pitiful prize money.

McNab was an Olympic coach on both the winter and summer games, adding a certain authenticity to the book. The characters are engaging, though not particularly compelling; rather, it is the descriptions of the adrenaline fuelled race that keep the reader turning the pages. With clear, Steinbeck-esque prose, it is the journey, rather than the characters, that make this a good read. [Rosie Hopegood] Out now, Published by Sandstone Press, RRP £7.58

Out now, published by Gollancz, RRP £20

Out now, published by Vintage, RRP £8.99

Out now, published by Faber & Faber Film, RRP £30

September 2014

FILM / BOOKS

Review

67

1984

Citizens Theatre The Citizens Theatre presents 1984, as adapted and directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan from the 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell, which depicts a world where Big Brother is always watching and monitoring everything the citizens say, do and even think.

Their take on the classic may well jar with that of the masses, however that is not something that seems to concern them. Icke and Macmillan are looking to challenge the conventions and have delved deep into the book to pull out threads that may have been missed or understood differently.

Having had input into the deconstruction and reimagining of the novel, it’s expected the cast will have a deep understanding of the vision created and how best to perform it. Team that with arduous rehearsals where the cast undergo mental tasks and tests, have their dreams analysed, their phobias confronted and are encouraged to lie to each other, there is bound to be a rich performance at the end of it.

The surface themes from the novel of surveillance, identity and rebellion are still very relevant today with CCTV being an accepted part of daily life, the revelations of Edward Snowdon still fresh in people’s minds and the constant struggle between cultures to conform to their surroundings. With this in mind it is easy to forget the novel is 65 years old and was written at a time when totalitarianism was a heavy threat. This performance may well raise debate on how much society has changed since it was first published, yet with the core themes still a threat today, how far have we come really? Have we avoided the dystopia that George Orwell depicted or are we all just in denial? [Christine Lawler] 1984

Citizens Theatre, 29 Aug-6 Sep, various times, £12.50-£20.50

Smack! Bang! Cabaret!

Henry’s Cellar Bar

Starting on 10 September, Smack! Bang! Cabaret! plans to become a weekly fixture in every cabaret-lover’s calendar. Dive – Edinburgh’s premier LGBT queer party night – has teamed up with Henry's Cellar Bar to launch 50 minutes of performance every Wednesday. It’s only one night a week, at 9pm, but it’s jam-packed with cabaret, comedy, puppetry, clowning, burlesque and music.

“This is fab cabaret for the people by the people. The ones who like their entertainment funny, fast paced and a little bit naughty,” as Miss Annabel Sings – no doubt biased – will tell you.

The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha

SEEP II: Mirrors & Mires Patriothall Gallery

The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha Zoo

rrrr Little Soldiers educate the general public not so much about the historic context or cultural relevance of Don Quixote of La Mancha but all the more about its hilarity and madness.

An otherwordly musician provides a beautiful soundtrack with her guitar while two Spanish women and an Englishman negotiate how they recount their favourite Don Quixote adventures. Their deliberations, which may turn violent, always show a complete disregard for the fourth wall and at times the audience is egged on to take sides, which can culminate in the throwing of soft items. The performers’ on-stage dynamic sometimes feels awkward and involves the occasional good-natured slap or old

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finger-up-the-old-orifice, but this uncomfortable edge only serves to make the piece more entertaining.

The two trap doors in the stage are exactly the kind of old fashioned prop Little Soldiers revel in using, preferably in as many different ways as possible. Their display of physical comedy ranges from charmingly traditional to brilliantly innovative. Using two actors as a human horse is an old trick, but Little Soldiers develop it so well that one feels one could see a whole play just about human horses. The piece is nearly all-silly, but has an undertone of the larger themes from Miguel de Cervantes’ novel that keep it in one’s memory after the curtain has fallen. The performers’ good natured acceptance of the audience’s hazy knowledge of the book is only natural since it can never be as good as this whirlwind of a play. [Leonie Walters] Little Soldiers Productions: The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, Zoo, run ended

Six months after the first SEEP experience, Cachín Cachán Cachunga! present SEEP II: Mirrors & Mires.

Curated by award-winning interdisciplinary artist Sandra Alland and with the technical support of Ariadna Battich, the exhibition focuses on intersectional identities, as well as the relationship between self and community. Opening on 19 September with a live performance by Andra Simons, SEEP II brings together fifteen local and international artists from intersectional backgrounds, and, like its predecessor, features a mixture of visual art, film, performance and installation.

SEEP II: Mirrors and Mires showcases various work – from gender variant internationally acclaimed artist Del LaGrace Volcano, mixedmedia and video artist Karen Miranda Augustine, to exciting, local emerging artists like Glasgow’s Steadfast, described as “QPOC multidisclipinary artist dropout, dropping back in.” The purpose

THEATRE

The debut of Smack! Bang! Cabaret! sees a tantalising line-up: the musical exploits of Mount Juliet, King of Puns Richard Pulsford, and the fantabulous transgender burlesque showgirl Taylor Huxley. It’s free entry – although donations are encouraged – and the line-up changes every week. This is a chance to see quality performance in the relaxed, intimate setting of Henry’s Cellar Bar, without having to pay for more than a drink. What’s more, the night is bound to have something to everyone’s liking, since it has so much variety crammed into those 50 minutes.

[Eric Karoulla] Henry’s Cellar Bar, Edinburgh, Weds from 10 Sep 9pm, free

behind this is to explore the tension between the individual and community, reflection and repulsion, self-examination and self-obsession. There is also a writing and performance workshop with Andra Simons, recipient of the Bermuda Arts Council’s Founders Award and a Creative Writing Visiting Lecturer at the University of Greenwich.

The exhibition intends to highlight work from minority ethnic, migrant, working class, and deaf and disabled LGBTI artists. This diverse approach is also reflected in the care given to attendees; there will be BSL interpretation, film subtitling, audio description, Braille and large print programmes, and wheelchair access. With the variety of artists, media, and disciplines, this promises to be an even more intriguing and mind-stretching endeavour than the previous SEEP. [Eric Karoulla] Opens 19 Sep, 7-10pm. Then 20-29 Sep, Mon-Sat, Free Tour for Blind & Partially-Sighted Visitors: 20 Sep, 4pm Sun 28 Sep: haircuts noon-6pm, readings/performances 6-8pm. Patriothall Gallery, Edinburgh

THE SKINNY

September 2014

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Glasgow Music Tue 02 Sep

COURTNEY LYNN (REDOLENT + THE PALMIROS + EDWARD CANE)

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:00, £5

Toronto-born, Edinburgh-based singer/songwriter making quirky folk with distinctive voice and unconventional acoustic guitar style.

THE GHOST OF A SABER TOOTH TIGER

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £10

Sean Lennon (yeah, that one) and his partner Charlotte Kemp Muhl continue to make a pretty good fist of things with their collaborative project, having recently toured with The Flaming Lips and Tame Impala.

Wed 03 Sep

SUSPIRE (SEAN KENNEDY + FRANKLIN)

HARD ROCK CAFE, 20:00–22:30, FREE

The Glasgow-based indie-rock trio launch their self-titled debut LP. TINY RUINS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £8

Delicate chamber-folk all the way from New Zealand.

CLEARER THE SKY (CUTTYS GYM + LOST LIMBS)

THE ROXY 171, 21:00–23:00, £4

Aberdeen outfit built on emotionally charged slabs of heavy post-hardcore, laden with soaring melodies and driving rhythms.

CHERYL BROWN + GORDON HENNESSY

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:00, £5

Co-headline tour from Dundee singer/songwriters Cheryl Brown and Gordon Hennessy.

NOTHING BUT THIEVES (TURNING PLATES)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Southend on Sea ensemble take their new EP out on the road.

Thu 04 Sep

WHITE LIGHT THEORY (PERDURAMO)

PET SHOP BOYS SECC, 18:30–22:00, FROM £35

The electro-pop wonders play songs from their latest album, Elysium, and likely a gaggle of other hits from their 20+ year career.

BIZARRE RIDE II FATLIP AND SLIMKIDS

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

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

THE AFTERAFFECTS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

Ottowa vocalist with just a touch of grit to her accessible rootspop-Americana sound.

GOOD GRIEF’S 2ND BIRTHDAY (THE UNPEOPLE + MIRROR PARTIES + BIANCA + JASON RIDDELL)

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:00, £4

The Good Grief crew celebrate two years of noise, prog and math releases/gigs with a noisy floor show full of leftfield tunes. And maybe cake. And definitely beer.

MARISSA NADLER (LE THUG)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

Back with her sixth full-length LP, the Boston singer/songwriter continues on her delicately restless journey through folk, pop and shoegaze.

GAVIN MCCALLION + INDY + COLIN MCLEAN + CHRIS HART + MICHAEL ANDERSON

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5

Stripped-down acoustic roster of bands.

Fri 05 Sep GRUFF RHYS

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

The Super Furry Animals man takes to the road in support of latest multi-format American Interior project, promising power presentations, tales of exploration and maybe a few songs.

VAGABOND SOCIAL CLUB

THE ROXY 171, 20:00–23:00, £4

The Glasgow alternative Americana night takes up residence at The Roxy 171.

HOLY ESQUE (THE LAPELLES + THE NINTH WAVE)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £7

Much-hyped and reverb-drenched Glaswegian art-popsters, finally in possession of an LP’s worth of material.

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TOY REVOLVER (MARTHA AND THE MOODIES + SCOTT C LOGAN)

More industrial, goth and electro sounds from the Scottish two piece, making a return visit to Sleazy’s.

Experimental pop locals led by Scott Beaton on vocals and guitar.

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £5

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

JOHN TAYLOR

The local singer/songwriter takes to the stage to launch his new LP, Angels & Demons.

THE KING OF GHOSTS

OLD FRUITMARKET, 19:30–22:00, £14

Cinematic collaboration between Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Edinburgh Mela and Soumik Datta, presenting a brand new score inspired by the classic Indian film, Gupi Gayen, Bagha Bayen.

MUSIC AT THE MUSEUM

KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY AND MUSEUM, 20:00–22:00, FROM £10

Special in-gallery music event with RSNO and Irish soprano Ailish Tynan, taking in melodies from France, Italy, Hungary and Russia, plus operatic favourites from Carmen, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly.

MIKE TRAMP

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £12.50

The former White Lion frontman, and later Freak of Nature, plays a stripped acoustic set.

JUNKMAN’S CHOIR (THE CUT THROAT RAZORS)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7.50

CCA, 19:30–22:00, £14

AMANDA RHEAUME (STEPHANIE MANNS)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £10

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £5

BLACK LANTERN BASEMENT SESSION #4

The Black Lantern label host their fourth monthly open house for hip-hop, electronic and experimental musicians.

SPARTAN WARRIOR (SALEM + AMULET + DISASTER AREA)

Sunderland heavy metal unit formed back in 1980 from the ashes of Deceiver.

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £6.50

THE ROXY 171, 21:00–23:00, FREE

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £9

Chatham-born young singer/ songwriter who’s received an official note of praise from a certain Mr Bruce Springsteen.

More in the way of classic 90s hiphop from the C, performing songs from Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde and Labcabincalifornia.

Deranged accordion-adorning duo laying a mix of cajun, country sea shanties and rockin’ reels.

Alternative Glasgow trio led by guitarist and vocalist Dave Main.

PETE MOLINARI

WILLIE WATSON

The Founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show plays a solo set of his American folk staples. Part of No Mean City Festival.

BEAUTY SCHOOL DROP OUT (THE FRANCEENS + THE JACKHAMMERS + RIGGOTS) 13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £5

The kings of pop-punk return with more songs about girls and Canada.

RELEASE (RYAN HOLMS + GORDON HARROW)

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5

The acoustic rock unit return to Pivo Pivo following their headline set earlier in the year.

Sat 06 Sep DEFINITELY MIGHTBE

O2 ABC, 18:30–22:00

Oasis tribute act.

MUSIC AT THE MUSEUM

KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY AND MUSEUM, 20:00–22:00, FROM £10

Special in-gallery music event with RSNO and Irish soprano Ailish Tynan, taking in melodies from France, Italy, Hungary and Russia, plus operatic favourites from Carmen, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly.

CULTURE FEST 2014 (TONY MATTERHORN + CLANADONIA BAND + SKYBOI + IFOUNDATION BAND + FEAZY + SURA SUSO + RAC + MICKEY BOY + LEVIS ALBANO + KSHY + MORGAN RED) O2 ABC, 16:00–22:00, £15

Inaugural festival all-dayer featuring a hefty line-up of alternative sounds.

GLASGOW PSYCH FEST 2014 (BATTERY FACE + TUT VU VU + WOVEN TENT + TREMBLING BELLS + THE YAWNS + HELICON + THE CHERRY WAVE) 13TH NOTE, 18:00–02:00, £10 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

The Glasgow Psych Fest returns for its sophomore year, taking over the 13th Note with the most tripped-out bands from near and far – boasting sets from the likes of The Yawns, Uncle Judas and The Belly Buttons.

Sun 07 Sep PEARL JEM

Pearl Jam tribute act.

THE SATURDAYS

SECC, 18:30–22:00, FROM £27.50

The pop five-piece tour in support of their greatest hits album – has it really been that long?

MEGAN RAN (KING KEYTAN + SKYE POP)

THE ROXY 171, 20:00–22:30, £5

Former teacher turned rapper/ producer Random (aka Mega Ran) makes his Glasgow debut.

MCCANN (RAISING BAIL)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Comeback gig from the eclectic rock’n’roll four piece, built on a diet of old school original rock and vintage blues.

ROCK IT! (D3VIL MAY CRY + SINISTER FLYNN + DEADBEAT RAGDOLLS + SACRIFICIAL DEVOURMENT + DELUDED BUDDHAS) PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:15, £5

Thu 11 Sep

STRUGGLE (BEAR ARMS + CIVIL ELERGIES)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Monthly punk and post hardcore selection of bands from DIY collective Struggletown.

COASTS (MEADOWLARK)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £8

Bristol-based five-piece known for making shimmery pop sounds that go well with cold cider and a sunny day. Or, y’know, beer and dark clouds.

DOUGIE GREIG (CRAIG WHITE + COUSIN KENNY + MISSING FOCUS + JORDAN ALLAN)

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:00, £5

North of Scotland singer/songwriter performing old Scottish folk tales delivered in a contemporary way.

DARK HORSES

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:00, FROM £30

Half of the legendary Simon & Garfunkel and a seminal performer in his own right, Mr Garfunkel revisits the highlights of his career as part of his comeback tour.

PLAYLOUNGE (KING OF CATS + MIN DIESEL)

THE ROXY 171, 20:00–22:30, £4

The London/Brighton-hailing noise rockers hit Glasgow.

Tue 09 Sep

THE SHAKING SENSATIONS (A SUDDEN BURST OF COLOUR + IN:TIDES)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Copenhagen instrumental rock adventurers whose fuzzy meditations embrace post-rock’s minimalist stylings.

CRACKERMAN (THE MAUDLIN HOUNDS + MJ WOOD)

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:00, £5

The Lennoxton-based rockers command the stage.

Wed 10 Sep RODDY WOOMBLE

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

The Idlewild frontman plays solo acoustic, drawing on songs from his new solo work, as well as handpicking tracks from the Idlewild back catalogue.

NEXILVA (CARCER CITY)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Six-piece progressive death metal outfit from Sunderland, blending technicality and sheer brutality with intense speed and mystical synths.

TARIBOWEST (100 ONCES + SHAMBLES IN A HUSK)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

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

RSNO ALCHEMY: INVISIBLE CITIES

TRAMWAY, 19:30–22:00, £15 (£12)

Peter Wiegold directs players from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in a performance inspired by pages from Italo Calvino’s novel on Venice, Invisible Cities.

THE ROXY 171, 19:00–22:00, £5

The all-girl pop kids on the block play a special intimate set in The Roxy 171 to a lucky crowd of just 70.

LISA STANSFIELD

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, FROM £27.50

25 years after her breakthrough number one hit single All Around The World, the Rochdale-born singer returns in support of her first album for a decade.

BBC PROMS IN THE PARK

GLASGOW GREEN, 19:30–22:00, £13.50

Programme of open-air music from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, as part of the BBC’s wider Last Night of the Proms celebrations.

FROTH

THE ROXY 171, 20:00–22:30, £3

The art pop experimentalists play a headline set.

BRONTO SKYLIFT (FELIX CHAMPION + SHARPTOOTH) NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £5

The two-headed Glasgow-based duo bring the monstrous noise and big dirty jams, launching their new LP on the night.

THE STRAY BIRDS

CCA, 20:00–22:00, £13

Pennsylvania trio staying true to their roots with an old-time, honest sound, rich in tradition yet fully in the present.

TOMMY FLEMING

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

Irish solo singer who counts Eric Clapton and Sir Alex Ferguson amongst his fans, which is nice.

Mon 08 Sep

ART GARFUNKEL

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £20

Special matinee show as part of Hector Bizerk’s EP launch weekend – Hectember – featuring support from a selection of local community music groups.

Brighton-based gloom merchants probably best described as ‘motoric kraut’.

Rush tribute act.

The Rough Trade-signed young singer/guitarist plays a set of his eclectic punk, folk and New Orleans blues.

TEENCANTEEN (BIRDHEAD)

Guns N’ Roses tribute act.

HECTOR BIZERK’S HECTEMBER WEEKEND: MATINEE

Fri 12 Sep

BENJAMIN BOOKER

Wed 17 Sep

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

Alternative Promotions’ first Sunday of every month underground rock night.

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

GUNS 2 ROSES O2 ABC, 18:30–22:00, £11

CLOCKWORK ANGELS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £8

FRANK O’HAGAN (LES JOHNSON + THE SHIVERING SHIEKS)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Longstanding Glasgow-based singer/songwriter – a musician in local bands since the tender age of 14. Part of No Mean City Festival.

MEDALS (THEN THICKENS)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

All-new collaborative project from JP Reid, songwriter and frontman of Sucioperro and one half of Marmaduke Duke.

TRAILS (CAPTAIN CAPITAL)

THE ROXY 171, 20:00–22:30, £4

The Guildford-based rockers bring their angular alternative rock riffage to the Weege.

MARIE COLLINS (SAM GONCAVALES + THE MAGNETIC + CATHOLIC ACTION)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £5

Paisley-based pop songwriter built on a bed of wry and poetic lyrics.

SKINNY DIPPER (CALL TO MIND + CHRISSY BARNACLE)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £6

Olive Grove Records signees made up of members from an array of Scottish groups, including Randolph’s Leap, Kill The Waves, Quickbeam and Aerials Up, out launching their debut EP, Masks.

PREGNANCY SCARES (DETERGENTS + BLACK COP) 13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £6

Raging Ottowa hardcore punk ensemble signed to Deranged Records.

THE COLONY + BURN THE MAPS + CORRUPT THE SYSTEM + THE FEUDAL SYSTEM PIVO PIVO, 19:45–23:30, £6

New music showcase taking in a selection of up-and-coming acts.

Sat 13 Sep

SCOTTISH FIDDLE ORCHESTRA

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12

The SFO return with an evening of lively Scottish jigs and reels, slow airs, dance and song, with some stirring pipe thrown in for good measure.

SENSATIONAL DAVID BOWIE TRIBUTE BAND

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £10

David Bowie tribute act.

HONEYBLOOD

CCA, 19:00–22:00, £7

The Scottish garage rock duo hit the road in support of their debut LP.

THE ART SCHOOL, 14:00–18:00, £8

HECTOR BIZERK’S HECTEMBER WEEKEND: MAIN EVENT

THE ART SCHOOL, 20:00–23:00, £8

Following their matinee show, Hector Bizerk continue their ‘Hectember’ celebrations – launching their new EP – with the main evening event featuring support from Bombskare and Jun Tzu.

NOLTI NAN GANA NAN NOLTA (ENNERACT + GÖATSHIT) 13TH NOTE, 19:30–23:00, £TBC

Fast and furious Edinburgh unit with a fondness for a good riff.

AURORA + VIOLET DRIVE + MESMERENE + WOODWIFE

PIVO PIVO, 20:00–23:00, £5 ADV. (£6 DOOR)

Pop-rock and indie showcase night, with elements of folk thrown in for good measure.

Mon 15 Sep AZEALIA BANKS

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

The American singer/rapper/songwriter hits UK soil, with odds still out on her debut LP seeing the light of day in time.

Tue 16 Sep FIRST AID KIT

OLD FRUITMARKET, 20:00–22:00, £20

The Swedish folk sister duo tour in support of their latest LP, Stay Gold, joyously steeped in their trademark American woodsy folk and blues.

JOE BROWN

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £22

The rock’n’roll musical ledge plays accompanied by his live five-piece band, which includes his son (aka record producer Pete Brown).

FAT WHITE FAMILY (CHARLIE BOYER AND THE VOYEURS)

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–22:00, £8.50

Increasingly notorious grot-pop troupe from London fond of the occasional on-stage strip.

SOHN

STEREO, 20:00–22:00, £11

4AD-signed producer and multiinstrumentalist who can’t resist dropping in a catchy vocal hook.

JESUS JONES

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

The original Jesus Jones line-up take to the road in celebration of their 25th anniversary, performing their second LP – Doubt – live and in its entirety.

RACHEL NEWTON

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £10 (£8)

Singer, harpist and multi-instrumentalist, also founder member of The Shee, the Emily Portman Trio and more recently The Furrow Collective.

SHARON CORR

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

It’s only one of multi-million selling Irish group The Corrs!

BLUNTED KIDS CLUB (KHRYO + JON PHONICS + HANDPICKED DJS)

BLOC+, 21:00–03:00, FREE

The Handpicked dudes invite pals from east to west to join them for an intimate night of fun.

VOTE AYE

PIVO PIVO, 18:00–23:00, FREE

A selection of Scottish hip-hop acts come together in support of the ‘Yes’ vote.

THROWING MUSES

Cult American alternative rockers fronted by Kristen Hersh.

RUE ROYALE (CAROLINE GILMOUR)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £7 ADV. (£9 DOOR)

Husband and wife duo made up of Ruth and Brookln Dekker, loved equally for their indie-pop goodness and hand-knitted merch.

NATURAL CHILD (POLAR ZU)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Nashville-hailing young rock’n’roll scamps out and airing their latest LP, Dancin’ With Wolves. Part of No Mean City Festival.

TRANSPLANTED

CCA, 19:30–22:00, £10

The award-winning string duo premiere new works inspired by wild plants and the Scottish Baroque music of James Oswald.

REPEATER (DZ DEATHRAYS + PINACT)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Post-hardcore DIY gig/club effort, with a selection of live acts dropping by for a freshers’ special.

PITCHFORK ASSASSIN

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:00, £5

The Glasgow rock-meets-grungemeets-funk quintet return from hiatus.

Thu 18 Sep CARNIVORES

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

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

ALT-J

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

The Mercury-winning keyboard shortcut enthusiasts tour in support of their sure-to-be-massive second LP. Go wild.

EXIT CALM (THOUSANDSOUNDS + COMMON GROUND)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8.50

Alternative four-piece hailing from South Yorkshire, awash with psychedelic influences and drawing comparisons to early My Bloody Valentine.

THE QUEEN EXTRAVAGANZA

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

Queen tribute act.

WINTERLIZARD (DEATH WATCH + PYRE OF THE EARTH + WATCHER’S GUARD)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

THE NORTH (THE FACE ON THE MOON + VIDA + MYTHICAL CREATURES) CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £5 EARLYBIRD (£7 THEREAFTER)

Sheffield-based quartet of indie rock’n’rollers.

TONY VISCONTI + GLENN GREGORY + STEVE NORMAN + WOODY WOODMANSEY + MORGAN VISCONTI + HOLY HOLY O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

David Bowie bandmates – producer/bass player Tony Visconti and drummer Woody Woodmansey – perform together for the first time since 1971, gathering together a cast of players to perform Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World live.

REELY JIGGERED

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £8

The Scottish folk-rock band unit launch their new LP, Kaleidoscope.

BIG DIRTY RIDE (THE SSS + THE OUTLAWED)

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5

Glasgow rock quintet led by vocalist Marty Macdonald.

Sun 21 Sep

THE MOONS (SCOTT BEATON)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Northampton-based foursome, trading in psychedelic garage-pop beats, infused with a bit of indie and soul for good measure.

SYD ARTHUR

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £7

Young psychedelic pin-up hailing from Canterbury.

LET’S TALK DAGGERS (FELIX CHAMPION + SHAMBLES IN A HUSK + EMILIO LARGO)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £5

Eastbourne trio of pals making an alternative punk-styled racket, self-described as ‘chaoscore’.

THE ELECTRIC BOYS (BAD TOUCH + RANK BERRY)

DRAGONFORCE (STORMBORN)

London-based metal quintet led

by Marc Hudson – aka they of the incredibly hard song to pull off on Guitar Hero – out and touring on the back of their latest LP. NATHAN CARTER (LISA STANLEY)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £22

Twinkly-eyed young Irish country singer.

ALTAN

ST ANDREW’S IN THE SQUARE, 19:30–22:00, £16

Traditional Irish music ensemble who’ve been playing together for over 25 years.

THE SUEDE SWITCHBLADES (ANTHONY MOORE + FORBES + THE NEAR)

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

The newly-formed rockabilly punk ensemble make their live headline debut.

Sat 20 Sep RAE MORRIS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £8

Young Blackpool singer/songwriter singing mostly about love ‘n’ stuff, as you do.

BEN MONTAGUE (CHARLY HOUSTON + NIEVES) KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Tousle-haired acoustic singer/ songwriter blessed with an acute sense of melody.

THE URBAN VOODOO MACHINE (DIRTY DIAMOND AND THE GUNSLINGER) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13

Bourbon Soaked Gypsy Blues Bop ‘n’ Stroll.

The Michigan metal unit take to the road in celebration of their latest LP, Memoirs of a Murderer.

THE 1975

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £19

The Manc indie-rock unit head Glasgow-way for two consecutive dates (24 & 25 Sep).

QUILT (RYLEY WALKER)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £8

Boston-based quartet built on a woozy mix of three part harmonies and drunken melodies.

FELIX CHAMPION + FOREST FIRES

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Duo of Scottish band action, with alternative rock trio Felix Champion preparing for the launch of their debut LP on the BLOC+MUSIC label.

OUT FOR TOMORROW (AMARYLLIS)

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5

Bristol alternative rock chaps led by vocalist Ben Lumber.

Thu 25 Sep RYAN ADAMS

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £26

The ever-prolific alternative country superstar tours in support of his fourteenth LP – not bad for someone still the right side of 40.

JAWS (FICKLE FRIENDS)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £8

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

ANATHEMA (MOTHER’S CAKE)

CHASTITY BROWN

Longstanding Liverpool-based progressive rock unit composed of a collective of two families: the Cavanaghs and the Douglases.

Minneapolis-based banjo-playin’ soul singer, melding bits of soul, jazz and rootsy Americana into her mix.

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £19

RACHEL DADD (ROZI PLAIN)

The experimental folk multiinstrumentalist plays a live set in advance of releasing her two-years-in-the-making new LP, We Resonate.

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £16

KING 810

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £9

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–23:00, £14

Fri 19 Sep ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £10

THE FRAY (RAGLANS)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

Big earnest soft rock outfit writing big earnest soft rock songs for big crowds of earnest soft rock lovers.

Stockholm-based melodic sleazerock unit on the go since 1988.

Tue 23 Sep

Bruce Springsteen tribute act.

Blackpool boys done good bringing their hard-lined rock music to the masses.

Brummy four-piece making carefree, breezy music. And not a shark in sight.

Edinburgh black metal hellraisers with distinct doom overtones.

THE RISING

DARLIA (GENGAHR) KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £8

LUST FOR YOUTH (MACHINES IN HEAVEN)

Sacred Bones signings with an eye for a glimmering synth pop hook.

CHRISTIAN BLAND AND THE REVELATORS (AL LOVER)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Austin-based psychedelic rock’n’rollers, the side project of The Black Angels’ guitarist Christian Bland. Part of No Mean City Festival.

GOSSLING

CCA, 19:30–22:00, £8.50 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

The Australian folk-meets-pop singer/songwriter hits town in support of her debut LP, Harvest of Gold.

CAMPFIRES IN WINTER + SO MANY ANIMAL CALLS

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Double dose of fine Scottish indie-rock, both of whom have had previous releases on Bloc+’s own BLOC+MUSIC label.

BONE CULT

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:00, £5

The London duo make the trip north for a trademark pummelling set of rock and electronica.

Wed 24 Sep

ALPHABETICAL ORDER ORCHESTRA

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £7

Members of My Latest Novel in a new guise – coming fully developed with strong melodies and song structures, as you would expect – launching their new EP on the night.

VANCE JOY

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £8.50

THE 1975

The Manc indie-rock unit head Glasgow-way for two consecutive dates (24 & 25 Sep).

CUUSHE (JAY ROLEX + SHAM GATE)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £7

The Kyoto native dream pop artist, and recent tour mate of Grouper, caresses lugs with her airy electro-melancholia.

MEGALOMATIC (SERAPH SIN + PAPA GANASH + MILK)

STEREO, 18:30–22:00, £6

The alternative metal unit launch their new EP, The Plasmafia Conspiracy.

WOODS

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £7.50

Warwick and Brooklyn-straddling outfit taking you on a merry journey of Krautrock-inspired fugues and Crazy Horse-style romps.

FUELBOUND (THE UNPEOPLE + BEHEAD THE PROPHET + CULT OF WHORES AND DOGS)

PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £6

Newly-formed, energetic and hard-hitting Glasgow heavy rock ensemble.

Fri 26 Sep

CHARLIE AND THE BHOYS

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £19

Another Barrowland singalong with the Donegal Celtic rockers.

THE HORRORS

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

The resurgent krautrock-inspired Londoners return in support of their new LP, Luminous, bridging the gap between rock, goth and punk theatrics as only they know how.

WHITE HILLS

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Expect more psychedelia grooves, otherworldly bleeps and huge chunks of gnarly formless noise from the fuzzed-out New York rockers.

STONE FOUNDATION (THE CUT THROAT RAZORS)

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £7

The Australian folk-pop artist continues to ride the wave of her debut LP.

The Midland rock’n’soul collective make a return visit to Glasgow.

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £8

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £14

TOSELAND

Ex-superbike champion James Toseland goes it solo after parting with his band, Crash.

THE JIM JONES REVUE

A final farewell tour for the muchloved bare bones rock’n’rollers.

THE SKINNY

THE VIRGINMARYS (CROBOT) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Macclesfield-born rock trio with their sights set on America, drawing on influences including Nirvana, Mudhoney and Screaming Trees.

RUFUS

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8.50

Aussie trio blending electro pop with Balearic-style house to suitably pleasing effect.

THE ROXY 171’S 3RD BIRTHDAY: PART 1 (SOPHIE ROGERS + JOSEPHINE SILLARS + BRUCE NICOL + JEMMA KATE + ROSS MACINNES) THE ROXY 171, 20:00–00:00, £4

Part one of The Roxy 171’s birthday weekender gets under way, featuring a showcase of acoustic and folk acts.

A SUPER WEIRD HAPPENING (HOWARD MARKS + BLIND ARCADE + GREG WILSON) SWG3, 19:00–03:00, £12 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

Part of a series of five happenings across the UK, sprawling across eight hours and taking in a Howard Marks talk, live art, photography, a Blind Arcade performance and a three-hour Greg Wilson DJ finale.

That do you?

GREEN DOOR STUDIOS FUNDRAISER (WHILST + JD TWITCH + GHANA SOUNDZ) THE ART SCHOOL, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£4) ADV. (£7 (£6) DOOR)

Green Door Studios host a special fundraiser for the youth music projects they’re currently collaborating with in Belize and Ghana, featuring a genre-hopping programme of live music and DJs over the evening.

HAUSCHKA

CCA, 19:30–22:00, £12.50

Risk-taking Dusseldorf composer Volker Bertelmann (aka Hauschka) adept at sounding like an ensemble of musicians and instruments when in fact he’s just one man, performing at one piano.

EXILE THE TRAITOR (FINAL SILENCE + TRIVERSE MASSACRE + EDGEVILLE HELLRIDE) 13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £5

The melodic death metallers play a headline set of noise.

THE NOVATONES

THE ROXY 171’S 3RD BIRTHDAY: PART 2 (ALGERNON DOLL + PINACT + THE SHITHAWKS + CATHOLIC ACTION + DAS MCMANUS + LENIN DEATH MASK + MARTH FFION + THE VUDU ZOO) THE ROXY 171, 16:00–23:00, £5

Part two of The Roxy 171’s birthday weekender, taking in an all-day event curated by Poor Things – who’ll be presenting a schedule of DIY acts that may or may not be on your radar yet...

LOLA IN STACKS

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £TBC

Collaboration between singer/ songwriter Lou Reid and music composer Brian McFie.

SUPERHEAVEN (NAI HARVEST + CONCAVE + THE SINKING FEELING)

STEREO, 18:30–22:00, £8

Doylestown rock unit who’ve spent the last five-odd years honing their grunge-buzzing sound.

Sun 28 Sep SHARON SHANNON

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

Irish accordionist and fiddle player known for her collaborations, from Bono to Shame MacGowan.

ONE AND ONLY DIRECTION

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:30–22:00, £12 (£10)

One Direction tribute act. Oh dear...

T-PAIN

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

American singer/songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor, known to his mammy as Faheem Rasheed Najm.

GOAT (THE LAY LLAMAS + TREMBLING BELLS)

SWG3, 19:00–23:00, £15

The Swedish alternative and experimental fusion music group hit town.

WOODEN WAND

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £7

Stage name of singer/songwriter James Jackson Toth, currently personifying the modern blend of folk and psychedelia.

HAND OF HORUS (CIRCLE OF TYRANTS + ALE SHORES)

PIVO PIVO, 19:30–23:15, £5

Glasgow metalcore quintet formed by guitarists Andrew Macdonald and Muir Coulter back in 2009.

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

Mon 29 Sep

Sat 27 Sep

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

Hard-hitting punk unit adept at face-smacking soundscapes.

THE BESNARD LAKES (BIRD)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £12

Psychedelic and progressive pop offerings from the charming Montreal foursome, formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas.

SBTRKT

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

ALLAH-LAS (THE JACKALS)

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £9

JAMES TAYLOR

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:30–22:00, £52.50

The five-time Grammy Awardwinning songwriter hits the road.

Stage name of London-based producer-cum-musician Aaron Jerome – he of the contemporary electronica and on-stage mask wearing – out and celebrating he release of new LP, Wonder Where We Land.

Edinburgh Music

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £18

USHER HALL, 11:00–12:00, £3 (STUDENTS FREE)

NIMMO BROTHERS

The Glasgow bluesmen play an all-acoustic hometown show.

RAYMOND MEADE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £6

Glasgow singer/songwriter whose uplifting and melodic brand of tuneage is steeped in classic rock’n’roll roots.

KNUCKLEDUST

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

London-based hardcore quartet who reckon they’re too punk for hardcore and too hardcore for punk.

INDIEVOUS (THE UNKNOWN + FORMAL PARTY + COLUMBIA + IMANI + JORDAN REID) PIVO PIVO, 19:00–23:00, £5

Live music showcase featuring an indie-centric selection of bands.

WATSKY

Tue 02 Sep SERAPHIM

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:30–22:30, £8

Celtic metal outfit fusing twin guitar heavy metal styles with the darker side of Irish folklore.

September 2014

San Franciscan duo (aka Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada) built on lazily advancing solos and eccentric organ meanderings of loveliness.

ALGERNON DOLL (BLACK INTERNATIONAL + HAGANA + PENFOLD)

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

Rising troubadour Algernon Doll – aka the off-kilter folk project of Glasgow’s Ewan Grant – continues to ride the wave of his delightfully chaotic new LP, Omphalic.

CALUM INGRAM

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:00–22:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

Acoustic set from the Paisley-born classically-trained cellist and songwriter, imbued with Celtic, folk, jazz and blues influences.

THE ALIBIS

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:30–23:00, £4

Edinburgh-based indie-rockers led

by Gareth Fitzgerald on lead vocals and guitar.

PETER PAN SPEEDROCK (JD PINKUS + CERTAIN DEATH) BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £12 (£10)

Dutch alternative unit founded by guitarist Peter van Elderden back in the 90s, in town for a Scottish exclusive.

Fri 05 Sep

THIS FEELING (THE VALKARYS + MECHANICAL ARMS + STELLA FUSE + QUIET AS A MOUSE + THE JACKALS DJS) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:45–22:00, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

The favourited London rock’n’roll night takes a trip north with a selection of live bands taking to the stage.

LADYKILLER CATERPILLAR

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Edinburgh-based indie rockers who formed in late 2013, taking to a hometown setting for the evening.

ODD RIVAL (SENATE + ANIMALATTIC)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

London garage rock outfit fronted by brothers Patrick and Chris Smith.

THE MARS PATROL

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £8.50

The Edinburgh-born, Londonbased alternative rock unit return home for a one-off acoustic set previewing a selection of new songs from their forthcoming LP, Human Condition.

EAGLES GIFT

Stellar night based on unique collaborations, in pre-Referendum mode with politically acerbic hiphop MC Loki spearheading socially explicit communications in film, live music and clubbing, including a live set from Kev Sim of FOUND (aka River of Slime).

Sun 07 Sep

YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE BAND

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–01:00, FREE

A selection of six alternative upand-comers fight it out to be your ‘next favourite band’, with two of them being invited back for the cash prize final.

SKA SUNDAY

CITRUS CLUB , 18:30–22:00, £5

Mash-up ska locals Big Fat Panda host their monthly ska shenanigans, joined by a selection of live acts.

MAX JURY

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £8

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

Mon 08 Sep EMILIO LARGO

OPIUM, 19:00–22:30, £TBC

Alternative rock trio made up of three ex-aspiring fisherman (so say they, anyway).

ROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOOD

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £19

Louisiana quartet intent on making amplified soul for a new generation.

Tue 09 Sep ACODA

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £5

The Corby-based foursome do their metal with an alternative edge thing.

SPENCER-STRACHAN DUO

USHER HALL, 11:00–12:00, £3 (STUDENTS FREE)

Violinist Rachel Spencer and cellist Duncan Strachan do their collaborative thing. Playing as part of the Usher Hall’s Emerging Artists morning recitals.

Wed 10 Sep HIGHWAY 491

BANNERMANS, 20:00–22:00, £5

The Glasgow-based blues rockers pay their first visit to Bannermans.

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

DEAD BEET RECORDS SHOWCASE (BABY STRANGE + VLADIMIR + PINACT)

Sat 06 Sep

Dead Beet Records showcase night, with hyped Glasgow indie crew Baby Strange amongst their merry brood.

French psychedelic unit adept at creating mystic dark energy in a live setting.

JACKAL-HEADED GUARD OF THE DEAD (RUNEMASTER + TOMMY CONCRETE AND THE WEREWOLVES)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, FREE

THE SHAKING SENSATIONS (THE GOTHENBURG ADDRESS + WE CAM FROM THE NORTH)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £9

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £5

Thu 11 Sep

EL TEN ELEVEN (ARCADECOMA)

Los Angeles post-rock duo known for combining guitar/bass doubleneck with heavy looping, or vamping, and the utility of an effects pedal, over acoustic or electric drumming.

Wed 03 Sep MIKE TRAMP

BANNERMANS, 19:30–00:30, £12 (£10)

The former White Lion frontman, and later Freak of Nature, plays a stripped acoustic set.

THE DUNWELLS (CITY OF LIGHTS)

DARKEST ERA

KITA BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

Copenhagen instrumental rock adventurers whose fuzzy meditations embrace post-rock’s minimalist stylings.

Glasgow-based noisemakers creating an expansive yet forceful emo-post-rock fusion.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

DECAGRAM 1.8 HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 21:00–03:00, £5

Edinburgh-based doom mongers providing the heavy riffs, with much wailing and gnashing of teeth, marking what will be their final show. Like, ever.

ALBURN

Folk rock bunch hailing from Leeds, made up of brothers Joseph and David Dunwell and cousins Robert Clayton and Jonny Lamb. Part of No Mean City Festival.

MOON DUO THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £11

Fledgling trio exploring the diverse repertoire for soprano, trumpet and piano. Playing as part of the Usher Hall’s Emerging Artists morning recitals.

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £11

The San Franciscoan hip-hop chap does his slam poetry thing.

Edinburgh Music

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

Thu 04 Sep HIT THE ROAD

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £3 (£2)

Live music project run by the Scottish Music Centre, giving young performers between the age of 14 and 19 the opportunity to learn more about performing and touring across Scotland.

BIRDHEAD

The ‘burgh’s own fledgling dance-inspired troupe, placing themselves somewhere between DFA1979, Cold Cave and Factory Floor.

LOVE TRIBUTE NIGHT (THE THANES + THE FAST CAMELS + THE WAMPUM RELICS + VAN IMPE + FANNY PELMET AND THE BASTARD SUITS ) WEE RED BAR, 18:45–23:00, £5

A selection of bands perform their renditions of Love classics, with lighting by The Mind’s Eye Psychedelic Light Show.

LOST IN ECHOES (THE WEIGHT OF ATLAS)

OPIUM, 19:00–22:30, £TBC

Stirling-based metalcore-meetshardcore noisemakers formed in late 2010.

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

DEATH TRAP CITY (THE SPARROWHAWK ORCHESTRAL + WE ATE THEM OFF THE FLOOR)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, FREE

The riff-based melodic rockers unite for a one-off reunion show.

NIGHTMARE FREQUENCY

OPIUM, 19:00–22:30, £3

Stalwarts of Edinburgh’s EBM/ industrial scene imbued with Alice Cooper-esque stage theatrics.

THE MAUDLIN HOUNDS

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

More in the way of hard rock soundscapes from the Norwegian noisemakers, out and touring their new LP.

Fri 12 Sep

EDINBURGH BLUES CLUB (ROSCO LEVEE AND THE SOUTHERN SLIDE + SAFEHOUSE)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–23:00, £13 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

Monthly blues club taking in touring blues acts from the UK and beyond, with support from local blues artists.

Fresh from their arena tour with Paramore, the Rio-based electro rockers hit the UK. A TWISTED CIRCUS: HECTEMBER SPECIAL (HECTOR BIZERK + VICTORIAN TROUT CONSPIRACY + MICKEY 9’S + MONOSAPIENS)

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

Special night as part of Hector Bizerk’s EP launch weekend – Hectember – with the chaps themselves joined by Victorian Trout Conspiracy, Mickey 9’s and new local hip-hop group crew Monosapiens.

KAOSS THEORY (THE AUSTERITY)

OPIUM, 19:00–22:30, £6

Fife metalcore quintet busily touting their own brand of melodic yet aggressive metalcore around Scotland’s music hubs.

Sat 13 Sep

VIVA STEREO (GIGANTIC LEAVES)

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

Genre-hopping blend of folk, electro, indie, punk, hip-hop and psychedelia, with long-standing ties to Fife’s Fence Collective.

BRUNCHEON!: THE SONGS OF BOB DYLAN

OUT OF THE BLUE DRILL HALL, 11:30–15:00, FREE

Some of Edinburgh’s best loved musicians interpret the songs of Bob Dylan.

TRAILS (EMPTY AVENUE + EMERALD OVERLOAD)

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

The Guildford-based rockers bring their angular alternative rock riffage to the Weege.

ELKIN (EVAN CRICHTON)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £6

The Edinburgh indie lot return to play their first hometown show in almost four years.

TUMFY AND THE DEECERS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Glasgow and Peebles-straddling ensemble built on a love of good ol’ rock’n’roll.

Sun 14 Sep

YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE BAND

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–01:00, FREE

A selection of six alternative upand-comers fight it out to be your ‘next favourite band’, with two of them being invited back for the cash prize final.

KNOCK OUT KAINE (ENGINES OF VENGAEANCE)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £7

Midlands-based rock quartet led

by Dean Foxx, out and touring their new LP. DAVID THOMAS BROUGHTON (THE JUICE VOCAL ENSEMBLE)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £7

Improvisational loopsmith and singer/songwriter whose layers of noise interweave and delight at every turn.

RAVIOLI ME AWAY

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

All-girl jazzy, post-pop/punk/hip/ funk outfit with added sass.

Tue 16 Sep THE PIERCES

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £16

Alabama-born alternative folk sister duo, seemingly raised on a diet of Joni Mitchell and Simon and Garfunkel.

CATE LE BON

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Welsh singer/songwriter with a rich vocal style, genteel warmth and a fine line in lightly-weird alternative folk.

FRASER LANGTON + JULIETTE PHILOGENE

USHER HALL, 11:00–12:00, £3 (STUDENTS FREE)

Clarinetist Fraser Langton and pianist Juliette Philogene do their collaborative thing. Playing as part of the Usher Hall’s Emerging Artists morning recitals.

Wed 17 Sep DRAGONFORCE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £16

London-based metal quintet led

by Marc Hudson – aka they of the incredibly hard song to pull off on Guitar Hero – out and touring on the back of their latest LP. INDIGO VELVET

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £5

Newly-formed indie-funk quartet raised from the ashes of The Kiks.

JAMIE BARTON

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £15 (£12.50)

The American operatic mezzosoprano plays her first Scottish recital.

Thu 18 Sep KATE RUSBY

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

The Yorkshire singer/songwriter takes in a mix of interpretations of traditional songs and finely wrought self-penned tunes.

RUE ROYALE (BEN SUNDERLAND)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £8

Husband and wife duo made up of Ruth and Brookln Dekker, loved equally for their indie-pop goodness and hand-knitted merch.

TAGADA JONES

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £7

The French hardcore punks hit the UK to help mark 20 years in the game.

JAMYEST: THE INDY REFERNDJAM (LOKI + THE MIGHTY SPARRAHAWK + JMD + JACKAL TRADES + GASP + GORDY DUNCAN JR) WEE RED BAR, 19:00–00:00, FREE

Special Referendum edition of the monthly Jamfest night, featuring a host of live bands, DJs, poets, comedians and MCs coming together for a post-vote pint’n’party.

REFERENDUM MELTDOWN (BATBIKE + INCENDIARY BATS)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:30–01:00, £TBC

OLLIE HOWELL QUINTET JAZZ BAR, 21:00–23:30, £TBC

London-based jazz troupe led by drummer Ollie Howell, playing music from their debut LP, Sutures and Stitches.

CARCER CITY (THE FALLING RAIN + ISLASORNA)

OPIUM, 19:00–22:30, £TBC

Scouse metal quintet led by vocalist Patrick Pinion.

Mon 22 Sep

SWORN TO OATH (SURRENDER THE COAST + HERE LIES A WARNING + LESSONS LEARNED + THE AUSTERITY)

HANA (SWALOWS + NORTHERN)

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £TBC

ANI DIFRANCO

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

The American singer/songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and poet continues to take folk in new and interesting directions, now some 20+ albums into her career.

PADIONA

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

Dio tribute act.

Sat 20 Sep

ATTICA RAGE (FURY + RAMAGE INC + NEST OF VIPERS)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £10 (£8)

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

MAC FLOYD

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £15

Pink Floyd tribute act.

PERCY AND THE MOONCATS

OPIUM, 19:00–22:30, £TBC

The usual 80s-inspired, spandexclad rock extravaganza from Percy and co.

TIJUANA BIBLES

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £6

Glasgow rock’n’rollers built on a diet of gritty guitars, driving bass lines, baritone vocals and rocksteady drums.

COME AND SING

ST ANDREW’S AND ST GEORGE’S WEST, GEORGE ST, 19:30–22:00, £5

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

Instrumental acoustic guitar player with some rather fine legato and finger tapping skills at his disposal.

KESTON COBBLERS CLUB

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £7

Kent-hailing, toe-tapping, indiefolk five-piece – favourites on BBC 6 Music and winners of the Rebel Playlist.

ELECTRIC RIVER

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

London/Ashford-hailing punk rock’n’rollers infused with heavy handed melodies and social commentary.

Thu 25 Sep

CARNIVORES (DONNIE WILLOW)

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

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

ANDY CAIRNS (VERSECHORUSVERSE)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £13 (£11)

MIRACLE GLASS COMPANY

The fledgling power rock trio play a polished set of psychedelic grooves, built on their tight vocal harmonies and ingenious song structures.

QUILT (RYLEY WALKER)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £8

Boston-based quartet built on a woozy mix of three part harmonies and drunken melodies.

MAGIK MARKERS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £7

Experimental rock unit heavily inspired by no wave and hardcore.

Fri 26 Sep VIGO THIEVES

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Wishaw alternative indie quartet, rich with synthesizers and emotionally-charged vocals, hopefully still riding high on the fact John-bloody-Leslie was in one of their first videos.

SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA + BOB MINTZER

Sun 28 Sep SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £20

The pop singer/songwriter/model/ DJ tours her fifth studio album, Wanderlust, following a slew of summer festival appearances.

BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: RUSSIAN CLASSICS

USHER HALL, 15:00–19:00, FROM £11

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra open their new season with a collection of Russian favourites, the centre piece of which will be Scriabin’s Piano Concerto.

TALKING SIDEWAYS (FELIX CHAMPION)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £5

Aberdeen alternative indie-rock trio influenced by the likes of Biffy Clyro, Reuben and Brand New.

YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE BAND: FINAL

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–01:00, FREE

A selection of alternative upand-comers fight it out to be your ‘next favourite band’, with tonight seeing the winner crowned.

Mon 29 Sep JULIE FOWLIS

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:00, £17.50

Traditional folk loveliness moving from the sprightly to the melancholic ballad, with Fowlis’ words riding the flowing fiddles and guitar with the usual consummate grace.

HEYMOONSHAKER

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £9

Dave Crowe’s blues project – all big riffs, loud rhythms and howlin’ vocals – which began life in 2009 with the addition of guitarist and vocalist Andy Balcon.

THE VASELINES

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

The Scottish indie rock progenitors play home soil in celebration of the release of their new LP, V for Vaselines.

BIPOLAR SUNSHINE

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £10

FORTUNE PROMOTIONS SHOWCASE

Dundee Music

The SNJO reinterpret the music of the Yellowjacks, joined by special guest saxophonist Bob Mintzer.

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

Evening of hand-selected unsigned indie from Fortune Promotions.

LIPID (LUCIFER’S CORPUS)

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £6

The longstanding thrash metal unit take to the road to celebrate 20 years of being.

Tue 02 Sep

Sat 27 Sep

Glasgow-based noisemakers creating an expansive yet forceful emo-post-rock fusion.

BAINBRIDGE MUSIC SHOWCASE

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

Monthly showcase selection of new bands who’ve been using Bainbridge Studios facilities this month.

ALY BAIN + PHIL CUNNINGHAM

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £17

Sun 21 Sep

THE BONGO CLUB, 18:00–22:00, £8 ADV. (£12 THEREAFTER)

Monthly experimental music club bringing the good times with their Beefheart-inspired funk.

Four guys from the north of England indulging each of their different musical interests, forming something thick and crunchy with lots of melody and hooks.

Solo project of Manchester-based musician Adio Marchant (formerly of Kid British fame).

Traditional Scots fiddle and accordion duo now nearing their 30th year of touring together.

CLICK CLACK CLUB

VALOURS (FOREST FIRES)

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £18 (£16)

Soloists Ivor Klayman, Susan McNaught, Laura Margaret Smith and Jonathan Cooke perform extracts from The Pilgrim’s Progress by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

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

NEON WALTZ

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £6.50

OPIUM, 20:00–22:30, £5

TRACE BUNDY

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £6

Glasgow-based alternative rock unit with each member hailing from a different rock background.

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

The east coast lunar psych mob launch their new LP of mindbending drone sounds and razor sharp krautrock.

Wed 24 Sep

Fri 19 Sep

More rolling drums, big guitars and massive effing finales from the WWPJ gang as they get back on the touring circuit as part of their sprawling new programme of live dates.

LUNAR LANDING MODULE (KRANKENSCHWESTER)

Psychedelic indie-rock ensemble from the wilderness of Caithness, where they write and play melodic, sun-drenched, sonic soundscapes in a remote croft. As you do.

OPIUM, 19:00–22:30, £5

The Therapy? frontman performs a selection of classic tracks and acoustic solo work.

WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS

The Warrington/Manchesterhailing folk-punk troupe bring the steam-rolling wall of melodic noise, as is their merry way.

Stoke-on-Trent rock/metalstyled trio, out and touring their debut LP.

Henry’s while away the hours whilst waiting for the vote results with a post-punk and alternative rock line-up.

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

ROUGHNECK RIOT (SHATTERHAND + CRITIKILL + MAXWELL’S DEAD) BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

SPINDRIFT (DELTA MAINLINE + THE LAST BATTLE)

The US-of-A psychedelic rock heavyweights hit the UK to promote their recent documentary film, Ghost Of The West, with an exclusive pre-gig screening for ticket holders.

ALBURN (FROWN + VINTAGE MINDS)

NON-ZERO’S, 19:30–23:30, £TBC

Fri 05 Sep LOST IN ECHOES

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £5 ADV. (£6 DOOR)

Stirling-based metalcore-meetshardcore noisemakers formed in late 2010.

Sat 06 Sep DEEP PURPLE IN ROCK

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £7

Deep Purple tribute act.

Sun 07 Sep

ACODA (DEATH AND THE PENGUIN)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, FREE

The Corby-based foursome do their metal with an alternative edge thing.

Listings

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72

THE SKINNY

ANGUS LYON + DUNCAN LYALL THE GARDYNE THEATRE, 19:30–21:30, £12

The duo of Scottish composers embark on a double bill tour of their 3G and Infinite Reflections work – which originated as Celtic Connections’ commissions in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Wed 10 Sep

EMILIO LARGO (PANICBYFLARE + WOJTEK + WHITE BAER)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, FREE

Alternative rock trio made up of three ex-aspiring fisherman (so say they, anyway).

Thu 11 Sep MARK MORRISS

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, FREE

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.

ALY BAIN + PHIL CUNNINGHAM

THE GARDYNE THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £18

Traditional Scots fiddle and accordion duo now nearing their 30th year of touring together.

Fri 12 Sep

MELOPHOBIA (TAPEDECK 45)

NON-ZERO’S, 20:00–23:30, £TBC

The Dundee-based alternative grunge rock’n’rollers launch their new EP.

MAXWELL’S DEAD (A FISH CALLED BASTARD + THE WALKING TARGETS + LIKE I CARE + SALEMSTREET) BUSKERS, 19:30–23:00, £4

The Scottish quartet launch their new LP, serving up an agglomeration of uplifting punk rock party bangers, mixing ska and harmonies in their own inimitable way.

STOP THE CLOCKS

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £7

Oasis tribute act.

Sat 13 Sep

SENEKA (LADYKILLER CATERPILLAR)

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Edinburgh-based rock outfit cemented by a love of The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac.

Thu 18 Sep ONE LAST SECRET

BUSKERS, 20:00–23:00, FREE

The Kilmarnock rock-meetspop foursome continue to tour themselves silly.

Fri 19 Sep HEADWAY

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £12 ADV. (£14 THEREAFTER)

The Headway crew welcome German duo Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann (aka Âme) for a deck takeover.

SINNERBOY

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £9

Rory Gallagher tribute act.

Sat 20 Sep

SCOTTISH ENSEMBLE: ESSENTIAL ENSEMBLE

CAIRD HALL, 19:30–22:00, £12 (£5)

A selection of soloists step out from Scottish Ensemble to perform three of Vivaldi’s virtuosic concertos, as part of the Scottish Ensemble’s 2014 residency in Dundee.

ALBERT LEE AND HOGAN’S HEROES

THE GARDYNE THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £19

The double Grammy Awardwinning guitarist returns to the UK with his live band in tow, having worked with everyone from Dolly Parton to Eric Clapton in his time.

DAMAGE INC

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

Metallica tribute act.

Thu 25 Sep

FOREST FIRES (THE SPARROWHAWK ORKESTREL + CUTTING CORNERS + UNKNOWN ON SUNDAY)

NON-ZERO’S, 19:30–23:30, £TBC

Aberdeen-based alternative rock quintet, setting themselves apart via delicate chords and melody work.

Sat 27 Sep

SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA + BOB MINTZER

CAIRD HALL, 19:30–22:00, £20 (£17.50)

The SNJO reinterpret the music of the Yellowjacks, joined by special guest saxophonist Bob Mintzer.

September 2014

HORDES OF BELIAL 2014 (THRESHOLD SICKS + AMOK + DCON + DOG TIRED + PARTY CANNON + RED COMMAND + ATRAGON + V IS FOR... VILE! + BISONGRASS) BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

One-day noise fest welcoming a selection of bands of the underground metal and hard rock persuasion; you do the moshing.

Thu 18 Sep ROOMS THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4

Thursday nighter (as the name would suggest) playing anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 19 Sep HEADWAY

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £12 ADV. (£14 THEREAFTER)

Dundee Clubs

The Headway crew welcome German duo Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann (aka Âme) for a deck takeover.

WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Thu 04 Sep ROOMS THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4

Thursday nighter (as the name would suggest) playing anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 05 Sep HEAVENS ABOVE

BUSKERS, 20:00–02:30, £8

A night dedicated to old skool tunes of every hue.

20 YEARS OF SUBCULTURE

READING ROOMS, 21:30–02:30, £7

The long-running Glasgow house night continues to celebrate 20 years of greatness, with residents Harri & Domenic skipping across to Dundee to share some of the love.

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 06 Sep 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’.

KERRANG! KLUB TAKEOVER

KAGE, 23:00–02:30, £5

Metal magazine hellraisers Kerrang take charge for the evening.

Thu 11 Sep TITEKNOTS

READING ROOMS, 18:00–02:30, £5

House aficionado mixing together cut and paste, sample-based hiphop with the musicality and energy of house and disco.

ROOMS THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4

WARPED

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go.

Sat 13 Sep

SPEKTRUM: 3RD BIRTHDAY & BBQ (DANNY HOWELLS) READING ROOMS, 18:00–02:30, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

The showcase night for electronic DJs and producers from across the globe celebrates its third birthday, bolstered by electric DJ Danny Powells making his Dundee debut, plus BBQ action!

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’.

FNOOB TECHNO

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:30–02:30, £5

Six hours of the finest in techno tunage, played out by Stevie Rose, Jase Gallacher, Stevie Webster, Kevin Darling and Neil Birnie.

Thu 04 Sep WALK ‘N’ SKANK

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

BENJI WEBBE

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

KAGE, 23:00–02:30, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

Kage play host to a one-off Saturday night DJ set from Skindred’s Benji Webbe, likely whipping up another manic frenzy as per his guest set last year.

Thu 25 Sep ROOMS THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4

Thursday nighter (as the name would suggest) playing anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 26 Sep 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 27 Sep 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’.

Glasgow Clubs

Fri 12 Sep

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

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.

FAT SAM’S, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£5)

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

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £7 (£4)

Special ‘taster’ event for the forthcoming Art School new cosmic Thursday nighter, Out Of Orbit.

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs.

Tue 02 Sep

Two of Dundee’s younger veterans – Teddy Hannan and Correlate & George – come together to create a new addition to the Reading Rooms roster: welcome Phazed!

BEAST WEDNESDAYS

Sat 20 Sep

Thursday nighter (as the name would suggest) playing anything and everything ‘good’.

PHAZED

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go.

MASK

KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

I AM (DANIEL AVERY)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, this edition joined by Daniel Avery and his acidflecked tunneling soundscapes. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

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

Wed 03 Sep TAKE IT SLEAZY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

IN THE BASEMENT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Monthly R’n’B, soul and rock’n’roll night hosted by David Stone and DJ Snafu.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Disco-styled party night with Alfredo Crolla spinning a selection of favourites, bolstered by karaoke sessions and popcorn stalls, just, y’know, cos.

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Mogwai founder and frontman Stuart Braithwaite stops by to help Bloc+ relaunch following its refurb, pitching up for an evening of fine tunes and dancing.

Industro-rock noise party Deathkill 4000 pitch up for day two of Bloc+’s post-refurb reopening party, joined by Scottish ensemble Roman Nose.

Sat 06 Sep

Sun 07 Sep

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

NU SKOOL

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

DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

Monthly mix of nu-metal and hard rockin’ tunes with DJs Mythic and Div.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

BLACK TENT

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.

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

THE ROCK SHOP

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over three rooms.

JAMMING FRIDAYS

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez.

THE BIG CHEESE

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Student-friendly Friday night party playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue.

HARSH TUG

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

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

YES!

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

New gay indie night on the block, with a playlist that mixes classic Bowie, The Smiths and Blondie et al alongside new kids like Django Djanjo and Grimes.

FRESH BEATS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

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

XXL

THE ARCHES, 22:30–03:00, £10

The Mark Ames-founded London gay night makes a return trip Glasgow-way.

FOR THE RECORD (CELSIUS + 2GROOVE)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

ASTRAL BLACK (SPOOKY)

Round two of the Astral Black Glasgow residency, enlisting the help of Slew Dem Producer/DJ, Spooky, to get things poppin’.

ANIMAL FARM (JONAS JOPP + DJ DEEP)

SHED SATURDAYS

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs.

I HEART GARAGE SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Student superclub cramming in everything from hip-hop to dance, and funk to chart.

MELTING POT (DANNY KRIVIT)

THE ADMIRAL, 22:30–03:00, £12 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

The Melting Pot crew return from their summer break with DJ giant Danny Krivit (of NYC night Body and Soul) in tow.

GIMME SHELTER

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Varied night moving from the 50s to present day, via selections of rock’n’roll, soul, garage, psych and r’n’b.

DON’T SYNC

RIVER, 23:00–03:00, £5

Fresh playlists of underground house with Robsoul Recordings Craig Hamilton and Huhu Music’s Chris Mac.

LET’S GO BACK... WAY BACK: 14TH BIRTHDAY (MC TUNES + VINCE VEGA)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£7 AFTER 11)

The Let’s Go Back... crew celebrate their 14th birthday in the fine company of MC Tunes and Happy Mondays tour DJ, Vince Vega.

MAXI DANCE POOL

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £5

More in the way of many-hued disco soundscapes from the Maxi Dance Pool residents.

20 YEARS OF SUBCULTURE BOAT PARTY (HARRI & DOMENIC + LIL TONY + TELFORD)

GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE, 19:00–23:00, £25

The long-running house night sets sail down’t Clyde as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, with regular hosts Harri & Domenic joined by Lil Tony and Telford.

Boat leaves from Glasgow Science Centre. After-party at Sub Club.

20 YEARS OF SUBCULTURE BOAT PARTY: AFTER PARTY SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

The Animal Farm lot return to Subbie with a duo of special guests: Jonas Jopp (celebrating his first visit to Scotland, no less) and DJ Deep.

Official after-bash for Subcultures’s boat party down’t the Clyde, with guests Harri & Domenic, Lil Tony and Telford joining them on land for s’more deck action.

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £4

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £6

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

BRUT

S&R return for their usual night of sleaze and freak.

BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

SUPERMAX: 7TH BIRTHDAY

A taste of the decadent sound systems of NYC’s disco era, with main man Billy Woods this edition celebrating seven glorious years of being.

TASTE OF ORBIT

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fri 12 Sep OLD SKOOL

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. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

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

Wed 10 Sep SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm, playing back-to-back all night long.

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.

DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Disco-styled party night with Alfredo Crolla spinning a selection of favourites, bolstered by karaoke sessions and popcorn stalls, just, y’know, cos.

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.

NO GLOBE

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The No Globe posse play their frenetic night of party music beyond borders, with live visuals and free entry for all.

SHANGRILA: YEAR II KICK-OFF

THE ARCHES, 23:00–03:00, £5

The regular student party returns, with entertainment and décor inspired by festivals across the globe and some hot DJ names dropping by to provide the soundtrack.

Thu 11 Sep WALK ‘N’ SKANK

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

The very best in bass, featuring the talents of the Mungo’s Hi-Fi, with a guest or two oft in tow.

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.

SHED SATURDAYS

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

DAMNATION

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

KINO FIST

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

I HEART GARAGE SATURDAYS

Student superclub cramming in everything from hip-hop to dance, and funk to chart.

SINGLES NIGHT

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Genre-spanning mix of 60s psych, leftfield pop and Krautrock with resident Charlotte (of Muscles of Joy).

Andy Divine and Chris Geddes’ gem of a night dedicated to 7-inch singles from every genre imaginable.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

PROPAGANDA

FANTASTIC MAN

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

Messy Saturday night uber-disco featuring a rotating schedule of live talent.

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £5

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

Celebration of all things 90s, with hits a-plenty and a pre-club bingo session.

KILLER KITSCH

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs.

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over three rooms.

SPACE INVADER

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

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

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning the disco beats.

Tue 09 Sep

LOVE MUSIC

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

Mon 08 Sep

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents Garry and Andrew incite more mayhem than should really be allowed on the Sabbath, taking in chart anthems, mash-ups and requests.

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, while DJ David Lo Pan holes up in The Attic playing retro classics.

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

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

SUNDAY ROASTER

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

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

PROPAGANDA

COUNTERFEIT

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

OLD SKOOL

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£4 STUDENTS AFTER 12)

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop.

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BLOC+ RE-OPENING PARTY: DEATHKILL 4000 (ROMAN NOSE)

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spun by DJs Billy and Muppet.

The For The Record lot return, this time with two guests in tow: Celsius and 2Groove.

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm, playing back-to-back all night long.

BLOC+ RE-OPENING PARTY (STUART BRAITHWAITE)

Fri 05 Sep

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

SUB ROSA

THE ROCK SHOP MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Glasgow Clubs

The very best in bass, featuring the talents of the Mungo’s Hi-Fi, with a guest or two oft in tow.

Classy club takeover snaking its way across four rooms, with a VIP lounge to boot.

JELLY BABY O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

COMMON PEOPLE

THE FLYING DUCK, 21:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

JAMMING FRIDAYS

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez.

THE BIG CHEESE

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Student-friendly Friday night party playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue.

FRESH BEATS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £10 (£8)

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

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.

LA CHEETAH’S 5TH BIRTHDAY: PART 1 (LEVON VINCENT + WARDY + DOM D’SYLVA + OFFBEAT) LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10

For part one of the 1st birthday shenanigans, La Cheetah finally welcome Levon Vincent – a man they’ve been trying to snare for the past five years – with the club residents providing the warm-up.

CARL COX (JON RUNDELL + GUY GERBER)

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £25

The acid house and techno veteran plays a rather special set, with support from Intec mainstay and regular collaborator, Jon Rundell, plus Guy Gerber holing up in room two.

RETURN TO MONO (FLOORPLAN)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £12

Monthly night from Soma Records, this time playing host to Detroit minimal techno innovator Floorplan (aka Robert Hood).

WILD COMBINATION (PAUL THOMSON)

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £5

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, welcomes Franz Ferdinand’s Paul Thomson for a special guest slot.

Sat 13 Sep 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.

CRIMES OF THE FUTURE

Scott Fraser and Timothy J. Fairplay host their favourited music club playing a decidedly left-field selection of Krautrock, electronic, dub and everything inbetween.

WRONG ISLAND

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

The legendary Teamy and Dirty Larry spin some fresh electronics for your aural pleasure.

TROPICAL

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Dan Shake does his eclectic, diverse and dancefloor-orientated thing; you do the boogieing.

HARDSTYLE SUPERHEROES (NOISECONTROLLERS + PSYKO PUNKZ ) THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £20

The Glasgow hardstyle club returns to The Arches with two acts from the Dutch hardstyle scene in tow: Noisecontrollers and Psyko Punkz.

SUBCULTURE (SLOW TO SPEAK)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

Long-running house night with regulars Harri & Domenic joined by Brooklyn-based house duo Francis Englehardt and Paul Nickerson (aka Slow To Speak).

Sun 14 Sep SUNDAY ROASTER

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents Garry and Andrew incite more mayhem than should really be allowed on the Sabbath, taking in chart anthems, mash-ups and requests.

VERTIGO

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

DJ Kelmosh plays a mix of rock, dance and indie hits.

Mon 15 Sep 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.

SKOOL DISCO

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

School Disco-styled night playing the best of the 80-00s, with emphasis on cheese.

Tue 16 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.

CALI COURT HALLS PARTY

THE GARAGE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Freshers fun night for the students at Cali Court Halls.

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:00–02:00, £TBC

Party ready mix of 70s/80s neon jukebox singalongs, in honour of all y’all freshers.

I AM: 4TH BIRTHDAY (OPTIMO)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Taking to their regular Sub Club lair in celebratory mode, i AM resident DJs Beta & Kappa hunker down for their 4th Birthday – joined by the Optimo tag team (aka JD Twitch and JG Wilkes) for a return guest slot.

Listings

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Wed 17 Sep 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, playing back-to-back all night long.

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.

FRESH MILK (BLOOD RELATIVES + EILIDH HADDEN + MONEY INC DJS)

FLAT 0/1, 21:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

After a one-off Edinburgh Festival show in August, Milk returns to its Glasgow hometown in time to get low with the freshers – joined live

by Blood Relatives and Eilidh Hadden. Plus the usual milk cocktails and cookies, obvs.

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.

UNITE HALLS PARTY

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Freshers fun night for the students at Unite Halls.

PROPAGANDA

FREAKY FREAKY

BEAST WEDNESDAYS

SHAKE APPEAL

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

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

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over three rooms.

WILD COMBINATION

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £5

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, digs out some disco, Afro, drunk funk and late night party jams under a strobelight moon.

JAMMING FRIDAYS

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez.

THE BIG CHEESE

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Student-friendly Friday night party playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue.

DRAGONFORCE (STORMBORN)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £16

London-based metal quintet led

by Marc Hudson – aka they of the incredibly hard song to pull off on Guitar Hero – out and touring on the back of their latest LP. KILL YR IDOLS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

WELCOME BACK PARTY (ARGONAUT SOUNDS + DBAC VS POPPIN’ + HANDPICKED + ECHOBLOOM + NIGHT OF THE JAGUAR + NO GLOBE)

DIY disco with a punk attitude, where psychedelic voodoo grooves meet souped-up turbo-tech.

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Wednesday regulars join forces with Subcity Radio – who will be showcasing some of their top shows on the station – for a freshers’ special, joined by the likes of Argonaut Sounds, Handpicked and Echobloom.

SHANGRILA (RIVA STARR)

THE ARCHES, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student party with entertainment and decor inspired by festivals across the globe, this edition welcoming Naples-born house music maverick, Riva Starr.

Thu 18 Sep WALK ‘N’ SKANK

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

The very best in bass, featuring the talents of the Mungo’s Hi-Fi, with a guest or two oft in tow.

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. HEX

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

Residents takeover from the Hex lot, returning to La Cheetah for a full-on house and techno session.

JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

OUT OF ORBIT (MURRAY)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£3/£2 STUDENT AFTER 12)

The cosmic-heavy Out Of Orbit residents welcome part sax enchanter part Djembe hypnotizer, Murray Collier (of Whilst), for a guest slot.

THE ARCHES POLITICAL PARTY

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £5

The Arches ride out the anticipation with a night of artistic interaction, live music and DJs, ahead of the Referendum results coming in. Part of The Arches’ Referendum Festival.

PHILANTHROBEATS: LEAVE YOUR VOTE AT THE DOOR (JD TWITCH + HARRI) SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

The Philanthrobeats crew mark Referendum night in the only way they know how – by throwing a giant party, o’course! – with guests including Subculture’s Harri, Optimo’s JD Twitch and Philantrobeats’ own Fortywinks.

Fri 19 Sep 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.

Listings

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.

SUBCULTURE (DERRICK CARTER)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £15

Long-running house night with regulars Harri & Domenic this time handing over the decks to Chicago house legend Derrick Carter for the full four hours.

MATTACHINE

THE FLYING DUCK, 21:00–03:00, £5

Hedwig & The Angry Inch and Shortbus director John Cameron Mitchell, along with Shortbus collaborators, roll into town with their famous NY queer night.

CODE (TRUNCATE)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

Underground techno specialists Code return to La Cheetah, bringing techno heavyweight Truncate (aka Audio Injection) all the way from LA. HEAD PHONE DISCO

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Garage host a one-off head phone disco night for your Saturday night pleasure.

THE JUAN MACLEAN

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £7

DFA Records’ Juan Maclean gives punters a rare taste of NYC’s leftfield sound.

SUGO

TYCI (CUT RIBBONS + GLASGOW ROLLERDERBY DJS + KID CANAVERAL DJS)

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The Italian trashy disco returns for another night of carnage.

INTERGALACTIC’S MAYBEINDEPENDENCE DAY PARTY

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The day after the Independence Referendum vote, DJs Gav Dunbar and Steven Clark hole up for a night of nothing but great Scottish dancing tunes.

OPTION ONE (EAST END DUBS)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£10 AFTER 12)

The Option One team welcome East End Dubs, a London producer who has busily made a name for himself with a deep and dark brand of house music on his own label.

LUCKYME (ECLAIR FIFI + S-TYPE + THE BLESSINGS + DAVID BARBAROSSA + UBRE BLANCA + NAKED) THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

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FRESH BEATS

Cheeky fun with Vitamin’s Sam Murray, sifting through some fresh R’n’B and electronic from Scotland and beyond.

The globetrotting music, art and all-round party crew host an eclectic special, rich with the delights of Eclair FiFi, S-Type, The Blessings, David Barbarossa, Ubre Blanca and Naked. That do you?

RINSE FM (JONNIE WILKES VS IVAN SMAGGHE)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

Rinse FM invite French composer and producer Ivan Smagghe and one half of the Optimo tag-team, JG Wilkes, for a back-to-back set.

Sat 20 Sep 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.

THE ROCK SHOP

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

LOVE MUSIC

The all-female collective, blog and fanzine bring together a selection of live acts and DJs for their monthly party night.

Sun 21 Sep

THAT DRUMMER THAT DJ

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The energetic Glasgow duo (aka Ryan Hassan and DJ Grantos) man the decks for the evening.

EASY

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Anything goes night of requests to mix-up your Sunday.

Mon 22 Sep 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.

SPACE INVADER

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, while DJ David Lo Pan holes up in The Attic playing retro classics.

Tue 23 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.

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.

STRATHCLYDE HALLS PARTY (DJ JIMMY ELEVEN)

THE GARAGE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Freshers fun night for the students at Strathclyde Halls.

Wed 24 Sep RAVE OR DIE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

The Garage’s infamous raver’s night returns for a one-off outing, complete with a rave room, bouncy castle and UV paint.

HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop.

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

SHED SATURDAYS

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs.

SO WEIT SO GUT

The party sounds of Ean, Smiddy and Kenny White on decks.

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

SHANGRILA (BONTAN)

THE ARCHES, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student party with entertainment and decor inspired by festivals across the globe, this edition welcoming underground house-lovin’ producer, Bontan.

SUB ROSA (DOC DANEEKA)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm, this edition joined by Welshman Mial Watkins (aka Doc Daneeka) for a set of his signature syncopated beats and enthralling polyrhythms. Rescheduled date.

Damn fine evening of hip shakers and neck breakers, combining everything from Buddy Holly to Motorhead.

FRESH BEATS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

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

PISTOLS AT DAWN (MARK SEVEN)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

The Pistols At Dawn merrymakers welcome respected crate digger and founder of JusWax records, Mark Seven, to their La Cheetah lair.

ARIKA 14: MAKE A WAY OUT OF NO WAY (MIKEQ + MISS PRISSY + LEGENDARY PONY ZION GARÇON)

STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £4

The very best in bass, featuring the talents of the Mungo’s Hi-Fi, with a guest or two oft in tow.

Alternative club night exploring house music and social dance through the Krumper Dragon quote: ‘Is the club a space in which we might still be able to dance our way out of the time-traps and identity prisons we are locked in?’...

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Sat 27 Sep

Thu 25 Sep WALK ‘N’ SKANK

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

NEVERLAND

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

OUT OF ORBIT (SO WEIT SO GUT)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

The cosmic-heavy Out Of Orbit residents welcome the party sounds of So Weit So Gut for a guest slot.

SHOW VS SUB CLUB

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

The Show crew pitch up for their occasional Thursday takeover.

STRETCHED: FRANK ZAPPA SPECIAL

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Jazz-influenced sound sauna, moving through mathcore to postrock, this time in a Frank Zappa special edition.

Fri 26 Sep 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.

THE HOT CLUB

NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

THE GATSBY CLUB: WORLDS OF TOMORROW GLASGOW UNIVERSITY UNION, 19:30–02:00, £14

1920s-themed cabaret and club night taking in a line-up of music hall variety, cabaret acts, burlesque performers, dancers, comedy, singers and more.

Sun 28 Sep 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.

BEACH BALL

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Themed freshers’ night with the added LOLs of a Surf Simulator.

EIGENHEIMER AND FRIENDS (EIGENHEIMER + GARY KRISHNA + TEEBAG THE HUSTLA + LOWE FREQUENCY + NONIMA + PAUL CHILLAGE + UP DIGITAL)

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 20:00–03:00, £TBC

September weekend party night with innovative madman Eigenheimer and friends.

Mon 29 Sep BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning the disco beats.

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

ABSOLUTION

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.

SPACE INVADER

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, while DJ David Lo Pan holes up in The Attic playing retro classics.

Edinburgh Clubs

THE ROCK SHOP

Tue 02 Sep

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

HIVE TUESDAYS

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk.

SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team.

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

SHED SATURDAYS

HECTOR’S HOUSE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs.

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

DAMNATION

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Wed 03 Sep

HOUNDIN’ THE STREETS

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits.

Tearin’ it up with 60s psych-outs and modern sleaze, provided by Rafla and Andy (of The Phantom Band).

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 indie music.

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over three rooms.

WILD COMBINATION

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £5

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, digs out some disco, Afro, drunk funk and late night party jams under a strobelight moon.

SUPER TROUPER

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

I HEART GARAGE SATURDAYS

Student superclub cramming in everything from hip-hop to dance, and funk to chart.

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.

MUNGO’S HI-FI

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

More heavyweight selections from Mungo’s Soundsystem and pals.

MAURO PICOTTO (CRAIG CONNELLY + MARCEL WOODS)

THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £17 EARLYBIRD (£22 THEREAFTER)

COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines – joined for a guest set by Daniel Avery and his acid-flecked tunneling soundscapes.

Thu 04 Sep

I AM EDINBURGH (TELFORD)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

JAMMING FRIDAYS

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez.

THE BIG CHEESE

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Student-friendly Friday night party playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue.

All-new night taking in a bit of disco, house, techno and acid, plus all manner of other wavy beats. #NOTSOSILENT: 2ND BIRTHDAY (MOVE D VS AXEL BOMAN) LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £12

For their second birthday, #notsosilent get all nostalgic and invite back two of their favourite selectors – with Axel Boman going back-to-back with Move D. DC SESSION: IAN POOLEY

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £7

The one and only Ian Pooley drops by for a set of his intense uptempo house and techno.

JUICE

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo. 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.

Tue 09 Sep

DISORDER

Pumped night of acid, techno and electro soundscapes with the Disorder residents.

ROAD TRIP

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Fun night intended to act as an audiovisual vacation around the globe, with the best mixtapes to match.

MAD HATTER’S D’N’B PARTY

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

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

IN DEEP (JON K)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

Sneaky’s new Friday nighter welcomes Manc underground house specialist Jon K for a guest set.

Sat 06 Sep 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.

EH1 FESTIVAL

ROYAL HIGHLAND CENTRE, 12:00–03:00, £35 EARLYBIRD (£40 THEREAFTER)

Dance music festival spread across seven arenas and featuring some of the cream of world DJ talent – amongst ‘em Duke Dumont, Laidback Luke, Paul Van Dyk, Dave Seaman, Tall Paul, Theo Kottis, Craig Wilson, and a beat-laden batch more.

SPEAKER BITE ME

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

The Evol DJs worship at the alter of all kinds of indie-pop, with their only rule being that it’s gotta have bite.

THUNDER DISCO CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Thunder Disco Club residents churn out the 90s house, techno and disco hits, as is their merry way.

BORDELLO

STUDIO 24, 20:00–03:00, £4

MESSENGER SOUND SYSTEM

Conscious roots and dub reggae rockin’ from the usual beefy soundsystem.

KARNIVAL (SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £15

Local house crew Karnival play host to a special guest slot from electronic duo par excellence, Simian Mobile Disco.

HECTOR’S HOUSE (ROY DAVIS JR)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

The HH crew up sticks to Sneaky’s for the evening, joined by legendary Chicago house producer Roy Davis Jr for the occasion.

Sun 07 Sep 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

Mon 08 Sep

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk.

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

DJs Basstard, Messy Chris, JMD and LGIC serve up a suitably riotous mix of D’n’B, neurofunk and jungle.

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

PLANET EARTH

HIVE TUESDAYS

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of live guests.

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of.

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

Fri 05 Sep MISFITS

NU FIRE (GOLDLINK)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£7 AFTER 12)

WITNESS (DANIEL AVERY)

Cab Vol’s newest club kicks off with a special guest slot from seasoned veteran Zed Bias, playing what’s muted to be one of his final outings.

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hiphop to bass with a plethora of live MCs, joined by Kaytranda’s young rap protege, Goldlink.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £8 (MEMBERS FREE)

The Italian electronic dance specialist pays a visit, likely imbuing his set with a good dose of techno-trance.

The Thunder Disco Club residents churn out the 90s house, techno and disco hits, as is their merry way.

FLY (ALTUS + TELFORD)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

PARTIAL: LAUNCH NIGHT (ZED BIAS) CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5

A powerhouse of local residents take over Cab Vol, joined by a selection of guest talent both local and from further afield (aka London).

Classic sleazy rock action, all the night long.

Clubber’s delight dedicated to all-Swedish indie, pop and rock – moving from ABBA through to The Knife like a proper legend o’ a thing.

HAUS DIMENSION

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

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

Resident i AM young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass.

THUNDER DISCO CLUB

PROPAGANDA THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3 MEMBERS)

MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics.

HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

BAKERMAT

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £12

The up-and-coming Dutch producer (aka Lodewijk Fluttert) plays a special Freshers-welcoming set.

Wed 10 Sep 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, FREE (£3 AFTER MIDNIGHT)

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.

ROAD TRIP

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Fun night intended to act as an audiovisual vacation around the globe, with the best mixtapes to match.

ROUTE 66

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Student fun night spinning motown, blues, hip-hop and funkstyled dancing tunes.

Thu 11 Sep I AM EDINBURGH

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Resident i AM young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass.

JUICE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo. 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 12 Sep 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 SKINNY

Edinburgh Clubs PROPAGANDA THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3 MEMBERS)

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

XPLICIT

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£7 AFTER 12)

Mon 15 Sep 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

Heavy jungle and bass-styled beats DJ Fusion and Beef move from from the inimitable Xplicit crew, hip-hop to bass with a plethora likely with a guest or two in tow. of live MCs. COSMIC

STUDIO 24, 21:00–03:00, £3 (£6 AFTER 10)

MOVE (MIA DORA)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Monthly club bringing the spirit of the psychedelic trance dance ritual to the floor, with live acts, VJs and colourful fluoro decor.

First installment of a new monthly series, with the Move residents warming up with a fine selection of house joined by Glasgow’s Mia Dora.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Tue 16 Sep

FLY (THEO KOTTIS)

A powerhouse of local residents take over Cab Vol, joined by a selection of guest talent both local and from further afield (aka London).

MINI ETC

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 AFTER 12)

Concentrated version of Edinburgh Tekno Cartel’s main party night – ETC – playing the usual wealth of sleazy bass and techno beats.

IN DEEP (LORCA)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

The In Deep champs welcome Brighton resident Lorca for a guest set, marking one of a batch of Sneaky’s shows he’ll play this year.

Sat 13 Sep 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.

DR NO’S

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 AFTER 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.

STAY GOLD

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £TBC

The Stay Gold residents spin a mix of hip-hop, garage, house and disco for your general dancing pleasure.

TEESH

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, playing a varied selection of tuneage.

ROLLER DISCO

STUDIO 24, 21:00–03:00, £TBC

HIVE TUESDAYS

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk.

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.

HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

SOUL JAM HOT: DJ CHEEBA’S AFTER SCHOOL CLUB

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team, taking in a full live mixed scratch AV show from DJ Cheeba.

Wed 17 Sep 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.

ROUTE 66

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£2 STUDENT AFTER 12)

All-new weekly Sunday party spread across two rooms, with the launch night bolstered by guest sets from disco stalwart Sean P and Drumcode’s Dubspeeka.

September 2014

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

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 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.

FLY (FINNEBASSEN)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

A powerhouse of local residents take over Cab Vol, joined by a selection of guest talent both local and from further afield (aka London).

ROAD TRIP

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Fun night intended to act as an audiovisual vacation around the globe, with the best mixtapes to match.

KAPITAL (MARC HOULE)

THE CAVES, 23:00–03:00, £10 EARLYBIRD

The Kapital crew return with their usual beefed-up soundsystem action, welcoming disco-tech/ nu-wave pioneer Marc Houle for the evening.

NIGHTVISION LAUNCH WEEKEND: PART 1 (CHASE & STATUS + KOVE + GOTSOME)

CITY, 23:00–03:00, FROM £15

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision kicks off its weekendlong opening celebrations, with Manc DJ duo Chase & Status headering the bill with their effortless marrying of liquid funk rich with ragga sounds.

BOMB FACTORY

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

DJs Ziggy Gee, Scavenger, Kimeeruh and Aodh serve up selections of D’n’B, neurofunk and jungle.

IN DEEP

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

MISFITS

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

Monthly skate night in Studio 24’s own indoor park, complete with DJs, live music, a ping pong table and projectors.

WASABI DISCO

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

PLANET EARTH

Sat 20 Sep

Fri 19 Sep

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae and dancehall.

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Thu 18 Sep Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo.

Fresh playlists spanning metal, pop-punk and alternative soundscapes.

Heady bout of cosmic house, punk upside-down disco and, er, Fleetwood Mac with yer man Kris ‘Wasabi’ Walker.

Sneaky’s regular Friday nighter featuring guest DJs from across the UK.

JUICE

CHAMPION SOUND THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER MIDNIGHT)

Soulful dancing fodder, from deep funk to reggae beats with your regular DJ hosts.

Student fun night spinning motown, blues, hip-hop and funkstyled dancing tunes.

DJ playlists of the best in 70s and HULLABALOO 80s disco to accompany your falling THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2) Mash-up mix of beats, breaks and over (sorry, we mean skating).

MUMBO JUMBO: 6TH BIRTHDAY hip-hop from Mumbo Jumbo’s THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£7/£5 Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin, STUDENT AFTER 12) bolstered by Tall Paul’s vintage Funk, soul, beats and mash-ups selections. from the Mumbo Jumbo regulars HI-SOCIETY and pals, this edition making merry THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE in celebration of their 6th birthday. Playlists of student-friendly chart THINK TWICE (THE REVENGE) anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3) r’n’b and urban in the back room.

The dance-inducing party night I AM EDINBURGH: 4TH BIRTHDAY welcome renegade brother from (ARTFUL) the 6th Borough, The Revenge, for CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4) Resident i AM young guns Beta & a guest slot.

Kappa make their now regular trip Sun 14 Sep east, this time celebrating their COALITION 4th birthday in the fine company SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE of Artful.

Weekly cross-genre of bass STROBE from a cast of Edinburgh’s best ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2.50 underground DJs. AFTER 12) THE CLUB Sprawling party night spread THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE across four rooms – with a main Two rooms of all the chart, cheese room of house and electro beats, and indie-pop you can think of. bolstered by a UV Room, a PhotoFIFTY/FIFTY: LAUNCH NIGHT (SEAN booth Room and a Mixology Room.

P + DUBSEEKA)

FOUR CORNERS

DECADE STUDIO 24, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 STUDENT AFTER 12)

TEASE AGE

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the classic and modern spectrums.

THE EGG

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£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.

THE GREEN DOOR

STUDIO 24, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Surf, blues and rockabilly from the 50s and early 60s, plus free cake.

Job done.

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.

GASOLINE DANCE MACHINE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

More classic Italo and straight-up boogie allied with contemporary house and disco, as Edinburgh’s GDM crew do their thing.

POP ROCKS!

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all).

NIGHTVISION LAUNCH WEEKEND: PART 2

THE LIQUID ROOM, 23:00–03:00, FROM £15

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision continues its weekend-long opening shenanigans, handing over the reins to the triple-whammy line-up of Russian techno queen Nina Kraviz, Puerto Rican house don DJ Sneak and London electronic chap Enzo Siragusa.

SOUL OBSESSION

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–03:00, £7

Ottawa-based band of musos dedicated to the spirit of funk and soul.

Sun 21 Sep 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 (CRAIG SMITH + STEPHEN BROWN)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£2 STUDENT AFTER 12)

All-new weekly Sunday party spread across two rooms, the edition with guests Harry Bennet and the Syndicate DJs joining the residents.

COALITION (THE JUAN MACLEAN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs – this edition joined

by DFA Records’ Juan Maclean, giving punters a rare taste of NYC’s leftfield sound.

Mon 22 Sep 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.

HECTOR’S HOUSE (LUKE SOLOMON)

THE BUNKER

STUDIO 24, 20:00–03:00, £2

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 25 Sep JUICE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo. FLY (NOLAN & HERD)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

A powerhouse of local residents take over Cab Vol, joined by a selection of guest talent both local and from further afield (aka London).

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 26 Sep 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 indie music.

POCKET ACES (GARETH SOMMERVILLE)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Dance-inducing party with an anything goes attitude and rotating rota of guest DJs.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

MJÖLK

Tue 23 Sep

Occasional night playing the finest in Swedish indie pop, plus 60s, 70s and independent tunes from near and far.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £8

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

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 24 Sep COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits.

I AM EDINBURGH (RICHARD FEARLESS)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Resident i AM young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass.

WITNESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines.

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

#NOTSOSILENT (MOVE D)

Belch and crew bring the best in underground house, joined

by Move D and his mixed bag of tunes – ranging merrily from Detroit-inflected grooves to wired electronic jazz.

ROAD TRIP

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Fun night intended to act as an audiovisual vacation around the globe, with the best mixtapes to match.

CREATURES OF HABIT

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

House, tech-house and techno from resident DJs Peter Annand and Jack Swift.

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.

SYS ANIMAL CIRCUS

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

The We Are Tall Order DJs play a party-ready mix of minimal, techno and acid soundscapes.

Sat 27 Sep 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

Theatre Glasgow

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard.

Citizens Theatre

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£8 AFTER 12)

The definitive book of the 20th century is re-examined in a radical new staging exploring surveillance, identity and why Orwell’s vision of the future is as relevant now as ever.

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

The Ride girls play hip-hop and dance, all night long – now in their new party-ready Saturday night slot.

SOULSVILLE

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Swinging soul spanning a whole century, with DJs Tsatsu and Fryer.

MADCHESTER

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £6

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

BETAMAX

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Monthly offering of new wave, disco, post-punk and a bit o’ synthtastic 80s with your hosts Chris and Big Gus. DR NO’S

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 AFTER 12)

Danceable mix of the best in 60s ska, rocksteady, bluebeat and early reggae.

JACKHAMMER (STEPHEN BROWN)

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £8

The Jackhammer crew up our dose of all things techno with their usual monthly outing, a guest of two likely in tow.

NIGHTVISION: SKREAM (JASPER JAMES)

LA BELLE ANGÈLE, 21:00–03:00, FROM £15

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision continues with a headline set from dubstep forbearer Skream, joined on support duties

by Scottish man-of-the-moment Jasper James.

JOY

STUDIO 24, 22:30–03:00, £10 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

After last year’s 20th anniversary outing, the legendary Edinburgh gay night returns to celebrate 21 years of nostalgic clubbing mayhem with the original Joy DJs and pals.

Sun 28 Sep 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 (HARRY BENNET + SYNDICATE DJS)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£2 STUDENT AFTER 12)

All-new weekly Sunday party spread across two rooms, the edition with guests Harry Bennet and the Syndicate DJs joining the residents.

COALITION (JUST KIDDIN’)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs – this edition joined by jackin’ house specialists Just Kiddin’ for their rescheduled set.

Mon 29 Sep 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. HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

DUSKY

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £TBC

Rising stars, Beatport Chart toppers, Radio 1 darlings and all-round club smash brothers – Dusky – stage a four-hour deck takeover.

ARIKA 14: WAYWARDNESS

26 SEP, 7:00PM – 7:45PM, £4 (£14 PASS)

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

MAGIC NOSTALGIC

Tramway

1984

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 29 AUG AND 6 SEP, TIMES VARY, FROM £12.50

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).

Platform WENDY HOOSE

2 SEP, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £8 (£4)

The creative talents of Birds of Paradise and Random Accomplice combine forces for a frank and oft-hilarious sex comedy about two twenty-year-olds searching for love in all the wrong places.

The Arches VOTE FOR ME

16 SEP, 6:00PM – 7:00PM, FREE

Director, performer and writer Marcus Montgomery Roche presents his Referendum-focused new work in which he’ll auction off his vote to the highest bidder. Part of The Arches’ Referendum Festival.

WALLACE

14–18 SEP, TIMES VARY, £12 (£10)

Rob Drummond previews his new work – a timely politicised piece taking the form of a theatrical debate questioning how we make decisions; where our principles come from; and why independence and identity matter. Part of The Arches’ Referendum Festival.

The King’s Theatre DIRTY DANCING

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 26 AUG AND 20 SEP, TIMES VARY, FROM £10

The cult 80s film revamped for the stage – cue Baby and Johnny, sexy dancing and, y’know, hungry eyes.

THE FULL MONTY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 11 SEP AND 4 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.

The SSE Hydro STILL GAME

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 19 AND 30 SEP, TIMES VARY, 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.

Theatre Royal THE MOUSETRAP

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 15 AND 20 SEP, TIMES VARY, FROM £9

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.

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 2 AND 6 SEP, TIMES VARY, FROM £7.50

Tony award-winning version of Irving Berlin’s classic musical, now with added Jason-bloodyDonovan.

HA HA HOOD

28–29 SEP, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £18

Humourous parody of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, performed by The Ha Ha! team.

SCOTTISH BALLET: THE CRUCIBLE/ TEN POEMS

25–27 SEP, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £21

Double dose of emotionally charged texts – The Crucible and Ten Poems – brought to life by Scottish BalletÕs athletic and expressive dancers.

Saidiya Hartman leads a socio-poetic reading on wayward communities.

ARIKA 14: FUGITIVITY AND WAYWARDNESS

27 SEP, 2:00PM – 3:30PM, £6 (£14 PASS)

Open conversation hosted by Saidiya Hartman and Fred Moten around ‘fugitivity’ and ‘waywardness’ and what it means to be in flight, excessive or ungovernable.

ARIKA 14: TOUCHING THE IMPERCEPTIBLE

27 SEP, 4:15PM – 5:45PM, £6 (£14 PASS)

Performed filmic conversation on queer and black world making with Kara Keeling and Arthur Jafa, composed of a performed constellation of voices and filmic fragments.

ARIKA 14: SPECULUM ORUM – SHACKLED TO THE DEAD

27 SEP, 7:00PM – 8:15PM, £6 (£14 PASS)

Queer black operatic requiem for piano and voice that asks us to stay in the hold of the slave ship, attempting to understand the connection from the slave ship to the prison.

ARIKA 14: YOU’VE NEVER SEEN PAIN EXPRESSED LIKE THIS

27 SEP, 9:00PM – 11:00PM, £6 (£14 PASS)

Two-hour freestyle performed conversation in which both the bodies and voices of dancers will ask and respond to a series of questions.

ARIKA 14: FROM SUBJECTION TO SUBJECTION

28 SEP, 2:00PM – 4:00PM, £6 (£14 PASS)

Live conversation with Reina Gossett, Saidiya Hartman and Charlene Sinclair about the movement for prison abolition and refusing the logic of race and sex that underpins the criminalisation and mass incarceration of communities.

ARIKA 14: REALNESS

28 SEP, 7:00PM – 9:15PM, £6 (£14 PASS)

Live discussion about what is at stake in the performance of realness and the practice of passing, and how they are both acts of survival and resistance.

ARIKA 14: MUTUAL INSTRUMENTS

28 SEP, 10:00PM – 10:30PM, £6 (£14 PASS)

Performed conversation told through dance (Storyboard P) and poetry (Fred Moten).

Tron Theatre

THE PURE, THE DEAD AND THE BRILLIANT

18 SEP, 7:45PM – 10:00PM, £10

Dramatic reading of Alan Bissett’s new satire, asking what would happen if the bogles, banshees, demons and selkies of Scots folklore got involved in the Independence Referendum.

JANIS JOPLIN: FULL TILT

11-13 SEP, 7:45PM – 10:00PM, FROM £10

Tribute to Janis Joplin from Fringe First winners, writer Peter Arnott and director Cora Bissett, featuring Angela Darcy as Joplin.

Edinburgh Edinburgh Playhouse

STONES IN HIS POCKETS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 5 JUL AND 28 SEP, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, 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.

CALAMITY JANE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 29 OCT AND 27 SEP, TIMES VARY, FROM £10

Set in the Wild West outpost of Deadwood City in 1876, sharp shootin’ tomboy Calamity Jane tries to help the local saloon owner by promising to fetch a music hall star from Chicago – much singing ensues.

PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ

16–27 SEP, NOT 21, 22, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

US dance production featuring famous song and dance moments of Fred Astaire and the golden age of Hollywood.

Listings

75

HA HA HOOD 28–29 SEP, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £18

Humourous parody of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, performed by The Ha Ha! team.

Festival Theatre

RICHARD ALSTON DANCE COMPANY

26 SEP, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £16.50

Celebrating its 20th year, Richard Alston Dance Company returns with a programme of new work commissioned for the Festival Theatre by Martin Lawrance, creator of Brink and Madcap.

BALLETLORENT: RAPUNZEL

19–20 SEP, TIMES VARY, FROM £20

Adept at darkly beautiful reworkings, balletLORENT’s Rapunzel combines desire, devastation, romance and rescue to suitably spellbinding effect.

MAKE OR BREAK

26 SEP, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £8

Following the B-Boy battles earlier in the day, Make or Break present a programme of heavyweight hip-hop action featuring yet more B-Boy battles, plus live hip-hop dance theatre.

Comedy Glasgow Tue 02 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.

FRANKIE BOYLE: WORK IN PROGRESS

TRON THEATRE, 19:45–22:00, £15 (£13)

The inimitable and cantankerous Mr Boyle presents a series of work in progress snippets, for what will undoubtedly be another sell-out show.

Wed 03 Sep COMEDIAN RAP BATTLE

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£4)

KILL JOHNNY GLENDENNING

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.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 17 SEP AND 11 OCT, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Royal Lyceum Theatre 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).

Traverse Theatre SPOILING

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 22 AUG AND 20 SEP, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £16 (£13)

Following its Edinburgh Festival run, Traverse Artistic Director Orla O’Loughlin’s Fringe First Awardwinning political satire returns for another stint.

HOW TO CHOOSE?

16 SEP, 2:30PM – 5:00PM, £6 (£4)

As the Independence Referendum nears, Trigger theatre tell the story of a man who takes logical thinking too far by investing in a machine that can make his choices for him. Followed by a post-show discussion.

CHOIR

26–27 SEP, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £16 (£13)

Modern, musical look at what makes a community in 21stcentury Britain, told via a dark peek past the fixed white smiles of a community choir.

IN TIME O’ STRIFE

9–13 SEP, TIMES VARY, £16 (£13)

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.

NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

FRANKIE BOYLE: WORK IN PROGRESS

TRON THEATRE, 19:45–22:00, £15 (£13)

The inimitable and cantankerous Mr Boyle presents a series of work in progress snippets, for what will undoubtedly be another sell-out show.

Thu 04 Sep

THE THURSDAY SHOW (NEIL DOUGAN + RICH WILSON + DAMION CLARK + MC BRUCE DEVLIN) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

THE GLASS MENAGERIE

3–20 SEP, NOT 7, 8, 14, 15, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £12

Reworking of one of Tennessee Williams’ most powerful and haunting memory plays, a touching and profound tale of love and loss, illusion and escape, fragility and innocent hope. Matinee performances also available (Thu & Sat, 2.30pm).

ON OUR WAY TO LISBON

16 SEP, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £16 (£16)

Two-man play telling the story of how, in 1967, Glasgow Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup with victory over the mighty Inter Milan.

THE MAN JESUS

25 SEP, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £20

One of Britain’s best-known stage actors, Simon Callow, leads a fastmoving trawl through some of the New Testament’s better-known moments.

76

Listings

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 from the local circuit.

Sun 07 Sep

GLASGOW KIDS COMEDY CLUB

THE STAND, 15:00–17:00, £4

Comedy session suitable for little ears (i.e. no sweary words), for children aged 8-12 years-old.

Tue 09 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.

Wed 10 Sep

BBC COMEDY PRESENTS...

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £4

BBC-selected sketch comedy showcase where handpicked new acts get their chance to shine – with each performed getting a quickfire 5-10 minutes on stage.

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 11 Sep

THE THURSDAY SHOW (PAUL TONKINSON + SUSAN MCCABE + JOHN ROBERTSON + MC 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.

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR VIRGINS

THE SATURDAY SHOW (PAUL TONKINSON + SUSAN MCCABE + JOHN ROBERTSON + MC MARTIN MOR )

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

DANNY BHOY: PLEASE UNTICK THIS BOX

THE PAVILION THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £16

The Scottish-Indian comic brings his latest tour to the live circuit, fresh from his charity fundraiser run at Edinburgh Fringe.

Sun 14 Sep

ANDY ZALTZMAN SATIRIST FOR HIRE

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12

One half of the global smash hit topical podcast The Bugle, Andy Zaltzman returns to take satirical commissions from you, the public.

JON RICHARDSON: NIDIOT

THEATRE ROYAL, 20:00–22:00, FROM £20.50

The British Comedy Award-nominated singleton and misanthrope explores the path to being a more easygoing person.

Mon 15 Sep THE COLOUR HAM

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£3)

Three-man sketch project built on character comedy, mentalism and magic – we’re talking contacting your dead pets, re-enacting your first kiss, and rewriting Pinocchio through the medium of a military crotch.

Tue 16 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.

Fri 12 Sep

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £7 (£5)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

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.

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (RAY BRADSHAW + STUART MICHELL + AMY HOWERSKA + HANNAH GADSBY) 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.

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (RAY BRADSHAW + STUART MICHELL + AMY HOWERSKA + HANNAH GADSBY) 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.

Sat 06 Sep THE SATURDAY SHOW

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

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.

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 from the local circuit.

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (RAY BRADSHAW + FELICITY WARD + JOHN GAVIN + KAI HUMPHRIES)

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.

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (RAY BRADSHAW + FELICITY WARD + JOHN GAVIN + KAI HUMPHRIES)

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 SATURDAY SHOW (JANEY GODLEY + ALEX BROADMAN + RORY O’HANLON + MC RAYMOND MEARNS)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

LAUGHTER EIGHT

Fri 05 Sep

THE FRIDAY SHOW (PAUL TONKINSON + SUSAN MCCABE + JOHN ROBERTSON + MC MARTIN MOR )

Sat 20 Sep

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Wed 17 Sep

THE FRIDAY SHOW

Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernanpenned comedy centred on pensioners Jack and Victor, reuniting the full cast for the first time in six years.

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

STILL GAME THE SSE HYDRO, 19:30–22:00, FROM £30

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act.

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Dundee Rep

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act.

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

LAUGHTER EIGHT

Dundee

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Sat 13 Sep

AYE RIGHT? HOW NO’?: THE COMEDY COUNTDOWN TO THE REFERENDUM

A sideways, satirical look at the big choice facing Scotland in 2014 – with hosts Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister looking at some of the bigger issues, as well as many of the smaller ones.

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 18 Sep

THE THURSDAY SHOW (JANEY GODLEY + ALEX BROADMAN + RORY O’HANLON + MC RAYMOND MEARNS)

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.

VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 19 Sep

THE FRIDAY SHOW (JANEY GODLEY + ALEX BROADMAN + RORY O’HANLON + MC RAYMOND MEARNS) 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.

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 from the local circuit.

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 from the local circuit.

STILL GAME

THE SSE HYDRO, 14:30–17:00, 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.

STILL GAME

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:30–22:00, FROM £30

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 from the local circuit.

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (SCOTT AGNEW + BOB DOLALLY + ANDREA HUBERT + AISLING BEA)

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.

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (SCOTT AGNEW + BOB DOLALLY + ANDREA HUBERT + AISLING BEA)

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.

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.

ROSS NOBLE: TANGENTLEMAN

SECC, 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.

Sun 21 Sep

OFF THE RAILS (JOE LYCETT + GAVIN WEBSTER + ANDREW WATTS + MC ROB RILEY)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his guests.

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.

Mon 22 Sep BRIGHT CLUB

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £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.

Tue 23 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.

Wed 24 Sep NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Sat 27 Sep

1901 BAR, 20:00–23:00, £10

A host of comedians ready to tickle your funny bones in aid of the Oldham PHAB. THE SATURDAY SHOW (DOUGIE DUNLOP + HOWARD READ + BARRY DODDS + MC SUSAN MORRISON)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

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 from the local circuit.

STILL GAME

THE SSE HYDRO, 14:30–17:00, 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.

STILL GAME

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:30–22:00, FROM £30

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernanpenned comedy centred on pensioners Jack and Victor, reuniting the full cast for the first time in six years.

Thu 25 Sep

Sun 28 Sep

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

The Newcastle-based comic ponders whether he could have achieved more in life by not spending 20 years playing video games, delving into how the notorious time-destroying PC game has been a constant companion through this life.

THE THURSDAY SHOW (DOUGIE DUNLOP + HOWARD READ + BARRY DODDS + MC SUSAN MORRISON)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 26 Sep

THE FRIDAY SHOW (DOUGIE DUNLOP + HOWARD READ + BARRY DODDS + MC SUSAN MORRISON) 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.

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.

RSPB BENEFIT (ELEANOR MORTON + ZARA GLADMAN + JAMIE DALGLEISH + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £TBC

Comedy fundraiser in aid of RSPB, hosted by Ayrshire-born funnyman Billy Kirkwood.

TONY JAMESON: FOOTBALL MANAGED RUINED MY LIFE

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£8)

STILL GAME

THE SSE HYDRO, 14:30–17:00, 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.

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.

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.

Sat 13 Sep

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–21:30, £15

Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernanpenned comedy centred on pensioners Jack and Victor, reuniting the full cast for the first time in six years.

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE

Mon 29 Sep

Edinburgh Tue 02 Sep G-SPOT

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £5

MC Jojo Sutherland leads an all-new camp-styled evening of comedy and cabaret shenanigans.

Wed 03 Sep

THE BROKEN WINDOWS POLICY

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.

Thu 04 Sep THE THURSDAY SHOW

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 05 Sep THE FRIDAY SHOW

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.

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.

Sat 06 Sep

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.

Sun 07 Sep

AYE RIGHT? HOW NO’? THE COMEDY COUNTDOWN TO THE REFERENDUM

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £7 (£5)

A sideways, satirical look at the big choice facing Scotland in 2014 – with hosts Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister looking at some of the bigger issues, as well as many of the smaller ones.

Mon 08 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.

Wed 10 Sep THE MELTING POT

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4 STUDENTS/£2.50 MEMBERS)

Series of comedy sketches picked by the audience and performed by a varying troupe of actors and musicians.

Thu 11 Sep

THE THURSDAY SHOW (MICHAEL FABBRI + DAVID LANGLEY + MC SUSAN MORRISON)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

THE SATURDAY SHOW (MICHAEL FABBRI + DAVID LANGLEY + MC SUSAN MORRISON)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

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.

JON RICHARDSON: NIDIOT

EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE , 20:00–22:00, £20.50

The British Comedy Award-nominated singleton and misanthrope explores the path to being a more easygoing person.

Sun 14 Sep

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his guests.

Mon 15 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.

Thu 18 Sep

THE THURSDAY SHOW (TREVOR CROOK + LORETTA MAIN + MC VLADIMIR MCTAVISH)

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 19 Sep

THE FRIDAY SHOW (TREVOR CROOK + LORETTA MAIN + MC VLADIMIR MCTAVISH) 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.

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.

Sat 20 Sep

THE SATURDAY SHOW (TREVOR CROOK + LORETTA MAIN + MC VLADIMIR MCTAVISH)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

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.

Mon 22 Sep RED RAW

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Fri 12 Sep

Tue 23 Sep

THE FRIDAY SHOW (MICHAEL FABBRI + DAVID LANGLEY + 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.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

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.

THE SKINNY

Thu 25 Sep

THE THURSDAY SHOW (CAREY MARX + JAMES DOWDESWELL + STEHPEN HALKETT) 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 26 Sep

THE FRIDAY SHOW (CAREY MARX + JAMES DOWDESWELL + STEPHEN HALKETT)

Art Glasgow CCA

TONY CRUZ, REMY JUNGERMAN + ADELE TODD: SPIRIT LEVELS

26 JUL – 7 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Triple-header show with all three artists sharing a fascination with line and form, this time raising questions around the importance of race, colonialism and the transmission of ideas.

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

22 AUG – 5 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

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.

Sat 27 Sep

THE SATURDAY SHOW (CAREY MARX + JAMES DOWDESWELL + STEHPEN HALKETT) THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

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.

ROSS NOBLE: TANGENTLEMAN

FESTIVAL THEATRE, 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.

Sun 28 Sep

ROCK AND ROLL PING PONG

THE BONGO CLUB, 19:00–23:00, FREE

The It’s Funtime jokers present a free, fun, table tennis evening with a comedy bent, bolstered by dancing discs from DJ Ding Dong (ahem).

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

ANIARA OMANN: BRAD PITT

Solo exhibition by Glasgow School of Art MFA graduate Aniara Omann, consisting of a series of found objects with fabricated prosthetics applied to them, mimicking the aesthetics and techniques of movie-prop fabrication.

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

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.

Cyril Gerber Fine Art DAVID MCCLURE

11 SEP – 4 OCT, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Retrospective showcase of the late Scottish artist, known for his rich, painterly still life and figurative compositions, with the majority of the works on show focusing on his gouache, watercolours and pen and ink drawings.

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his guests.

Drygate Brewing Co.

FESTIVAL THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £25

6–17 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

ROSS NOBLE: TANGENTLEMAN

The freewheeling Geordie comic takes to the live stage as part of his Tangentleman UK tour, likely as unprepared and demonic as ever.

Mon 29 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.

STEPHEN FRY: MORE FOOL ME

FESTIVAL THEATRE, 19:30–21:00, £29.50

“I’m a fucking national treasure!” went his buzzer on an episode of Never Mind The Buzzcocks – hard to disagree really. Fry tours in support of his new memoirs.

Dundee Fri 19 Sep

JONGLEURS COMEDY CLUB (RAY BRADSHAW + STUART MITCHELL + GARY LITTLE + MC BRENDAN RILEY)

BONAR HALL, 20:00–22:00, £12

The famed comedy club hits Dundee for its monthly outing, joined by three comics and a compere.

Sat 27 Sep

DANIEL SLOSS: “REALLY... ?!”

DUNDEE REP, 19:30–22:00, £15 (£10)

New show from the internationally acclaimed and award-winning halfman/half-Xbox, fresh from his six consecutive sold-out Edinburgh Fringe outing. Support comes from Kai Humphries.

September 2014

BALLOT SCOTLAND

Apolitical propaganda poster exhibition marking the run up to the Referendum, featuring work by a selection of emerging and established artists.

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. 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.

DOUGLAS GORDON: PRETTY MUCH EVERY FILM AND VIDEO WORK FROM ABOUT 1992 UNTIL NOW

27 JUN – 28 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Dividing his time between Glasgow and Berlin, Douglas Gordon presents an encyclopaedia-style installation of his output to date – shown on over 100 old televisions.

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 ASHLEY COOK

5–28 SEP, NOT 8, 15, 22, TIMES VARY, FREE

Having worked with Glasgow Print Studio since 1991, Ashley Cook takes over the Ground Floor Gallery space for what will be her seventh solo exhibition in the gallery, working with a mixture of found imagery and her own autographic and photographic images.

ELIZABETH BLACKADDER: ETCHINGS AND SCREENPRINTS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 24 AUG AND 5 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

The longstanding Scottish artist showcase a selection of etchings and screenprints, known for carefully arranging objects in a shallow pictorial space to create intriguing and subtly decorative images.

LUCY SKAER VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 18 JUL AND 25 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

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.

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.

Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre SHARMANKA KINETIC THEATRE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 8 AUG AND 19 DEC, TIMES VARY, £TBC

The sculptural brainchild of Eduard Bersudsky gets switched on for another run, featuring hundreds of carved figures and pieces of old scrap performing an incredible choreography to haunting music and synchronised light.

Street Level Glasgow School Photoworks COMMON GROUND of Art POSTERS OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION

20 SEP – 31 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase bringing together examples of Cuba 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.

Glasgow Sculpture Studios

MOOD IS MADE/TEMPERATURE IS TAKEN

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 4 JUL AND 6 SEP, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Collective exhibition considering the dual strategies of craft and appropriation among a current generation of artists working at 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.

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.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 26 AUG AND 19 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

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

ROBERT ORMEROD: POLITICAL YOUTH

4–19 SEP, 11:00AM – 11:00PM, FREE

Scottish photographer Robert Ormerod showcases a selection of expressions of public opinion on the Referendum, photographed in situ, from flag-waving to homemade signs. Tweet contributions to @robertormerod with the location postcode and #indycation.

The Common Guild CORIN SWORN

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 9 AUG AND 13 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Second 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 Sworn’s show stemming from a re-discovered collection of slides taken in Peru by her father.

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 Lighthouse GREEN2014

11 APR – 24 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Special exhibition charting the environmental legacy of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, bringing punters up close with the people involved via portraits (photos and audio) of real people using the myriad sporting venues.

SIGHTLINES

7 AUG – 14 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Looped screening of a new film inspired by historical aerial photography of Commonwealth countries, combining 3D aerial images and personal cinefilm from the 50s, with live action footage of the present day.

A+DS AND RIAS SCOTTISH STUDENT AWARDS FOR ARCHITECTURE

18 JUL – 28 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

12th annual exhibition and student awards showcasing the best work of emerging young architects from all of Scotland’s Schools of Architecture.

The Modern Institute JEREMY DELLER

13 SEP – 25 OCT, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

New body of work by the Londonbased artist and 2004 Turner Prize-winner, incorporating a selection of painting, printmaking and photography.

The Modern Institute @ Airds Lane RICHARD WRIGHT

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 26 JUN AND 6 SEP, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

New body of works by the Glasgow-based artist and 2009 Turner Prize winner, known for his modern frescoes that transform interior spaces by literally opening up new perspectives.

ANDREW KERR

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 20 SEP AND 1 NOV, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

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.

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. CHARLIE HAMMOND, IAIN HETHERINGTON + ALEX POLLARD: INTERNET CURTAINS

9 AUG – 14 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Triple-header exhibition drawing together the work of three Glasgow-based artists who explore the role of painting within ‘post internet’ society and the political dynamics of contemporary culture. 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.

iota @ Unlimited Studios 80 DAYS!

1 JUL – 16 SEP, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Iota host a timely 80-day long exhibition in the run up to the indy referendum, inviting punters to submit their opinions in words or pictures (in person or online) to be shown as an evolving display in the iota windows.

Edinburgh Central Library EDGES

2–29 SEP, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of work from the Edinburgh LoFi Photography Group, showcasing eight local photographers working in a range of traditional and alternative processes. In the Fine Art Library.

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.

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

MARIE-MICHELLE DESCHAMPS

26 JUL – 7 SEP, NOT 28 JUL, 1 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Specifically developed to facilitate artists at a pivotal point in their career, Collective’s Satellite programme continues with a showcase of work from Marie-Michelle Deschamps. Part of GENERATION/ Edinburgh Art Festival.

Danish Cultural Institute DANISH DIASPORA

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1 AUG AND 28 SEP, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

Arts and craft exhibition showcasing the work of five internationally acclaimed Scottish Danes: Lotte Glob, Lise Bech, Lillian Busch, Mette Fruergaard and Nikolai Globe.

Dovecot

CURRENT EXCHANGES: DOVECOT AND THE AUSTRALIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP

5 JUL – 27 SEP, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Celebrating the continuing connections between the Australian Tapestry Workshop (in Melbourne) and Dovecot Studios (in Edinburgh), Dovecot bring together a selection of recent work from both institutions. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

CRAIGIE AITCHISON

5 JUL – 27 SEP, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Retrospective showcase of paintings and etchings from the estate of Craigie Aitchsion (1926-2009), shown alongside a series of tapestries created by Dovecot Studios in collaboration with the artist.

DALZIEL + SCULLION: TUMADH: IMMERSION

1 AUG – 13 SEP, NOT 7 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Dundee-based artists Dalziel + Scullion present a new body of work forming one half of an exhibition with An Lanntair in Stornoway responding directly to the architectural and geographic contexts of both venues. Part of GENERATION/Edinburgh Art Festival.

Edinburgh Printmakers

CALUM COLVIN: THE MAGIC BOX

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1 AUG AND 6 SEP, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Solo exhibition by renowned Scottish artist Calum Colvin, forming an archaeology of his creative practice from the last 28 years – focusing on his archive of image transparencies dating back to the early 80s. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Embassy Gallery

MOUTHFEEL: MATT BAINBRIDGE + NATASHA FERGUSON + JOE HARVEY + RICHARD KRANTZ VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 12 SEP AND 28 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Embassy Gallery opens the doors for its annual group show of work by selected recent graduates from across Scotland, taking in work by Matt Bainbridge, Natasha Ferguson, Joe Harvey and Richard Krantz.

Gallery TEN JAPANNED!

JESSICA HARRISON: BROKEN VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 31 JUL AND 28 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8.50 (£4.50)

2 AUG – 2 SEP, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase of Jessica Harrison’s recent Broken sculptures, where ready-made and found ceramics figurines are reworked – unraveling the complex relationship between the body and objects, by questioning our knowledge of both. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Gayfield Creative Spaces

National Museum of Scotland

Japanese printmaker Kouki Tsuritani exhibits a collection of mezzotint prints, alongside a number of International and British artists who either use Japanese techniques or draw inspiration from Japanese art and imagery.

INDIA STREET

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 2 AUG AND 11 SEP, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

A group of contemporary Scottish and Indian designers explore the legacy of Scotland’s Turkey red dye industry, featuring artists Gabriella di Tano, Emlyn Firth, Sanjay Garg, Lokesh Ghai, Charlotte Linton, Orijit Sena, Gurpreet Sidhu and Laura Spring.

CAROL SINCLAIR: MAKING WELL – FRAGMENTS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 2 AUG AND 11 SEP, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Solo showcase of newly-commissioned work by ceramic artist Carol Sinclair, responding to issues around memory.

GARDEN PARTY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 2 AUG AND 11 SEP, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Gayfield Creative Spaces bring the summer indoors for their designed version of a ‘garden party’, with Deckchairs by Timorous Beasties joining key works by Piet Hein Eek, Laura Spring and Geoffrey Mann.

Ingleby Gallery KATIE PATERSON: IDEAS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 27 JUN AND 27 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Glasgow artist continues her emphasis on cosmology, with the exhibition including the culmination of Second Moon – a year-long project for which a fragment of the moon has been circling the earth via airfreight courier. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Interview Room 11

ALESSANDRO DI MASSIMO: I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 20 AUG AND 6 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Installation of five works by Edinburgh-based Italian artist Alessandro Di Massimo, centred on the theme of borders, boundaries, citizenship and European identity.

Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

BRIAN CHEESWRIGHT: 36 YEARS OF BRAIN FEED

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 19 SEP AND 18 OCT, 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.

Jupiter Artland

KATIE PATERSON: EARTH-MOONEARTH (MOONLIGHT SONATA REFLECTED FROM THE SURFACE OF THE MOON)

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 17 JUL AND 28 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

New exhibition capturing a transmission of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata reflected from the moon, converted into Morse code and played on a self-playing grand piano, with live performances scheduled throughout. Part of GENERATION/ Edinburgh Art Festival.

MICK PETER: POPCORN PLAZA

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 31 JUL AND 28 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8.50 (£4.50)

Glasgow-based artist Mick Peter creates a cement wall relief especially for Jupiter Artland’s Steading Gallery, featuring freestanding modular cement forms strewn with enlarged ‘popcorn’ kernels. Part of GENERATION/Edinburgh Art Festival.

TESSA LYNCH: RAISING

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 17 JUL AND 28 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8.50 (£4.50)

Tessa Lynch and a team of volunteers present new work concerned with the current restrictions on home planning, construction and development, with the piece deconstructed and rebuilt throughout the exhibition duration. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

MING: THE GOLDEN EMPIRE

27 JUN – 19 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £10 (£8/£6.50 CHILDREN)

Collection of original artefacts from the Nanjing Museum, taking in key aspects of the Ming dynasty focusing on the remarkable cultural, technological and economic achievements of the period. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

PRIMORDIAL: SUPERNATURALBAYIMINYJIRRAL

1 AUG – 23 NOV, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Inspired by objects from National Museums Scotland’s World Cultures Collection, contemporary Australian artist Danie Mellor presents sculpture and work on paper that explores his own indigenous and European heritage. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Open Eye Gallery

LEON MORROCCO: RECOLLECTION

11 AUG – 6 SEP, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Recollective exhibition of works by renowned travelling artist Leon Morrocco, spanning five decades and going some way to document his life as an artist defined by travel. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

KEITH MCCARTER: ART IN ARCHITECTURE

11 AUG – 6 SEP, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase exhibition of Scottishborn artist Keith McCarter’s limited edition casts – including a cast of the working model for The Observer, the full-scale version of which is installed at 1020 19th Street, Washington DC. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

SCOTTISH MASTERS: PAINTING AND PRINTMAKING

11 AUG – 6 SEP, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase of Scottish Masters, featuring paintings by some of Scotland’s greatest post-war artists including John Bellany, Elizabeth Blackadder, Adrian Wiszniewski and Alan Davie. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Patriothall Gallery

SEEP II: MIRRORS & MIRES

19–29 SEP, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

After the success of SEEP: Fluidity in Body & Landscape, SEEP II goes on to examine intersectional identities, the relationship between self and community, and formal considerations of mixedmedia and video installation.

Inverleith House

ISA GENZKEN: BOTANICAL GARDEN

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 19 JUL AND 28 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE

First UK exhibition outside of London by German-born artist Isa Genzken, featuring recent work which of late has focused on the urban – combining aspects of photography, collage and cheap readymade objects. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Royal Overseas League

EDINBURGH PRINTMAKERS @ THE ROYAL OVER-SEAS LEAGUE

11 JUL – 28 SEP, 8:00AM – 10:00PM, FREE

Edinburgh Printmakers host a special off-site showcase at The Royal Over-Seas League, exhibiting a selection of contemporary art in print from a 10-strong cast of studio members.

Listings

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Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) RSA RESIDENCY FOR SCOTLAND

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 TITIAN AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF VENETIAN PAINTING

22 MAR – 14 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Special exhibition celebrating the recent acquisition – jointly with the National Gallery in London – of two mythological paintings by Titian, shown alongside work from almost all of the major names in Venetian art of the period.

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)

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.

FIRST SIGHT

14 JUN – 12 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

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.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

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.

AMERICAN IMPRESSIONISM: A NEW VISION

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 MAKING HISTORY

12 OCT – 28 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

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.

JOHN BYRNE: SITTING DUCKS

14 JUN – 19 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

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.

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Listings

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.

JOHN RUSKIN: ARTIST AND OBSERVER

4 JUL – 28 SEP, TIMES VARY, £8 (£6)

Retrospective exhibition illustrating the range and quality of John Ruskin’s drawn and painted work - from Gothic palaces in Venice to minutely defined coloured birds and plants. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

ANTONIO O’CONNELL: VIRUS 1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Mexican installation artist and architect Antonio O’Connell creates a major new work at the front of Summerhall’s building, incorporating some of the former Vet School’s fixtures and fittings. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

TAMSYN CHALLENGER: MONOCULTURE

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Political artist Tamsyn Challenger showcases her Monoculture installation – premiered in 2013 – linking earlier forms of human suppression by pseudo-sexual torture with cultural homogenisation on a global scale. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

REMEMBERING THE GREAT WAR

AUGUSTIN REBETEZ: HEART (METEORITE)

4 AUG – 5 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

1 AUG – 26 SEP, 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

ST. MARGARET’S HOUSE RESIDENTS’ SHOW

9 AUG – 7 SEP, 9:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Annual exhibition showcasing the diverse talents and skills of the in-house makers and artists that work at St Margaret’s House, taking over all three of the gallery spaces on the building’s third floor.

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.

Summerhall

SUSAN HILLER: RESOUNDING

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

New work from the Americanborn, London-based artist combining sound frequencies and visual patterns translated from radio waves emitted by the Big Bang with a series of eye-witness accounts of extraterrestrial phenomena. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

CLAUDE CLOSKY: 10, 20, 30 AND 40% 1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Interactive work from French conceptual artist Claude Closky, inviting the public to make a mouse click, which then initiates the rotation of an already wonky projected landscape. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

FAILE & BÅST

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Installation from Brooklynbased FAILE (aka Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller) featuring newly-designed interactive video games and pinball machines for Art Basel Miami Beach 2013, which visitors are invited to play. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

KENNARDPHILLIPPS: DEMO TALK

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Collaborative duo Peter Kennard and Cat Phillipps perform Demo Talk – an artists’ talk that transforms into a physical demonstration of the methods they use in making their visual cries of protest against corrupt power. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

GARY BASEMAN: MYTHICAL HOMELAND

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

For his first solo exhibition in the UK, LA-based artist Gary Baseman interprets the Holocaust and its lasting effects on culture and identity through drawings, paintings, photographs and a short film documentary. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

New work from Swiss artist Augustin Rebetez, bringing together strange beasts, stop-motion videos and rapidly-assembled humanoid sculptures, intended to depict the tragedy and comedy of the universe as she sees it. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

CAROLINE MCNAIRN: DREAMING OF HEROIC DAYS

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Retrospective exhibition celebrates the late Caroline McNairn’s year spent painting in Russia and Ukraine – the culmination of a historic cultural exchange between Scotland and the former USSR. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

PETER HOWSON: BOSNIAN WAR PAINTINGS

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase of painting by Scottish painter Peter Howson, the official war artist commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to document the Bosnian/Hercegovina conflict under Serbian and Croatian aggression in 1993. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

DEMARCO EUROPEAN ART FOUNDATION

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Delve into the archive of Professor Richard Demarco CBE – a unique academic resource, part of which is under the aegis of The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, while the major part is housed at Summerhall. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

IGNAZ CASSAR: 444 ARCHIVES

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Ignaz Cassar’s installation based on photographic artwork, comprising a collection of 444 photographs of 444 publicly registered repositories in the Greater London area.

Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

LINDSAY TODD: LIVING MOUNTAIN

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Specially designed ‘record shop’, where graphic designer, vinyl record collector and label owner Lindsay Todd will be spinning discs and allowing visitors to browse LPs, audio cassettes and CDs of his own works and others. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

BIRGIR ANDRÉSSON: THE NORTHERNMOST NORTH

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Large scale work from late artist Birgir Andrésson, marking the boundaries of Summerhall with four large painted works – Northernmost North, the Easternmost East, the Southernmost South and the Westernmost West. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

GENESIS & LADY JAYE BREYER P-ORRIDGE: LIFE AS A CHEAP SUITCASE (PANDROGENY & A SEARCH FOR A UNIFIED IDENTITY)

1 AUG – 26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

First British exhibition by influential avant-garde artists Genesis and Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge since 2003, featuring the European premiere of major works from their Pandrogyne project. Part of 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 whose practice expands the boundaries of visual art, aiming to expand critical and conceptual thinking about visual art in relation to other subjects. Part of GENERATION/Edinburgh Art Festival.

Win a pair of tickets to Take One Action!

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.

The Queen’s Gallery

POETRY FOR THE PALACE: POETS LAUREATE FROM DRYDEN TO DUFFY

7 AUG – 2 NOV, TIMES VARY, £6.50 (£5.90)

Exhibition exploring the role of the Poet Laureate, and the relationship between poet and monarch over the last 350 years – taking in presentation volumes, manuscripts, annotated collections of poetry and images of poets. Part of Edinburgh Art Festival.

Dundee 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.

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design

15 YEARS: A GRADUATE JEWELLER SHOWCASE AT DJCAD 19–20 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase exhibition of over 30 of the best and most varied graduate jewellers to come out of the Scottish art colleges over the past 15 years. As part of the inaugural Scottish Jewellery Week.

T

ake One Action celebrates the people and the movies that are changing the world – and we want you to celebrate with us. We've three pairs of tickets up for grabs for the forthcoming Festival, which runs from 19 Sep-4 Oct across Glasgow and Edinburgh. Three lucky winners will each be given a pair of free tickets for a Take One Action Film Festival 2014 screening of their choice (subject to availability) – in Glasgow or Edinburgh and a drinks voucher valid at the screening venue's bar. Choose from ten UK premieres and four Scottish premieres of awardwinning and inspiring social change films.

For your chance to win, go to theskinny. co.uk/about/competitions and answer the following question: Which of the films in the Take One Action Film Festival's 2014 programme is a satire dealing with a small country that gained independence

in the last 25 years? a) Giraffada b) Salt of the Earth c) Revolutionary Optimists d) Ash and Money Find out by looking at this year's programme films online at takeoneaction.org.uk or in the printed programme available in a neighbourhood near you.

Competition closes midnight Sunday 14 September.

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 T&Cs can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms. Prize is one pair of tickets for each winning entry, subject to availability. Proof of age may be required. Drinks voucher can be redeemed on the day of the chosen screening, at the venue's bar (GFT, CCA or Filmhouse), for purchases of up to £5.

Win tickets to Scotland Loves Anime!

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.

University of Dundee RIDDLES AND ANSWERS

9 AUG – 25 OCT, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition charting models and other teaching aids from the University’s Museum Collections exploring the interplay of word and image in scientific education, as part of the word and image conference Riddles of Form. In the Tower Foyer Gallery.

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.

S

cotland Loves Anime is back for its fifth year from 10-12 October in Glasgow at the GFT and Edinburgh at the Filmhouse from the 13-19 October.

They’re celebrating in style by offering a complete set of tickets to one lucky winner, along with a prize pack of Japanese goodies for each-city including a signed cinema brochure from the director of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Kenji Kamiyama! To be in with a chance of winning you just have to head along to

theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and tell us how many years the festival has been running: a) 2 years b) 3 years c) 5 years d) 10 years Competition closes midnight Sunday 28 Sep. 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

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