The Skinny Scotland December 2014 by The Skinny

.CO.UK

INDEPENDENT FREE

CULT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

Scotland Issue 111 December 2014

MUSIC Top 10 Albums of the Year Plus: Readers' Choice of 2014 Yo La Tengo Hartheim FILM Top 10 Films of the Year Ben Mendelsohn GIFT GUIDES Fashion, Tech, Books, DVD, Food & Drink ART Christopher Orr Collette Rayner Artists' Christmas Cards BOOKS Jung Chang Owen Jones CLUBS Robert Hood Axel Boman Marshall Applewhite THEATRE Scottish Pantomime TECH Game Masters Special

HO HO HO

Festive madness and a celebration of 2014

MACY GRAY

JUST ANNOUNCED

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

MON 9 NOV 2015

Aberdeen Music Hall

Friday 13th February SOLD OUT Friday 20th February

TUES 10 NOV 2015

Glasgow Concert Hall

WED 11 NOV 2015

Glasgow Barrowland NEW ALBUM ‘MODERN BLUES’ MON 19 JAN 2015

Regular Music and Celtic Connections present

P.10 Albums of the Year: Warpaint

Friday 20 March

Edinburgh Queen’s Hall 0131 668 2019

24TH ANNUAL ST PATRICKS DAY CONCERT

TUES 17th MARCH

SILENCERS

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

THE RIPTIDE MOVEMENT

FRIDAY 30TH JANUARY

GLASGOW BARROWLAND

THE

O2ABC GLASGOW In association with PRIMARY TALENT INTERNATIONAL

GLASVEGAS OLD FRUITMARKET

plus special guests

SAT 27TH DEC & SUN 28TH DEC

P.36 Fashion Gift Guide

Steve Cradock band

December 2014

plus special guests

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING THE RACE FOR SPACE UK AND IRELAND TOUR 2015

SATURDAY 02 MAY

0 2 ABC GLASG O W

Raymond Meade Wed 10 Dec

GLASGOW Oran Mor Sun 14 Dec

EDINBURGH Voodoo Rooms

I N DEPEN DENT

CULTU R AL

JOU R NALI S M

Issue 111, December 2014 © Radge Media Ltd. Get in touch: E: hello@theskinny.co.uk T: 0131 467 4630 P: The Skinny, 3 Coates Place, Edinburgh, EH3 7AA The Skinny is Scotland's largest independent entertainment & listings magazine, and offers a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business. Get in touch to find out more.

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Contents

In person from Ticket Scotland Glasgow/Edinburgh & Ripping Edinburgh and usual outlets

regularmusicltd

P.38 Christmas Cards

Credit: Caitlin Hynes

Photo: David Anderson

2 1 ST D E C

plus special guests

GLASGOW ORAN MOR

0844 844 0444

P.30 Game Masters

Credit: Guy Roberts

O2 ABC GLASGOW

Mon 23rd Feb

Photo: Daniel Harris

FINAL NIGHT ADDED DUE TO PHENOMENAL DEMAND

Sunday 8 February

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

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

Production Production Manager Lead Designer

Eve Somerville Sigrid Schmeisser

Sales Commercial Director Sales Executives printed on 100% recycled paper

General Manager Chief Operating Officer Publisher

Nicola Taylor Tom McCarthy George Sully Claire Collins Kyla Hall Lara Moloney Sophie Kyle

regularmusicuk THE SKINNY

Contents 06 Chat & Opinion: Hear last-minute

shouts in Stop the Presses; find EVEN MORE on our website with your Online Only guide; play a game of Spot the Difference, and allow Crystal Baws to propel you unceremoniously into 2015. Plus Christmas Crackers – the worst jokes in the world, lovingly compiled by our Northwest Comedy editor.

Heads Up: There are other things going on in December other than your existential crisis on the eve of a new year, you know. FEATURES As is traditional, our crack team of music critics have put their heads together to whittle down their favourite Albums of the Year into a compact list. We’ve had words with most of the players in our top ten, PLUS for the first time ever – the results of our readers poll are in, and narrowly avoided being hijacked by the combined might of the Swifties. Turn to p16 to see our democratically elected Readers’ Choice. Is this the year Michael Bay gets the credit he deserves? Find out by flicking the pages to our film team’s Films of the Year. (Spoiler: no.)

Last of the 2014 Satellites programme exhibitors, Collette Rayner tells us about her attempts to storm Sealand ahead of her Collective show.

Owen Jones' appearance in Edinburgh gave us a chance to engage with one of the UK's most vocal Left Wing firebrands and question his current association with Russell Brand. Scottish-born painter Christopher Orr discusses The Beguiled Eye, his first solo exhibition in Scotland.

20 years after launching his seminal M-Plant label, techno pioneer Robert Hood discusses his minimal techno philosophy, the spiritual revelation guiding his recent work and his respect for his roots.

Celebrated author Jung Chang discusses the Empress Dowager Cixi, escaping censorship and the enduring influence of Chairman Mao.

36 Fashion: A photo shoot showcasing

some of the independent craft and design accessories you could purchase for your stylish loved ones this season.

Showcase: The annual artists’ Christmas Cards return, with two spreads of specially made designs from some of our favourite creatives.

Food & Drink: Further adventures as Phagomania returns from paternity leave to deep fry some tequila. Travel: Our Northwest editor takes

46 a trip to the ‘world’s happiest city,’

Copenhagen, and muses on what all this contentment is doing to the nation’s youth.

Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn tells us about his beginnings in television, getting advice from Anthony Hopkins, and how he’s made a career for himself playing complex and dangerous characters.

29 As Game Masters sets up shop at the

National Museum of Scotland, we speak to the exhibit’s coordinator about boiling the history (and future) of gaming down to one hundred titles.

LIFESTYLE Deviance: Looking at the implications of recent abortion legislation. Plus Matthew Bobbu continues his one man

December 2014

REVIEW Music: Ira Kaplan looks back at Yo La Tengo’s magic Hanukkah moments; we take in the new Robert Plant live experience, Sleaford Mods put us in our place and Teho Teardo has us greetin’ to the soundtrack of an Irish drama. Oh, life. Clubs: Rising electronic duo Dusky

54 handle the ones and twos with their DJ chart, and we tell you where best to end up a dishevelled shambles this Hogmanay.

Theatre: It’s Christmas! Did we mention? In case you hadn’t heard, here’s a guide to Scotland’s pantomime offerings this year.

Film: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman takes flight, Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster finally arrives on UK shores and Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything isn’t as smart as its subject.

DVD: Don’t make a mad dash to HMV’s bargain bins this Xmas – give your loved ones some quality cinema by using our Gift Guide; plus, great new Blu-rays of Raoul Walsh swashbuckler The Thief of Bagdad and D. W. Griffith’s epic Intolerance.

26 Ahead of his appearance at Huntleys &

Palmers alongside John Talabot, Axel Boman shares experiences from his extensive travels. As he prepares to release his debut album, the avid metalhead from Detroit, Marshall Applewhite gives us the lowdown on his hybrid sound.

march on bigotry. Things get pretty festive in the middle of the magazine, with a deluge of interest-specific Gift Guides offering an impartial helping hand for your Christmas shopping. We kick off with Tech, followed by Books on p35, Food on p43, and DVD way back on p59.

60 Art: Event highlights, plus reviews of Tim Hecker and Elizabeth Corkery.

Books: Reviews include the latest from Murakami, and Joe Hill (aka Stephen King Jr)’s new opus. Plus all the literary events to look forward to in December.

62 Competitions: Win yersel a trip to

Glasgow Film Festival or our Top Ten Albums of 2014!

Comedy: In a tech / comedy mash-up, we look at an app that allows venues to charge their audience per laugh. Dystopian.

Listings: Rounding off the year, a guide to what’s on in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow from now until early 2015.

Contents

Editorial

Opinion: State of Play It’s old ‘news’ that half of gamers are women, but a recent gaming survey contains some more interesting nuggets about gaming culture

he December issue is traditionally a semidemented combination of Christmas excitement, end of year lists, and gift guides across all sections of our magazine. This year is no different – note the cover’s aggressively festive illustration, and centre spreads featuring the now-traditional bespoke Christmas cards commissioned from some of our favourite artists and illustrators of 2014. This year’s crop are unusually lacking in the outright horrifying – does this mean the world’s getting nicer? Probably not. Our Music editor has exhaustively polled the writer squad to create our definitive list of the Albums of 2014. Other lists may be available, but they will be wrong. Words have been had with many of the top 10 – turn to p10 for the big reveal. You can also find the full top 50 on the website, head along to theskinny.co.uk/music to find out more. Film has also compiled its top 10 picks of the year, and the selection is already proving divisive in the office. Find out where you stand on p18 – as always you can head to the website to voice your violent dissent on the comment boards. In other Film news, we have some words with Ben Mendelsohn about new submarine drama Black Sea which also features Jude Law doing an allegedly semi-decent Scottish accent. Seems unlikely. Games makes a blistering return to our pages this month, celebrating the National Museum of Scotland's launch of new exhibition Game Masters with a four-page special exploring

different aspects of the programme, from Scotland’s indie programmers to gaming guru Robert Florence. Books has a busy month, interviewing Jung Chang about Chairman Mao, censorship and Dowager Empress Cixi. A sceptical eye is also turned on left wing darling Owen Jones and his alliance with Russell Brand, following his appearance in Edinburgh for the Radical Book Fair. Naturally there’s also a gift guide – our literary team have put their heads together to bring you a rundown of their top picks for presents in 2014. Fashion’s festive special is once again a beautifully shot spread of wares from some of Scotland and the Northwest’s most interesting designers and independent retailers. In other gift guide news, the much-maligned iKettle makes a return this year, moving from Food to Tech while continuing to defy all logic – yes you can turn it on with WiFi, but you still have to fill it and pour the water into a mug so what is the point? Bring back the Teasmade. Food’s moved on to new gimmicks, which this year include baconflavoured toothpaste (because bacon is the meat with the largest cult following) and a rotisserie kit specifically designed for making kebabs in the comfort of your own home. You’re welcome. And Phagomania’s architect is back from paternity leave this month, bringing news of deep fried tequila and instructions on how to recreate this delight for your Christmas parties. Again, you’re welcome. iKettles and deep fried tequila. It’s the perfect end to an eventful year. [Rosamund West]

Shot Of The Month Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters, O2 Academy, Glasgow, 15 Nov, by Ross Gilmore

Chat

Gaming: State of Play

ews agencies have made a big deal about the recent finding that 52% of gamers in the UK are female, driven to game by the accessibility of apps and smart devices. As a self-proclaimed ‘girl gamer,’ and based on my experience in video game retail and journalism, I’m not particularly surprised by this result. Making a fuss about females playing video games is like making a fuss about women using the internet. It’s a bit of a laugh when someone jokes that “there are no girls on the internet;” but surely no one genuinely believes that anymore? That’s like being surprised that women catch buses. But beyond the dull fact that just over half of Britain’s 33.5 million gamers are female, the survey of just over 4000 people aged 8-74 does actually offer a glimpse into the state of play in our society, and how gaming is a mainstream past-time for all ages. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority of children and young adults surveyed had played a game in the past six months. Under 17s topped the total weekly play time at 20 hours, nearly double the time spent playing by people aged 18-44. If that’s a shocking figure, then take heart that gamers believed that their ability to multitask while gaming was equivalent to listening to music, and on par or higher than reading a book. So, it would seem that reading is actually a more anti-social and isolating hobby than playing a game. Multi-tasking while gaming also makes sense when you consider that almost half of the games we play are apps on smart devices. By their very nature, smart phones and tablets are multitasking machines, letting you switch seamlessly between listening to music, playing a game, responding to a text message, or checking the football scores. It’s also worth noting that appbased games remind you to play them through notifications, chiming with new content or news that someone beat your high score. Unlike the faithful PC or console that waits for you to come to it, app-based gaming actively seeks you out. Gaming therefore can become a lot more passive and pervasive in your daily life.

However, the amount of time playing games, divided by demographics, seems consistent with what you would expect from the increased responsibilities of adulthood. Of the 168 hours in a week, the 11 hours adults spend gaming each week pales in comparison to 40-50 at work and 50-60 being asleep. It’s also only a drop in the ocean of the 52 hours a week we spend consuming media, including music, web surfing, TV, and films. Gamers are happy to put up with a bit of advertising if it makes their games free, which is a testament to the success of the commercialisation of our daily lives. Tolerating advertising in exchange for cheap or free content is at the heart of all apps, but for gamers it links to the bargainshopping mentality that drives regular Steam and Humble Bundle sales (amongst others), and leads to massive backlogs of games bought but unplayed. It would be interesting to see if people treat free and cheap apps the same as their Steam back-catalogues, or if they are willing to delete apps from their devices that are not to their standards. The future of gaming is obviously shifting as people take the opportunity to game conveniently while commuting, or to drop in and out of a game while doing other things. Rather than being a direct threat to console and PC gaming, especially games that ideally require a keyboard, mouse, control pad and a decent sized screen, the onus lies on the handheld market to adapt. Personally, I would not object to more of the games designed for handheld systems like PSP or 3DS being shifted to an app on a smart device. By comparison to my smartphone, my poor 3DS is so underutilised, it’s hardly worth the hundreds of pounds I paid for it. What’s missing from the survey is an exploration of the media consumption of under-8s. As it’s not uncommon to see kids playing on their parents’ or siblings’ smart devices – multi-functionality must play into the purchasing decision to buy a smart device the family can use, whether a media centre console like Xbox or Playstation, or a handheld console. Whether handhelds have the kind of multifunctionality that serves a whole family, and what this means for our youngest generation of gamers, remains to be seen.

THE SKINNY

Credit: Caitlin Clancy

Words: Natasha Bissett

Crystal Baws With Mystic Mark

jockmooney.co.uk

Spot the Difference

Travel Writers Wanted! In a bid to lift everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spirits this winter, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re launching a travel supplement in our February issue. As part of the special edition, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for short submissions telling favourite travel anecdotes in under 300 words. Make them funny, make them poignant, make them life-affirming or provocative, but most of all, make them readable. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll publish the best ones in our Feb edition, with more online. And there will be a lovely prize, on which more later. To enter, send your travel short to paul.mitchell@theskinny.co.uk by Friday 9 January.

TWO RABBITS Check out these rabbits. Aren't they festive? This month we're offering one lucky person the chance to win a copy of In Real Life by Chris Killen courtesy of our good friends at Canongate. For your chance to nab it, head along to theskinny. co.uk/about/competitions and tell us which subtle difference sets these two bunnies apart. Competition closes midnight Sun 4 Jan. 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

Best in Show: DOG V EWOK Here are just a few of our favourite responses to October's Ewok-based conundrum. If you've got some animals you'd like us to spot the difference between, email them to pics@theskinny.co.uk Question: Can you spot the difference between these two Ewoks? Answers: â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "Though they have both imposed themselves on humans, one Ewok has done so by simply invading a human space where the other has chosen the more difficult route of inserting himself into our collective mythical consciousness by infiltrating the treasured imaginary place of the moon of Endor within the Star Wars Universe."

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "Ewok on left is tastefully clothed. Ewok on right is a revolting nudist." â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "The one on the left is Alex Salmond unshaven. The one on the right is actually Nicola Sturgeon unshaven in the nude." â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "Yeah, one's an Ewok the other is a Cairn terrier. The left image is of the creature in the Star Wars saga and on the right is not an Ewok but a canine." â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "The one on the left is an Ewok from Star Wars, the other is simply a normal dog." â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "One is wearing a hood; the other is naked and is actually a little dog." â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "The one wearing the fancy head-dress is obviously in hiding as he's ashamed he 'ewoke' too late and missed bath day. He will now spend another month dreaming of being turned into a fluffball just like his dream alter ego (pictured on the right). I suppose a cup of tea in the meantime wouldn't go amiss to cheer him up though." â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "The one on the left is an Ewok. The other is the new Tesco Chairman." â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "Is it that one is a dog?" â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "No, I can't."

Members of The Phantom Band and Mogwai will team up with the founding member of German experimental rockers Faust for a one-off show to acknowledge the legacy of the krautrock movement of the 1960s and 70s on todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music scene. The show â&#x20AC;&#x201C; entitled Musik / Reise â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is at Platform in Glasgow on 10 Jan. King Tutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wah Wah Hut turns 25 in February, and the Glasgow venue has revealed the details of a month of birthday shows. We Were Promised Jetpacks and The Twilight Sad lead the line-up so far, with more announcements in the pipeline. ONLINE ONLY One of the biggest prizes in contemporary art, The 2014 Turner Prize was handed out on Mon 1 Dec with three Glasgow School of Art graduates â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ciara Phillips, Duncan Campbell and Tris VonnaMichell â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in the running. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have all the news and reaction to the result at theskinny.co.uk/art

ARIES Arians like to experiment in the bedroom, and are no stranger to introducing sex toys such a vibrators, handcuffs, car batteries and groin-mounted rat Thunderdomes. TAURUS You like to think your body is clean but youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never once washed the inside of your stinking balls. It stinks in there. GEMINI You tell the man at your job interview that you work great by yourself, as part of a team, or submerged in a mass of sentient jelly. CANCER The robot dad you built out of Meccano on Christmas Day pops out to the shop for a packet of cigarettes and you never see him again. LEO You know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Christmas when the popup adverts from your porn searches feature snow and holly on them. VIRGO This month you are part of a team that successfully bring dinosaur legs back to life. LIBRA The most important gift anyone can give at Christmas is presents. Lovely expensive presents.

SCORPIO This month you lay a demon egg.

SAGITTARIUS On the way home you pop into Boots to see if they have any more ostrich lube.

CAPRICORN Your offer of a handjob only angers the arresting officer further and attempting to bribe a policeman is added to your long list of charges. AQUARIUS For the Lord said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Come unto me, but keep it out of my eyes.â&#x20AC;? PISCES Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy to forget these days, but the real meaning of Christmas is to BULK UP and increase MUSCLE.

twitter.com/themysticmark facebook.com/themysticmark

DECEMBER'S COVER ARTIST Luke Brookes is a Staffordshire based illustrator, originally hailing from Dudley, West Midlands. Luke's work combines hand painted and digital techniques â&#x20AC;&#x201C; pencil, ink and Photoshop being his tools. Luke's work is focused highly on the narrative, finding inspiration in film and graphic novels. His work often deals with emotion and he likes to take the viewer on journeys conveyed though his images and illustration. You can see more at lukebrookes.com

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; "The one on the right likes being taken for WOKeS while the one on the left goes it alone."

December 2014

Opinion

The award-winning Slava's Snowshow returns for another festive run, with legendary Russian clown Slava Polunin and his troupe of physical performers building each show towards a magical, snowy spectacle – with one tiny piece of paper starting off a giant confetti blizzard of snow, glorious snow. Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, 3–6 Dec, various times, from £21.50

Auntie Flo

Slava's Snowshow

Mon 8 Dec

Tue 9 Dec

Japanese post-rockers MONO grace Glasgow once more (having wowed with their last set back in 2012), out and touring their latest LP, Rays of Darkness, which – shock, horror! – features no orchestral instruments whatsoever, summat they haven't done in 15 years. It's also the most pitch black they've ever gone, and pretty epic for it. Stereo, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £12.50

Welsh art-punk trio Manic Street Preachers take to a live setting to re-visit their critical highpoint, aka third LP The Holy Bible, 20 years after its original release – playing it live and in its entirety for the first time. So, yeah, you may well have to beg, borrow or steal your way in to this one... Or, y'know, buy the bells'n'whisles box set. Barrowland, Glasgow, 7pm, £returns only

Curated storytelling night The Speakeasy make merry for its last outing of 2014, with December's line-up of treats including three-man sketch project The Colour Ham, outspoken Weegie comic Janey Godley, and Neu! Reekie! co-founder Kevin Williamson. And, as per The Speakeasy law, all the stories they tell must be true. Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, 8pm, £6

MONO

Manic Street Preachers

Photo: Ryan Mcgoverne

Sun 7 Dec

The Colour Ham

Sun 14 Dec

Mon 15 Dec

Tue 16 Dec

A bit of a golden ticket come Christmas, Kid Canaveral host their fifth annual Christmas Baubles all-dayer – again taking to Portobello Town Hall, with guests this year including a headline set from London's Ibibio Sound Machine, plus Tuff Love, LAW, Hector Bizerk, Spook School, and label chums Randolph's Leap. Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh, 2pm, £25

Back for 2014 in expanded form, the e'er lovely Summerhall Christmas Market hosts its biggest pop-up yet – with 50+ stallholders including Coco Chocolate, Jupiter Artland, Love Pure Cakes, and on-site brewer Barney's Beer, plus local food vendors, warm Glühwein, carol singers, and trees for sale in the courtyard. Christmas = covered. Summerhall, Edinburgh, 11am – 5pm, £2

The Stand's Christmas Specials kick-off, with banterous chap Raymond Mearns hosting o'er in Glasgow (joined by Gary Little, Mary Bourke, and The Reverand Obediah Steppenwolfe III) and Susan Morrison in Edinburgh (joined by Martin Mor, Andy White, and Kai Humphries), hopefully in Santa hats. The Stand, Edinburgh & Glasgow, 15–20 Dec, 8.30pm, from £12

Mike Heron (of The Incredible String Band) once again makes acquaintance with Glasgow's own kings and queens of modern folk, Trembling Bells – with the ensemble folkie cast treating assembled earlugs to a celebration of Heron's ISB back catalogue, plus a few Trembling Bells numbers for good measure. Also playing Glasgow's The Glad Cafe on 18 Dec. Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 7pm, £10

Kid Canaveral

Photo: Jayjay Robertson

Sat 13 Dec

Summerhall Christmas Market

Gary Little

Trembling Bells

Sat 20 Dec

Sun 21 Dec

Mon 22 Dec

The Christmas Songwriters' Club returns for its annual singsong, this time in the new digs of Central Hall, where a select batch of local musos will stick to the rule of playing only original Christmas tunes. In the imaginary campfire glow will be Discopolis, Book Group, TeenCanteen, and more to be revealed. And y'know the drill: wear a bloody Christmas jumper! Central Hall, Edinburgh, 7pm, £11.50

Nomadic techno party-starters Bigfoot's Tea Party mark six years of being, taking to their favourited home of Sub Club for a birthday special – joined on the night by DJ, producer, Rekids label co-founder, and all-round boss Radio Slave (aka Matt Edwards), playing what will be his first show up here since 2011. Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm, £12

Relied upon to pull out some of our best-loved Christmas classics for a festive airing, the Cameo's seasonal schedule includes a Monday airing of Home Alone – y'know, because nothing says Christmas quite like an eightyear-old boy being left home alone and then battering the living day-lights outta a couple of burglars. Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh, 9pm, £7 (£6)

Discopolis

Radio Slave

Home Alone

Fri 26 Dec

Sat 27 Dec

Sun 28 Dec

Mon 29 Dec

In keeping with years of fine tradition, Optimo tagteam JD Twitch and JG Wilkes hit up Sub Club for their seasonal Optimo Boxtimo festivities – banishing your day-after-Christmas blues with their eclectic selections of techno, electro, rock and assorted leftfield tunage. Essentially, we wouldn't leave the house on Boxing Day for owt else. Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm, £tbc

Relied upon to provide your annual post-Christmas dose of the hard stuff (as in techno), the Jackhammer crew celebrate their 13th birthday with a seven-hour line-up which sees regulars Wolfjazz and Keyte warm the decks ahead of sets from Slam, Dave Clarke, and Gary Beck. Crawl home on your knees in the snow you shall. The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, 10pm, £10

Intimating y'all spend your Christmas in a perpetual state of drunkenness, Rally & Broad host summat they're calling the The Hangover Special – taking to Glasgow's Stereo for an afternoon of literary respite, with the assembled crew of Zara Gladman and The Wee Terrors, nic-e melville, Sam Small, Leo Glaister, and Becci Wallace in tow. Stereo, Glasgow, 3pm, £5

In keeping with the tradition of fitting in as much partying as possible between Christmas and New Year, tonight's revelries are taken care of by Sub Club joining forces with London electronic party heavyweights Fuse, hosting a six-hour showcase special manned by Enzo Siragusa, Seb Zito, Rossko, and Ivan Kutz. That do you? Sub Club, Glasgow, £10, from £8

Optimo

Chat

Slam

Rally & Broad

Enzo Siragusa

THE SKINNY

Photo: The Colour Ham

And so your last Heads Up o' the year moves merrily from a bunch of festive film screenings (taking in Gremlins, Home Alone, It's A Wonderful Life, and more), to a smattering of endof-year parties, the annual Christmas Songwriters' Club, and our picks for the best places to see in the New Year. Happy festivities, etc.

Boiler Room's second transmission from Sub Club gets underway, with Autonomous Africa Boiler Room playing host to the full roster on the Autonomous Africa 3 EP – Midland, JD Twitch, Auntie Flo, and General Ludd – deftly taking African rhythms as inspiration for a fresh batch of modern electronic. Profits go to Mtandiya Mission, from 11pm. Sub Club, Glasgow, 7pm, £6 (£5)

Photo: Euan Robertson

Compiled by: Anna Docherty

Wed 3 Dec

Photo: soandso.me

Heads Up

Tue 2 Dec

Fri 5 Dec

Sat 6 Dec

Edinburgh pop-up lot Jelly&Gin host an edible festive cinema experience – Watch and Wolf – for which viewers will be furnished with a spread of themed bite-sized food and cocktails to be consumed at certain points during the film, with screenings taking in Elf (4 Dec), Gremlins (11 Dec), and The Wizard of Oz (18 Dec). Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £28

Australian touring exhibition Game Masters takes to the National Museum for its only European stop-off, featuring 100+ playable games spanning 30+ game designers – moving from early heroes like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, to Scottish graduates Space Budgie's innovative 2014 creation, Glitchspace. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, 5 Dec-20 Apr, £10 (£8)

Alien gets dusted off for a special airing as part of the Teknowomen season, exploring women in sci-fi – with film critic Hannah McGill, Professor of Feminist Media Studies Karen Boyle, and author Kirsty Logan taking part in a post-screen Q&A discussing whether gun totin' leading lady Ellen Ripley is a feminist hero or not. Glasgow Women's Library, Glasgow, 7pm, £5

Wed 10 Dec

Thu 11 Dec

Fri 12 Dec

Killer Mike and El-P – aka Run The Jewels – make their debut in these parts, hitting up Glasgow's The Garage as part of their UK tour, showcasing tracks from second LP, RTJ2, rekindling El-P's alliance with Zack de la Rocha. Pre-order options also included an offer by El-P to remix the LP using cat noises in place of samples. Meow. The Garage, Glasgow, 7pm, £15

After part one of their second birthday shenanigans with much-touted post-dubstep producer Martyn the week prior (4 Dec), the Juice crew hunker down for part two – this time joined by a double dose of guest talent in the form of prolific Dutch future house producer Tom Trago and Night Slugs co-founder Alex Sushon (aka Bok Bok). Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 11pm, £5

Beginning to round off their three-month clubbing reign, Nightvision again hand over the decks to the basstastic Xplicit crew, who this time have Dominick Martin (aka Calibre) and his trusted partner in crime SP:MC in tow. Musika then man proceedings the following evening, before the series closes official with a Hogmanay special. La Belle Angele, Edinburgh, 9pm, from £10

Alien

Tom Trago

Run The Jewels

Dominik Martin

Wed 17 Dec

Thu 18 Dec

Fri 19 Dec

Voted one of the 'best pubs' in our 2014 Food and Drink Survey, The Hanging Bat host another of their deliciously beer-y Meet the Distiller nights – this time showcasing Suffolk's Adnams Brewery, with a tasting of six beers, alongside a few of their whiskies, gins, vodkas, and absinthes, plus threecourses of themed food to match. The Hanging Bat, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £25

Hosting a one-off seasonal fun night under the banner Mono's Festive 50, Glasgow's Mono pay Christmassy tribute to John Peel's Festive 50 chart with an open musical session at which they'll be inviting some of their favourite acts to play covers of recent songs, spliced with some of Peel's Festive 50 picks from years gone by. Mono, Glasgow, 8pm, £2

With album four safely under their belts (receiving five shiny stars from us), The Twilight Sad boys take to a live setting to play their first UK date since Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave's October release – a synth-driven gloomy gem of an LP that reveals new riches 'pon each listen. Also playing Stirling's Tolbooth the evening prior. O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm, £13.50

The Hanging Bat

The Twilight Sad

Tue 23 Dec

Wed 24 Dec

Thu 25 Dec

Once again winning the festive pun points, Let Your Elf Go returns – annually brightening 23 December for six years now. For it, club faves Sensu, Pro Vinylist Karim, The Groundskeeper, i AM, and Sub Rosa will share the decks, with profits going to Yorkhill Children's Hospital. And the best bit? By the time y'all roll out at 4am it'll officially be Christmas Eve! Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm, £donation

Christmas Eve should really only be spent watching festive films and consuming sugar, right? If you're venturing out to catch one on the big screen, the pick of the bunch is oldie-but-goodie It's A Wonderful Life (screening at Glasgow's GFT, various times) and Will Ferrell comedy caper Elf (screening at Edinburgh's Cameo, 6pm). Happy-nearly-Christmas!

We're doubting it's slipped your mind, but it's 25 December, aka Christmas Day, and by law you should be doing nothing more than eating (a selection box), drinking (erm, everything), and being merry (aka watching The Muppet Christmas Carol in a snowflake-patterned onesie). From all of us at The Skinny, have a very Happy Christmas!

Photo: Kat Gollok

Mono

It's A Wonderful Life

Sensu

Tue 30 Dec

Wed 31 Dec

Thu 1 Jan

Bloc+ celebrate the night afore Hogmanay with some live musical carnage, welcoming Glasgow noise rock mentalists Thin Privilege to play their final gig, likely going full-noise-loco on their two bass guitar set-up to mark the bittersweet occasion. Support comes from Black International, Shudder, Piss Kidney, and DJ Beyvnce Nailz on decks. Bloc+, Glasgow, 9pm, free

From Young Fathers and The Twilight Sad playing Edinburgh's official Hogmanay, to Optimo's always legendary proceedings, DJ Rolando playing Drygate Brewery, Wee Dub's now annual dub shenanigans, and Nightvision's end of series closing finale, there's a whole lotta Hogmanay events to choose from – see our listings for the full rundown. And happy 2015 when it comes!

The Scottish National Gallery opens its doors for the annual January showcase of watercolour works by JMW Turner – Turner in January – including pieces inspired by the artist's time in Scotland and Switzerland, both of which featured in Mike Leigh's recent film exploration of the life of the eccentric painter, Mr Turner. Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, 1–31 Jan, free

Thin Privilige

December 2014

Photo: BetaPhotographie

Critter Crunch

Photo: Nic Shonfeld

Watch and Wolf

Credit: Courtesy Capy Games

Thu 4 Dec

Young Fathers

Venice from the Laguna

Chat

Albums of 2014

Our Music team laughed in the face of democracy's failings and compiled this handy guide to the ten best records we heard over these last 12 months. Then asked for your opinion just in case (see p.16)

A Year of No Compromise

#10

When The Skinny last spoke to Young Fathers their triumphs at the SAY and Mercury awards lay ahead of them. Now, 10 months on from releasing their remarkable debut album DEAD, they're hungry for more Interview: Chris McCall

s the late Soho dandy Sebastian Horsley once observed, it’s essential to piss off the right people in life. Young Fathers may not have intended to annoy a sizable section of London’s music hacks following their Mercury win in October, but it’s unlikely they’re bothered. The Leith-based trio have enjoyed an extraordinary year following the release of their dazzling full-length debut album, DEAD, which has seen their international profile soar. But when Nick Grimshaw announced the band as winners of the Mercury Prize at Camden’s Roundhouse, there was – judging by some of the debate that subsequently appeared online and in print – a sense of bafflement among some music industry observers. While it’s par for the course that an outsider wins at this event, it’s usually an act based in or around London who’s already on speaking terms with media pundits. The technicolor, bass-heavy sound created by Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and G Hasting has been variously described as like De La Soul, Method Man or a psychedelic boy band

Photography: John Graham throughout Young Fathers’ various incarnations thus far. Whichever genre-based sloganeering you want to slap on its back, DEAD was a worthy winner. But in the aftermath of their win, the major talking point was not this stand-out record but the fact the group had chosen not to speak to several correspondents representing rightof-centre tabloid newspapers. “Life is a compromise and especially in the music business,” explains Massaquoi. “But if you find yourself in any given situation where you don’t have to make a compromise then don’t. It’s as simple as that. As a group we have a knack for learning and putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations over and over again. So much so it becomes normalised. Whether it be in creating the music, performances or in a media circus.” Young Fathers have yet to decide how to spend their £20,000 prize money – “the cheque is still lying around” – but they gained most satisfaction from their performance on the night. “We were recording in the studio at the time and our manager mentioned it briefly to us that

Signature Moves

“We have a knack for learning and putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations over and over again” Alloysious Massaquoi

we had been nominated,” Massaquoi continues. “We were like ‘That’s good... now let’s get back to recording.’ After winning the award the mood was the same – it was definitely a positive thing for the group as more people will tune in to us. But the main focus throughout was the performance. We came across well and that was it. End of.”

The group made no bones about their desire to become popular when we spoke to them ahead of the record’s release in January. Ten months on, there’s still an understated sense of urgency in the camp. “You get there when you get there,” Massaquoi says now. “Creative people are never satisfied.” Young Fathers are currently in Berlin to record the follow-up LP to DEAD. “It’s going well. Once everything is done we can get a better perspective on it. There will be an album release in the early part of next year.” What more can expect from the trio in 2015? “The crossover album. A UK/American tour, and parts of Africa too. More interviews and more work.” Their work is finally being rewarded, perhaps, but Young Fathers remain unwaveringly occupied by the task at hand. Young Fathers – DEAD (Big Dada/Anticon) young-fathers.com

With Strange Friend cementing a hat-trick, we spoke to Rick Anthony and Duncan Marquiss of The Phantom Band for a look back at their glorious trilogy and a glance to the road ahead Interview: Darren Carle

ith a gap of almost four years, the wait for The Phantom Band’s third long-player felt particularly arduous after the sucker punch of 2009’s debut Checkmate Savage and the swinging haymaker of 2010’s The Wants. Yet if the hiatus was enough time to pick ourselves up off the floor, shake our heads clear and open our bloodcaked eyes again, then our first sight was that of Strange Friend coming right back at us with a flying neck-breaker. Hopefully such a lowbrow introduction will go down well with the boys, being keen as they are for listeners not to overthink their output. “We get frustrated if people talk about how ‘cerebral’ our music is or how it’s like an intellectual exercise,” claims frontman Rick Anthony. “That has never, ever been our intention, so this time there was a desire to make that more apparent.” Guitarist Duncan Marquiss expands on this while showing the Glaswegian sextet are unlikely to rest on their laurels. “It feels closer to how we play live than The Wants or Checkmate Savage did,” he offers. “We’re getting a bit closer to making a Phantom Band record.” After the darker, claustrophobic brood

Feature

Photography: John Duncan of The Wants, Strange Friend signalled a bit of a return to The Phantoms’ roots, drawing more flattering comparisons with Checkmate Savage’s lighter touch and playful nuances. “I would probably agree to an extent,” says Anthony of the general perception amongst listeners. “Strange Friend is certainly a little more ‘up’ in mood than The Wants was. I think all three have their own atmosphere. They’re all in the same country but Checkmate and Strange Friend have more similar postcodes.” It’s a fitting analogy for a band who, more than most, sound in and of themselves more than any external influence. Strange Friend continues in such a vein, being something of a measured progression while maintaining that core eclectic, indefinable sound we’ve come to love. “I’m not sure we could ever not sound like The Phantom Band, even if we went death metal,” claims Anthony. “There is a degree to which you need to accept what the band is and what it’s good at and play to those strengths rather than try and force it to be something other.” However, ‘something other’ is perhaps what The Phantoms will be offering fans in January

“I’m not sure we could ever not sound like The Phantom Band, even if we went death metal” Rick Anthony

with Fears Trending, seven tracks largely gathered from the Strange Friend sessions that didn’t quite feel at home on the record. “Maybe it’s the evil twin of Strange Friend,” suggests Marquiss with regards to the anagram title. “They’re

ALBUMS OF 2014

stranger friends, oddball vestiges and hybrids.” Anthony is less dramatic. “There was a desire with Strange Friend to come back with no baggage attached and release a record that seemed really straight to the point,” he says. “This record is straight to the point too, but it’s just making a different point.” One point to take from Fears Trending is how rich, varied and enchanting a record it is in its own right, further highlighting the quality of its parent album. It seems futile to fight it. Just over half-a-year since Strange Friend, The Phantom Band are careening towards us, arms flailing as they gear up for a devastating windmill punch. We submit! The Phantom Band – Strange Friend (Chemikal Underground). Playing The Arches, Glasgow on 12 Dec phantomband.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Crime Scene Part Two

With their first album in 16 years, The Afghan Whigs proved that style never goes out of fashion. Greg Dulli looks back over their renaissance Interview: Gary Kaill

ll told, it was a league apart from your typical, cynical reformation. When The Afghan Whigs amicably called it a day in 2001, their reasons (geography, family) were such that regrouping at some point couldn’t be ruled out. So when they stepped back on stage for a run of shows in 2012, that seed was surely sown. A rejuvenated Greg Dulli and fellow founding member John Curly (alongside longstanding guitarist Rick McCollum) received rave notices for their new touring lineup. Would new material be forthcoming? Whigs fans crossed everything. They got their wish this past April with the release of Do to the Beast, a scorching reminder that Dulli still knows better than most how to conjure up a uniquely soulinfluenced blend of guitar rock. The Whigs were back and – surprise, surprise – taking prisoners wasn’t an option. Dullli calls The Skinny from New Orleans to discuss the album, taking a moment before answering each question before speaking with passion and at length. As ever, even down a transatlantic telephone line, he’s a compelling presence and a class apart. He takes up the story of the album’s origins: “Here’s the thing: John

Photography: Ross Gilmore Curly has always been a big supporter of mine and I would send him my songs before I let anyone else hear them. He’s remained a great sounding board even when we weren’t in a band together. I’ve always had a collaborative friendship with John and once we’d decided to make a record, we did three tracking sessions over the summer of 2013 and I was mixing the record by the end of the year. It happened really quickly and organically and so I took that as a sign that it was meant to be.” With his new record finding a top ten position in The Skinny’s albums of the year, what new music did Dulli enjoy in 2014? “Oh I liked a whole bunch of records this year,” he says. “I really like this band called Protomartyr, out of Detroit. They put out an album called under Color of Official Right. The Sinkane record, Mean Love. Love that record. Oh, and my dear friend Mark Lanegan released one of the greatest records he’s ever made this year. Knowing him and being so close to him and watching him develop has been fascinating.” We close by reflecting further on a remarkable return and a “hugely joyous, hugely satisfying

“There’s no backstory to invent. It is what it is” Greg Dulli

year” for The Afghan Whigs. “Every night we play,” Dulli continues, “we play pretty much the entire album. The audiences have been wildly accepting of the new songs and that’s how it should be. It’s really the only way I would have done this. You continue on doing what you’ve always done or you have the decency to offer your audience something new. John and I started the band. So it’s no disrespect to Rick [McCollum, original guitarist but not currently part of the group] or any of the

eighteen drummers we’ve had over the years, but I’ve known John since we were teenagers. There’s something incalculable about playing with someone you’ve known that long. There’s no backstory to invent. It is what it is. It’s been a really exciting year – we’re gonna play another European run next year and we’re really looking forward to it.” Is it too soon to ask about their next steps in the studio? “Well I’m in New Orleans right now and we’re working on an EP,” Dulli reveals. “We’re very much an ongoing concern. I’m still going to do other things but I love this group and I do love playing with these guys, so it’s absolutely an ongoing concern. How quickly something will come out, album-wise, I have no idea, but we’re here. And we’re going nowhere.” The Afghan Whigs – Do to the Beast (Sub Pop) Playing The Liquid Room, Edinburgh on 3 Feb theafghanwhigs.com

For Those About to Twig

Six months on, FKA Twigs’ commanding debut LP1 will still make you work for it. Complicated, heated and completely rewarding, Twigs transcends R&B in her “own damn way” Words: Katie Hawthorne In 2014 FKA Twigs has starred in a muchdebated Google Glass endorsement, been the bookies’ front-runner for the prestigious Mercury Prize (although eventually pipped at the post by Edinburgh’s own Young Fathers), and her relationship with the world’s most famous vampire (R Patz) saw her attacked by a shockingly racist Twi-hard led Twitter storm. But, more importantly, in amongst all this noise, Twigs – aka Tahliah Barnett – released a jaw-droppingly innovative debut album.

“This is R&B for libidinous future aliens” LP1 dropped in August and saw Barnett become a critics’ darling. In a year that’s been pockmarked by artists misguidedly dabbling in retro-kitsch synthy-y R&B, LP1 is an album that stuffs two fingers up at all that nineties-infused nonsense in favour of a genuinely futuristic gaze. Dark, deep and heated, the record fidgets and fascinates, scattering ideas and beats across a tasting platter of almost-industrially-tinged kindof-trip-hop. This year’s mainstream media fizz has worked hard to make Tahliah Barnett, the woman from Gloucestershire, a little less of a mystery.

December 2014

ALBUMS OF 2014

Photography: Kirstin Kerr But when Barnett performs, the artist formerly known as Twigs becomes an entirely different being – hypnotic, theatrical and completely in control. Lyrically blue and brazenly vulnerable, Barnett wraps her NSFW sentiments in a smokescreen of angelic, pearlescent vocals. When she commands “motherfucker get your mouth open, you know you’re mine” on lead track Two Weeks, she does it with such wide-eyed, unabashed aplomb that, somewhere, Prince must be nodding approvingly. Twigs talks about sex in a manner so intensely personal that it becomes almost confrontational: whispered confessions and halfheard intimacies are sharpened by Barnett’s assertive autonomy: “I just touch myself and say, I’ll make my own damn way.” And come the end of the year FKA Twigs is singular, still. This is R&B for libidinous future aliens, the genre reworked and transcended by Twigs’ incisive, precise deliberateness. LP1 is soulful, unafraid to get slow, and – six months on – it’s still insistently hard to grasp. That’s the best part, though, because we’re all still many steps behind Tahliah Barnett’s individual brand of quirk. FKA Twigs – LP1 (XL Recordings) fkatwi.gs

Feature

Remurder Ballads #6 Mogwai’s latest opus Rave Tapes saw them applying electronic menace to their beguiling post-rock template, before unexpectedly yet heroically gatecrashing the charts. Stuart Braithwaite discusses the album and beyond Interview: Will Fitzpatrick

ll things considered, it’s been quite a year for Mogwai. By anyone’s standards, their eighth ‘proper’ album Rave Tapes was a certifiable success, drawing near-ubiquitous praise across an increasingly fractured music press and crashing the UK top ten in the process. “A pulse-quickening return from a band that’s still evolving, and still amazing,” cried these very pages, while triumphant performances at Glastonbury and London’s Royal Festival Hall provided the sumptuous icing to an already-well-garnished cake. And if that wasn’t enough, the Glasgow quintet look set to crown 2014 with yet another exemplary release, in the form of new EP Music Industry 3 Fitness Industry 1. Impressed? You will be. Guitarist, de facto leader and occasional singer Stuart Braithwaite isn’t letting it go to his head, of course. “We just write the best music we can and see what happens,” he explains cheerfully, leaving The Skinny pondering how deliberate their sonic experiments have ever been. What of their new-found electronic focus? “The truth is that Barry got a modular synth and the songs he wrote with it were the mainstay of the album. There wasn’t any planning to speak of. It’s always nice when it looks like we had a plan though.”

Photography: Jassy Earl

“It’s always nice when it looks like we had a plan” Stuart Braithwaite

Any Mogwai album will inevitably introduce new cornerstones to their blisteringly loud live sets, and the blood-pumping horror of advance track ‘Remurdered’ seems to have slashed its way to becoming a particular fan favourite. Do these mainstays become obvious during the writing process, we wonder? “It’s a bit random, to be honest,” Stuart admits. “I thought people would like that song, which is one of the reasons we put it out first. That said, there have been other songs I thought people would be into which didn’t work so well. The opposite has happened a few times too.” Deliberate or no, Remurdered is one of several tracks on Rave Tapes to invite comparisons to the soundtrack work of Vangelis and John

Blaze of Glory

Carpenter. Of course, the mighty ‘Gwai are far from strangers to this subtle art, having scored Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain and Douglas Gordon’s portrait documentary Zidane, as well as being nominated for this year’s SAY Award thanks to their work on acclaimed supernatural TV drama Les Revenants. This aspect of Mogwai’s extraordinary oeuvre shows no signs of slowing: “We have a pretty busy soundtrack schedule over the next year – the second series of Les Revenants, as well as another few films. So far the projects we’ve worked on have been quite compatible with our musical style so we haven’t had to change too much. I’m sure that’ll change in the future though.” Speaking of which, 2015 will mark the twentieth anniversary of Mogwai’s existence as a band.

A marvellous achievement, some might suggest, although Stuart’s stoicism remains uncowed. Almost. “I’m normally pretty unsentimental, but I think that us continuously making music for twenty years is pretty remarkable,” he concludes, adding that the band have “a few things planned to mark the occasion.” From one memorable year to another, then. Rave on.

grid from everyone and I haven’t answered the phone in weeks – because when I’m in the mode, it is the most complete experience.” It’s the Olsen live experience, though, that best demonstrates her developing artistry. Her second UK tour of the year saw her audience grow and venues upgraded. Onstage, she’s almost inscrutable – a serious and studied performer. At her Manchester show, there were catcalls from the audience, caused perhaps by a late start as much as by alcohol. It seemed to unsettle her on the night, but it’s something Olsen now recalls with amusement: “Well, the man in the back told me he had a bus to catch, and I thought it was a very funny thing to yell out at a show. He then said ‘Play Unfucktheworld!’ so in a way, I was relieved. I try to do all I can to perform well for people who are coming to see me and my friends. I want to also give them an honest performance. I’m not going to play the album front to back. It’s not how I like to do things. I’m not trying to replicate a recording. I want to exist on the stage inside these songs. But of course sometimes when people interact or we mess up,

there’s a bit of humanity and irreplaceable realness in that as well and I am not ashamed or afraid of experiencing that when it happens.” Talk turns to the future. A newly-expanded version of Burn Your Fire For No Witness seems the perfect entry point for those playing catch-up but Olsen is hesitant to claim the new material offers any clue as to her future direction. “The songs released on the extended edition don’t necessarily follow any chronological order,” she says. “May As Well was written the summer before Halfway Home was released.” And with the album campaign continuing (US through December, Australia and New Zealand in the new year), will UK audiences get to her see her again? “I’m not sure. I’m gonna sleep a lot and think a lot and do some crazy shit with some friends. I hope to swing by!”

Mogwai – Rave Tapes (Rock Action) mogwai.co.uk

With her second album winning over UK audiences, Angel Olsen explains how collaboration is the key that unlocks her singular vision Interview: Gary Kaill

he clues were there all along, perhaps: her 2013 debut Half Way Home gave notice of a unique voice in every sense of the word. Laid bare on follow-up Burn Your Fire For No Witness, that voice fuelled her best work to date. Supported by stark, elegant poetics and spectral melodies, it cemented her place in the hearts of UK audiences in 2014. With the sound suddenly fuller, and her live shows fired by a crack touring band, Angel Olsen became a hugely relatable artist. “It surprises me,” she admits. “I feel like I haven’t had much time to reflect on what’s breaking through to people. I have been really busy working with the band and making plans for the future but I never know what to expect, even now.” The genre-hopping Burn Your Fire For No Witness resists compartmentalisation. Those keen to file Olsen away as nu-Nashville had their hopes dashed with her newly-electrified sound. Lead single Forgiven/Forgotten was as much Liz Phair as it was Loretta Lynn, but Olsen’s fuller arrangements were arrived at organically: “Well I never woke up knowing what my next project would sound like, nor did I have a vision. I just found myself writing a lot following the release of Half Way Home, and by then I had met Josh [Jaeger – drums] and Stew [Bronaugh – guitar]. We started playing my older songs and Half Way Home live with some of the newer, not yet recorded, material and it synched really well. Eventually you hear their personalities brought to the songs in Burn Your Fire For No Witness. It was a very natural change. I wrote the structure and they would add to it.” She’s gracious about their contribution: “They gave my songs new elements.”

Feature

Photography: Vito Andreoni

It is, however, fair to say that Burn Your Fire For No Witness is probably not for everyone. Olsen eschews the sugary elements that might have propelled her record deeper into the public consciousness. Where a lesser artist might bulk up the sound with warm keys and cheap strings, it’s often spare, elementary, raw. Her voice – a remarkable, craggy instrument, all treble and vibrato – is upfront and exposed, often brutally so. Presentation and styling aside, the songs

“I want to exist on the stage inside these songs” Angel Olsen

survive – bloom, even. “I feel like each song was written and then recorded based on the style of the words or the point of the conversation it was leading,” Olsen explains. “And so I was hoping to cover different tones through that process as well. I wanted to make something that could be listened to as a whole. I’m always writing words and melodies but not always at once. I’ve spent months in the past without writing one thing, but I’ve made the effort this year to keep in practice even when it’s not for music. My dream is to have a room that I’m in for hours or days drinking iced coffee and recording with wires and microphones everywhere. To be at that point where I’m off the

ALBUMS OF 2014

Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire for No Witness angelolsen.com

THE SKINNY

December 2014

glasgowfilm.org/festival @glasgowfilmfest #GFF15

THE SKINNY

Funeral for a Friend

A confident fourth album, a fierce new visual style, a band that is – by one account – the best in the world... St. Vincent has had a pretty good year, all told Interview: John Nugent

Photography: Ross Gilmore

“I

wanted to make a party record you could play at a funeral.” That’s how St. Vincent, known to her parents as Annie Clark, announced her self-titled fourth solo album at the end of last year, succinctly self-summarising an artist who always seemed to thrive in that in-between: hovering between light and dark.

“I wanted to make an audio scrapbook of where I’d been, just so that it felt even more real” Annie Clark

With one hand, St. Vincent offers lyrics that seem to scoff cynically at the world (‘Oh what an ordinary day... take out the garbage, masturbate’), often plummeting into a certain brand of

gloominess (‘Morning, pry the windows open, let in what’s so terrifying...’) that jars. And with the other hand, she presents a singular version of spiky pop-rock, thrown recklessly into a blender of styles: funk, baroque, noise, punk, and newwave (the similarities with frequent collaborator David Byrne are obvious). Bleak, pessimistic words are aligned to ferociously funky rhythms, sometimes only, it seems, for the simple and cathartic purpose of dancing. If there has to be funeral, you’d want Annie Clark hosting the wake. No stranger to these pages (she topped The Skinny’s year-end poll with Strange Mercy in 2011), Clark told us back in August that she took a mere 36 hours of holiday from the end of her last tour, before deciding to springboard straight into work on album number four. 2014, you could argue, has been something of an annus mirabilis for the Texas-born musician. There have been no accidents. The year seemed to usher in an era of new-found self-confidence, borne out in a series of carefully stage-managed moves for St. Vincent, the pseudonym, the band, the art project, or all of the above. Clark bleached her hair, for one thing, transforming her black curly locks into a shock of white, and started wearing clothes that

Playing the Classics

appeared to be from another time and place entirely, all angles and pastel hues. This aesthetic continued in her music video for first single Digital Witness: a dazzling, bizarre, Lynchian future-vision, in which you find yourself looking for meaning in a head movement or a blink. She also enlisted a choreographer to prescribe strange, specific, jaunty new dance moves for her and her band during their lengthy tours, dance moves she’s described as “violent and weird, a celebration and fight at the same time.” And then, most importantly, she released her fourth album, in some ways her most personal – it is self-titled, after all – but also her most barnstorming, laced with attitude and dark mystery (the track Severed Crossed

Fingers, for example, seems to be a terrifying eulogy for Clark’s own future). In July, Vice magazine called St. Vincent the “best rock band in the world.” In all the critical fuss, St. Vincent has not quite translated to chart-bothering mainstream success; the latest record did not quite crack the top 20 in the UK. Her experimental art-rock stylings seem destined to leave Annie Clark the eternal outsider. You get the impression she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Lost in the Dream has proven to be his most naked expression of that yet. Red Eyes was a natural pre-album single, The War on Drugs’ most immediate work to date and an irresistibly euphoric ascent through widescreen rock’s most instantaneously rejuvenating effects. Eyes to the Wind feels at once deeply personal and yet completely opaque, allowing the listener to map their own nostalgic path through its narrative even as its creator explores his. There’s enough subversion to keep things interesting too; An Ocean in between the Waves stretches out towards eight minutes and yet contains the sort of quick-fix earworm hooks that linger in the memory long after the track’s moved on.

The last album to so successfully embrace the oft-derided notion of classicism, Destroyer’s 80s-indebted smooth rock opus Kaputt, did so with the underlying sense of a tongue at least tickling the inside of its cheek. Lost in the Dream similarly turns a façade of homage inside out to fit its new wearer, elevating the band to a realm all of its own.

St. Vincent – St. Vincent (Loma Vista / Caroline) ilovestvincent.com

They might’ve sounded like Dylan and Springsteen to many, but Adam Granduciel ensured The War on Drugs adopted classic tropes in order to ultimately do their own thing Interview: Simon Jay Catling

f Adam Granduciel hadn’t already come up with one of the last decade’s killer album openers with Best Night’s effortless push-off into Slave Ambient’s woozily tranquil waters in 2011; then Under the Pressure sealed the Philadelphian’s reputation as an artist in possession of that intrinsic ability to transport his listeners onto his own parallel plane at the flick of a switch. Amidst a sense of spatial bliss, punctuated by a few whirring clicks and drip-fed guitars, Under the Pressure quickly takes on Lost in the Dream’s overriding semiotics, to plunge deep into a crisply hi-fi world of textural passages that stretch, yawning out before you like a quiet highway in the dead of night, with flickering motifs briefly registering before sputtering out in the mind’s eye; these are shimmering vestiges of rock classicism re-imagined. Classicism is the key word; as The War on Drugs’ stock inevitably rose since Lost in the Dream’s March release, they’ve found the Springsteen/Dylan comparisons that’ve always lingered, levelled at them at ever-more resounding volume by fans and detractors alike, gleefully pounced upon as though they’ve been sussed out amidst their blending FX-laden shades. There’s nothing to necessarily expose here though; a certain school of thinking on the band posits that, with Lost in the Dream, they’ve edged away from

December 2014

Photography: Neil Jarvie

“For a while there, I would get up in the morning, make coffee and sit there for hours and play piano, sometimes pressing record, sometimes not” Adam Granduciel

a past as a psychedelia-orientated jam band towards a more centrally-placed pop act; but the centre pivot of Granduciel’s songwriting has always been its base intention to connect on a truly universal level. As he told The Skinny earlier this year, “I love sitting down at the piano in the morning writing songs and picking up melodies. For a while there, I would get up in the morning, make coffee and sit there for hours and play piano, sometimes pressing record, sometimes not.”

ALBUMS OF 2014

The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream (Secretly Canadian) Playing Albert Hall, Manchester on 18-19 Feb thewarondrugs.net

Feature

What You Said We asked you, dear reader, to tell us which LP rocked your globe these past 12 months. Here’s how that went... 1. The Twilight Sad – Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave “Their best album to date, beautifully combining elements of all three previous LPs into a truly special record” – Fraser Smith, Liverpool 2. Death from Above 1979 – The Physical World “Fantastic comeback album after ten years, here to show young pretenders like Royal Blood who originated the drum/bass duo sound!” – Simon Mason, Glasgow 3. The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream “The War on Drugs are one of the few bands who aren’t afraid of sounding classic or cheesy; instead they sound accessible and true” – Gonçalo Correia, Lisbon

Read e r s’ Choice

Down but far from out, The Twilight Sad have recovered from “tough times” and delivered their finest album to date. James Graham explains where things go from here

hen it comes to christening new work, The Twilight Sad have always had an ear for evocative and ambivalent turns of phrase. From debut single At Home, I Had Become the Invisible Boy onwards, their appellations have captured something of the music’s gloomy essence: long winters, cryptic confessions, haunted hearts. Nonetheless, when details of their fourth album were first announced, something about its title seemed a shade glummer than usual – particularly in light of comments in these very pages. “We don’t know how long things are going to last,” said vocalist James Graham during April’s studio visit, going on to explain how he approached the album “as if they were the last songs I would ever write.” With October’s follow-up chat bringing further sober assessments of the band’s situation, the words ‘nobody wants to be here and nobody wants to leave’ seemed to convey defeat and stasis; an expression of flagging spirits and lost momentum. The music, however, tells a different story. Nobody Wants to Be Here… is the sound of a band pushing themselves to bigger, bolder, and more bruising heights than ever before, setting a monumental benchmark for whatever The Twilight Sad do next. It sets off from a dark place, with Graham ominously promising a point of no return (“you’re not coming back from this”), and the tracks that follow maintain this tense energy in multiple ways: through propulsive melodies, fraught emotions, and a canny interplay of tones and textures ranging from brooding guitars to spare synths to bleak piano lines at the close. “There’s nothing left for us,” sings Graham in the album’s bitterly

Feature

Photo: Crimson Glow

Infinite Sadness

4. Swans – To Be Kind “The most complete LP since their return. All the plans and sketches of The Seer and My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky honed down into a mesmerising LP” – Darren Anderson, Manchester

Interview: Chris Buckle Photography: Jassy Earl

All in all, the warmth of the welcome has been something of a shot in the arm. “The support we’ve seen for the band,” Graham concludes, “has really shown us how much our music means to people.” The Twilight Sad last featured in our albumsof-the-year list back in 2012, for third album No One Can Ever Know. In the accompanying interview, Graham stated “our fourth album will be very important in deciding the future of this band.” Now that the milestone has passed, where does that leave The Twilight Sad? “The record has James Graham been out for about three weeks now as I write this,” Graham responds, “so there is a long way to go “I had so many sleepless nights over how this and a lot of work to be done/gigs to be played before I can truly answer this question. What I record would be received, because it was so important to us,” writes Graham, emailing between will say is that it has been an amazing start to the album campaign and, if things carry on this way, dates of the band’s recent US tour. “One thing I it’s going to be the most successful album we’ve learned a long time ago,” he notes, “was that you produced. I’ve said it before, but all we really can’t please everybody,” but Nobody Wants to Be want is for this album to be as successful as it Here… proves you can sometimes come darned needs to be for us to be able to make another close, with the album garnering near-universal new record. We want to do this as long as we posacclaim. But while critical praise is more than sibly can – we love doing this and we have a lot welcome, it’s the reaction from fans that has of things we want to do and say within our music meant most to the band. “The main thing is that that we haven’t done yet… We’re still in the early people who liked the band before are loving the new album,” Graham writes. “It’s also introducing stages of seeing what this album will do for the a lot of new people to the band, which is great as band in the overall picture, but at this point we’re only taking positives from it.” well.” Indeed, early support for Nobody Wants to Be Here… was almost enough to push it into the top The Twilight Sad – Nobody Wants to 40 – unfamiliar territory for a band of The Twilight Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave (Fat Cat) Sad’s ilk. They’ve since triumphed in our readers’ choice poll, by successfully shake-shaking off thetwilightsad.com competition from Taylor Swift (whose concerted fans very nearly squeaked it for the megastar). beautiful dying moments, but in terms of the band’s prospects, the opposite appears true; right now, The Twilight Sad seem poised to go anywhere and everywhere.

“We want to do this as long as we possibly can”

ALBUMS OF 2014

5. Young Fathers – DEAD “This record has its claws all over me. It is at the same time both ferocious and tender, soulful and dark, militant and spiritual” – Andy Robertson, Glasgow 6. Warpaint – Warpaint “This is no ‘difficult second album,’ it's a band moving forward to even better things.” – Robert Jamieson, Edinburgh 7. Aphex Twin – Syro “There's just nobody that comes close!” – Philip Doyle, Cambridge 8. Future Islands – Singles “They’ve released a lot of great albums over the years, but I was just utterly taken by Singles. I feel very protective over Future Islands as all my friends seem to think they’re kind of old and therefore make ‘uncool’ music. But they’re just wrong. And this album is proof!” – Meredith Stewart, Glasgow 9. Mastodon – Once More ’Round the Sun “These guys have matured with each release and in my opinion, this album balances the shreddy/ riff metal that made Mastodon famous and the complex, well-orchestrated rock and roll that has defined their sound. They are are getting better with every release” – Brody Dube, Ontario 10. The Phantom Band – Strange Friend “Strange it may be, but it's been my best mate this year” – Wendy McAngus, Tain

THE SKINNY

Warpaint drummer Stella Mozgawa on re-thinking and re-imagining the band's most effusively eclectic record to date

“I

t might sound eclectic to some people, this record, but other people don’t give a fuck,” laughs Warpaint’s drummer, Stella Mozgawa. “They’re just like, ‘Oh, what are those four witches on about this time?’” Warpaint are one of those bands that have a strange sonic signature, a definite something that’s entirely theirs. This kind of suggestion is often flung at vaguely avant-garde bands, but with Warpaint there’s an aura or an atmosphere which, although hard to precisely pin-point, is always present. This year, Stella and bandmates Emily Kokal, Jenny-Lee Lindberg, and Theresa Wayman released an album that’s a shapeshifter; transportative, smoky, seductive and a tiny bit intimidating, all in one. If this sounds hyperbolic, it isn’t... Stella might self-deprecatingly describe the band as a bunch of “witches,” but the selftitled Warpaint is total magic. The Skinny has a long love affair with the band; this magazine was among the first in the UK to cover the LA four-piece when they hit the ground running with 2007’s Exquisite Corpse EP, and they even graced the cover of our 100th issue back in January. So, it’s not remotely surprising that Warpaint, released way back in January, should feature so highly in our best-ofthe-year rankings. It’s an album that just gets even better with time, making it very much a pleasure to invite Stella’s commentary on how Warpaint – and the band – has grown over the last eleven months. Stella’s opening reflection is that, although it’s formally the second album from Warpaint, it’s their first self-titled release for good reason: “It was the first record that we all made together,” she emphasises. “This incarnation of Warpaint… it seems to be the legitimate version.” As Stella herself is the most recent addition to the band, joining in 2009, she jokingly worries that she sounds like like a “new bride saying, ‘I’m the one’” – but, as she explains, “this album kind of felt like – not wiping the slate clean, by any means – but it certainly feels like an affirmation, solidifying that this is what everybody feels like.” Hesitant to talk as a solo spokesperson, she explains that the four have a strictly “democratic” approach to band life, having developed a powerful “barometer for bullshit” that’s in place to nip any wayward behaviour in the bud.

December 2014

Cautious of potentially alerting that barometer for nonsense, I suggest to Stella that this record might be the most Warpaint-like yet. It’s as if all the qualities we’d expect from a Warpaint release have been distilled: there’s a refinement and concentration at work, taking those complex, rhythmic journeys and compelling, spectral harmonies and making them more Warpaintsounding than ever before. Luckily, she agrees. “Yes. I like that, a lot! I mean, ultimately, in our own interpretation of that, that’s exactly what we’re going for. We’ve made an album that we’re all like, yes.” She pauses. “All four of us put absolutely every little bit of our soul into this.”

“This album kind of felt like – not wiping the slate clean, by any means – but it certainly feels like an affirmation” Stella Mozgawa

On surface value the record feels softly cohesive – swelling from “Intro” into “Keep It Healthy” and then conducting a rich, intricate journey that’s completely and utterly immersive. But now, after nearly a year’s worth of relistening, the album sounds a whole lot more disparate: the eclecticism and character in the individual tracks floats to the surface, sounding at times as if each one belongs to a wholly different body of work. Using as examples the grungy CC, the delicate, fluttering rhythm of Go In, Disco//Very’s eerie, grooved take on a dance track, and the balladry of closer Son, Stella explains: “We just didn’t want to leave certain ways of being, unrepresented. Especially if [the album] was going to be a real reflection of where we’re at, creatively. I think if people invest themselves in the album,

Interview: Katie Hawthorne Photography: Daniel Harris it can sound like it’s coming from so many different directions: but that’s just the truth. That’s the truth of the matter, in terms of our band, and how our band sounds and functions. Those four tracks especially, I feel, live in a different world – in a good way.” For Warpaint, touring an album proves vital for keeping those “different directions” open. Stella describes their live performances as something nearer to a jam session, saying that it’s about “finding ways for ourselves to restructure, to re-imagine those songs. It keeps it exciting for us… to do things on the road, to take that risk, rather than playing to a script.” The band have seen certain tracks take on a new personality over time, too – apparently CC, amongst others, was “a little late to the party,” says Stella, “there’s been lots of little surprises.” An unbelievable amount of care (or “babying,” as Stella puts it) went into Warpaint. The band wrote it over several months of seclusion in the mystical Joshua Tree National Park and collaborated with world-renowned producer Flood, but it’s strikingly clear that the band themselves had huge personal expectations of this record – let alone the expectations of the fans and critics clamouring for a release in the four years it’s been since debut album The Fool. Exhaling, she says, “this album, for me, is really close to the end of the [perfectionist] journey. But! It’s very possible that every artist has that kind of... finite goal, and you’re never going to reach it? That’s the point of being prolific and continuing to make music because... in the back of your mind, you know you’re never going to be totally satisfied?” So, essentially, Warpaint is a crystalised encapsulation of the band at a precise point in time – but for a band this driven, that mythical ‘perfect’ album, that kind of artistic ‘end point’ will forever be elusive. With this in mind, how does the future look to Warpaint? For one, they’ve already started writing: a new song, No Way Out, has already been woven into their live sets, and the band are extremely eager to be “a little quicker” with future releases. Drawing a comparison with the way electronic artists release single tracks or EPs without feeling pressured towards a full album, Stella enthuses, “I think that’s the future of the band, for sure. We’re just ready to reimagine that format. It doesn’t have to be so homogenous all the time. But... I don’t want to spoil too much.” And, even in the week since we spoke, an announcement of a secretive collaboration between Warpaint and the equally ethereal Daughter has surfaced online: it looks like this “incarnation” of Warpaint has barely even got started. Stella summarises: “I think, ultimately, if I could make a conclusion about the record, it would be that it’s the next step. It seems like we’re just about to fully realise what... what... what we’re capable of, and if we’re capable of all the things that we want to do. Our visions are lofty, we take everything quite seriously; hopefully we’ll be able to live up to our own expectations of ourselves, eventually? I think we all, as a group, just feel insanely grateful. Sometimes [the response to the album] just feels… it feels unwarranted, you know? But at the same time it’s extremely humbling, and gives us the strength to do something that we hope will be even better. And to continue to do so.”

ALBUMS OF 2014

And the runners-up were...

Dope Body

Warpaint play Manchester Albert Hall on 22 Mar and Glasgow O2 Academy on 24 Mar

So that was our albums of the year and, while we doff our collective cap to those up top, the joy of such lists is always about making new discoveries, even as we re-visit the already critically-adorned. Allow us, if you will, to share a few of our own. Two very different American rock bands, bonded by a fiercely DIY streak, released irresistibly energetic firecrackers of six-string joy. Baltimore trio Dope Body further refined their post-hardcore maelstrom on the breath-snatching Lifer (#20); Ex Hex’s Rips (#43), meanwhile, mixed a familiar DC hardcore urgency – they hail from historical punk hotbed Washington – with an uncanny knack for writing effortlessly infectious choruses. Different sides of the synth-pop coin saw Fire Records’ Virginia Wing explore themes of anxiety and self-medication on Measures Of Joy’s (#34) mesmerising Broadcast-flecked mutations; while TR/ST’s booming soundscapes offered a crisp update on 80s revivalism, Joyland (#21) a more nuanced, dancefloor-leaning alternative for those who found Future Islands’ ubiquitous breakthrough (#35) a little overwrought. German producer Glitterbug’s brooding hauntology Dust (#47) was inspired by Gold Panda’s Half Of Where You Live’s celebration of ‘man-made urbanity,’ instead re-imagining cities as layers of past memories – manifesting itself in murmuring deconstructed techno. Sharing a penchant for drone, though hoisting their textural washes to the forefront, A Winged Victory For The Sullen’s Atmos' (#13) resonant piano and plaintive stringwork moved mountains even while giving the impression of barely shuffling an inch. What of the regions The Skinny calls home? From Glasgow’s Randolph’s Leap and Highlandsdwelling Bronto Skylift came two vital additions to the narrative of Scotland’s music scene in 2014. The former came good with second LP Clumsy Knot (#49), an endearing slice of quick-witted, warmly-executed chamber-folk. The latter’s Date With A Ghoul (#50) – featuring Phantom Band stickman Iain Stewart – bludgeoned listeners into submission with the panache of a DFA1979 from a decade ago. Down in Manchester, Gizeh Records’ Shield Patterns cut a shadowy silhouette, but the pair’s minimalist electronica on Contour Lines (#27) maintained a sense of intimacy amidst the space around them; and in Liverpool, Ninetails fleetingly burned brightly with their otherworldly collage of R’n’B beats, field recording patchworks and after-dark pop on Quiet Confidence (#44). Questions of 2014 being a vintage year for music invariably come down to the individual – but you won’t find us decrying a lack of musical nutrition over the past 12 months. [Simon Jay Catling]

warpaintwarpaint.com

Read the full Top 50 rundown at theskinny.co.uk/music

Warpaint – Warpaint (Rough Trade)

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Photo: Alexander Bell

Soul Power #1

Films of 2014: Aliens, A.I.s & Adolescence From reptilian alpha males (Godzilla, The Wolf of Wall Street) to females fighting the patriarchy (Under the Skin, We Are the Best!), and from troubled pasts (12 Years a Slave, ’71) to troubling futures (Her), movies of the year are full of contrasts

3. Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)

1. Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer)

2. Boyhood (Richard Linklater)

Under the Skin is a film that shows you things you’ve never seen before. Jonathan Glazer’s extraordinary and singular picture blends footage shot covertly on the streets of Glasgow with vivid and nightmarish images to create a wholly original and deeply unsettling experience. It is a film about being an alien in a human world, or perhaps being a woman in a man’s world, and Scarlett Johansson’s work as the film’s enigmatic protagonist constitutes the year’s most imaginative use of an actor’s particular star quality. Under the Skin is a most apt title for this remarkable film. Once it has seduced us into its dark world, there is no escaping it. [Philip Concannon]

Everyone was rightly dazzled by the technique and sheer commitment of Richard Linklater’s 11-years-in-the-making journey through a boy’s life, from elementary school to college and with all the growing pains in between, but the real wonder is how intimate the finished article is. While the tribulations of young Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and his family themselves elicit pure empathy, Boyhood also acts as a time capsule to a difficult and ever-changing recent history; its discussions, moods, concerns are instantly recognisable to anyone who has lived alongside Linklater’s subjects. It’s as close to reality as fiction can get – messy, sad, funny, mad – and as revolutionary in the medium as when Méliès took that Trip to the Moon. [Chris Fyvie]

The Coen brothers don’t trade in success stories, and Inside Llewyn Davis is one of their most perceptive and resonant studies of a person failing at life. The eponymous folk singer is a man with some undeniable talent, but he’s also an irascible and self-destructive individual who lacks whatever that indefinable quality is that propels an artist from one level to the next. Instead, Llewyn Davis just keeps wandering in ever-decreasing circles; it’s a futile odyssey in which the bleakness is offset by the filmmakers’ customary wit and attention to character, and by the evocative cinematography and music. This is a most wintry, melancholy and mysterious comedy, and one of the Coens’ very best. [PC]

4. Her (Spike Jonze)

In a year of souped-up superheroes, psychokinetic posthumans and glassy body-snatchers, Her’s Samantha provided Scarlett Johansson with her most recognisably human role of 2014 (paperthin Chef cameo included). That Samantha is a disembodied, artificially intelligent OS barely matters, such is the quality of both Johansson’s vocal performance and Spike Jonze’s script. The result is an original and warmly rendered love story that doubles as a diagnostic overview of 21st-century solipsism and technological dependence. As the flesh-and-blood half of a very modern romance, Joaquin Phoenix sells Her’s conceit with sensitivity and subtlety, resulting in a ROM-com that’s not only witty, but plausible and painfully poignant too. [Chris Buckle]

5. We Are the Best! (Lukas Moodysson)

6. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson)

7. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)

8. The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)

9. ’71 (Yann Demange)

10. Godzilla (Gareth Edwards)

The Next Ten:

At first glance, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a typical Anderson confection. This breakneck caper, which centres on the escapade of the eponymous establishment’s rakish concierge (mischievously played by Ralph Fiennes) after he’s been wrongly accused of murdering his much older lover, would get you a full house in a game of auteurist bingo, what with its meticulous set design, deadpan performances and camera work so precise to suggest it was composed with a compass and set square. For the first time, however, real-world peril penetrates the fastidious framing. Namely, the brutality of war. If Rushmore was Anderson’s Catcher in the Rye, this is his For Esmé – with Love and Squalor. [Jamie Dunn]

This feature couldn’t be further removed from the Britney Spears and Eric Clapton promos on which Yann Demange cut his teeth. A suspenseful historical thriller set during a period of conflict that continues to resonate in the present day, it imbues the basic premise of Carol Reed’s classic Odd Man Out with a modern, nightmarish intensity. Fresh from an impressive turn in Starred Up, Jack O’Connell continues his ascent as the British soldier cast adrift in Belfast at the height of the Troubles. The scenario plays out like Die Hard but with a real sense of jeopardy and danger. [LP]

Feature

A film of unparalleled aesthetic beauty about almost unimaginable ugliness, Steve McQueen’s ferocious adaptation of Solomon Northup’s memoir was the most emotionally intense cinematic experience of the year. Drawing an extraordinary performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor, more great work from regular collaborator Michael Fassbender, and one of the most astonishing debuts in living memory from Lupita Nyong’o, McQueen presented an insight into slavery devoid of sentimentality or respite; he delivers a relentless and horrifying account of a barbarism that barely seems human anymore. It’s a work of immense historical and artistic importance, a work that will be discussed with the greats for as long as the greats are discussed. [CF]

Heavily informed by Steven Spielberg in his better blockbuster days, Gareth Edwards’ horror-tinged Godzilla update is a big effects movie with genuine poetic craft behind its visual storytelling. Intense, disorienting, intimate, and often rousing in its apocalyptic take on the green giant and company, it has palpable emotion that evades so many blockbusters, mainly thanks to its eschewing of many of their trappings through restraint, patience, and giving every shot actual meaning and weight. And its (muchcriticised) decision to stick with bare, archetypal characters absolutely works for its grander preoccupation with how humanity’s personal concerns amount to frivolity in the face of annihilation. [JS-W]

FILM

Set in 1982, when disaffected Swedish youth was gripped by the sound of derivative post-punk, this sharply observed coming-ofage tale shies away from nostalgic kitsch in favour of something altogether more substantial. Like punk itself, outsiderdom has long been diluted and commodified. We Are the Best! is no more innovative than any number of inferior, coldly calculated movies, but it impresses with its utter lack of affectation. Lukas Moodysson clearly feels an affinity for the three pre-pubescent girls around whom his graphic novelist wife’s story revolves, while 11-year-old Mira Grosin’s star turn is played to precocious perfection. [Lewis Porteous]

The Wolf of Wall Street is Scorsese’s Satyricon, an epic of excess that is both riotously, morbidly funny and actually kind of terrifying. Leonardo DiCaprio verges on the vampiric in parts of his mesmerising performance as real-life tyrant stockbroker Jordan Belfort. This scabrous, unhinged odyssey is its lead actor’s best work and yet another triumph for its legendary director, and it draws real blood in its examination (all horrified fascination, never endorsement) of the home-grown monsters America makes with its mantras of creating as much prosperity for yourself as possible. Greed is good; this is incredible. [Josh Slater-Williams]

11. Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev) 12. Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne) 13. Maps to the Stars (David Cronenberg) 14. The Lego Movie (Phil Lord, Christopher Miller) 15. Ida (Paweł Pawlikowski) 16. The Golden Dream (Diego Quemada-Díez) 17. 22 Jump Street (Phil Lord, Christopher Miller) 18. Gone Girl (David Fincher) 19. Blue Ruin (Jeremy Saulnier) 20. Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn)

THE SKINNY

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Cass Art: Let’s Fill This Town With Artists We explore the new store on the Glasgow art block, Cass Art, and scope out a few choice items we’d love to receive as gifts

n Glasgow’s Queen Street, there’s a brand new Cass Art standing white and gleaming, a treasure trove of art materials. Its site is an old listed building, which with a lick of paint and some considered lighting feels much more open and spacious than before. As part of their ‘Art For All’ manifesto, Cass Art’s staff are experienced art practitioners and able to give the best advice in response to the wide ranging queries that arise in an art shop. Whether visitors to Cass Art are looking to build their portfolio, craft a fairy costume or learn how to paint, help is at hand. Walking into the shop, art materials are thoughtfully organised and it’s a beautifully simple space with room enough to wander and take the time to find a new or renewed passion for making. There’s also the assurance in Cass Art's manifesto that not only are the best materials on display in store, there is a guarantee that they have negotiated directly with famous suppliers for low prices.

Innovation

By providing this space and support, the new store gives an opportunity to those who might have been dissuaded from pursuing creative interests by not knowing how or where to begin. Also for anyone who has not visited an art shop for a while, there are some innovative new technologies to explore. So for anyone curious about watercolours, there are also now watercolour markers. Either used alongside or instead of traditional watercolour paints, they allow for quick and precise mark making, while still using fine pigments that can be mixed for custom colour combinations. These markers are available from Cass Art in a set of 12 for £29.95.

Professional

As well as innovative new materials, there are also essential materials for professional artists and designers. What first comes to mind when imagining the desk of an art studio or design space, of course, is that there will be at least a pencil and paper. Taking care of the former, Cass Art provides a deluxe monochrome set of Faber-Castell pencils that brings together into one set all the soft grades for smudging, pure graphite sticks and water-soluble pencils in a sleek metal and dark wood case, with a wood encased eraser and paintbrush.

December 2014

Value Sets

Taking into account the expense of quality art materials, there are also value sets, like the Liquitex acrylic set of 18 22ml tubes for £16.95. Like the Faber-Castell pencil set, the materials are sold along with a strong container to prevent that easily made mistake of losing a favourite colour, or accidentally stepping on a tube – cadmium red is not a cream carpet’s best friend. With 18 different colours, and the best pigments, there’s the chance to mix together any imaginable colour.

Own Brand

To make art even more affordable for everyone, Cass Art also stocks a range of Own Brand materials. With paper, paintbrushes and more, they bring the highest quality materials at the most incredible value. For example, for anyone who has balked at the price of watercolour paper, Cass Art has on sale a Jumbo Watercolour Gummed Pad, containing 50 sheets of 300 gsm paper which is priced at £19.50 for A3 and £12.95 for A4. The paper itself is highly absorbent so paint will not run off, unless that’s the desired effect. And let’s face it, for as long as there is art, there are mistakes – fortuitous or not. Planning for a certain amount of rearranging and reworking, the paper has a hard surface so it won’t break apart if some erasing is required.

The Shop

As part of Cass Art's commitment to supporting the city’s already thriving creative scene, the shop contains an Art Space which offers workshops for adults and children alike, providing a means of access for budding artists looking to express themselves. There’s also a rolling programme of exhibitions, with the showcase programme kicking off this month with Scottish artist Marion Deuchars. To find out more about how you could get involved in the creative scene, take a look at their website and head along to the Queen Street Cass Art store. 63-67 Queen Street, Glasgow, G1 3EN cassart.co.uk

THE SKINNY

The Mysterious Island Satellites Programme participant Collette Rayner discusses her show at Collective Gallery

Interview: Adam Benmakhlouf Images: Collette Rayner

ollette Rayner has recently completed the Satellites programme with the Collective Gallery and Access as an Idiot Distraction is the last exhibition of the 2014 cohort. Having graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 2012, the Satellites programme has provided a peer group and strong formal system of mentorship which Rayner credits as allowing her to develop significantly from a year and a half ago when she first submitted her proposal for the programme. In Collective gallery through December into January, it was important for Rayner to exhibit work that expressed itself as a precise statement, after she “spoke with the other Satellites artists who have exhibited already, and they agreed that this was the best approach to the space.” At the moment, the Satellites programme of exhibitions is housed in a temporary white cube space, which Rayner couldn’t but imagine as a “shipping container.” Working with the simplicity of the space, Rayner has chosen to exhibit a digital animation along with an accompanying text, both responding to the research she has undertaken over the past 18 months. However, though the work is expressed succinctly, there were difficulties encountered during its making. From the very first proposal, Rayner has been interested in the Principality of Sealand. This sovereign micronation is six miles off the coast of Felixstowe, that was originally built to be used by the navy during the Second World War. Changing hands regularly after WWII through the 60s when it was used to broadcast pirate radio, later in the 60s it was acquired by Roy Bates. Sealand now belongs to his son, Michael Bates. Though the island’s history and controversial international legal status are interesting, the island has remained outside of general knowledge. Following her original proposal, Rayner initially set out to access the island in order to lower a camera from the platform and down the metal legs of Sealand. She negotiated access to the island. On the scheduled day however,

“Though the island’s history and controversial international legal status are interesting, the island has remained outside of general knowledge” Collette Rayner

radio silence was the response to their requests for the lift – that controls access to the island – to be lowered. It was with the mentorial support of the programme that Rayner recognised this obstacle towards the work she originally proposed as an opportunity to develop her practice further. It was at that point that Rayner began to consider 3D digital animation. This led her to work with Hackspace in London, “a nonprofit hacking community that runs workshops on model making, drone building and robotics.” Here she encountered “two kinds of people – some people were using the technology to build models of things they loved and wanted to own somehow. Others were building commercial prototypes.” As she continued to learn about digital animation, Rayner began see it as the appropriate medium to respond to the history of Sealand: “For Roy (the original founder) it had

it been an idealistic endeavour, but his son Michael is more interested in exploring Sealand’s business potential.” Caught between a hobbyist’s passion and entrepreneurial spirit, representing the island as a 3D rendered digital animation for Rayner best engaged this ambivalence. Rayner acknowledges that the history of Sealand and the process of frustrated and recalibrated proposals are interesting in themselves. It’s for this reason that “the accompanying text is important as while there’s an economy and ambiguity that is complemented by a certain openness in sharing the processes and frustration that went into the work.” Rayner sees this as an essential part of being a young artist – “it’s important to be generous with the work, and give viewers a way in.” Access as an Idiot Distraction will be open until 25 Jan in the Collective Gallery, Edinburgh colletterayner.com

Film Stills from Access as Idiot Distraction

December 2014

ART

Feature

Painting After Punk: C

hristopher Orr’s first solo show in Scotland The Beguiled Eye – highlights the work of a Scottish artist who richly composes engaging and uncanny scenes. The characters in his often small scale works draw the audience in to look closer at the layers of the pictures and provide engaging and aesthetically intriguing miniature, murky and jewel like images. This is your first solo exhibition in Scotland: as a Scottish artist what does showing your work at the Talbot Rice Gallery mean to you? There was a nice connection showing my work at the Talbot Rice Gallery: the gallery used to be the University’s Natural History Museum where Charles Darwin visited, it also still houses a collection of Old Master paintings. The work fitted in so well with the gallery itself linking together the taxidermy and pharmacological aspects of the gallery with my work. Your work contains a lot of found imagery – how important is found imagery, not only to the final work, but to your process? The artistic process for me often starts with a found image. In the studio I have a large archive of books and images, and often set out looking for a specific image but stumble across something completely different. Removing these figures from their mundane surroundings and reinterpreting them and giving them a new identity from their original context is key to my working process. We also have a lot of 16-millimeter film in the studio, which we collect and project onto the walls, often overlapping films and images that create incongruous moments, and this is also a good way to create ideas, the film and photographic archives act as a sketchbook. Often the titles of your work are references to song titles (for example Time is The Diamond referencing a song by the band Low). Does music hold a lot of significance to your practice?

Interview: Rosie Priest

When The Sex Pistols released ‘God Save the Queen’ in 1971 I was ten years old, the cut and paste aesthetic as well as the punk aesthetic in general was a huge influence on me. I worked in a printers before I started at art school, where I laid out graphics by hand. It was before Photoshop made image manipulation simple, and the cut and paste practice mimicked that of the punk aesthetic: often the images would be erroneous and incongruous. I wouldn’t say that music is considered as part of my work, but it does have a place in making my work; there is always music on in the background of the studio, typically quiet electronic music and often a song will be put on repeat and become a sort of soundtrack to the artwork itself. I suppose this cut and paste aesthetic talks to the ‘hand of the artist’ almost – there is always evidence of your process in your final work, elements are sometimes partially erased, why is that? A lot of my earlier works were highly finished, but the way I work now I really enjoy the mistakes, the phantoms that come out of mistakes and the process of making the work being part of the final piece. Your work is often small in scale, which came as a surprise to me seeing your work for the first time after having seen images of it printed, perhaps because it invokes notions of the romantic, especially in your colour palette. Why do you choose to work on such a small scale? While studying in Dundee I was making large abstract paintings, but still using similar sources as I do now: stills from video games and sci-fi imagery for example, and out of curiosity I started to paint landscapes on wooden blocks. It just started to make sense, bringing together all of the ideas I had didn’t have to be on a large scale.

To Your Scattered Bodies Go

Some of the art that interests me, such as some classical Flemish paintings were produced on a small scale and I liked bringing some of that influence to my work. You seem to reference artists such as Vermeer and Bosch in your work, what is it that you find in these older works of art that interests you? Artists like Vermeer tell a story, and the figures in his work are often very engaged in what they’re doing, which is usually an act open to interpretation: physically it is difficult to tell what the characters in his work are doing and I like the lack of objectivity towards his subjects. The saturated hues of Kodachrome come

across your work, how do you use these indications of older image making technologies? Most of the images I source are pre 1970s, and all of these pictures tend to be in Kodachrome: there’s something very attractive about the Kodachrome aesthetic. The images I use are very staged, but not manipulated (using Photoshop etc) or particularly stylized. Taking these very staged images and re-staging them in paintings and utilising their colors suits my palette, which has developed over the years to almost imitate Kodachrome. Christopher Orr’s exhibition The Beguiled Eye is open until 14 Feb 2015

The Politics of Envy

Owen Jones’ appearance in Edinburgh allowed The Skinny to engage with one of the UK’s most vocal left-wing firebrands, and question his recent celebrity endorsement.

he day after Owen Jones appears in Edinburgh to discuss his second book, The Establishment: And how they get away with it, he will be interviewing Russell Brand on Revolution, the comedian’s controversial third book, in an event organised by the Guardian and screened in cinemas around the country. It is surprising that Jones, with a background in the trade union and labour movements, would align himself with Brand, a man who offers nothing more than an enigmatic assurance that revolution will come. Ahead of the events, Jones criticised the “alltoo-smug, seen-it-all-before snottiness towards Russell Brand,” while ignoring some of the legitimate concerns over the naïve nature of Brand’s calls for revolution. Engaging the young and disenfranchised in politics can only be a good thing, but is Jones letting Brand off the hook too easily? It wasn’t so long ago that millions of dollars were wasted on a series of ever more abysmal vehicles to cement Brand as a Hollywood star, and there is also the issue of the casual use of prostitutes that appears in his previous books. Isn’t the act of a rich white man paying for a woman to sexually pleasure him the antithesis of the rhetoric he now espouses?

Feature

Pick up a copy of The Establishment – And how they get away with it, and you will find a single quotation adorning the cover: ‘Our generation’s Orwell’ – Russell Brand. The words ‘beyond parody’ have come up a few times in response to Brand’s recent incarnation as a political messiah, but this really does take the biscuit. Jones is a good campaigner and commentator, but he isn’t a novelist, so how he can be compared to a man who is by common consensus one of the most important of the 20th century is mind boggling. It says something rather worrying about Jones, a man I had previously viewed as modest, that he would allow for this to appear on the cover of his book. Tonight, at a free event for Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair, Jones begins by calling the recent appointment of Fiona Woolf as the head of the Government’s child sex abuse enquiry, the latest example of a country being run by a closed elite that works to keep power in the hands of the few. From here, Jones steadily builds his case that this Establishment – a mix of government, big corporations and London media – works together to create powerful myths about society. While he is clear that this isn’t an organised

conspiracy, it is a club of self-interest, where all members benefit from propping up a smoke screen. Jones calls the politics of envy amongst the bottom of society, as opposed to the poor envying the rich, the “greatest scandal of our times.” In order to deflect attention from the Establishment leaders who are responsible for the galling levels of poverty in a wealthy nation, people are encouraged to envy the public sector worker their salary, or the asylum seeker their social housing. This is a classic divide and rule policy, but the problem is that this narrative is accepted as the status quo. How many times have you heard MPs and commentators state the supposed truism that there simply isn’t enough money for a living wage, housing for the poor and a universal national health service? Yet, there is money for tax cuts for the rich. Jones discusses the ‘revolving door,’ a system where ex-politicians are given dubious posts within the private sector. Disparate elements of the state are bound together through economic interests, and politicians and other public figures have a vested interest in keeping big business sweet. Why care if you don’t do a very good

ART / BOOKS

Words: Lucy Christopher

job of being an MP on £67,000 a year, when you have managed to keep a certain company happy and will soon be employed by them at a much higher salary? He gives former defence secretary Geoffrey Hoon’s controversial position at helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland and ex-Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt’s appointment on the board of BUPA as examples. Jones sums up the current situation as “socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor.” He is a left-winger of the old school and cites the chartists, suffragettes and the LGBT movement as examples of people who campaigned for change and made a difference. Owen’s lessons may be from history, but with a shockingly complacent and callous government in No.10, we need them more than ever. Commentators like Brand are rightly ridiculed for solely pointing out the problems rather than the solution, but it is also true that the more people who are aware of the way the Establishment works in the UK, the more likely change is. The message tonight is to organise from below, break apathy and believe in hope. The Establishment: And how they get away with it is out now, Published by Allen Lane, RRP £16.99

THE SKINNY

Photo: Christopher Orr, 2010. Hauser & Wirth Collection, Switzerland

Christopher Orr discusses his show in the Talbot Rice Gallery, punk, Vermeer and Bosch

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Own Art: Orro Jewellers

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Orro is an independent jewellery boutique in the centre of Glasgow, and is now involved with the Own Art scheme. We find out more... Words: Alexandra Fiddes

Owned by Kim and Sinclair MacLeod, Indie Authors Scotland provides training, publishing services and community support for writers who want to self-publish their work

pened in 1997, in a small premises in the West End of Glasgow, ORRO aimed to become a platform from which to showcase contemporary jewellery that showed exemplary design, was made from high quality materials and exhibited exquisite worksmanship. In under a year, ORRO became the very first contemporary jewellers in the country to be selected for support by the (then-named) Scottish Arts Council and the Crafts Council of Great Britain. Shortly after, the famed German manufacturer Niessing – who created the iconic Tension Ring – chose ORRO to be their only stockist in Scotland (and one of only a very select few in the UK). And shortly after that, a steadily increasing number of renowned European brands and designers became involved; they include Hanne Behrens (Denmark), Hilde Leiss, Henrich & Denzel, Angela Hubel (Germany), Andre Ribeiro (France) Marcim Zaremski (Poland) and also Yvonne Gilhooly (from Scotland) amongst many others. This impressive line-up of designers is one of the reasons ORRO stands out in Scotland. In 2001, ORRO moved to a new store in the city centre, which perfectly complements the aesthetic of its jewellery: modern, minimal and with clean lines. In the lead up to Christmas, their featured jewellery artist is Duisburg-based Tanja Friedrichs, whose work is made from whitened or oxidised silver, gold or palladium white gold wire. Her Quiril range is especially covetable, with rings and bracelets made from multiple loops of metal, whose movable parts make them extremely tactile and invite the wearer to interact with the piece. ORRO is now one of the Own Art scheme members, meaning that they are able to offer interest free loans on the stunning work that they stock, everything from £100 to a maximum of £2,500 – whether that’s for a Tanja Friedrichs piece for a loved one’s stocking this Christmas or you’re planning on getting down on one knee as the fireworks go off this Hogmanay, but don’t fancy stumping up all the cash all at once... Find out more online, or in person.

12 Wilson St, Glasgow G1 1SS 0141 552 7888

“W

e set up in June 2013 after Sinclair spent many hours in cafes with lots of people keen to learn how he had self published seven books and sold over 100,000 copies. He had a background in IT and web design before becoming a full time crime fiction writer. He handles all the techie bits of self-publishing. I have a background in training, coaching, NLP, positive psychology and run Happiness Clubs. I help our writers to develop a positive, successful mindset and make the most of the opportunities selfpublishing presents. “We offer an online training programme called Bookcamp where they can learn everything they need to know to produce and sell both eBooks and print books. We also offer a professional service to produce their books if they don’t want to do it all themselves. “We encourage everyone who wants to selfpublish a book to produce the most professional book they can and have fun doing it. We offer a range of options to help them do this and we NEVER take royalties as we think this is the writer’s reward. We have built a community of independent authors who also encourage and support each other. As the community grows so does our business as we develop more training or services to help them. “We joined Starter for 6 in March 2014. It’s a competitive process to get in, we had to prepare a presentation and show that our business was innovative. We knew we had a great idea but wanted to build our business muscles and Starter for 6 was an ideal way to do that. “The programme has really helped us to develop our idea. We added the book publishing services to our business as a direct result. We now have a much clearer vision of what we can do for our customers as well as understanding how the business stacks up financially. “We successfully pitched for funding at the end of Starter for 6 to help our business grow. We have also gained lots of knowledge, great connections and more business confidence to go out and make a difference in the publishing world. The whole programme is amazing – learning with other creative people is great. The training, support and encouragement is first rate, and the funding is a bonus – the energy that this will inject into your business is worth so much more.” [Kim MacLeod]

orro.co.uk

Starter for 6 is Scotland’s premier investment programme for creative industry start-ups.

ownart.org.uk

Applications close at midday on Monday 12 January 2015 www.culturalenterpriseoffice.co.uk

December 2014

Rhythm, Roots and Spirituality 20 years after launching his seminal M-Plant label, techno pioneer Robert Hood discusses his minimal techno philosophy, the spiritual revelation guiding his recent work and his respect for his roots

etroit techno is many things to many people. It’s a form that has evolved from the earliest experiments of Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson – through the fast-paced and militant interpretations of Underground Resistance, the space-gazing otherworldliness of Jeff Mills and the infinitely diverse musicality of Carl Craig. Each producer has applied their own flavour to the sound; each has acquired their own place in its history. Yet, if you’re looking for a figure that has increasingly carved a solitary path through several eras and myriad permutations of the genre, Robert Hood seems a particularly fitting candidate for the role of techno’s lone wolf. Having entered the scene as a collaborator with Mills and ‘Mad’ Mike Banks as UR, Hood’s career has since been marked by a particularly inimitable personal vision – one which has seemingly evolved in ever more spiritual ways over the years. “I guess I compare myself with Robert Neville from The Omega Man,” says the producer down the phone from his base in Alabama – a rural outpost he has held for the past decade or so, many hundreds of miles away from techno’s decaying urban birthplace in Michigan. His identification with that character played by Charlton Heston in the 1971 sci-fi film comes as no surprise – in 2010 Hood produced the Omega album which was intended as a reinterpretation of the film’s score. The story, one of a man who finds himself on his own in a post-nuclear landscape, strikes a particular chord with Robert when he thinks of how his approach to music developed from early on in his career. “I felt like I was alone in my own world at that time, and I still am. “A lot of people probably have felt that way, at some time or another. Nobody else can really understand your vision and the way you see things. For me, it’s been a one man journey, literally, in trying to express myself and convey to the listener just who I am as an artist – not just somebody that’s in a group such as Underground Resistance, or belonging to this camp or this record label.” That’s not to say Robert doesn’t cherish the time he spent working with UR and his early forays into production – he speaks warmly of how emotional it was to recently see, for the first time, a video of himself performing live with Mills and Banks on stage. But it’s from the time at which he stepped out on his own that we can really pinpoint the makings of Hood’s career in techno – namely his influential involvement in the minimal scene. Stripped back, rhythmic, but always imbued with soul, the minimal techno sound advanced by Hood has become his defining contribution over the years. His 1994 record Minimal Nation became more or less the blueprint for an explosion of minimal music in subsequent years, though much of it was lacking the Detroit producer’s ingenuity and depth. When asked about such watered-down imitations, Hood rather commendably avoids directly critiquing the work of others, in favour of reinforcing the philosophy which guides his own work. “Minimal is artistic expression”, he states assertively. “It’s diminutive, simple artistic expression and to me it’s like a place of solitude. “It’s not just about [using] a kick drum, a hi-hat, a bassline or some Morse code sound, for the sake of being minimal. It’s about identifying

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with your soul and with your spirit and finding a way to convey that and express that to whoever is listening. It’s about finding rhythm inside rhythms. If you listen closely to some of those tracks, such as The Rhythm of Vision or Unix and Station Rider E, you sort of find other hidden rhythms inside of the rhythm. It can be very hypnotic. To me that’s the true trance music; you find yourself really lost in it.” True, more than most techno producers, Robert Hood sculpts engrossingly repetitive tracks which draw you in fully, each miniscule development allowing you to reconceptualise the last, until it seems there is much more to be found in this music than there is, perhaps, in more varied arrangements crafted by less gifted producers. “I’ve always been drawn to the simplest beats,” Robert explains. He talks of a love of the most basic elements in songs such as Tainted Love by Soft Cell or the music of Man Parrish and Gino Soccio. “I would sit and watch people at basement parties and watch how they reacted to the breakdown on some of these records – 70s and 80s soul records. It’s almost psychological, but it’s also spiritual.” Spirituality is a prominent theme, both in Hood’s personal life (he is a trained minister) and increasingly in his music too. Where it was perhaps always possible to speak of a general spirituality in his mesmerising music and the way people connect with it, Robert’s personal faith in God has more recently become much more evident in his productions. His increasingly popular Floorplan alias – a warmer, housier take on techno which merges elements of disco and gospel music – has taken Robert in a much more intimate direction musically. This development is one he strongly attributes to becoming more spiritual and he clarifies this by recounting a now-familiar tale. “God literally woke me up in my sleep one night,” he affirms with conviction. “He spoke to me and said ‘I want you to put the Gospel message in the music.’

“It was recorded in ‘73,” he says of the latter. “I believe it was in LA, in a typical black church setting. To reach back and grab that from ‘73 and bring it into 2013/2014 is just amazing and I could feel the presence of God when he was using me to produce this record.” Whether you identify with the religious dimension or not, that idea of connecting with the past is something that has always run through even the most futuristic of Detroit techno music and for Robert there is a family link too. His father was a jazz musician and his mother was a singer in the Motown era and he has said there was always music around when he was a kid. Yet, he has also remarked in the past about how his parents and grandparents, while proud of his achievements, failed to make the link between their era and the techno scene Hood was involved in. Is the Floorplan material partly a way for him to make a more tangible link with his roots in things like Motown and jazz and with earlier generations? “Absolutely,” he confirms. “I guess I can not only speak for myself, but everybody in Detroit techno. Our parents, for the most part, came from the south and came from the black church. They migrated here in search of a better life. They afforded us the opportunity to not only go to college and get a higher education and a better way of life but also, unwittingly, they made a way for us to be creative and be what we want to be. “Now, me personally, I feel I owe it to my grandparents and to my parents to connect the dots Robert Hood between that period of migrating from the south, and the sharecroppers coming to the north, facing “God told me, ‘I want you to do a record racism in the automotive industry and so forth – that’s blatantly speaking about who God is and and with the civil rights movement. I guess it’s just magnifying God.’ I immediately went into the paying respect to their struggle in order for their studio and started listening to artists like James children and grandchildren to be whoever we want Cleveland, Andraé Crouch and gospel artists to be – astronauts, basically. We’ve become space I grew up on like Aretha Franklin. This message travellers; time travellers. They probably never started to form easily. It was just heaven sent.” imagined that we would forge these new paths There is an authentic air of emotion in in music.” Hood’s voice as he recalls his eyes filling with That Hood has been instrumental in forming tears in the studio when he was putting together new paths in music is without question. This year Floorplan’s joyous We Magnify His Name and he celebrates 20 years of his M-Plant label and the Aretha Franklin sampling Never Grow Old. his vision for that outlet has been as focused as

“I could feel the presence of God when he was using me to produce the Floorplan record”

CLUBS

Robert Hood

you might imagine. Formed as a way to further establish his own route, rather than following in the footsteps of his contemporaries, Hood says the intention of the label was to “plant new seeds of a new way of thinking as far as how we approach music.” He speaks of wanting to establish a sound that had immediate resonance with the listener – “that way of just attacking the neural system immediately and getting right inside your head” – in a similarly ‘potent’ manner to James Brown tracks, which Hood points out can be identified as soon as the needle hits the record. Few would dispute that Robert has achieved similar distinction within techno. Hood commemorates the life of M-Plant this month with a three CD collection of some of his most seminal tracks released over the last two decades. Yet, he is quick to point out that this will be no farewell compilation. “I wanted it to feel fresh and I wanted it to, not only speak of events that happened in the past, but sort of foretell what’s going to happen with M-Plant in the future – lay out new possibilities. This is not just a collection of greatest hits of M-Plant to chronicle this 20 year journey but to say this is only the beginning; the first chapter. The best is yet to come.” When asked about what we might expect in 2015 and beyond, he answers with one word in a rather declarative fashion – “Monobox.” With a markedly more introspective and dark flavour than Floorplan, this alias dates back to the mid 90s and its reintroduction earlier this year indicates that Hood still has considerable flex left in his approach. He is quick to admit that there may be some persona juggling involved though, in order to properly execute another shift in perspective. “Floorplan has taken on a life of its own and I find myself competing with myself. It’s just a matter of making chess moves and trying to find a way for everybody to co-exist in the same studio,” he says laughing at the thought. “You know, it’s getting a little bit crowded. “We’re working it out, but it’s a matter of just meditating on it, praying about it and I’ll let God dictate to me what plans he has for me.” Robert Hood releases M-Print: 20 Years of M-Plant on 8 Dec

THE SKINNY

Photo: Marie Staggat

Interview: Ronan Martin

“Women rulers always have a bad press” Literary superstar Jung Chang educates The Skinny on Cixi and Mao, controversial parents of modern China and subjects of her past and present biographies

ung Chang is a glamorous 62 years of age, easily surpassing stars of the silver screen on the style front – unusual for a writer, living in the world of ideas over image. Today she is urbanely attired in a chic turquoise dress, luxurious hair bunched up in parts while flowing in others, nails perfect, face ageless. She looks a product of the decadence and elegance of 20s Shanghai society rather than the solemn homogenisation of Mao era People’s Republic, where individualism and femininity were cut as uniformly as the regulated hair length. To sit across the table from her you might believe she’d lived a life of ease and privilege. Jung’s writing began in Sichuan province in 1968. Some years before her father lost his sanity and eventually his life as a result of political persecution. Some years before her mother was publically ridiculed and tortured at the hands of Red Guards; forced to kneel in broken glass, her arms strung painfully behind her. Poetry was so dangerous on paper that a frantic Jung threw her fledgling scribblings in the toilet when Government officials hammered upon her door. Thought was the most dangerous contraband in the fevered chaos of the Cultural Revolution, when fervent youth were encouraged to criticise the old world in order to create the new ‘with Mao Zedong thought as a weapon.’ “In those days in China writing poetry was an offence,” she states so matter-of-factly as the conversation begins. “You could only write propaganda poems in praise of Mao; it’s unimaginable now.”

“In China writing poetry was an offence... it's unimaginable now” Jung Chang

From that day she only composed and edited internally, her mind the sole safe parchment. She would use what she calls an ‘invisible pen’ while climbing electrical poles or nursing the sick, whatever mandatory role the regime set her. “They weren’t fully formed. Some were poetry in the classic Chinese form, very short. Some were sort of more outlines, narratives... If you can put it down on paper it’s much better, but otherwise your mind… when it has space you are writing there.” It’s a tradition of creativity under persecution which Bulgakov would well recognise, manuscripts hidden beneath floorboards or in the furthest corner of the mind. Jung travelled to the UK during Deng Xiaoping’s post-Mao political relaxation, one of the first in her country to earn such a scholarship. This new found freedom allowed the realisation of those long stifled dreams of becoming a published writer. Using hours upon hours of tapes recorded with her mother, Jung constructed the harrowing personal history of her debut Wild Swans – the tale of her grandmother,

December 2014

mother and herself, three daughters of China. The book went on to smash bestselling records worldwide and make Chang a literary superstar, not something either woman had envisaged. “We weren’t thinking about these things. My mother, like many I believe, bottled up all these things inside her, she was dying to talk. I mean in China it was impossible for her to talk, even to me… In 1988 it was her first trip abroad and she was able to open her heart and her mind… so in a way she was giving me the materials to enable me to become a writer.” Her most recent work is a vast biography of Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) which both complements and contrasts with her earlier work, Mao: The Untold Story, revisionist treatments of two parents of modern China. While Cixi – long presented as an incompetent despot – is rehabilitated through Chang’s words, Mao has his very dirty washing hung out to dry. “They were all condemning [Cixi] as this tyrant, this hopeless woman, this diehard conservative who dragged China behind and was the cause of all China’s troubles so to speak.” Therefore Chang polishes her image, highlighting a progressive stance on Western relations and a liberal banning of the brutal practice of feet binding – although she did murder the young Emperor the day before her own death. “It’s not just the Communist party,” Chang suggests, revealing the tangled source of Cixi’s image. “Before that the Nationalists also gave her a very bad press. I think one reason was that three years after she died China became a republic and so the Republicans, Nationalists and Communists all wanted to say they had saved China from her.” She laughs. “… And the other thing was that because she was a woman; women rulers always have a bad press.” The day before this conversation Jung took to the main stage at Edinburgh International Book Festival, adorned in extravagant embroidered silks from Cixi’s era. She was painted across the next day’s newspapers, as it’s easy to imagine she knew she would. It’s the tangible manifestation of a personality which seems to crave individualism, perhaps a reaction to those early years when it was banished. It’s possible to sense an element of harmless vanity, certainly not a spirit prepared to be unduly curtailed or ruled. So, for her biography of the Chairman, Chang’s personal suffering under his reign make her both a priceless primary source yet less than objective witness. Just as it would seem feeble to take issue with Solzhenitsyn – a man who survived the Soviet prison camps – for his vitriolic releases in The Gulag Archipelago, it’s impossible to feel qualified when questioning the position of somebody with the unenviable justification to state “… for example the famine, I of course experienced the famine, I wrote about the famine.” But the question of bias remains. Cixi, while ruling over similarly brutal times from behind a sheet of yellow gauze – yet unconnected to the Chang family’s immediate suffering – fares far better. It’s an accusation she is happy to tackle head on. “I think perhaps for some of the readers and reviewers of the books, my two biographies seem to be too personal. The thing is that’s my style, I’m incapable of writing an academic, emotionless, to me bland biography. I have to be

involved, to know the character.” While her interpretation may help to mould Western perceptions of Mao, China itself has never conducted a true and critical evaluation of his rule. The sun had hardly set on Stalin before Krushchev initiated his denunciation. Yet Mao’s spectre looms large in China to this day. Is this due partially to the shame of complicity for many who lived through the era? Chang herself was briefly a Red Guard, taking the popular pilgrimage to Tiananmen Sq for a strained distant glimpse of Mao, the totem she was later to hollow. She may grudgingly accept an element of this claim but the full blame is clearly placed in a statement which makes Scotland’s recent sibling rivalry feel trivial. “Of course the main thing is the regime.

BOOKS

It’s not as though there is a referendum about what we should examine now. It’s the leaders who made the decision. So we can only talk about what’s in their mind. People of course go along with it.” It’s a cult of personality long ingrained, still prevalent and highly visible. “The thing is that Mao, in China his portrait is still on Tiananmen, his corpse is still in the centre of Beijing, his face on every Chinese banknote. The current regime, this very one, is actually trying to rehabilitate him in a way that hasn’t happened since Mao’s death… It’s linked to their legitimacy.” Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine who launched Modern China is available now in various formats, Published by Vintage.

Jung Chang

Feature

Photo: Alan Richardson

Interview: Alan Bett

Partytime in Interzone Axel Boman joins a long list of esteemed international guests hosted by Huntleys & Palmers over their seven year run. Ahead of his appearance as Talaboman alongside John Talabot, the Swede shares experiences from his extensive travels

n 1981, Bollywood composer Charanjit Singh picked up the newly released TB-303 Bassline. The Roland Corporation’s iconic monosynth was originally marketed to studios and session players as an accompaniment tool, designed to reproduce the sound of a bass guitar. Singh was one of the first to repurpose the machine, producing what some argue are the earliest examples of acid house. Released in 1982, 10 Ragas to a Disco Beat predates Phuture’s Acid Trax by five years and Chip E’s Jack Trax by three. Although well received, the record was a commercial failure, and would likely have drifted into obscurity were it not for a chance discovery that led to a re-release in 2010. Singh’s name rang out, and in 2012 he was brought to the UK to perform. The resulting club night was a truly surreal and magnificent experience. Picture yourself in a sweaty basement in Glasgow. At the centre of the room stands an elderly man, impeccably dressed, behind a table of vintage synths. He calmly refers to a battered Moleskin, and tinkers with his machines. Around him, some hundred roaring kids are losing their shit, hanging on every thud of the 808. Such scenes were only made possible by the Glasgow born Huntleys & Palmers Audio Club, who brought Singh to the UK as part of their global themed residency Highlife, now sadly departed to London. The label and promoter are now approaching their seventh birthday, and in

that time they’ve brought us Mexico’s Rebolledo, Raoul K from the Ivory Coast, Chile’s Matias Aguayo, and a host of forward-thinking homegrown talent too. They celebrate their birthday this month at the Art School, with a line-up featuring perhaps the happiest man in house and techno, Axel Boman. Axel’s been DJing in Stockholm for years where he runs his ‘sideways house’ label Studio Barnhus with Kornel Kovacs and Petter (“We release very nice records by ourselves and friends!” says a little note on the Soundcloud. Cute, no?) “I’m super excited to see the Art School!” he squeals down the phone from his native Sweden. “I was an art student once! I really can’t wait to see the building. I heard there was a fire?!” Axel’s no stranger to Glasgow. He insists Scots and Swedes understand each other perfectly – underdogs together, far from the centres of power and free to do what they like. Scottish people, he feels, share an understanding of the Law of Jante, which for the uninformed is the feel-good notion that individual success is basically a load of crap, and nothing to be particularly proud of. “That’s the Swedish way,” he explains laughing; “a gold medal winner telling you ‘Who, me? No no, I’m not so great.’ We can always do better. It’s really dark.” Playing for foreign crowds does throw the odd curveball however. Sweden’s zero-tolerance

approach to drug use means Axel occasionally finding himself at a loss when dealing with a room full of wide-eyed ravers. “Coming from Sweden, it’s like, ‘Great, what do I do now?’” he asks. “How do you please these gurners? What the hell do you guys want from me?!” Like his hosts at Huntleys & Palmers though, Axel’s well-travelled, having played as far afield as Japan. The guy knows all about switching it up for different audiences. “I remember Adam Breyer, a legendary Swedish techno DJ, telling me once, ‘If you ever play in Holland, never, ever play a song with a break more than thirty seconds long,’ and it’s so true! They need that kick drum continuously – that doof-doof-doof, or they just all leave the floor!” This goes on. Italian clubs are still home to a super macho culture. Paris clubs are full of angry young men. “You’ve got all these dudes on the floor,” he exclaims, “and when you come from super-gender equal Sweden it can be a little shocking! It’s like, you guys are still in the 1940s! That’s great!” What’s behind these variations in the social dynamic of the club? Simple, says Axel. Material conditions. Specifically, eccies, and how many people are on them. “A lot of this music is essentially a reaction to drugs. I’ve noticed a few ketamine tracks out there for example! Ketamine! You can see how it’s been introduced.” This intense desire to involve himself

Photo: Wilhelm Jares & Robin Ekemark

Interview: Xavier Boucherat

internationally makes Axel a fitting headliner for the Huntleys & Palmers party, whose curiosity and open mindedness will with any luck continue to provide us with gems from all corners of the planet. Cheers guys, happy birthday! Axel performs with John Talabot as Talaboman at the Art School, 19 Dec, with support from Auntie Flo and Esa huntleyspalmers.com/

Long Live the New Flesh As he prepares to release his debut album, avid metalhead from Detroit Marshall Applewhite gives us the lowdown on his hybrid sound

“I

Interview: Ronan Martin

didn’t really go out to parties ever.” Asked about the electronic music scene in his native Detroit and its influence on his work, Joel Dunn AKA Marshall Applewhite gives an early indication that he can perhaps be considered as something of a studious outsider. To listen to his new material – a gritty, downtempo synthesis of acid and techno – you may draw several conclusions about Dunn which belie both his time in the game and the scope of his various musical interests. In particular, listening to his accomplished debut album as Applewhite, it’s hard to believe the 31 year old is relatively new to production and hasn’t necessarily been raised on a strict diet of classic house and techno. The album, Leave Earth, is released this month and is brimming with rich acid lines and booming percussion. It is underpinned by a frequent sense of doom, emanating from eerie synth hooks and pitched down vocal drawls which are deployed with a sense of careful restraint throughout. This creepy ambience is framed perfectly by the concept surrounding Dunn’s assumed name – Marshall Applewhite was the infamous leader of the Heaven’s Gate cult who convinced 39 people to commit mass suicide in the belief their spirits would be taken aboard a spacecraft to another planet. Heavy. The overall sound of the Applewhite material is what Joel and a small group of fellow practitioners call sludge – “an amalgamation

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of a slowed down version of ghettotech, acid and industrial,” he explains. “It’s really distorted and more raw.” Crucially, over 12 tracks, Dunn crafts an album which could convincingly slot into the back catalogue of one of techno’s more well-renowned past masters. This makes it all the more intriguing to discover the somewhat unconventional path Joel took to his current style. “When I first started producing, I was playing guitar in metal bands, but I didn’t like working with people,” he admits with a chuckle. “So I started buying drum machines, just so I could record my own stuff.” This led to him finding out where techno sounds originated from and he quickly learned more about classic equipment such as the famous Roland 808. As well as through these one man band experiments, Dunn was exposed to some essential music from his teenage years onwards, as his interest in shopping for vinyl developed. “I wasn’t a part of the rave scene per se, but I grew up in the record stores,” he explains. With the “older heads” there to assist, he was always going to have a good grounding and he talks fondly of the way his passion for music evolved. “You’d go into the record store and explain what you were into and they would tell you how bad it was,” he says, laughing. “So they would guide you a little further.” When we get round to talking specifically about particular Detroit names that strike a chord with Dunn, the artists he cites go some

CLUBS

way to explaining the richness to be found at the heart of his debut Marshall Applewhite album. “As far as dance music goes, electro was the first for me,” he reveals. “Japanese Telecom, Drexciya, all of the UR stuff – the electro side of that stuff is just mind-melting. Luckily, growing up here, we had no shortage of records ever. That was the kind of stuff that mixes with the ghettotech. A lot of the ghettotech stuff was drawn from that.” Joel Dunn represents, to some extent, a new breed of Detroit producer. While the musical foundations for many of the pioneering first wave of Detroit techno artists may have been in Motown music or George Clinton, there are also those for whom metal can in some way play a peculiar part in the genesis of new forms. Ghettotech, itself descended from early techno tracks, can become the first point of reference for those with an interest to discover the likes of Drexciya and Underground Resistance. With the increasing cross pollination of genres and new generations developing their own take on classic sounds, it seems safe to assume that the birthplace of techno will continue to provide a healthy environment where electronic music of all hues can evolve in ways its pioneers could not have possibly anticipated. This can only be a good thing. All hail Motor City Sludge! Leave Earth by Marshall Applewhite is out on Mon 8 Dec via Yo Sucka! You can read an extended version of this interview at theskinny.co.uk/clubs

THE SKINNY

Faking Bad A sweetheart in real life, a psychopath on the screen, we speak to live wire Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn about how he became Hollywood’s go-to nutcase and his new role in Kevin Macdonald’s U-boat thriller Black Sea

ver the past few years, Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn has become a familiar face to British cinemagoers, often playing variations on a particularly unhinged theme. From his brief role as an unwitting pawn for the big bad Bane in the finale of Christopher Nolan’s Batman series, to the conflicted and violently protective father of Jack O’Connell’s young offender in British prison drama Starred Up from earlier this year, there’s always an edge to his performance. It’s a rich vein he mines again as the explosive Fraser in Kevin Macdonald’s new nautical thriller, Black Sea. When we meet in a London hotel ahead of this latest film’s UK premiere, we ask the 45-year old Melburnian if he likes playing these types of characters. “I think they’re very watchable. Generally, if the audience feels that someone is a dangerous person, they’re going to watch them, hopefully closely. So yeah, they’re good to play.” It seems only natural to get his take on why he’s always cast as a psycho. He sits back in his chair with a chuckle and scratches his head through tousled hair. “It’s that type of thing, isn’t it?” he muses. “You do a job like Animal Kingdom [David Michôd’s 2010 crime drama set in the Melbourne suburbs] and that’s going to be what comes to people’s minds whenever they’re looking at doing a film with you. You’re going to get a kind of association. Now, is that because of the person, or because of the role? That’s probably best answered outside [of this setting], but I will say that I think there has been variation in there. Animal Kingdom cast a shadow. Something makes an impression, and then one gets offered this job and that job.” It is certainly his electrifying turn as the terrifying Pope in Michôd’s film that put Mendelsohn on Hollywood’s radar. His position as its go-to nutcase wasn’t immediate, though. After Animal Kingdom, he says, “there was a bit of fuss and bother, then nothing happened for a while.”

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But, after appearing alongside Brad Pitt in Killing Them Softly and Ryan Gosling in The Place Beyond the Pines, the last couple of years have been, by his own admission, “a busy time.” It wasn’t always like that, however. “I’d gone back and forwards [from Australia to the US] a lot, y’know, just going there to try and jag a job. There was a lot of that, for a very long time. Look, of the 30-odd years that I’ve been doing this, 25 is principally – almost purely – Australian.” That three decade career has produced an actor of fantastic skill and no little magnetism, yet his beginnings were inauspicious. “I took [drama] initially as an easy subject,” he reveals. “I thought you wouldn’t have to do a lot of homework.” The slacker soon became the star pupil, though. “We did a little play in class, and my memory is very good on certain things, and I could remember all of the lines. So I’d muck around with the others doing the lines of the play at ten times the normal speed and I’d do the whole thing. They got me to do that in front of the school and everyone applauded – they liked me and, y’know, it felt good.” An Australian TV show, The Henderson Kids, had an open casting and Mendelsohn and his friends decided to audition. “I got an interview time, and I asked ‘What’s yours?’ and none of them had actually done it, so I was like ‘Fuck… Oh, fuck it, I’ll go.’” That first meeting landed him a job and the rest is history. Cutting his teeth in Australian television seems to have given him a fine grounding for the kind of actor he has become; intuitive and intense. “It’s sink or swim,” he says of working on TV. “It teaches you to come up with something, and to come up with something quickly. Once I started acting, I wanted to keep going and I was very concerned that I wouldn’t get another job. That upset me a great deal, so I tried very hard to get better at it. I’ve seen some of the stuff that I did early on – there’s a certain something

there, but it’s pretty shonky. So I tried to learn, and I’d ask actors that I liked how they did it.” In 1990, he found himself on set with Anthony Hopkins in The Efficiency Expert, in which the Welshman plays a character attempting to teach an Australian factory (as well as Mendelsohn, workers are played by future Aussie stars Toni Collette and Russell Crowe) how to improve their productivity. It allowed the young Mendelsohn an opportunity to pick the brains of the man who had just finished shooting his iconic turn as Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. “I’d been doing it for seven or eight years by that time. He just said, ‘Well you don’t want to push things too much. You want to try and keep it simple, and just try and be there when it’s going on.’ That meant more and more to me as time went on.

“Characters are puzzles in a way, and the job of the actor is to take the writing, and solve how it’s going to work” Ben Mendelsohn

“He also said that he didn’t prepare anything before he got there, he didn’t do any of that stuff. He just got there, and felt what it was like, and tried to make it work. That’s been something that I increasingly tried to concentrate on: just being there. I think the hardest thing to do in

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Interview: Ben Nicholson

acting is to have, roughly, the feelings that you’re supposed to be having on screen. A lot of people will do a rehearsal and it’s fucking amazing and then you’ll do a take and you’ll feel something slipping away. It’s very easy to have your best performance not on screen.” For a man so often portraying anxious and fiery, Mendelsohn is a wonderfully warm and relaxed interviewee, unhurried and almost reluctant when the time finally comes to sell his new film. Black Sea revolves around a submarine crew who take on a mission to purloin some gold bullion from a sunken Nazi U-boat. Mendelsohn’s Fraser is an expert diver, but referred to as a psychopath before he’s even on screen. As with all of the actor’s dangerous alter-egos, there is a lot happening beneath the surface. Fraser’s default is hot-headed killer, but he also finds himself wracked with guilt and fear. “Those shifts are hard,” says Mendelsohn of portraying Fraser’s conflicting qualities. “I think in gear changes like that, you just sort of have to weave in that idea that [Fraser] is someone who gets overwhelmed, does stupid stuff and immediately regrets it. [Characters] are puzzles in a way, and the job of the actor is to take the writing, and solve how it’s going to work. In terms of someone like Fraser, the idea is that these are people that are essentially fucked on land; they’re not good at normal life. I think there are many specialists who have that relationship with their work, who feel ‘there’s one thing I can do, and when I do this everything else seems to fall into place.’” It’s a sentiment to which Mendelsohn can certainly relate. “It does feel like me being on a set somewhere. I think it’s transposing that ease in one’s work environment over on to Fraser” – he unleashes a devilish grin that may hold the key to his recent spate of unsavoury roles – “but, y’know, with the occasional stabbing.” Black Sea is released 8 Dec by Universal

THE SKINNY

Game Masters: Game On Mario at the Museum? No it’s not another spin-off but a new exhibition that chronicles the evolution of video games as a medium over the last forty years. As Game Masters sets up shop in Edinburgh, we speak to exhibition coordinator Ben Cram about how he and his team captured the evolution of games design in one hundred titles

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ideo games can never be art,” wrote film critic Roger Ebert in 2006. Game Masters, an exhibition exploring the artistic and cultural capital of forty years of gaming history, which makes its European debut at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh this month, begs to disagree. Featuring over one hundred games, original artwork and interview footage with some of the industry’s leading lights, Game Masters documents gaming’s evolution from niche hobby into the economic and cultural force that it is today. Ben Cram, the exhibition’s coordinator, describes the difficulties his team faced in conveying the richness of gaming’s cultural legacy, “With a forty year history, it was a real challenge to represent such a broad medium in just over one hundred games,” he confesses. “Primarily we wanted to represent the most important and ground-breaking titles, from the very first cooperative game – the 1980 arcade shooter Rip Off – to Super Mario Bros. and Singstar, which redefined karaoke games for the mass audience.” Remarkably for its breadth and scope, all of the games in the exhibition are playable on their

original hardware. The interactive nature of gaming presents unique challenges when transposed from arcade or living room to museum exhibition and so it was critical that all titles could be played by visitors. As Cram acknowledges, “Video games are not a static art form, in isolation they are incomplete without a player to participate in driving the experience forward.” Sourcing the hardware for some titles was a challenge for Cram and his team, with some rare arcade cabinets proving particularly difficult to track down and restore to working condition. The fate of many original cabinets speaks volumes about the extent video games have previously been regarded as throwaway cultural artefacts. “Back in the 80s, many of the original arcade cabinets were either discarded or stripped out and modified to accommodate newer games,” Cram notes. “Finding an original Missile Command is no easy task.” While the Game Masters exhibition focuses on playable titles from four decades of gaming history, it also lifts the lid on some of the personalities who have shaped the evolution of the

“Video games are not a static art form, in isolation they are incomplete without a player to participate in driving the experience forward.” Ben Cram

Interview: Jodi Mullen

by groups of less than ten people,” says Cram. “Back then each designer had a strong voice and pursued the game they wanted to make. It was a craft of passion and personality.” Though the exhibition has a clear academic and documentary grounding, it’s also apparent that some of the titles on display have a deep personal significance for the team who worked on it. Cram names 1980s arcade shooter Defender as one his favourite games in the exhibition and his enthusiasm for it perfectly captures the way that video games have broadened the horizons of millions of people around the world. “It completely blew my mind that you could fly this spaceship across your own TV screen,” he marvels. “The graphics were simple, but back then it was all high technology, it felt like the future had arrived.”

medium. Shigeru Miyamoto, the mastermind behind Nintendo’s Donkey Kong, Mario and Zelda series features heavily, but so too do figures less known such as Ed Logg (Asteroids and Centipede) and Warren Spector (System Shock and Deus Ex). “In the 80s and 90s, most games were made

Game Masters is exhibiting at the National Museum of Scotland from 5 Dec 2014 to 20 Apr 2015

audio-visual, interactive framework that includes puzzle solving and navigation elements. It’s a period piece that asks the audience to interact with history itself; to peruse contemporary newspapers sourced from The Scotsman’s archives or consult old street maps and photographs. If it sounds a little sedate, that’s the point, and Meek plans to extend this formula to his future work. “Our ethos is to challenge conventions and to produce compelling characterdriven titles for audiences who want more than just an adrenaline rush,” he states. In highlighting these three developers, Game Masters sends a clear message to visitors, the majority of whom will be encountering them for the first time; video games in Scotland can be

whatever they want to be. Not every fresh faced game developer can make it into the National Museum but these three have earned their respective places and have done so without subscribing to corporate agendas. As Meek puts it, “some experiments are lost and forgotten, others bring about change – but the important thing is that we’re experimenting.”

nms.ac.uk/gamemasters

Spirit of Independents For its residency in Edinburgh, Game Masters has reserved a spot to celebrate Scotland’s contribution to the games industry. We speak with the three developers chosen to represent its growing independent scene Interview: Andrew Gordon, Illustration: Guy Roberts

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hat if we showed that video games in Scotland can be more than games about crime and misogyny?” This proposition offered by Yann Seznec of Edinburgh-based Lucky Frame could serve as a mission statement for all three of the local developers participating in Game Masters. In their own way, each of them is driven by this possibility, striving to challenge widespread assumptions about what video games can be. Granted, Grand Theft Auto has secured Scotland’s status as a cornerstone of the industry, a reality Game Masters reflects with an exhibit dedicated to the series’ original creators DMA Design. Yet it sometimes overshadows some of the pivotal work being produced by its vibrant independent community – by folks like Lucky Frame, Glasgow’s Simon Meek and Dundee’s Space Budgie, who are proving that modern Scottish game development is far from the stronghold of the status quo its heritage might suggest. “The most important thing for an independent game scene in Scotland is unrelenting and unapologetic originality,” states Seznec, and Lucky Frame’s output exudes this in droves. Bad Hotel, which is playable at Game Masters, tasks players with constructing weaponised, beat-making hotels (what else?), whilst Roflpillar requires players to lie supine and perform their best caterpillar impression. Genuinely. For Space Budgie, independent development offers the freedom to address issues unbroached by the heavyweights of the industry. Their current project, Glitchspace, aims to advance

December 2014

“The most important thing for an independent game scene in Scotland is unrelenting and unapologetic originality” Yann Seznec, Lucky Frame

programming literacy, according to co-founder Ronan Quigley: “Programming can seem quite elusive so we wanted to break away these sorts of pre-conceptions by making Glitchspace an environment where players could be introduced to coding in a visual manner.” Just as Space Budgie believes in the medium’s capacity to enhance learning, Simon Meek is convinced of its potential to transform the practice of storytelling. “Video games should be credited as being the single most disruptive force in storytelling over the past forty years,” he claims. “They challenge conventions, they present problems and they afford exciting new possibilities.” Meek’s ‘digital adaption’ of John Buchan’s The 39 Steps presents his theory in action, a multimedia retelling of the early 20th century thriller that embeds excerpts of the original prose within an

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spacebudgie.com luckyframe.co.uk thestorymechanics.com

Game Masters

Brave New Worlds With Sega and Nintendo needing no introduction, we speak to six indie developers vying for your thumbs at Game Masters

CASTLE CRASHERS

by The Behemoth (Emil Ayoubkhan) Playing Castle Crashers is like spinning a wheel of genre tropes and cultural iconography, its set dressing cycling rapidly from ramparts and trebuchets one minute to cacti and canyons or glowing alien technology the next. A four-player brawler featuring pirates, puritans, ninjas and even the developers themselves, it’s a chaotic affair, but one that always feels cohesive thanks to artist Dan Paladin’s flexible drawing style. Crude, yet deceptively calculated, Paladin’s illustrations assimilate this diffuse range of source material with the breezy playfulness of a kid’s scrapbook doodles (albeit with a bit more violence) and are a large part of what makes The Behemoth’s work so recognisable. As the team’s Emil Ayoubkhan explains, “All of our projects to date have been designed and visually directed by Dan, so not only do our games have a very specific look to them, there’s a very specific humour as well.” Indeed, The Behemoth possesses a house style that’s among the most distinctive in indie games, an observation which Ayoubkhan attributes to the company’s laid back, socially-minded approach to design: “We don’t take ourselves too seriously with any specific story element or gameplay mechanic. Another important aspect of gaming for us is multiplayer. Every game we develop is designed with both single and co-op gaming in mind.” When it launched in 2008, Castle Crashers appeased an appetite for local multiplayer that had been largely ignored since the advent of internet-connected consoles, anticipating the current revival of ‘couch’ multiplayer games. These works are bringing video games back into bars and other public spaces, positioning them as a supplement to social activity rather than dominating it.

Game Masters

Interview: Andrew Gordon and Darren Carle Illustration: Guy Roberts

The Behemoth fully embraces this aspect of their work, having built DIY arcade cabinets to exhibit their games at industry events. Though these won’t be on display at Game Masters, Castle Crashers is still well worth checking out (as is their debut Alien Hominid), so we asked Ayoubkhan for advice to players approaching the game for the first time. “Walk slowly,” he recommends, “don’t make direct eye contact, and keep one foot on the ground at all times.” So long as you bring some friends, we reckon you’ll be fine. [Andrew Gordon] www.thebehemoth.com

MACHINARIUM by Amanita Design (Jakub Dvorský) Long before Minecraft made its millions, Flash games were bringing the work of bedroom enthusiasts to a worldwide audience, setting the precedent for the ‘indie’ game scene we know today. Jakub Dvorský’s career has its roots in the heyday of Flash games, beginning with Samorost in 2003. Samorost remains the archetype for his studio Amanita Design’s imaginative and idiosyncratic output, its photographic use of found objects like rusty gears and hot dog cans exhibiting a fascination with decayed, discarded technology that would later define the aesthetic of his full-length debut Machinarium. Dvorský still works in Flash, which is unusual for a game developer in 2014, and his loyalty to this anachronistic practice neatly mirrors his commitment to the point-and-click adventure genre. Pronounced dead by many a critic at the turn of the century, Dvorský argues that it is precisely adventure games’ supposedly rudimentary qualities that shield them from the unflattering effects of time: “Adventure games in general age

slower than other genres. The art is painted in 2D and is not based on fancy 3D graphics, visual effects or physics.” Set in a gorgeous scrapheap world of ramshackle Victorian-esque machinery, it boasts playful and inventive puzzles that subtly acquaint players with the denizens and social dynamics of its derelict robot metropolis, peppered throughout by Amanita’s hallmark non-sequitur humour. Though widely celebrated as a modern reimagining of the genre at the time, its streamlined take on the point-and-click was as much ripe for the growing indie game market as it was entirely precedented. It’s for this reason that Machinarium is an important inclusion to Game Masters, representing a counter-narrative to big business versions of video game history which emphasise perceived innovation over long term craft. Dvorský seems fittingly nonchalant about Machinarium’s purported role in revitalising the adventure genre. “It lives its own life while we move on and work passionately on new projects,” he responds. As for indie games more generally, he’s resoundingly positive. “More experimental, artistic and weird indie games are developed and that’s a good thing,” he says. “It helps the medium to grow and mature.” One needn’t look further than his own work for proof. [Andrew Gordon] www.amanita-design.net

ANOTHER WORLD and FROM DUST by Éric Chahi

The apocryphal story of Archimedes solving the issue of object density whilst in the bath is, at the very least, a reminder of the importance of taking a breather. Game designer Éric Chahi knows this only too well, having all but disappeared from the games industry for thirteen

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years before his return with 2011’s From Dust. “I discovered a passion for nature, especially the Earth in motion… the fragility of life and the impermanence of things,” says Chahi of his time away from videogames. This experience is indelible on From Dust. Viewed from a God-like perspective, players can mould and shape the rock, lava and water of the environment in order to help a nomadic tribe survive and evolve. However, the force of nature is always at hand, reminding players of their relative powerlessness, even as a semi-deity. “It was something I wanted to express,” explains Chahi of his inspiration. “Something different that I would love to see and play.” Different is the key-word, as From Dust was certainly a change of scene after Chahi’s 1991 breakthrough Another World. Yet whilst From Dust drew inspiration from the likes of Populous and Megalomania, Another World felt somewhat peerless upon release. “I don’t like to repeat myself,” states Chahi. “Exploring new fields has always been the force pushing me to create.” Therefore it’s Another World that has endured the most, undoubtedly because it is so different in of itself, influencing more games than it ever borrowed from. Fumito Ueda may have coined the term ‘design by subtraction’ with 2002’s cap-doffing Ico, but Chahi had long since mastered the same principle with Another World. Yet it almost never was, with Chahi’s penchant for going off on tangents almost derailing his crowning achievement before it began. “I loved the comics of Richard Corben, Frank Miller and Alan Moore,” he states of Another World’s influences. “I was thinking of becoming an illustrator and leaving videogames, but they have always attracted me more in the end.” With that we’ll assume Another World as being Chahi’s own personal ‘eureka’ moment. [Darren Carle] www.anotherworld.fr

THE SKINNY

CRITTER CRUNCH

Credit: Courtesy Capy Games

ANOTHER WORLD

Credit: Courtesy Eric Chahi

Credit: Courtesy The Behemoth

CASTLE CRASHERS

FLOW, FLOWER and JOURNEY

by Thatgamecompany (Sunni Pavlovic)

Ever since Braid redefined what an indie game could be, and indeed the audiences it could reach, there’s been a steady stream of ‘important’ titles taking advantage of new digital frontiers. Perhaps the most notable of these was 2012’s Journey. Developers Thatgamecompany had already achieved notable success with their first two games, Flow and Flower, but it was Journey’s distinct non-game approach to design and highly emotive, yet wordless story that brought a flurry of awards and gushing, sentimental prose. “After so many sequels and growing violence in games, Journey came out as this original experience built on themes of appreciation and love,” begins Sunni Pavlovic, studio manager of Thatgamecompany. “It resonated with a wide spectrum of people – from those who may have lost interest in games over the years to those who may never have cared about them at all. It was as if this very different, beautiful, quiet experience came along and shifted the conversation around what games are and what games can be by validating to a much broader audience, for the first time, that games matter.” What certainly makes Thatgamecompany’s titles so popular is their accessibility. Whether it’s Flow’s simple navigation, Flower’s therapeutic premise or Journey’s spiritual pilgrimage, these are not games that require four thumbs and years of built-in muscle memory reflexes. “Our philosophy has always been to focus on creating simple interactive experiences,” says Pavlovic. “Games that are dedicated to positively connecting players through visual storytelling with emotions and themes that are universal to everyone.” In amongst the whistles and bangs of most other exhibitions at Game Masters, Flow, Flower

December 2014

and Journey will no doubt feel like the oases of tranquility they were designed to be. “Take your time and play your way,” advises Pavlovic. “There are no timers to beat or points to collect. There is no right way or wrong way to play. These are experiences. We hope you enjoy what you find and take away something positive from the experience.” [Darren Carle] www.thatgamecompany.com

CRITTER CRUNCH and SUPERBROTHERS: SWORD & SWORCERY EP

by Capybara Games (Nathan Vella) “The hallmark of a ‘Capy game’ is simply that it was made by the amazing people at Capy. It is our trust and belief that we can do cool things together. It is our passion for games and game culture. That’s our marque, and that’s what’s ingrained in us.” Nathan Vella, co-founder and President of Capybara Games sounds well versed in assimilating his studio's diverse back catalogue of games. Like Stanley Kubrick, Capy seem to genrehop with each new project, yet manage to maintain a cohesive strand throughout everything they touch. Their two offerings at Game Masters are testament to this. The first, 2009’s Critter Crunch, is a maddeningly addictive, cutesy puzzler whereas 2011’s Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is a far more stylized indie adventure game. Yet there’s something in their offbeat humour, contrasting styles and aversion to playing things safe that makes both games feel very… well, Capy. “The team is driven by making things we believe are genuinely interesting,” continues Vella. “We found both games fun to make and they allowed us to dive in the aesthetics and make something

we believe people would find beautiful.” Beautiful they are too, particularly Superbrothers with its pixelated retro art, a trait that has bled into Capy’s more recent offerings. Yet in taking stock of where they have come from, Vella feels honoured to be in the spotlight. “Game Masters,” he marvels. “Heck, even the title is a little hard for us to wrap our heads around. The games industry has its fair share of awards shows, parties and expos for showing our work, so it’s great to have this alternative format that looks at our creations in a fresh light.” As more of a cult concern, Capybara seem likely to snare plenty of new fans at Game Masters, with Critter Crunch and Superbrothers hopefully piquing interest from opposite sides of the gaming spectrum. “Feel free to look and play critically,” advises Vella to such new recruits. “Feel free to question it or love it or leave it be. But mostly just have fun with it.” [Darren Carle] www.capybaragames.com

VIB-RIBBON and PARAPPA THE RAPPER by NanaOn-Sha (Masaya Matsuura)

Though first released in 1999 on the original PlayStation, 2014 is proving to be Vib-Ribbon’s renaissance year. Firstly, a concerted effort by fans to revive the long-dormant rhythm action title culminated with a re-release on PlayStation Network in October. And now the somewhat bizarre vector-based game, along with its spiritual predecessor PaRappa The Rapper, is forming part of Game Masters’ itinerary of important independent games. “I am overjoyed that both titles have been selected for the Game Masters exhibition,” exclaims creator Masaya Matsuura with characteristic deference.

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He shouldn’t be too surprised though. Those in the know have long regarded Matsuura’s games as cult classics. Like the Velvet Underground, not everyone was into PaRappa or Vib at the time, but those that were made their influence count. Not least was Shawn Layden, current president of Sony America, a territory that the original release of these games never even managed to reach. Unsurprisingly, many credit Layden with Vib’s rebirth to PSN but Matsuura is thankful to all involved. “I am very happy that fans have held it dear to them for so long,” he states. Though largely agreed to hold the honour of the first rhythm game, PaRappa never had much commercial clout outside of Japan. Vib suffered much the same fate, the eventual breakthrough coming from more populist fare such as Dance Dance Revolution and the Guitar Hero/Rock Band series. However, Matsuura has no sour grapes towards Harmonix, the developers of the latter. “Harmonix are good friends and I was glad to see they had helped the genre succeed in the west,” he offers. “I was cheering them on.” However, some success is now coming to Vib-Ribbon and PaRappa, not least with their inclusion here at Game Masters. Matsuura though is keen to point newcomers towards Vib and a feature which certainly helped its cult success. “If you get the chance, try swapping the PlayStation disc with your own favourite music disc,” he suggests, highlighting the ground-breaking feature that saw the game adapt to your own music collection. Any excuse to break out our Carly Rae Jepsen CD, Matsuura-san. Arigato! [Darren Carle] www.nanaon-sha.com

Game Masters

Credit: Courtesy NanaOn-Sha

JOURNEY

Credit: Courtesy Thatgamecompany

MACHINARIUM

Credit: Courtesy Amanita Design

Machinarium

Christmas Past, Christmas Presents! Interview: Darren Carle Illustration: Guy Roberts

hristmas is supposed to be a time of reflection, a time to be thankful for what you have and those you have to share it with. However, for many of us it is, or at least was, a time for getting the latest spanking-new consoles and must-have games, a period where spending time with friends was interchangeable with cuffing them at Super Mario Kart. It’s this latter take on the Yuletide season that writer, comedian and noted game enthusiast Robert Florence is tackling with Rab’s Video Game Christmas Morning as part of the Game Masters exhibition this month. “I pretty much remember Christmases by the games I got from Santa,” begins Rab on the genesis for his one-off show. “I remember the big Commodore Amiga Batman pack I got one year. That’s a really strong memory, one I’ll be talking about for sure.” However, those who don’t know their 8-bits from their Nintendo 64s needn’t be put off by the nerd alert likely ringing in their heads already. “It won’t be all references to obscure stuff that only I remember,” Rab assures us. “I won’t be tearing up at the memory of Gribbly’s Day Out while people look on in bemusement. My hope is that everybody will get something out of it.” Despite the obvious retro bent, Rab is keen to avoid the pratfalls many vintage game enthusiasts invariably find themselves in. “I’m not one of these ‘games were better back in the day’ people,” he says. “Games are better now. But they were great back then too and they informed where we’ve arrived at. I have a Gameboy Micro with me all the time. I play the Sega Saturn at least once a week and even my old 3DO gets an airing here and there. It’s constant but I think it gives you a better appreciation for how amazing games are these days.” This will form the backbone of the show and of the Game Masters exhibition in general, that of the ongoing influence and penetration of video games into mainstream culture. “I think games pretty much belong to everyone now,” muses Rab. “I don’t really see ‘gaming’ as separate from the day-to-day experience of most people in 2014. I think games are still, on the whole, bad at telling stories, but they’re great at offering experiences. Anyone who played the Silent Hills ‘P.T.’ demo this year will tell you that it was one of the scariest things they’ve ever experienced. Games are good at that kind of thing – shocking and surprising people.”

“I won’t be tearing up at the memory of Gribbly’s Day Out while people look on in bemusement.” Robert Florence

There may well be a few surprises at the video Game Christmas Morning, but as might be expected of the Burnistoun star and former videoGaiden presenter, formalities round at Rab’s gaff will be relaxed. “Couple of couches, Christmas tree all lit up, some footage of old games, some audience interaction and nostalgia,” he says of his loose plans. “Maybe we’ll even sing

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SPACE INVADERS

ASTEROIDS

some Christmas carols.” However, whilst presentation may be fluid, Rab seems set on the show's content. “It’ll be a celebration of the fact that games just keep getting better,” he restates. “The indie scene is strong right now, delivering lots of fun-first designs and more experimental stuff with heavier themes. The mainstream games are under more and more pressure to deliver value. It’s all good.” It ties in nicely with what Rab sees as the overall ethos of the Game Masters exhibition, as a way to inform us of our innate playtime needs and desires. “I think it will be a wonderful thing to help people understand exactly how video games became such an integral part of our normal daily lives,” he proposes. “The line between Space Invaders and Candy Crush is not a particularly long or tangled one. It’s great to know the history of these things, and to understand that video games aren’t anything gimmicky or niche, but actually an inevitable extension of technological progress. People want to play games and will find ways of playing them. It’s as simple as that.” Age and growing responsibilities may have robbed many of us of some of that cherished playtime, cross-legged in front of the TV, joypad in hand, but Rab’s Video Game Christmas Morning is set to remind us that while video games may not just be for Christmas, Christmas is most definitely a time for video games.

Insert Coin With a host of old school arcade cabinets at Game Masters, Rab chooses his top three games worthy of sacrificing your lunch money to play SPACE INVADERS It was by no means the first arcade game as is sometimes thought, nor was there a shortage of 100-yen coins as is often retold, but 1978’s Space Invaders was certainly the first game to gain global popularity. On the surface it’s a simple, yet addictive arcade shooter but Rab isn’t so easily fooled. “It’s about life, really, isn’t it?” he suggests. “The way time seems to speed up the longer you stay alive. The way doom descends towards you, inevitable and hypnotic. The way your shields get broken down by time and experience. Every time you play Space Invaders is like approaching it with fresh eyes. It’s like reincarnation.” ASTEROIDS Most of us can probably attribute our passage into video games to an older sibling, a friend or maybe even a parent. For Rab, a big boy did it then ran away. “One of my earliest memories is stepping into an arcade and hearing the sound

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DONKEY KONG

of Asteroids. A ghostly, futuristic sound. Then on seeing it flickering in front of me, I must have stood in a trance for ten minutes. Until this big boy gave me a coin to play it. ‘There you go, wee man.’ I’ll never forget that. A stranger, an older kid, probably without many coins of his own: ‘There you go, wee man.’ And with that, I was into video games for life. DONKEY KONG Yeah, so The Last of Us had a mature and wellwritten story but do you really play games for their stories? Rab isn’t so sure. “As much as I bang on about wanting better storytelling in games, I think that Donkey Kong proves that the key element of a video game is the climb itself,” he suggests. “What’s involved in that climb? Between bottom and top, start and finish, what happens? How do you get there? How much fun is in the A to B? In the case of Donkey Kong, it’s all fun. A true test of skill. A climb so competitive that people have spent their adult lives perfecting it. Human beings are brilliant, aren’t they? To devote your life to conquering a digital monkey is a beautiful thing.” Rab’s Video Game Christmas Morning is at the National Museum of Scotland on 13 Dec, 2 – 3.30pm nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland/whats-on/rabsvideogame-christmas-morning/

THE SKINNY

If Santa’s sack has been a little lightweight these past few years, it might be time for a trip down memory lane. Robert Florence strokes his metaphorical white beard as he reminisces about the good old days ahead of his Video Game Christmas Morning show

The Silent Rise of the British Anti-Abortionists A cross-party group of MPs recently introduced a bill to clarify that gender-based abortion is illegal. We take a look at some of the troubling consequences of beginning to limit access to legal abortions Words: Tasha Lee Illustration: Nele Anders

ed by an evangelical Christian MP, Fiona Bruce, the cross-party group seized upon suggestions that sex-selective abortions are taking place in Britain to argue that the practice is discrimination against women. While the British Medical Association recognises gender-based abortions could be justified on the grounds of protecting the mental health of pregnant women, the bill wasn’t really about sex-selective abortions at all. It was about reducing access to abortion generally. Fiona Bruce is the chair of the all-party parliamentary pro-life group. They are supported primarily by the Pro-Life Research Unit, which provides research, document drafting and access to specialist medical, ethical and legal advisors. The group and the research unit are funded by Christian Action Research and Education (CARE), who receive more than £2,000,000 in donations a year that they spend on pushing a fundamentalist Christian agenda. Taking inspiration from the pro-life lobbies in the United States, organisations like CARE spend a lot of time and resources trying to chip away at access to abortion. Although they are explicitly against abortion itself instead of campaigning for the Abortion Act 1967 to be repealed completely they seize on particular aspects of abortion legislation. For instance, last year Fiona Bruce chaired a parliamentary inquiry into abortion on the grounds of disability. Using the Equality Act 2010, the subsequent report argued for the extended time limit in cases of disability to be removed. She claimed the issue was about ending

discrimination against disabled people, saying at the time: “I do not accept that a disabled baby should be aborted purely because of the existence of the disability. Lives of disabled people are in general of great value and quality and medical advances are such that it (abortion on grounds of disability) seems unnecessary.” However, aborting a foetus on the grounds of disability IS sometimes necessary after the standard 24-week limit. Abnormality scans are generally offered when a woman is between 18 and 20 weeks pregnant, but results take time to come back, young children in the woman’s care can become unwell, demands and deadlines at work might delay the appointments, or it might just take a woman a few weeks to make a decision whether to abort an unborn child with severe disabilities. In the same way, campaigning for the law to be clarified in terms of gender-based abortion shows an astonishing lack of sympathy or empathy with the pregnant women involved. At its core, whatever reasons a woman might have for wanting an abortion are valid. Abortion doesn’t exist in isolation – sex education, domestic power dynamics, societal expectations all influence the options a woman has and how she may approach her fertility. And without the option of safe abortion on demand women are condemned to carry and birth a child against their will or to seek out an alternative way of inducing a miscarriage. Either way a woman’s mental and physical health is put at risk, for the sake of someone else’s moral compulsions.

They are called Alex Words: Matthew Bobbu Illustration: Nele Anders

y friend Alex has excellent taste in suits. A slim-cut jacket, a clean shirt, well-pressed trousers, well-chosen tie; they really know how to dress sharp. And I bet you assumed that they are a man, right? Or maybe you consider yourself pretty modern, and tried not to make any assumption about whether they are a man or woman. What if I told you that they are neither? Alex is genderfluid; they don’t identify as solely male or female, but rather they consider their gender to be in flux between both. Sometimes they feel more like a man, and they dress in their suits. Sometimes they feel more like a lady, and they wear dresses. Sometimes they feel like a man and still wear dresses, because they damn well can if they want to. There are so many people who, like Alex, live outside the gender binary – people who don’t identify as simply male or female. Now I’m not talking just about biologically intersex people here, though certainly some of those born with

December 2014

indeterminate external sexual features identify as non-gender-binary people. Gender is not about what’s in people’s pants you see, gender is about what’s in people’s heads. Chances are you never heard of genderfluid people before now. Or genderqueer people, who tend to have a stationary identity somewhere between male and female, or as completely neither. These are just two roughly defined segments of the socially invisible gender spectrum, but you should try to get used to them, and aim to find out more. Because awareness is important. Being aware that people live outside of what you expect people to be like is so important, not just for them, but for you and the people you care about. Because one day your best friend may turn around and tell you that they are not comfortable being called “she” any more, and prefer gender-neutral pronouns, like “they.” If they do, it will be your job not to declare

that it doesn’t make grammatical sense (it does, by the way – just read the title of this article to find perfectly acceptable usage of a singular ‘they’). It will be your job not to say, “but you have to be one or the other,” because just like people can fall outside the orientation binary of gay or straight by being bisexual, pansexual or asexual – people can fall outside a binary gender identity too. It will be your job not to say, “but you dress like a woman,” because how someone dresses does not necessarily indicate their gender. It will be your job not to ask, “don’t you have a vagina?” because not only does someone’s genitalia not define their gender, but it’s also none of your business. So when you meet anyone like Alex, it’s your job not to assume their gender by their clothes, what they keep underneath it, or anything. The only thing that matters is what Alex says their gender is, and whether you will respect that or not.

DEVIANCE

Lifestyle

Socket Fillers Our guide to what to buy for the gadget-obsessed this Christmas, from modestly-priced essentials to the truly covetous unnecessaries, and everything in between

Words: Julie Danskin

6 Gifts Under £50 1. Shoulderpod S1 – A thoughtful, specialist gift for the digital chronicler in your life, the Shoulderpod S1 is a portable rig designed for increased control in smartphone photography and/or filmmaking. This kit consists of a smartphone-friendly clamp for tripods, handstrap for steady grip, and travel stand. (£23.90, shoulderpod.com) 2. Urbanears Plattan Headphones – Urbanears create stylish, durable in- and on-ear headphones that come in an array of attractive colours at various affordable price points. Plattan is a classic on-ear headphone which offers rich, secluded sound, and features the Zoundplug socket, which allows a friend (or passer-by, whatever) to plug their own headphones into yours. Why not. (Various colours, £49.90, urbanears.com) 3. FroliCat BOLT – What Christmas is complete without the chance to watch a cat freak out while chasing a laser? BOLT from FroliCat is an interactive toy that can be used handheld for creating laser patterns, or placed on a surface to project automatic patterns at random. Assured fastpaced, multi-species fun for hours of entertainment, or at least until your cat gets fed up of the ridicule. (£19.99, iwantoneofthose.com) 4. The Innovators: How A Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson – Walter Isaacson is back with another weighty tome following his bestselling biography of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs. This time Isaacson charts the birth and growth of the digital age through its greatest creative minds, ranging from Ada Lovelace to Larry Page. If you have a tech lover in your family with a dual penchant for history, you can’t go wrong with this book. (Simon & Schuster UK, 2014, hardcover, 528 pages, £11.99, amazon.co.uk)

Gifts Between £50-£100 5. iKettle – Have someone on your Christmas tobuy-for list who can’t get out of bed without the imminent promise of a hot beverage? Consider the iKettle, the world’s first WiFi kettle that wakes you from sleep, or welcomes you home, with the automated offer of brewing up a coffee or tea to the perfect temperature. The stainless steel kettle comes with a WiFi dock and a range of colourful insulating skins for £14.99 each. (£99.99, firebox.com) 6. Babyliss CurlSecret – If this contraption looks scary enough to make your hair curl then you’re not far off, since that’s what it’s designed for. This device is not designed for Earth’s demise, but is in fact an innovative hair-curling product that’s taking the beauty world by storm. The CurlSecret from Babyliss draws hair into its ceramic chamber (sinister) and gently creates perfectly-formed curls in seconds, with multiple heat and timer settings. (£101.99, johnlewis.com) 7. Skylanders Trap Team Tablet Starter Pack – If there’s a kid you really want to please, and a parent you really want to annoy, then grab a Skylanders Starter Pack. The set comes with

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software, two figures and traps and, crucially, a traptanium portal, which the toy figure is placed on to make it appear on-screen and allow it to go into battle. Or something. (Various kits available for all mainstream consoles & tablets, £52.99, toysrus.com)

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8. Pebble Smartwatch – Know someone who loves Kickstarter? The Smartwatch from Pebble is finally available in the UK to pair up with Android or iOS and display texts, tweets and other notifications using an e-paper display. The highly customisable and water-resistant Smartwatch has a battery that lasts 5–7 days and even has its own app store. A sure winner this Christmas. (Various colours, £99.99, firebox.com)

Stocking Stuffers: Small But Special Gift Ideas

9. Lumsing 10400mah Harmonica Style Portable Power Bank – For anyone who constantly bemoans his/her smartphone’s lack of longevity through the day, a portable charger is essential, and is a Christmas gift that you can rest assured will be gratefully received. This favourably reviewed portable charger from Lumsing is suitable for copious USB-chargeable devices, comes at a very decent price, and is far more attractive than similar products on the market. (£21.99, amazon.co.uk)

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10. Logitech X100 Portable Speaker – This is a handy little gift idea for anyone you know who has a penchant for impromptu music sharing. With a 30-foot wireless range and enabled for any Bluetooth device, the Logitech X100 speakers are equipped with clear, rich sound. Better yet, it fits in the palm of your hand and comes in a variety of colours. (£39, amazon.co.uk)

11. Mimobot Darth Vader USB Stick – Everyone knows a Star Wars fan who also appreciates portable data storage and, since it’s Christmas, why not combine the two? These hilarious flash drives from Mimobot are available in various characters and capacities which come pre-loaded with fun icons and wallpapers, and are absolutely perfect for stockings. (from £24.95, amazon.co.uk) 12. Gift Vouchers, Various – Ah, gift vouchers. Constant life-saver for the rushed, the forgetful and the undecided. There are some great techrelated gift cards for all budgets, including for iTunes/Google Play stores, Spotify, or more bespoke voucher ideas such as Casetify, which allows your recipient to design their own gadget case. Who says gift cards can’t be thoughtful?

The ‘Money’s No Object’ Gifts 13. Sonos Wireless Music System – The droolworthy Sonos system is enough to make anyone with an appreciation for high-end audio technology weak at the knees. From the Play: 1 hifi speaker that’s compatible with all streaming services and controlled by a smartphone or laptop, to the TV Playbar for the ultimate home entertainment experience, any gift bequeathed with a Sonos logo is likely to make you very popular indeed. (from £169, sonos.com)

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14. Romo – This loveable little robot on wheels will not only entertain any kid (or let’s face it, adult) for ages on end by making it chase after a ball or prodding it mercilessly, but the user will also learn basic programming skills while playing. Completing different missions unlock Romo’s characteristics and abilities, and the software allows video calls, making it easy to forget that Romo is also a really fancy remote car which, by the way, can be controlled from an enabled iOS device anywhere in the world. (£129, firebox.com) 15. Amazon Kindle Voyage – Undisputed despot of the e-readers, Amazon recently released their most expensive Kindle yet: the Voyage. Complete with 300ppi high resolution, a new front light, the rebirth of the bezel page-turn and the promise of book-sharing technology, it seems pretty much

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15 like the very decent Kindle Paperwhite, and yet more covetable. If you have a big budget for an eager reader with a love of the most up-to-date technology, they’ll thank you for this. (from £169, amazon.co.uk) 16. Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Elite Edition – For the person who genuinely has everything, there’s always a drone. The Parrot 2.0 Elite Edition comes complete with high-definition camera and video recording direct to your smartphone, GPS tracking, pilot mode with absolute control, acrobatic abilities and programmable movements. What else can we say: you’ll either really not see the point of one of these, or really, really want one. (£319.99, amazon.co.uk)

THE SKINNY

Bah Humbug The Skinny Books team melt celebrity ego before the open fire, looking past inane perennial memoirs to suggest the finest literary offerings to gift the family this Christmas

arlier in the year Sunday newspapers across the nation were soaked in regurgitated coffee, a result of discovering that Joey Essex had somehow managed to place multiple words in order and top the UK bestseller list with his autobiography Being Reem. A number one bestselling author; this was not ‘reem’ at all. In fact it felt that things might never be ‘reem’ again. But as we approached the festive season things deteriorated further. Christmas can be a tough time for the lonely, the destitute, The Skinny Books Editor. Bookshops’ Super Thursday (this year 9 Oct) – the starting pistol for the Christmas bestseller list – heralds a season of discontent and unwanted puppies, of vacuous celebrity memoirs flooding the publishing schedules. They teem with weak sporting word play – Rio Ferdinand’s #2Halves, Roy Kean’s The Second Half – and un-inspired variations on My Story, My Autobiography, My Life; or in the case of Tulisa the additional veiled threat …So Far. These tomes of self absorption should not just be for Christmas, but for the bonfire and purification at 451 Fahrenheit. But, The Skinny Books team have been working hard to bring inspired gift ideas to our dear readers, our personal choices of titles published within the year. So instead of stuffing stockings with banal confessionals sprinkled in the cheap glitter of celebrity, take a look at some literary works of wonder 2014 has offered.

or the drunken vagabond uncle in need of salvation, there is The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber. The advent of mobile phones ruined many a movie script. How can we now suppose any pretence of true isolation? Extreme conceptual measures must be taken to have characters feasibly unaware of the plots building around them. For his most recent (and tragically final) novel, Faber simply blasts his protagonist into deepest space, creates a black

December 2014

Words: The Skinny Books Team

and endless void over which only rudimentary communication is possible. These are the unspoiled laboratory conditions under which human communication and one particular relationship is studied. Peter, a Christian minister, spreads the Gospel amongst the alien population of the planet he has been sent to help colonise. A population with a hunger for the good book, who swallow it whole and blindly accept – a perfect and malleable flock. Yet they remain as unreadable and inhuman as the foreign legion of misfits who, for their own reasons, have sought out this emotional desert. This story is told in tandem with the electronic written communications between Peter and his wife Bea, back on Earth facing apocalypse. The belief they must hold in one another compares with the unwavering faith of the alien congregation. This is a work of mood and emotion, deep and weighty themes very lightly worn by a haunting and immersive narrative and written in perfect polished marble prose. Many books take decades to mature into acknowledged masterpieces; The Book of Strange New Things was born as one. [Alan Bett]

et a gift right and you can open up a whole new world to someone and spark an interest that they’ll run with for years to come (which also makes it way easier to buy their presents next time round). Graphic Novels are currently in a weird little limbo between being majorly in fashion and as niche as ever. Characters clad in kevlar and all manner of multi-coloured spandex have leapt from between the pages to storm the big screen and batter their way to the front of the pop cultural hive-mind, but for all the attention their yearly multi-million dollar heroics are attracting, the books that birthed them remain terra incognita to most. The existence of the vast lands outwith the domain of superheroes is often forgotten altogether, like a kind of literary Wales. IDP:2043 might make the perfect entry

point for newcomers to the graphic novel scene. With the likes of Irvine Welsh and Denise Mina contributing, there’s a familiarity for those who’ve so far stuck to the pictureless side of the literary globe and with the eclectic collision of styles provided by the illustrators – from cuddly cartoons to noirish nightmares – something’s sure to click with every sort of reader. Maybe more importantly, with a full-throttle plot and a sharp-edged humour, the novel itself is just a hell of a lot of fun. [Ross McIndoe]

adie Smith may ‘need them like crack’, but the books of literary sensation Karl Ove Knausgaard prove far more suitable Christmas gift ideas than the rock; easier to score in Waterstones, simpler to wrap. Although in comparison, some might argue that the publication of this six volume autobiography – the third title translated from Norwegian and published this year – has also ruined lives. They have attracted death threats and fuelled more domestic carnage than Buckfast with Christmas dinner. Knausgaard himself claims to have sold his soul, swapping family harmony for the vast success these books have brought. Boyhood Island, while third in order of publication, is the first chronologically and a departure in many ways. While his other titles muse over adult experience through the prism of his older self, Boyhood Island is a straight first person narrative of youth – the fears, anxieties, joy and pain implicitly connected to childhood. Apart from family concerns, the series title has provoked on a more universal level. My Struggle (Min Kamp – Mein Kampf) has been used previously of course, by someone less literary minded. But the notoriety of Knausgaard’s work should in no way detract from this fascinatingly normal life put under the microscope – an everyday epic in which ‘the flames of truth and beauty burn.’ This is a man reading the patterns of his own life, attempting

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to understand it. Boyhood Island can be bought alone or as part of a pack containing the first three series titles, just depends how much you like your Secret Santa. And if they like it? Well with three still to be translated into English, you know what to get next year. [James Allen]

emember your granny was saying how rare it is to find collected short stories from twentieth-century Italian authors, how she’s starved of metaphysical, witty takes on our universe and our planet’s lives, how Italo Calvino, author of that one she liked, the one about a chilly nocturnal rambler, Italo Calvino, dead near three decades,should get off his tanned Mediterranean toosh and publish again, how she couldn’t even remember, I mean, when, really, was the last time anyone had entertained the notion that our universe may well have burst into life at the very moment an immortal being resembling a gorgeous and kind Italian matriarch exclaimed, ‘Oh, if I only had some room, how I’d like to make some tagliatelle for you boys,’ and you’ll remember how desperate she was for four hundred pages, give or take, of playfulness and genius, the sort that can encapsulate everything – truly everything – as, say, ‘that little that was generated from nothingness, the little that is and that might very well not be, or be even smaller, even more meagre and perishable, words perhaps related by an unpronounceably named narrator – ‘Qwfq,’ for instance – variously a subatomic particle, a subterranean giant and a dinosaur, remember how she said all this before gesturing at the nearness of Christmas and the importance of satisfying the whims of the elderly, remember how she said all that over mince and buttery tatties last Sunday? Well here you have it, a new edition of The Complete Cosmicomics. [Angus Sutherland]

Lifestyle

Fashion Gift Guide 2014 Looking for a Christmas gift? Shop our hand-picked selection of goodies from independent designers and stockists Photography: David Anderson Styling: Alexandra Fiddes

This Page Watch – WeWood Watch £89 Headphones – Bang & Olufsen £109 Moustache Wax – Bearded Bastard £14 Sunglasses – Finlay & Co £150 Scarf – Edition Scotland £149 Pen – Lamy £16 Beard Oil – Bearded Bastard £30 Pocket Watch – MMT £245 Bow Tie – Fiona Heather £30

Opposite Bracelet – Georgia Wiseman £90 Card Holder – Fun Makes Good £16 Ring – Georgia Wiseman £150 Scarf – Hilary Grant £75 Sunglasses – Finlay & Co £120 Necklace – Wanderhaus £29 Scarf – Karen Mabon £110 Earrings – Patience Jewellery £150

Stockists The Brotique thebrotique.co.uk Twisted Time twistedtime.com Fiona Heather fionaheather.co.uk Georgia Wiseman georgiawiseman.com Hilary Grant hilarygrant.co.uk Glasgow School of Art Shop gsashop.co.uk Karen Mabon karenmabon.com Wonderhaus wonderhaus.co.uk Patience Jewellery patiencejewellery.com dnanderson.co.uk alexandrafiddes.co.uk Location: Hill Street Design House hillstreetdesign.house

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THE SKINNY

December 2014

FASHION

Lifestyle

Jock Mooney

Louise Lockhart

Thomas Hedger

Kate Timney

Heather More

SHOWCASE

THE SKINNY

Andrew Denholm

Alessandra Genualdo

Ailsa Sutcliffe

Chloe Batchelor

Emily Tilzey

Christmas Cards!!! Some of our artist pals made us these lovely cards to share with you

December 2014

SHOWCASE

Kat Gollock

Nele Anders

Fiona Beveridge

Emer Tumilty

Harvey Herman

SHOWCASE

THE SKINNY

Caitlin Hynes

Ross McLean

Daniel Seex

Paul Law

Damien McGlynn

December 2014

SHOWCASE

Christmas at the Rosehip!: 2 courses for 22.95 or 3 courses for 27.95. Enjoy a free glass of prosecco for groups of 10 or more. You can also enjoy a seasonal malt from the largest whisky selection in the New Town or try a tipple from our new Scottish craft beer selection. 43 Rose Street Edinburgh EH2 2NH tel: 0131 225 8028 www.therosehipedinburgh.com

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A Foodie Christmas Gift Guide Under our Christmas tree this year are a pot-stirring robot, a giant pencil sharpener, a cheese slicer in the shape of a camera and a magic toaster. And that’s not even the worst of it…

Words: Peter Simpson Illustration: Raj Dhunna

hen selecting a Christmas gift for a foodie friend, it’s important to look out something that really speaks to their personality and connects with their interests. Now, we know what you’re thinking – ‘they like X, so I’ll get them a personalised version of X, as nothing says ‘thought-out gift’ quite like a bit of embossing.’ Luckily for you, we have a much better solution – our annual food and drink gift guide, featuring something for everyone on your list (providing they all like bizarre kitchen gadgetry and have strong stomachs).

For fans of order and simplicity Sometimes life just knows how to kick you when you’re down. It’s a Sunday morning, you’re knocking together a nice breakfast made up of flat, square ingredients, when your boiled egg throws a spanner into the works with its stupid, natural, oval shape. The Egg-Q-Ber solves this problem by squashing your hard-boiled eggs into the most logical of all shapes – the cube. No longer will your morning egg roll off your plate or work surface, taking the rest of your breakfast and your fragile temper with it. £5, Tesco Direct.

For those hopelessly short on space It sounds a bit counterintuitive to get a foodbased gift for that friend who can’t get a pan out of their kitchen cupboard without touching all four walls, but the Unikia Chop & Serve could just solve all their problems. Its two chopping boards and five trays all clip together in one space-saving unit, then the whole lot flips over to form one big multi-compartment serving dish – this is what the Transformers would be capable of if they gave up blowing things to bits and focussed on their cooking. £46, unikia.com

For the Instagram fanatic You’re out for lunch with a friend, minding your own business, when BAM! A flash of blinding light bounces off the table and leaves you pulling a face like a stunned horse. Is this a paparazzi intrusion? Have you been raptured up to the heavens? Nope, it’s your pal taking a picture of a salad to share on Instagram. That chum’s gift this year is the Say Cheese Instant Slicer by US design firm Gamago. A slicer in the shape of an old school camera, its retro look will please the most fervent ‘grammer while simultaneously giving them something cool to take photos of. It’s a win-win (as long as they like cheese). £10, various stockists.

For night owls and would-be fast food moguls Home brew? Check. Decent stereo? Check. One friend who you’d rather not have invited, but they’re here now, so you’ll get on with it? Check. All the ingredients for a night out in the comfort of your home are readily available, but until now there was no real home substitute for the classic end-of-night snack. Well, now there is, in the form of the Kebab Rotisserie Grill. It is, as the name suggests, a home rotisserie, complete with all the necessary attachments to dish up a wide range of takeaway-inspired munch in the comfort of your own home. In the hands of the right recipient, you need never sit through another 2am rammy in a takeaway ever again. £79, prezzybox.com

For the genuine foodie Not everyone can be easily swayed with a device to square off their eggs or sharpen their vegetables – serious people require serious presents. We know this, and have found just the thing. The Chocolution Botanist kit contains four varieties of cacao beans, the base ingredient for chocolate. There’s guides to the origins and differences between each of the beans, as well as plenty of advice on how best to roast the beans and get to the serious work of making your own chocolate. Serious, but tasty at the same time. £24, thechocolution.com

For the bacon-obsessed The trend for putting bacon on, in, or near everything may have abated somewhat, but there’s still a loyal undercurrent of swine obsessives who’d gladly eat a doormat if it had some snippets of smoked pig sitting on top of it. Unfortunately for gift-buyers, meat tends to go off if you leave it out under the tree, and fully wrapped presents left in fridges tend to be a bit too easy to spot. Into the void, we offer bacon-flavoured toothpaste. It’s functional (in a way), it contains the magic ingredient (or as close as an approximation as can be squeezed into a toothpaste tube), and it’s unique (you can say that again). Essentially, it’s the perfect present. £7, firebox.com

December 2014

For the vegetarian Veggies get a little short-changed when it comes to Christmas gifts; it’s all barbecue this and baconflavoured that. That said, the Karoto carrot sharpener isn’t half bad; it’s functional, it looks pretty interesting, and its comical size means it could also serve as an ideal gift for fans of The Borrowers. It beats a set of barbecue tongs with a ‘hilarious’ moustache drawn on the side, that’s for sure. £10, Paperchase.

For the lazy Some presents sit like an albatross around the neck of the recipient, compelling them to ‘repeat every day’ or ‘wait for the plant to sprout,’ and nobody wants their gift to be thought of as that thing that took ages to wither away to nothing. The Stirio automatic pot stirrer is no such gift. It’s ideal for the person who’s always expressed an interest in cooking, but just can’t be bothered most of the time. No more standing over a hot stove, stirring away at their pasta sauce – they’ll be sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea while their saucepan-loving robot puts in the hard graft. God, the 21st century’s good fun sometimes. £40, Menkind

FOOD AND DRINK

For the beer lovers Nobody wants a flat pint, but nobody ever wants to throw away nice beer. It’s the kind of dilemma we never want to face, and one that it seems can only be answered by a device that looks a little bit like the holodeck transporter from Star Trek. The Sonic Foamer blasts the life back into your pint using ultrasound waves, and claims to make your beer smell and taste better. The ideal gift for those who like a nice craft beer as well as the chance to ooh and aah at science in action. Not sure quite how that venn diagram looks, but it’ll do as a present for someone. $30, sonicfoamer.com

“God, the 21st century’s good fun sometimes” For the person who has everything There’s always one, isn’t there? They have everything, and anything they do want they’ll just buy for themselves without telling you. Still, you have to get this special someone something, and it probably has to be pretty spectacular. Well, they may have everything, but can they make their own face appear on a piece of toast? Not until the 25th, they can’t. Yes, the Vermont Novelty Toaster Corporation – actual phrase used on their website: “Don’t let the word ‘Corporation’ fool you, we are a very small company that cares” – have distilled hundreds of years of technological and scientific innovation into the selfie toaster, a product which can etch an image of your loved one’s face on a slice of wholemeal. Turns out we were wrong at the start – sometimes the best gifts really are the personalised ones. $69, burntimpressions.com

Lifestyle

Phagomania: Edible Christmas Drinks

Scotland Food News

Take those chestnuts off the open fire, and throw on a pan of deepfried alcohol as we look at Amy Erickson’s edible alcoholic treats Words: Lewis MacDonald

This month, we salute fine cheese, prepare for an onslaught of power ballads, and blast through the whole of the Christmas season in a couple of paragraphs. Words: Peter Simpson

Eggnog Rum Balls

henever December hits, all culinary thoughts move towards one thing… christmas. No debates about how to do turkey, or whether there should even be a turkey, round here – this is Phagomania. For us, one thing comes to mind when it comes to the festive season. Same thing as you were thinking? If that thing was ‘booze,’ you’re in good company. When it comes to festive boozy treats, most of the press will resort to either incredibly elaborate recipes, or a pretty tame wine list to accompany all that eating you are going to do. But wait… why would you expect Phagomania to draw the line at eating? What if you could combine the two gluttonies of Christmas – eating AND drinking? Sure, most have tried eating alcohol, even if it hasn’t directly occurred to us as an idea. We investigated the views of some regular readers and sure enough, some staple favourites arose. “Vodka Jelly – yum at 16 and still yum at 29.” Agreeably a classic, although enthusiasm was not the consensus view. Cakes featured highly, with the classic boozy Christmas cake securing our hypothesis. One reader said: “My uncle’s attempt to light a Christmas pudding once failed even after most

Lifestyle

of a half bottle of brandy was poured on it. Best Christmas pudding ever.” We also came across gin cake and mojito cupcakes (surprisingly good, may we add). Then there was the odd. Pernod sandwich, anybody? “It’s horrible,” we hear, but it sounds like an experiment for another article for another time. But let’s cut to the chase, to the showstopper, to the reason you all started reading when you saw those pictures. The deep-fried tequila. We all need to step up a notch and take heed of one Amy Erickson of New Mexico, USA, creator of the deep fried tequila shot. No snorting salt and getting lemon in your eye – simply eat your shots of tequila as easily as popcorn to bring a bit of ‘Zing!’ to the ‘ding’ and ‘dong’ of Christmas. These little critters are deceptively simple to make; simply cut a basic sponge cake into cubes, soak briefly in tequila, throw into a deep fryer or pot full of hot oil, and dust in sugar and lime zest. And yes, they do hold their alcohol. If that isn’t Christmassy enough for your taste, creator Amy’s favourite festive tipple is eggnog. She says: “With or without booze, I love to bake

Image: ohbiteit.com

Deep Fried Tequila

Image: ohbiteit.com

with it, cook with it… and drink it! Ironically, I’m really not a drinker! But I do enjoy the depth of flavours it brings to food,” she reveals. Shock, horror, never meet your heroes, etc, but if you give Amy’s website Oh Bite It a browse you are bound to find the edible booze for you. Our favourite after the tequila shots are Eggnog Rum balls. How can you go wrong with that?! “As far as what’s up and coming in the tipsy treat world,” Amy forecasts, “I think there might be some Bourbon Pumpkin Pie in my near future.” Oh god, this is turning into a boozy, seductive Hansel and Gretel. Just give us the pie Amy and shove us into the oven! We couldn’t leave a Phagomania guest without asking them about the visual side of their creations. How important is this for the audience? “All they have is what I show them,” Amy offers. “I do like the fact that people can come to my page and just indulge in the fantasy side of the food with no intention of ever making or eating it.” But don’t do that; instead go forth and make yourself some edible booze this Christmas! ohbiteit.com

FOOD AND DRINK

irst thing’s first, our congratulations to Glasgow cheesemongers George Mewes, named Cheese Counter of the Year at the annual World Cheese Awards a few weeks back. The Byres Road shop beat competition from across the UK to grab the prize. Will it prevail in our Readers’ Food and Drink Survey? Honestly, we don’t know, as the voting hasn’t closed at the time of writing. But soon we’ll all know! Anyway, good work George Mewes – may your cheese’s aroma waft heartily into the streets of the West End. From cheese to coffee, and the Glasgow Coffee Festival. The event at the Briggait will offer a host of masterclasses and the chance to taste coffees from producers from far and wide, as well as see some coffee-related art and film. The event also features the Scottish heat of the UK Barista Championship, so grab a cup, immerse yourself in some coffee culture, then watch the thrilling spectacle of competitive coffee making unfold while urging the contestants to work in some crazy Phagomania-inspired 3D latte art. 6 Dec, The Briggait, 141 Bridgegate, £9, facebook. com/TheGlasgowCoffeeFestival Now, beer! It’s the return of the Summerhall Beer Festival at the Edinburgh arts hub, with the former veterinary school’s dissection room turned into a beer hall. Barney’s Beer, Summerhall’s resident brewery, will be in attendance along with Williams Brothers and Top Out. For those of you who fancy the beer festival but not the beer, Summerhall’s own Pickering’s Gin will be in situ, as will the Rum Surgery from drinks whizzes SolidLiquids. If the local beer, gin, and rum don’t swing it for you, maybe you can be brought on board by the fact that the early session on Friday has a ‘power ballads’ theme. Yes, that should convince you. 5 Dec, 4.30 – 7pm, from 8pm; Sat 2–7pm, from 8pm; Summerhall, 1 Summerhall Pl, tickets £8 (£6 for Friday’s early session). Well, we’ve made it most of the way through, so let’s quickly deal with the tinsel-covered elephant in the room. There are of course Christmas markets and the like all over the shop, with east coasters in need of foodie gifts catered for by the Edinburgh Ethical Christmas Fair (Ocean Terminal, 13–21 Dec) and the ubiquitous and ever-expanding Edinburgh’s Christmas with its European Christmas Market and Scottish Market (St Andrews Sq and Princes St Gardens, every day in Dec), while those in the west have the boutique loveliness of the Christmas Fayre at the House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park to look forward to (7 Dec). Away from the elbow-room-only rush of the Christmas markets, Edinburgh bakers Lovecrumbs have teamed up with Pyrus flowers for a cafebased wreath-making class (11 Dec, £35, email yoohoo@lovecrumbs.co.uk to book), while the capital’s Hard Rock Cafe show that rock music makes anything possible by laying on not one but two breakfasts with Santa (20 & 21 Dec, 9am, 20 George St, £12.95). You check out that lot, we’ll count up your Food Survey responses, and we’ll meet back here in January.

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Cocktail Column

hildhood – a time filled with learning new things, meeting new people, and throwing yourself into new experiences. Now that you’re older, each new fact you learn replaces an old one, every meeting leads to pages of information to keep track of, and your friends won’t come out and play because they all have work in the morning. Luckily, the fun and adventure of your early years does still live on, and the Sweetie Pie cocktail from Edinburgh’s Heads and Tales is a great way to give yourself a quick blast of the past. Designed to remind you of ‘the good old days’ of your childhood and created by Heads and Tales’ Sian Ferguson, who was named Scotland’s Mixologist of the Year at an industry event last month, the cocktail mixes the sweetness of American Cream Soda with the sharpness of lemon, with a measure of Edinburgh Gin bringing everything right up to date and adding some grown-up depth to the flavour. Of course, it wouldn’t be a childhood treat without some actual sweets, and the Fizz Wiz popping candy in the Sweetie Pie gives the drink an extra dimension or two. That weird sensation of hearing sounds coming from inside your own head is a powerful memory for most kids, and the Sweetie Pie rekindles it in some style. After all, it’s one thing for a cocktail to be tasty, but it takes a special drink to hold a great taste while confusing your tastebuds with anarchic retro confectionery. Your childhood was all about discovering new things – why not get some of that spirit back into your nights out? The Sweetie Pie shows that a drink can remind you of days gone by while keeping a modern edge, so follow its lead and relive some of your past flavour adventures.

The Sweetie Pie INGREDIENTS: 50ml Edinburgh Gin 25ml Lemon Juice 15ml Cream Soda Syrup 25ml Egg White METHOD: Combine all ingredients in shaker. Shake & strain into glass. SERVING GLASS: Serve the Sweetie Pie in a cut-glass sherry glass TO GARNISH: One packet of Fizz Wiz

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The Skinny Food & Drink Supplement Advertise in our January issue, in a bespoke 8 page supplement featuring the results of our prestigious Food & Drink Survey To find out more contact the sales team on 0131 467 4630 or sales@theskinny.co.uk

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Illustration: Studio Monik

December 2014

Fly by Night: Two Sides of Copenhagen A weekend in the ‘world’s happiest city’ reveals that, far from being content to rest on its laurels, Copenhagen is a place of experimentation, discussion and even dissent

mid the deserted car parks and flat, empty units of the Meatpacking District, fires burn against the whip-sharp cold. A box of flame marks the cloaked entrance to Kødbyens Fiskebar; inside, couples chink thick wet drinks, and watch fish swim in table-mounted tanks. At Bæst, a new basement place on Klosterstræde, our voices sink into alcoves carved from dark wood and metal; we drink alone, early doors, shrouded in the velvety eeriness of a haunt not yet haunted. In a den in København K, a grey-pearl smog cushions the 18th-century ceiling. This is Byens Kro – a timeworn warp in the otherwise slick, smart central district – and there is no bar-hopping here; instead, ideas come slowly into focus through the rare indoor smoke. Copenhagen at night is a different, sharper, meaner animal to Copenhagen by day; and it’s kind of a relief. In sunlight – all wide, windy promenades, candy-painted townhouses and the whispered sweep of wheels – it can seem a utopia, and thus perhaps by definition, too good to be true. Except that it is (true), of course: for the second year running, this summer the Danish capital came top of Monocle magazine’s agendasetting list of the top 25 liveable cities in the world, ranked according to things you might imagine like architecture, employment, and greenness, as well as other less conventional factors like the number of murders, daily newspapers, and McDonald’s. (One, 13 and 11, respectively. Hmmm.) The title comes as no real surprise: since the publication of the first World Happiness Report in 2012, which found that the countries with the highest ‘life evaluation score’ were all in northern Europe – Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden – much fuss has been made, and many thinkpieces penned, about this relatively low-populated metropole having been granted the stature of happiest city on the planet. Certainly there are a lot of folk looking proper chuffed skating about in the middle of the afternoon, the plentiful leisure space even stretching, in one case, up the wall of a block of flats that doubles as a ramp – and the sense of community spirit seems strong, from cafes inviting you to place lost gloves in a box to help their bar staff get into design school (quite how, it’s not clear), to a neighbourhood shed where locals leave unwanted items so others can pick up free clothes, pushchairs and furnishings. You feel, almost instantly, that this is a country that cares: indeed, education is free, healthcare is free, the job market prides itself on upholding a

Lifestyle

healthy work-life balance, and Denmark boasts one of the most generous welfare states in the world – funded through high taxation – leading as a result, it is claimed, to the lowest inequality. Everywhere you go, everything is eco – from the tapas in Torvehallerne food hall to the cosmetics counters; even the hairdressers bill themselves as ‘økologisk.’ (The barman at Bæst, lingeringly stirring a – locally sourced – sea-buckthorn daiquiri, explains that, as it’s no more expensive to opt for ‘bio,’ the preference is ingrained.) So far, so rosy. Interestingly, however, we do hear cynicism. While to the outsider life may seem paradisical, some critical residents feel that they are too comfortable; that many of the young are, at best, just coasting; at worst, victims of ennui. “Have you noticed anything about the twentysomething males here?” a friend who’s been working in the city for a couple of years asks wryly, minutes after we meet; she means to point out a placidity, a sort of floating...ness. The last year in the international press has seen arguments about entitlement: a New York Times story sparked debate (and defence) after it summarised alleged anxieties in Denmark itself as to ‘whether their beloved welfare state... had become too rich, undermining the country’s work ethic,’ creating ‘dawdling university students’ and ‘young pensioners.’ Things are too easy, the friend insists, and, somewhat ludicrously, at traf-fic lights we find ourselves more closely studying the calm, inscrutable faces of strangers, as if this inchoate and unsubstantiated notion is something that could really be known (though ultimately, we reckon, given the choice between a less equal society in which struggle might occasionally, inadvertently lead to a sense of purpose and urgency as byproduct – or a more equal society in which there could be a fine line between comfort and torpor – we’re pretty sure which one we’d choose). Besides, we’re here to sample the cultural scene, which, happily enough, seems far from lethargic, sharing with the city’s nightlife a desire to stimulate and unsettle rather than entertain – and goes some way towards rubbishing the suspicion that Copenhagen might just be a bit too, well, nice. Our awareness that the nexus of art, technology and social comment is perhaps more a part of everyday discourse here than at home in the UK begins with the discovery, down a quiet street in Nørrebro, of Dark Matters. Rune Brink Hansen and Lasse Andersen’s enigmatic ‘studio for time space and light’ creates visual concepts that arise from experimenting at the intersection of architecture, scenography, design and

art; their office is currently unpeopled and cobwebbed, but streets nearby proffer partpeeled posters for their most recent project, Skammegrogen, an immersive theatre performance that utilises the Oculus Rift.

“The nexus of art, technology and social comment is a part of everyday discourse here” In it, participants enter a white room, sit at a table set for dinner, put on their virtual reality headsets and arrive at a family meal with all its attendant tensions and intimacies. “The magic happens when the audience remove their goggles,” explains director and writer Johan Knattrup Jensen in a video. “They’re seated with a group, who before were strangers, but now... they have formed a bond.” The company’s shopfront door, meanwhile, directs us towards their next engagement, Naesus, a collaboration with the Tycho Brahe Planetarium to turn its 1000-square

TRAVEL

metre Space Theatre into an ‘audio/visual research dome’ as part of the cross-Atlantic Festival of Endless Gratitude. Later, in a cafe we pick up Scenario magazine – a bimonthly ‘briefing on trends, ideas, visions and possible futures’ published by the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies – and are equal parts interested/alarmed to discover the ‘17 megapatterns’ governing our lives; elsewhere, its lead story argues that competitiveness is the enemy of innovation, making us focus “on the same parameters as everybody else, rather than focusing on where we are different.” Browsing the shop of the Kunsthal Charlottenborg art museum reveals it to stock exclusively existential reading matter – favourites are tiny publishing house Eros’s biannual journal ‘dedicated to the subject of desire,’ and a compendium from Berlin’s Sternberg Press that explores ideas of ‘the body, the self, as a spirit micro-region with borders that cannot hold’ – while billboards across town preview an upcoming music programme that spans the coruscating sonics of Tim Hecker (at the Jazzhouse), fine Berghain techno (an Ostgut Ton label night at Culture Box), and a clutch of broody, mindful producers including Peanut Butter Wolf and Om Unit (at Rust). There is a levity to be found in the fairground lights of Tivoli Gardens and in frequent moments of silliness – such as when, on one evening’s walk home, an electric rickshaw festooned with lanterns and blaring out Avicii drunkenly lurches across our path, the driver melting into giggles in his seat. But overall, the impression that’s left is one of a consciously cerebral city: communitarian, self-analytical, and concerned about the future rather than coddled in cotton wool, as some might have it. Sure, Copenhagen may have a lot of things right already – but it doesn’t feel like it’ll be resting easy anytime soon. Dark Matters: darkmatters.dk Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies: cifs.dk Festival of Endless Gratitude: facebook.com/ endlessgratitude Norwegian operates a service to Copenhagen from Manchester and Edinburgh airports

Dark Matters - Skammekrogen Installation

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Photo: Åsmund Sollihøgda

Words: Lauren Strain

Eternal Hanukkah Since 2001, indie veterans Yo La Tengo have hosted an annual series of Hanukkah shows in their home town of Hoboken. Here, frontman Ira Kaplan selects the songs that remind him of his favourite guest performers to light up the Maxwell’s stage

Interview: Will Fitzpatrick

1. Hanukkah 2001: NRBQ – Dig I think I first heard this played by NRBQ, but the second time I heard it would have been in Female Trouble, John Waters’ movie – he used Nervous Norvus’ version on the soundtrack. Anyway, it was a real thrill to have Terry Adams sitting in after so many years of being devoted to his band. That was the first night of the first series of Hannukah shows, and he played the whole set with us. He probably wasn’t familiar with our band… well, we’d covered his song Magnet for a tribute album, so he knew us that way, but I’m sure he did not know of our music. 2. Hanukkah 2002: Karen Kilgariff – Chelsea Guitars Chelsea Guitars is this store in New York. When Karen was here for Hannukah, she did stand-up one night, and another night she did this show with Mary Lynn Rajskub as The Girls Guitar Club Of Greater Los Angeles. And then the two of them joined us – they sang Walk Like An Egyptian. But we saw her at another show in New York, and she did this song about going to buy a guitar, and how uncomfortable an experience that was: just dealing with the attitude of that guitar shop. 3. Hanukkah 2004: Chris Stamey – The Summer Sun [K Records founder] Calvin Johnson came and did an opening set, then it was his idea to sing The Summer Sun with us, and we were all for it – I love that song. Alex Chilton produced it, and in some ways, you could argue that’s his greatest record after Big Star. It was made as he was running away from that way of playing music – he’s not running very fast on that record.

5. Hanukkah 2007: The Clean – Back in the Day The Clean are one of my favourite bands. We met them in 1989, and played with them at the last show of tour in this pub in London. We’ve stayed in contact ever since. We’ve all played with them at one time or another – Georgia [Hubley, YLT drummer] played guitar on their most recent album – so it was a big deal when they were able to play one of our shows. They were wearing wigs, and one of the features of Maxwell’s is the very low stage, so if it’s crowded the sightlines are far from perfect. Between the tricky sightlines and the wigs, you weren’t quite sure who was up there. 6. Hanukkah 2008: Willie Alexander – Walk Away Renee Willie is a friend of a friend, and we love him. I don’t think he performs extensively, but we asked him about doing Walk Away Renee, which he did on a compilation record. He was really uncomfortable doing it, but he said he’d give it a try. So he came to Hoboken, and we tried it in

December 2014

Photo: Adam Akins

4. Hanukkah 2005: The Move – Don’t Make My Baby Blue That was pretty amazing. We knew Terry Adams a little bit, and Calvin, but we do ask lots of strangers who we musically admire. David Johansen was one of them. The first song I wrote down was After The Fox, from the movie where Peter Sellars and The Hollies perform the theme song. He was really amenable to all of our suggestions with the exception of Don’t Make My Baby Blue by The Move. It was cool; he said there was something about the song that he didn’t respond to. soundcheck. We also did Maybe More Than You by his 60s band The Lost. It was great! We didn’t do any post-Lou Velvets songs though – you know, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard them. 7. Hanukkah 2010: J. Geils Band – Pack Fair and Square A conscious curveball. A friend of ours in Boston had an inkling that if we approached Peter Wolf, he might say yes. That was probably more meaningful to me than it was to the other members of the band – in the early days of the J Geils Band I was a pretty big fan. Peter definitely wanted us to perform in crack showbiz style, following him as he signalled for cymbal smashes and James Brown moves… but it was fun! We followed him by bringing my mom on stage. I think our notion of pacing the show was slightly at odds with his. 8. Hanukkah 2011: The Glands – Lovetown The Glands only made two records – their second is just a masterpiece. I’ve never met anyone who’s heard it and didn’t fall in love with it. We saw them when we were in Nashville recording and we loved their set. In 2011 we heard that they

“The Glands only made two records – their second is just a masterpiece.” Yo La Tengo

were back together and coming to New York to play, and they wanted to know if we could do something. So we struck a deal that our alterego Condo Fucks would play some shows with them – we drove a hard bargain. But I can’t recommend that record enough. 9. Hanukkah 2012: Man Forever with So Percussion – The Clear Realization Oneida had done a show with us a few years earlier, and then Kid Millions started his Man Forever group. James [McNew, YLT bassist] ended up doing a lot of the shows with them, so Kid was

MUSIC

in the forefront of our minds. We invited him to come play drums with us one night, so we set up two drum sets on stage, and he played probably the whole set. And then when Fade came out we went on the Jimmy Fallon show with Kid and Fred Armisen, so we had three drummers. But Man Forever is amazing! It sounds very organic; just a lot of rhythms bouncing off each other. It’s beautiful. 10. The Qualities – It’s Christmas Time Heh, I promised I’d pick a Christmas song. One year we did a three-song Christmas EP that we pressed up and gave out to people who came to the show. This is from the Sun Ra singles collection. The Sun Ra Arkestra in its current, magnificent form has played this… maybe three times…? We’ve yet to hear them do it. But the songs we did on the EP were more novelty with the exception of that one. To celebrate Yo La Tengo’s 30th anniversary, a deluxe version of their Matador debut Painful will be released on 1 Dec facebook.com/TheRealYLT

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THE SKINNY

Gig Highlights

hether you’re pro-yuletide or a sulky wee scrooge, December’s always a bit of a write-off. For the Crimbophiles, it’s the only time of year that daytime drinking from a tsunami of mulled wine is encouraged, office desks can be festooned and everyone’s a bit more spirited in their patterned thick-knits. For most others, it’s the only time of the year you’d ever submit to eating a mince pie so not to look like a Grinchy prick, regretting the act immediately when it sinks into the ol’ cavities. Everyone’s too busy dodging or indulging to accomplish much, so best put that month-long Friday-feeling to use and get stuck into the musical advent calendar lined up for December. 2014 brought in a tide of glittering female vocals, and those who’ve revelled in the divine triad of breathy harmonies and lily-pad rhythms balanced on silvery electro will lap up two-piece Death Rattle. In Shade, released last month, has all the sullen pride of Banks, all the sex of FKA Twigs, all the tweaky beats of Lykke Li and Little Dragon. The lyrical motifs stick to your mind and won’t peel off for weeks. Catch them at Bar Bloc on 4 Dec. Metronomy (AKA the chicest project in electronic-rock) will be nonchalantly shoulderjutting in synchrony once more before our very eyes on 4 Dec. We should think ourselves pretty lucky too – they’ve been racing all over the world

from Brazil to Australia to Switzerland, and will be playing only three home dates before hitting Berlin and beyond. Cash in on your last opportunity to see them live this year at ABC Glasgow. Sadly, we’ll be waving ‘catcore’ three-piece Deathcats goodbye on 5 Dec at Stereo. Music like a gigantic lo-fi puddle of reverb and songs about being turned on by jaguars, they’re the funnest thing in post-punk, an example of the exciting things that happen when bands shun the battle to dip their toes in the mainstream. They aren’t sure when they’re coming back, so join their ‘reverb militia’ for a knees-up while you can. You’ll also get to see the gorgeously raucous Pinact, along with fellow ‘wegians Secret Motorbikes and The Rockalls – the best fiver you’ll spend in ages. Following the release of their Birthday Club EP last month, Shy Nature are ambling down to Nice ‘n’ Sleazy to deposit some of their pretty rock rhythms and fuzzy riffs into your ears. With lyricism inspired by The Beatles and Joni Mitchell, expect tracks about lifeboats, birthday clubs and “dark angels wearing suncream,” with some pretty fresh organ too. Last December they treated their fans to a festive track released on Christmas Day, so who knows what they’ll have all wrapped up for you on 7 Dec… Manic Street Preachers might have just released their love letter to 80s Europe

(Futurology), but the prolific Welshmen aren’t preoccupied with that right now. Instead, they’re tangled up in 20th anniversary celebrations of The Holy Bible, performing the austere postpunk classic in its entirety this month at the Barrowland. Recently lamenting the British political gridlock, they’ve been vocal about their disenchantment with Labour. It seems their decision to perform the cult record is both a nod of respect to Richey Edwards, their estranged lyricist, and an artistic offering to a new generation of the disillusioned. The angsty, the curious, and diehards should all make their way down on 8 Dec. Name-dropping a minimum five states per track, Sun Kil Moon’s Benji is like an aural NorthAmerican road-trip, complete with stop-offs at motels where Mark Kozelek will talk you through a pile of Polaroids of his cousins and comrades. With a voice that oscillates between grizzly and serene, at 47 the veteran songwriter is on the form of his life. Head over to SWG3 and let Benji blanket you in strummy nostalgia for the childhood in Ohio you never even had. 20 Dec. Malcolm Middleton completely dropkicks any expectation that his tracks, his records and his career should follow any particular route, or be cloaked in any thematic uniform. He’s an artisan of plainly heart-wrenching lyricism, writing songs that are enhanced twentyfold by

Thin Privilege

his glorious rhotic murmurs – but he carousels through genres and moods. Luckily, he’s got a double-bill gig lined up, so get yourself to King Tut’s on 13 Dec for a plugged-in band set, or if you’re a sucker for the acoustic experience, head over to his stripped-back gig on 14 Dec. Sticking with Scotland’s own exports, we turn our attention to Glaswegian band of five Olympic Swimmers. Prolific as session musicians and producers in a multitude of other projects, they’ve kept a low profile since the 2012 release of Flags Will Fly, but have announced they’re shining up some lovely new material for us in the coming months. For the moment we can refamiliarise ourselves with their folky chants and warming thrum on 21 Dec at Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, along with support from the beguiling Tangles. Between wry quips about their moniker on social media, the irreverent Thin Privilege have been promising Glasgow a goodbye show since July, and the time has arrived to bid farewell to their colossal sound. Anti-rhythmic and thrillingly noisy, their self-titled EP is a treasure for all whose heads must bang, so respectfully bang them at Bloc+ on 30 Dec. They’ll be joined by the ‘brutal pop’ noise of Black International, along with metal band Shudder and Leeds-based screamo Piss Kidney. It’ll be massive.

Do Not Miss RUN THE JEWELS, GLASGOW GARAGE, 10 DEC

When EI-P produced Killer Mike’s album R.A.P. Music, their mutual magnetism led to the birth of hip-hop project Run The Jewels. Mounting a trend for unorthodox album-release, the duo dropped their eponymous LP as a free download, and in doing so established a cult appreciation of their relentless loops, growling bass and tightly wound lyrical commentaries which spring open as the beats drop. This October saw their return with Run The Jewels 2, released this time through Mass Appeal Records. It was embraced with critical acclaim for its fierce damnation of an increasingly dystopian America and guest appearances from Zack de la Rocha, Travis Barker and Gangsta Boo. The Garage, Glasgow is where you should be on 10 Dec for a slick night of solidarity and filthy hip-hop.

December 2014

Run The Jewels

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Review

Credit: John Graham

Olympic Swimmers

Credit: Stewart Fullerton

Manic Street Preachers

Credit: Barras

Words: Kate Pasola

The Dark is Rising As compelling Manchester collective Hartheim prepare to release their debut EP, they tell The Skinny why challenging the mainstream is high on their agenda

Interview: Gary Kaill Photography: Alexander Bell

hat’s in a name? For Hartheim, everything. The Manchester five piece – uncommonly eloquent, astutely politicised, uncompromisingly combative – dare to reverse the tired notion that band name = mere label. Hartheim could never be The Somethings. For Hartheim, that name is their modus operandi, their spirit, their ambition. Hartheim. The Austrian euthanasia centre that oversaw the killing of at least 18,000 mentally ill and handicapped prisoners during WWII. The name is something they’re working towards; something they intend to earn. Without it, they’re nothing. We gather in Salford’s Eagle Inn, with the band having recorded and mastered their debut EP, bound for a January release. Singer Mike Emerson leaves the rest of the band to decide who’ll join us for the interview. “What do you want? Music or books?” asks keyboard player Nick Townley. No hesitation: books. “Right – then you’ve got me.” (Bassist George Heaton – “more of a music guy” – can go back to his pint.) At first glance, Hartheim are so, so wrong – certainly for our corporate, mass consumption times. But it’s this characteristic that makes them so, so right. The music guy, the books guy: Hartheim do not appear at all like a gang. Guitarist Gaz Devreede looks like he’s just come off tour with The Cramps. Drummer Conor Lawrence looks like he’s with the band rather than in it. But spend time with them – see how they interact, how they violently disagree one moment and finish each other’s sentences the next – and they confirm the truism that it’s always a group of unique individuals, with wildly varying influences, that is best positioned to form a distinct whole. Later that evening they will support Bird at their ‘final’ show (“an honour and a privilege,” Emerson will confirm when onstage), but it’s difficult to imagine Hartheim building allegiance with too many alleged peers. We skirt around the subject of “the Manchester glitterati” (“Seriously, we’ll fucking come back to that,” growls Emerson) and we explore where Hartheim might fit: a difficult proposition. Their handful of releases to date fuse guitar and keyboards around Emerson’s baritone burr. The songs are stately; elegant, even: Yellow, an angular document of the Nazi’s ‘plan yellow’; the blackened, mournful sweep of Welcome to Hartheim. It’s not easy finding reference points. In the way they eschew cheap sentiment in favour of vivid historical depiction, there’s lineage back to The Holy Bible, perhaps. Sonically? That’s tougher. The percussive rumble of their live show has a hint of The Birthday Party, while Emerson’s vocals will surely draw comparisons with Ian Curtis in time.

Review

But right now, Hartheim sound like no-one. “We’ve all been in different bands, individually,” says Emerson. “I was in a band a couple of years ago with Sways records, and that didn’t go very well at all. But I’d invited George to be in a new band and I met Gaz but he was upfront about not wanting to be in a band full stop. Then I told him that it had to be called Hartheim, explained to him why that had to be the name and he’s like: ‘I’m in.’ Then I got George in, our bassist, and this bastard here.” He turns to Townley, who continues. “I put an advert on the internet saying I wanted to be part of something – something that exists outside my room. Something real. And we started to come together at that point.” “It’s more of an idea than a band,” says Emerson, warming to his theme. “Hartheim is a concept. It doesn’t have to even be a band.” By making a statement so bold, a name so clearly designed to challenge and discomfort, it surely makes demands on what the band will ultimately communicate. “I think it’s actually the opposite,” says Emerson. “The name, the band, leads to what it means, you know? Not the other way around. It’s always been this concept of light and dark. For me, the very essence of Hartheim, the name, the idea, going from this beautiful renaissance building to this decaying, horrific, evil death camp, that’s the very essence of light and dark. I want to be a guitar band but I want us to be able to play with light and dark. I want an almost Perfume Genius vibe – an airy, celestial feel. If that had been in design, then it might have been brutalist architecture. So, rather than Hartheim leading where we go, I think we feed into it, come to discover what it wants from us. There are so many times when we’re playing

and we come up with something really beautiful, but then we stop and we have to acknowledge that it’s not right. It’s not serving the purpose of what this is.”

“In this parade of nonsense, where Capital Radio play the same ten songs each day and it just numbs your soul, I hope Hartheim will make you want to look beneath the surface for something more” Mike Emerson

“We went to Wales recently, to write the songs that will eventually form the album,” says Townley, taking up the story. “We were all sat around having dinner and we were listening to Bach. Next thing, we go in and do some really heavy stuff. We stop, we’re tired, we’re having a cig break but then I start playing the piano and Gaz starts his thing and suddenly we’ve got this classical tune. It’s probably the best thing we’ve done, and that relates very much to how we came together. I believe in logic and the laws of the universe. But, as philosophically weak as this sounds, maybe fate and destiny are playing a part here. Maybe we have to do this and that’s why we’ve come together.” Emerson agrees: “Absolutely. If you’d have asked us two years ago what we wanted to do, I don’t think any of us would have said that we would have wanted to be in a band. But we just knew. When we wrote Yellow, we had the ending of the song, but then we flipped it. When we finally had it down, that was when we all knew that this was what it was meant to be.” Townley confirms the band’s democracy: “A song is never done until everyone has had their input.” “That thing you were saying about us looking like five distinct individuals, I think that’s amazing,”

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says Emerson. “No-one else has picked up on that. George is into hip-hop, Gaz is into quite dark rock, Nick’s into Kate Bush, I’m into really obtuse singer-songwriters. We did this BBC radio interview recently and they asked us what we were into and this one here (he points at Townley and shakes his head) says, ‘Oh Mike’s into anything new’ and I’m like ‘Fuckoff!’ Seriously, you know that scene in Monsters Inc. where they find the sock on the monster’s back and they immediately shut everything down and shave him? It was just like that. They had us out in five minutes. Interview over. Thirty minutes interview done in thirty seconds. Brilliant.” We could talk all night and, once done with the interview proper, we almost do. Much of what we touch on offers ever more intriguing routes into Hartheim’s heightened aesthetic, their illuminating worldview. Mention of Band Aid raises Emerson’s ire (“I fucking hate Bono. His tactics – how he deploys his music as some weapon to fix the ills of the world. Bullshit.”) and a question about what being a ‘political’ band means in the current climate fires up both him and Townley. “I’m more likely to write my lyrics in a way that presents a subject and asks our audience what their view is, rather than cheap rabble-rousing,” he says. “We’re speaking for a time,” adds Townley, “where nothing really means anything anymore, and you have to search for meaning, so in some way, maybe we are a political band. In this godless, secular society, this parade of nonsense, where Capital Radio play the same ten songs each day and it just numbs your soul, I hope Hartheim will make you want to look beneath the surface for something more.” Later that night, the band are buzzing from their performance, another audience duly captured. As we shuffle from the venue, local electronic duo Shield Patterns befriended and plans made to reconvene for their show the next week, their singer is in buoyant but reflective mood: “You really get it, don’t you?” It’s not that difficult to get. As others will find over the coming months. “No, but you get it. I was watching you while we were playing, making sure you weren’t drifting off.” He flashes a wry smile. It’s hard to imagine that Mike Emerson, locked into the naked, twitching commitment of his performance, could even remember his name at that moment, let alone keep an eye on individual audience members. “Oh, I can do that,” he says. “Never take my eye off anything. Never. Always see what’s going on around me. Always.” Hartheim support Blossoms on at Manchester Night and Day on 31 Dec. Their debut EP is due for release on 26 Jan soundcloud.com/hartheim

THE SKINNY

Album of the Month

Teho Teardo

Ballyturk [Specula, 1 Dec]

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An accompaniment to Enda Walsh’s play of the same title, Teho Teardo’s latest offering is a beguiling, befuddling and downright captivating work. The sumptuous misery of I Thought We Knew Everything There Was To Know showcases this collection at its best: portentous bass tones, courtesy of Fugazi’s Joe Lally, ring out mournfully before decaying underneath gentle chimes and minimalist guitar motifs. It’s eventually all swallowed up in ethereally beautiful chaos, deftly playing with our senses of unease and curiosity, while the voices of Cillian Murphy and Mikel Murfi add to the desolate gloom by intoning solemn excerpts from Walsh’s script at tactful

intervals. “I didn’t know dust buzzed,” confesses the former worriedly, with the ridiculousness of the phrase engulfed in a murky despair as thick as winter fog. To describe it as ‘majestic’ feels somehow inadequate. You could tie this into post-rock if you really wanted; the dominance of texture over melody certainly places proceedings in that vein, and there are times when the darkness of mood recalls Godspeed You! Black Emperor at their most subtle. It’s worth remembering, of course, that soundtrack music is designed to light the background rather than fully occupy the consciousness. Still, even in the shadows, Teardo simply dazzles. [Will Fitzpatrick] tehoteardo.com

The Grand Gestures

Lotus Thief

Githead

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Third [Chute Records, 19 Dec]

Rervm [SVART, 1 Dec]

From monochrome artwork to functional title, The Grand Gestures third album in three years deviates little from the mould cast by parts one and two, yet tops the trilogy with its most satisfying instalment. As before, ringleader Jan Burnett has crafted a spread of lo-fi instrumentals and invited collaborators to add vocals – and once more, a top-drawer offering from Sparrow and the Workshop’s Jill O’Sullivan sits proudly at the top of the track-listing. Sanjeev Kohli also makes it three-for-three, though his latest portion of darkly comic spoken word is perhaps the album’s one show of fatigue: having walked a similarly silly/sinister line on each prior contribution, the storytelling has lost some bite. Luckily, refreshment is supplied by debutants Gary Clark (emoting over ghostly piano chimes) and The Hazey Janes’ Andrew Mitchell (on the softly sublime Into the Darkness We Go): just two arguments for extending the GG franchise a little longer. [Chris Buckle]

An epic metal opus, based on ancient Roman philosophical verse – Spinal Tap levels of hubris and folly, right? Well, no, as it turns out. Rervm is rather good. Pulling from doom, ambient and slowcore stylings, with more than a few nods towards the spaced-out shimmer of nupsych, San Francisco’s Lotus Thief pull no punches in their sonic vastness. Inevitably bombastic – well, it is based on Lucretius’ De Rerem Natura – this thoroughly impressive debut transcends the supposedly-ugly facets of crushingly heavy music. Take Miseras, with its furious blast-beats: a technique not exactly renowned for its proclivity towards ethereal grace, and yet that’s exactly how it’s deployed here. The cinematic sweep of the melody refocuses power as texture, rather than sheer brute force – surely black metal’s greatest trick. Elsewhere, the gloomy dropout that tears Discere Credas wide open points to an unexpected grasp of subtlety, generously garnishing the album’s solemn wonder. [Will Fitzpatrick]

thegrandgestures.bandcamp.com

svartrecords.com

Malcolm Middleton And David Shrigley

Neu Gestalt

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Inside The Rain Chamber [Alex Tronic Records, 5 Dec]

Music And Words [Melodic, 15 Dec]

Waiting For a Sign [Swim, 8 Dec] The unlikely four piece with the equally unlikely moniker return with their first album in five years. Led by Wire’s Colin Newman, Githead are Malak Spigel and Max Franken from Minimal Compact and Robin Rimbaud from Scanner. This time around, they reconvened with the blankest of pages: Waiting For a Sign was recorded in improvised sessions, as the band explored little more than chords and arrangements. Well that’s their story. On this evidence, they’re either stretching the truth just a little or they really do connect intuitively and deeply. Sure, To Somewhere and Slow Creatures have a sense of little more than a groove being teased and explored. But elsewhere, as on Not Coming Home and For the Place We’re In, Githead’s angular guitar pop feels too accomplished by far to have been cobbled together on the hoof. But, ultimately, when the end product tastes this good, who cares about the recipe? [Gary Kaill] www.githead.com

Wild Billy Childish & CTMF

Acorn Man [Damaged Goods, 8 Dec]

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Perhaps not the most unlikely collaboration: visual artist Shrigley lives and works in Glasgow, where his new musical partner rode to semi-fame with Arab Strap. If the formula sounds familiar – Middleton creating moody backdrops for potty-mouthed, tragicomic narratives – then the sound is rather more distinct. Here, words veer more towards comic sketches, particularly on the bleakly farcical Story Time, in which a Jackanory-style woodland adventure goes uproariously awry. Shrigley tropes such as misanthropy and skewed perspective are thrown up throughout, while Middleton’s cues broadly come from the electronica of his Human Don’t Be Angry project – the stuttering synth coda of A Toast provides a heroically anthemic climax to the narrator’s sweary salute. Sunday Morning’s brainscrapingly irritating knob jokes outstay their welcome, but on the whole this is a fine work, shredding nerves and tickling funny bones like a lo-fi Blue Jam. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Neu Gestalt’s third record finds inspiration in recalling a year-long stay in Singapore, where his Uncle was stationed with the RAF, and in classic sci-fi thriller Blade Runner’s subtle orientalist aesthetic. Subsequently, the Edinburgh-based producer spent hours on hours cutting up and re-configuring Far Eastern language samples which drift in and out of Inside The Rain Chamber’s spatial beat-shy electronica. Unfortunately such micro-management hasn’t been applied elsewhere, and though there’s a forlorn prettiness to the likes of Island’s stuttering piano motif and Tokyo Tipping Point’s half-sleep wooziness, too much of the record is let down by an over-reliance on production that’s indistinguishable from the next bedroom producer with Ableton. It could be argued that minimalism is Gestalt’s angle; but with such predominantly leaden elements, this LP soon becomes a tedious exercise in thematic repetition. [Simon Jay Catling]

“Always different, always the same,” as John Peel famously described his perennial faves The Fall, but only the latter is required to sum up Billy Childish. One hundred-plus albums have followed since The Pop Rivets’ 1979 debut, typically displaying a knack for imaginary Sonics riffs alongside a Bukowski-esque sense of artistic purity. Acorn Man continues to drag his garage clatter down ever-more rickety avenues, and in a fortuitous twist, it also happens to rank among his finest hours. Former single Punk Rock Enough For Me is the centrepiece; a sprawling, bawling beat manifesto (Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, Star-Club-era Beatles and “a cup of tea” rank among the items to uphold the titular credo). It’s the dance numbers that’ll getcha though – A Flame From The Fen is all top-down groove and glorious chorus, while bassist Julie Hamper sneers snappily through the brilliant Zero Emission. With a blueprint this good, evolution seems an unnecessary extravagance. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Malcolm Middleton plays Glasgow King Tut’s on 13-14 Dec

neugestalt.com

damagedgoods.co.uk/bands/billy-childish

Alex G

DSU [Lucky Number, 1 Dec]

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Most of what goes on in student halls is best left unknown. But over at Temple State, Philadelphia, behind one particular dorm door, a 21-year-old by the name of Alex Giannascoli has spent his college days casually becoming a low-key songwriting sensation. For some, this is old news: DSU is his sixth album (or thereabouts), with each of its predecessors uploaded straight to Bandcamp, earning him a select following whose ranks are now set to explode. Giannascoli continues to record at home and alone, but the audio has been professionally mastered and released physically for the first time, opening his music up to a wider audience – and boy are we grateful. Tales are skilfully revealed in half-glimpses ('I’ll get my cure, wait in the car / I won’t remember who you are'), while musically, the album covers considerable ground – from Promise’s goofy slap bass to the breezy melodies of Harvey and Boy. A raw and refreshing talent. [Chris Buckle] sandy.bandcamp.com

December 2014

EP Reviews Mogwai

Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1. [Rock Action, 1 Dec]

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Deathcats & New Swears

Split EP [Fuzzkill Records, 5 Dec]

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With the aftershock of their triumphant Rave Tapes yet to settle, Glasgow’s noisiest sons offer a new collection to close out the year. Subtle beauties History Day and HMP Shaun William Ryder wouldn’t feel too out of place on that record, each displaying a different balance of electronic texture and their trademark elegiac menace. Opener Teenage Exorcists is the most welcome diversion, however; building on the muscular crunch of their 2011 single San Pedro, it’s a rare combination of post-hardcore pop and Mogwaiwith-vocals. Music Industry 3 also offers remixes of Rave Tapes favourites – Blanck Mass and Pye Corner Audio duly acquit themselves with typical panache, but Nils Frahm provides a standout moment, amplifying the fragility of The Lord Is Out Of Control to breathtaking effect. Another victory. [Will Fitzpatrick]

The transatlantic union between Glasgow’s Deathcats and Ottawa’s New Swears is a grungepunk Christmas come early. With four tracks apiece, this Split EP is two bands sharing a love of fun, restless fuzz. It’s also not the first split with Deathcats on Fuzzkill, having ridden shotgun to Manchester’s Fruit Tones earlier this year on Thplit Tape, and both EPs shine in their straightforward allying of kindred sounds. Here, the Canadians proffer plenty reverb beside their wailed vocals (Scru Bar’s House has actual screaming) and impatient drums (when you’ve got two-minute-long tracks called Satan Loves You and Sloppy Blackout you’ve got no time to idle). Scotland matches their fervour, crafting walls of noise with the defiant Liquid Gold and the confessional Sprint. The cooing You has a big Stateside quality to it, and in the end it’s the Cats who provide the muscle, but the Swears know when to flex too. [George Sully]

www.mogwai.co.uk

Deathcats play their farewell show at Stereo Glasgow on 5 Dec.

RECORDS

Review

Little Dragon / Nao O2ABC, 23 Nov

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little-dragon.net

Photo: Ross Gilmore

Before Little Dragon’s set has even commenced, they’re already demonstrating telepathic awareness of what their fans are in the mood for. Fittingly, support act Nao isn’t taking anyone’s shit, shredding through any aloofness from the moment her splayed silhouette appears through violet smoke. A regal gaze held above the crowd, Nao enraptures with an athletic vocal performance of funk and grime, soul and synth, furiously upstaging herself with every song. Each break and drop is illustrated with bodily undulation and rotation; rehearsed but not contrived. Unfazed by her band’s flinches when she bravely teaches the chorus of So Good (the song which originally won Little Dragon’s attention), Nao’s set closes with charm, leaving the audience stunned and grateful to LD for the heads-up. Next, the moody drones characteristic of Nabuma Rubberband creep around the vaulted roof, and searchlights stroke a blacked-out stage in pursuit of Little Dragon. Front-woman Yukimi Nagano emerges and clasps the microphone between white latex gloves, slipping into

a spotless performance of Mirror that initiates an effortless slalom between recent, darker material and older numbers like Test and Crystal Film. There’s always the risk that live electronica might sound surgically similar to the record which, although diligent, is anticlimactic. But more should be expected from artists with touring experience as rich as LD’s. Classic tracks segue into interludes swallowed by flaming lightshows, the steadfast vocals irresistibly balance organic chilly trills with familiar smoothness. And when she’s not stealing Erik Bodin’s drumsticks or teasing Weinstrander at his keyboard, Nagano holds a childlike command of the room. Playfully taking the crowd hostage with her tambourine, she dances maniacally enough to encourage even the coyest of bar-flowers to dance. Ritual Union administers the punchdrunk crowd yet another shot, and the room jigs their way through the last portion of the set. An immense outro is extinguished by the encore – a brooding performance of Twice. This subdues some and disappoints others, but leaves most thankful for a cool-aid to this most dynamic night of showmanship from the Swedes. [Kate Pasola]

The Jesus and Mary Chain Barrowland, Glasgow, 23 Nov

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Sibling rivalry has powered many great bands, but few have matched the intensity of the Reids. Prowling front man Jim, with the piercing stare of Robert Patrick, and older brother William, playing electrifying guitar while shyly hiding under a mop of curls, seemed to genuinely despise each other. While sharing a bedroom in East Kilbride, they formed a band out of boredom and seemingly by accident released a debut album, Psychocandy, that’s been raved about ever since. Nearly thirty years on, and the brothers have settled their differences, temporarily at least, to play two sold out Barrowland shows to mark the anniversary of its release. Some felt their 2007 reunion gigs lacked the edge that first made them famous; there will be no such doubts tonight. The group begin with a short set of later material, including a particularly fearsome rendition of Reverence, and deafening take on Upside Down, the single that first announced them to the world. After a short break, that Ronettes beat kicks in and a hush falls on the ballroom. Just Like Honey sounds perfect – William’s guitar shimmers over his brother’s deadpan vocal. But as opening songs go, it completely fails to prepare the crowd

Feature

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for what’s coming. Psychocandy famously took basic three chord pop songs and shredded them with feedback. Debate has raged over whose idea it was – or whether it was just a lucky accident – but regardless, the one-two punch of The Living End and Taste the Floor leave the Barras breathless. The latter is almost savage in its delivery, with William occasionally looking up from his guitar, as if to gauge whether Jim is paying attention. His brother responds, more than once, with a glare that could shatter glass. A key part of the Mary Chain’s crossover appeal is that they never outstay their welcome; the Shangri-Las-like beauty of Taste of Cindy lasts all of 100 seconds, while You Trip Me Up doesn’t bother the three minute mark. Standing in the middle of this cauldron of noise, you begin to understand why so many guitarists, such as My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields, claim to have been mesmerised the first time they saw William play. The influence of Psychocandy is easy to overlook three decades on; in the years that followed, a wave of feedback-drenched guitar bands appeared, creating the impression it was ever thus. But tonight, the JAMC deliver a performance of starling intensity. A reminder they’re still capable of leaving their imitators in the shade. [Chris McCall] thejesusandmarychain.uk.com

THE SKINNY

Photo: Elliott Hatherley

Photo: Ross Gilmore

Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters O2 Academy, Glasgow, 15 Nov

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Broadcast, Glasgow, 5 Nov

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The Broadcast crowd don’t quite know what to make of Saint Max and The Fanatics. There’s a predictably enthusiastic response for a song called Glasgow, but there’s more than one catcall and sarcastic cheers throughout. It’s a wee bit surprising, as the Edinburgh five-piece play an energetic, thrillingly shambolic set of ska-tinged garage punk that would win them friends elsewhere. The louche Saint Max takes it all in his stride, however. The punters’ impatience tonight is barely disguised excitement. Sleaford Mods are in town on the back of rave reviews for their breakthrough album, Divide and Exit – but they remain something of an unknown live quantity north of the border. After what must rank as the quickest stage set-up in history – plug in one laptop and a

www.robertplant.com

microphone – producer Andrew Fearn and lyricist/ vocalist Jason Williamson arrive to a roar of approval. Fearn presses play on the backing track of Middle Men and promptly stands back to finish his pint, job done for the next three minutes. Williamson begins firing: “The metropolis of discontent and lost dreams!” His delivery is even more arresting when seen up close; he snaps out every word like it was his last, his right hand flying back and forth to provide emphasis. Fizzy, a particularly viceral number that sets about demolishing grim modern-day working practices, claims one of the biggest responses. Williamson’s savage-yet-funny descriptions – “the cunt with the gut and the Buzz Lightyear haircut” – stick in the memory and are lapped up by a crowd that has no problem relating to them. There’s no between-song chat as there doesn’t need to be. Sleaford Mods really do let their songs do the talking – and an amassing number are beginning to listen. [Chris McCall] www.sleafordmods.com

Perfume Genius

The Caves, Edinburgh, 23 Nov

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When Perfume Genius – the stage name of Seattlebased solo artist Mike Hadreas – unclips his microphone from its stand, you know he means business. Ducking and weaving, lacing and tugging the lead through his hands, as the track builds in intensity his painfully expressive face winces in complete absorption. The lofty, domed ceiling of The Caves, twinkling lights dancing off the bare stone walls, feels almost like an altar: the crowd are transfixed, held redemptive, wholly lost in swelling keys and Hadreas’ inimitable vocal talent. Feeling a little like An Evening With… Perfume Genius, we’re treated to a broad, fan-favouriteled set list that touches on all three albums, but perfectly showcases the confidence and assertion found on newest release Too Bright.

December 2014

The finger-click opening of Fool receives instant whoops, and Hood – left late in the long set – is deeply felt, visibly moving. Older tracks like Mr Peterson and Learning (which demands an impressive feat of dual piano-playing) are particularly enthusiastically received, but latest single Queen is a triumphant closer. The ‘oomphs’ hit home as Hadreas whirls and spits, ‘no family is safe / as I sashay.’ The multiplicitous voices on Grid, currently replicated live by a backing track, indicate a direction it would be fantastic to see Perfume Genius explore: one day, we hope we’ll see Hadreas holding court in front of a full choir and orchestra. The intimacy of a venue like The Caves is perfectly suited to Perfume Genius’ inherent vulnerability, but this special, newly-found strut is more than capable of captivating on a truly grand scale. [Katie Hawthorne] facebook.com/perfumegeniusofficial

Photo: Kat Gollock

Photo: John Duncan

“I fucking love bingo!” The original rock god returns with a twist – acknowledging the Academy’s decades as a Mecca while welcoming his pensionable status with open arms. Navigating a minefield of media-constructed conjecture geared towards wishing his old band back to life (like last month’s tabloid porky, which claimed he tore up an $800m dollar contract to reconvene Led Zeppelin for a whistlestop international tour), the resilient Robert Plant ploughs forward through a successful ‘Nashville period’ to find critical (if not necessarily commercial) success in compelling new work. From the pulsating breakbeat and chicken-pickin’ motif at the heart of Little Maggie to the shimmering introspection and orchestral gravitas of Embrace Another Fall,

Sleaford Mods / Saint Max and the Fanatics

Lullaby… and the Ceaseless Roar is an unassailable confirmation that Percy’s mojo can keep on rising. With an easy chemistry and a convivial atmosphere falling quickly into place, Friends kicks off a surprisingly Zep-friendly set, taking stylistic detours through glorious overhauls of IV’s countrified ballad Going to California and II’s towering southern rock epic, What Is And What Should Never Be. Bukka White’s delta blues standard Fixin’ to Die – one of the few constant survivors in the setlist througout Zeppelin and Plant’s various evolutions – is given a dusting down and a cosmic makeover. Tambourines come clattering off the drum riser as a slick rendition of Whole Lotta Love drops like an a-bomb – the Space Shifters’ reclaiming its primal power after too many years on Top of the Pops. “Fuckin’ marvellous!” he booms, like he finally called house. “Next week, Whitesnake!” [Dave Kerr]

Stanley Odd / Tickle & Asthmatic Astronaut The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, 21 Nov

rrrrr

The wonderfully named Tickle & Asthmatic Astronaut provide strong support tonight. The latter is a founder of the Black Lantern Music collective that has supported a variety of Scottish hip-hop artists, as well as being responsible for creating some of the finest beats in the underground scene, while the former is a skilled rapper with a memorably witty turn of phrase. With their talents combined they have no trouble winning over the crowd. The biting satire of Love the Government – released last year by Tickle’s group Ill Papa Giraffe – is a stand-out. Stanley Odd are back in their hometown to unveil their third full-length album, A Thing Brand New, and look in confident mood. MC Solareye leads the group on stage to the sound

MUSIC

of new track Get Back in the Basement, complete with a thrusting beat and a shout out to Chelsea Manning. Solareye has a canny ability to share his political beliefs – whether it be the importance of voting or a mistrust of invasive surveillance – in a sincere manner without ever sounding unnecessarily forceful or condescending. You fancy he could lead almost any crowd to his way of thinking. Most of the assembled are converts anyway, most likely attracted by the success of 2012’s Reject. It provides the tracks that get most of the biggest responses of the evening, but it’s a new number that brings the loudest cheer. Son I Voted Yes has already established itself as something of an unofficial anthem among proindependence supporters. Tonight it sounds tinged with genuine regret. [Chris McCall]

Feature

The Best Dance 12"s of 2014 As picked by our Northwest Clubs team, a selection box of delectable bars we’ll be raiding again far beyond 2014

t’s that special time of year again when trees start dressing like wanton mistresses, street saxophonists blare tooted versions of Let It Snow outside heaving marketplaces, and dear old St. Nick reluctantly makes his way out to the barn with a tub of reindeer grease. What’s more, it’s also a chance to delve into the past 365 days to recall what exactly has been spewing out of The Skinny’s system this year. So, without further ado, allow us to present this patchwork of our top 20 EPs/singles of 2014, in no particular order...

Leon Vynehall – Music for the Uninvited [3024] Returning to Martyn’s label for the second time, Vynehall reached another level with this record. Inside the Deku Tree might be the best opener of the year, a catalyst for goosebumps that nods to Zelda in the process. [Daniel Jones] MannMadeMusic – Rough Times [Shadeleaf] Operating out of Sheffield, Shadeleaf are definitely a label to keep your peepers on, as is the forger of this awesome Motor City-inspired EP, Ian Mann. If You Don’t Do It is a slice of low-end mastercraft that KDJ would’ve probably come up with had he been a native of Wearside. [DJ] Waldemar Schwartz – La Taza De Oro [Golf Channel] Golf Channel were already one of the best in the biz before Bogdan Irkük got involved under his WS alias. Perfectly timed in early July, two nu-disco burners fuelled by a warped perception of sexiness. [Jack Burns] Ruf Dug – Ruf Kutz #009 [Ruf Kutz] Ruffy and his label always have tricks up their respective sleeves, but Ask Me After Midnite by Glowing Palms is the best yet. A cover of Skream’s seminal Midnight Request Line, reimagined as an ESG-style post-punk disco bumper, with full approval from the Croydon disco convert himself. [John Thorp] San Proper – Leave It Up To All Of Us [Voyage Direct] Despite being long-time mates with Tom Trago this was San Proper’s first donation to the Voyage Direct cause. A record that proves the Amsterdammer is more than just a pretty set of nails; he’s a master of extended grooves. [JB] The Black Madonna – Stay/Venus Requiem [Nite Owl Diner] The Black Madonna books Chicago’s Smart Bar, so she’s very knowledgeable about oft-forgotten US dance scenes. The Barbara Mason sample subtlety deployed on this is spine-tingling. [JT] Various Artists – Voyage Sampler #001 [Voyage] Andy Hart’s fledgling imprint got out of the traps well with this sampler of low-slung jams. Max Graef and Tartelet boss Muff Deep also do themselves justice on a hypnotic track that roughly translates as Shit Sausage House. [DJ] Hauke Freer – XK [Oye] As 50% of Session Victim, Hauke Freer is no stranger to directing vibey arrangements. Stepping away from the duo’s live work ethic, this release sees Freer veer into serious chop-chop territory. Must-have stuff. [DJ]

Preview

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Jack J – Looking Forward to You [Mood Hut] Vancouver’s Mood Hut brought in one half of Pender Street Steppers, Jack J, to roll out some therapeutic vibes on one of the most popular releases of the year. That B-side bassline could easily go on ‘til kingdom come. [JB] LK – Ruff Draft #002 [Ruff Draft] Cottam scored a winner by getting attentionshy LK to donate three tracks to the second incarnation of Ruff Draft. Flick it to 45 for lead track Valentino, a bustling, eyes-down affair spread over the course of twelve minutes. [DJ]. Floating Points – Sparkling Controversy [Eglo] Sam Shepherd conquered us all with King Bromeliad back in March, and followed up perfectly with this dubby garage re-fix of his 2011 behemoth ARP3. Despite the single-sided disappointment, its added punch is intoxicating. [JB] Jitterbug – Workers [Uzuri] Approaching most six-track EPs is like opening a bag of Revels – not every selection is to taste. Hats off to Lakuti for getting Jitterbug back on board to prove this theory wrong. Versatile revelry on both sides. [DJ] Jouem – Episodes ⅜ [Mojuba] The third instalment of Sven Weisemann’s epic Episodes octaptych. Organic, evolving and emotional as always, Weisemann cuts to the dancefloor core on the A, leaving room for more easygoing fare on the flip. [JB] Traumprinz – All The Things [Giegling] One of the most beautiful club records I’ve ever heard, the cathartic title track is also accompanied on the flip by an electro-acoustic spoken word piece during which an ex-acid fiend called John finds peace in Jesus. [JT] Unknown Artist – Silver Ash #002 [Silver Ash] Sophomore release from the mysterious imprint. Everyone banged on about the Fluxion remix but, for me, Karri is a class above. Beautifully pressed on a clear 10” slab – (who needs the extra few inches?) – a must for any fans of pulsating dub. Bouncy one. [DJ] Johannes Heil – Transitions [Figure] Four ‘Transitions’ of thumping, transcendent techno, first heard on Daniel Avery’s stellar Essential Mix and pitched deep down by myself and many others for the remainder of the year to still energetic effect. Massive. [JT] Floorplan – Never Grow Old (Re-Plant) [M-Plant] 2014 marked twenty years in the game for M-Plant, and it seemed only fitting that bossman Robert Hood stepped forward with some hot-to-trot Floorplan material. Never Grow Old was huge last year, and the Re-Plant version speaks for itself. [DJ] Moleskin – Turnt On [Goon Club Allstars] Goon Club seemingly specialise in a sort of leftfield grime sound that I’ve only scratched the surface of, but this is technicolour bonkers: sounds like a Soundstream record that Wiley might adore. [JT]

THE SKINNY

Clubbing Highlights We trawl through the heaving clubbing calendar for December to pick out a few choice treats

e kick off December’s festivities in Edinburgh, as one of the city’s best nights in recent years celebrates its second birthday. For the occasion Juice has invited none other than Dutch master Martyn along to Sneaky Pete’s to help them celebrate in style. Boss of the 3024 label, Martyn has continually shown his mastery of a number of styles, from early drum ‘n’ bass releases through to techno and dubstep. More recently he has delved into lush house-tinted productions complete with smatterings of breakbeat, as in 2013’s Newspeak EP and this year’s Forgiveness EP. As you may expect, Martyn is a spinner with little time for genre boundaries. Expect a well-crafted party set from one of the best selectors around (Thu 4 Dec, £8). The following weekend the same venue has another belter lined up as In Deep present Highlife, showcasing the Glasgow-reared pairing of Auntie Flo and Esa. Brian D’Souza (Flo) has arguably been one of the most original artists to emerge from Scotland over the last few years, with his hybrid house sound incorporating rhythms and samples from a diverse range of international influences. In a similar vein, the Highlife club night sees D’Souza team up with Esa – who cut his teeth at the legendary Subculture in Glasgow – to present a smorgasbord of electronic sounds and rare gems from around the world. Get involved! (Fri 12 Dec, £4) Next up, a trip to the Liquid Room will be well worth your while as the Nightvision series continues with a visit from one of the world’s most in demand DJs, Jackmaster. Honing his craft from a young age in Glasgow, Jack Revill had the best techno education imaginable, under the wing of the crew at the legendary Rubadub record shop. Since co-founding the Numbers collective – putting out some memorable records and putting on some even more memorable parties – Jackmaster’s stock has risen exponentially.

Words: Ronan Martin Illustration: Alice Tobia

It is something of a cliché to say, but only the most skilled DJs can carve out such a successful career without having produced any music of their own. Simply put, Jack is among the best around, owing largely to his ability to effortlessly mix up techno, house, electro and bass music, alongside R’n’B and disco ‘tweakers.’ He will be joined on this occasion by Radio 1’s Heidi and rising Scottish talent, Jasper James (Sat 13 Dec, £15). Our final Edinburgh shout should take care of your post Christmas night out as The Mash House gets a 5am licence for the visit of Mike Huckaby. With an impressive back catalogue stretching back to the mid 90s, Huckaby is one of the most trusted names to have emerged from the house scene in Detroit over the years. With a knack for producing laid back grooves and captivating melodic sequences, Mike has always found a receptive audience for his music. In recent years he has taken to running workshops in Detroit and beyond, sharing his knowledge of production, with Kyle Hall among his past students. In other words, Huckaby knows his craft! (Sat 27 Dec, £10 or £6 students) Moving on to Glasgow and we suggest you begin the month as you mean to go on by taking in two midweek Sub Club outings, with a day’s rest in between. First up are i AM who have invited the legendary Keith McIvor AKA JD Twitch down for a night under the Autonomous Africa banner – his project aimed at raising money for various worthy causes across that continent. Joining the Optimo co-founder are three of the artists to have released tracks for the project, namely Graded boss Midland, Glasgow’s own Auntie Flo and house head General Ludd. All proceeds from the night will go to the Mtandika Mission, so you shouldn’t feel guilty partying so early in the month (Tue 2 Dec, £5/6 adv. £8 door). If you’ve not had enough of a midweek fix, then Pariah is sure to meet your requirements when

he stops in for Rubix at the club on Thursday 4 Dec. With a series of acclaimed releases on the respected R&S label, Arthur Cayzer has exhibited his pedigree with his forays into dubstep, as well as through his blistering techno collaboration with Blawan as Karenn (£5-8). The following Friday we’re very excited about a one-off party by the name of Players, Ballers, Rollers. Referencing a Starski & Clutch track of the same name, you will not be surprised to learn that this Poetry Club shindig is devoted to the sounds of ghettotech, booty house and associated uptempo styles. A joint collaboration between Shaun Vitamins and Dave Shades of Horror Boogie, the night will also feature sets by recent DJ Deeon collaborator Nightwave and Dommm, formerly of the mighty Tribute roster at La Cheetah. With dedicated booty nights a rare treat, even in a city with so many avid devotees, let’s hopes this one becomes at least a semi-regular fixture (Fri 12 Dec, £6). Our final pick for this month takes us to La Cheetah which becomes the base of operations for the Club 69 Seasonal Shindig. A highly revered club over the years, 69 has become an almost mythical part of the history of the Scottish electronic music scene. Situated under an Indian restaurant in Paisley, the much-loved venue famously hosted Detroit techno legends Underground Resistance and is a spot continually referenced by the likes of Jackmaster as providing a solid musical education for those who ventured outside the city to find it. That reputation was due in no small part to its residents, Martin McKay, Wilba and Euan, who have decided to offer a back to basics, cheap as chips Christmas party with a firm emphasis on the tunes. With McKay in parti-cular recently singled out by Fact magazine as a DJ who deserves more limelight, this one seems too tempting to miss (Sat 27 Dec, £5). Happy Holidays!

DJ Chart: Dusky Production and DJ duo Dusky share ten tracks ahead of their set at The Arches this month Deetron – Photon [Unknown] Deetron is on fine form here with a peak time floor-filler of a track. The bassline harks back to classic mid 00s electro-house, but the piano stabs add a different, more classic house flavour when they appear. The two snare roll-filled breakdowns in the middle of the track provide some big room madness. Lorca – Calcutec [Naked Naked] This track works great either in a warm up or a peak time set. The bassline is the focus at first, giving way to swirling, gliding pads and melodies reminiscent of the Border Community label, all the while under-pinned by the aforementioned bassline. The combination manages to be both tender and aggressive at the same time. Dense & Pika – Lazy Wayne [Hotflush] A pretty mental track, this one. Trippy vocal snippets are sped up and down in the intro (and later the breakdown), giving way to a bassline and groove that sounds like someone making rhythms by hitting industrial pipes and pieces of broken machinery. We usually play it sped up quite a lot, giving it a more frenetic feel.

December 2014

Words: Alfie Granger-Howell & Nick Harriman

Flowers & Sea Creatures – The Very Next Day feat. Wrong Jeremy (Eric Volta’s Navigate The Untold Cosmos Remix) [My Favorite Robot] A long number with a long name to boot. We’ve been starting almost all our recent longer sets with this. The beautiful pads in the intro reset the vibe of a dancefloor nicely. The arrangement is crafted carefully, with different sections weaving in and out with plenty of understated details. Jonny Cade – Get Off My [Music is Love] This track channels speed garage, post-garage, and techno flavours. Stabs very similar to those in Shed’s classic 10001 12” track (under his vinylonly WAX alias) filter up and down, while angular bass hits provide some grit. A couple of stringfilled euphoric breakdowns appear throughout the track, while diva-style vocals provide a big lift at the right moments. Traumer – Underlying [A-Traction] This French producer provides a solid techno number here, proving simplicity can often work wonders when it comes to techno. Pads build up and up for the first couple of minutes, travelling further and further into a reverb wash, before

some dry crusty stabs come in sharply, leaping out of the speakers. These move around and build up in another crescendo, before doing it all again. At the right point in the set this one can do some serious damage. Patrice Baumel – Vertigo [Speicher] When the crowd needs waking up, we play this track. It’s a twisted monster, with its drunken riff going in and out of tune with itself, creating a trippy, disconcerting effect that propels the groove. It builds up massively over time, and every time you think it’s reached a climax it keeps upping the stakes, until it finally reaches a huge peak guaranteed to get people dancing. Dan Curtin – Bassius [Transit] Dan Curtin is a master of wonky techno, and this one does the business. Strange atmospheres complement the groove, with the random jazz samples that get thrown in a particular favourite for us. It gets quite dark in the second breakdown, but brings it back with the return of the rubbery bassline. When we need a deeper, quirky moment in our sets, we’ve been reaching for this.

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Outboxx – Feel Your Love [Futureboogie] We’ve been playing this in the deeper parts of our sets, and it always gets a good reaction. The focus is a keyboard riff that repeats, only occasionally going through the whole chord progression. Similarly the vocal is kept short throughout, only played out in full here and there. Some 303 acid style delayed hits come in later, rounding it all off nicely. Locked Groove – Enigma (Scuba’s Warehouse Mix) [Hotflush] We can hear the unlikely combination of grime, techno, progressive house, and a nod to Ten Walls’ recent use of brassy synth sounds in this one. It’s got a couple of surprising twists and turns that keep the ear interested throughout. The euphoric pads in the breakdown are unexpected but work brilliantly, leading us neatly back to the main riff. Dusky will play a four hour set at The Arches, Glasgow, alongside Funkinevil, Palms Trax, Tom Trago and Youandewan on Fri 5 Dec

Preview

The Burgh to the Boroughs and Back Ahead of his Hogmanay appearance for Nightvision in the capital, local disco veteran Craig Smith tells us he’s preparing for a hectic year

Hogmanay Clubbing Higlights

Interview: Ronan Martin

Words: Ronan Martin

“I have over 12,000 bits of vinyl to choose from” Craig Smith

Photo: Ali Watt

You’re playing as part of Nightvision’s NYE party in Edinburgh. The capital has taken some criticism over the last few years for the health of its clubbing scene, yet there’s an increasingly wide variety of nights on and there are many scenes which have always thrived in Edinburgh. What have been your experiences of partying in the city over the years? There have been some good times and there have been some bad times over the years – I’ve been actively clubbing in the capital since 1984! But I think the Edinburgh club scene is very buoyant at the moment. I always say to anybody who moans about Edinburgh: ‘Put your money where your mouth is and get doing something creative to improve it, rather than being negative – make a difference. If not, shut up or move!’

Craig Smith

or many, a welcome introduction to the considerable production talents of Craig Smith will have come with the glorious series of 6th Borough Project releases which began in 2008 with a debut on Jiscomusic. In partnership with Graeme Clark AKA The Revenge, Smith has consistently channelled his extensive knowledge of music and his sprawling vinyl collection into a brand of sumptuous low-slung disco edits, gaining many fans in the process. Yet, long before his current production projects took shape, Smith was a prominent force in Scotland’s clubbing scene and he has been putting his own name to records since the mid 90s. Over the years his releases have found a home on labels such as In Demand, Soul Heaven and Delusions of Grandeur and he is increasingly in demand as a remixer, due in no small part to the success of the 6th Borough Project material. Last year Craig further built on his impressive list of achievements by co-founding the Fifty Fathoms Deep label and 2015 looks set to be his most productive year to date. In the coming months he has a nine track mini LP coming out on The Revenge’s Roar Groove imprint, while the start of next year sees him take on remix duties for Layfars with Peter Oakden and also as 6th Borough Project to rework the upcoming Hercules & Love Affair single. He’s also working on a release for Atjazz with Richard Peace AKA Peacey, which will be released as part of Record Store Day next year. With the Nightvision Hogmanay party on the horizon, we caught up with Smith to find out what else is on his mind going into the New Year.

Preview

Hi, Craig. What’s been keeping you busy of late? I’m always busy in the studio recording! I’m almost finished my solo LP for Fifty Fathoms, which will come out in spring 2015 and by then we (myself and Peter Oakden) will have completed a hip hop project we are working on, again for our label. Then it’ll be time to start the third 6th Borough Project LP! Sticking with 6th Borough Project... how did you and Graeme Clark first come together and what’s your working process like? About 16 years ago he dropped his 12" into the shops for all the locals DJs and I was the only one to get back to him – the rest is history! I spotted straight away he was a super talented dude and a lovely guy to boot. Working with him is a super easy process. We seem to have a good chemistry which can be a hard thing to find when making music with other people, no matter how talented they are. When in life did you first encounter the kind of disco and soul records that form the basis of that project? The music we reference is the music I grew up listening too. Yep, I am that old! What other artists and kinds of music would you cite as influences, from your earliest days up until more recently? There are far too many to pin down. I love music full stop. I have so many influences; whether it’s producers, DJs and artists from the last four decades – it would fill up the whole page. I think some people would be very surprised at what I listen to at home, but I do have way over 12,000 bits of vinyl alone to choose from, so I never get bored.

What has been your most memorable Hogmanay up until now? I was born in Melbourne (both my parents are from Edinburgh) but I left when I was a very small child so have no memory of it. During our first 6th Borough tour of Oz a few years back we played there on NYE and it was magical to be back to the place where I arrived on this planet all those years ago. The party with Motor City Drum Ensemble was pretty special too. What kinds of sounds are most exciting you at the moment and what kind of DJ set can we expect at Nightvision? Music always excites me – genre is no barrier so, again, there’s too many to list. Expect deep, soulful music with integrity and a few surprises! Can you tell us how the label, Fifty Fathoms Deep, originated and what’s going on with it? Fifty Fathoms is a label I run with Peter Oakden (check out his work as Fredrick – a super talented producer. I expect big things for him in 2015). We have been running for 18 months now, with releases from Layfar, Ranier Trüby, Marlow, Ugly Drums, NYAK, Phlash, 6th Borough Project, Fredrick and myself. We just put out music we love, and we’ve been really pleased with the response from the DJs and public so far. There are some exciting releases planned for 2015 already. Finally, what else are you looking forward to in 2015? Being happy, healthy and making music.

oining Craig Smith for the Nightvision NYE party in the capital is a host of other talent including increasingly hyped British producer and DJ, Subb-an, whose releases for the likes of Spectral Sound, Visionquest and Crosstown Rebels have made him one of the UK’s most in demand new artists in recent years. Also helping bring in the bells are duo Waze & Odyssey, Moda Black singing Theo Kottis and a selection of trusted local selectors bringing their own unique vibe to the proceedings. This night will cap off a varied and exciting season for Nightvision, who have been bringing top names to the city since launching in September (Liquid Rooms from £15 + BF). Elsewhere in Auld Reekie, if you’re looking for more retro sounds, Hamburg’s Monte hits Gasoline Dance Machine at Cabret Voltaire. The German artist produces funk-heavy club tracks, so far gracing labels like Jeudi and Jackmode with his slickly produced grooves. Having impressed the Gasoline crew with his set at a Jeudi showcase off Sonar in Barcelona, the German’s smooth brand of party tracks should go down a treat at Hogmanay, particularly as he’s down to play a special 80s funk set. Joining Monte on the night will be fellow Jeudi acts and Edinburgh natives, Cheap Picasso and Kipp$. The second room will be capably manned by the Domino Club roster of P-Stylz, Rob Ralston and Nasty P, offering up more chilled out and soulful selections (£5 early bird, then £10-15). Over in Glasgow, La Cheetah top off a fine year with their now customary two floor shindig, this year a collaboration between the club and promoters Notsosilent and Offbeat. Among the attractions on offer is legendary Dutch DJ, producer and Viewlexx head honcho I-F. The master spinner from The Hague plays it all, from Italo and electro to techno and house. He’s joined on the bill by the ever intriguing Funkineven, who’s been a breath of fresh air in the UK scene in recent years. Glasgow duo Dixon Avenue Basement Jams are sure to provide a full on party set and complete the bill alongside other local favourites such as Ben Martin and the club’s assorted residents (£15/17). An alternative Glasgow option is to head to the Sub Club where the 20 Years of Subculture celebrations come to a close in fine fashion with the visit of the legendary Chez Damier. The Chicago veteran has been putting out classic house records since the early 90s and his partnership with Ron Trent, in production and through the Prescription label, is one of the most fruitful the genre has seen. Damier is well schooled in the kind of soulful, melodic house that many modern producers are trying to recreate, many of them lacking the genuine warmth oozing from Chaz’s tracks. Also on the bill and playing his first live set as The Revenge is local producer Graeme Clark. As always, residents Harri & Domenic will keep things bubbling along nicely, joined by able protégé Telford (£15/25).

Craig Smith plays at the Nightvision Hogmanay party on 31 Dec soundcloud.com/craig-smith

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THE SKINNY

The Skinny’s Guide to Panto Season It’s in front of you! Panto season! If you’re completely overwhelmed about exactly which show to go to, The Skinny is here with a helpful guide to everything happening in pantomime and Christmas shows in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee belt this December

’T

is the season to gather up and head down to the theatre for a night of laughter, glitz and downright silliness. Pantomime season is very much ahead of us, and it’s almost impossible to miss. But sadly, not everyone was raised on class trips to the theatre, family nights yelling ‘oh no you didn’t’ with unbridled glee, or the knowledge that no matter what you’ve lost or who you’re looking for, it or they will always be just behind you. For some, pantomime is an alien world filled with inside jokes and glitter. Thankfully, The Skinny is here to help, with our guide to exactly what is happening in pantomime in Scotland this festive season, where the best shows are for which audiences, and what to do if pantomime really, just really, isn’t your thing. If it’s star power that you’re looking for in a pantomime then Glasgow is the city for you. The King’s Theatre Glasgow is this year showing Peter Pan, starring Greg McHugh as Smee. McHugh can be recognised from his role in Gary Tank Commander, or as Howard in Channel 4’s hugely successful Fresh Meat. He’ll be joined by Still Game’s Gavin Mitchell as the dastardly villain Hook and Des Clarke as Starkie. This will be McHugh’s pantomime debut, but for the Kings Theatre, Peter Pan marks 50 years since their first panto was shown in 1964. Celebrating another anniversary, John Barrowman is returning to the SECC stage as Buttons in a qdos entertainment production of Cinderella, alongside The Krankies. This particular pantomime is likely to bring a little sparkle and romance to your festive season. It’s interesting to note that across the two biggest pantos in Glasgow, it is the male supporting character, and not the princess or the hero, who has, in casting at least, taken centre stage. While we can be sure that Barrowman and McHugh will both be front and centre of their respective

December 2014

pantomimes, it will be interesting to see how these two classic plays have been altered to make this happen, or whether their stars remain in the background. Maybe it will be Buttons after all who saves Cinderella, or Smee will rise up and defeat Hook, realising that children should not be placed in such danger. It’s unlikely, but then, anything could happen in panto season. The Tron Theatre this year are presenting new work Miracle on 34 Parnie Street, written, directed by and featuring Johnny McKnight, who has written many a pantomime produced in Scotland. This offering is likely to be the most rooted in Scottish culture – particularly Glaswegian – of all the pantos there are to choose from. It tells the tale of Kristine Kringle, who not only gets a job in a department store as Santa, but claims to be the real Santa Claus, here to bring back the true meaning of Christmas. Expect lots of kitsch, lots of glitter and lots of glamour in this production. Over in Edinburgh, qdos entertainment are producing Aladdin at the King’s Theatre, with panto veterans Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Andy Gray. This production is promising to make our wishes come true, and if it’s traditional panto you’re looking for then you can be sure the King’s Theatre will deliver. Musselburgh’s Brunton are putting on Jack and the Beanstalk , written and directed by Mark Cox. Every year at the Brunton professional actors are joined and supported by young performers from the East Lothian area, making this one of the most community driven pantos on offer every festive season. This community focus is really what the fun, interactive nature of pantomime is about and really aims to foster a family spirit around the show. Also appealing to the family audience in Edinburgh is the St Andrews Square production

of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s much loved children’s book Stick Man. The production, presented by Scamp theatre, combines puppetry, songs, dancing and live music. It narrates the journey and the struggles of Stickman as he tries to get safely back to the Family Tree. The dangers he faces might not seem very high stakes to us, but to a stick everything is a worry. This play might not be traditional pantomime as such, but it’s a festive show for all the family to enjoy nonetheless. Meanwhile, continuing the children’s book theme, the Lyceum Theatre are producing The BFG, adapted by David Wood and directed by Andrew Panton. With the tagline, “This is where all dreams is beginning” and a trailer teasing lovely dreams blown into the minds of children, it seems like the Lyceum’s production of The BFG is going to bring a little magic to a family night out this Christmas, but a little fear as well. Mixing the uncanny, fear, and ultimate heroism in his stories, Dahl speaks to exactly what children want. Remember your favourite fairytales? They were a lot darker and a lot scarier than you remember, and Roald Dahl’s works appeal to that childish fascination. Shows based on Roald Dahl works have always been popular Christmas choices. David Wood’s Dahl adaptions have been touring successfully to family audiences for years. Following the theme, Dundee Repertory Theatre are performing David Wood’s adaptation of James and the Giant Peach. The Rep promises us a tale for anyone who’s ever dreamed of escape. By placing a child at the centre of his stories as the hero, Dahl really brings his readers into his work, and in these two adaptions, we can be sure that a family audience will be just as pulled in to seeing these worlds come alive around their own children.

THEATRE

Words: Emma Ainley-Walker Illustration: Andrew Denholm

Outside of the pantomime sphere, there are still plenty of Christmassy shows around Scotland. If you’re really a Scrooge when it comes to panto, then maybe The Citizens’ A Christmas Carol is the show for you. Directed by Dominic Hill, whose time at the Citz has produced some bold and imaginative shows, this production promises to melt even the coldest of hearts and leave all with the Christmas spirit. Taking a similar theme, The Arches are bringing The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot, written by Oliver Emanuel of Dragon success. Johnny, the forgotten boy, hates Christmas, but maybe Mr McGregor can save the day. The show is ideal for 3-8 year olds and their adults to enjoy together. Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre present Slava’s Snowshow, the Russian clown show fronted by Slava himself, returning after years of sell-out performances. The show attempts to recreate a sense of childlike wonder for adults, and appeal to the already wondrous minds of children. Famously, it culminates in a snow bombardment, with a manmade blizzard blasted into the audience. Slava’s Snowshow is definitely an experience unlike any other. And finally, also on offer at Festival theatre is Scottish Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. 40 years since it first premiered, this ballet is perfectly suited to the Christmas period. It has been choreographed by Peter Darrell and reimaginied by the Olivier Award-winning Lez Brotherson, whose design adds layers of Victoriana to the already sumptuous and dreamlike world of The Nutcracker. There are more shows than you can shake a Stickman at this festive season, and there’s something there for everyone, so pick your favourite and book your tickets. It’s a guaranteed good time.

Preview

December Film Events I Eastern Boys

Director: Robin Campillo Starring: Olivier Rabourdin, Kirill Emelyanov, Daniil Vorobyov Released: 5 Dec Certificate: 15

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Manakamana

Director: Stephanie Spray, Pacho Velez Released: 12 Dec Certificate: U

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Daniel (Rabourdin) gets a lot more than he bargained for when he spends an afternoon cruising a Parisian shopping centre for a teenage boy to bring home, and viewers sitting down to watch Eastern Boys will find themselves taking a similarly surprise-laden journey. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on Robin Campillo’s singular film, the writer-director abruptly changes course, handling his twisting narrative with a bracing confidence. A long sequence in which Daniel watches his whole life being gradually stripped away from him by a gang of thugs (led by the effortlessly charismatic Daniil Vorobyov) is masterful, but then Campillo brings Marek (Emelyanov) into the picture and Eastern Boys develops into a surprisingly tender and convincing love story. The most jarring change of pace occurs in the climactic third, with Campillo leaning a little too heavily on contrivance, but by this stage the film has successfully drawn us deep into the heart of this complicated relationship, and so it remains an uncommonly exciting experience. [Philip Concannon]

From Harvard’s experimental Sensory Ethnography Lab, which gave us 2012’s haunting fishing vessel doc Leviathan, comes Manakamana. This is an altogether different beast from that previous effort, with a new directing team: while Leviathan was a forceful sensory overload, Manakamana is more tranquil in tone and visual setup, but it’s no less affecting for it. Spray and Velez’s film is ostensibly made up of a dozen or so vignettes following various groups of pilgrims (ranging from locals to North American tourists to... goats) as they make trips to and from the legendary Manakamana Temple in Nepal using cable cars, with a stationary camera positioned in the cable cars documenting their journeys. An intimate humanist experiment, the film provokes much delight in its playful structure and in how its rotating ‘protagonists’ act and interact for the omnipresent cameras, with absorbing, sometimes funny mininarratives created for all of them despite their limited screen time. And with the goat section it’s the closest we’re going to get to an Abbas Kiarostami remaking of Le Quattro Volte. [Josh Slater-Williams]

Released by Peccadillo Pictures. peccapics.com

dogwoof.com/films/manakamana

Birdman

The Grandmaster

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Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu Starring: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough Released: 2 Jan Certificate: 15

Director: Wong Kar-wai Starring: Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Zhao Benshan, Song Hye-kyo, Wang Qingxiang Released: 5 Dec Certificate: 15

The two consistent traits in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s body of work are his directorial virtuosity and his ability to get 100% commitment from his actors. What makes Birdman such a refreshing change of pace is that he turns these gifts towards comedy rather than wallowing in despair. The result is one of the most unexpected and richly enjoyable larks of the cinematic year, even if the director’s occasional grasps for profundity threaten to puncture the fun. While Emmanuel Lubezki’s constantly swooping camerawork and the gimmicky single-take structure is technically impressive, the film really comes alive when everything settles down and Birdman’s ace ensemble goes to work. Keaton is perfect as the actor trying to escape the shadow of his superhero past, but the real star turn here is from a hilarious Edward Norton as a self-important thespian whose commitment to reality is taken to absurd lengths. Iñárritu doesn’t pull off all of his grand gestures and he unfortunately fudges the ending, but when this strange bird is flying it really is something to behold. [Philip Concannon]

A sort of biopic of renowned martial artist Ip Man, Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster finally arrives after a European debut at the Berlin Film Festival way back in February 2013. It’s far from the misunderstood masterpiece many still prayed it might be, but Wong can’t really do duffers; almost every shot is predictably jaw-dropping and metaphor-dripping. Taking broad liberties with the actual story of Mr Ip (regular collaborator Leung), the director is more concerned with presenting a philosophical and cultural history of China in the first half of last century and back, and of course his own recurring tropes of romance and longing. With a bunch of fancy fighting thrown in. Leung is brilliant as the taciturn Master, with Zhang Ziyi striking as ever as his unrequited love, and their soulful arc complements the stunning Yuen Woo-ping-choreographed battle scenes. Unfortunately, you’re left wanting more of these successes as the on-the-nose pontification and wuxia clichés pile up, but third-rate Wong is still better than most at the top of their game. [Chris Fyvie]

The Theory of Everything

Black Sea

Director: James Marsh Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, David Thewlis, Frank Leboeuf Released: 1 Jan Certificate: 12A

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What can you do with a film like The Theory of Everything? It’s exactly what it intends to be: a straightforward potted history of a real-life figure that delivers emotional uplift while making eyes at awards voters. We should probably accept it for what it is, but it’s still deflating to watch director James Marsh carefully guide his portrait of Stephen Hawking from one clichéd scene to another, displaying no artistic ambitions beyond that. Must a film about an extraordinary man be so ordinary? What elevates The Theory of Everything above mediocrity is the chemistry between its two leads. Redmayne is remarkably convincing and charming in this most challenging of roles, and Jones is very moving, even if she is too often pushed to the margins and forced to play the dutiful wife. A more interesting and courageous adaptation of Jane Hawking’s memoir would have stuck to her perspective. We’ve seen so many similar films about the struggles of great men; perhaps it’s time for a film celebrating the unsung women in their lives. [Philip Concannon]

Review

Director: Kevin Macdonald Starring: Jude Law, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, David Threlfall, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Sergey Puskepalis, Michael Smiley Released: 5 Dec Certificate: 15

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In Black Sea, a muscular Jude Law adopts a Scottish accent and a salty persona to lead a submarine crew looking for lost Nazi gold. The mariners evade Putin’s navy, fight to keep a decrepit ship alive and navigate a battle of personal egos, while the filmmakers face an even harder struggle – make a major submarine movie, a subgenre that hasn’t produced one decent entry for almost 20 years. Macdonald’s thriller tries to channel everything from Das Boot to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but never finds its sea legs. Law nails the accent but feels ill-fitted to salt-of-the-earth toughness. Plot pivots around Mendelsohn’s character inconsistently paint him as both a psychopath and a principled moralist. And attempts to establish a theme about working men adrift in a world of cold globalisation feel insincere, and are confirmed as such in a hackneyed 11th-hour twist involving the stock corporate villain. But by that point the film has become a confused mishmash about greed, madness, violence and sentimental redemption. [Ian Mantgani]

FILM

Frozen sing sing-along at the Cameo and Filmhouse

The DCA in Dundee is showing Glasgow-set film Stella Does Tricks (6 Dec), featuring Kelly Macdonald in one of her earliest roles, as part of the global movement, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. Ending on International Human Rights Day (10 Dec), the campaign aims to raise awareness about violence against women. There are several events taking place across Scotland – check the official Facebook page for more information (facebook.com/16DaysCampaign). The DCA’s contribution is a free, ticketed event screened in collaboration with the Dundee Violence Against Women Partnership. Now in its third year, the Nordic Film Festival returns to the GFT this month with four films celebrating Nordic culture and the diversity within it. The festival opened with I Am Yours (1 Dec) and closes with award-winning drama Hotel (22 Dec), but the most intriguing entry is Nordic Factory (15 Dec), a collection of four short films, each exploring different aspects of modern Nordic life, made by eight international filmmakers. As if there’s not enough childhood nostalgia on the big screen this month, the Cameo (23 Dec) is offering a rare opportunity to see the Indiana Jones trilogy (yes, there are technically four films, but most fans prefer to not mention the most recent, which thankfully is not included here). With back-to-back screenings of Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade, join Indy on his most epic adventures from the comfort of the Cameo’s cosy sofas. [Becky Bartlett]

THE SKINNY

Credit: image.net

Eastern Boys

Manakamana

t’s December and as expected there’s a great selection of Christmas movies, from classics like It’s a Wonderful Life to more recent capers such as Elf, playing in cinemas across Scotland. The GFT in Glasgow and the Cameo in Edinburgh, in particular, have an array of films to choose from, including Gremlins (GFT, 5 Dec), Black Christmas (GFT, 16 Dec), The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D (Cameo, 13 Dec), and Home Alone (Cameo, 21 Dec). Put on your best novelty Yuletide jumper and head to pretty much any cinema for some festive fun. Following the smash success of Disney’s Frozen, the film’s themed toys and merchandise are expected to be this year’s best-selling Christmas gifts. In Edinburgh both the Cameo (21 Dec) and the Filmhouse (28 Dec) are hosting special sing-along versions of the Oscar-winning animation, giving audiences a chance to sing their hearts out alongside Elsa, her sister Anna, and, of course, Olaf the snowman. Given the movie’s popularity, chances are these screenings will be busy, so get your ticket early.

Intolerance

Spione

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Director: Fritz Lang Starring: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gerda Maurus, Lien Deyers, Released: Out Now Certificate: PG

At a breakneck pace, Spione, Fritz Lang’s follow-up to Metropolis, lays out the template for all spy actioners that would follow. Rudolf Klein-Rogge plays Haghi, the wheelchair-bound Mabuse-lite archvillain intent on intercepting government plans while a series of German, Russian and Japanese spies whirl around evading his machinations. Spione is steeped in gadgety modernism and stuffed with dazzling set pieces, including heists, chases, a train crash and even a boxing match that becomes derailed by ballroom dancing. While initially thrilling, the cartoonish derring-do and Haghi’s unexplained motivation become wearying over the two-and-a-half-hour running time. Without the depth of early Lang, its dizziness eventually plays like too much running around. It’s still fascinating, however, both as further proof of its director’s technical proficiency and as a landmark in genre entertainment. [Ian Mantgani]

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Watching a DW Griffith film is like watching Shakespeare indite his first couplets. Griffith didn’t invent cinema any more than the Bard invented language, but his command of the medium determined the methods by which today’s directors still articulate themselves. Larger than its ambition, and the literal white elephants in frame, is Intolerance’s hypocrisy. Griffith’s notorious Birth of a Nation, made a year earlier, indelibly marred his legacy, proving even the grandest vision cannot surmount impoverished principles. This follow-up, essentially an epic apology, stratifies and shuffles four epochs. Audiences were unprepared for its complexity; it landed at the box office with an Icarian splat. So why watch a hypocrite’s three-hour flop? Intolerance is undoubtedly cinematic paradigm, but more than this, it’s a window through which we can peer 100 years into the past. [Kirsty Leckie-Palmer]

The Keeper of Lost Causes

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Goodbye to Language

Director: Jean-Luc Godard Starring: Héloise Godet, Kamel Abdeli, Richard Chevallier Released: 8 Dec Certificate: 15

Director: Mikkel Nørgaard Starring: Sonja Richter, Eric Ericson, Nikolaj Lie Kaas Released: 22 Dec Certificate: 15

The latest slice of pulp to make its way over the North Sea, Danish thriller The Keeper of Lost Causes is a nicely shot exercise in moody brooding and lascivious torture porn, slavishly ticking all the genre trope boxes while it sleepwalks through an icky narrative that could have been lifted from any slick television crime drama. Carl, a homicide investigator traumatised by a police ambush gone wrong (oh, why don’t they ever wait for backup?), does most of the brooding. He’s assigned a desk job in Department Q rubber-stamping cold case files. But instead, in true rogue-cop fashion, Carl decides to actually solve one of those cases. Based on the 2013 novel by Jussi AdlerOlsen, the film is an obvious setup for a series of Department Q follow-ups. Too bad this opener feels like an atmospheric exercise in sucking all the air out of the genre. [Michelle Devereaux]

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Raoul Walsh is now best remembered for the gruelling location shoots that lent High Sierra and The Big Trail their sense of epic, distinctly American poetry. Entirely studio-bound and set in a mythical Middle East, this uncharacteristic fantasy nevertheless stands as one of the director’s greatest achievements. Douglas Fairbanks’ performance as Ahmed, the titular thief, anticipates the swashbuckling heroism found in Walsh’s future collaborations with Errol Flynn, and the movie ultimately serves as a vehicle for his bravado. Whether committing petty crimes or proving his worth against a series of terrifying beasts, Fairbanks oozes preposterous, child-like charisma. Lavish sets, charming special effects, and a cameo from a howling, diaper-wearing ape all threaten to steal the star’s thunder, but it’s a supporting role from the iconic Anna May Wong that modern audiences are likely to respond to with most interest. [Lewis Porteous]

Christmas DVD Gift Guide Thanks to a combination of Netflix, iTunes and Pirate Bay, you’ve probably not bought a DVD since last Christmas. Help save this flailing industry by splurging on some hard copies for your loved ones this festive season Words: Jamie Dunn Cold in July / The Guest (for children of the 80s) There was a distinctly 80s vibe on our cinema screens this year. Not that we’re complaining if the results are as wry as Jim Mickle’s neonoir Cold in July or Adam Wingard’s blackly comic thriller The Guest. These young horror filmmakers have embraced the garish visuals and the grisly violence of the decade, but they also smuggle in its sharp social satire and inventive camera work – two qualities desperate for a comeback in modern genre cinema. Both are on Blu-ray and DVD from Icon Home Entertainment

22 Jump Street (for those who still think Channing Tatum is a wooden pretty boy)

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Godard’s first 3D feature is, as you’d expect, unlike any other we’ve seen, with one confounding (and eyeball-straining) effect that’s sure to linger in the mind. It’s hard to think of another film in which 3D is absolutely integral to the viewing experience – it’s impossible to imagine seeing Goodbye to Language in any other format. That’s why the decision to release the film direct to Blu-ray is so bewildering – and a damning indictment of the current state of cinema culture in this country. How many people will be denied the opportunity to view the film as intended because they lack the necessary 3D paraphernalia at home? And how many of the lucky few who’ve seen it in cinemas will be unable to enjoy the repeat viewings that Godard’s work demands? Even at a brisk 70 minutes, Goodbye to Language is dense with ideas to unpick. One thing’s for sure: this old dog still has plenty of new tricks. [Philip Concannon]

The Thief of Bagdad

Director: Raoul Walsh Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Noble Johnson, Anna May Wong Released: Out Now Certificate: U

Director: DW Griffi th Starring: Elmer Clifton, Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, Bessie Love, Released: 8 Dec Certificate: PG

Nekromantik

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Director: Jörg Buttgereit Starring: Harold Lundt, Colloseo Schulzendorf, Beatrice Manowski Released: 8 Dec Certificate: 18

Jörg Buttgereit’s infamous boundary-defying horror comes to Blu-ray looking slightly bewildered but with a wealth of extras to justify its existence. Filmed on almost no budget over two years, this is a love story of sorts between a traumatised young man, his creepy girlfriend, and a stolen corpse. It’s strong stuff and fully commits to the concept. That said, it’s less of a story and more a succession of loosely connected unpleasant scenes involving necrophilia, cannibalism and (most shockingly) animal deaths. The cadaver effects are admittedly impressive, but despite Buttgereit’s transgressive sensibilities the relentless attempts to shock eventually become dull and it’s a challenging experience to see it through. While it would be difficult to recommend on its own, the high-quality extras, are fascinating. This is undoubtedly the best way of seeing one of cult cinema’s most original, and most divisive, nightmares. [Scott McKellar]

Talking of the 80s, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s reboot of the Johnny Depp-starring TV show 21 Jump Street, about young-looking cops going undercover in high school, proved an un-expected delight. That its sequel, 22 Jump Street, is even better is a minor miracle. Even more unbelievably, Channing Tatum, once thought no more than a serviceable hunk in films like Step Up and GI Joe, gives the year’s most joyous comic performance. On Blu-ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Ent

The Day the Earth Caught Fire / The Glitterball (for those who like their sci-fi home grown) One of the highlights of the cinematic year has been the BFI’s nationwide Days of Fear and Wonder sci-fi season. Its pleasures aren’t confined to cinema screens, though, as evident by this brace of BFI DVD releases. H-bomb disaster flick The Day the Earth Caught Fire has the fear part covered, while delightful zero-budget alien adventure The Glitterball, which would go on to inspire Spielberg’s ET, provides a low-key wonder (the alien is played by a spray-painted ping-pong ball). On DVD from BFI

Guardians of the Galaxy (for those looking for a new Han Solo) Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a smattering of derring-do. Instead of watching The Great Escape or Raiders of the Lost Ark for the umpteenth time, Marvel has come to the rescue with its most flat out fun film yet. Much of the pleasure stems from Chris Pratt, whose goofy charisma puts all the other movie Chrises – Evans, Hemsworth, Pine – in the shade. On Blu-ray and DVD from Walt Disney

FILM

The Werner Herzog Collection (for fans of chaos, hostility and murder) “I believe the common denominator of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility and murder.” So says the inimitable Werner Herzog in voice over in Grizzly Man. After spending the festive period with your family, you’re sure to agree. Ease into the New Year with more of the Bavarian maverick’s doom-laden wisdom. On Blu-ray and DVD from BFI

How to Train Your Dragon 2 / The Lego Movie (for parents who’ve seen Cars 2 one too many times) Time was, whenever you needed to pick up a movie for a little ‘un, Pixar had you covered. Not any more: the once inventive studio has been running on empty since joining forces with Disney. No animated film this year delivers the heart-stirring emotions with the whip-smart comedy of Pixar at its very best, but in tandem the above double bill will do the trick: Dragon 2 lifts the hairs on the back of your neck; The LEGO Movie has the belly laughs. On Blu-ray and DVD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video respectively

Ida (for fans of both Sister Act and the Polish New Wave) “A nun and a chain smoking Jewish prostitute go on a road trip…” This isn’t the start of a bawdy joke, it’s the abbreviated plot synopsis to Paweł Pawlikowski’s extraordinary comeback, Ida. It narrowly missed out on a place in our top ten films of the year, but it deserves a place in your DVD collection. On Blu-ray and DVD from Artificial Eye

Six Gothic Tales (for those who like their horror to be retina-searing) Film history will remember Roger Corman as the visionary B-movie producer who nurtured so many of America’s finest filmmaking talents, including Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Demme. But he’s a great director in his own right. The best of his films include this sextet of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations. What recommends them are their eye-popping colour schemes and their star, Vincent Price, who could send a chill down your spine with a raise of his eyebrow. On Blu-ray and DVD from Arrow Video

Review

Small Decors: Elizabeth Corkery

Telfer Gallery

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Elizabeth Corkery’s exhibition plays on the surrounding warm coloured MDF floor and other building materials that are exposed in the Telfer Gallery, that is without either ceiling tiles or even blue flooring underlay. Matching the colour of the floor, slipping between what’s here and what’s represented, brown framer’s tape is gridded in the pattern of the Kibble Palace of Glasgow’s West End Botanics. Working with the materials of picture-framing, there’s a sense of scene-setting and the spatial illusions of stage scenery. In the middle of the room, there are the two sculptural works, Wardian Cases. Unfamiliar objects now, wardian cases are usually simple glass cases that maintain plants within an artificial atmospheric environment. At first sight, these small plywood sculptures look more like simplified and small-scale replicas of more ecclesiastical architecture. So shrunken and made from light wood, they humbly quote something much more monumental in scale.

A kind of model-making continues with the screenprints on MDF. These are stacked with equal-sized woodblock separating one from the other. With the same screen print at every level, the image of the almost overgrown garden is neatly arranged, just as organised as the halftone pattern from which the image is constructed. The process of their making and their constructed presentation frustrates any simple reading of the image. With so many multiples of each screenprinted image, any purchase on a representational illusion is loosened as pictorial elements become repeated motifs. While these works loosen their own purchase on anything like an authentic reality, they simultaneously refer to the warm brown of the exposed floor or to the grid which has been stripped of its ceiling panels. Even the Telfer’s unassuming space becomes a site of artifice, and so interiors in general, all as constructed and artificial environments as inside a Wardian Case. [Adam Benmakhlouf] Small Decors was exhibited in the Telfer Gallery from 7-23 Nov

Photo: Mary Freeman

Elizabeth Corkey

Tim Hecker

Tim Hecker Stereo

rrrrr Björk intermission music is gradually silenced by what sounds like a long electric guitar note. With only accidental light remaining, the aural takes absolute priority and sound is given presence. The set by Tim Hecker that follows can be separated into around eight sections, roughly. Without conventional rhythm or recognisable melody, the structure and relationship between the sounds is less prescriptive. Between each of the identifiable movements is a slackening, though not outright separation. Its parts are distinct from one another, though certain elements recur throughout the set. Huge and dragging, the entire arrangement might resolve into a single high pitch that begins to pulse into something like a beat, provisional until remembering its own arrhythmia. The sounds are substantial and distinct enough in their long suspension and their

encounters with one another are drawn out. There is thoughtful composition, though feeling more like the relations of elements in a still image than the variety of a musical composition. It’s generous in the way that the slow speed of the change in the set is paced to allow a full and luxurious appreciation of each specific moment. Yet while this slow pace might make it easier to perceive what’s happening at any time, the slow movements and changes make it difficult to trace the genealogy of a specific sound as it goes through several developments. What begins as a clear, single held note may then bend into new elbows and ankles to become almost rhythmic or melodic. Similarly frustrating any dully simple experience, the immersive texture of the whole performance frustrates an easy perception of the arrangement as a whole. Each part acts almost as a complete distraction from what came before, as a dominating sensory experience. No surprise the house lights come too harsh before the audience exits, hushed. [Adam Benmakhlouf]

On the Mainland; Over the Water This month's Scottish art news

etting back a little bit of summer for those who made it to Queens Park in July, The Common Guild will present Phil Collins’ film Tomorrow is Always Too Long in the GFT on Sunday 7 December at 7.30pm. The work forms a version of Glasgow, from scenes with surreally quick camera pans that follow game show buzzers, to musical numbers and a shadow-puppet style animation. Yet, Collins steps in front of any moments of too-sharp humour with sudden and perceptible sidesteps into wrenching sensitivity. Still in Glasgow, the 2|1|4|1 Collective will present their 2014 Members Show / festive end of the year PARTY / Integrated Programme at the Old Hairdressers from the evening of Sunday 7 December until Tuesday 9 December. Work on show will be from the members of 2|1|4|1, a 12-strong collective that started during May last year. Their members are mainly “artists in the youth of their careers,” and the group’s ethos is defined by “accessibility and a critical commitment to making and showing contemporary works.” On Sunday 7 December there will be an open meeting, followed by the exhibition opening and a party at 8pm with mulled wine, a raffle and DJs. Heading to Edinburgh, Ponte City, an exhibition by Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse will open in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery on Saturday 6 December. This

Review

will be the only UK showing of the exhibition, which takes its title from the Johannesberg landmark of the same name. Erected in 1975, Ponte City began as classy residences for the wealthy white elite. Following the end of apartheid in the 1990s, it fell into disrepair and became a representation of urban decay, while housing black newcomers from townships and immigrants from elsewhere in Africa. It was during a failed renovation plan that saw the involvement of Subotzky and Waterhouse, who planned a ‘before and after’ series. Their striking photographs were the result of meticulously documenting the space and the lives of those within. There’ll be a feature on the show in our January edition. Having featured Charles Avery’s Billboard for Edinburgh at the end of October in the online weekly rundown of events across Scotland, it’ll be exciting to see Ingleby’s exhibition on their billboard project. For the last six years, the Ingleby has been inviting artists to exhibit on the billboard on the side of the gallery. The exhibition on the project is open from the 6 December until 10 January and Long’s edition will be up until 30 January. Moving to Dundee, in the Wasps Artists’ Studios, Meadow Mill there is an exhibition by the newly formed Dundee Print Collective. In the exhibition, there will be screenprints from over 20 Dundee based and associated

artists. Their brief was simple: “use one colour and black.” On Saturday 6 December, there is an opening event featuring performances by Bob Flambé and the Atoms of Desire, Man with Machines and Fallopé & The Tubes. The exhibition will continue from 7-14 December. Crossing the water to Shetland, and also on the mainland in the East Ayrshire town of Kilmarnock, Tate have installed two of their Artist Rooms. Work by the internationally acclaimed photojournalist Don McCullin will be on display in the Bonhoga Gallery until 22 February 2015, while Gerhard Richter will be in the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock until 6 December 2014. The Artist Rooms series is a joint collaboration between the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate, and aims to display its collection of over 725 works of seminal artists across the UK. For more information on the tour around the UK and future events, see tate.org.uk/artist-rooms Please send details of future events to adam@theskinny.co.uk Find the weekly Art News at theskinny.co.uk/art

ART

Phil Collins - Tomorrow Is Always Too Long, production still (2014)

THE SKINNY

Credit: Courtesy Shady Lane Productions, Berlin and The Common Guild, Glasgow. Photo: France-Lise McGurn

Words: Adam Benmakhlouf

Book Highlights New comics rising and first book awards mean fresh names to note as winter is ushered in by a wine washed evening with the Saltire Society Words: Alan Bett

n 11 November The Saltire Society honoured Scotland’s authors at what is now the country’s most significant literary awards, handed out at Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth. The always interesting First Book Award went to Niall Campbell for his debut poetry collection Moontide, inspired by the landscapes of Uist. Considering the competition – Kirsty Logan, Anneliese MacIntosh, Kirsty Wark – this was no mean feat for a writer obviously to be watched. The Literary Book Award considered short fiction (A.L. Kennedy’s All The Rage) and stage play (Rona Munro’s The James Plays) but was claimed by a work which broke all form and genre convention. Ali Smith’s How to be Both is two novels in a way, parallel narratives set centuries apart which interpenetrate each other at different points depending upon which of the two separate versions you lay your mitts on. A sign that Scottish publishing is in rude health – in literary output at least, I don’t dare to speak for their bank balances – is that while Sandstone Press were awarded the publishers’ prize, ever present Birlinn and young contender Freight were both given commendations. All three have released wonderful books this year. Alexander Hutchison took the Poetry Award with Bones and Breath, picking it up

with a beautiful and humble speech. Perhaps future years will see a specific Saltire award for graphic novels. They, whether they like it or not, are pushing their way into the reputable mainstream, making themselves known at both Dundee and Edinburgh literary festivals. On this note, November saw the launch of the first issue of Elena: Divinity Rising. This is the story of Elena Anchova. A young girl abandoned by her mother and now buried in a world of betrayal, double-crossing and espionage; pushed to the limits by her mentor Kalikov, the former KGB ringmaster and nemesis of the CIA. Written by Darren Pearce and drawn by Stewart Jennett this is an explosive thriller with artwork to match and a healthy dose of family drama lurking in the subtext. Pearce told The Skinny: “We’ve spent a lot of time crafting the characters and especially Elena so that readers could empathise with the various situations in which they find themselves, for me the most important part of this series has been developing characters that people can feel a part of.” Issue 1 is published by Markosia and available via Comixology. Blogmanay sounds like a mixed blessing. New Year’s Eve is an occasion often recalled

through Memento-like reverse flashbacks. The brittle morning of 1 January a minefield of crackling anxiety as you remember just what you did, the levels of drunken offensiveness you reached. It seems that there are some unusual people out there keen to record this evening, to provide written testament as to what actually happened. Blogmanay is a project where a team of international travel bloggers will record their experiences of New Year in Edinburgh. Budding writers can get involved by tagging New Year related blogs with #Blogmanay. And finally, as another reminder that literature does not necessarily need print and paper, let us bring your attention to a couple of free online sources of spoken words. The Scottish Poetry Library posts its monthly podcast on its website, currently featuring Hugo Williams, past winner of the TS Elliot prize for his collection Billy’s Rain. Originating from further afield is The Moth, the hip Brooklynites story source of choice. You can hear wonderful true stories of diverse and purposeful lives on their site. saltiresociety.org.uk/awards markosia.com themoth.org scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk

The Strange Library

N0S 4R2

Amnesia

rrrrr

By Haruki Murakami

By Peter Carey

By Joe Hill

Hitting Japan in 2008, The Strange Library spins a dark modern-day fairytale about a boy who finds himself drawn into the shady labyrinth beneath his local library by an old man with a taste for human brains. The book abounds in oddness met with the kind of calm bewilderment and quiet humour Murakami has spent decades refining. Murakami’s writing lives inside strange in-between places, otherworldy borderlands where cultures, times and realities blur together. Eclectically illustrated with diagrams, drawings and assorted artwork plundered from the vast stores of the London Library, The Strange Library creates a visual journey to match the weird pastiche of Murakami’s prose. A word on one page is spun out into an image on the next like a pictorial stream-of-consciousness, each odd thought-tangent followed up by an illustration from a relevant library book. As the boy’s mother always told him, ‘if you don’t know something, go to the library and look it up.’ The translation by Ted Goosen gives the dialogue a slightly British flavour that’s just a little at odds with Murakami’s Americana-infused style, but it’s not enough to seriously detract from a little book that stands out as a curiosity even in the incomparably curious library of Murakami. [Ross McIndoe]

All books are page turners by default, how else might they be read? But it’s the velocity of turning which provides some sort of measure. N0S 4R2 lives at the higher end of the scale. A deliciously horrific fantasy in which a young girl with supernatural gifts confronts the similarly empowered Charlie Manx, a dangerous and evil child abductor in a Rolls Royce Wraith bearing the vampiric registration N0S 4R2. Its finest creation is a dark fairytale henchman who incapacitates victims with gingerbread scented gas – the results are grimmer than Grimm. This is the third novel of Joe Hill, son of Stephen King. While his earlier – and excellent – book Horns set him out as a writer of individual talent, N0S 4R2 shows that he’s also his father’s son. The influence feels inherited rather than replicated here and not only takes the voice of King classics The Shining and IT, but also inhabits his universe, with references to Pennywise and his Derry home. It is a more ambitious book than Horns, but also more sprawling and unruly, with less structural discipline. The story walks a tightrope of believability at times, often saving itself through sheer force of narrative. While lacking some depth – a serious subtext of child neglect proves mere window dressing – it remains the work of a talented and evolving storyteller whose pages sure do turn. [Alan Bett]

Peter Carey is one of the few writers you could expect to pull off a sprawling tale about hackers, global capitalism and Australian politics. He’s got that pedigree, so rare, of producing meaningful and readable books. Amnesia is certainly readable, but while it strives for meaning at every turn it often feels drab. Gaby Baillieux, daughter to a politician and an actor, infiltrates the Australian prison system’s computers such that asylum seekers are let loose. American penal facilities, sharing the same private backers and software, are similarly affected. Embattled lefty journalist Felix Moore is commissioned, by Gaby’s mother and dodgy property man (and mate) Woody Townes, to pen a redemptive book on the accused. At about the halfway point, Moore quotes Tolstoy: ‘All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ The problem is, the family of which Felix writes – Gaby, mother Celine and father Sando Quinn – are unhappy and alike. That is, they’re familiar. There are glimmers of that rugged pizzaz Carey trades in, but so often this feels procedural. There’s plenty going on, and the personal and political strands are neatly woven together, but what might have been a spicy cyberpunk yarn is instead a slightly pedestrian tale of middle class family strife. [Angus Sutherland]

Out 2 Dec, Published by Harvill Secker, RRP £12.99

Out now, published by Gollancz, RRP £7.99

Out now, Published by Faber & Faber, RRP £18.99

Stone Soup

By Paula Rego and Cas Willing

rrrrr

Uncountable variations already exist of this tale of supposed Portuguese origins, with popular retellings coming from China and Ireland and ‘Nail Soup’ and ‘Axe Soup’ variations from Scandinavia and the Baltics. What then, could be left to do with the folktale? Well a lot, it would seem. The combination of Rego’s powerful illustrations and a complete overhaul of the protagonist’s role allow for a fresh and unique look at the tale. The painter’s inks and watercolours create a highly evocative world of wiggling sea creatures, starved dogs, mythological horses and women and men scaled up and down according to their behaviour and relationships. Mother and daughter team Rego and Willing have turned the classic idea of the wise man (or trickster) manipulating the shrewish woman or innocent girl on its head. Their female protagonist is sent to find food, still a child. Having no luck, her father decides to sexualise her and we see the girl dressed in red, begging around the village from tiny roving-eyed men. In the end it is the girl, herself, who comes up with the idea to make ‘stone soup’ and it miraculously appears by way of chillies, cabbage, butter and paprika sausage. This story, however, is not about the soup at all but the journey of one girl from childhood to womanhood and of learning to survive in the harsh but magical sun-baked world of Rego’s imagination. [Sacha Waldron] Out now, Published by Enitharmon Press, RRP £12.99

December 2014

BOOKS

Feature

Win a trip to Glasgow Win our albums Film Festival! of 2014!

ighly regarded and hugely anticipated in the UK’s film calendar, Glasgow Film Festival has grown massively in visibility and significance in recent years to leap into the top three film festivals in the UK. The festival’s 11th edition will feature a host of premieres and pop-up events, stretching out wider into the city than ever before, making use of even more cinemas and venues across Glasgow, while paying special tribute to the city itself. We've teamed up with Glasgow Film Festival to offer you a very special prize before the tickets have even gone on sale.

To be in with a chance of winning four tickets to Glasgow Film Festival screenings, plus an overnight stay for two in Novotel on Sat 21 Feb simply head along to theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and answer this easy question: Which Glasgow-set film closed the 2014 festival? a) Comfort and Joy b) Under the Skin c) Krankies: The Movie Explore a world of cinema in Glasgow from 18 Feb1 Mar 2015. Tickets go on sale on Mon 26 Jan.

Competition closes midnight Sunday 4 January. 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

ur friends at Fopp have 10 albums – yes that’s our entire critically acclaimed (in these pages anyway) top 10 of the year – to give to one lucky reader. The full list of albums is below: 1. Warpaint – Warpaint 2. The Twilight Sad – Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave 3. St Vincent – St Vincent 4. The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream 5. Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness 6. Mogwai – Rave Tapes 7. FKA Twigs – LP1 8. The Afghan Whigs – Do to the Beast 9. The Phantom Band – Strange Friend 10. Young Fathers – DEAD

COMPETITIONS

For your chance to win simply head along to theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and answer this sophisticated festive question: Who is RoboCop really? A) Aled Jones B) Alexei Sayle C) Alex Murphy Competition closes midnight Sunday 4 January. 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 Fopp stores: Byres Road and Union Street, Glasgow. Rose Street, Edinburgh. www.fopp.co.uk @foppofficial

THE SKINNY

Pay Per Laugh, Not Per Seat A reaction-tracking app could allow audience members to pay only if comedy actually makes them laugh

Is paying per laugh the way forward for comedy clubs?

e’ve all been there during August in Edinburgh: swathes of comedy shows, of queues and crowds and fire-eaters on stilts. It’s walls and fences plastered with flyers, each of them proclaiming to be five-star masterpieces that will have audiences laughing so hard they’ll be leaving with six-packs. It must be wonderful having so much choice. Yet in reality, people tend to stick with what they know. Someone they saw last year, perhaps, or a recommendation from a friend. And who can blame them? With the numbers of performers in 2014 having swelled to a record-breaking 3,200 (and ticket prices rising to match), taking a chance on something new can be a dicey proposition. The only thing worse than an unfunny comedian, after all, is paying extortionate amounts of money to see one. A new app, however, could rinse away that bitter taste of wasted cash. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Pay Per Laugh (PPL) PPL is a simple iPad app that uses the frontfacing camera to detect various facial patterns, assigning each with a specific mood. Laughter, crying and surprise are all recognised by the app, which takes a picture of the person’s face each time it logs an emotion and uploads it to servers, allowing the mood of a comedy club – or theatre, or cinema – to be monitored in real-time. From there, it’s a simple matter of assigning a set price for each logged laugh, and totalling the amount due once the show’s over. The idea was born in the middle of 2013, when the Spanish government – struggling through the financial crisis – near-tripled the VAT on theatre tickets from 8% to 21%. The response was fairly predictable: the public stopped going to the theatre. Sales plummeted 30% in a single year, the average ticket price dropped 20%, and PPL was born. But is the idea of charging people only for the jokes they laugh at too ludicrous to ever work? PPL’s first public test says otherwise. Taking place during a comedy production at the Aquitània

December 2014

Illustration: Noa Snir

Words: Tariq Ashkanani

theatre in Barcelona, entrance was free, and laughs were charged at €0.30 each, with a cap of €8 cap (a very respectable twenty-seven laughs). Such a limit allowed the audience to sit back and enjoy the show without worrying about stifling their smiles or covering their faces to stop costs skyrocketing. Afterwards, the data was analysed and the average number of laughs on the night was totalled up: a thumbs-up forty-nine, or €14.70 worth of comedy (a bargain at nearly half the price). It was a resounding success, and one which has shown no sign of slowing: since the recent roll-out, the Spanish public has been clamouring to see shows at the Aquitània utilising the technology. Entrance is still free, although the cap has been raised to €24, meaning any laughs after the eightieth are on the house. A PPL mobile app allowing quick payment once the curtain has fallen has now been launched. Of course, the benefits of such an operation are not limited to paying for jokes. Movie studios, for instance, could run test screenings of upcoming features with vastly improved accuracy, allowing filmmakers to see exactly how scary or sad a particular sequence is as it happens. Stand-up comedians trying new material, theatre companies doing rehearsals – any reactionbased situation could be studied and tracked. It’s a controversial idea, for sure: many view the idea of cameras tracking an audience’s emotions as creepy or voyeuristic (and they may have a point). But while there might be an air of Big Brother about it, there are merits, too. The use of such an app during the Edinburgh Festival, for instance, would surely see a rise in attendance figures not just for the tried-and-tested, but for the newcomers as well. For the small, unknown stand-ups performing in sweaty backrooms not able to flyer the city with their awkward posters. PPL puts the onus on the comedian to be funny, rather than just famous, because at the end of the day people don’t mind paying for comedy so long as it’s, well, comedic.

COMEDY

Feature

Glasgow Music Tue 02 Dec RODDY FRAME

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:00, £25

The founding member of 80s group and Rough Trade stars, Aztec Camera, performs songs from his new LP, Seven Dials. ALFIE BOE

THE SSE HYDRO, 18:30–22:00, FROM £35

The Blackpool-born tenor, and one-time car mechanic, does his refreshing take on the classical genre. SO MANY ANIMAL CALLS (BEAR ARMS)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Glaswegian quartet who rather self-deprecatingly term their sound as ‘failpop’. DEACON BLUE

SECC, 19:00–22:00, FROM £25

The Glasgow-formed 80s popsters play tracks offa their seventh LP, A New House, some 25+ years and still going strong. THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £14

Alternative, blues-drenched rock’n’rollers formed between London and Glasgow in the summer of 2011. JESSE MALIN

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £8.50

New York singer/songwriter who began playing live at the tender age of twelve, in seminal hardcore band Heart Attack. THE PROPER ORNAMENTS

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £7

The London indie-pop quartet continue to tour their debut LP about the place.

Wed 03 Dec CHRIS REA

SECC, 18:30–22:00, FROM £35

The husky-voiced singer/songwriter takes it back to the 80s with a set of classics, which will undoubtedly include The Road To Hell.

FAT GOTH (GARDEN OF ELKS + BLUE NOVA)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Hard hittin’ and visceral Dundee trio known for their heavy approach and sharp changes in direction. THE HUMAN LEAGUE

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £29.50

Don’t You Want Me hit the UK top 20 again for the third time, which must mean The Human League are ready for another tour of their once-pioneering new wave. YG

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £26

American rapper Keenon Daequan Ray Jackson, better known by his stage name of YG (an initialism of Young Gangsta, obvs). INTER ARMA (MANTAR + DUNE + HEADLESS KROSS)

AUDIO, 19:00–22:00, £8

The heavy psychedelic mob drop a set of their rapid and foreboding metal-tinged tunes.

Thu 04 Dec METRONOMY

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18

Joseph Mount-led electro-pop pleasurists still riding the wave of their last LP, Love Letters. DAVID FORD

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £14

East Sussex singer/songwriter and former Easyworld frontman, touring on the back of his fourth solo album. STRUGGLE (HEALING POWERS + ØJNE)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Monthly punk and post hardcore selection of bands from DIY collective Struggletown. NEEDTOBREATHE

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

Charleston-based southern rockers led by guitarist and lyricist Bear Rinehart. SLASH

THE SSE HYDRO, 18:30–22:00, FROM £35

The former Guns ‘N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver guitar wielder and big hat enthusiast tours with material old and new.

December 2014

GRAHAM BONNET O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

The former Rainbow and Alcatrazz frontman does his solo-rockyvocal thing. SOPHIE ROGERS

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £5

The soulful Glasgow singer/songwriter launches her new single. DASKINSEY4 (HERBERT POWELL + PENNYCRESS)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £4

The Brighton-based pop-punk foursome hit town. THE SEA PINKS (THE YAWNS + MELLOW DRAMA + SHAM GATE)

MONO, 19:00–22:00, £4

The Belfast ensemble play a stripped-back set, all pristine pop loveliness and ghostly guitars. SAMARIS

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £6

The electronic Icelandic trio take their new LP on a wee jaunt.

Fri 05 Dec BIG COUNTRY

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £25

Dunfermline-born 80s rockers formed when Stuart Adamson left The Skids in 1981 and recruited guitar partner Bruce Watson, out and marking the 30th anniversary of their second LP, Steeltown. NINA NESBITT (TOMMY ASHBY + KERRI WATT + BILLY LOCKETT)

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Half-Swedish, half-Scottish singer/songwriter in possession of a fine technical agility and emotive style, out on her acoustic Christmas tour. SAINT SAVIOUR (BILL RYDERJONES)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £10

Sat 06 Dec THE XCERTS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £8.50

Hard-riffing Scottish trio, whose impressive sound has been honed to perfection (i.e. they sound bloody massive live), out airing their first LP in four years. Rescheduled date. RODRIGO Y GABRIELA

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £25

The experimental Mexican acoustic duo tour on the back of their latest LP, 9 Dead Alive, recorded at their Pacific Coast hideaway in late summer. DEATHKILL 4000

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Industro-rock noise party with live players and bespoke visuals to boot. BIFFY CLYRO

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £35

The Kilmarnock rock outfit play a trio of special shows, taking in tracks from various LP: Blackened Sky and Puzzles (5 Dec), Vertigo Of Bliss and Only Revolutions (6 Dec) and Infinity Land and Opposites (7 Dec). GERRY CINNAMON

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Glasgow-based muso riding along on a mixture of beat-up acoustic guitars, soulful harmonica and heartfelt vocals. THE DYNAGLIDES

THE ADMIRAL, 20:00–22:00, £5 (£4)

Nine-piece ensemble specialising in playing the classics of the 50s and 60s, wi’ a Christmas hit or two thrown in for good measure. LYNDSEY CRAIG

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £TBC

The former Groove Armada soloist does her thing.

The local songstress launches her new EP.

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £35

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £9

BIFFY CLYRO

CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £11.50

Merry metal outfit hailing from Finland, touring with their latest album, Spirit. MEDALS

BROADCAST, 23:00–01:00, £5

Late night set from the collaborative project of JP Reid, aka songwriter and frontman of Sucioperro and one half of Marmaduke Duke. THE BLUE DAWNS (THE 23’S)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £6.50

York-based alternative blues rockers formerly known as The Likely Lads.

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO.4

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00, FROM £14.50

Young Swiss-Italian pianist Francesco Piemontesi takes on the most lyrical of Beethoven’s piano concertos. LITTLE FIRE

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £7

Ayr-based folk-meets-pop singer/songwriter out to launch his debut LP.

DEATHCATS (SECRET MOTORBIKES + PINACT + THE ROCKALLS)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £4

The Glasgow guitar popsters drop a set of their fiery post-surf brand of hardcore, launching their new EP and simultaneously waving g’bye. THE MITRE 5S (TOLSTOY STORY + THE HONEST MISTAKES)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Glasgow-based ensemble mixing it up across genres of ska, reggae and rocksteady, taking their name from a type of football, as you do. ROMAN NOSE

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £6

The fast-rising Scottish electromeets-techno nutters do their thing, most likely in freaky masks.

PRIDES

Glaswegian synthpop trio who this year had the honour of performing at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony. ANGEL AT MY TABLE

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £8

Luxembourg-based rockers loaded with lush guitars and catchy melodies.

MAYBESHEWILL + FLOOD OF RED + MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY + JEAN JEAN + VASA + DIALECTS STEREO, 16:00–22:00, £12 EARLYBIRD (£15-£18 THEREAFTER)

Glasgow promoters and music channel Cut Loose host a musical all-dayer, headlined by Leicester post-rock instrumentalists, Maybeshewill.

Sun 07 Dec SAXON (HELL)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £26

Power metal five-piece riding along on frontman Biff Byford’s howlin’ squawk of a vocal, out for their 35th anniversary tour. MONO

STEREO, 19:30–22:00, £12.50

The Japanese instrumental postrockers grace Glasgow once more, out and touring their latest LP, Rays of Darkness, which – shock, horror! – features no orchestral instruments whatsoever, summat they haven’t done in 15 years. STATUS QUO (CHAS & DAVE)

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:30–22:00, FROM £39.50

Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt continue to tour the Status Quo name for a special run of winter dates. Prepare yourself for the easiest air guitaring in the world. BIFFY CLYRO

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £35

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £12

Assembled ‘supergroup’ duo of Bowling For Soup’s Jaret Reddick and Smile Smile’s Ryan Hamilton.

AT THE GATES

GRAMATIK

THE BEARDS

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £18

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £12

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £12

Swedish death metal unit who’ve gone through a fair few break-ups and reformations in their time, with this tour seeing ‘em return with their first album in 19 years. ALICE BOMAN (HEY ELBOW + ALISTAIR OGILVY)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:00–22:00, £7

Sparse songwriting arrangements recalling Perfume Geinus from this Malmo-based solo artist.

SHORTLEGS (K.AR. + TABERNACLE + THE DELIBERATE CRUMBS + BOB FLAMBE) 13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £5 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

The Glasgow hardcore unit bring their merry brand of mayhem.

Mon 08 Dec

JACK AND THE’ (ANGUS MUNRO)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £6

Julian Longchamp and his four piece pop project provide the majestic orchestral chamber pop, launching their new EP on the night. MARILLION

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £25

Steve Hogarth’s longstanding band of rockers, currently also writing and recording their 17th studio album. MANIC STREET PREACHERS

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £32.50

The veteran Welsh art-punk trio re-visit their critical highpoint, The Holy Bible, 20 years after its release – playing it live and in its entirety for the first time. BLACK SPIDERS

CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £10

Rock lot from Sheffield, usually found rockin’ and/or rollin’, or in this case, touring with their latest album, This Savage Land. ‘68 (THE RECOVERY)

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:00–22:00, £9

Former front man of The Chariot, Josh Scogin brings his new vessel for all things noisy and guitarbased to the UK.

Tue 09 Dec IMELDA MAY

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £25

The sultry songstress and her rockabilly blues band play tracks from new LP, Tribal.

E KARIKA DJAL (ALASDAIR ROBERTS + NEIL MCDERMOTT) STEREO, 19:30–22:00, FREE

Newly-formed outfit made up of musicians from across the globe playing traditional Eastern Slovakian Roma and traditional Scottish music. MORBID ANGEL

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

The metal four-piece perform 1993 LP Covenant live and in its entirety for one last tour.

REPEATER’S CHRISTMAS PARTY (PAWS + THE CHERRY WAVE + MANUSCRIPTS) BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Slovenian electronic muso (aka Denis Jasarevic) mixing it up across a palette of hip-hop, glitch, electro and dubst RUN THE JEWELS

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £15

Killer Mike and El-P – aka Run The Jewels – make their debut in these parts, showcasing tracks from second LP, RTJ2, rekindling El-P’s alliance with Zack de la Rocha.

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £12

Neo psych bunch hailing from the midlands/the early 80s, built on frontman James Bagshaw’s impressively polished vocals. TOBY JEPSON

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £10

The Little Angels mainman heads out on the road solo. TARIBOWEST (ALPHA MALE TEA PARTY + CLEFT)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

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

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

The San Franciscan folk rockers play a special limited-capacity seated show, performing tracks from recent LP, Benji.

BEHEMOTH (GRAND MAGUS + DECAPITATED + WINTERFYLLETH)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

Polish death metal outfit, as blackened as you like.

THE ART SCHOOL, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

GODFLESH

CCA, 20:00–23:00, £15

IAN MCNABB + COLD SHOULDER (DANIEL WYLIE)

JONNY JACK

Liverpudlian singer/songwriter Ian McNabb plays a special full-band set with fellow Liverpudlian unit Cold Shoulder.

POLICE DOG HOGAN

Christmas gig-cum-fundraiser for Southside Fringe, featuring performers from the Southside and beyoned – amongst ‘em Scottish Comedian of the year 2013 Larry Dean and acoustic rock quartet Junebug. Compered by The Wee Man.

Eclectic seven piece fusing country, pop, folk and bluegrass using nowt but a fiddle, mandolin, drums, guitars and four-part harmonies.

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

THE PHANTOM BAND

Thu 11 Dec

Having put various side projects on the back-burner, the mighty Phantoms reunite to continue their unholy fusing of indie, folk and krautrock styles. Happy-nearlyChristmas!

CODE ORANGE

American hardcore punt ensemble, formerly under the name Code Orange Kids. RED SKY JULY

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Vintage-styled country rock from husband and wife duo Ally McErlaine and Shelly Poole, respectively from bands Texas and Alisha’s Attic. Rescheduled date. CAST

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £20

Brit-pop also-rans still running two decades on. MICHAEL SCHENKER

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

The German metal guitarist – best known as lead guitarist with UFO – returns to a live setting with his classic rock outfit, Temple of Rock. EUROS CHILDS

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £10 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

The Welsh musician and songwriter, best known as the frontman of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, plays a stripped-back acoustic set in support of his tenth LP, Eilaaig, which features voice and piano only. RICKY WARWICK

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £6

Glasgow-based acoustic pop singer/songwriter imbued with a raw and soulful sound. THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: SAINT-SAËNS CELLO CONCERTO

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00, FROM £14.50

The local chamber orchestra take in a festive programme of colourful French and Spanish music, opening with Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin. THE AMORETTES (MANTA + THE BAWLERS)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

All-girl, all-rockin’ Scottish trio who’ve spent a chunk of time solidly gigging both at home and abroad. THE SHERLOCKS

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £7

Sheffield indie-rock unit made up of two sets of brothers.

FORMAL PARTY (LEMON HAZE + THE MOVEMENT + THE SWEATS)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £6

The legendary industrial-metallers return to the road, helmed by Justin Broadrick and G.C Green. BARROWLAND, 18:30–23:00, £16

JJ GILMOUR (CRAWFORD SMITH)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £12

Scottish-born, Irish-living singer/ songwriter, well kent as lead vocalist with Scottish Celtic rockers the Silencers.

PROUD HONEY (THE LAYNES + DEAD MAN FALL + APOLLO GETS THE GIRL)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £7 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

The Glasgow-based indie rock’n’roll fourosme take to a hometown setting. MALCOLM MIDDLETON

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £14.50

In celebration of the release of his seven-years-in-the-making collaborative music and words LP with David Shrigley, Scottish-brogued miserablist Malcolm Middleton plays a duo of dates – a full band outing (13 Dec) and a solo acoustic set (14 Dec).

Sun 14 Dec

RIVAL SONS (BLUE PILLS + JAMIESON)

BARROWLAND, 18:30–23:00, £18

Byron Bay hardcore metal quintet. M.O.P.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Glasgow alternative rock trio out celebrating the launch of their new EP, Make A Sound.

American hip-hop duo made up of rappers Billy Danze and Lil’ Fame.

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £5

The Australian brother/sister combo take to the road for a set of their acoustic folk-blues.

ANGUS AND JULIA STONE (THE STAVES)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £5

Sat 13 Dec

Struggletown Records’ festive sing-song, taking in a selection of tune-makers including the chaps who kickstarted Struggletown Records with their debut EP – Wolves At Heart.

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

Glaswegian trio pilfering from across the pond, all heart-flipping indie grrrl harmonies, grunged-up guitars and shimmering LA rock.

Holy Smokes Records present a night of punchy blues and soul for your general aural pleasure. HOPES UP HIGH (PANICBYFLARE)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Fledgling Dundee pop-punk scamps formed in mid-2014. WRECKLESS ERIC (STERLING ROSWELL)

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £10

English rock’n’roll singer/songwriter, out and touring without his usual partner in crime, Amy Rigby.

Fri 12 Dec

INSPIRAL CARPETS (BLOSSOMS)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

The psychedelic Manc rockers continue to tour the live circuit after re-grouping with original singer Stephen Holt, celebrating the release of their first LP in two decades. COMBICHRIST (WILLIAM CONTROL)

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–23:00, £15

Industrial metal crew chock with hook-heavy choruses, speakercrushing beats and aggressive vocals. H.E.A.T

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £9

Swedish melodic rock ensemble led by vocalist Erik Gronwell.

STANLEY ODD

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £10

Inventive hip-hop musings as the Odd Squad move from chopped electrofunk to crunchy 8-bit, via well-constructed vocal flows from Solareye and Veronica Electronica. MACHINE HEAD

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £25

Californian metal-heads heavy on the paint-by-numbers guitar riffs. MARTHA REEVES AND THE VANDELLAS

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £23

The mighty all-female Motown legends play a set of (some of their many, many) hits. Hopefully in sequins. LAETITIA SADIER (JANE WAVER)

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £8.50

One half of seminal post-rockers Stereolab, Ms Sadier shines as a solo talent in her own right. CHANTEL MCGREGOR

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £12

Yorkshire singer/songwriter working her virtuoso guitar magic on the blues genre. HOLY ESQUE (MEMORY MAN + WEEKEND WARS)

CCA, 20:00–23:00, £7

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £6

TRASH KIT (GUMMY STUMPS + PENNYCRESS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £5

All-female trio mixing musical chaos, considered songcraft and overlapping harmonies in equal measure. MALCOLM MIDDLETON

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £14.50

Mon 15 Dec

THE ENEMY + THE TWANG

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

Twa sets of once-much hyped indie rock types off on an indie rock lad tour together. HEFFRON DRIVE

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £18.50

Much-hyped and reverb-drenched Glaswegian art-popsters, finally in possession of an LP’s worth of material.

Electro-pop duo made up of Kendall Schmidt and Dustin Belt, birthed in a bedroom studio in Burbank, California back in 2008.

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £16

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £20

CHINA CRISIS

The 80s Liverpudlian pop-rockers stop by Glasgow as part of their current tour.

TAKING BACK SUNDAY (MARMOZETS)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

American rock unit formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes in Long Island back in 1999.

REN HARVIEU

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £14

Manc songstress in possession of an impressive set of vocal chords, playing and hosting a special festive show. ANIMALS TO CREATORS

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

Erskine-based hard rock trio currently touting their wares around Glasgow.

Wed 17 Dec RAYMOND MEADE

STEREO, 19:30–22:00, £6

Glasgow singer/songwriter whose uplifting and melodic brand of tuneage is steeped in classic rock’n’roll roots. STRETCHED

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Jazz-influenced sound sauna, moving through mathcore to postrock, with a few live acts thrown in for good measure. SWALLOWS (MUKA)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Melodic hardcore Glasgow mob, served up abrasive, tough... and usually shirtless. THE HIGH LEARYS (THE RESPONSIBLE)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Australian r’n’b five-piece taking their cue from the likes of Chuck Berry, Ray Charles and Slim Harpo.

Thu 18 Dec

VASA (A + SHAMBLES IN A HUSK + CUTTY’S GYM)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

THE SSE HYDRO, 18:30–22:00, FROM £35

STRUGGLETOWN CHRISTMAS PARTY (MAYCOMB + WOLVES AT HEART + THE SINKING FEELING)

HAIGHT-ASHBURY (OLD BOHEMIA + ANTON & THE COLTS)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

The lush Glaswegian indie outfit play a headline set.

PARKWAY DRIVE (HEAVEN SHALL BURN + NORTHLANE + CARNIFEX)

Musical tribute to Love, taking in live sets from a raggle taggle bunch of locals.

The alternative-styled progressive rock thugs go heavy duty on the guitars, as per.

QUEEN JANE (SHARPTOOTH + CATHOLIC ACTION)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Long Beach-hailin’ Californian band of heavyweight rock’n’rollers.

LOVE LIVE: A TRIBUTE TO LOVE (THE THANES + THE FAST CAMELS + THE WAMPUM RELICS + FANNY PELMET AND THE BASTARD SUITS + VAN IMPE)

PRESS TO MECO (SO MANY ANIMAL CALLS + TOY MOUNTAINS + CANAL CAPITALE)

Tue 16 Dec

Glaswegian progressive instrumental post-rockers, built on their own sublime brand of melodic, guitar-driven rock.

The former The Almighty, Thin Lizzy, and now Black Star Riders vocalist does his thing.

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £12

Wed 10 Dec

TEMPLES

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £2 ADV. (£3 DOOR)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £8

STEREO, 20:00–22:00, £5

The long-serving guitarist to Ocean Colour Scene takes to the road solo.

UNTIL WE’RE HEROES (THE ZONULES OF ZINN + THE POLARNECKS)

Gamelon Naga Mas perform a oneoff staging of their multi-media concept piece, Gamelon Untethered, incorporating traditional Javanese gamelon instruments alongside synthesizers, guitars, piano and voice.

Glaswegian four-piece rock unit, specialising in slapping basses and melting faces.

HOLY SMOKES VOL. 4 (THE STRANGE BLUE DREAMS + LES JOHNSON & ME + HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS)

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £14

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:00–20:00 & 21:00–22:00, £7 (£4)

SOUTHSIDE FRINGE CHRISTMAS NIGHT OUT (LARRY DEAN + HOWLIN RADIO + AISLING QUINN + JUNEBUG + MC THE WEE MAN)

Post-hardcore DIY gig/club effort, with a selection of live acts dropping by in festive mode. STEVE CRADOCK

Fuzzy-faced folk from South Australia, responsible for such beard-loving anthems as ‘If Your Dad Doesn’t Have a Beard, You’ve Got Two Mums...’ and ‘You Should Consider Having Sex With a Bearded Man.’ Nice.

GAMELAN NAGA MAS: GAMELAN UNTETHERED

JOE ELLIOTT’S DOWN ‘N’ OUTZ

Rock project fronted by Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, backed by The Quireboys. REGGIE WATTS

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £10

The wild-haired American comiccum-musician plays an improvised musical comedy set, employing voice, looping pedals and his own kerazy imagination.

MADNESS

The longstanding Camden Town ska ensemble embark on their brand new UK tour. MIKE HERON + TREMBLING BELLS

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £12

Original Incredible String Band member Mike Heron teams up with Glasgow’s own kings and queens of modern folk, Trembling Bells, to perform new arrangements of some ISB classics. UB40

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £30

Dub reggae band formed in Birmingham back in 1978, with the original three founding members currently riding the wave of their revival years. PHIL CUNNINGHAM’S CHRISTMAS SONGBOOK

CITY HALLS, 20:00–22:00, £21

Annual festive fixture with Cunningham and his merry band of Scottish folk players (including Eddi Reader, Kris Drever and John McCusker) belting out festive hits.

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM (THE LAPELLES + CALUM O’CONNOR) 13TH NOTE, 20:30–23:00, £5

Glasgow-based ensemble fusing funk, rock’n’roll and psychedelic sounds into their own dance-rock mesh. MONO’S FESTIVE 50!

MONO, 20:00–22:00, £2

Special open mic night with a curated playlist of John Peel favourites between sets.

Fri 19 Dec

FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS

BROADCAST, 19:00–23:00, £7.50

Sunderland-based indie rockers led by Frankie Francis. THE TWILIGHT SAD

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

The Sad boys take to a live setting to play their first UK date since their fourth LP’s October release – a synth-driven, gloomy gem that unfurls new riches with each listen. SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: TICCIATI CONDUCTS SCHUMANN

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00, FROM £14.50

Conductor Robin Ticciati pairs up with international violinist Christian Tetzlaff in his continued revival of Schumann’s orchestral works.

Listings

CLERIC

OLYMPIC SWIMMERS

SWG3, 23:00–03:00, £6 EARLYBIRD (£8£10 THEREAFTER)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £5

The fledgling techno hot shot plays a live set, having come to prominence in the last few months with releases on Len Faki’s Figure and an EP on Arts. BAHOOKIE

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Celtic rock foursome mashing fiddles with urban dance grooves, as you do.

CHRIS GLEN AND THE OUTFIT (NANOBOTS + SLIM MISTRESS) CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £15

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band chappie plays a special set with his live band, The Outfit. A FESTIVE EVENING WITH RAB NOAKES AND FRIENDS (BRUCE MORTON + JILL JACKSON)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £12

Roots songsmith Rab Noakes hosts an evening of festive songs and entertainment, joined by Bruce Morton, Jill Jackson and a few surprise guests he’s keeping under wraps for now. RECKLESS ABANDON (THE STATIC UNION + THE STEREOTYPES + MONOPHENIA)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £6

The Glasgow-based indie-rock foursome launch their new single.

FLY THE FRIENDLY (OF SPIRE AND THRONE + HEAVY SMOKE + SAPIEN)

13TH NOTE, 19:30–23:00, £5

Glasgow grunge rockers building their sound from the swampy influences of Clutch, Kyuss and Black Sabbath.

MOUNTAINS UNDER OCEANS (SERAPH SIN + MEGALOMATIC) NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, FREE

Multi-textured heavy Glasgow foursome playing with the progressive template.

Sat 20 Dec ROSE ROOM

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £10

Glasgow-based ensemble playing songs from the swing jazz era, with a dash of western swing thrown in for good measure. VIGO THIEVES

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12

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. ALABASTER JONES (FILIP BLAST)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Glasgow’s resident funk fiends offer up their take on modern alternative funk.

GREEN DOOR STUDIO: 7TH BIRTHDAY

THE POETRY CLUB, 21:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

The dinky Glasgow recording space celebrates its 7th birthday, with live stints from Pulse, Hausfrau, Psychic Soviets, Bite and Elara Caluna, plus spoken word from Kevin P. Gilday, DJ ‘Disco Dale’ of The Amazing Snakeheads and free mix CDs! TYCI CHRISTMAS ALL-DAYER

STEREO, 12:30–04:00, £12 (OR £3 DAY/£10 NIGHT)

The female-run art collective flock to Stereo for a special day-long Christmas knees-up, joined by various musicians, artists and performers.

Sun 21 Dec GLASVEGAS

OLD FRUITMARKET, 19:30–22:00, £18.50

Boom-voiced James Allan and co. tour on the back of their Secret Truth EP: cue more musings on social realism played out via glacial guitars and heavyweight singalong choruses. FISH

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

The charismatic former Marillion frontman delves into his back catalogue, spanning an impressive 20+ years. Rescheduled date. MADE AS MANNEQUINS

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Glasgow-based alternative indie foursome formerly known as The Occupationists.

SATURNALIA (TREMBLING BELLS + SLOTH METROPOLIS)

THE FLYING DUCK, 21:00–03:00, £5

Planet-themed live performances and installations, taking in sets from Trembling Bells, Sloth Metropolis and more.

Listings

The melancholic Glasgow ensemble play a hometown set.

Mon 22 Dec

JOE STRUMMER TRIBUTE NIGHT

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £9

Edinburgh Music RALEIGH RITCHIE

Various bands pay tribute to the late, great Joe Strummer. All proceeds go to the Strummerville charity.

The Plan B-collaborating Columbia artist hits the road.

THE SSE HYDRO, 20:00–22:00, FROM £40

MAN MADE

ANDRÉ RIEU

The violin master plays a special set of romantic melodies and catchy waltzes, ripe for the festive season. PACIFIC THEATRE AND FRIENDS

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Rare reunion of classic alternative indie with special guest musical friends joining ‘em for the evening.

Tue 23 Dec THE MOJO CAMS

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

All-male Glasgow-based trio, with all members pitching in on writing and singing duties.

Sat 27 Dec THE SILENCERS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

Local 80s post-meets-punk outfit characterized by their melodic blend of pop, folk and traditional Celtic influences, playing their now yearly two-night residency. ALEXANDER O’NEAL (ODYSSEY + UNOMA OKUDO + DJ NAEEM)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £8

Wed 03 Dec SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

Alternative Manc trio layering spacious vocals over solid drums and jangling guitars, with Nile Marr (son of Johnny) at the helm. SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO.4

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £10

Young Swiss-Italian pianist Francesco Piemontesi takes on the most lyrical of Beethoven’s piano concertos. LEWIS RUMNEY (THE JELLYMANS DAUGHTER + JAY BROWN)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £6

The Edinburgh-based singer/ songwriters launches his new LP, Bow & Arrow.

STONEWALL NOISE ORCHESTRA (GOAT LEAF) BANNERMANS, 19:30–00:30, £8

Swedish stoner rock unit formed in 2004 by members of the defunct Demon Cleaner, Snicken and Jansson.

Local 80s post-meets-punk outfit characterized by their melodic blend of pop, folk and traditional Celtic influences, playing their now yearly two-night residency. SPOUTMOUTH (CUTTIN’ A RUG)

13TH NOTE, 20:30–23:00, £3

Glasgow-based punk lot formed from the ashes of Spoutmouth Oppressive Arts Kollective.

Tue 30 Dec THE SINSHEIMERS

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Greenock pop-meets-rock five piece originally formed to enter a local talent competition.

THIN PRIVILEGE (BLACK INTERNATIONAL + SHUDDER + PISS KIDNEY + DJ BEYVNCE NAILZ)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

The Glasgow noise rock mentalists play their final gig ever, likely going full-noise-loco on their two bass guitar set-up to mark the bittersweet occasion.

Wed 31 Dec

TIJUANA BIBLES (CRASH CLUB + MEDICINE MEN)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £10

Glasgow rock’n’rollers built on a diet of gritty guitars, driving bass lines, baritone vocals and rocksteady drums – playing a special Hogmanay show to help noisily bring in your 2015! HOGMANAY WITH THE RSNO

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £19.50

The RSNO perform a collection of favourites to help usher in 2015, including Strauss’s Emperor Waltz and Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides Overture. HOGMANAY AT THE GLAD CAFE: CURRY AND CEILIDH!

THE GLAD CAFE, 20:00–01:00, £18

The Glad Cafe welcome 2015 with ceilidh tunes and dancin’ from Hallanshankers, plus rock’n’roll from Skiffle Torpedoes, and, erm, a curry. As you do.

Tue 02 Dec CHRIS REA

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, £38.50

The husky-voiced singer/songwriter takes it back to the 80s with a set of classics, which will undoubtedly include The Road To Hell. STEVEN BLAKE

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £TBC

The talented young Scots piper does his thing.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Glasgow-based ensemble blending rock sounds into something fresh and interesting via soaring dual lead vocals and three part harmonies, guitars and piano. AQUAFAUX + ALAN COYLE

ARTISAN ROAST (BROUGHTON STREET), 19:30–22:00, £2

For some gig-in-a-coffee-shop good time vibes, synthpop outfit Aquafaux play alongside lo-fi muso Alan Coyle, in-store at Broughton Street’s Artisan Roast. THE SOCIAL ORDER (STEADY STATE REGIME + FRINK OUT + JOHNNY BROWN)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–22:00, £6

Sun 07 Dec

Sun 28 Dec ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

THE PHANTOMS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

Edinburgh-based post-progressive rock and electronica troupe melding almost perfectly subtle electronic beats with a spaced-out guitar sound.

POLAR BEARS IN PURGATORY (DEFENESTRATORS + THE DEAD SETS + LITTLE LOVE AND THE FRIENDLY VIBES)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:30–01:00, £5

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

THE BONGO CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £5

New Zealand singer/songwriter blending earthy vocals with soul, roots and rock sounds. FRASER ANDERSON

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £10

Scottish singer/songwriter and guitarist who learned his trade performing as a touring vocalist with Dougie MacLean. AQUAFAUX + THIRTY THREE CONNECTION + FAEX OPTIM

TEVIOT UNDERGROUND, 21:00–23:30, FREE

Free weekly live band night at Teviot Underground, this time taking an electronic bent, with fledgling synthpop outfit Aquafaux headlining proceedings. ERIC MARTIN (SIMON KAVIANI + TERGAZZI)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £12 (£10)

The Mr. Big singer/songwriter plays an unplugged and up-close set.

Fri 05 Dec STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

70s punk-pop foursome par excellence, on the go now for over 35 years. THE BUSINESS (ONFILE + MURDABALL + PANIK ATTAK)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £6

Notorious London oi punk noisemakers, shrouded in a mess of urban folklore. SOUNDHOUSE BENEFIT (ORKESTRA DEL SOL + MOON HOP DJS)

PLEASANCE THEATRE, 19:30–01:00, £10

Another in a series of fundraiser gigs raising pennies for The Soundhouse Organisation – a charity dedicated to founding a new music venue in Edinburgh offering a fair deal to musicians. Go support the cause. LYNDSAY CRAIG (BALOR MILE + BENNY MONTEUX)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

The local songstress launches her new EP.

Sat 06 Dec BEN HOWARD

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, £27.50

Devon-based folk rocker using his guitar to build percussive beats around his melancholic ditties.

Thu 11 Dec HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £6 (£4)

Sun 14 Dec

BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB

Yorkshire singer/songwriter working her virtuoso guitar magic on the blues genre.

EDINBURGH METAL PARTY (YASHIN + WHEN WE WERE WOLVES + BOB SLAYER + PERPETUA + HOPE UP + THERE’S HOPE)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £14

STUDIO 24, 18:00–23:00, £10 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

Experimental monthly music club bringing the good times with their Beefheart-inspired funk and special guests.

Progressive indie rockers formed by mainman Bruce Soord back in 1999.

SEAFIELDROAD (MELTING ICE CAPS + GERRY CAMPBELL)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £4 ADV. (£5 DOOR)

Fingers in many pies chap Andrew Eaton-Lewis plays a rare outing in his solo Seafieldroad guise, playing tracks from third LP, The Winter of 88 – an intimate collection of piano songs inspired by family, grief, belonging and Portobello beach. AYNSLEY LISTER (GT’S BOOS BAND + SCOTT MCWATT)

THE CAVES, 19:15–23:00, £12.50

The Lecester-born blues guitar legend does his thing. JACK AND THE’ (ANGUS MUNRO)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £6

Julian Longchamp and his four piece pop project provide the majestic orchestral chamber pop, launching their new EP on the night. BEN OTTEWELL

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–22:30, £12

The Gomez singer and lead guitarist plays it solo, that unmistakable voice and talent for blistering guitar solos all well and in place.

DARK GREEN TREE (LEWIS RUMNEY)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £10

Alternative folk and Americana project of Ross Cockburn and Jay Brown, debuting their new LP, Secret Lives.

Mon 08 Dec BELCEA QUARTET

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:45–22:00, FROM £20 (£12)

The British-based string quartet mark their 20th birthday year with a special concert of new and classical pieces. THE TEMPLES

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £12

Neo psych bunch hailing from the midlands/the early 80s, built on frontman James Bagshaw’s impressively polished vocals.

Tue 09 Dec THE SIXTEEN

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

Annual concert of choral favourites, this year taking in works by Byrd, Lauridsen, Palestrina and Victoria. LAURA STEVENSON (LAURA STEVENSON)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £10

American singer/songwriter who pens tunes about the overwhelming notions of an infinite universe and the imminence of her own death. Nowt heavy, then.

Wed 10 Dec IMELDA MAY

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £25

The sultry songstress and her rockabilly blues band play tracks from new LP, Tribal.

THE BONGO CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £5

The celebration of spoken word, music and other such lyrical loveliness this time hands over the reins to London poetry duo Paula Varjack and Dan Simpson, with music from The Black Diamond Express.

Reassuringly noisy night taking in Evil Blood’s longstanding brand of speed metal, with suitably thrashy support.

CABEYTU BROTHERS

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £13

THE PINEAPPLE THIEF

Young Edinburgh singer/songwriter with a penchant for bluesy rock sounds.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £10

Argentinian multi-instrumentalist brother duo playing over 15 different musical instruments.

Thu 04 Dec

NORTH ATLANTIC OSCILLATION (THE DARK JOKES)

THE SILENCERS

TEVIOT, 19:00–22:30, £25

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–22:00, £5

RALLY & BROAD: THE FULL-STOPS TAKEOVER (PAULA VARJACK & DAN SIMPSON + THE BLACK DIAMOND EXPRESS)

EVIL BLOOD (INSURGENCY + STOB BEARG + NNGNN)

Dunfermline-born 80s rockers formed when Stuart Adamson left The Skids in 1981 and recruited guitar partner Bruce Watson, out and marking the 30th anniversary of their second LP, Steeltown.

Edinburgh-based eclectic foursome mixing alternative country, indie and even a bit o’ dance.

O2 ABC, 18:00–22:00, £25

Mississippi-hailing r’n’b singer, drawing comparisons to the likes of Otis Redding.

BIG COUNTRY

JACK HINKS (12 STORIES HIGH + THE RICH)

CLICK CLACK CLUB

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, £24

Expect the usual damaged affectations of indie from the north London-based four-piece, out on their UK tour. SUPA AND DA KRYPTONITES + MONOSAPIENS + COMBO! COMBO!

TEVIOT UNDERGROUND, 21:00–23:30, FREE

Free weekly live band night at Teviot Underground, this time headlined by Scottish hip-hop, reggae and funk seven-piece Supa and Da Kryptonites.

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

CHANTEL MCGREGOR (THE RISING SOULS )

THE CAVES, 19:15–23:00, £12

STEVE CRADOCK BAND

Tue 16 Dec

DEACON BLUE

MIKE HERON + TREMBLING BELLS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £10

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £6

Wed 17 Dec

CAROLINE GILMOUR (JONNY JACK)

The Edinburgh-based songstress plays a full band set.

Fri 12 Dec

CAST (STONEHOUSE VIOLETS)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £20

Brit-pop also-rans still running two decades on. BAD MANNERS

CITRUS CLUB , 19:00–22:00, £19

More in the way of party ska hits, with the larger-than-life Buster Bloodvessel still gurning away at the helm, out on’t road as part of their Christmas tour.

VASQUEZ (ALPHA MALE TEA PARTY + CLEFT + BRITNEY) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Edinburgh’s own ascendant stars play a set of their trademark uncompromisingly fierce rock. EARTHS (MIASMA)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

Borders via Glasgow punk and folkinfluenced troupe, out to launch their debut EP release. SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: SAINT-SAËNS CELLO CONCERTO

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £10

The local chamber orchestra take in a festive programme of colourful French and Spanish music, opening with Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin. DUNE: THE MUSICAL (PREHISTORIC FRIENDS)

PILRIG ST PAUL’S CHURCH, 19:30–22:00, £7

Edinburgh’s DIY stalwarts eagleowl stage a live musical reworking of Frank Herbert’s expansive sci-fi novel, Dune, made up of an ensemble cast of familiar faces from the Scottish scene. BYOB. BOOK GROUP + WOZNIAK + GIGANTIC LEAVES

OPIUM, 19:00–22:00, £TBC

Showcase night of fuzz-filled Edinburgh bands, presented by local label Morningside Young Team. 12 GAUGE (LAWLESS)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

The hard rockin’ Liverpudlians blend rock and metal to their whimsy.

Sat 13 Dec

MATT NORRIS AND THE MOON (CARO BRIDGES)

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

Edinburgh-based modern folk collective resplendent with trumpets, fiddles, accordions and four-part harmonies. THE EXPLOITED

STUDIO 24, 19:00–22:00, £12 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

The Scottish punk outfit bring their general live brand of chaos. KING EIDER

THE BONGO CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £5 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

Edinburgh-based folk-blues quintet rich with alternative and oft-dark melodies.

Collaborative songwriting project between Kenny Herbert and Rab Howat, hosting their annual Christmas party night.

All-out metal showcase to shake up your December. Includes free entry to the after-party.

The upbeat blues and rock’n’roll unit do their live thing.

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 22:00–01:00, £4

THE CAVES, 19:30–01:00, £12

The long-serving guitarist to Ocean Colour Scene takes to the road solo, joined live on stage by a selection of musos making up his live band.

Original Incredible String Band member Mike Heron teams up with Glasgow’s own kings and queens of modern folk, Trembling Bells, to perform new arrangements of some ISB classics.

DEAD BROKE AND DIRTY (NO QUARTER)

THE APPLEBEGGARS’ CHRISTMAS PARTY (CALLUM BEATTIE)

LUDUS BAROQUE: BACH’S CHRISTMAS ORATORIO

CANONGATE KIRK, 19:00–22:00, £20 (£16 STUDENT/£5 CHILDREN)

Ludus Baroque performs all six cantatas of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, joined by some of the UK’s finest Baroque instrumentalists and singers. KAT HEALY (THE JELLYMANS DAUGHTER + KIM EDGAR)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–22:00, £10

Edinburgh-based acoustic popstress who also leads up The Kat Healy Music Club. ZOO HARMONICS

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

Fledgling alternative punk rockers from Tel Avive.

Thu 18 Dec

THE BEVVY SISTERS (DJ DOLPHIN BOY)

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–22:00, £10

All-female Edinburgh trio uniting the richly seasoned voices of Heather Macleod, Kaela Rowan and Roberta Pia. FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

Sunderland-based indie rockers led by Frankie Francis.

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: TICCIATI CONDUCTS SCHUMANN

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £10

Conductor Robin Ticciati pairs up with international violinist Christian Tetzlaff in his continued revival of Schumann’s orchestral works. MONSTERS ON MOVIE POSTERS+ BUNGO DINGO + CALUM BAIRD

TEVIOT UNDERGROUND, 21:00–23:30, FREE

Free weekly live band night at Teviot Underground, this time headlined by Edinburgh indie-rock nouisemakers Monsters On Movie Posters, playing a batch of previously unreleased material. TRIAXIS (ARCANE CORPS)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–23:00, £9 (£7)

The Welsh heavy metalers return to slay Bannermans for the second time.

Sat 20 Dec USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £27.50

The Glasgow-formed 80s popsters play tracks offa their seventh LP, A New House, some 25+ years and still going strong.

CHRISTMAS SONGWRITERS’ CLUB (DISCOPOLIS + BOOK GROUP + TEENCANTEEN) CENTRAL HALL, 19:00–23:00, £11.50

The jolly festive night out takes to its new digs of Central Hall, joined by a selection of local stalwarts all sticking to the basic Songwriters’ Club rule: no bloody covers songs! Dress code: Christmas jumpers. PHIL CUNNINGHAM’S CHRISTMAS SONGBOOK

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £22.50

Annual festive fixture with Cunningham and his merry band of Scottish folk players (including Eddi Reader, Kris Drever and John McCusker) belting out festive hits. ACRYLIC (THE CLICHŽ + SOPHIE BURT)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–22:00, £6

Collective of young, multi-talented musicians making a hybrid of indiefolk and rock’n’roll.

SONG, BY TOAD’S CHRISTMAS PARTY (PLASTIC ANIMALS + GARDEN OF ELKS) HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–23:00, £8 (£5 GIG)

Festive label night, with sets from Glasgow racket-merchants Garden of Elks and Edinburgh sludgerockers Plastic Animals, preceded by Christmas cabaret and short sets from pals of the label. Followed by eagleowl’s DJ fun night, Irregular Owl Movements. DEADLOSS SUPERSTAR

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Aberdeen metal legends make their long-awaited return to Edinburgh.

Glasgow Tue 02 Dec KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 (£3)

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

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, complete with a hot tub and giant inflatables, because that’s obvs a normal Tuesday night out. AUTONOMOUS AFRICA BOILER ROOM

SUB CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £5

Boiler Room play host to the full roster on the Autonomous Africa 3 EP – Midland, JD Twitch, Auntie Flo and General Ludd – taking African rhythms as inspiration for a fresh batch of modern electronic. i AM host the after-party from 11pm. I AM: AUTONOMOUS AFRICA BOILER ROOM AFTER-PARTY

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

After-bash for the Autonomous Africa 3 EP gig. All profits go to the Mtandika Mission.

Wed 03 Dec TAKE IT SLEAZY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

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

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm. DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

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

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

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

NO GLOBE: 3RD BIRTHDAY (WERKHA + BLOOD SPORT + LETITIA PLEIADES) THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The No Globe posse do their frenetic thing of party music beyond borders, this edition celebrating their third birthday with a trio of live guests: Werkha, Blood Sport and Letitia Pleiades.

Thu 04 Dec NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs.. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop. JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sat 27 Dec

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £10

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

PARTY FEARS THREE (PARTY FEARS THREE)

IN THE BASEMENT

The Edinburgh-based 80s tribute act present a special night of music from the era.

Thursday session of alternative sounds.

Sun 28 Dec

The Cathouse celebrate New Year’s Eve as only they know how – with eclectic party tunes across three rooms and, y’know, a Jager Bar.

HOTEL CALIFORNIA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

Tribute band to the longstanding American rockers perform a set of classics

Mon 29 Dec

CATHOUSE THURSDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

TROPICAL: THE B2B (JOE MCGHEE + HECKTER + DUNCAN CRAIG + ALLY TROPICAL)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5

BANNERMANS, 22:00–23:00, FREE

PHIL CUNNINGHAM’S CHRISTMAS SONGBOOK

The classic rock regulars host a festive gig outing.

Tropical presents local talent from Joe McGhee, Heckter, Duncan Craig and resident Ally Tropical, going back-to-back all night long.

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £22.50

Tue 30 Dec

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fri 19 Dec

Annual festive fixture with Cunningham and his merry band of Scottish folk players (including Eddi Reader, Kris Drever and John McCusker) belting out festive hits. THE PABLOS (SCARLETS + THE ROADWAY BOYS)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Edinburgh-based psychedelic new wave/garage noisemakers play a headline set.

RAB HOWAT BAND

OUT OF ORBIT (KHIDJA)

Orchestral music for reels and jigs, featuring a programme of 100+ musicians.

The cosmic-heavy Out Of Orbit residents welcome Romanian duo Khidja for a cheeky set of deep downtempo disco infused with Arabian melodies.

Wed 31 Dec

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

THE SCOTTISH FIDDLE ORCHESTRA

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12

AFORE THE BELLS

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 21:00–01:00, £45

The Queen’s Hall’s annual traditional-styled Hogmanay party, complete with a ceilidh, live music from Heeliegoleerie and Highland piper bringing in the bells. HOGMANAY JAM SESSION

BANNERMANS, 18:00–00:00, FREE

Bannermans mark the end of the year – and bring in 2015 – with a wee live jam session, as is their way.

RUBIX (PARIAH)

The Rubix troops welcome Londonbased, future garage producer Pariah for a set of bass-heavy electronic loveliness.

Fri 05 Dec DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

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

THE SKINNY

Glasgow Clubs 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 fun night of rock, metal, punk and emo spread over three rooms. 2MANYDJS (DRUMS OF DEATH)

O2 ABC, 21:00–03:00, £18.50 EARLYBIRD (£22.50 THEREAFTER)

Still keeping up a prolific touring schedule, the Belgian mash-up artists continue to splice records together like t’were 2002. 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 at the helm. 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. 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.

DUSKY (TOM TRAGO + FUNKINEVIL + YOUANDEWAN + PALMS TRAX)

THE ARCHES, 22:00–04:00, £10

The rising stars, Beatport charttoppers, Radio 1 darlings and allround club smash brothers stage a deck takeover, with support from a plethora of house and techno DJs. SUGO

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The Italian trashy disco returns for another night of carnage. SECONDCITY (DALE HOWARD)

SWG3, 22:00–03:00, £10 EARLYBIRD (£15 THEREAFTER)

American-born British DJ and producer (aka Rowan Harrington), responsible for the number one hit I Wanna Feel. BURN THE ELASTIC (CINTHIE)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

The Burn The Elastic regulars welcome Beste Modus founder Cinthie for a special guest slot. PC MUSIC (GFOTY + A. G. COOK + KANE WEST + SPINEE + NU NEW EDITION)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

The PC Music label take over The Vic Bar for the evening, with GFOTY, A. G. Cook, Kane West, SPINEE and Nu New Edition in tow. SUBSTANCE (SCION + MARK MAXWELL)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £7 EARYBIRD (£8-£10 THEREAFTER)

Substance celebrate their first party proper in Glasgow with a live show from Scion (aka Peter Kuschnereit and Rebe Lowe), playing classics from the Basic Channel sublabel Chain Reaction and Scion Versions, alongside new unreleased material.

WE SHOULD HANG OUT MORE (MIGHTY MOUSE)

STEREO, 23:00–04:00, £6 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

The disco-styled night welcome specialist of the genre Mighty Mouse for a guest set. OPTIMO (SHIFT WORK)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

The Optimo boys curate their occasional fun night, this edition welcoming Optimo Music label act Shift Work for a live set. HARSH TUG VS FANTASTIC MAN

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

The Harsh Tug crew join forces with the Fantastic Man lot for double the fun. FLASHBACK VS FRESHBEAT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

DJ Craig Guild holes up in in Main Hall playing fresh new tracks, with DJ Nicola down in G2 playing the best of 80s-00s. OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £7 (£6)

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

December 2014

Sat 06 Dec

Sun 07 Dec

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £7 (£6)

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

NU SKOOL

COUNTERFEIT

Fri 12 Dec DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

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

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Genre-spanning mix of 60s psych, leftfield pop and Krautrock with resident Charlotte (of Muscles of Joy).

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Monthly mix of nu-metal and hard rockin’ tunes with DJ David Lo Pan.

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

Alternative weekend blowout, taking in metal, industrial, pop-punk, rock, emo and ska over two floors.

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent.

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

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6/£4

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6/£4

ABSOLUTION

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spread across three rooms. 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

FLY CLUB

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

SUNDAY SCIENCE

New Sunday-bothering night playing house, r’n’b and hip-hop tunes, with added LED frickin’ lazers, just cos.

Mon 08 Dec BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

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. BALKANARAMA (MYSTERE DE L’EST + ALBAROMA) THE ART SCHOOL, 22:30–03:00, £10 (£9)

All singing, all dancing Balkanstyled club orgy, with an early live jam session followed by live guests, belly dancing, bespoke visuals and free plum brandy for all. I HEART GARAGE SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Student superclub cramming in everything from hip-hop to dance, and funk to chart. With nine – yes nine – bars. DEATHKILL 4000

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Industro-rock noise party with live players and bespoke visuals to boot. 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. SUBCULTURE (TELFORD)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks, this edition joined by regular Subbie frequenter, Telford, as the night continue to celebrate 20 years of greatness. DEFECTED IN THE HOUSE (OLIVER $ + NOIR + SONNY FODERA + SIMON DUNMORE + RIPPERTON + FLASHMOB + CHRISTOPH) THE ARCHES, 22:00–04:00, £16

Showcase evening from respected house music label, Defected Records – including a set from legendary label founder and manager, Simon Dunmore. MADE IN GLASGOW (BOSCO, REBECCA VASMANT, ROB MASON)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £8 (£5)

A new venture from the Let’s Go Back... team, this edition welcoming local DJ and pal of the night, Lets Go Back Way Back’s Rob Mason. RP6 (TAM MCGRORY + KYLE THOMSON + ANDY ROBSON)

SWG3, 22:00–02:00, £5

Techno and deep house-styled fundraiser in aid of the Make A Wish foundation, featuring DJ sets from Tam McGrory, Kyle Thomson and Andy Robson. VICE (REBECCA VASMANT)

STEREO, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Vice Glasgow host a night of house, big bass and techno with Ministry of Sound tour resident Rebecca Vasmant. MONDO

BROADCAST, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 12)

The fledgling club crew return for another bash, taking merrymakers on a cosmic journey through bass beats and disco weaponry. BLACK TENT (JESSE RAE)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £4

Indie, electro and anything inbetween with Pauly (My Latest Novel) and Simin and Steev (Errors), joined by Jesse Rae for a live guest set.

BARE MONDAYS

Gavin Somerville spins the finest chart, dance, house and hip-hop in the main hall, while David Lo Pan holes up in the bar playing rock and metal athems.

Tue 09 Dec KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £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, oft joined by a guest or two. #TAG

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

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 Dec SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm. DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

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

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

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

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The NOTJ collective continue to nestle into their residency on the Art School roster, known for their love of all things musically unusual.

Thu 11 Dec HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop. JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer. CATHOUSE THURSDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The Cathouse celebrate New Year’s Eve as only they know how – with eclectic party tunes across three rooms and, y’know, a Jager Bar. KUNST VS ALL CAPS

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5

Team Kunst go head-to-head with the All Caps crew for a five-hour session. SKREAMISM

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

Skream brings his Skreamizm party to Glasgow for another whirl, playing Skream beats all night. NEVERLAND: SNOWBALL EDITION

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs, this edition getting Christmassy with their annual ‘snowball’ party.

PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

Residents fun night of rock, metal, punk and emo spread over three rooms. COMMON PEOPLE

THE FLYING DUCK, 21:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Celebration of all things 90s, with hits a-plenty and a pre-club bingo session. 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 at the helm. 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. SHAKE APPEAL

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Monthly evening of hip shakers and neck breakers, combining everything from Buddy Holly to Motorhead. APOLLONIA (HOLD YOUTH + DJEBALI)

THE ARCHES, 22:00–04:00, £10

The Parisian house specialists show off their three-man mixing skills. LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS... BEN UFO + SPENCER

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10

For the final La Cheetah Club Presents… party of the year, the crew go all out with not one, but two guest DJs: Ben UFO and Spencer, playing back-to-back. WEIRD SCIENCES

STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

80s-themed night with an alternative bent. RETURN TO MONO (DVS1)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £13

Monthly night from Soma Records taking in popular techno offerings of all hues, this edition joined by Minneapolis DJ/producer DVS1. CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY

FREAKY FREAKY THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Cheeky fun with Vitamin’s Sam Murray and guests, sifting through some fresh R’n’B and electronic from Scotland and beyond. I HEART GARAGE SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Student superclub cramming in everything from hip-hop to dance, and funk to chart. With nine – yes nine – bars. A LOVE FROM OUTER SPACE

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 22:30–03:00, £9

Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston’s rather ace London night makes its now regular trip north, with the mighty duo playing backto-back all night long. WRONG ISLAND

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

The legendary Teamy and Dirty Larry spin some fresh electronics for your aural pleasure. GLITTERBANG

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £3

1940s-themed fun night, this time in a festive guise – taking in a live 15-piece swing band and Lord Holyrude spinning Christmas records on the ol’ gramophone. COLOURS CHRISTMAS PARTY

THE ARCHES, 22:00–04:00, £10

The party hard Colours crew welcome Swedish DJ and music producer Otto Knows (aka Otto Jettman) for a guest slot, helping ‘em count down the days to Christmas. MISSING PERSONS CLUB: 2ND BIRTHDAY PARTY (MPC DJS + SUB ROSA DJS)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, FREE

The MPC crew celebrate their 2nd by inviting Glasgow stalwarts Sub Rosa down for some toe-to-toe action. PUSH IT

STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £2

Glasgow-based club night playing nothing but R’n’B, hip-hop and pop by only female artists. PRETTY UGLY’S XMAS XTRAVAGANZA

THE ADMIRAL, 23:00–04:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

Favourited indie night headed up by a trio of female DJs, this edition celebrating Christmas with a live versus DJ set from We Were Promsied Jetpacks and Fatherson, bolstered by 80s covers ensemble Band Of Gold. 2POSH2MOSH

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

VERTIGO

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

DJ Kelmosh plays a mix of rock, dance and indie hits.

Sat 13 Dec

FLY CLUB: 2014 CLOSING PARTY (JORIS VOORN)

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £7 (£6)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £6 EARLYBIRD (£8-£25 THEREAFTER)

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk. Alternative weekend blowout, taking in metal, industrial, pop-punk, rock, emo and ska over two floors.

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent – this edition celebrating their final party of 2014 in the company of house and techno figurehead Joris Voorn.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

ABSOLUTION

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

SUBCULTURE

CHEMIST-TREE PARTY

Long-running house night with regulars Harri & Domenic manning the decks all night long.

The Garage launch their in-club Christmas Tree with a sciencethemed party (hence the ‘ChemistTree’ title).

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6/£4

Mon 15 Dec

THE ROCK SHOP

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spread across three rooms. 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

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. SHED SATURDAYS

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 EARLYBIRD (£7-£10 THEREAFTER)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, this edition welcoming infamous London trio Dark Sky for a full live show. #TAG: UV RAVE PARTY

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, this edition with added glowsticks and a UV Paint Station for all your old school ravin’ needs.

Wed 17 Dec NOT MOVING

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

BLITZEDMAS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £7 (£6)

NU SKOOL

I AM (DARK SKY)

SWG3, 22:00–02:00, £10

Sun 14 Dec

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

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 (£3)

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

South African house, grime, jungle, r’n’b and hauntology – a tropical mix, ayes.

Y’know the drill: wear a Christmas jumper and get insanely drunk. Prizes for best jumper. OLD SKOOL

KILLER KITSCH

Sweatcore disco hits played out by James T and Ramo, with a Gina G tune or two on a promise.

Fun-style night for folk that aren’t quite brave enough for a full-on clubber’s moshpit, manned by DJs Beyvnce Nailz and Struggle Steve.

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Tue 16 Dec

BURN

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats. BARE FACED SELFIE PARTY

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Totes down with the kids, The Garage host a bare-faced selfie party, which is pretty much as it sounds.

SUB ROSA

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm. STRETCHED

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Jazz-influenced sound sauna, moving through mathcore to postrock, with a few live acts thrown in for good measure. 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. MILK CHRISTMAS PARTY

FLAT 0/1, 21:00–03:00, £DONATION

The musical clubber’s delight throws its annual Christmas bash, joined live by The Wild Curve and Sharptooth playing their fave Christmas hits, plus the obligatory mince pies and mulled (Frosy Jack’s) cider. Raising funds for Glasgow Food Banks. RIDE THE REINDEER PARTY

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

The Garage up the Christmasthemed ante with an in-club bucking reindeer. As you do.

Thu 18 Dec

VASA (A + SHAMBLES IN A HUSK + CUTTY’S GYM)

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Glaswegian progressive instrumental post-rockers, built on their own sublime brand of melodic, guitar-driven rock. NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Themed fun night complete with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs.. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop. HEX

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

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. THE LANCE VANCE DANCE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Red-hued adventure travelling through 70s funk, motown and 80s r’n’b, highlighted with glorious rays of disco sunshine. OUT OF ORBIT (BARBEROS)

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

The cosmic-heavy Out Of Orbit residents welcome electro-noisemakers Barberos for a guest set. 80S VS 90S CHRISTMAS PARTY CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

SHED SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6/£4

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Residents fun night of rock, metal, punk and emo spread over three rooms. OSMIUM

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Italo, disco, synthpop and funk with the e’er capable Osmium residents. FANTASTIC MAN

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Messy Saturday night uberdisco armed with Erasure and Papa Roach discographies. 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 at the helm. 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. INTERGALACTIC

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Space and sci-fi themed night with Sci_Fi Steven and Gav Dunbar playing the best in star-crunching party tunes, or summat. SENSU IS 10 (LOCO DICE + IGGIE)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £12 ADV. (£15 THEREAFTER)

Ten years old and still going strong, Barry Price and Junior continue to provide the cutting edge electronic from across the globe – celebrating with a series of birthday specials. PRESSURE CHRISTMAS PARTY (SVEN VÄTH) THE ARCHES, 22:00–04:00, £24

The Pressure crew celebrate Christmas with a special threehour set from legendary German techno DJ, producer and founder of Cocoon Recordings, Sven Väth. OFFBEAT: 3RD BIRTHDAY

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 (FIRST 50 FREE)

The Offbeat residents disco down for their 3rd Birthday, with the residents squaring up to a selection of still-to-be-revealed special guests. HUNTLEY & PALMERS: 7TH BIRTHDAY (TALABOMAN + HIGHLIFE)

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:00–04:00, £8 EARLYBIRD (£10-£12 THEREAFTER)

Expect a bumper dose of cosmic, kraut and disco picks as Huntley & Palmers celebrate their 7th birthday, playing host to two of their favourite producers for the price of one – Talaboman (aka John Talabot and Axel Boman), plus label mates Highlife on support. BYE PARROT (GOLDEN TEACHER + SACRED PAWS + POWELL)

STEREO, 23:00–04:00, £10 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

The last ever (probably) show from DIY promoters par excellence, Cry Parrot – taking in sets from Golden Teacher, Sacred Paws and Powell, bolstered by the joys of a 4am license. One word: messy. BLACK FRIDAY

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

The Garage mark Black Friday with a cheeky Christmas party, complete with a ‘Bad Santa’. OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £7 (£6)

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

Sat 20 Dec NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £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

Y’know, because nothing says Christmas quite like a mash-up of 80s and 90s tunes, or summat.

Punk, rock and metallic selection of beats spread across three rooms.

Fri 19 Dec

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

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

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

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

THE ROCK SHOP

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney. LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs. 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. 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. SUBCULTURE (JACKMASTER)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks, joined by Numbers’ chap Jackmaster for a five-hour deck takeover. COLOURS: ARMADA MUSIC (ANDREW RAYEL + RUBEN DE RONDE + BRYAN KEARNEY)

THE ARCHES, 22:00–04:00, £17

Fulfilling all your trance-based needs, Colours hand over the reins to Armada Music – who have with ‘em Moldovan DJ Andrew Rayel, Armada resident Ruben De Ronde and Irish global dance aficianado Bryan Kearney. NOCEUR: 1ST BIRTHDAY (QUAIL, RESIDENTS)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5

The Nocuer lot celebrate turning the grand old age of one by inviting Animal Farm’s Quail in to show ‘em how it’s done. XMAS SINGLE PARTY

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Andy Divine and Chris Geddes’ gem of a night dedicated to 7-inch singles from every genre imaginable, this edition dedicated to Christmas singles. LED RAVE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

The Garage go old school with an LED rave-off.

Sun 21 Dec EASY

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2/£1

DJ Jamie spins anything and everything your heart could possibly desire, with requests accepted all night long. BIGFOOT’S TEA PARTY: 6TH BIRTHDAY (RADIO SLAVE)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10 EARLYBIRD (£11-£12 THEREAFTER)

Nomadic techno party-starters Bigfoot’s Tea Party turn six, taking to their favourited home of Sub Club for a birthday special – joined by DJ, producer, Rekids label cofounder and all-round boss Radio Slave (aka Matt Edwards). ONESIE VS PJ PARTY

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Continuing their irreverent countdown to Christmas, The Garage pit onsies against PJs. Pick your side.

Mon 22 Dec BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats. BARE BUM BEACH PARTY

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

The Garage mourn summer with an, erm, Bare Bum Beach Party – complete with Bare Butlers and palm trees, presumably just cos.

Tue 23 Dec KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 (£3)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic. LET YOUR ELF GO

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Again winning the festive pun points, annual pre-Christmas merry-maker Let Your Elf Go returns with various club scene favourites taking to the decks to raise funds for Yorkhill Children’s Foundation. #TAG: TRAFFIC LIGHT PARTY THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Weekly party anthems with Jimmy 11, this edition in Traffic Light Party mode – y’know the drill: red for taken, amber for maybe, and green for single.

Listings

Wed 24 Dec SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm. SO WEIT SO GUT

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

The party sounds of Ean, Smiddy and Kenny White on decks.

BEAST WEDNESDAYS: CHRISTMAS EVE

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The midweek residents serve up their usual rammy of pop-punk and hardcore, this edition with added Christmassy fun in the form of a mince pie-eating competition and a pressies from their very own ‘Bad Santa’. THE GARAGE: CHRISTMAS EVE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

The Garage secure your Christmas Day hangover with a cheeky Christmas Eve party booting you our at 4am on the big day itself.

Thu 25 Dec HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop. FAMOUS WHITE NIGHT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Annual themed Christmas night, turning The Garage into a wonderland of snow, reindeer and presents.

Fri 26 Dec DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

Two floors of the best in rock, metal and industrial tunes picked out by DJs Barry and 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 fun night of rock, metal, punk and emo spread 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 at the helm. 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.

COLOURS WINTER PARTY (ALY & FILA + UMMET OZCAN + QUINTINO + JORDAN SUCKLEY + MIGHTYFOOLS + MICHAEL CALFAN + FERRY TAYLE)

THE ARCHES, 21:30–04:00, £25

Colours return for their annual cobweb-clearing Boxing Day blowout, with various guest DJs keeping the party going until 4am. OPTIMO BOXTIMO

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

In keeping with years of fine tradition, Optimo’s JD Twitch and JG Wilkes return to the Sub Club for some seasonal festivities to banish your day-after-Christmas blues. HEDFONE DISCO

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Silent disco fun night, with two DJs battling it out on’t decks and enciting punter dance-offs. BLOXING DAY

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE

TigerMask McGarvey whaps some vinyl in your earholes in celebration of the day-after-Christmas. ELECTRIC FROG: FELIX DA HOUSECAT

HILLHEAD BOOKCLUB, 18:00–01:00, £15 EARLYBIRD (£18 THEREAFTER)

Annual Electric Frog Boxing Day dust-down, this year welcoming legendary Chicagoan electroclash DJ and producer Felix Da Housecat for a headline slot. OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £7 (£6)

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

Sat 27 Dec NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £7 (£6)

Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Listings

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 spread across three rooms. 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.

SUB CLUB VS FUSE (ENZO SIRAGUSA + SEB ZITO + ROSSKO + IVAN KUTZ) SUB CLUB, 22:00–04:00, £8 EARLYBIRD (£10 THEREAFTER)

Subbie join forces with London electronic party heavyweights Fuse, hosting a six-hour showcase special manned by Enzo Siragusa, Seb Zito, Rossko and Ivan Kutz.

Tue 30 Dec KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 (£3)

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

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

SHED SATURDAYS

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

LOVE MUSIC

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests. SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Shed’s mainman Andy Robertson spins ‘charty poppy party classics’ for all your Saturday night dancing needs. THUNDER DISCO CLUB

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

The Thunder Disco Club residents churn out the 90s house, techno and disco hits, as is their merry way. HOUNDIN’ THE STREETS

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Nothing but bare bone rattling, foot tapping, ass shaking hip-hop classics, new wave and disco. SUBCULTURE (ÂME)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10 EARLYBIRD (£12 THEREAFTER)

Long-running house night with regulars Harri & Domenic this time joined by German duo Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann (aka Âme) for a five-hour deck takeover. SOUTHSIDE SOUL

POLLOK EX-SERVICEMENS CLUB, 20:00–03:00, £5

Franics Murphy and guests work y’all into a frenzy via selections of northern soul, motown, r’n’b and Philly. 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.

PRESSURE: END OF YEAR PARTY (SLAM + LEN FAKI + BLAWAN + GEORGE FITZGERALD + MARQUIS HAWKES + SILICONE SOUL)

THE ARCHES, 22:00–04:00, £18 EARLYBIRD (£22 THEREAFTER)

Rounding off the year, the Pressure dudes (aka Slam) host their last regular club outing of 2014 – bowing out in suitably beefed-up style with sets from Len Faki, Blawan, Silicone Soul, George FitzGerald and Marquis Hawkes. 69 (MARTY, WILBA, EUAN)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5

The full 69 team descend on Glasgow for the evening. Expect mayhem. THE GARAGE: SECRET GUEST DJ

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Annual secret guest DJ night, which last year featured Beatamaxx.

Sun 28 Dec SLIDE IT IN

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2/£1

Full-on mix of nu-metal and hard rockin’ tunes over two floors, with DJs Mythic, DJ Nicola and Div on decks. 10 YEARS OF ANIMAL FARM (SHIFTED & SIGHA)

SUB CLUB, 22:00–04:00, £6 EARLYBIRD (£13 THEREAFTER)

The Animal Farm troops celebrate ten years of techno lovin’ in the fine company of talented UK techno duo Shifted &amp; Sigha. FLASHBACK VS FRESHBEAT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

DJ Craig Guild holes up in in Main Hall playing fresh new tracks, with DJ Nicola down in G2 playing the best of 80s-00s.

Mon 29 Dec BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats. I HEART GARAGE SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

Student superclub cramming in everything from hip-hop to dance, and funk to chart. With nine – yes nine – bars.

I AM

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, oft joined by a guest or two. SUNDAY SCIENCE

THE GARAGE, 23:00–04:00, £TBC

New Sunday-bothering night playing house, r’n’b and hip-hop tunes, with added LED frickin’ lazers, just cos.

Wed 31 Dec OPTIMO HOGMANAY

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:30–04:00, £20

A core event on the Optimo calendar, JD Twitch and JG Wilkes (and their old faithful turbo soundsystem, natch) take to The Art School for their annual New Year’s Eve mega party with guests including Boot & Tax, Whilst & Golden Teacher. CLUB NOIR: NEW YEAR’S EVE

O2 ABC, 21:00–03:00, £20

Glasgow’s burlesque star teasers host the New Year’s edition of their favourited raunchy cabaret club, with live burlesque performance, cabaret acts, DJs and a whole lotta glitter. Dress fancy. HOGMANAY AT MAGGIES

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, £5 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

Nosiy Hogmanay fun night with a selection of live bands brining in the bells with their rock’n’roll covers, plus DJs in the basement.

GBX NYE (GEORGE BOWIE + MALLORCA LEE + STEVE COCKY + SPARKOS + ROB TECHNIC + DIGITAL DEVIL + CRYPSIS + CHAIN REACTION + OBSESSION + CHIMERA) THE ARCHES, 21:00–04:00, £20 EARLYBIRD (£25-£30 THEREAFTER)

George Bowie’s annual NYE bash, with a sprawling line-up including (of course) Bowie himself, along with Mallorca Lee, Crypsis, Chain Reaction and more set across three spaces.

OFFBEAT VS NOTSOSILENT: NYE 2014 (I-F + FUNKINEVEN + DIXON AVENUE BASEMENT JAMS + BEN MARTIN) LA CHEETAH CLUB, 22:00–04:00, £10 EARYBIRD (£15-£17 THEREAFTER)

La Cheetah Club do NYE their way, inviting down some of their favourite acts on the planet to man the decks, jollied along by some of Glasgow’s finest jocks from the La Cheetah, Offbeat and Notsosilent camps.

RUMOURS: NYE 2014 (SO WEIT SO GUT DJS + BOPGUN DJS + RUBIX DJS + BEDROOM TRAXX DJS) FLAT 0/1, 20:00–04:00, FREE

All five founding members of the Rumours gang reunite in Glasgow for the first time in, like, an age, enlisting a selection of local DJ crews to help ‘em ring in the New Year.

BREWING SESSIONS: HOGMANAY (DJ ROLANDO + BOOGALOO + ZACHARY)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 21:00–03:00, £15

Combing the joys of Hogmanay with a craft brewery setting, Drygate play host to a special guest set from Mexican-American techno chappie DJ Rolando, plus support from Boogaloo and Zachary. And a whole lorra beer, natch. I AM NYE

STEREO, 21:00–04:00, £TBC

Stereo hand over NYE duties to i AM young guns Beta & Kappa, taking over both floors of the venue with their eclectic mix of electronica and bass.

20 YEARS OF SUBCULTURE NYE SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £15 EARLBIRD (£18 THEREAFTER)

Bringing 2014 and Subculture’s mighty 20th anniversary year to a close, club residents Harri & Domenic celebrate in the fine company of legendary electronic figure Chez Damier, plus support from The Revenge and Telford. UP THE LANE IN THE BUFF

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10

The Buff Club celebrate Hogmanay in their usual fun way, with three floors of live bands and resident weekend DJs Nick Peacock and Alex O, taking place indoors and spilling out into Bath Lane. GIMME SHELTER HOGMANAY

THE FLYING DUCK, 21:00–04:00, £10 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

The eclectic Gimme Shelter squad man Hogmanay proceedings over at The Flying Duck, playing the best from the 50s to present day, joined by a ‘very special’ guest band being kept firmly under wraps for now... Dirty teases. NYE MADCHESTER (RICK WITTER + JOE JOHNSON)

THE ADMIRAL, 23:00–04:00, £15

The baggy greats-lovin’ club night holes up for Hogmanay at The Admiral, joined by Shed Seven’s Rick Witter and Joe Johnson for an acoustic set of Shed classics. CATHOUSE NEW YEAR’S EVE

CATHOUSE, 21:00–04:00, £8

Edinburgh Clubs Wed 03 Dec 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

Sat 06 Dec

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 12)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the spectrum of classic and modern tunes.

CHAMPION SOUND

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae, dancehall and everything inbetween. TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3 MEMBERS)

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson. ROUTE 66

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£1 AFTER 12)

Student fun night spinning motown, blues, hip-hop and funkstyled dancing tunes.

Thu 04 Dec I AM EDINBURGH

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

Resident i AM young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Sleazy’s annual uproarious New Year’s party, with Shoot Your Shot on hand with the Italo and disco hits, plus more guests still to be revealed. STREETRAVE NEW YEAR’S EVE

SWG3, 20:30–03:00, £20 EARLYBIRD (£25 THEREAFTER)

The Streetrave troops host a Hogmanay special featuring a soundtrack cherrypicked from the last 25 years of their existence, playing host to sets from N-Joi, K-Klass, Shades of Rhythm, Altern 8, Davos and a whole host more. MONO’S NYE PARTY 2014

MONO, 20:00–02:00, £8

Rafla and Wako host Mono’s annual irreverent Hogmanay fun night, taking in live karaoke, Get Your Ass to Mars DJs and projections, live magic and secret live guests to boot. OLUM HOGMANAY

BLOC+, 21:00–01:00, FREE

Glaswegian club institution manned by label owner Peter Rooney and Deathkill4000’s Marc Lawson, out and celebrating Hogmanay with a curated showcase of special guests.

Edinburgh Clubs

HULLABALOO

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. SHOW (OLIVER $ + THEO KOTTIS)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5

The Show crew welcome a double dose of guest talent in the form of Oliver $ and Theo Kottis. JUICE (MARTYN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo, with Rotterdambased chap Martyn dropping by to mark his first ever Edinburgh date.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

NO GLOBE: 3RD BIRTHDAY (WERKHA + BLOOD SPORT + GHANA SOUNDZ + NIGHT OF THE JAGUAR DJS) LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

The No Globe posse do their frenetic thing of party music beyond borders, this edition celebrating their third birthday with a trio of live guests: Werkha, Blood Sport and Letitia Pleiades.

Long-running retro night with veteran DJs Tall Paul and Big Gus. MUMBO JUMBO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£7/£5 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Funk, soul, beats and mash-ups from the Mumbo Jumbo regulars and pals. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. 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. SHAKE YER SHOULDERS

STUDIO 24, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

Celebration of all things acid, techno and debaucherous with the Shake Yer Shoulders residents. OUTCASTS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

We Own residents Kottis and Kirk Douglas’s new night, playing house tracks dear to their hearts. THE BIG CHEESE!

POTTERROW, 22:00–03:00, £3 (£4 AFTER 12)

Saturday fun night playing selections of pop, dance and cheese hits. First 100 go free. SAMEDIA SHEBEEN (CUCUMELO RADIO)

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£6 AFTER 12)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 20:30–01:00, £7 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

PLANET EARTH

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.

All singing, all dancing Balkanstyled club orgy, with an early live jam session followed by live guests, belly dancing, bespoke visuals and free plum brandy for all.

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of guest performers and DJs.

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

FUCK YEAH

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

I LOVE HIP HOP

THE GO-GO

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

Fri 05 Dec

Tue 02 Dec Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team.

TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Travelling micro venue transporting late-night party people to an imaginary jungle voodoo den, featuring a hand-built set modelled on an imagined African township shebeen – with dub/cumbia collective Cucumelo Radio this time providing the guest tunes.

BALKANARAMA (MYSTERE DE L’EST + ALBAROMA)

SOUL JAM HOT

All-new night mixed up by a selection of Edinburgh DJs, including the chaps behind the Witness, Coalition and Big ‘n’ Bashy nights.

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines.

The Cathouse celebrate New Year’s Eve as only they know how – with eclectic party tunes across three rooms and, y’know, a Jager Bar. NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY HOGMANAY

HEADSET THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

STUDIO 24, 22:00–03:00, £10 (£9)

STEPBACK

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11.30)

Mixed bag of electronic bass from DJs Wolfjazz and Keyte, moving from Baltimore to dubstep. FLY CLUB (DENIS SULTRA)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. CREATURES OF HABIT

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 11.30PM)

House, tech-house and techno from resident DJs Peter Annand and Jack Swift. IN DEEP (BILL BREWSTER)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

The In Deep champs welcome yer man Bill Brewster for a guest set, mixing things up with his blend of anything from house to hip-hop.

VEGAS!

50s-themed party fun night this edition in full-on festive fettle, with the usual suspects joined live by The Soul Foundation, plus Vegas showgirls a-go-go, natch. KARNIVAL (SMITH & WESTIN)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £TBC

The Karnival crew welcome deep house remix specialist Smith & Westin for a guest set.

Sun 07 Dec COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs. THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle. WEEK’S END

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Aisling Murphy holds the fort in the cafe playing a batch of sweet soulful beats.

Mon 08 Dec EDEN

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

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. THE TEMPLES

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £12

Neo psych bunch hailing from the midlands/the early 80s, built on frontman James Bagshaw’s impressively polished vocals.

Tue 09 Dec SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of guest performers and DJs. TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Wed 10 Dec 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 12)

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae, dancehall and everything inbetween. TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4 MEMBERS)

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson. ROUTE 66

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£1 AFTER 12)

Student fun night spinning motown, blues, hip-hop and funkstyled dancing tunes.

Thu 11 Dec I AM EDINBURGH

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

Resident i AM young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of electronica and bass. 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. JUICE (TOM TRAGO + BOK BOK)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo, this edition pitting Amsterdam against London via back-to-back guest sets from Tom Trago and Bok Bok.

Fri 12 Dec TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the spectrum of classic and modern tunes.

FLY CLUB (THEO KOTTIS)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. PASS THE VIBES: BLAH TOUR

THE MASH HOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £8 (£5)

Live hip-hop night, this time playing host to the Blah Tour – with Lee Scott, Black Josh, Trellion and Sniff in tow.

NIGHTVISION: XPLICIT PRESENTS... (CALIBRE + SP:MC) LA BELLE ANGELE, 21:00–03:00, £10 EARLYBIRD (£12.50 THEREAFTER)

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision again hand over the decks to the basstastic Xplicit crew, who this time have Northern Irish chap Dominick Martin (aka Calibre) and his trusted partner in crime SP:MC in tow. IN DEEP (HIGHLIFE)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

The In Deep champs welcome the inimitable Highlife residents (aka Auntie Flo and Esa) for a guest set of their Afrobeat-heavy rhythms of joy.

Sat 13 Dec 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 thrown in for good measure. 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. 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. BORDELLO

STUDIO 24, 22:30–03:00, £4

Classic sleazy rock action, all the night long. THINK TWICE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Craig Smith hosts an array of experts in deep, soulful house, plus funk in the back room. 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. THE BIG CHEESE!

POTTERROW, 22:00–03:00, £3 (£4 AFTER 12)

Saturday fun night playing selections of pop, dance and cheese hits. First 100 go free.

NIGHTVISION: MUSIKA PRESENTS... (JACKMASTER + HEIDI + JASPER JAMES + JAMIE MCKENZIE) THE LIQUID ROOM, 21:00–03:00, £12.50 EARLYBIRD (£15-£17.50 THEREAFTER)

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision hand over the reins to house and techno specialists Musika, with Numbers co-founder Jackmaster amongst the guests.

Sun 14 Dec THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

FOUR CORNERS

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

FUCK YEAH

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

MIXED UP

Distinctly retro selections from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle.

Funky house and dirty electro playlists from the past and future, so say they. Monday-brightener playing hip-hop, r’n’b and good ol’ chart classics, with requests in the back room.

PLANET EARTH CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

Soulful dancing fodder, from deep funk to reggae beats with your regular DJ hosts.

WEEK’S END

Aisling Murphy holds the fort in the cafe playing a batch of sweet soulful beats.

THE SKINNY

COALITION (IVAN SMAGGHE)

PROPAGANDA

WASABI DISCO (WOLF MULLER)

CIRCUS LATES

I LOVE HIP HOP

SNEAKY PETE’S NEW YEAR’S EVE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:00–05:00, £5 (£3 MEMBERS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–05:00, £4

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 French composer and producer Ivan Smagghe.

Mon 15 Dec MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightener playing hip-hop, r’n’b and good ol’ chart classics, with requests in the back room. NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 16 Dec SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of guest performers and DJs. TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Wed 17 Dec 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 12)

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae, dancehall and everything inbetween. TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4 MEMBERS)

Weekly selection of dance bangers, played out by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson. ROUTE 66

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£1 AFTER 12)

Student fun night spinning motown, blues, hip-hop and funkstyled dancing tunes. IVÁN FERREIRO

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £15

Spanish singer/songwriter otherwise known as the voice, leader and composer of Los Piratas.

Thu 18 Dec I AM EDINBURGH

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

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, £5

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.

Fri 19 Dec FUCK YEAH

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.

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music. FLY CLUB (NOLAN & HERD)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. DISORDER

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–05:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

Pumped night of acid, techno and electro soundscapes with the Disorder residents. 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. COCO LOCO

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

Electric new addition to the Edinburgh nightlife scene, with DJs Reuben Lowe and Dowzer playing funky house, electro swing, disco and anything else they damn well fancy. EDINBURGH METAL PARTY: AFTERPARTY

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £4 (FREE WITH GIG TICKET)

Official after-bash for the metalstyled musical showcase earlier in the evening. Free entry with gig ticket.

IN DEEP (JON K + HOUSE OF TRAPS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

The In Deep champs welcome a double dose of guest talent in the form of underground house specialist Jon K and Firecracker Records boss Lindsay Todd (aka House Of Traps).

Sat 20 Dec TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the spectrum of classic and modern tunes. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. 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. SOULSVILLE

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–05:00, £5

Swinging soul spanning a whole century, with DJs Tsatsu and Fryer. 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.

Heady bout of cosmic house, punk upside-down disco and, er, Fleetwood Mac with yer man Kris ‘Wasabi’ Walker, this edition joined by Wolf Muller (aka Bufiman) for added the party tunes.

Sun 21 Dec COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly cross-genre of bass from a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

PARADIGM

THE MASH HOUSE, 21:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Fledgling experimental night set across three floors of the sprawling Mash House space, subverting the senses via DJ sets, film screenings, live performance, installations and sound. IRREGULAR OWL MOVEMENTS

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £5

Disco and pop soundscapes from the eagleowl DJs and pals, acting as the official after-bash for Song, By Toad’s Christmas party. HOT WAXXXMAS (RICHY AHMED)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–05:00, £TBC

The Hot Wax residents do Christmas their way, welcoming Hot Natured resident Richy Ahmed for a guest slot.

MADCHESTER: 20TH BIRTHDAY (STEREO MC’S)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–05:00, £16.50

Sat 27 Dec

WEEK’S END

Mon 22 Dec MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightener playing hip-hop, r’n’b and good ol’ chart classics, with requests in the back room. NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 23 Dec 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, 23:00–05:00, £4

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of guest performers and DJs. TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Wed 24 Dec COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits. CHAMPION SOUND

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 12)

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae, dancehall and everything inbetween. ROUTE 66

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£1 AFTER 12)

Student fun night spinning motown, blues, hip-hop and funkstyled dancing tunes.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all).

A powerhouse of local residents take over Cab Vol, joined by a selection of guest talent.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Aisling Murphy holds the fort in the cafe playing a batch of sweet soulful beats.

STUDIO 24, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 STUDENT AFTER 12)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle.

Thu 25 Dec

POP ROCKS!

FLY CLUB

Madchester host their annual Boxing Day-cum-birthday party, fit to bursting with indie classics and baggy greats, plus a guest set from the Stereo MC’s.

THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

DECADE

Fresh playlists spanning metal, pop-punk and alternative soundscapes.

Last Friday of the month venue takeover offering up a carnival of activities including cover bands, live DJs, karaoke, cocktail mixing and free popcorn!

HULLABALOO

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

TEASE AGE

CITRUS CLUB , 22:30–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night, traversing the spectrum of classic and modern tunes. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. RIDE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

The Ride girls play hip-hop and dance, all night long – now in their new party-ready Saturday night slot. MESSENGER SOUND SYSTEM

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–05:00, £6 (£7 AFTER 12)

Conscious roots and dub reggae rockin’ from the usual beefy Messenger soundsystem. KEEP IT STEEL

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

The Keep It Steel DJs play the best in heavy metal and hard rock. MAGIC NOSTALGIC: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£8 AFTER 12)

A hodgepodge of quality tracks chosen by JP’s spinning wheel – expect anything from 90s rave to power ballads, amidst a whole lotta one-hit wonders... and a special batch of Christmas tunes!

JACKHAMMER: 13TH BIRTHDAY (DAVE CLARKE + GARY BECK + WOLFJAZZ) THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:00–05:00, £10

Providing your annual postChristmas dose of techno, the Jackhammer crew celebrate their 13th birthday with a hefty seven-hour line-up which sees regulars Wolfjazz and Keyte warm the decks ahead of sets from Slam, Dave Clarke and Gary Beck. NIGHTFILM’S XMAS PARTY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–05:00, £7 (£5)

The musical hub and record label brainchild of Mighty Mouse and Matt Van Schie returns to Edinburgh for a festive shindig, manned by a plethora of hot talent including Main Ingredient and Le Visiteur.

Sun 28 Dec 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

Playlists of student-friendly chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room.

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle.

Fri 26 Dec

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, FREE

FUCK YEAH

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. VITAMINS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, £5 (MEMBERS FREE)

The Vitamins party starters host their occasional party night of disco adventures, a secret guest or two likely in tow.

WEEKS END

Aisling Murphy holds the fort in the cafe playing a batch of sweet soulful beats.

Mon 29 Dec MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightener playing hip-hop, r’n’b and good ol’ chart classics, with requests in the back room. NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to bass with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 30 Dec SOUL JAM HOT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team.

December 2014

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be, joined by a selection of guest performers and DJs. TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more. HECTORS HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Wed 31 Dec

VEGAS!: THE GRAND HOGMANAY BALL

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 21:00–03:00, £25

Annual 50s-themed Hogmanay fun night chock with showgirls, cabaret, burlesque and the like, with special guests including The Counsellors and Missy Malone. HOGMANAY HIVE TIL FIVE

THE HIVE, 21:00–05:00, £TBC

Annual Hogmanay fun night playing retro hits, bolstered by a 5am licence, prize giveaways and multiple bars and dancefloors.

WEE DUB HOGMANAY (MUNGO’S HIFI + PRINCE FATTY + DREADSQUAD)

STUDIO 24, 22:00–05:00, £15 EARLYBIRD (£21-£25 THEREAFTER)

The rather ace dub, reggae and roots celebration makes its now annual mark on NYE with the heavyweight headline line-up of Mungo’s Hi-Fi, Prince Fatty and Dreadsquad, plus a bounty of supports. THE CAVES’ HOGMANAY PARTY

THE CAVES, 22:00–05:00, £15

The cavernous haven that is The Caves host their own Hogmanay bash this year (i.e. it’s not being commandeered by a club promoter) – promising floorfillers past and present, bolstered by a ceilidh. FOURBYFOUR VS PULSE: HOGMANAY SPECIAL

STUDIO 24, 22:00–05:00, £10

FourByFour and Pulse joined forces for a techno-heavy Hogmanay bash, with residents from both nights manning the decks, plus support from Tam Begg and Medaci, and We Are Tall Order visuals sealing the deal. SOULSVILLE: MIDNIGHT IN RIO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–05:00, £10 ADV. (£15 DOOR)

Soulsville go all out for their Hogmanay celebrations, evoking the spirit of a South American Carnival via funk and soul beats, live visuals, unique art, colourful d&eacute;cor and more.

GASOLINE DANCE MACHINE (MONTE)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 21:00–05:00, £15

Edinburgh’s GDM take care of Hogmanay at Cab Vol, pleasing dancing feet with their mix of classic Italo, boogie and contemporary house and disco – with special guest Monte adding a synthtastic bent to proceedings. DR NO’S HOGMANAY SPECIAL

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–05:00, £10 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

Dr No’s are entrusted with the Hogmanay reins down’t Henry’s once more, bringing in 2014 with their mighty mix of 60s ska, rocksteady and early reggae tuneage. SPEAKER BITE ME HOGMANAY PARTY

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 21:00–05:00, £10

Electric Circus let the Evol DJs loose for the evening, hosting a Hogmanay edition of their indiepop worshipping regular, Speaker Bite Me – spinning the best in pop, party jams, guilty pleasures and requests. NIGHTVISION HOGMANAY: SEASON ONE FINALE (SUBB-AN + WAZE & ODYSSEY + CRAIG SMITH + THEO KOTTIS + LAURIE NEIL + DEREK MARTIN + DONNA LOVE + KIERAN APTER + LUKE ANDERSON + KILLED KASSETTE + SIMON BAYS)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 21:00–05:00, £15 EARLYBIRD (£24.50 THEREAFTER)

Inaugural Edinburgh club series Nightvision draws to a close with a bumper Hogmanay swansong, headed up by Birmingham rising star Subb-an and LA-based house duo Waze & Odyssey, plus a bounty of too-many-to-name supports.

The Witness residents man Sneaky’s Hogmanay proceedings, playing host to guest sets from a selection of the capital&rsquo;s DJ faves, all with their dials firmly set to party.

Dundee Clubs

Theatre Sat 20 Dec

The Glad Cafe

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £TBC

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 19 NOV AND 5 DEC, 6:30PM – 8:30PM, £12

ROOMS RESIDENTS

A selection of Reading Room residents hold the fort for the evening, playing good vibe tunes all night long. LOCARNO

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £7 (£5)

Thu 04 Dec ROOM THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4

Thursday nighter – as the name would suggest – promising to play anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 05 Dec ROOMS RESIDENTS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £TBC

A selection of Reading Room residents hold the fort for the evening, playing good vibe tunes all night long. WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go.

Sat 06 Dec

AUTODISCO (FRANK BOOKER)

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £5 (£8 AFTER 12)

Regular hosts Dave Autodisco and Dicky Trisco welcome New Zealand’s Frank Booker for some heavy disco good time vibes. ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Thu 11 Dec ROOM THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4

Thursday nighter – as the name would suggest – promising to play anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 12 Dec

CONTOUR (GIRL UNIT)

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £5 EARLYBIRD (£8-£10 THEREAFTER)

More fresh beats and flashy visuals from the Contour crew, this edition joined by London breakout producer Girl Unit (aka Philip Gamble), prettied up by Genomic Visuals most ambitious lightshow yet. WARPED

Rockabilly, doo-wop, soul and all things golden age and danceable with the Locarno regulars. ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Fri 26 Dec

CTRL ALT DEFEAT: BOXING DAY PARTY

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £TBC

Electro musings with a danceable beat for your Boxing Day pleasure, with the residents manning the decks. 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 Dec

BOOK CLUB XMAS PARTY

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £TBC

The Good Stuff DJs spin all genres of disco house and techno, celebrating Christmas, um... two days late! ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Sun 28 Dec

TYREE COOPER (CARL MENDEZ + GEORGE E)

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £10

The house and hip-hop aficionado drops by for a deck takeover, essentially showing y’all how it’s done.

Wed 31 Dec ROOMS NYE

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

The Christmas staple takes to the stage thanks to a new adaptation by Front Room Theatre, starring everyone from Scrooge to Tiny Tim. Bah humbug, etc.

The King’s Theatre PETER PAN

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 6 DEC AND 11 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £10

The King’s Theatre head to Neverland this year for their annual panto, marking 50 years of pantos in the venue. Matinee performances also available.

Theatre Royal TOP HAT

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 22 NOV AND 13 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £10

Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen star in Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger’s Hollywood dance musical hit of the 1930s. Matinee performances also available (Wed, Thu & Sat, 2.30pm). SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 25 NOV AND 31 DEC, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Brand new stage production of one of the most-loved dance stories of all time. No John Travolta, but plenty of Bee Gees hits to ease the pain.

Tramway GLIMMER

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 6 DEC AND 21 DEC, TIMES VARY, £12 (£8)

From the creative team behind Albert Drive and Junction 25, a feel-good show about the journey of one human being to find light in the darkest of winters and the real meaning of warmth even when it’s cold outside. D’aww.

Tron Theatre

MIRACLE ON 34 PARNIE STREET

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 28 NOV AND 4 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £9

The Reading Rooms host their annual Hogmanay fun night, with a selection of live guests still to be revealed.

The Tron’s annual irreverent festive panto, this time set in a department store and featuring a – shock horror! – female Santa who claims to be the bona fide Santa Claus herself.

Glasgow

Edinburgh

CCA

Church Hill Theatre

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £TBC

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go. JUNGLISM

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 23:30–02:30, £5

Friday night party of drum’n’bass soundscapes, ripe for dancing feet.

Sat 13 Dec DARE DOES DUNDEE!

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £TBC

John Pleased Wimmin brings his night of eclectic electronic and disco-tinged delights Dundee-way. ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Thu 18 Dec ROOM THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4

Thursday nighter – as the name would suggest – promising to play anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 19 Dec ROOMS RESIDENTS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:30, £TBC

A selection of Reading Room residents hold the fort for the evening, playing good vibe tunes all night long. WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as they go. GORILLA IN YOUR CAR

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Hardcore, emo, punk and scenester selections. Also perhaps the best-named club night in Dundee’s existence.

EPIC ENCOUNTERS: SEE HEAR YOU 2

9 DEC, 7:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£5)

Night of live performance featuring the Epic Encounters inclusive dance group from Cambodia, plus a showcase of Paragon’s inclusive music and dance programmes: M3 BLAST, Play On and Horizons.

DICK WHITTINGTON

18–28 DEC, NOT 24, 25, 26, TIMES VARY, £10 (£8)

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

The rags to riches tale of a young man and his cat, setting out on a quest to seek their fortune – given the pantomime treatment by Edinburgh People’s Theatre, marking their 50th consecutive pantomime year.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 29 NOV AND 3 JAN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Festival Theatre

Citizens Theatre The Christmas staple takes to the stage thanks to an adaptation by Citizens Theatre and director Dominic Hill, starring everyone from Scrooge to Tiny Tim. Bah humbug, etc. Matinee and Schools performances also available.

SECC

CINDERELLA

13 DEC – 4 JAN, NOT 15 DEC, 19 DEC, 25 DEC, 1 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £15

More in the way of annual panto fare, this time starring John Barrowman, The Krankies and Glasgow X Factor ‘star’ Melanie Masson. Matinee performances also available.

The Arches WAR ON CHRISTMAS

11–28 DEC, NOT 15, 24, 25, 26, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, PRICES VARY

Theatre chappie Gary McNair presents his own cheekily anarchic take on Christmas, centred on an enthusiastic young Santa working one of Glasgow’s poorest grottos.

SCOTTISH BALLET: THE NUTCRACKER

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 13 DEC AND 3 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £13

Scottish Ballet’s retelling of the dance classic, ripe for the festive season with its dreamlike narrative and Tchaikovsky’s magical score. Matinee performance also available. SLAVA’S SNOWSHOW

3–13 DEC, NOT 7, 8, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

The award-winning show returns for another festive run, with legendary Russian clown Slava Polunin and his troupe of physical performers building each show towards a magical, snowy spectacle.

King’s Theatre ALADDIN

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 29 NOV AND 18 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £14

Your annual opportunity to boo Grant Stott, who returns in the King’s festive panto as the evil genie in Aladdin. Matinee performances also available.

Listings

Royal Lyceum Theatre THE BFG

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 28 NOV AND 3 JAN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Roald Dahl’s classic story is brought to life on stage for kiddies (and adults) this festive season. Matinee performances also available.

The Edinburgh Playhouse WICKED

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 16 SEP AND 10 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £20

The captivating and oft-sold out musical, telling the story of how the two witches of Oz came to be known as good and bad, told through song ‘n’ that. Matinee performances also available.

Traverse Theatre THE DEVIL MASTERS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 6 DEC AND 24 DEC, TIMES VARY, £16 (£13 STUDENT/£8 UNEMPLOYED)

Acclaimed writer Iain Finlay MacLeod’s surrealist black comedy about two Edinburgh advocates whose family dog is held to ransom, exploring what we become when we peel away the layers of class division and social decorum.

Dundee Theatre Dundee Rep

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 27 NOV AND 31 DEC, TIMES VARY, FROM £12 (£9)

David Wood’s stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic fantasy, about – funnily enough – a boy called James... and a ginormous peach!

The Gardyne Theatre ALADDIN

3–7 DEC, TIMES VARY, £14 (£12)

Comedy Fri 05 Dec

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (STUART GOLDSMITH + RHYS JAMES + CHRIS FORBES + MC SCOTT AGNEW)

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.

Fri 12 Dec

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (ROB ROUSE + BENNY BOOT + FERN BRADY + MC SCOTT AGNEW)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–21:30, £15

Longrunning comedy club the Gilded Balloon hit up Drygate for a new residency, combing the joys of a craft brewery setting with a rotating schedule of live comedy talent.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (FRED MACAULAY + TOMMY RAWSON + JAY LAFFERTY + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE FRIDAY SHOW (BRUCE MORTON + JARLATH REGAN + JONNY PELHAM + MC BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

Fri 19 Dec

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

Sat 06 Dec

THE SATURDAY SHOW (FRED MACAULAY + TOMMY RAWSON + JAY LAFFERTY + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD)

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

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

Sat 13 Dec

THE SATURDAY SHOW (BRUCE MORTON + JARLATH REGAN + JONNY PELHAM + MC BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend. 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

Sun 14 Dec

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 03 Dec COMEDIAN RAP BATTLE

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£4)

Ro Cambell and The Wee Man’s comedian rap battle-off, where a select batch of comics compete to see who’s got the most swagger when it comes to hippity-hop wit. NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

Thu 04 Dec

THE THURSDAY SHOW (FRED MACAULAY + TOMMY RAWSON + JAY LAFFERTY + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (TOMMY ROWSON + ELEANOR MORTON + SEPPI PRESTON + CHRIS QUINN)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

Banterous chap Raymond Mearns hosts a series of Stand Christmas specials, aided-and-abetted by a string of stand-up guests, hopefully in Santa hats. THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit. WATSON’S WIND-UP CHRISTMAS CRACKER

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

Tue 09 Dec

Mon 15 Dec

Sat 20 Dec

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 Dec

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 Dec

THE THURSDAY SHOW (BRUCE MORTON + JARLATH REGAN + JONNY PELHAM + MC BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase. VESPBAR VIRGINS

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

WEST, 20:30–22:30, £7

Listings

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (GARY LITTLE + MARY BOURKE + THE REVEREND OBADIAH STEPPENWOLFE III + MC RAYMOND MEARNS)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his guests.

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

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.

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his guests.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (RAY BRADSHAW + JIM SMITH + ASHLEY STORRIE + DIANE STEWART)

GILDED BALLOON COMEDY @ DRYGATE (FELICITY WARD + MICHAEL FABBRI + HARRIET DYER + MC ZOE LYONS)

Jonathan Watson and the team take their annual comical look at the more alternative stories that made this year’s headlines, playing three consecutive evenings (18-20 Dec).

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase. VESPBAR VIRGINS

WATSON’S WIND-UP CHRISTMAS CRACKER

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

Sun 07 Dec

Tue 02 Dec

VESPBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Whitehall Theatre

Glasgow

VESPBAR VIRGINS

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

Downfield Musical Society return with their annual panto, this year taking on the classic English folk story Jack and the Beanstalk.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12

Banterous chap Raymond Mearns hosts a series of Stand Christmas specials, aided-and-abetted by a string of stand-up guests, hopefully in Santa hats.

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

16–21 DEC, TIMES VARY, FROM £12 (£10)

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (GARY LITTLE + MARY BOURKE + THE REVEREND OBADIAH STEPPENWOLFE III + MC RAYMOND MEARNS)

Jonathan Watson and the team take their annual comical look at the more alternative stories that made this year’s headlines, playing three consecutive evenings (18-20 Dec).

Singalong panto adaptation of the Aladdin tale, with added pyrotechnics if that sweetens the deal at all? No? Thought not.

JACK AND THE BEANSTOCK

Thu 18 Dec

WEST BREWERY COMEDY CLUB

Jamie Dalgleish hosts West Brewery’s regular night of live stand-up, this edition headlined by Gary Little.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (GARY LITTLE + MARY BOURKE + THE REVEREND OBADIAH STEPPENWOLFE III + MC RAYMOND MEARNS) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (GARY LITTLE + MARY BOURKE + THE REVEREND OBADIAH STEPPENWOLFE III + MC RAYMOND MEARNS) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

Banterous chap Raymond Mearns hosts a series of Stand Christmas specials, aided-and-abetted by a string of stand-up guests, hopefully in Santa hats.

Tue 16 Dec

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (GARY LITTLE + MARY BOURKE + THE REVEREND OBADIAH STEPPENWOLFE III + MC RAYMOND MEARNS) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12

Banterous chap Raymond Mearns hosts a series of Stand Christmas specials, aided-and-abetted by a string of stand-up guests, hopefully in Santa hats.

Wed 17 Dec

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (GARY LITTLE + MARY BOURKE + THE REVEREND OBADIAH STEPPENWOLFE III + MC RAYMOND MEARNS) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12

Banterous chap Raymond Mearns hosts a series of Stand Christmas specials, aided-and-abetted by a string of stand-up guests, hopefully in Santa hats. 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.

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.

Tue 23 Dec 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 26 Dec

THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

Sat 27 Dec

HOOTFEST! (TOM STADE + JOHN GILLICK + SUSIE MCCABE + DAN PETHERBRIDGE + BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

The Stand celebrate the coming of 2015 with a string of comedy Hootfest’s, playing host to a bill of comedy favourites over the course of the evening. THE 10 O’CLOCK SHOW

VESPBAR, 22:00–23:45, £10

Your weekend host Viv Gee introduces a mixed bag of new talent, topped off with a bigger name headline act. LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit.

Sun 28 Dec

HOOTFEST! (TOM STADE + JOHN GILLICK + SUSIE MCCABE + DAN PETHERBRIDGE + BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

The Stand celebrate the coming of 2015 with a string of comedy Hootfest’s, playing host to a bill of comedy favourites over the course of the evening.

Mon 29 Dec

HOOTFEST! (TOM STADE + JOHN GILLICK + SUSIE MCCABE + DAN PETHERBRIDGE + BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

The Stand celebrate the coming of 2015 with a string of comedy Hootfest’s, playing host to a bill of comedy favourites over the course of the evening.

Tue 30 Dec

HOOTFEST! (TOM STADE + JOHN GILLICK + SUSIE MCCABE + DAN PETHERBRIDGE + BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

The Stand celebrate the coming of 2015 with a string of comedy Hootfest’s, playing host to a bill of comedy favourites over the course of the evening.

Wed 31 Dec

HOOTFEST! (TOM STADE + JOHN GILLICK + SUSIE MCCABE + DAN PETHERBRIDGE + BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £25

The Stand celebrate the coming of 2015 with a string of comedy Hootfest’s, playing host to a bill of comedy favourites over the course of the evening.

Edinburgh

LAUGHTER EIGHT

VESPBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

All-new comedy slot for Vespbar kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent form the local circuit. WATSON’S WIND-UP CHRISTMAS CRACKER

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

Jonathan Watson and the team take their annual comical look at the more alternative stories that made this year’s headlines, playing three consecutive evenings (18-20 Dec).

Sun 21 Dec

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (RAY BRADSHAW + JIM SMITH + ASHLEY STORRIE + DIANE STEWART)

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.

Tue 02 Dec

RICHARD MELVIN PRESENTS... 4 EXTRA STANDS UP

THE STAND, 20:00–21:00, FREE (BUT TICKETED)

Funnyman Richard Melvin presents a recording of a new episode of 4 Extra Stands Up, featuring sets from some of the UK’s best comics.

Wed 03 Dec

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 Dec

THE THURSDAY SHOW (PAUL SINHA + CHRIS FORBES + SUSIE MCCABE + MC JOE HEENAN) 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 Dec

COMEDYDOO (VLADIMIR MCTAVISH + JONNY THOMSON + THOMAS SCOTT)

THE WHITE HORSE, 20:00–22:00, £9

Fresh line-up of fledgling comedic talent, topped off with a national headline act and a jovial compere.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (PAUL SINHA + CHRIS FORBES + SUSIE MCCABE + MC JOE HEENAN)

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 Dec THE HAROLD

MEADOWS BAR, 19:00–20:00, £5 (£4)

Improv-styled comedy show based on a single audience suggestion.

THE EDINBURGH CHRISTMAS LECTURES (SUSAN MORRISON + JAY LAFFERTY + BOB GRAHAM + ELEANOR MORTON + RICHARD MELVIN + DEREK JOHNSON + GARETH WAUGH + ROBIN GRAINGER + OWEN MACGUIRE + JIM PARK + BOB GRAHAM + GARETH MUTCH + MC ANDREW LEARMONTH) THE STAND, 16:30–18:30, £5

The Explorers Club present the first ever Edinburgh Christmas Lectures, with a bumper batch of local comedians discussing what the festive season means to them and whether or not they prefer Santa to Jesus. Plus Christmas cake! 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 Dec

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND, 13:30–15:30, FREE

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from offthe-cuff audience suggestions. THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (ERIC DAVIDSON + DIANE STEWART + MC RAY BRADSHAW)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues.

Mon 08 Dec RED RAW

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Tue 09 Dec

HARDEEP’S CHARITY NIGHT FOR FOODBANKS (DYLAN MORAN + JANEY GODLEY + MC HARDEEP SINGH KOHLI)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, FREE (BUT TICKETED)

Hardeep Singh Kohli hosts a special fundraiser night, with comedians including Dylan Moran and Janey Godley giving y’all laughs in exchange for food, to be donated to various food banks.

THE SPEAKEASY (THE COLOUR HAM + JANEY GODLEY + KEVIN WILLIAMSON + KEIRON NICHOLSON + RICHARD MELVIN) SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE, 20:00–22:00, £6

Monthly storytelling night of the rather ace variety, featuring a feastful of writers, comedians and musicians telling (mostly) true stories.

Wed 10 Dec 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.

Fri 12 Dec

THE FRIDAY SHOW (DYLAN MORAN + CHRIS MARTIN + ELEANOR MORTON + MC JOJO SUTHERLAND) 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 13 Dec

THE SATURDAY SHOW (DYLAN MORAN + CHRIS MARTIN + ELEANOR MORTON + MC JOJO SUTHERLAND)

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.

Sun 14 Dec

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND, 13:30–15:30, FREE

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from offthe-cuff audience suggestions.

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (CHRIS MARTIN AND SIAN BEVAN) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues.

Mon 15 Dec

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARTIN MOR + ANDY WHITE + KAI HUMPHRIES + MC SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£20.95 WITH MEAL)

Banterous lass Susan Morrison hosts a series of Stand Christmas specials, aided-and-abetted by a string of stand-up guests, hopefully in Santa hats. Meal tickets also available, with a ‘Big Christmas Burger’ on’t menu.

Tue 16 Dec

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARTIN MOR + ANDY WHITE + KAI HUMPHRIES + MC SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£20.95 WITH MEAL)

Fri 19 Dec

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARTIN MOR + ANDY WHITE + KAI HUMPHRIES + MC SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15 (£22.95 WITH MEAL)

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 Dec

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARTIN MOR + ANDY WHITE + KAI HUMPHRIES + MC SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15 (£22.95 WITH MEAL)

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 21 Dec

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND, 13:30–15:30, FREE

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from offthe-cuff audience suggestions.

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (ASHLEY STORRIE)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues.

Mon 22 Dec 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 26 Dec

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 27 Dec

HOOTFEST! (IAN COPPINGER + JO CAULFIELD + KEIR MCALLISTER + LIAM WITHNAIL + BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

The Stand celebrate the coming of 2015 with a string of comedy Hootfest’s, playing host to a bill of comedy favourites over the course of the evening.

Wed 17 Dec

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARTIN MOR + ANDY WHITE + KAI HUMPHRIES + MC SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£20.95 WITH MEAL)

THE BEEHIVE COMEDY CLUB

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £7

Sun 28 Dec

Thu 18 Dec

HOOTFEST! (IAN COPPINGER + JO CAULFIELD + KEIR MCALLISTER + LIAM WITHNAIL + BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (MARTIN MOR + ANDY WHITE + KAI HUMPHRIES + MC SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£20.95 WITH MEAL)

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND, 13:30–15:30, FREE

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from offthe-cuff audience suggestions.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

The Stand celebrate the coming of 2015 with a string of comedy Hootfest’s, playing host to a bill of comedy favourites over the course of the evening.

THE SKINNY

Mon 29 Dec

HOOTFEST! (IAN COPPINGER + JO CAULFIELD + KEIR MCALLISTER + LIAM WITHNAIL + BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

The Stand celebrate the coming of 2015 with a string of comedy Hootfest’s, playing host to a bill of comedy favourites over the course of the evening.

Tue 30 Dec

HOOTFEST! (IAN COPPINGER + JO CAULFIELD + KEIR MCALLISTER + LIAM WITHNAIL + BRUCE DEVLIN)

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £15

Art

ALASDAIR GRAY: SPHERES OF INFLUENCE I

21 NOV – 25 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Part of a season of Alasdair Gray exhibitions, with this one looking at his practice, influences and work – delving into the Glasgow Museums Collection to explore connections between them. ART FROM ELSEWHERE

24 OCT – 1 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Wed 31 Dec

Touring exhibition set to take in various venues across the UK, and changing with each city it takes in – kicking off at GoMA with artists including Peter Hujar, Jenny Holzer, Paulo Bruscky, Ana Mendieta, Kara Walker and Amar Kanwar.

THE STAND, 20:30–22:30, £25

Glasgow Print Studio

The Stand celebrate the coming of 2015 with a string of comedy Hootfest’s, playing host to a bill of comedy favourites over the course of the evening. HOOTFEST! (IAN COPPINGER + JO CAULFIELD + KEIR MCALLISTER + LIAM WITHNAIL + BRUCE DEVLIN)

The Stand celebrate the coming of 2015 with a string of comedy Hootfest’s, playing host to a bill of comedy favourites over the course of the evening.

Dundee Fri 12 Dec

JONGLEURS COMEDY CLUB

DUNDEE REP, 20:00–22:00, £12

The famed comedy club hits Dundee for its monthly outing, joined by three comics, a compere and a whole lorra laughs.

Glasgow Arlington Baths

ARLINGTON BATHS CLUB: MEMBERS’ ART EXHIBITION

5–7 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Showcase of work by artists both local and international, all of whom are members of Arlington Baths Club. Proceeds go towards the Club’s restoration fund.

Art Pistol

ART PISTOL’S WINTER SHOW

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 19 NOV AND 24 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Art Pistol host a festive exhibition of new artistic talent, taking in a variety of saleable work from the big and bold, to the small and affordable.

CCA

MANUEL CHAVAJAY + REBECCA WILCOX: THIS MIGHT BE A PLACE FOR HUMMINGBIRDS

14 NOV – 18 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Double headline exhibition from Guatemalan artist Manuel Chavajay and local artist Rebecca Wilcox, considering questions of community and approaching the translation of urgent issues that arise from societies in Scotland and Guatemala.

Compass Gallery THE CABINET SHOW: SMALL TREASURES 2014

6 NOV – 31 DEC, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Based on the custom of wealthy 17th/18th century collectors who brought home small collectable items of art to display, Compass showcase a selection of small paintings, drawings and prints commissioned for a modern day version of the custom.

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.

December 2014

ACADEMICIANS III

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 22 NOV AND 25 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Glasgow Print Studio present the third in their series of exhibitions featuring the work of four Royal and Royal Scottish Academicians: Marian Leven, Hughie O’Donoghue, Barbara Rae and Emma Stibbon.

Glasgow School of Art ALASDAIR GRAY: SPHERES OF INFLUENCE II

21 NOV – 25 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Part of a season of Alasdair Gray exhibitions, with this one providing an alternative reading of his visual work through the prism of others’ works, both historical and contemporary. In the Reid Gallery.

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. 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.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum ALASDAIR GRAY: FROM THE PERSONAL TO THE UNIVERSAL

11 OCT – 15 FEB, TIMES VARY, £5 (£3)

Part of a season of Alasdair Gray exhibitions, with this one taking in a retrospective of around 100 works covering Gray’s student days at Glasgow School of Art right up to the present day.

Mary Mary JONATHAN GARDNER

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 15 NOV AND 17 JAN, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

Solo showcase of work from the contemporary painter, known for merging the subjects of his paintings so as to create an abstracted picture plain.

Platform 21 REVOLUTIONS

7 NOV – 7 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

A collective of 21 women artists create work inspired by Glasgow Women’s Library’s collection, taking in a mix of fine art prints and writing inspired by the vast collection at the library.

Project Ability PROJECT ABILITY: CHRISTMAS AUCTION

29 NOV – 13 DEC, NOT 30 NOV, 1 DEC, 7 DEC, 8 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

30+ emerging and established artists – including David Shrigley, Jim Lambie and Erica Eyres – showcase their work alongside the resident Project Ability artists, with the donated work on show for two weeks before the silent auction on Sat 13 Dec (6pm).

The Modern Institute

RICHARD HUGHES: FIELD TRIP

1 NOV – 19 DEC, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

New body of solo work from the Birmingham-born artist, known for his engaging and powerful sculptural installations drawing inspiration from the detritus of our urban environment.

The Modern Institute @ Airds Lane VICTORIA MORTON

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 8 NOV AND 17 JAN, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

New body of work from the Glasgow artist, whose thoughtprovoking and experimental work has been self-labelled as ‘explicit abstract realism’.

Tramway MIKE NELSON

15 NOV – 11 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

RGI Kelly Gallery

New work from the labyrinthine British installation artist exploring landscape and the artistic traditions inherent within it, inspired by his friendship and collaboration with Erlend Williamson, and the work of anthropologist Dr. Wilson Duff.

6–23 DEC, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Trongate 103

RGI KELLY’S CHRISTMAS SHOW

RGI Kelly host their once-a-year saleable showcase of small artworks from a selection of Scottish artists, including postcards, sculptures, books and artist prints – all of an diminutive size.

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 Photoworks

JILL TODD PHOTOGRAPHIC AWARD 2014 VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 25 OCT AND 7 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Annual photography award showcase, featuring the work of this year’s finalists Frank McElhinney, Cliff Andrade, Ingvild Melberg Eikeland, plus works by four of the commendations in the competition.

The Lighthouse POSTCODE 3000

1 NOV – 25 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Architectural exhibition exploring the development of Melbourne, highlighting how recent regeneration focused on making better streets and increasing activities for people at street level has transformed the perception of the city centre. ALICE DANSEY-WRIGHT: LEGITIMATE LIKENESSES

6 NOV – 11 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo showcase of work from Glasgow-based illustrator Alice Dansey-Wright, inspired by her research trip to the American Museum in Britain, from which she’s developed new work based on their collections. EMPOWERMENT

27 NOV – 1 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Thought-provoking exhibition documenting the characters/ narratives surrounding the construction projects of humanitarian design organisation, Orkidstudio – a charity dedicated to developing the connection between architecture and humanitarian aid. 11 MITCHELL LANE

6–7 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Weekend-long design show-cumshop from Analogue Social, for which they’ll be creating a ‘home’ at The Lighthouse, furnished with the work of local designers and manufacturers, with all items for sale.

TRONGATE 103’S 5TH BIRTHDAY EXHIBITION

6 NOV – 4 DEC, NOT 10 NOV, 17 NOV, 24 NOV, 1 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Danish Cultural Institute

Scottish National Gallery

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 30 OCT AND 2 DEC, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

18 OCT – 15 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

JESPER CHRISTIANSEN: FOUND DRAWINGS

Danish contemporary artist Jesper Christiansen showcases a series of old, forgotten and re-found drawings – all of which were initially discarded as trash by the artist.

Dovecot SELECTED 2014

29 NOV – 20 DEC, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Dovecot’s own hand-selected celebration of contemporary Scottish craft and design, presented as a ‘selling exhibition’ showcasing local makers across disciplines including ceramics, jewellery, furniture, textiles, glass and silver.

Edinburgh Printmakers NO FIXED ABODE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 8 NOV AND 23 DEC, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Working in collaboration with The Big Issue, Edinburgh Printmakers present an exhibition examining the significance of home as a concept and the realities and challenges of homelessness.

Glass and Thompson FREYA LEVY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1 APR AND 31 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Providing a creative hub since 2009, Trongate 103 celebrates its 5th birthday by showcasing some of its artistic tenants’ work: Glasgow Print Studio, Independent Studio’s and Glasgow Project Room, Project Ability, Sharmanka and Street Level Photoworks.

The Edinburgh-based mosaic artist displays a new selection of work, known for making animal inspired mosaics out of tiles, glass and found items from the shores of the River Thames and Edinburgh beaches.

WINDOW SHOPPING

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 26 NOV AND 20 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Interview Room iota @ Unlimited 11 ANOTHER ATHENS Studios VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 2 DEC AND 23 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Seasonal-themed exhibition showcase, at which a selection of iota artists and collaborators will be displaying saleable work.

Edinburgh City Art Centre

PICTURING CONFLICT: ART OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

8 NOV – 18 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase of paintings and other artworks offerings an insight into the events of WWI and its impact on those involved, drawn from the City Art Centre’s own collection.

YOU CHOOSE: FAVOURITES FROM THE CITY ART CENTRE

13 DEC – 24 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Annual showcase exhibition drawing from the City Art Centre’s permanent collection of historic and contemporary Scottish art – this year opening it up to the public to select their favourite works to make up the display.

Collective Gallery

VANESSA BILLY: SUSTAIN, SUSTAIN

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 11 OCT AND 21 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Swiss artist Vanessa Billy marks her first Scottish solo exhibition, showcasing a body of recent sculptural works combining different everyday transient materials and found objects. COLLETTE RAYNER: ACCESS AS IDIOT DISTRACTION

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 21 NOV AND 25 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

New film installation from the GSA graduate, based on her research into the Principality of Sealand – a sovereign principality established in 1967 in international waters, six miles off the coast of Britain. Part of Collective’s Satellites Programme.

Collaborative multi-platform project that explores the experience of the inhabitants of a city informed by their personal attachment to a place, in the context of its intellectual and cultural heritage.

Inverleith House TONY CONRAD: INVENTED ACOUSTICAL TOOLS 1966-2012

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 25 OCT AND 18 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE

First UK showing of musical instruments developed by the highly influential American artist, filmmaker and musician Tony Conrad, exploring his relationship with improvisational sound and free invention.

Kalopsia Gallery COBURG HOUSE ART STUDIOS: SHOWCASE EXHIBITION

17 OCT – 24 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase exhibition of work by the talented artists and designers housed within Leith’s Coburg House Art Studios, taking over the temporary retail unit space of Kalopsia Gallery in Ocean Terminal.

Patriothall Gallery SOURCE III

5–7 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Weekend-long group exhibition taking in works by Lorna Fraser, Fiona Hutchinson, Anna King, Tony King, Gerry McGowan, Teena Ramsay, Carol Sinclair, Robert Balfour Ward, Keiko Mukade and Mark Powell.

Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) RSA OPEN 2014

29 NOV – 20 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of small works sourced by open submission from artists across Scotland, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints and photographs – all available to buy – with this year again seeing the addition of a room dedicated to architecture.

WILLIAM STRANG: FAIR FACES AND DARK PLACES

Retrospective showcase of work from the Dumbarton-born printmaker, portraitist and painter, featuring around 30 prints and drawings spanning his career and drawn from the National Galleries of Scotland’s collection.

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. ROBERT COLQUHOUN AND ROBERT MACBRYDE: THE TWO ROBERTS

22 NOV – 24 MAY, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8 (£6)

Double-header showcase of the Scottish artists Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun, or ‘The Two Roberts’, who took the London artworld by storm in the 40s, but had faded into obscurity by the 60s.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Stills

CHLOE DEWE MATHEWS: SHOT AT DAWN

8 NOV – 25 JAN, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

New body of work produced over two years by British photographer Chloe Dewe Mathews, focusing on the sites at which British, French and Belgian troops were executed for cowardice and desertion between 1914 and 1918.

Talbot Rice Gallery

CHRISTOPHER ORR: THE BEGUILED EYE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 15 NOV AND 14 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Talbot Rice host the first solo show in Scotland for English artist and printmaker Christopher Orr, bringing together new and recent paintings and featuring, for the first time, his remarkable sketchbooks.

The Fruitmarket Gallery STAN DOUGLAS

7 NOV – 15 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo showcase from the Canadian artist who came to prominence in the mid-90s when his film installation, Der Sandmann, was one of the highlights of Documenta X in 1997, being shown here alongside other film, video and photography work.

Dundee

MAKING HISTORY

12 OCT – 29 MAR, 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. REMEMBERING THE GREAT WAR

4 AUG – 5 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

Marking the centenary of the outbreak of the WWI, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery display various portraits and related works in various media - including work by artists Sir James Gunn and Sir William Gillies, who were wounded in action. BEAUTY BY DESIGN: FASHIONING THE RENAISSANCE

15 NOV – 3 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase exhibition linking the renaissance art collections of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and Scottish National Gallery to contemporary fashion design, practice and display. BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2014

29 NOV – 12 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Annual showcase of the best in contemporary portrait painting from around the world, now in its 33rd year and marking the fifth time the Scottish National Portrait Gallery has hosted the exhibition. MIKHAEL SUBOTZKY + PATRICK WATERHOUSE: PONTE CITY

6 DEC – 26 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

South African photographer Mikhael Subotzky and British artist Patrick Waterhouse’s documentation of Ponte City, recording the half-occupied building through a series of photographs and a collection of documents and other debris from the abandoned units.

Centrespace

WILLIAM LATHAM: MUTATOR 2

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 31 OCT AND 31 JAN, 12:00PM – 4:00PM, FREE

First solo exhibition in Scotland by pioneering computer artist William Latham, taking in interactive video works, drawings and prints that explore and embody evolutionary processes, physical and virtual space.

Cooper Gallery

ANNA OPPERMANN: COTONEASTER HORIZONTALIS

16 OCT – 13 DEC, NOT SUNDAYS, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

First major UK exhibition of late preeminent German conceptual artist Anna Oppermann, featuring her celebrated 1984 ensemble Cotoneaster Horizontalis shown for the first time alongside drawings, prints, collages, documentary films and archival material.

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. A WORLD TO WIN: POSTERS OF PROTEST AND REVOLUTION

13 NOV – 4 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Over 70 original works showing how posters have been used to mobilise, educate and organise many varied causes and campaigns around the world, ranging from the early 20th century to examples from recent protests in Turkey, Ukraine and Egypt. FRANK BRANGWYN: WWI PROPAGANDA POSTERS

22 NOV – 25 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

In commemoration of World War I, The McManus’s annual Winter Works on Paper is drawn from Dundee’s collection of sketches, posters and prints by late artist Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956).

University of Dundee SCALES OF LIFE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1 NOV AND 10 JAN, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Inaugural exhibition in the new gallery in the College of Life Sciences, featuring works by Thomson & Craighead, Elaine Shemilt, Tabitha Moses and Helen Chadwick. In the Lifespace gallery (open Sat and by appointment). SOME LINES ON A LANDSCAPE

18 OCT – 13 DEC, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

The fruits of artist Derek Robertson’s recent residency at Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve, a collaborative project involving scientists, writers, poets, storytellers and dancers. In the Lamb Gallery.

WASPS Studios EDITION ONE

6–14 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

First exhibition from Dundee Print Collective, including prints by over 20 Dundee-based and associated artists who have been invited to individually respond to a set screen-printing brief with only one restriction: use only one colour and black.

JIM CAMPBELL: INDIRECT IMAGING

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 22 NOV AND 25 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

For their closing exhibition of 2014, DCA present a showcase of American new media artist Jim Campbell – marking his first solo exhibition in the UK, following inclusion in group shows at Cornerhouse, Manchester and The Hayward Gallery, London.

Generator Projects

TO SAIL BEYOND THE SUNSET

22 NOV – 21 DEC, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

St Margaret’s House Art’s Complex

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 10 DEC AND 11 JAN, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Hannah Maclure Centre

St Margaret’s House resident artist Jan Bee Brown explores ideas of home and identity in her latest project, for which she’s inviting anyone to stop by and see the project being made, and contribute by decorating Air Mail envelopes.

A SILVERED LIGHT

6 DEC – 4 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

DCA

Themed exhibition featuring artists influenced by concepts from science fiction, in particular time travel and alternative worlds, taking in work by Pakistani artist Mehreen Murtaza, London artist Sam Burford and Lithuanian artist Deimantas Narkevicius.

JAN BEE BROWN: THRIVE ARCHIVE PROJECT

The McManus

CODED AFTER LOVELACE

3 NOV – 6 MAR, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 9:30AM – 4:45PM, FREE

Showcase of work exploring the role of women, past and present, working at the forefront of art and technology, with the exhibition’s title referencing Ada Lovelace, who is credited as being the first computer programmer.

Listings

THE SKINNY