The Skinny January 2025 by The Skinny

The Skinny's favourite songs involving pressure

B*Witched - Blame It on the Weatherman

Prince - Diamonds and Pearls

Talking Heads - Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)

Maxïmo Park - Apply Some Pressure

Sunship ft. Jhelisa - Friendly Pressure (Into the Sunshine Mix)

Mylo - Drop the Pressure

Fountains of Wayne - Hey Julie

Ari Lennox - Pressure

Rushy - Pressure

Julia Jacklin - Pressure to Party

Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure

Salt-N-Pepa - Push It

Princess Superstar - Perfect (Exceeder)

Sugababes - Push the Button

228, January 2025 © Radge Media C.I.C. Get in touch:

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Meet the team

Championing creativity in Scotland

We asked: What is your favourite type of pressure?

Senior Editorial

Rosamund West Editor-in-Chief

"I'm going to say barometric."

Peter Simpson Deputy Editor, Food & Drink Editor

"When the toastie-maker turns my sandwich crispy and gooey without completely ﬂattening it."

Anahit Behrooz Events Editor, Books Editor

"I think a really good kiss is all about the perfect amount of (physical, not psychological) pressure. It needs to be ﬁrm! Forceful! It needs to register on the Jake Johnson scale!!"

Jamie Dunn Film Editor, Online Journalist

"The pressure of having to come up with a witty little answer to the staff question every month when I should be ﬁling copy."

Tallah Brash Music Editor

"God bless the nitrogenation of Guinness, and salty, crispy chicken skin done between the weight of two baking trays. Omg."

Cammy Gallagher Clubs Editor "A healthy blood pressure."

Laurie Presswood General Manager

"The music video for Jedward ft. Vanilla Ice - Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)."

Commissioning Editors Sales Business

George Sully Sales and Brand Strategist "Cabin pressure. I love being able to breathe on planes."

Eilidh Akilade Intersections Editor "A weighted blanket is perf."

Harvey Dimond Art Editor

"The pressure I put on myself to 'rest' and watch Real Housewives at 3pm on a Tuesday because I deﬁnitely deserve it."

Polly Glynn Comedy Editor

"I’m secretly (to some, perhaps) VERY competitive and nothing gets me in the zone more than the arbitrary need to win. I simply will not accept losing a pub quiz. "

Rho Chung Theatre Editor "N/A"

Production

Dalila D'Amico Art Director, Production Manager

"The crushing weight of existential dread while trying to assemble IKEA furniture."

Sandy Park Commercial Director "Pressure at The Arches, circa 2008-12."

Phoebe Willison Designer

"Those weird hydraulic press videos where they squish things."

Ema Smekalova Media Sales Executive "Ngl most of the time I tend to crumble under pressure...unless it's the pressure of a little cat or dog curled up in my lap!"

Ellie Robertson Digital Editorial Assistant

"My favourite kind of pressure is the one where you don't actually have to do a lot of work and nobody minds if you don't do it and also everyone is nice to me :)"

Emilie Roberts Media Sales Executive "It's gotta be peer."

Gabrielle Loue Media Sales Executive "The perfect water pressure that only few showers possess"

Editorial

Words: Rosamund West

Happy New Year! We’re drawing a line under that latest shitshow and hoping for some general improvements in many areas, including the state slash overall precarity of the cultural sector. The arts have been increasingly under pressure for a long time now, a pressure that is undermining individuals, organisations and the entire ediﬁce, to be frank. We talk to a range of creatives, producers, and institutions to take a survey of the sector and search for a little hope as we enter the second quarter of the 21st century (probably, slightly unclear on how years work).

Working within the broad theme of Scottish arts in 2025, Music editor Tallah has stared into her crystal baw to provide a rundown of some of the acts who’re going to be breaking through to soundtrack your year. jasmine.4.t discusses giving back to the trans community as she starts 2025 off on a high note with her boygenius-produced debut album You Are the Morning

January means attempting to sort out your life, so we talk to Good Clean Fun about their sober club nights. As we mark the quarter century point of the 21st century, and ahead of our screening of Matthias & Maxime at GFT as part of Queer Cinema Sundays, we asked our writers, ‘Who are the great LGBTQ+ auteurs of the 21st Century?’

Intersections remains positive, with an article providing some guidance on maintaining hope when the world is burning. Another writer reﬂects on a recent trip to China, navigating familial relationships via linguistic and geographical distances.

Art talks to Be United, celebrating ten years of supporting the Black creative community in Scotland. Film meets RaMell Ross to hear about his debut ﬁction ﬁlm Nickel Boys, and Naoko Yamada to discuss her latest animation The Colors Within. Books meets German-Afghan author Aria Aber to learn more about her debut novel Good Girl and the complexities of the diasporic experience. Theatre celebrates an upcoming multidisciplinary performance, Bethlehem Calling, working with the diaries of schoolgirls in the West Bank during the second Intifada.

The centre spread features a poster by Glasgow artist Trackie Mcleod – pull it out, stick it on your wall. Food takes a trip to Stockbridge Eating House in Edinburgh and has a delicious time, while our design column turns its attention to all things cosy with some words with Aberdeen-London collaborative duo Granite + Smoke.

Comedy meets Adam Flood to talk about the connections between comedy and rave, and closes the magazine with The Skinny on… Alison Spittle, who shares a truly touching tale of Irish pop star Samantha Mumba, amongst other revelations.

Cover Artist

Jack Murphy aka @smutty_pickles is a lo-fi DIY artist. Cut-throat mutant gherkins and swirling wormholes in thigh-high heels haunt their dreams leaving them dizzy and dopey, hazily piecing together remembered scraps of a fermented reality. Through animation, painting, drawing and sculpture Jack investigates ideas of science fiction, worship and utopia for monstrous bodies from a place soaked in filth and brine. Not quite aligned with either their background in illustration or their current proximity to the fine art world, their practice operates from the centre of a garish Venn diagram.

Love Bites: Poolside People

This month’s columnist reﬂects on the community joy of a local swimming pool

Words: Lakshmi Ajay

Idaydream of being a mermaid often – living amongst sea creatures and corals, enjoying all the diversity of an underwater haven. And so, when the winter months draw in and the sea becomes a faraway reality, I retreat to indoor pools to regulate my body.

Recently, after trying out an overpriced chain gym with a pool attached as an afterthought, I was reminded of my original love – Edinburgh Leisure’s community swimming pools.

The ﬁrst time I visited one, it was a rare sunny day in Edinburgh. Dappled sunlight poured through the glass ceilings and danced through the chlorinated water. I leapt into the beams and felt the warmth drench my bones. On a later visit, the full moon bathed me as I swam lengths across the pool. Early mornings, late evenings – the pool awaits.

Different bodies swim alongside me: Black, brown, disabled, young, elderly, pregnant, babes in arms. The pool’s beauty is available to anyone in the city, not just those with a full time, well-paid job. You’re not tied to a yearly contract and you get to join a rich history of people gathering in the city to commune with the water. This luxury of escape to an underwater world feels truly accessible.

Music for (and by) all plays on the speakers: the local radio station offers city-wide updates; water aerobics classes sync themselves to 70s Bollywood music; and, sometimes, a snippet of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony joins for a length or two. There’s something for everyone. The joyous screams of eight-yearolds combine with the chatter of neighbours on their weekly swim, forming the delicious soundscape of a true community gathering.

In a rapidly gentrifying city, the Edinburgh Leisure pools signal how anyone can be part of the conversation. Creating and sustaining environments that nurture this communion allows us to hold the heart of our cities.

Heads Up

Celtic Connections

Various venues, Glasgow, 16 Jan-2 Feb

The UK’s bi est celebration of Celtic music returns for another incredible year, with a delicious programme of Celtic music and all its various intersections: think folk, classical, world, roots, and blues. Highlights from the programme include Tanzanian duo The Zawose Queens, dub-trad fusion An Dannsa Dub and a folk indie song night with Nell Mescal, Katie GregsonMacLeod and Elanor Moss.

Moving Cloud with TRIP & Brìghde Chaimbeul

Theatre Royal, Glasgow 25 Jan, 7:30pm

Scottish Dance Theatre bring back their gorgeous choreographic piece Moving Cloud in a new collaboration with Celtic Connections that sees the piece performed alongside a 12-strong folk ensemble, including Glasgow legends TRIP and award-winning Scottish piper Brìghde Chaimbeul in a dazzling blend of Celtic sound and contemporary movement.

Nicola Dinan – Disappoint Me

The Portobello Bookshop, Edinburgh, 28 Jan, 7pm

Nicola Dinan’s debut Bellies was one of the best books of 2023, and their follow-up Disappoint Me – a tender yet incisive exploration of queer relationships and desire – is one of our most highly anticipated books of the year. Help her launch her book in style at The Portobello Bookshop this month – there’ll be an author Q&A, audience questions, and a signing table.

Gabrielle Goliath: Personal Accounts

Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, until 15 Feb

It’s a bit of a quiet month as everyone recovers from the year before and gets ready for the new, but there’s plenty of great gigs, exhibitions and performances on the table.

Compiled by Anahit Behrooz

BITROT x Stereo: Gyroﬁeld

Stereo, Glasgow, 17 Jan, 10pm

Hong Kong-born and Bristol-based DJ Gyroﬁeld is one of the bi est names on the UK’s drum‘n’bass scene, having discovered their love for electronic music in their bedroom and transformed that into DJ sets with a heavy, industrial edge. Exploring ideas of otherness, escape and belonging, there is something excitingly deconstructed and experimental about their output.

Du Blonde

The Mash House, Edinburgh, 22 Jan, 7pm

Beth Jeans Houghton has made a name for themselves in the UK rock scene as Du Blonde, with four studio albums that span across generic inﬂuences. There’s a bit of an emo punk vibe to their riffs, blended with the introspective lyricism of the likes of Sharon Van Etten and PJ Harvey, producing something that is both deeply emotive and super dancey.

corto-alto + friends: Made in Glasgow Barrowlands, Glasgow, 18 Jan, 7pm

Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Ad Absurdum

The Queen’s Hall + City Halls, Edinburgh + Glasgow, 30 + 31 Jan, 7:30pm

Rayna Carruthers: While We Wait Glasgow Women’s Library, Glasgow, 7 Jan-29 Mar Glasgow-based photographer Rayna Carruthers spent over a year in Jordan between 2022 and 2023, where she met different women from across the region who have been forcibly displaced, and are awaiting resettlement to North America or Europe. Her portrait series captures these women’s stories, exploring their intimate stories and experiences of exile, asylum and belonging.

1 Feb, 11am

The Ignorant Art School: 12 Hour Acting Up Cooper Gallery, Dundee,

Photo: Sally Jubb

Photo: Patsy Mullan.

Courtesy Monica Ross Archive and Ignorant Art School

Photo: Sophie Jouvenaar

Photo: Stuart Armitt

Photo: Rayna Carruthers

Image: courtesy of Sneaky Pete's

Photo: Brian Hartley

Photo: FMLY agency

Image: courtesy of Sneaky Pete's

Image: courtesy of The Portobello Bookshop

Nell Mescal

Gyroﬁeld

Moving Cloud

Nicola Dinan

Mary with Son, Rayna Carruthers

Du Blonde

Monica Ross with Shirley Cameron and Evelyn Silver - Monument to Working Women

Maxim Emelyanychev

corto.alto

Gabrielle Goliath, Personal Accounts - Mango Blossoms, (2024), Installation view, Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh

The Merchant of Venice Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 18 Jan-15 Feb, various times

This new blistering production of the classic tragedy directed by Arin Arbus explores Shakespeare’s themes of bigotry, vengeance and hatred by placing the action at breaking points of race, class and religion. Shylock’s Venice reveals a society as deeply stratiﬁed and alienated as our own, as antisemitism, racism, xenophobia and misogyny rise to the surface.

Indoor Foxes

King Tut’s, Glasgow, 10 Jan, 7:30pm

Part of King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution – an annual January festival programming some of the very best grassroots acts in the Scottish music scene – this Indoor Foxes gig sees the Scottish singer-songwriter take to the stage with their deliciously noisy brand of indie rock. Support on the night comes from Alcatraz, Niamh Maclennan and The Grapevine.

Queer Cinema Sundays: Matthias & Maxime

Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, 26 Jan, 2:00pm

As part of Glasgow Film Theatre’s Queer Cinema Sundays, The Cineskinny podcast (hello, that’s us) are programming a one-off screening of irrepressible Canadian auteur Xavier Dolan’s Matthias & Maxime, a vibey hangout drama following two childhood friends whose relationship shifts after one kiss. The screening will be followed by a discussion on queer cinema with the hosts of the podcast (who are very smart and funny just fyi x).

Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, 23 Jan, 7:30pm

Jacob Alon

The Caves, Edinburgh, 29 Jan, 7pm

They only have two songs ofﬁcially out, but Jacob Alon is fast becoming one of Scottish music’s rising stars, with an incredible performance on Later…With Jools Holland already beneath their belt. Their songs are tender and brimming with emotion, delicately spinning out tales of intimacy, desire and loss with an arresting sincerity. Find them at The Caves this month, or at King Tut’s as part of Celtic Connections.

First Footing

The Hug and Pint, Glasgow, 3-21 Jan

Kicking January off at The Hug and Pint as usual is First Footing, a gig series that platforms up and coming acts, perfect for getting the new year off on the right foot. Find the likes of Karys, Angus Mtizwa, Fog Bandits, Wild Again and Ample House on their wee stage with a vibey mix of indie, folk and rock.

We Will Hear The Angels Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, 24 Jan6 Feb, 7pm

Both Hands + Town Centre

Leith Depot, Edinburgh, 31 Jan, 7:30pm

Bethlehem Calling Tramway, Glasgow, 25 Jan, 7:30pm

Part of Celtic Connections, this supergroup of Palestinian and Scottish musicians and artists (including Paul Thomson formerly of Franz Ferdinand, Ben Harrison of Grid Iron, acclaimed international director Raeda Ghazaleh and the Palestinian Arab Orthodox Scout pipers of Beit Jala) draw on diaries by teenage girls growing up in Bethlehem during the Second Intifada to give new life to a vital historical document.

Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, 18 Jan, 11pm

kitti

Club Mediterraneo

Photo: Jassy Earl

Photo: Kieran Howe

Photo: Euan Robertson

Image: courtesy of Sneaky Pete's

Photo: Cara Barbour

Image: courtesy of Celtic Connections

Photo: Nathan Dunphy

Photo: Jules Moskovtchenko

Image: courtesy of MUBI

Photo: Henry Grossman

Jacob Alon

Karys for First Footing

Matthias & Maxime

2nd Intifada St Joseph's School in Bethlehem

Indoor Foxes

The Merchant of Venice

Club Mediterraneo

Town Centre

We Will Hear The Angels Kitti

DAMN FINE COFFEE

What's On

All details correct at the time of writing

Music

It might be cold and dark outside for much of January, but there are tonnes of shows happening that warrant wrapping up and getting out the house for.

Taking place until 25 January, the King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution lineup is extensive, with four bands playing pretty much every night of the run; highlights include the rage-fuelled indie-rock of Indoor Foxes (10 Jan) and Martha May & The Mondays (15 Jan), and the dreamy, folk-tinged indie-rock of Lacuna (25 Jan). Meanwhile, a similar story is taking place throughout most of the month at The Hug & Pint with First Footing; covering a whole glut of genres, our highlights include the glam, garage-punk of Static (9 Jan), the dreamy angular indie of Former Champ (11 Jan) and nu-jazz from FERNS (21 Jan).

When it comes to Celtic Connections (16 Jan- 2 Feb), there’s a whole stack of shows to choose between. An immediate standout show for us is the Made In Glasgow night at the Barrowlands curated by corto.alto’s Liam Shortall (18 Jan). This mini festival lineup will feature performance from his band alongside appearances from the likes of rapper Bemz, neo-soul and R’n’B artist Becky Sikasa, and jazz DJ and producer Rebecca Vasmant among others. Seek out nights like Dialogues at The Mackintosh Church featuring expert cellist Su-a Lee (22 Jan), the We Are Here Scotland night featuring Aref Ghorbani, Simone Seales and Miwa Nagato-Apthorp at City Halls (23 Jan), kitti and friends at Drygate (21 Jan) and Winter Bloom at Pavilion Theatre featuring smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul, Assynt and Sian (24 Jan).

The rest of the festival features shows from local talent like Georgia Cécile (Old Fruitmarket, 21 Jan), Curlew and Aurora Engine (The Glad Cafe, 24 Jan), No Windows, mokusla and Curiosity Shop (The Hug & Pint, 25 Jan), Sacred Paws (Drygate, 25 Jan), Ímar and Malin Lewis (Pavilion Theatre, 25 Jan), C Duncan and Adam Ross (Saint Luke’s, 28 Jan), Broken Chanter (Cottiers, 29 Jan), Clarissa Connelly (The Mackintosh Church, 29 Jan) and Jacob Alon (King Tut’s, 31 Jan).

Outwith all of that, Glasgow doom metallers Gout (featuring members of The Ninth Wave and Lucia & The Best Boys) launch their debut EP Born Rotting with a show at Nice N Sleazy (17 Jan), Glasgow label and collective No Soap are hosting a joint launch party for Dayydream and The Healing Power of Horses at The Chamber Room in Govan (18 Jan), Becca Starr celebrates her latest album Deﬁxio at Room 2 (18 Jan), and the Glasgow Songwriter Round returns to King Tut’s with Andie, Cera Impala, Scott C. Park and Tom McGuire (20 Jan). In Edinburgh, Du Blonde plays The Mash House (22 Jan), kitti brings her formidable neo-jazz and timeless voice to The Voodoo Rooms (23 Jan), while the equally talented Jacob Alon also swings by The Caves (29 Jan).

Finally, the end of the month marks Independent Venue Week (27 Jan-2 Feb). At the time of writing, there are conﬁrmed shows happening at McChuills in Glasgow from the likes of Do Nothing (28 Jan) and Roller Disco Death Party (2 Feb), and Midnight Ambulance play as part of the celebrations at MacArts in Galashiels (31 Jan). At Edinburgh’s Leith Depot, catch

Photo: Jonathan Doyle

Photo: Sophie

Jouvenaar

Photo: Amy Gwatkin

Clarissa Connelly

corto.alto

Malin Lewis

Both Hands and Town Centre (31 Jan) among others, and in Dundee, IVW ambassadors for Scotland, 2024 SAY Award winners rEDOLENT play Beat Generator Live (2 Feb). [Tallah Brash]

Film

Be prepared to see a lot of films in January, because for some reason every distributor in this country is crowbarring their most-anticipated titles into cinemas this month. Towards the back of this issue, you’ll find rapturous reviews for some of them, like Nosferatu (1 Jan), Nickel Boys (3 Jan), Babygirl (10 Jan) and The Brutalist (24 Jan), but this is only the tip of the iceberg. There’s also the Andrew Garfield-Florence Pugh melodrama We Live In Time (1 Jan), the Jesse Eisenberg-Kieran Culkin road movie A Real Pain (8 Jan) and the eerie Danish true crime drama The Girl with the Needle (10 Jan). Add to this embarrassment of riches a trio of buzzy biopics (did I mention it’s Oscar season?), with Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (17 Jan), Angelina Jolie as opera star Maria Callas in Maria (10 Jan) and various actors as John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner et al in Saturday Night (31 Jan).

Oh, there’s an Oscar contender I missed: Hard Truths (out 31 Jan; reviewed p. 59). It sees the mighty Mike Leigh reunite with his Secrets & Lies star Marianne Jean-Baptiste to tell the story of Pansy, an angry woman who can become apoplectic at the most minor of everyday inconveniences (as someone who travels regularly on ScotRail, I feel her pain). To mark Leigh’s return, GFT are presenting a four-ﬁlm retrospective throughout January with Life is Sweet, Topsy-Turvy (screening from a 35mm print), Vera Drake and the aforementioned Secrets & Lies (see glasgowﬁlm.org for details). The season culminates with a preview of Hard Truths on 26 January.

Celtic Connections features a cinematic event that looks unmissable: When Fish Begin To Crawl. Co-directed by Morag McKinnon and composer Jim Sutherland, the ﬁlm celebrates the Flow Country, the vast region of bog peatland in the north of Scotland, which recently received UNESCO World Heritage status. The screening is presented as a triptych that will be projected across three massive screens in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall with the RSNO performing Sutherland’s score live; we’re promised it’ll take viewers on a mind-bending journey from the formation of galaxies to the emergence of life on Earth (2 Feb). (Also at Eden Court, Inverness, 28 Jan.)

How can we top that epic screening, a Mike Leigh season and all those Oscar contenders? A live appearance of The Skinny’s podcast The CineSkinny, that’s how! As part of GFT’s Queer Cinema Sundays, we’ll be presenting Xavier Dolan’s Matthias & Maxime followed by an onstage discussion with the CineSkinny crew about the best queer cinema this side of the millennium (26 Jan). [Jamie Dunn]

Clubs

On Friday 10 January, Return to Mono house homegrown techno talent –Niamh Jobson, Kairogen, KAAI, ona:v, Brandon Lee Vear – at Glasgow’s Room 2. UK techno heads, check out La Cheetah for Flipside with Dyslecta and slyn the same night. On Wednesday 15 January, Manchester legend Jon K joins Edinburgh’s Daksh at Sneaky Pete’s for membrane – expect a mixed bag of off-kilter grooves.

The following day, Club Signal waves Sneaky Pete’s goodbye, as they celebrate one ﬁnal throwdown in the Cowgate at the unknown – untitled 4th birthday (16 Jan). On Friday 17 January, common room debuts in Glasgow,

Photo:

Photo: Membrane

Sneaky Pete's

When Fish Begin To Crawl

Mike Leigh Exit

A Real Pain

inviting Warp Records’ Wu-Lu (DJ set) to The Flying Duck. On Saturday 18 January, Glasgow’s Crucial Roots Soundsystem set up their rig at EXIT for an evening full of deep and heavy dub. Raising funds for Attitude is Everything, Stereo hosts Spinnin’ on the Spectrum on Saturday 25 January.

[Cammy Gallagher]

Art

At Perth Museum, Waters Rising traces stories and objects connected to ﬂooding from Scotland and abroad, from biblical accounts to Ancient Egypt to North America, and more recent events closer to home. The exhibition explores the growing threat of the global climate emergency while examining the impact of ﬂooding and extreme weather events on communities and infrastructure in Perth and Kinross. Continues until 16 March.

In Edinburgh, a major retrospective of the late Barry Le Va’s sculptures continues at Fruitmarket until 2 February. In a State of Flux is a rare opportunity to experience Le Va’s works from across a vast career and to understand more about the artist behind the work.

At Talbot Rice, Guadalupe Maravilla’s exhibition Piedras de Fuego continues until 15 February. The artist has transformed the Georgian Gallery into a place for recovery and regeneration. Bringing together his remarkable personal journey and teachings from healers and shamans from around the world, Maravilla’s sculptures, paintings and murals are made to be powerful healing instruments. Visitors can also catch Gabrielle Goliath’s installation Personal Accounts while visiting Talbot Rice.

At Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, No More Sheep: Margot Sandeman on Arran brings together works by the artist, in a love letter to the scenic Scottish island. The Isle of Arran represented an escape from the stresses and strains of city life for Margot Sandeman, a tranquil place where she could paint, relax and recharge. Continues until June 2025. [Harvey Dimond]

Theatre

January is one of the quieter months for theatre, after the festive extravaganza of December. Some winter magic continues as Scottish Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker tours to Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre (8-18 Jan), before heading north to Inverness (Eden Court, 22-25 Jan) and Aberdeen (His Majesty’s Theatre, 29 Jan-1 Feb).

There’s more ballet with Bulgaria’s prestigious company Varna International Ballet arriving in Edinburgh’s Playhouse with a triple bill of Prokoﬁev (Romeo and Juliet, 16 Jan) and Tchaikovsky (Swan Lake, 17 Jan, The Nutcracker, 18 Jan). That’s right, Edinburgh Nutcracker fans have two rival productions to choose between on 18 January, surely a once-in-a-lifetime concurrence. Also in Playhouse, Shen Yun (31 Jan-1 Feb) journeys back to pre-Communist China with extravagant costumes, interactive backdrops and classical Chinese dance.

There’s even more dance in the Traverse on 11 January, with Edinburgh College students presenting a dynamic double bill from PASS’s BA Dance and Drama Ensemble Students produced in partnership with Dance Base.

In Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket Gallery, Magnetic North return to the space with We Will Hear The Angels (24 Jan-6 Feb), which takes its title from Chekhov’s play Uncle Vanya. The performance uses music, words and movement to explore the strange power of sad music to uplift us.

Image: Given to Glasgow Life Museums by Joan Hughson, 2017. © Sandeman Estate

Image: Courtesy the artist & P·P·O·W, NY. PhotoDanny Perez.png

Image: courtesy of the artist

Photo: Andy Ros

Scottish Ballet’s The Nutcracker

Flooded Aberfeldy by Sam Hayles

Margot Sandeman, Yellow Irises, Arran Shore, 1976, ink, acrylic and pastel on paper

Guadalupe Maravilla, 'Disease Thrower #12122012', 2022

Amongst the many highlights of Celtic Connections, in Tramway, Bethlehem Calling (25 Jan) is a multi-disciplinary performance based on diaries by teenage girls growing in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during the second Intifada (2000-2005) and also includes present-day testimony from current students and those same women, 20 years on. On the same night, Celtic Connections and Scottish Dance Theatre present Moving Cloud with TRIP and small pipes virtuoso Brìghde Chaimbeul (Theatre Royal Glasgow, 25 Jan), which promises an exhilarating fusion of traditional Celtic music and contemporary dance. [Rosamund West]

Books

Things slowly begin to gear up after the Christmas rush at bookshops. Over at The Portobello Bookshop, there are two great book launches: Holly Bourne talks about her new adult ﬁction book So Thrilled For You, all about female friendship and motherhood (21 Jan), while Nicola Dinan releases her sophomore novel Disappoint Me (28 Jan). Over at The Lighthouse Bookshop, there’s an event rescheduled from the Radical Book Fair following the freak snowstorm: Hannah Proctor, Evie Muir and Joy Atkinson will be discussing how to survive activism over at the Augustine United Church (23 Jan).

Just in times for Burns Night, meanwhile, there’s a music/poetry/comedy performance at the Scottish Storytelling Centre with She Burns (23 Jan), in which four witches attempt to summon the spirit of Scotland’s bard. And there’s more poetry and storytelling in Glasgow at the Glasgow Zine Library: head over for the Glasgow Storytellers Group on 6 January, and the poetry open mic night on 8 January. [Anahit Behrooz]

Comedy

A new year signals brand new shows from a raft of brilliant acts. Alison Spittle is a high value woman (Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, 11 Jan, 6pm and 8pm, £10) in her latest work about inbuilt misogyny and the green M&M’s notoriety in her trademark affable style. Having won over audiences at Fringe 2023, Kathy Maniura returns with a new Drag King show as her alter ego London Cycling Man (Monkey Barrel, 15 Jan, 8pm, £7). With all the gear and no idea, join the ﬁnalist of Europe’s bi est drag king competition as she turns full Jeremy Vine. As for local acts, The Stand Glasgow plays host to the beginnings of new shows from Jay Lafferty and Liam Withnail in a double hander from two of Scotland’s most consummate club comics (30 Jan, 8.30pm, £12).

This month also sees some standout Fringe shows return to Scotland. One of August’s hottest tickets was Jin Hao Li’s Swimming in a Submarine (Monkey Barrel, 25 Jan, 8pm, £14). A truly refreshing debut offering, Li’s comedic voice is well worth sampling with his mix of off-the-wall punchlines and unique delivery style. Dan Tiernan’s here too with sophomore hour Stomp (Monkey Barrel, 1 Feb, 6pm, £12) featuring gout, Glasto and great punchlines. We reckon you might catch him at the following gig as well… Finally, snatch up tickets to Adam Flood’s Late Night Comedy Rave (Monkey Barrel, 31 Jan, 10.45pm, £12). An underground hit at the Fringe, the gig sees original electronic tracks interspersed with top jokes and standup, all with the atmosphere of a Boiler Room set. [Polly Glynn]

Photo: Aoife Herrity

Photo: Mike Bryk

Image: courtesy of Portobello Bookshop

Photo: Drew Forsyth

Adam Flood

Alison Spittle

Nicola Dinan

Dan Tiernan

Ad Absurdum

30-31 Jan, 7.30pm Edinburgh | Glasgow

Maxim Emelyanychev Conductor | Sergei Nakariakov Trumpet | Jamie Pettinger DJ

22 A survey of the cultural landscape in 2025 - Scottish Arts Under Pressure

25 Singer-songwriter jasmine.4.t starts 2025 off on a high note with her boygeniusproduced debut album You Are the Morning

26 Spotlight on… some of the musical artists we think you’re going to be enjoying in 2025.

30 We catch up with Glasgow’s monthly alcohol-free party Good Clean Fun

33 We asked our writers: ‘Who are the great LGBTQ+ auteurs of the 21st Century ?’

39 One writer reﬂects on a recent trip to China and navigating familial relationships via linguistic and geographical distances.

41 A look at ten years of Be United, the organisation nurturing Black creatives in Scotland.

42 As he releases his debut ﬁction ﬁlm Nickel Boy s, RaMell Ross discusses the role of the artist in political change.

44 German-Afghan author Aria Aber on her debut novel Good Girl

45 A Silent Voice director Naoko Yamada talks to us about her latest animation The Colors Within

47 Bethlehem Calling assembles a multi-disciplinary crew to platform the diaries of teenage girls in the West Bank.

48 Adam Flood on the similarities between rave and comedy.

On the website... More reviews! Our Zap! events newsletter, every Thursday! More Spotlights on more new Scottish music! Our fortnightly ﬁlm podcast, The Cineskinny!

Image Credits: (Left to right, top to bottom) Jack Murphy; Matt Grub; @youzzzuf; Douglas Rogerson; Weekend; Yuying Chan; Jack Visser Photography; Nickel Boys; courtesy of Bloomsbury;

Shot of the month

The Chats @ O2 Academy Glasgow, 7 December by

Laura Muraska-Ross

Across

Pantsless – soldier (8) 9. Premise – essay (6) 10. Tuber (6)

Migraine (8) 12. Sniper (8) 13. Damage (6)

14. Square one – downright bad era (anag) (3,7,5)

18. So dear (anag) (6) 20. Freebie – tell (8)

23. Interpret – hip creed (anag) (8)

24. Edgewise (4-2)

25. Gregarious (6)

26. Incumbent (2,6)

Racoon (anag) – beer brand (6)

Began – bed maker (anag) (8)

Notify (6)

Easy target (3-7,5)

Hot – drunk? (8)

Overhaul (6)

More powerful – I rig them (anag) (8)

Prickly li'l fella (8)

Horrible person – also here (anag) (8)

Intermittently (2,3,3)

Former grape (6)

Insight – eyesight (6)

Immediately – simultaneously (2,4)

Compiled by George

Sully

In this month’s advice column, one newly out woman isn’t sure how to get a girlfriend

I am a newly out wlw that is trying hard to get a girlfriend and failing horribly. It feels like I am never brave enough to just fully ask someone out. I always hang out informally a couple of times and then tell myself I’ll ask them out, but end up friendzoned. How do I get out of this cycle?

The beauty of the advice column genre, or indeed the broader genre of Telling People What To Do, is that I don’t necessarily need to be able to do the thing in order to tell you – with authority! – how to do the thing. In the same way that you could say to me that “[redacted] is obviously [redacted redacted redacted]” and I would be like “ok :) interesting :)” and then proceed to do whatever I wanted, there exists a huge gap between knowledge and action when it comes to taking control of our lives. That gap, that being free from the responsibility of risk, provides a certain clarity that is great for advice giving, and terrible for self-actualisation.

I guess I’m saying all this because there is such an obvious solution here (seize life by the cojones and go for it!) but there is clearly something that is obstructing it beyond… me not having already told you. You mention your lack of bravery – I wonder if instead of berating yourself for your inability to overcome the fear, you could dig into the fear itself (omg yes, thank you, I am in weekly therapy). Are you scared of rejection? Of inexperience? Of failure?

I personally am scared of all of these things which sometimes makes me feel like I have no agency over my life, because I ultimately have no power in not making those fears come true. But maybe it’s less about controlling the outcome and more about controlling the correlation between this fear and your actions. Is there any way of holding it all more lightly; less “I need to get a girlfriend” and more “this person seems cool and what if I took one tiny step in their direction.” Relationships are such organic things, born out of desire and attachment and chemistry, and you simply cannot game your way into them. And yeah, there’s a kind of helplessness in that, but also a kind of freedom. Forget about all your aching, desperate yearnings. Who is the person in front of you right now? And what do you want to say to them?

Scottish Arts in 2025

Illustration: Jack Murphy

We start a new year with a lot of questions about the future of the arts in Scotland. After a 2024 marked by relentless threats to arts institutions and basic funding streams, January 2025 promises at least the announcement of the long-delayed round of long-term funding for the cultural sector. We take a look at what is happening, the widespread impact of the cost of living and standstill or stop funding on organisations and artists, and try to ﬁnd some hope for the future.

That hope also comes in the form of a Spotlight on… 2025 with a round-up of the musicians (with a Scottish grassroots focus, natch) whose work we’re looking forward to hearing more of in the coming months. We meet jasmine.4.t, celebrate sober clubbing with Good Clean Fun, and mark the outset of the quarter century with a survey of the queer cinema auteurs of the last 25 years.

POSTER ARTIST (p36-37):

Trackie Macleod is a Glasgow-based artist who makes work drawn from his lived experience, exploring ideas of masculinity, class and sexuality. He works across disciplines, using graphic design, photography, video, sculpture to make work that is nostalgic, humorous and rooted in Glasgow.

I:@trackiemacleod

Arts Under Pressure

Venue closures. Funding chaos. A cost of living crisis. Last year was not a banner one for Scotland’s arts and culture sector. We ask some members of this community how things might improve in 2025

Ithink I speak for everyone with even a smidgen of interest in the Scottish arts scene when I say, thank fuck 2024 is over. Fissures had long been visible within Scotland’s cultural infrastructure thanks to 15 years of austerity and the lingering aftershock of a global pandemic, but in 2024 it truly felt like these hairlines had opened up to full-blown foundational cracks and the whole arts sector was crumbling around us. Long-standing venues essential to nurturing the vibrant scene here have rarely looked more vulnerable, while for individual artists, traditional revenue streams like music royalties and book advances continue to shrink as the cost of living soars.

As a result, artists and arts organisations are more reliant than ever on government support, which has been at a standstill for years, but even these meagre funding schemes seemed on the brink of collapse in 2024. Despite multiple pledges by the Scottish Government to properly fund the sector, a shortfall of £6.6 million resulted in the temporary closure of the essential Open Fund for individual artists in the summer. The dysfunction reached a crescendo in October when it was announced that all the regularly funded organisations (RFOs) who had spent much of last year devising three-year business plans for the new Multi-Year Funding programme would have their applications put on hold while the Scottish government tried to work out how much change they could ﬁnd down the back of Bute House’s sofa.

“Scotland punches above its weight in making great music right across the genre spectrum”

Olaf Furniss

Those RFOs will now ﬁnd out their Multi-Year Funding results at the end of this month, and the draft budget announced by the Scottish government in early December does look positive, with the announcement that an additional £20 million will be added to the Multi-Year Funding pot.

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson claims the additional funding will prove “transformational.”

Pressure on artists

Ahead of these “transformational” funds actually being awarded, the arts in Scotland are very much in a Schrödinger’s cat situation, but even if we are moving into a healthier funding landscape as promised, there is much damage to be undone by the last few years of uncertainty. The Glasgowbased author Heather Parry sums it up pretty succinctly. “I think it’s right to say that everyone is just exhaust ed,” she tells me.

“Everyone’s tired of having to ﬁght for proper remu neration for their work, tired of the lack of long-term stability, tired of trying to carve out the time and inclination to be creative when they increasingly have to do ‘money work’ to support their creative careers.”

Parry reckons the current pres sure on writers, and other artists in gen eral, isn’t just down to the chaos of the last few years. She describes this pressure as cumulative, coming from the underfunding of artists directly and the steep drop they’ve seen in earnings for their work over the last decade or so. “You can’t really uncouple the effect of Spotify and the increasing costs of touring from the fact that more musicians will be seeking government funding, for instance,” she says. “Similarly, the diminishment of advances and of marketing budgets across the publishing sector (unless, of course, you’re one of the bi can’t be uncoupled from the fact that so many more writers are seeking govern ment funding or support from organisa tions like The Royal Literary Fund or

Words: Jamie Dunn Illustrations: Jack Murphy

The Society of Authors, reaching out for hardship grants more than they ever have before.”

And what kind of work is created in such an environment, where artists might spend more time researching what funding is available and ﬁlling in forms than actually, you know, being creative? Parry’s worry is that it might end up being work of the most compromised kind. “If you’re needing to ask for funding for a project, you might shear off all the rough edges or anything that might be provocative lest you face either funding denial or the public kicking up a massive fuss about your work being immoral (as we have seen happen this last year or so). This means we could be missing out on spectacular, era-deﬁning books because the author thinks it won’t sell, or the public won’t like it being funded.”

Pressure on arts

So it’s been tough for individual freelancers in Scottish arts, but what about our organisations – the collectives, the galleries, the theatre troupes? One organisation that’s eagerly awaiting the Multi-Year Funding results is Glasgow Short Film Festival. Its director, Matt Lloyd, has been working within Scotland’s film exhibition and film festival sector for over two decades now, and for him, the most significant pressure he’s feeling is the one that everyone is: the cost of living crisis. “I think in the context of an ongoing cost of living crisis it’s a challenge to make events affordable to all and to meet our Living Wage employer obligations while receiving what is effectively a real term cut in funding each year,” he tells me. Finding other

sources of revenue is extremely tricky in such a climate. “Many of the companies that might sponsor us – almost exclusively from within the ﬁlm sector – are also stru ling at the moment and are therefore not in a position to offer cash support,” says Lloyd.

Finding sponsorship from outside the world of film is fraught though, particularly for an organisation like GSFF that has a reputation for ethical practices, social responsibility and solidarity with oppressed people (see its firm stand against the devastating violence in Gaza during its 2024 edition). “Obviously there are considerations of ethical fundraising and artwashing which have become more pronounced in the last year,” says Lloyd, who’s perhaps thinking specifically of the slew of galleries and book festivals (including Edinburgh International Book Festival) that announced they will no longer be receiving funds from Baillie Gifford amid concerns of its fossil fuel investments and links to Israeli tech and military companies. Lloyd says this hasn’t been a big issue for GSFF, but admits “we have turned down offers of support or chosen not to work with certain businesses for ethical reasons.”

A painful but obvious solution for a festival like GSFF is to try and cut its cloth to suit: put on an event that’s less ambitious than the last. But this can have its own pressures, especially when it comes to trying to secure future funding. “There is an expectation of growth year on year,” says Lloyd, “and project funding is offered for new ‘exciting’ pilot projects rather than to support the development of existing ongoing activity – that’s unsustainable, there’s a real risk of over-reach and burnout.”

I hear similar sentiments from Olaf Furniss, the co-founder of the Edinburgh-based music convention Wide Days. Particularly trying for him is the valuable time spent ﬁlling out long-winded applications for unwieldy and extremely competitive one-size-ﬁts-all funds. “Applying for grants, particularly from Creative Scotland, is often an onerous task and I’ve known people who have ended up ill as a result, myself included,” Furniss tells me. “Even when you spend weeks putting together the application and meet all the requirements, there is absolutely no guarantee you will be successful.”

Furniss experienced this ﬁrst-hand early last year when Wide Days 2024 application was turned down. “I was rejected in spite of it being

recommended by [Creative Scotland]’s music ofﬁcer and the 2023 event paying over 100 people, including all the showcase acts,” he tells me.

“Moreover, an independent study in 2023 put our economic impact at £10.1m for the sector.” The 2024 event did go ahead thankfully, but only by cutting his own wages. “My business partner and I agreeing to abandon all the fair work principles where they applied to us, the irony being that applicants [to Creative Scotland] are required to detail their approach in this area.”

Pressure on venues

“CCA has been uniquely vital in the development of GSFF”

Matt Lloyd

Parry has also been broken by Sisyphean funding admin. On top of her own writing, she is the co-founder and managing director of Extra Teeth, the knockout literary magazine that’s been supporting Scotland’s writing scene since 2019. The mag was initially ﬁnanced through crowdfunding but has subsequently received project funding from Creative Scotland and the National Lottery, but like Furniss, she’s found the experience an enormous drain on her and her team’s energy and resources.

“Artists who set up projects to support other artists are not business graduates,” she laments. “Many of us are forced to learn these skills to apply for government funding and they’re not natural to us. Even some of the largest arts organisations in the country only have a couple of full-time staff and the amount of unpaid labour that goes into applying for the highly-competitive government funding strands is unbelievable and completely unsustainable.”

The extent of the damage wreaked by this perfect storm of spiralling costs and over-subscribed funding in the Scottish arts scene is perhaps most evident by the alarming number of closures of arts venues in Scotland in the last few years. Some of the bi est scalps include The Filmhouse in Edinburgh, Glasgow’s queer workers’ co-op Bonjour and The Blue Arrow Jazz Bar, also in Glasgow. Summerhall, arguably the Scottish capital’s most important multi-arts venue, is also effectively closed because of an ongoing dispute with HMRC and is in the process of being sold. And there’s currently a temporary closure of Glasgow’s most vital multi-arts hub: Centre for Contemporary Arts, which has shut its doors over the winter to ‘recover ﬁnancially’, with the aim to reopen in April when Creative Scotland’s new Multi-Year Funding kicks in.

This will be too late for Glasgow Short Film Festival, which returns for its 18th edition in March. “CCA usually provides us with two cinema auditoriums plus additional meeting, event and installation spaces,” says Lloyd. “So naturally its loss has had a huge impact on planning this year’s programme.” It’s not just the logistics of ﬁnding a new venue that’s giving Lloyd and his small team a headache, it’s that there are no other suitable arts venues that are as affordable. “Due to CCA’s unique open source approach to working with outside organisations, we pay them no venue hire fee, we just cover some staff costs,” he explains. “So there is not a budget that can easily be transferred to another venue. While we have secured an alternative space which will potentially open us up to new audiences, it has impacted the scale and scope of this year’s programme.”

“I think it’s right to say that everyone is just exhausted”

Heather Parry

As Lloyd says, there is no other venue in Glasgow quite like the CCA, and its closure, even for a short period of recovery, will be deeply felt across the city’s arts scene. “CCA has been uniquely vital in the development of GSFF and a diverse range of festivals and independent exhibitors,” says Lloyd. “In recent years improvements such as the introduction of DCP projection in its cinema have really opened up the venue’s possibilities. Pop-up screenings are all ﬁne and good, but CCA provides access to industry-standard projection to anyone wanting to put on a ﬁlm night without requiring a massive outlay.”

Clearly for Lloyd, the venue is absolutely vital. For it not to be a resource available to the city would be unthinkable. “If not having it as a venue for GSFF25 is the price for CCA’s long-term survival, I’m prepared to pay that,” he says.

Radical rethink

The current situation of closures, burnout and precarious funding does not su est a

Like many artists, Parry is keen to see some sort of Universal Basic Income introduced into Scotland. “It’s currently being implemented in Ireland, and I would love to see a similar thing trialled here.” Two thousand Irish artists are currently receiving a Basic Income for the Arts (BIA), which aims to support the arts and creative practice by giving a payment of €325 a week to artists and creative arts workers. “It’s not perfect, of course,” says Parry, “and there will be criticisms of the fact that it’s not universal to all artists in Ireland, or that the amount of money given isn’t higher, but all the feedback su ests that it is allowing for the creation of new work, the taking of risks, and the cessation of the underlying ﬁnancial stress that’s become normal to those working in the arts.”

Furniss is also keen to see how the BIA trial plays out, and he also cites other initiatives he’s come across in his travels. “In Sweden, the government has a requirement that new public buildings allocate 1% of their budget to art,” he tells me, “while in Mexico visual artists are able to pay their

Of course, the easiest solution would be for a more equal distribution of wealth for everyone. “The cost of living doesn’t just affect writers but also their readers,” notes Parry. “And if people can’t afford to buy books, then sales are going to go down. You might not think that something like rent controls or a higher living wage would support sales of books, but of course it does. The more expendable income people have, the more they’ll spend on things like the arts.”

Despite all these hardships, however, ﬁlms and music and theatre and art continues to be made in Scotland. Festivals are held, books are published, and gigs continue to be put on in every corner of this country.

“Scotland punches above its weight in making great music right across the genre spectrum,” says Furniss. “There are amazing artists and labels, and creatively I believe the scene is as healthy as it ever has been. It is also worth highlighting that in just a few years, two Edinburgh events – Terminal V and FLY – have established themselves as two of the UK’s most important promoters of electronic music events, both at home and outside Scotland.”

When I ask Parry about any silver linings on the horizon, she su ests the tenacity of creatives in Scotland and specifically the way they are able to channel the difficulty of the present moment into groundbreaking, genre-defying, bold and brilliant work. “We’re exhausted, we’re burned out and we’re demoralised and yet people are still striving to support their peers, establish new projects and create the most incredible art,” she says. “The talent is here and it’s working so, so hard. What we need now is a government that will commit to creating a long-term, sustainable, risksupporting industry that holds up all creatives regardless of their personal financial position. Currently we are looking at an arts industry that is the preserve of those who have money, and we cannot watch as all other artists are excluded. We need the arts to be for all.”

Heather Parry ’s new novel, Carrion Crow, is out in Feb from Penguin

New Beginnings

Singer-songwriter jasmine.4.t is determined to use her up-and-coming status to give back to the trans community, and starts 2025 off on a high note with her boygenius-produced debut album You Are the Morning

“Igot long COVID when COVID came round, and I have ME, so it hit me really bad, I had to have a heart operation... I was just in bed for six months and I was like, I think I’m gonna transition.”

It’s a long road that’s brought singer-songwriter jasmine.4.t here, having just dropped the title track from her upcoming debut album You Are the Morning. Like previous single Elephant, which featured on BBC Sounds New Music Fix, and the record overall, the new release is a heart-warming endearment of T4T (trans-for-trans) friendship – something Jasmine found herself depending on after coming out.

“It went terribly,” she tells us. “My marriage fell apart, I tried to move back in with my parents, and just watching them react to my transition was too much... I was sleeping on friends’ ﬂoors, and that is when I wrote most of the songs.”

Jasmine had a lifelong passion for guitar since her late uncle had ﬁrst gifted her the instrument, and she put together a scrapbook of love letters to the people that had put her up. But when the self-released album’s launch party fell through, the project was nearly abandoned. A friend motivated Jasmine to reconnect with an industry contact she had known pre-transition – Lucy Dacus. Jasmine sent Lucy a demo; she called Phoebe Bridgers, who called her manager.

After the most tense telephone tree imaginable, the news came through that Jasmine was the first UK signatory to Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records label, and was going to the legendary Sound City Studios in LA for a 12-day recording marathon – Jasmine was getting a new beginning, a long way away from sleeping on floors. “Me and my bandmates, Enid and Phoenix, who are both trans girls from Manchester, we all flew out together,” Jasmine says. “We all knew the songs, but we were ready for them to be taken apart and put back together.”

Co-produced by all three members of supergroup boygenius, their inﬂuence is apparent across the record. Each of the three indie icons brought a distinct speciality; Julien Baker’s expertise on instruments, amps, and pedals gave the record its best electric guitar sounds, like on songs Skin On Skin and Breaking In Reverse, while Lucy Dacus took on an editorial role, making su estions to lyrics and song structure.

“And Phoebe just has… boss guy energy,” Jasmine laughs. “But in the most nurturing way.” That boss guy energy is best heard on Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation, a bluesy duet that’s a highlight of the record. But as big a name as boygenius are, there was one more collaborator that barely ﬁt into the recording booth – the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles (TCLA). Jasmine gushes over the historic magnitude of ﬁlling the place where Nirvana conceived Nevermind with trans artists, and the

Words: Ellie Robertson

“I feel like 2024 was a year of mourning for us. 2025 should be a year of action. But, also a year to celebrate ourselves” jasmine.4.t

choir’s contributions to Elephant and album closer Woman amplify the album’s message of queer unity. “Looking back on the videos of that day, I didn’t know any of them at the time but we’ve kept in touch over Instagram and now I can pick out their faces!”

Engaging community projects like TCLA is something Jasmine is determined to do with her growing platform. When we saw her at Glasgow’s Queer Theory cabaret at Nice N Sleazy last November, she followed her set with a stall selling handmade friendship bracelets, with proceeds going to Trans Mutual Aid Manchester. She reveals she’d like to get back up to Scotland for her own shows in 2025 – but she’ll miss doing the intimate, community-oriented gigs on which she cut her teeth. “You know what we’re like, we love cabaret.”

Other resolutions for the new year include returning to the studio, spending time with her chosen family, and thinking up new ways to give back to Trans Mutual Aid, a grassroots support network that Jasmine could lean on when she faced precarious housing. “It helps people access therapy, access transition stuff, just any kind of ﬁnancial support people need,” she says. “But the main thing

is housing.” Homelessness is a crisis queer people face on both sides of the Atlantic, but trans voices are growing in power. Jasmine has spent the leadup to the album’s release recording more demos, and when she gets back stateside, she wants to tour and spread friendship bracelets and solidarity – even if there’s something worse in the White House this time. “People are ready to ﬁght now.”

Her optimism is also welcome in the UK, where the Labour government has just indeﬁnitely banned hormone blockers for trans patients under the age of 18. “I feel like 2024 was a year of mourning for us. 2025 should be a year of action. But, also a year to celebrate ourselves.” That celebration is You Are the Morning, a product of T4T friendship that seeks to pass on the love. Moving into the second half of the decade, jasmine.4.t sees a bright future, one that might already be too soon to change. “The tipping point happened and there’s nothing they can do to stop us.”

You Are the Morning is released on 17 Jan via Saddest Factory Records

jasmine4t.com

Spotlight On... 2025

As is becoming tradition in the music section for the January issue, we take a look at the musicians we’re excited about for the year ahead. In alphabetical order, this year includes a mix of relatively new talent, alongside grassroots artists who have been at it for a while but have new music on the horizon that we can’t wait to hear.

DANCER

Glasgow post-punk outﬁt Dancer released their excellent debut album, 10 Songs I Hate About You, early last year, attracting favourable end of year attention from bigwigs like Pitchfork who dubbed it their sixth favourite rock album of the year. In their Instagram post sharing the news, Dancer announced that they’re due to start recording LP2 this month, which we’re very excited for. Oh ya dancer! @dancerareaband

ELISABETH ELEKTRA

At the end of last September, Glasgow singersongwriter and producer Elisabeth Elektra returned with queer anthem and pop banger Desire. Co-produced alongside Jonny Scott (CHVRCHES, The Kills), it’s the ﬁrst single to be taken from Elektra’s forthcoming new album, Hypersigil, due early this year. A celebration of sexuality, we can’t wait to hear the rest of the record. @elisabethelektramusic

EYVE

Last March, Glasgow-based Zimbabwean singer, songwriter and rapper EYVE released the powerful and captivating EP Sista! Beyond the Sky Isn’t the Limit. Also one hell of a live performer, this year she hopes to further her craft, collaborating with artists from across different disciplines. She also plans to incorporate visuals into her live performances, aims to explore Afro techno in her music, and is set to perform at showcase festival Focus Wales in May. @nameseyve

FORMER CHAMP

Featuring members of Martha Ffion, Savage Mansion, Catholic Action and Secret Motorbikes, Glasgow’s Former Champ released their first music in 2022. Last year came two excellent EPs with the five-piece back in the studio this month to track their debut album, due later in the year. They play The Hug & Pint this month (11 Jan), and have more live shows and festival slots planned, alongside more releases and shows with Hand of God, the small label they run. @former.champ

Photo: Lucia Fairfull

Photo: Hope Simmers

Photo: Najma Abukar

EYVE

Gout

FOURTH DAUGHTER

Edinburgh electronic artist and producer Emily Atkinson, aka Fourth Daughter, had a bit of a wild ride in the second half of last year when her danceﬂoor-bothering single Higher (Just a Feeling) was dubbed Track of the Week on Radio 1. With her follow-up single Hybrid also receiving airplay on the station, her new EP Full Bloom is due in February, alongside a headline show at Cabaret Voltaire, and she’s set to perform at SXSW in Austin, Texas, as an ofﬁcial artist. @iamfourthdaughter

From doom-metal to pop and everything in-between, we highlight just some of the mostly grassroots Scottish artists to look out for in 2025

Words: Tallah Brash

GOUT

After having played only two shows, Glasgow doom-metal outﬁt Gout found themselves nominated in the Best Metal category at last year’s Scottish Live Music Awards, much to their amusement. Featuring members of The Ninth Wave and Lucia & The Best Boys, the sound these four are making couldn’t be further away from either of those bands. The ﬁrst in a series of “loud, angry, nihilistic” releases due in 2025, their Born Rotting EP is out this month. @__gout

INDOOR FOXES

GOODNIGHT LOUISA

As Goodnight Louisa, Louise McCraw released one of our favourite Scottish albums – Human Danger – in 2022. With her ﬁrst new music since then arriving last October in the form of the woozy and atmospheric synth-pop number Grace Jones, McCraw has plans for a follow-up to Human Danger this year, so expect plenty more expert storytelling over bright synths and alt-pop as the year rolls on. @goodnightlouisa

Last May, singer-songwriter Martha Barr played Wide Days as Indoor Foxes, immediately piquing our interest with her energy alone. Later in the year she released her excellent debut EP, Sadolescence, co-written with Fatherson’s Ross Leighton and self-described as being like Barr’s own personal mood ring. Around the same time she signed to Primary Talent, and is set to play King Tut’s, Dot to Dot, The Great Escape and Teddy Rocks festivals, with more new music on the way. @indoorfoxes

JACOB ALON

Fife-born, Edinburgh-based Jacob Alon sparked excitement in September upon releasing their debut single Fairy In a Bottle. Going on to perform the single on Later… With Jools Holland a couple of months later, follow-up single Confession

Photo: Laura Meek

Photo: Greta Kalva

Photo: Jamie Lee

Photo: Rosie Sco

Photo: Laura Prieto

kuleeangee

Former Champ

Fourth Daughter

Elisabeth Elektra Goodnight Louisa

arrived and blew us away all over again. With loads more new music on the way, and a packed January schedule, they’ve also just been announced as an ofﬁcial artist for SXSW. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for Alon.

@jacobal0n

KATHERINE ALY

Two years after the release of Shadows Are Made of Light Too, Katherine Aly premiered her new sound, look and live show at the St James Centre last August. Now joined onstage by dancers rather than a backing band, her alt-pop EP 222 arrived in November, melding together electronica, R‘n’B, dance, pop, funk and soul. Rebirthed and rejuvenated, Aly draws inspiration from artists like Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx and Self Esteem, and we’re excited for what she has in store this year. @itskatherinealy

KULEEANGEE

Towards the end of last year, Glasgow’s Keshav Kanabar and Edinburgh’s Duncan Grant released their debut single, Animated Love, as KuleeAngee, a groove-laden, danceﬂoor ready number that got us immediately excited for more from the pair. Ending the year with a pair of headline shows in the central belt, more live shows will follow this year, as well as their debut EP, due in the spring. @kuleeangee

MARANTA

At the end of last year, dreamy synth-pop masters Maranta released their ﬁrst new music since 2022, the epic six-minute bop Into the Evening. A sign of things to come this year, it’s the lead single for their debut album Day Long Dream, due in April on Paradise Palms Records. Expect more singles ahead of the full release, and probably a big party to celebrate the release. Watch this space. @maranta.band

PAQUE

Congolese-born, Glasgow-based rapper PAQUE has got ﬂow for days, with a deep timbre in his voice that makes him stand out from the crowd. Last year he released two EPs, with the second – Truth Be Told – helping raise funds for Palestinian and Congolese charities. This year he’s excited to be releasing new music with Scottish

producer Asendo and Glasgow electronic duo Roller Disco Death Party, with plenty of live shows in the pipeline, as well as, we’re told, an exciting label collaboration on the horizon. @paqueofﬁcial

POSSIBLY JAMIE

Self-professed as ‘Glasgow’s premier pop provoca teur’, Jamie Rees makes music under the Björkinspired moniker Possibly Jamie. Leaning more into a sound akin to Carly Rae Jepsen than Björk, Rees’s brand of pop music is bold, sassy and loads of fun. With a couple of EPs and a clutch of singles already in his arsenal, a new EP is due this year, featuring a couple of last year’s singles, with a slew of live shows sure to be announced at some point. @possiblypossiblyjamie

RUSSELL STEWART

We fell in love with Glasgow neo-soul artist Russell Stewart during the pandemic when he released the sublime single Citrus. His excellent Into View EP followed in 2022, and we’re delighted to report that 2025 will see Stewart returning with yet more new music – his hypnotic new single, pink and grey, arrives this month with, we’re told, a bi er project due later in the year. @itsthisrussell

TINA SANDWICH

Glasgow-based musician Tilly O’Connor released one of our favourite EPs last year – For the World –a gorgeous swirl of music circling the drain of alt-pop indie that could easily soundtrack a coming-of-age movie. Following a European tour at the end of last year, O’Connor and her band of best mates ended the year with a blowout in Dundee supporting Parliamo. With plans to release more music and tour more in Europe this year, we can’t wait to hear what Tina Sandwich serves up. @tina__sandwich

ZOE GRAHAM

Channeling artists like St. Vincent with some of the new music she released in 2024, last year was a busy one for Zoe Graham and her band, with festival dates galore, in towns and cities near and far. This year is likely to be even busier for Graham, with a new album in the works and a supremely catchy new single landing in January. We’re sure there’ll be plenty more live shows to come as the year unfolds. @iamzoegraham

Photo: Cameron Brisbane

Photo: Josh McNaughton

Zoe Graham

Possibly Jamie Maranta

Photo: Laura Meek

Photo: Nathan Dunphy

Photo: Kieran Howe

Photo: Charli Morachnick

Photo: Jules Moskovtchenko

Dancer

Katherine Aly

Russell Stewart

Jacob Alon

Indoor Foxes

Photo: Anthony Gerace

High Sobriety

As a sober-curious generation of clubgoers are opting to snub booze year-round, we catch up with Glasgow's monthly alcohol-free party Good Clean Fun, as well as some of its regulars

New Year wellness trends are nothing new, but the consumption habits of contemporary clubbers are. Dry January has long provided a month to be mindful of your drinking habits, and now, more than ever, a sober-curious generation of clubgoers are opting to snub booze year-round on the danceﬂoor. Subsequently, growing with the demand is Good Clean Fun – a monthly alcohol-free party quenching the thirst for an alternative space to enjoy a modern clubbing experience without the typical excesses.

“The party’s not a consolation prize for being unable to drink... we’re trying to build a culture around sobriety,” says Amy Rodgers, co-founder and resident DJ of the club night that began in 2021. “More people are rethinking their relationship to alcohol. Dry January is a great way for people to dip their toes into abstinence... it can be hard to imagine what a party can look like beyond drink and drugs if you’ve never tried it before.”

Good Clean Fun provides punters with a safe space, upstairs at Garnethill Multicultural Centre, to kick back over a kombucha and enjoy a range of stews, curries, and salads crafted by resident chef Reed Hexamer, before cutting loose to the sounds of local DJs. Widely adopted as Scotland’s social lubricant, alcohol gives many the conﬁdence to dance, let loose, and become a more sociable version of themselves on a weekly basis. Understandably, when removed from the equation entirely, some might wonder what an average Saturday evening could look like. “Floor cushions, bean bags, and carpets,” explains Rodgers, painting a scene more akin to a laidback house party than your standard nightclub. “The same way you’d typically go for pre-drinks with pals to relax you, we run a meditation hour that offers people an opportunity to get out of their head and connect to their body.

“It’s quite a big thing for people to go on a night out sober,” admits Rodgers. “I’ve gone out clubbing a lot since I was 18 and had to stop drinking and taking drugs... the ﬁrst couple years were really hard. I felt disconnected from everyone else on the danceﬂoor, it was like I was the only sober person in the world.” Seeking a space that didn’t pander to pints and party drugs, Rodgers swapped out strobes for festoon lights in an attempt to build a bridge between Glasgow’s recovery community and underground dance music scene. “Last New Year’s Eve was amazing,” she reminisces. “The bells were going; I looked up from the decks and saw so many of my pals that I’d met through recovery dancing together – this is exactly what this space is for.”

One of those pals is Robbie Houston, aka Boab, an abstinent Glaswegian artist and recent

Words: Cammy Gallagher

performer at Good Clean Fun’s annual NYE French Street event following the release of his debut album. “Unless I was heavily intoxicated, I’d never have dreamt of dancing in public once upon a time,” recalls Houston. “When I decided to put drugs behind me, I sort of resigned to the fact that I’d never be into clubbing or the like again. I made peace with it really. I met Amy not long into my recovery and we gradually built a beautiful friendship based around honesty, music and creativity. The night has helped me greatly in widening my social circle and giving me a place to release.”

“We know that community building and connecting with friends are key for health and wellbeing,” afﬁrms Beth Meadows, a Glasgow Caledonian University PhD candidate and Good Clean Fun dancer. “Alcohol-free nightlife offers people the opportunity to access important social pleasures associated with traditional nightlife without the risks posed by alcohol. Nightlife has long been an essential safe space for marginalised communities. We all deserve the right to party,” But for Meadows, clubbing spaces informed by decades of dance music culture, intertwined with substance use, come with unavoidable short and long-term welfare risks. “Sure, there has been a

decrease in alcohol consumption, but alcoholrelated deaths are still high. There are also the impacts on illness, injury, crime, family and friends, mental health... there are so many deeply entrenched connections to the issues of alcohol that we’re still very much experiencing as a society.”

“There’s stigma around addiction,” acknowledges Rodgers. “A lot of the coverage you see is statistics surrounding deaths in Scotland, and obviously that is important, but there’s lots of good stuff happening in the recovery community – we want to start a conversation around this.” Having secured funding from The National Lottery Community Fund and Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs, this month Good Clean Fun will host DJ and production workshops at Civic House, followed by a series of panel talks throughout the year that Rodgers hopes will lay the foundations for a strong separate social circuit that doesn’t reference nor rely on alcohol for fun.

Good Clean Fun takes place at Garnethill Multicultural Centre, Glasgow, 25 Jan, 4-10pm

Find out more about Good Clean Fun at gcfglasgow.com and follow them on Instagram @_goodcleanfun

Photo: Douglas Rogerson

Sexy. Dangerous. Hedonistic.

You Up? Then get ready to celebrate You Up? Midnight Movies with MUBI, from automobile accident erotica to 3D ejaculation, via joyless Scottish shagging and lots of ménages à trois

Words: Jamie Dunn

I’ve always associated movies with di erent times of the day. Growing up, wet weekend afternoons were for watching Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne westerns at my granny’s, or 80s fantasy lms with my wee sister (think The NeverEnding Story, Return to Oz and Labyrinth). In the evenings, my parents might rent us a solidly entertaining thriller starring someone like Tom Cruise or Harrison Ford, or a comedy with Robin Williams or Steve Martin. Fun family movie nights, no doubt, but when I got older I longed for the late-night hours when everyone had gone to bed and I had the telly to myself. I’d nestle close to the set, turn the sound down low, and seek out the most scandalous lms I could nd on late-night British TV.

In the year of our lord 2025, there’s no need for lm bu s seeking vice and excess to wait for the watershed to go channel hopping. The wonderful streaming service MUBI spills over with sexy, dangerous, hedonistic lms, the kind that capture the spirit of the movies you used to nd on terrestrial television in the small hours, and that’s doubly the case this month with their new movie season You Up? Midnight Movies, a collection of lms with carnal desire at their core.

Love triangles feature prominently. Take Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers, where a ménage à trois forms when a young American movie nut (Michael Pitt) who’s visiting Paris strikes up a friendship with a pair of gorgeous and possibly incestuous siblings (Eva Green and Louis Garrel) outside a cinematheque. Over a sweltering spring, the trio create their own closed-o world in the chic Parisian apartment belonging to the siblings’ holidaying parents. They argue about Buster Keaton while in the bath, make love in the kitchen, and generally lounge around as the riots of May ‘68 begin to rage in the streets. For a more recent take on colliding sexual desire and resentment set in Paris, check out Ira Sachs’ Passages, an honest and acerbic relationship drama in which a narcissistic lmmaker (Franz Rogowski) its between his husband (Ben Whishaw) and new lover (Adèle Exarchopoulos) while wearing fabulous out ts.

There’s a twisted love triangle of sorts too in Crash, David Cronenberg’s bracing adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s neo-futurist novel. The lm follows the unconventional desires of two strangers ( James Spader and Holly Hunter) who become erotically entangled with each other after their cars collide, and together get drawn into a cult led by a creepy dude who gets o on car crashes (Elias Koteas). The great critic Alexander Walker called Crash “some of the most perverted acts and theories of sexual deviance I have ever seen propagated in mainline cinema” – he couldn’t have given Cronenberg a bigger compliment.

One lmmaker who can always be relied upon to raise an eyebrow is French-Argentinian director Gaspar Noé, so it’s no surprise to see two of his lms in You Up?’s lineup. In Love, Karl Glusman stars as an American lm student in an anguished romantic triangle with his feisty French girlfriend and their sweet blonde neighbour. Originally shot in 3D, the lm is a bold experiment where sex is the main driving force for character and plot; Noé’s lms aren’t exactly known for their happy

endings but the sex- lled Love has plenty of them, if you catch my drift. The cinematography of Enter the Void is even more eye-popping. Told mostly from the point-of-view of a dead American drug dealer who’s keeping a watchful eye over his sister in a neon-drenched Tokyo, Enter the Void is a mindbending psychotronic epic that practically demands the Midnight Movie treatment.

If Scottish cinephiles are looking for examinations of amour fou a bit closer to home then there’s David Mackenzie’s Young Adam. Based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Alexander Trocchi – Scotland’s answer to William S. Burroughs – it stars Ewan McGregor as a nihilistic drifter with an unhealthy fascination with death, sex and custard. Mackenzie’s lm is as dark, dank and dispiriting as the canals between Glasgow and Edinburgh on which much of the action takes place, but its dreary mood is unshakable.

After watching much of the sex- lled lth in You Up? Midnight Movies, you might start to identify with Christine ( Sandy McLeod), the protagonist of Bette Gordon’s cult classic Variety. She’s an aspiring writer living in New York, who becomes obsessed with the goings on at a grotty porn theatre in Times Square. Her erotic awakening manifests as some light stalking of the cinema’s most mysterious patron and also inspires some hilariously saucy spoken word prose which unfortunately fails to arouse her boring boyfriend (Will Patton)

To peruse the full You Up? Midnight Movies collection and try MUBI for free for 30 days, head to mubi.com/theskinny2025

The Dreamers

The Great Queer Filmmakers of the 21st Century

Ahead of The Skinny’s screening of Matthias & Maxime at GFT as part of Queer Cinema Sundays, we asked our writers, “Who are the great LGBTQ+ auteurs of the 21st Century?”

Last April, Glasgow Film Theatre began its monthly Queer Cinema Sundays and it’s quickly become one of Scotland’s essential cinema seasons. Its aim is ‘to explore the rich history of LGBTQ+ films on the big screen with a shared audience’ and The Skinny will be getting in on the act when the team from our film podcast, The CineSkinny, presents Xavier Dolan’s 2019 film Matthias & Maxime at the first Queer Cinema Sunday of 2025 on 26 January.

After the screening, The CineSkinny team will take part in a live podcast discussion about Dolan and the other key voices in queer cinema to have emerged this century. Ahead of the screening, we polled our ﬁlm writers to compile a list of those key voices. Take a look at who we’ve chosen, presented in alphabetical order, in the list below and join us on 26 January to hear more.

DESIREE AKHAVAN

Desiree Akhavan’s ﬁlms are fresh and funny, cut through with a bittersweet tang. Her debut Appropriate Behaviour was an achingly personal

story of a young bisexual Iranian-American woman (played by Akhavan) being simultaneously wrecked and enriched by her turbulent love life in Brooklyn. Her next feature, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, about gay teens resisting conversion therapy with sass and smarts, was more mature in its examination of the agony and angst of young queer lives, but no less jubilant.

Key work: The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)

LEVAN AKIN

Life, in all its complexities and messiness, is captured beautifully in the vibrant, sensuous and thrillingly alive ﬁlms of Swedish-Georgian director Levan Akin. His extraordinary debut, And Then We Danced, told the story of a young man exploring his sexuality amid the hyper-masculine world of traditional Georgian dance, while his second ﬁlm, Crossing, was a bittersweet road movie following a retired teacher trying to reconnect with her estranged transgender niece. Empathy and warmth spilled off the screen in both.

Key work: And Then We Danced (2019)

Words: Jamie Dunn

ROBIN CAMPILLO

In the ﬁlms of Robin Campillo, sex is a political act. Eastern Boys, a thorny tale of the complex relationship that forms between a Ukrainian teenage immigrant and a middle-aged Parisian, announced Campillo’s talents for colliding queer desire with urgent social issues, and this only increased with the brilliant BPM, an electrifying celebration of queer activism and love set within the bolshy Paris chapter of ACT UP in the early 90s.

Key work: BPM (2017)

XAVIER DOLAN

This wunderkind from Montreal arrived on the scene as a bratty 21-year-old prodigy with his directorial debut I Killed My Mother, which he also wrote, produced and starred in. Seven features on, his significance to queer cinema in the 21st century is undeniable. His films are brash, in your face, filled with shouting matches and flamboyant music video-esque flourishes, but the best of them – Mommy, Matthias & Maxime, Tom at the Farm – linger thanks to their bruising moments of heart-on-sleeve vulnerability.

Key work: Matthias & Maxime (2019)

ROSE GLASS

British writer-director Rose Glass impressed us deeply with her debut Saint Maude, a dreamy character study that slipped into horror as it told the story of a pious care nurse with a messiah complex. But she knocked our socks off with her violent and sexy follow-up Love Lies Bleeding. A delirious, steroid-fuelled lesbian love story set against an 80s neo-noir backdrop, it’s an atmospheric adrenalin rush dripping with sweat and malevolence that conﬁrmed Glass as a major ﬁlmmaking talent.

Key work: Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

ANDREW HAIGH

We had Andrew Haigh pe ed as queer cinema’s great realist director. His breakthrough Weekend was a delicate two-hander about a one-night stand that blossoms into a life-altering weekend love affair; it was characterised visually by its naturalism and intimacy, su esting Before Sunset gone gay. Follow-ups like Lean on Pete and 45 Years

Love Lies Bleeding

took a similar approach. But last year’s stunning All of Us Strangers, a magic realist queer romance crossed with a benevolent ghost story, opened Haigh’s ﬁlmmaking up to glorious new possibilities.

Key work: Weekend (2011)

CÉLINE SCIAMMA

A master of coming-of-age, identity and untapped desires, French writer-director Céline Sciamma has amassed one of the most exciting and empathetic bodies of work in modern cinema. Her ﬁlms are often quiet and minimalist, like Tomboy, her delicate story of a gender-nonconforming adolescent reinventing themselves one summer, or Petite Maman, a timewarp fairytale in which an eight-year-old-girl meets her mother at the same age, but she’s equally at home amid the white-hot passion of love story Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Key work: Tomboy (2011)

JANE SCHOENBRUN

Jane Schoenbrun was still working on coming out as trans when she wrote her first feature We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. By her second feature, I Saw the TV Glow, about two teens who become obsessed with a Buffy-like TV show reflecting back their nascent queerness, she’s created one of the great films about figuring out you’re trans. Key work: I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

APICHATPONG

WEERASETHAKUL

Watching one of the sensuous films from this Thai master is like stepping into a dream world. His only explicitly queer film is the luxuriously beautiful Tropical Malady, a beguiling diptych which begins with an achingly tender gay romance between a soldier and a farmer before taking desire into a metaphysical (and metaphorical) realm in its second half. A queer lens colours all his films, though, from the hallucinatory Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives to the woozy and meditative Cemetery of Splendour

Key work: Tropical Malady (2004)

EMMA SELIGMAN

With the ja ed Shiva Baby and the unhinged Bottoms, Emma Seligman has proven herself the chaotic queen of queer comedies. The former ﬁlm, about a college student having a stressful time after running into her sugar daddy at a family shiva, is the sharper work but the cult classic status that was instantly bestowed on Bottoms su ests it’s the ﬁlm destined for the longer afterlife.

Key work: Shiva Baby (2021)

Xavier Dolan superfan Anahit Behrooz introduces the talented Quebecois ﬁlmmaker’s complex and super-sexy eighth feature

Ever since he burst onto the scene at the precocious age of 21 with his Cannespremiered debut, Xavier Dolan has been making ﬁlms that speak to a particular facet of the queer experience: soft, angsty, and stricken with mummy issues. His most recent entry into the genre is 2019’s Matthias & Maxime, which follows the long-buried yearnings and tensions that arise between two best friends after they kiss for a student ﬁlm.

Directed by and starring Dolan, Matthias & Maxime dispenses with many of the milestones of the traditional queer narrative – coming out, disclosure, identity markers – to explore a more ﬂuid kind of sexuality rooted in the blurriness of friendship and the rigidity of masculine codes. It’s romantic, it’s sexy, and it features Britney Spears’ Work Bitch on the soundtrack. That’s queer culture, baby.

Matthias & Maxime screens at GFT on 26 Jan as part of Queer Cinema Sundays followed by a panel discussion with The

podcast team

MATTHIAS & MAXIME

CineSkinny

Tropical Malady

I Saw the TV Glow

Tomboy

Weekend

Matthias & Maxime

In the Blood

Beagles & Ramsay’s Sanguis Gratia Artis (Black Pudding Self Portrait) is on display for the ﬁrst time since being added to Scotland’s national collection. We talk to the artists about making work with their own blood

Your work is on display in the National Galleries Scotland: Portrait as part of the exhibition Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection. What will audiences be able to see when they explore the galleries?

The title is Sanguis Gratia Artis ( Black Pudding Self Portrait), a Latin phrase that translates as blood for the sake of art. First made in 2004, and it was acquired for the National Galleries collection in 2018

In the exhibition you can see a pair of puddings hanging in a glass fronted fridge, that were made using our blood. They will be slowly rotting over the next few months. There are also three photographs, the recipe and a video that shows the process of extracting our blood, preparing and cooking the puddings. The residue of our opening night performance is also there – a grease-stained white tablecloth, and lingering smell of fried blood and fat.

The video shows a performance – what happened in that performance? Where was it?

This was the original performance at PS1 MoMA in New York in 2004. There were a few challenges with this one. Firstly, we had to smuggle the puddings into the US during the period when British blood was banned due to Mad Cow disease, and then the cooking performance was almost cancelled by a museum manager who suddenly realised what we were about to fry up.

You use your blood combined to make the black pudding – why did you choose that particular meat product? Does it have a cultural or personal signi cance?

The black puddings followed an earlier work Burgerheaven, a fast-food franchise that featured burgers avoured to taste like the esh of dead celebrities, such as John Lennon, Kurt Cobain and Princess Diana. It was the Good Die Young range. The broader backdrop to Sanguis’ germination was the lingering aftertaste of Cool Britannia and the uncritical celebration of New Labour’s desire to make us all middle class. This was also a ripe transitional moment for black pudding. Although it was rebranded next to the scallop as signi er of New Labour credit-fueled chic consumerism, there was still something indigestible about the pudding. It’s a meat product for those who can’t a ord actual meat. It’s ersatz meat. Mock meat.

So while dull readings of this work xated on the ‘sensational art’ shock, we were, in part, speculating about an imminent moment of social shock, where making sausages from your own blood, might be your only survival option. It was in part a Swiftian expression of the folly of that moment, and also the pricking of a commodi ed form of shock, that tended to dominate the artworld in the 2000s.

Where did the recipe come from?

Black pudding is an archetypal peasant food – there are multiple recipes across diverse cultures. There’s no origin, no source of purity. The unifying ingredient is the absence of actual esh meat and its substitution with waste blood.

Why did you choose this medium and this form to create a self-portrait?

Like most artists of our generation we bene tted from the impact of artists and teachers whose work was informed by the feminist assertion that the personal is political. Consequently, any portraits we made were never for us just narcissistic images

of the self, but equally carriers of broader social content. In Sanguis, we saw potential to create a self-portrait that was related closely to the body, but was anti-heroic, comic and somewhat daft.

Are there other self-portraits that you see the piece in conversation with?

‘Self’ portrait is a questionable term for us because we’re a collaborative duo who’ve always created ctionalised, surrogate versions of ourselves. We’re interested in portrayals of self by Cindy Sherman, Mike Kelley and Paul McCarthy, along with the carnivalesque grotesqueries of Brueghel, Ensor or Mika Rottenberg.

The performance rst took place over 20 years ago –how do you look on it now, is it now a past self-portrait?

We always conceived of Sanguis as a social portrait, not a psychological investigation of the private self, so consequently it’s less hobbled by changing times and some of the baggage that comes with traditional ideas about the self-portrait. So, while our hair is thinner and greyer, the claggy avour of the work has matured and deepened with age. As mentioned before, the social forces the work was trying to ventriloquise are as prevalent and potent as ever.

What happened to the black puddings?

Each time we exhibit this artwork we have more blood extracted to make a fresh batch of puddings, which are then cooked and disposed of. ‘Disposal’ can mean di erent things depending on the situation... for example, there were occasions in the past when viewers ate them after we did the cooking performance. Another time we were instructed by a city authority to incinerate them as if they were medical waste.

Can we have the recipe?

The recipe is available on the wall of the gallery. Feel free to make your own.

Beagles & Ramsay’s Sanguis Gratia Artis (Black Pudding Self Portrait) is on display as part of Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection, National Galleries Scotland: Portrait, until 16 Mar, free

Sanguis Gratia Artis (Black Pudding Self Portrait), National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait

Image: John Beagles and Graham Ramsay, Sanguis Gratia Artis (Black Pudding Self-Portrait), 2004. National Galleries of Scotland. Presented through Art Fund New Collecting Awards

Hope as Resolution

For all its joy, 2024 brought great hardship – both at home and away. As we emerge from the holiday season, we unpack how to prioritise hope in the new year

As we enter 2025, the world feels increasingly fragile. It’s tempting to shut down, numbed by the constant barrage of crises and trauma. But now, more than ever, we must reactivate and hold on to hope. The genocide in Palestine continues. The far-right resurges, threatening already marginalised communities and attempting to erode the rights so many have fought for. Climate disasters wreak havoc while governments delay meaningful action. Trans rights are attacked, anti-migrant policies escalate, and here in Scotland, according to Shelter Scotland, every 16 minutes a household becomes homeless. These interconnected stru les have collectively traumatised us – and, as such, they demand our collective response, a collective hope.

‘What if community care became a shared resolution? A shared hope for a better future?’

Trauma is persistent. It curls around our cells, dulling our senses, numbing us, convincing us that inaction is inevitable. It whispers that nothing will change, that exhaustion is final. Trauma imprints itself on the body, shaping how we breathe, move, and respond to the world. Studies from the University of Northern Colorado show that trauma affects the nervous system, locking us into patterns of fight, flight, or freeze. But just as trauma reshapes us, energy can be reclaimed and directed toward resistance, creation, and change. We carry hope and survival in our bones.

I’ve written about hope before, how it’s often dismissed as naïve or passive. But hope is neither. Hope is fierce. It is a force. Hope is soup hurled at a painting, hope is chained to the gates of arms manufacturers, it’s Palestinian flags hung defiantly from windows and wrapped around protestors’ shoulders. Hope is action. Hope is resistance. Rebecca Solnit, in Hope in the Dark, describes it as “an embrace of the unknown.” It’s the act of imagining a future that feels distant but is still worth fighting for. Hope is not sitting idle, waiting for change – it’s creating possibilities where none seem to exist. With hope, rage and tenderness intertwine: igniting protests, organising communities, and daring to believe in something better. Before charging headfirst into 2025, stop. Feel the weight in your chest, acknowledge the tightness in your jaw. Breathe in slowly. Count to ten. Let yourself feel what has been buried beneath the grind of survival. It’s not about escaping

discomfort but inhabiting it, understanding that anger and despair are signs of humanity, not defeat. Let these emotions exist within you. Let them fuel your hope.

We aren’t meant to carry this work alone. The forces we’re up against are too vast, too entrenched, too global. But the antidote to despair is community. The people we stand with – those who listen, organise, show up, and hold space – make resistance possible. This is how movements endure. Many of us have spent the last few weeks surrounded by loved ones – sharing meals, stories, and warmth in a season marked by togetherness. But community isn’t only built during the holidays; it’s something we must attend to every day. Finding community doesn’t mean perfect alignment or constant agreement; rather, community means working alongside others with shared commitments to liberation. Community means showing up – in any way we can – even when it’s uncomfortable, even when you’re tired. It means taking care of each other, not as a side effect of activism, but as its very foundation.

As we step into the new year, many of us set resolutions; intentions to care more deeply, live more fully, or show up with greater purpose. What if we carried those intentions beyond individual goals and into collective action? What if community care became a shared resolution? A shared hope for a better future?

History reminds us that progress is forged through deﬁance, not comfort. The Suffragettes, who are now honoured with statues in Parliament Square, slashed paintings. Queer liberation erupted from ﬁerce resistance in places such as the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot and Stonewall. Palestinian resistance endures, despite every attempt to erase it. Protest has never emerged from politeness; it’s born in anger, grief, and a deep, hopeful love for what could be.

But protest isn’t only in the streets. It’s also in everyday acts of deﬁance: creating art that challenges dominant narratives, sharing meals with those facing food insecurity, planting gardens in neglected spaces, or offering support for someone in crisis. In systems that seek to isolate and silence us, these acts become radical declarations of life, hope, and resistance. Quiet acts of care – the overlooked moments of support – sustain long-term movements. Meanwhile, the everyday labour of organising and educating continues, even when the world feels too heavy to bear alone.

As we move into the new year, let’s carry our hope forward, not as wishful thinking, but as ﬁre in our bones, as a refusal to accept the world as it is. Trauma may try to numb us, but we can reactivate. We can breathe, hope, resist, and create. In the darkest times, choosing hope is the most radical act of all.

Words: Rosie Priest

Family Phrases

One writer reﬂects on a recent trip to China and navigating familial relationships via linguistic and geographical distances

My sister has always been very clear about her desire for a Pig Baby – a child born in the Year of the Pig, according to the Chinese Zodiac. People born in this year are characterised in Chinese culture as happy and humorous. Indeed, my sister was so committed to this plan that she orchestrated her wedding, conception and eventual C-section to fall just within the last days of the Year of the Pig.

My nephew, the Pig Baby, was born in January 2020. Our family were delighted; my father killed a buffalo in celebration and sent pictures to the family group chat. Meanwhile, lockdown froze flights, family gatherings, festivals, and I took up knitting. Over those first few pandemic months, I knitted a hideous blanket, socks and a hat so tiny it would have been better off worn by an Innocent Smoothie bottle than a child. It wasn’t until last September that I was finally able to go to China to meet my nephew.

I was adopted from China into the UK as a baby and reconnected with my birth family aged eighteen. I have written and spoken about my adoption a lot over the last few years; despite this, it still feels hard to know where to begin stitching together familial relationships after so much time apart. The linguistic, cultural and geographical divide occasionally feels too large to breach.

A lot has changed since I last visited China in 2018 – my sisters have both changed their hair and we have all moved houses and jobs. Love and money have come and gone; my maternal grandfather is no longer with us. There is much about my adult form that my birth family ﬁnd confusing. Until I showed up on their doorstep at eighteen, they were unaware of the phenomenon of international adoption. In September, it felt as if they were teaching both my nephew and I how to be Chinese in the ways they felt appropriate: my birth mother shelled mountains of prawns for my nephew and I, while noting the best way to catch crabs and how to check bamboo shoots for disease.

I have spent an awful amount of time learning an embarrassingly little amount of Chinese. I spent a year in Shanghai studying Mandarin unsuccessfully – this fact is not lost on my birth family and it would be a generous lie to say my nephew and I are on a par linguistically. During this recent visit to China, my nephew and I trailed around after my sister, mouths open, ﬁngers poised and pointing asking, “What is that?” at every opportunity. We watched cartoons together – Peppa Pig in Chinese – and I practised my characters with my little cousins as they did their homework on the kitchen table.

In China, I felt like a TikTok dog with talking buttons; frantically stamping out sentences with my limited vocabulary – “Bunny! Want! Outside! Now! Please!” I felt large, embarrassed and

awkward at the paucity of my spoken Chinese: a delivery man in an elevator argued over whether I was Chinese or English; a woman at the beach asked if I was “simple.”

However, after a few days it felt as if the knobs of a badly tuned radio had ﬁnally clicked into place. Some of the background frequency slipped away and I began to mutely follow dialogue. It still felt frustrating to be trapped within a child’s vocabulary and unable to express myself but, despite this – even if language were not a barrier – I would not know which words to begin to scrape together to say all the things I want to. It feels strange to see my sister now a parent; to see my birth parents as grandparents and to see how the years have both softened and hardened them in my absence.

Now back in Scotland, there is no one in my day-to-day to practise Mandarin with and so I

Words: Josephine Jay Illustration: Yuying Chan

speak Chinese to the dog. He is very patient, if confused. The dog spends his time with his head half-cocked to one side, ears desperately straining for the word “dinner”. Chinese is a good language for scolding – it is a dramatic and tonal palette ﬁlled with melodrama. In China, I watched my sister discipline my nephew; now the dog too is becoming overly familiar with these turns of phrase.

I always ﬁnd re-entry into the UK difﬁcult. China is not a country I can describe in words and leaving my birth family there makes me feel disjointed, like a child’s toy with its legs bent backwards. This time, I felt more in touch with my Chinese identity than I have before. I feel torn between the two countries in a way that hurts internally. I look forward to going back and seeing my nephew grow over the years, to seeing him happy and humorous, and hope I can share the UK with him as well one day.

‘We watched cartoons together - Peppa Pig in Chinese - and I practised my characters with my little cousins as they did their homework on the kitchen table’

Ten Years of Activism

Be United turned ten years old in 2024 and in 2025, the organisation has more huge ambitions for Black creatives in Scotland. We meet co-founder and director Emma Sithole to ﬁnd out more

Founded in 2014 by Scotland-based Emma Sithole and South Africa-based Boysie Gumede, Be United initially recognised the need for creative outlets of expression within South African creative communities. However, the transnational project evolved quickly when the team recognised a compelling need for greater representation of the Black community within Scotland’s own performing arts scene. Be United’s ethos of equity and inclusion made sense both in the context of South Africa and Scotland and this international outlook very much inspires the multitude of projects and people that the charity continues to support and nurture.

In the ten years since its founding, Be United has helped 409 Black creatives into employment, with the intention to increase that number to 500 in 2025. Since its founding, the organisation has produced 40 events and collaborated with 50 organisations (including with Amazon Studios for the production of the ﬁlm Anansi Boys, as well as developing partnerships with Edinburgh International Festival and Fruitmarket).

Emma Sithole, the co-founder and current director of the organisation, describes Be United’s 2021 project Key Creatives Edinburgh as a personal highlight for her. The documentary showcased ten exceptional Black creatives in Scotland, highlighting the incredible talent in the country: “This project was a milestone in increasing visibility not only for our artists but also for Be United and the work we do.” She also notes her pride at Be United’s Creative Partnerships programme, “Scotland’s premier networking and professional development platform for Black creatives,” and the Producing the Future programme, which empowers young event producers in Scotland. “Producing the Future is a ten-week event management programme designed for young creatives (aged 18-25) or those aspiring to work behind the scenes in the cultural events sector. The course covers creative programming, technical production, project management, marketing, and more. Participants gain hands-on experience by organising their own event as the programme’s ﬁnale, which provides practical skills and experience needed to progress into the creative industries.” The programme was developed in response to Be United’s own research, which highlighted gaps in Scotland’s creative industries and cultural events stafﬁng, alongside consultation with Black communities on challenges entering the creative industries.

At a time when the funding landscape is so precarious for virtually all arts workers, this precarity is being felt particularly pointedly by Black creatives. I ask Sithole about the implications of this precarity on these creatives: “There is a signiﬁcant gap between many of the creatives we work with and funders in Scotland. Bridging this divide requires better conversations between the two, particularly around the language and structures used to access funding, as well as ensuring funders are present within community spaces.”

While Sithole says that the cultural landscape in Scotland has shifted for Black creatives “without a doubt” in the last ten years, signiﬁcant challenges do remain. “When Be United started, Black artists rarely performed in major venues, festivals, or events, and there were fewer young Black artists entering the industry due to limited access, support and paid opportunities. Although we’ve seen progress in representation, inequities in the cultural sector and building sustainable careers remain challenges in Scotland. At Be United, we tackle these barriers by upskilling the community and creating paid opportunities. As more Black creatives enter the industry, we are proud to continue to be part of the change we want to see.”

Next month, Be United will hold the Creative Partnerships Conference 2025, which will “serve

Words: Harvey Dimond

“There is a signiﬁcant gap between many of the creatives we work with and funders in Scotland. Bridging this divide requires better conversations between the two”

Emma

Sithole, Be United

as a platform for Black creatives, industry organisations, and funders to connect, build trust, and collaborate within the sector. As demand for tickets continues to be high, we urge funders to attend this event and engage with creatives.”

Be United’s Creative Partnerships Conference 2025 takes place at Advanced Research Centre (ARC), University of Glasgow, 21 Feb. Free tickets available via Eventbrite be-united.org.uk/events

Photo: Jack Visser

Photography

Uncovering the Past

In 2016, ﬁve years after it was closed down, an investigative report was issued on the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, a reform school in Florida that had operated since the turn of the 20th Century. The report disclosed the remains of almost 100 former students found in 55 unmarked graves (27 other graves would be discovered three years later), many having suffered blunt force trauma or gunshot wounds. Three times as many Black students as white students were found.

With his debut fiction film Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross finds a cinematic language to interrogate Black historical narratives that immerse audiences in that history. He discusses his suspicion of image-making and the role of the artist in political change

Words: Anahit Behrooz

The horrifying events of the Dozier School were also the subject of a 2010 non-fiction book, The Boys of the Dark; this, along with the Dozier Report, became the inspiration behind Colson Whitehead’s 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Nickel Boys, which reimagines this particular legacy of the Jim Crow South through the eyes of Turner and Elwood, two Black boys in the 1960s who are sent to the fictional Nickel Academy in Florida’s panhandle. This chain of transmission – this trickle down of seeing and registering and speaking back to historic violence – culminates, for now, with photographer and documentarian RaMell Ross’ first narrative feature Nickel Boys, an adaptation that literalises the subjectivity of Whitehead’s novel by showing us events entirely through Elwood and Turner’s eyes.

“It came to mind immediately,” Ross says of his film’s innovative subjective approach, in which cameras strapped to the two actors or remotely operated mimic the movement of the boys’ eyes and their ways of perceiving their world. “We’ve only thought about historical figures – not that Elwood and Turner are historical figures in a traditional sense – but we’ve only thought about historical figures as the Other. But why is it that art and writing or whatever haven’t truly given subjectivity to them unless they gave it to themselves?”

Cinema and photography have long been the art forms of the gaze, concerned with the politics of how we look and are looked at, and how images are formed and informed through these acts. In Nickel Boys, Ross reorients the gaze of the camera away from his audience and back to his subjects, so that with each shift of the boys’ eyes, each turn of their heads, a new piece of their environment – both physical and political – slides into view.

“We’re very interested, as makers in general, in recreating history through the eyes of how we look back on it,” Ross says, “and not through the eyes of the people who were living in the moment. And in that sense, it has more to do with the way we feel now than it does with the way that [they feel] in the past.” In Nickel Boys, it is impossible to escape how Turner and Elwood might have felt, and how they might have seen the world. Footage of Martin Luther King Jr appears on a television screen, not as political message or historical residue, but as a quotidian context glimpsed by a Black teenager crossing the street. A beating at the school, meanwhile, is seen only through the blank wall the victim is facing as it happens. The past is experienced not as a constructed artefact, but as a living, beating thing – and we, the audience, are placed directly within it.

There is a documentarian’s sensibility to this understanding of the innate authorship of both image and history, although Ross is quick to stress that he does not consider Nickel Boys – despite its basis in historic fact and use of archival material – to have documentary elements. Yet his previous work, and in particular his 2019 documentary Hale County This Morning, This Evening – which chronicles the daily lives of Black people in Alabama through a non-linear, impressionistic lens – became a touchstone for interrogating the ability of the camera to author images of Black lives that are elusive in their subjectivity.

“One of the original principles that [co-writer] Joslyn [Barnes] and I used to write was, ‘What if Elwood and Turner had their own cameras to make a Hale County of their lives?’” Ross says.

“Obviously an impossibility, but what does their vision look like? And if their vision was anything like mine, how interesting would it be to see that time period poetically, [when] images from and of Black people that are poetic don’t even exist. What are the consequences of that not existing? So then, if you do that, can you retroactively alter today’s quotidian?”

For Ross, there is a politics to this poetics: it resists the certainty and simplicity through which Black people have been read throughout history. All through Nickel Boys, images from various archives – photography from the Florida Memory project, newsreels and old documentary footage, clips from Stanley Kramer’s 1958 ﬁlm The Deﬁant Ones – both interrogate various ongoing relationships between the camera and the production of

Blackness, and also allow for a form of representation that refuses the determinism that has historically categorised photography.

“We’re very interested, as makers in general, in recreating history through the eyes of how we look back on it and not through the eyes of the people who were living in the moment”

RaMell Ross

“I genuinely question photography at all times,” Ross says. “I [always] say that photography and film are the technology of racism, in that you need an idea and can then prove it with the image. That determinism of the image is something I’m constantly fighting.” The way Ross fights this fight – seen in Nickel Boys, seen in Hale County This Morning, This Evening, seen in his photography – is to “account for [photography’s] problems” by bringing into relief a photographic language that is lucid yet elliptical, that refuses the simple meaning-making that has long been ascribed to it.

“When you look speciﬁcally at the way in which Black people have been depicted [in photography], they’re easily read,” Ross continues. “How do you make ambiguous images of Black people in which the narrative is literally plural, and you have to account for what you think the image is? You’re not allowed to just be like, ‘Oh, a Black person on a porch’. It’s a Black person on a porch doing something that has multiple meanings. And so you’re complicit, you’re part of the meaning of the image. You complete it.”

In this way, Ross is – in his own words – working to “rescue people from the archive”, whether the literal people contained in these

spaces or the ﬁctional representations that draw on how these real-life people have been historicised. This liberation is rooted in Ross’s ongoing preoccupation with subjectivity, and the ways in which hierarchies of power between artists and their subjects can shift and change. “The power dynamics of most Black folks being in front of the camera were not always great,” Ross says. “People are in those archives involuntarily or voluntarily in some ways, but not as themselves. [They’re] visual statistics of Blackness. And so to ﬁnd these interstitial moments inside the archive, and then bring them to this new archive was to save them.”

It is, in some ways, the same kind of work Whitehead set out to do in his novel: to rescue individual subjectivities from the ﬂattening and numbing effect of historical statistics. Were these afﬁnities between Whitehead’s work and his own what made Ross want to adapt the book? “No,” he says, and then hesitates. “But maybe… this is a huge general statement, but a lot of Black art is responsive, right? It’s trying to reclaim, or do justice, or react to the problem of everyone else telling us who we are and who we’ve been and what we can be. And [whether] it’s abstract and trying to resist doing representational stuff, or it’s political, I connect with all of those because they’re all trying to accomplish the same thing, which is some sort of transcendence outside of the social construct of race.”

How might this transcendence beyond the social construction of race translate to everyday life? In some ways, art making is perfectly placed to intervene in the social and cultural production of power, because it is very often art and image making – as Ross argues – that are the key tools of this production. Yet it is ultimately not only the artist’s role to deconstruct these systems, Ross stresses, as appealing an idea as that might be.

“I think it’s the role of everyone, you know,” he says. “I feel it’s maybe culturally convenient to think that it’s the role of the artist, but like, why is it not the role of the mailman, or the lifeguard? We have this selective desire for people to do things according to our relationship to [them].” He pauses, thoughtful and deliberate as ever. “But I don’t think it’s the role of anyone to do anything, and I think it’s the role of everyone to do everything.”

Nickel Boys is released 3 Jan by Curzon

Good Girl Gone Bad

We chat with German-Afghan author Aria Aber about her debut novel Good Girl and the complexities of conveying the desires and destructions of the diasporic experience

When I meet Aria Aber over video call the room behind her is sunny and bright, a stark contrast to the already darkened skies outside my window. Splitting her time between California – where she lives – and Vermont – where she teaches – Aber was born in western Germany before spending her early adulthood in Berlin. In many ways, her background mirrors that of her protagonist Nila; a child of Afghan refugees and without papers for much of her childhood. But Nila is not Aria. “I don’t think I understand any of my characters entirely,” she says, “which is good, because then I can let them show me where they want to go.”

Following her acclaimed debut poetry collection Hard Damage, Good Girl is Aber’s ﬁrst novel. A coming of age story told from Nila’s perspective – nineteen and trapped in the cycle of poverty that refugee and immigrant status brings – Nila is a party girl, chasing excess and running hard from who she is. “I knew that I wanted to write a character like her, who is ﬁrst of all a wayward Afghan woman, and then someone who can shapeshift and code switch, who can go into different rooms and observe them,” Aria tells me. “I was interested in the innocence but also the slipperiness that youth allows you to inhabit, enact and perform, but that’s also often a little dangerous.”

Nila’s ambiguousness is something she exploits both to her advantage and her deﬁcit; lying often about her background, she paints a picture of a person very different to herself, as anything but Afghan. Her reality is something she is determined to deny and escape, but in doing so she prohibits herself from ever being understood and only traps herself harder. Haunted by her family and their dislocation, her desire for freedom rules, pushing her anywhere but the dilapidated apartment block that is her home.

The strength of Aber’s writing lies in its nuanced exploration of the intersections of racialised class and immigrant experience,

“I don’t think I understand any of my characters entirely, which is good, because then I can let them show me where they want to go”

Aria Aber

embodying the tensions of diasporic culture in vivid tones. Nila’s ‘bad girl’ behaviour – more hedonistic than bad – is mirrored in different women in her community and extended family: girls who run away or rebel, picked up on the border like her cousin, or with deeply entrenched anger, like her mother. The parallels between the men and the women in the familial space she occupies are stark, and segregated.

“I grew up around so many women, not just Afghan, who wanted to be free. And a lot of them end up hurting themselves, or being hurt, because they don’t have the right language or the right tools to manifest that within their community,” Aber explains. In a post-9/11 world, men like Nila’s father, uncles and brothers are forced to police themselves to avoid being perceived as threats or terrorists, and yet within their families and communities the dynamics continue to be patriarchal. They have all the power, and Nila has none. “There seems to be a turning back of the clock,” Aria says. “They come to this new country and are again expected to adhere to gender roles that they weren’t necessarily expected to back in Afghanistan. [That’s] the irony inherent in diaspora communities, or in refugee communities, to preserve the culture that has been lost.”

place where the supposedly concluded upheaval of the 20th century is umbilically tethered to that of the global – and particularly Middle Eastern – continually occurring present.

‘Both our families forever entangled with the failed Russian dream, and now we were adrift in a city haunted by that same dream,’ Nila says. As she races through the city, simultaneously fleeing and searching for herself, the landscape of Berlin flashes in its own shapeshifting appearance, revealing and obscuring its complexities. “I wanted to create a consciousness for a character that is similar to my own, where the visual data of place is always analysed and is constantly filtering through the brain,” Aber explains. “That the past is always in the present, and that you can literally touch it.”

The reality of this particular refugee experience is the impossibility of return, in contrast to the expats from America, the UK, or the rest of Europe, who are foreigners but not exiles, newcomers but not suspects. “Berlin became international around 2013,” Aber says. “I was trying to write a story that includes the symmetry, or the false symmetry; the parallels between the refugees and the brown immigrants versus the white immigrants who are called expats and have the privilege of always going back to their country of origin.”

Nila’s older, successful love interest is Marlow, an American novelist from whom she seeks cultural capital and a way into exclusive and exclusionary spaces. The Berlin that they move through together, and the architecture that they are both so fascinated by, is a

Good Girl is out with Bloomsbury on 14 Jan

Words: Marguerite Carson

Image: courtesy of Bloomsbury

Cherry-Coloured Funk

A Silent Voice director Naoko Yamada talks to us about her latest animation The Colors Within, a vibrant coming-of-age ﬁlm about a group of teen misﬁts who form a band

With such successful, vivid dramas as A Silent Voice (2016) and Liz and the Blue Bird (2018), Naoko Yamada has become arguably the leading female director of anime in an industry still largely dominated by male voices. Her charming new ﬁlm, The Colors Within (written by Reiko Yoshida), is Yamada’s ﬁrst feature that’s not adapted from pre-existing material. “In terms of the story,” the Japanese director tells me, “I came up with these three young characters who are naive, too kind, and who still live very much in their own internal world and haven’t quite found the words to explain how they feel.”

In the film, Catholic schoolgirl Totsuko is able to see the colours of people’s emotions. Drawn to mysterious dropout girl Kimi, whose specific aura she finds overwhelmingly beautiful, Totsuko ends up befriending both her and musicloving boy Rui, leading to the trio forming a band to help convey what they stru le to put into words, writing and rehearsing songs in a closeddown church.

A lightly magical-realist riff on band-focused coming-of-age gems like Linda Linda Linda (2005) and We Are the Best! (2013), The Colors Within offers both material for queer-reading interpretations and, arguably, a sensitive portrait of neurodivergent experiences, though Yamada isn’t keen to explicitly deﬁne Totsuko’s abilities. “Totsuko senses something intangible outside of words,” she says. “It’s not muddied by things like meaning and logic. She trusts her senses and her unique individuality. If we try to put words to everything, something gets lost. I hope that people watching will ﬁnd their own sixth sense and recognise that in Totsuko.”

Joining Yamada for our conversation in London is Kensuke Ushio, Yamada’s regular composer. Pieces of the original songs that the three teens eventually write and perform on stage are seeded throughout Ushio’s score, something made possible by how early on in the production he was involved. “We already had the script but before [Naoko]

had started on the storyboards, we’d already had this deep conversation,” Ushio says. “She already had the lyrics for one song. As soon as she shared that with me, I came up with the song on the spot, which meant that it was actually quite easy to show the process of writing that in the ﬁlm’s score. What I was inﬂuenced by in my teenage years was British 80s new wave, and that was something I tried to bring out with the band’s music.”

Ushio’s contributions didn’t end with writing the band’s bangers. The ﬁlm’s other soundscapes fuse with the musical score in places, thanks to extra work Ushio put in. “This ﬁlm needed a sense of place,” he tells me. “There’s an old wooden church in the south of Japan and I went there to collect sounds, but also to do what we call impulse response, which allows me to electronically replicate the space using software. I collected the data that I needed to do that and then I’ve used that in various music scenes but also dialogue scenes.”

“They both come down to light waves,” Yamada says of the close relationship between the striking sound design and the colourful visuals. “To paraphrase something Totsuko says in the ﬁlm, it’s to do with the spectrum of light and that manifesting as colour in 2D and sound in 3D depending on the wavelength. I’ve tried to do that through the images and colour and Ushio-san has tried to do that through music, but it all goes back to the concept of light.”

Words: Josh Slater-Williams

Thanks to how much thought and care has gone into its realisation, The Colors Within is among the great ﬁlms about the act of creating music, making me wonder which portraits of musicians at work these two artists see as the best of that canon. Yamada’s excited answer, delivered immediately, requires no translation from the interpreter present. “Oh, Amadeus!” she says. Ushio follows that with an amusingly guttural gasp of agreement. But there’s also a more unexpected movie inﬂuence that looms over The Colors Within

In one sequence, as Totsuko and Kimi take part in a secret sleepover on the grounds of the boarding school where Kimi is no longer enrolled, a lyric-free cover of a 90s song plays over their exploits – a hit track in its own right, but one made iconic by its appearance in a certain British classic. It’s honestly best to experience this needle drop cold, but I just have to ask Yamada and Ushio about it. So, this is your warning that this interview closes by spoiling the song choice…

“As for Born Slippy,” Ushio says. “I think you get it, don’t you?” After everyone laughs, he clariﬁes: “For us, as a teenager doing the worst thing you can imagine doing, the soundtrack to that has to be Born Slippy.”

The Colors Within is released 31 Jan by Anime Ltd

Monika Stachowiak

West Bank Diaries

Celtic Connections presents Bethlehem Calling, a unique production bringing together theatremakers, audiovisual artist and musicians for a work based on the diaries of teenage girls growing up in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during the second Intifada

When catastrophe arises, one takes immediate control of what is readily accessible to them. The special thing about diaries is that they capture the present moment in all its instantaneity through a ﬁrsthand account. This was the case for the girls of St Joseph’s Catholic School in Bethlehem during the Second Intifada and continues to be the case for Palestinians across the nation amidst the yearlong genocide of Gaza.

In 2002, the schoolgirls were instructed to write diary entries for their English class. Raeda Ghazaleh, the director of Bethlehem Calling, mentored the girls at the time, encouraging their creative expression by allowing them to enact their diary entries and cultivating – in her words – “a process of expressing themselves and ﬁnding their voice[s]” through theatre.

Bethlehem Calling combines theatre and music to bring these diary entries to life, following the girls through their daily thoughts, reﬂections, experiences, and encounters, performed to the rhythm of the Beit Jala bagpipers. The show’s main performers feature Hana Greer, Yolanda Mitchell, and Aisha Lawal. Live music co-created by Paul Thomson (formerly of Franz Ferdinand) will be performed by musicians including Lewis Cook (Free Love), Chizu Anucha, and Firas Khnaisser. Ghazaleh tells The Skinny that the primary importance of these diaries is in the girls’ writing processes: “While they’re writing their diaries, they’re analysing their lives and that’s not an easy process… that shows how Palestinian kids are educated.” Education is an invaluable cornerstone of Palestinian identity, life, and existence, and the geopolitical and ideological obstacles around it have only strengthened its value to Palestinians. The Palestinian education system has been precisely targeted and debilitated by Israel since 1948, to dismantle and destabilise the physical and literal schools of thought that preserve Palestinian intellect. Bethlehem Calling is an ode to the constant entitlement to, reclamation, and restoration of Palestinian authorship and testimony by younger generations, amidst atrocity. Bethlehem Calling began as a project which aimed to spotlight the girls’ livelihoods from their perspectives, on their terms. The project has remained true to its roots, loyal to the girls’ accounts of their daily experiences, whether they be frivolous, terrifying, hopeful, or mundane.

Ghazaleh and her production partner Zoë Hunter have decided to incorporate the mediums of theatre and music to enact the diary entries and bring a piece of Palestine to the stage. In devoting itself to accentuating the collective Palestinian voice, the project promises to fuse theatre and music in pursuit of a production that encapsulates the creativity and urgency with which the girls’ realities are recorded.

When asked about the connections between the creative and the political, Hunter responded, “If you’re not speaking to an unanswered question, then what are you doing?” This desire to interrogate what is hidden and investigate the voices that are muted is at the heart of the production’s aim. When confronting narratives that have not been fabulised or altered, such as those of these girls, it is our responsibility to ensure that history and contemporary discourse are shaped by that exact witness account, one which Ghazaleh characterises as a testimonial form of “sharing feelings.”

Bethlehem Calling guarantees an organic onstage harmony between Palestinian-born lyric and sound. Paul Thomson, the production’s musical director, notes the signiﬁcance of “getting real-life testimony from people” in Bethlehem while beginning to form the musical foundation for the theatrical production in his “sporadic” style, he tells The Skinny. Thomson highlights his tendency to work with immediacy, and it is this quality that penetrates the production’s one-of-a-kind internationally polyphonic approach, bringing together local musicians from Scotland to Beit Jala’s very own Scout bagpipers from Palestine. The traditional Scottish instrument has been adopted by Palestinian pipers since the 1920s, who have cultivated a sound on their own merits, in harmony with the vast and nuanced scales indigenous to the region. Thomson notes his eagerness to collaborate with the pipers and co-director Ben Harrison considers this uniﬁcation to be the “spirit of Celtic Connections.”

Ghazaleh prioritises the roots of the Palestinian cause, indicating the problem as untreatable if its origins are left unexamined. She explains that the project’s purpose is to remind the general population that the “horror has not ended.” Our responsibility as spectators transcends absorbing these narratives as truths. Rather, we hold the duty of witnessing history, and

Words: Maria Farsoon

in Ghazaleh’s words, “thinking, supporting, and wanting to change the reality of it.” Hunter asserts that the girls’ “education is being stiﬂed” and they are “desperate to make sure that they’re properly educated,” as is the case across the Gaza Strip. Under siege, occupation, and annihilation, the pursuit of education persists.

Palestinian education is especially aweinspiring, and though obstacles have strengthened its tenacity, these difﬁculties should not be standardised. These students are storytellers as much as they are students. Born of extraordinary circumstance, these accounts were “written for their own purpose, they weren’t written for us,” as Hunter reminds us. The project transports lyric from Palestinian tongue to Scottish soil in such a way that captures the genuine beauty of art produced with the immediacy and urgency of survival attached to it.

Bethlehem Calling, Tramway (Tramway 1), Glasgow, 25 Jan, 7.30pm, part of Celtic Connections

Building the Tension

Unlikely bedfellows comedy and rave go together better than you think, according to Adam Flood

Words: Polly Glynn

“They say that all comedians want to be musicians, and all musicians want to be comedians. So for one night only, we get to pretend we’re all of them,” says comedian-cross-DJ Adam Flood. His Late Night Comedy Rave shows were an underground smash at the Edinburgh Fringe and its success has led to bookings at London Fashion Week, a slew of upcoming music festivals and a tour across the country. The show’s regular collaborators include Dan Tiernan, Paddy Young and Alexandra Haddow, who loves doing the gig with her comedy mates because “we get to pretend we’re in a band.”

Rave hasn’t always been Flood’s bag. “When I was a kid I really liked guitars. I was like ‘I am a guitar guy’. So I thought, as you do as a kid, my identity is that.” But after a period living in Bristol and immersing himself in its club scene, he developed an interest in all things electronic music. From the moment he saw techno DJ Ricardo Villalobos, he was entranced and started to think how he could combine comedy and his new-found passion.

“My original idea was a stand-up special that looks like Boiler Room,” with Flood facing the camera up close, DJ equipment in front of him and a crowd revelling and dancing behind. But it was the similarities between the two forms which led to Late Night Comedy Rave: they’re both built on “building the tension, then snapping it” with either a drop or a punchline. “So my theory was: let’s do that at the same time and see if it works. And when it completely goes off, it’s a real thrill. You get this punchline, people laugh, and then they get to go jump up and down and go mad,” like their whole body is reacting to a joke.

There’s also similarities in the communality of both mediums. Performers and attendees both feed off the vibe in the room, but Flood describes comedy as a more individual experience, where you’re “quite locked in” as an audience member. To give comedy the same freedom as a rave requires multisensory engagement: “the removal of chairs, the introduction of more darkness and smoke and lasers...I’ve just got to think of a way to make it stink and then I’m hitting every single [bit of the rave experience].”

Flood also credits the popularity of spoken word in electronic and pop music to his night’s success, citing the likes of Fred again.., Jamie xx and “someone that I really love called Vegyn, who has this project called Headache, which is an amazing kind of longform poem, I think about a drug-induced psychosis,” as inﬂuences. Now the public’s more familiar with the combination, the idea of snippets of comedy in the middle of a song is less of a surprise.

The gig itself is a mixed bill of comics spliced with house, techno, EDM and more. “Think of it like the comics are a bunch of vinyls I’ve got and I pick them up and I cut a little bit of this joke they have, maybe this thing that they do, and that’s repurposed for this song, this remix.” The acts reappear throughout the night both offstage and on – amping up the crowd, dancing on stage, returning with new jokes, enjoying the atmosphere – embodying that sense of communality Flood is trying to build.

It’s also about matching the right comic with the right music genre too. “I think usually, it’s pairing the opposite,” for example the spikiness of Horatio Gould with disco, and the darkness of Ed Night with a wave of light house. “Jin Hao Li, his drop, I remember it being quite a soft thing and then cut with jungle which was really funny. The vibe he gives off is quintessentially un-jungle.”

Late Night Comedy Rave’s success is a bit of a full circle moment for Flood. His debut Fringe hour in 2023 was about reinvention, going from “a county line drug dealer, a failed indie guy, a start-up guy, and comedian,” and ending the show ﬂippantly saying his next transformation would be as a DJ. When putting his special out on YouTube, he realised his self-fulﬁlling prophecy. “We’re all so predictable, huh?”

Late Night Comedy Rave, Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, 31 Jan, 10.45pm, £12

Adam Flood: Back of the Spoon, Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, 1 Feb, 7.45pm, £14

Adam Flood: Clayhead (Full Comedy Special) is now available on YouTube Follow Adam on Instagram and TikTok @ﬂoodhaha

Photo: Mike Bryk

Adam Flood Late Night Comedy Rave

CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE

SCAN ME FOR SCOTISH SHOWS

Sounds Good

Janua y

9th SCO 24/25: Bach's B andenbu g Conce tos

11th Southside of the T acks - feat. Ricky Ross

12th Max Coope

16th SCO 24/25: Sibelius Violin Conce to 18th Janua y Blues Festival: The Fabulous Thunde bi ds

19th Janua y Blues Festival: KING KING

24th F om The Jam: 'Setting Sons' Tou

25th Robyn Stapleton - Songs of Robe t Bu ns

30th SCO 24/25: Ad Absu dum

Feb ua y

1st Fai po t Convention

3rd New Town Conce ts: Quatuo Van Kuijk with Sean Shibe

6th Young Team’s Got Talent – In Thei Own Wo ds

13th Helena Kay Qua tet: Golden Sands Revisited

14th Mike McGea y and F iends, Cha ity Conce t 15th Nina Conti: Whose Face is it Anyway?

16th Jazz Sabbath

20th SCO 24/25: Moza t Oboe Conce to 22nd Jenny Eclai : Jokes Jokes Jokes Live!

23rd Ca oline Hi ons: Glad We Had This Chat LIVE

27th Dustin O'Hallo an 28th Geo gia Cécile

Album of the Month Mogwai — The Bad Fire

As veteran indie stalwarts Mogwai enter their 30th year of existence, they ﬁnd themselves at a crossroads. Since their inception in 1995, they’ve gone from rebels raging against the Britpop machine to bastions of Glasgow’s alternative music scene to their present number one record-selling elder-statesmen status. Crucially, however, Mogwai have never compromised in their vision. So the ensuing victory lap for 2021’s As the Love Continues was justiﬁably earned, celebrating one of Scotland’s most beloved musical acts.

Following up a band’s first taste of mainstream success ordinarily would be a tough task. However, when you have ten studio albums and countless film soundtracks under your belt, Mogwai meet the challenge handily. The Bad Fire, a Scottish working-class phrase for ‘hell’, reflects upon Mogwai’s 30-year career while looking ahead to a bright future. Opener God Gets You Back triumphantly encapsulates this by building layerupon-layer of swirling synths, dynamic rhythm section interplay and Stuart Braithwaite’s simmering, modulated vocal melody.

It’s a record that calls back on various points from their oeuvre, such as the sparse atmospherics of Come On Die Young on the impressively unnerving Hi Chaos and What Kind of Mix is This? or the bombast of Happy Songs For Happy People

Find reviews for the below albums online at theskinny.co.uk/music

while offering a fresh and, dare I say it, poppier version of the band on stompers such as Fanzine Made of Flesh or Lion Rumpus.

Among these brighter arrangements, however, is a pervasively darker mood, responding to the recent personal traumas Mogwai’s members have suffered. While not made directly obvious thanks in part to the band’s abstract song titles and predominantly instrumental setup, the middle section of the record, from the wistful Pale Vegan Hip Pain to the heartbreakingly vulnerable 18 Volcanos – which features Braithwaite’s best and most exposed vocal performance since Punk Rock/CODY as well as My Bloody Valentineinspired layers of fuzz – is its emotional core.

And yet, that is the transcendental nature of Mogwai’s music summed up to a tee. Hammer Room masterfully brings the mood back up, reﬂecting perfectly how the Glasgow quartet can expertly balance light and dark while closing track Fact Boy elevates the listener onto a cosmic plane displaying the healing nature of their music.

Overall, The Bad Fire proves this legendary group can still produce moving, intelligent and vital work even as they embark on their fourth decade. As their lockdown-inspired success proved, Mogwai remain a guiding light in dark, troubling times. [Adam Turner-Heffer]

Released

January by Rock Action rrrrr

Listen to: Hi Chaos, 18 Volcanos, Lion Rumpus

Jasmine.4.t You Are the Morning

17 Jan via Saddest Factory Records

FKA twigs EUSEXUA Out 24 Jan via Young

Young Franco

Franky Baby

24 Jan via Island Records

HorsegiirL

(Very Important Pony)

The Weather Station Humanhood

Fat Possum Records, 17 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: Neon Signs, Humanhood, Sewing

‘I touch the edge of it / Just a glimpse of it / My own life, I guess’, Tamara Lindeman sings amid a whirlwind of ﬂutes on The Weather Station’s new album. After exploring climate grief on 2021’s acclaimed Ignorance, at the heart of her seventh LP, Humanhood, is the desire to get back to the self, to reclaim both individual and collective humanhood.

Matching this sense of displacement, the album’s soundscape is in constant motion. Flurries of woodwind spiral wildly, percussion is shivery, ﬁdgety, songs frayed at the edges. It’s as if the tightly controlled grooves of Ignorance have been shaken loose and scattered into the wind.

Lead single Neon Signs is a vibrant, ﬂickering song about the breakdown of trust, while Irreversible Damage considers wild landscapes that are irrevocably changed by us but still the closest thing to wilderness we have. On ﬁnal track Sewing, Lindeman resolves to accept the bad with the good, using a patchwork quilt as a metaphor for collective healing. ‘Too late for perfection, to clean up the mess / Too late to take it all back again’, she sings, ‘All I can do is sew it in’. [Zoë White]

Scottish soul music, in a mainstream context, has been spearheaded by Paolo Nutini for roughly two decades. Now, it could be time for someone new to take charge. Edinburgh-born Brooke Combe’s artistic journey has already been quite eventful, despite being 24 years old. Yet, her debut album Dancing At the Edge of the World – post-major record deal – shows a maturity far beyond her years.

Shaken By the Wind’s neat chord sequences and The Last Time’s upbeat, Northern Soul grooves harness Combe’s MO to bring soul back to the masses, placing her amongst contemporary influences like Michael Kiwanuka and Jalen Ngonda. What’s most impressive is the album’s rawness. Combe’s versatile, unfiltered vocal shines throughout. Her newfound creative freedom allows her relatable lyrics of pain and detachment to flow with an unbridled sheen of self-empowerment, especially on L.M.T.F.A.

(Leave Me the Fuck Alone) and This Town. By trusting her own instincts and refusing to dwell on the past, Combe has penned a sensational debut record, delivering ten sumptuous tracks of old-school soul that ooze with the essence of an artist in full bloom. The new face of Scottish soul? Combe might just be.

[Jamie Wilde]

Sam Amidon Salt River River Lea Records, 24 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: Big Sky, I’m On My Journey Home, Tavern

Traditional folk songs are often regarded as artefacts that allow us to peer into the past. However, there’s an argument to be made that attempts to preserve these songs in their original form are destroying the oral tradition that gave them life. Thankfully, Sam Amidon understands that nothing about culture is static. Created with saxophonist and producer Sam Gendel, Salt River blurs the boundary between tradition and modernity. From Appalachian folk song Golden Willow Tree to shape-note tunes like I’m On My Journey Home, Amidon preserves the melodic integrity of his source material while allowing foreign tones and textures to seep in. He also applies this approach to contemporary tracks. Big Sky is unrecognisable from the ﬁst-pumping anthem that closes Lou Reed’s 2000 album Ecstasy, while Yoko Ono’s Ask the Elephant is transformed into something akin to a lullaby you might hear at baby yoga. In recent years, folk revival groups like Lankum and Shovel Dance Collective have won plaudits for reinterpreting songs that demonstrate how the issues that plague us now echo those of the past. However, Amidon’s playful approach su ests that, while history might repeat, maybe we’re not doomed to make the same mistakes. [Patrick Gamble]

Let

Dogs Out City Slang, 10 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: Company Culture, Filthy Rich Nepo Baby

Lambrini Girls have absolutely no time to waste. Their debut album was recorded over a few days, powered by booze and rage, and it shows, in all the best ways. Their catalogue of gripes is long and justiﬁed: corporate misogyny, gentriﬁcation, performative activism, the police and love itself are just some of the targets in Phoebe Lunny and Lilly Macieira’s sights.

The duo are clearly inﬂuenced by earlier bands like Bikini Kill and L7 that could get heavy and loud, but also catchy and fun; Cuntology 101 is a particularly wild electro swerve to ﬁnish the album, reminiscent of 00s nu-rave (maybe Le Tigre if you’re generous). What’s more, there are memorable lines galore if you can keep up with Lunny’s runaway train delivery.

But the snappy one-liners are merely the honey to lure you in as Lambrini Girls also have just as many incisive critiques, like Lunny’s thoughtful treatment of her own neurodivergence on Special, Different or the cutting take on the music industry’s nepotism problem on Filthy Rich Nepo Baby. Who Let The Dogs Out may have a slapdash charm, but there’s nothing half-baked on this blistering mission statement. [Lewis Wade]

Lambrini Girls Who

The

Brooke Combe Dancing At the Edge of the World Modern Sky Records, 31 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: L.M.T.F.A, This Town

DITZ

Never Exhale

Republic of Music/Domino Publishing, 24 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: God On a Speed Dial, Smells Like Something Died In Here

In 2020 Brighton ﬁve-piece DITZ released their 5 Songs EP, a deliciously raw collection of punchy, indie-post-punk. A couple of years later came The Great Regression, which was, despite its title, a great leap forward, maintaining their instrumental hostility whilst expanding the scope from scrappy, hooky bursts into more ambitious, expansive, and artistically diverse territory.

Never Exhale continues that trend with ten tracks combining the crushing post-punk low-end of Idles, the writhing indie-punk intensity of Honningbarna, and the art-rock experimentation of Squid (albeit without the jazz). First-half highlights include the a ro swa er of Taxi Man, the grunting bass of Space:Smile, and the pummeling riffs of Senor Siniestro. But it’s the album’s latter half that really shows DITZ off: the stabbing, squealing, echoing monster that is God on a Speed Dial, the terror-laden build of Smells Like Something Died in Here (complete with orchestral 80s horror movie chimes and synths), and the irresistible groove of The Body As a Structure.

Never Exhale is not for the faint of heart, and as its name su ests, is often a breathlessly intense, punishing listen, one ﬁlled with audible dynamism, sonic interest and gnarled heaviness. [Christopher Sneddon]

Moonchild Sanelly

Full Moon

Transgressive, 10 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: To Kill a Single Girl (Tequila), Do My Dance, I Love People

Recorded between Malawi, Sweden and the UK, Full Moon is the product of the South African singer, dancer and poet Moonchild Sanelly’s year of globetrotting as she creates a unique genre-defying meld of electro-pop, afro-punk, and hip-hop mixed with her kwaito and jazz roots.

Tackling taboo topics and bowing to no-one, on Full Moon female sexuality and agency is the core theme, discussed head on (‘I don’t want no head in my house, I just want it in between my legs and between my thighs’ she asserts on bouncingly anthemic lead single Do My Dance). This thematic thread allows Sanelly musical versatility from the vicious bite of Boom, to the movingly gentle harmonies of Mntanami, to the dance club sound of To Kill a Single Girl (Tequila) and the spoken word poetry of I Love People.

Moonchild Sanelly is a force to be reckoned with and this album is too; the perfect balance of bold, brash and unabashed. ‘I put my hands in the sky, ‘cause I’m proud of the girl I have become’ she rightfully sings on album closer I Was the Bi est Curse. Full Moon is an utter joy. [Mia Boffey]

Ethel Cain Perverts

Daughters of Cain, 8 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: Housofpsychoticwomn, Vacillator, Etienne

Perverts' eponymous track opens with a distorted, old-timey performance of Nearer My God To Thee, which wouldn’t feel out of place soundtracking a religious true-crime documentary. What follows, though, is even more unsettling. An eerily hushed indie horror-game soundtrack that slowly unfurls and abruptly ends with what seems to be Cain’s tagline for this release: ‘It’s happening to everybody’.

Punish is perhaps the closest thing to the Ethel Cain we know, but it’s abundantly clear she wishes to break the ‘dark pop princess’ mould. Each track is its own nightmarish smorgasbord of all-consuming imagery and sonic worldbuilding. Housofpsychoticwomn is a foreboding grandfather clock, a cattle-collecting tornado, a demonic possession disguised as a marriage, the ungodly retches of a Xenomorph, and the ominous hum of a refrigerator all at once. Thatorchia is the mufﬂed rain on a sunroof banging around in a hungover head, brought into relief by a chorus of snowy apparitions. Cain also toes the line between tenderness and lechery on Vacillator and Onanist, and develops her lore on Pulldrone. Perverts is Hayden Anhedönia’s ﬁrst big step in establishing Ethel Cain as a character, a world and an idea, not just another ephemeral popstar pseudonym. [Jack Faulds]

Titi & Ale Hop

Mapambazuko

Nyege Nyege Tapes, 24 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: Bonne Année, La Danza Del Pajarito, Nitaangaza KMRU Remix

Congolese guitarist Titi Bakorta emerged in 2023 with his deeply idiosyncratic debut, one rooted in a wonky vision of pop. Here, in line with Nyege Nyege Tapes’ typical pursuit of collaboration, he joins Peruvian composer Ale Hop, last seen crafting squelched, juddering sonic landscapes with Laura Robles. The pair look an interesting match, and it’s a meeting of talents that, when it works, sparkles.

Opener Bonne Année marries Bakorta’s spindly guitar lines with Ale Hop’s skill for making hornet swarms of instrumentation build as one coherent mass. It’s emblematic of the best of the record; pulling in many directions, but keeping the fundamental eccentricity of their individual work. Yet often the record ﬁnds merging the pair’s respective crafts cumbersome. The title track has all the bones of what works on the rest of the record, but it never slips into a satisfying groove. There’s a similar sense of dissatisfaction on Nitaangaza, heightened only by KMRU’s beautiful remix of the track that immediately follows.

Mapambazuko is an interesting proposition, and one that, while never quite hitting the nail on the head of what it could be, offers glimpses of what both artists are capable of. [Joe Creely]

Music Now

January is off to a ﬂying start with excellent new records from Franz Ferdinand, C Duncan, Diljeet Kaur Bhachu, Penny Black and more

Words: Tallah Brash

At the end of last year we missed EPs from PAQUE (Truth Be Told), KATERINA. (Songs I Wrote When I Was 18), and BPK (In Ascent), the solo ambient electronic project of Brian Pokora, as well as singles from racecar (Whenever I), Theo Bleak (You Said I’d Feel It All Again), Beautiful Cosmos (Midlife) and Oyakhire (triedtocall.).

When it comes to January, on the previous pages you’ll find full reviews of new records from Mogwai and Brooke Combe, while first up here, we get stuck into The Human Fear (10 Jan, Domino), as Franz Ferdinand start a new chapter. The first FF album to feature drummer Audrey Tait and guitarist Dino Bardot, and the first to involve keys-man Julian Corrie on songwriting and creative duties alongside original members Alex Kapranos and Bob Hardy, Kapranos says the record is “a bunch of songs searching for the thrill of being human via fears. Not that you’d necessarily notice on first listen.”

Produced with Mark Ralph, who last worked with the band on 2013’s Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, a lot of classic Franz Ferdinand sounds are present here, but there’s a very vintage sound to lead single, and album opener, Audacious. An early marker that things may have evolved a little, The Human Fear is chockful of interesting moments, like the zippy synths on Doctor, the ﬁlthy electro of Hooked that’s screaming out for an Erol Alkan remix circa 2010, or the gorgeous piano that beckons Tell Me I Should Stay. Then there’s a Cumbia feel to both Cats and Black Eyelashes, perhaps inspired by Kapranos’s work with pan-continental band Los Bitchos. Still unmistakably a Franz Ferdinand record, on The Human Fear, there’s a sense that the Glasgow band are having fun as they settle into a new era.

A little deeper into the month Edinburgh singer-songwriter and producer Penny Black releases My Skin Brought Me Here (22 Jan). A long time in the works, after a stint in Sweden, where she recorded an album she describes as “unreleasable”, Black spent ﬁve years learning to produce and engineer herself, and the resulting effort is excellent. Across 12 tracks, Black’s unique voice channels artists like Kate Bush, Sia and, believe it or not, Shakira, all with a Scottish twang, especially on single You’re No Pedro Pascal as she tells a prospective suitor to ‘jog on’. Covering a whole glut of topics, from trauma and sexuality to love, relationships and misogyny, My Skin Brought Me Here traverses a slew of genres too. From piano-led ballads and bubbling electronica to more straight-up pop cuts, Penny Black is surely one to watch.

A couple of days later, C Duncan returns with It’s Only a Love Song (24 Jan, Bella Union). A record exploring the nuances

of love, from the opening piano line to Duncan’s closing whistle, everything about this record feels timeless as it oozes romance; from the lush, sweeping instrumentation that feels rooted in old Hollywood glamour, to the lyrics, and Duncan’s effortless vocal delivery, layered to stratospheric heights. “I love the idea of something being so romantic that it almost hurts,” Duncan says of the music he loves, and on his new record he embodies that feeling in spades, the music so beautiful you can quite literally feel your chest tightening as you listen.

The following day, releasing her debut album, Double Lives (25 Jan, Doughnut Music Lab), with a show at Celtic Connections, is Glasgow-based musician, poet and activist Diljeet Kaur Bhachu, ‘Daughter of immigrants, product of colonialism’, as she states on the sub-two minute Educate Assimilate Disintegrate. Recorded with producer John Cavanagh, Kaur Bhachu expertly explores her identity across six songs that bring together gorgeous layers of ﬂute, electronics, poetry and Hindustani vocals. Closing the album with the line, ‘Three decades to love a name’, with Double Lives, 34 minutes should do the trick.

Elsewhere, this month also sees Scottish singer-songwriter Rhona Macfarlane release her coming-of-age debut album, As the Chaos Unfolds (24 Jan), while on the same day two of the bi est names in Scottish folk, Julie Fowlis and Karine Polwart, have joined forces with Grammy-winning artist Mary Chapin Carpenter on Looking For the Thread, out via Thirty Tigers. There are also four outstanding EPs to look out for. In Descent, the beautifully meditative follow-up to BPK’s December release; Born Rotting, the anguish-fuelled and foreboding debut doommetal release from Gout (17 Jan), and the rich in harmonies and pop grooves of Little Acres’ debut EP, Wait (29 Jan), and the rather sumptuous secret tape, from elusive Glasgow outﬁt The Healing Power of Horses. They’re releasing the record via No Soap, with a special launch show on 18 January, alongside Dayydream, the songwriting project of Chloe Trappes, who’s releasing her single Fucked Up a few days earlier on the 13th. Other singles due as the month unfolds include a cover of LCD Soundsystems’ Daft Punk Is Playing At My House by Indoor Foxes (8 Jan), Television by KuleeAngee (15 Jan), Actor by Goodnight Louisa (15 Jan), pink and grey by Russell Stewart (17 Jan), Good Girl by Zoe Graham (22 Jan), and Just Kids by Midnight Ambulance (24 Jan).

Scan the QR code to follow and like our Music Now: New Scottish Music playlist on Spotify, updated on Fridays

Photo: Grainmaister

Diljeet Kaur Bhachu

Photo: Harrison Reid

C Duncan

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Film of the Month — The Brutalist

Director: Brady Corbet

Starring: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach De Bankolé, Alessandro Nivola, Ariane

Labed

RRRRR

Released 24 January by Universal

Certiﬁcate 18

theskinny.co.uk/ﬁlm

What is it about Brutalist architecture that makes it look so bleak yet awe-inspiring? Emerging in the 1950s, the imposing geometric shapes and rough concrete textures of Brutalism were designed to be egalitarian. Rooted in principles that emphasised functionality and social purpose over traditional aesthetics, these buildings symbolised a time when social mobility was seen as a right rather than an aspiration. However, decades of neglect have turned these bold structures into crumbling monuments of a future that never materialised. In The Brutalist, Brady Corbet takes this metaphor and uses it to explore the disillusionment faced by immigrants pursuing the American Dream.

Following the chilly formalism of The Childhood of a Leader and the pop-star operatics of Vox Lux, Corbet’s latest completes a trilogy of films about power and spectacle. The film follows László Toth (Adrien Brody, delivering a career-best performance), a Jewish, Bauhaus-trained architect who flees the wreckage of war-torn Europe for the promise of a new life in America. We first encounter him during a long, claustrophobic close-up – soundtracked by Daniel Blumberg’s rousing, yet strangely disorientating score – as he fights his way through the dark, crowded passageways of a passenger ship, before emerging on deck to witness a view of the Statue of Liberty. However, his elation is quickly extinguished when he arrives in Pennsylvania to work at his cousin’s (Alessandro Nivola) furniture store.

Clocking in at around three-and-a-half hours (including an overture and an intermission) and shot using the VistaVision widescreen format, The Brutalist displays the scope and

vastness of a Le Corbusier highrise. The ambitious approach allows Corbet to dig deep into the psychological strangeness of the immigrant experience, and the exploitative dynamics of capitalism inherent to the American Dream. László encounters this systemic cruelty ﬁrsthand when he and his cousin are contracted to revamp the library of wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (played with villainous aplomb by Guy Pearce). Van Buren initially rejects László’s modernist design, and refuses to pay for the work. But later, upon learning that László is a celebrated architect, he employs him to build a community centre to honour his recently departed mother.

The project allows László to ﬁnally bring his wife, Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), and niece, Zsóﬁa (Raffey Cassidy), to America, but it also makes him a slave to Van Buren’s whims. Named after the Hungarian-born geologist who shocked the world when he took a hammer to Michelangelo’s Pietà, László struggles to balance his radical, Bauhaus-inspired vision with Van Buren’s conservative expectations, with disputes over money and creative control eventually driving the architect to the brink of madness.

As the ﬁlm unfolds, Corbet juxtaposes László’s stru les with broader historical currents, including a pivotal sequence that pairs his ﬁrst American project with David Ben-Gurion’s declaration of Israeli independence, with Corbet challenging audiences to consider how the pursuit of a new homeland can often come at the cost of others’ exclusion and suffering. A towering meditation on how dreams are both pursued and exploited, The Brutalist cements Corbet’s place among cinema’s most ambitious new voices. [Patrick Gamble]

Scotland on Screen: Bryan M Ferguson

Bryan M. Ferguson’s latest short ﬁlm is Pumpkin Guts, a stylish and hugely imaginative blend of 80s slasher movie and creature feature, shot in Glasgow’s Southside for £800

Words: Jamie Dunn

Filmography (selected):

Earworm (2022), Red Room (2021), Insecticide (2020), Satanic Panic ‘87 (2019), Toxic Haircut (2018), Umbilical Glue (2017), Blockhead (2017), Rubber Guillotine (2016), Flamingo (2016), Caustic Gulp (2015), The Misbehaviour of Polly Paper Cut (2013), Sockets (2012)

bryanmferguson.co.uk

Of all the talented young ﬁlmmakers working on the Scottish short ﬁlm scene, the most visually distinctive might be Bryan M. Ferguson. His early work is distinguished by bold acid colours and startling framing, a fashion scout’s eye for casting performers with great faces and a fondness for a music promo aesthetic that he has put to use in a string of brilliant videos for the likes of Garbage, Ladytron, and Arab Strap. His style has become even more dynamic and gnarly with his recent micro-horrors Satanic Panic ‘87 and Earworm, commissioned by Channel 4 and Adult Swim respectively.

On those professionally-funded shorts, Ferguson’s visual invention really lets rip. What’s most impressive about his latest short, Pumpkin Guts, however, is that despite being selfﬁnanced (the budget was in the region of £800), it still brims with the same cinematic virtuosity. This is Ferguson in pure 80s throwback mode as we follow a babysitter with a frizzy perm and NHS specs as she’s terrorised by the Pumpkin Pincher. Part autumnal fruit, part folk horror nightmare, you better do the Pumpkin Pincher’s bidding or you’ll end up like the other teens in town whose faces are now plastered on the side of milk cartons. We caught up with Ferguson to discuss the ﬁlm.

Where did the idea for Pumpkin Guts come from?

I came up with the idea while walking my dog at night around Halloween time in 2020. I came back from the walk and tried to explain it to my wife. It didn’t make much sense because it was only half-baked and I didn’t have the lore down yet. So I let it gestate a bit and then an opportunity came up where I got to pitch it to 20th Century the following year. They had a thing called Bite Size Halloween where they’d commission some horror shorts that they’d premiere in the States on Hulu with

quite hefty budgets. I pitched it over Zoom to a sea of unimpressed faces; I wasn’t sure if they couldn’t understand my accent or they just thought I was a nutcase. 20th Century is owned by Disney, so they basically ﬂat-out told me that it’s not Disney-friendly and it wasn’t modern enough, which is fair enough. I put it aside to work on other stuff but it always stuck in my head. So in 2023 I decided, fuck it, I want to make that and show that it can be done.

Pumpkin Guts is paying tribute to many horror classics. Could you talk me through some of your inﬂuences?

I wanted the film to feel fresh but lived-in, with an authentic concept that could have been made in the 80s with a modern spin. The film is a love letter to the horror films everyone loves – A Nightmare on Elm Street, Evil Dead 2 with some Ringu and It Follows – but essentially what I set out to do was shove Adventures in Babysitting, After Hours and The Thing into a blender then season it with Halloween and Scream. A slasher film that’s fused with a creature feature.

I love how the characters are super Scottish but the aesthetic su ests US suburbia...

That’s something that seems to creep up in my work a lot. I’m a massively proud Scot but I feel my artistic sensibilities and aesthetics bleed into Americana – feels more like a ‘movie’ to me. I also love the challenge of trying to figure out how to achieve making it look different rather than shru ing and settling for what’s down the street. I’m always trying to find a balance of how I can stop my work from being typically ‘Scottish.’ I want to show the world we as a country have more to give, more outsider shit and not just the tired Scottish archetypes that filmmakers are often forced to shoehorn into their works.

It’s also just exciting to build worlds and fuck with the audience’s perception of setting. There’s an uncanny valley vibe when you have Scottish accents being spat out in what seemingly appears like a US suburb when really it’s just cleverly shooting Pollokshields and Govanhill in the southside of Glasgow.

You’ve mentioned a Pumpkin Guts feature is in the works. Can you tell us more?

Very much full steam ahead on that at the moment. It was always going to be just a short, though I had ideas of where it could go and how the world could be expanded, so the producers at Restless Natives Studios and the VP at Shudder convinced me to do just that. I’ve written the script and we’re currently seeking ﬁnance and using the short ﬁlm and its success [Variety included it in its Best Horrors of 2024 list] as a proof of concept.

The script has turned out to be After Hours set on Halloween night with themes of alienation, coming-ofage and teen rebellion with an acerbic sense of humour akin to Heathers. It’s going to be pretty fucking wild.

Pumpkin Guts gets its UK premiere at London Short Film Festival, 24 Jan

Pumpkin Guts

Babygirl

Director: Halina Reijn

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Banderas, Sophie Wilde, Esther-Rose McGregor, Vaughan Reilly rrrrr

It could be a new personality test: who do you think the titular babygirl of Babygirl will turn out to be? On the one hand, Harris Dickinson’s Samuel is deﬁnitely baby – dressed in the crisp shirt and eager tie of the grad scheme intern, big blue eyes wide. On the other hand, Nicole Kidman’s girlboss CEO Romy is, well, girl but crucially also baby – big blue eyes, also wide and craving the kind of thrilling sexual domination that she doesn’t get from her loving husband.

This ambiguity of control lies at the heart of Halina Reijn’s ﬁlm, which is less interested in piously exposing power hierarchies than in gleefully tangling them into one impossible snarl. In this world of constantly

Director: Mike Leigh

Starring: Marianne JeanBaptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown rrrrr

We’ve all had days when you wake up in a funk and feel like everyone was put on earth specifically to antagonise you, but that’s every day for Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), the protagonist in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths Leigh’s films often focus on characters beset by unhappiness and loneliness, but few cases have been as chronic as this. Pansy glares and snaps at strangers in the street before coming home and ranting at her husband and son, both of whom have been cowed into resigned silence. Her entire posture is like a clenched fist, closed off and ready to fight the world, but Jean-Baptiste’s astonishingly vivid performance makes us see how her belligerence is rooted in her pain. It’s both frustrating and heartbreaking to watch

entrapping binaries – younger/older, man/woman, employer/employee, dom/sub – determining exactly who has the upper hand over whom is a fool’s errand. Is it Samuel, who can make Romy do whatever he tells her? Is it Romy, who wants him to? Is it Samuel, who can make her lose her job? Is it Romy, who can make him lose his?

Audacious, sexy and deliciously smart, Babygirl is one of the most welcome entries into the erotic thriller canon in years; it’s a ﬁlm that understands that desire and transgression are frequent bedfellows, that there can be no sex without power. As Romy and Samuel circle each other with fumbling, delirious eagerness, it becomes clear: when it comes to sex and its concomitant vulnerability, we are all – at some point – the babygirl. [Anahit Behrooz]

Released 10 Jan by Entertainment Film; certiﬁcate TBC

Pansy isolate herself, particularly when Leigh contrasts her with her sister Chantelle (the marvellous Michele Austin) who enjoys a warm, buoyant relationship with her daughters, and wants nothing more than to pull Pansy out of her sadness.

Like Naked’s Johnny and Happy-Go-Lucky’s Poppy, Pansy is a character whose demeanour and spirit seem to shape the film around her. The shortest film Leigh has made since Career Girls, Hard Truths has a terse, blunt quality that can leave it feeling undernourished in the moment, but it’s a tough film to shake. Leigh doesn’t offer any easy catharsis and redemption, and he makes no attempt to glibly diagnose this woman’s deep-rooted malaise. In one of the film’s most poignant moments, Pansy’s exasperated sister asks her why she is so angry, and she can only mutter weakly, “I don’t know.” [Philip Concannon]

Nickel Boys

Director: RaMell Ross

Starring: Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater rrrrr

Director RaMell Ross’s move into narrative fiction is supremely confident in tone, style, narration and adaptational choices, expanding and reshaping Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel while losing none of the source’s poetry and grief. His choice to shoot the story of two boys – Elwood Curtis (Herisse) and Turner (Wilson) – who end up at Nickel Academy, a brutal segregated reform school in 1960s Florida, almost exclusively from their own first-person perspectives highlights and expands the work’s themes of (de)humanisation, (dis)embodiment, and bearing witness to personal and systemic traumas.

The camera lingers on quotidian details: sun and leaves, dusty hallways, translucent reﬂections in glass. But instead of naturalism, this

Director: Robert E ers

Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron TaylorJohnson, Emma Corrin, Willem Dafoe, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney rrrrr

Robert E ers’ new version of the classic vampire tale Nosferatu isn’t a reimagining but a resurrection. The style is classical and the storytelling straightforward, staying largely faithful to the plot and tone of the 1922 original. And, thanks to E ers’ skill as a conjurer of bad vibes and Bill Skarsgård’s guttural performance, Count Orlok retains all of the mesmerising power he wielded a century ago.

Six-and-a-half feet of nervous limbs and good English manners, Nicholas Hoult is perfectly cast as Thomas Hutter, the young estate agent sent by his employer to a strange castle in Transylvania. It’s a big opportunity for him but his wife, Ellen (Lilly-Rose Depp), begs him to turn it down all the same, convinced

approach is tied to a surreal collage. Shot using a 4:3 aspect ratio, the ﬁlm boldly cuts between the boys’ past, present, and future; quasi-dream sequences; and the world beyond Nickel (often via historical archival footage). The result is a haunting tribute to the not-so-distant past and lives crushed by US institutionalised racism. The score by Alex Somers and Scott Alario mainly consists of brass and percussion, but it’s the unnerving silences between uneven rhythms that refuse to leave the mind.

Herisse and Wilson capture the thousand mundane dreams that Nickel cannot ruin. Aunjanue EllisTaylor’s magnificent turn as Elwood’s proud, kind grandmother Hattie provides the film’s emotional centre. A film of extraordinary clarity and craftsmanship, Nickel Boys will break and remake hearts. [Carmen Paddock]

3 Jan by Curzon; certiﬁcate 12A

that something awful will happen. He goes, she’s right, and soon their entire town is at the mercy of a towering, growling vampire.

The world of Nosferatu is richly rendered as a high-class period piece – all sumptuous costumes, worn cobblestone streets and warm candle-lit rooms. As Orlok’s evil influence grows, E ers takes great delight in draining the vitality from the screen, bathing the whole film in pale blue moonlight and finding all sorts of clever, creepy ways to play with shadows. The whole film is a dark delight, often dancing on the line between horror and humour, and never allowing you to forget, even for a moment, that you are under its power. [Ross McIndoe]

Hard Truths

Babygirl

Nosferatu

Nickel Boys

Hard Truths

Released

Nosferatu

Cosy Craft

We speak to the founders of Granite + Smoke – recently shortlisted for a Dezeen award – to ﬁnd out more about the duo putting joy into January

Words: Stacey Hunter

Granite + Smoke design rugs, blankets and quilts – the things that make winter cosy and comforting. They create homewares for ‘conscious consumers’, those of us who are increasingly drawn to items that are of heirloom quality. A quilt that can be passed on to future generations or a soft wool throw that’s made from 100% recycled post-consumer textile waste is a purchase we can justify in contrast to the more trends-led consumerism of the recent past.

Granite + Smoke are a stylist’s dream. Their homewares evoke that hard-to-deﬁne quality that is often described as the thing that ‘pulls the room together’. Contemporary design meets traditional craft in a harmonious way that still employs a bold use of colour and pattern and an inimitable approach to structure and balance. The interior design marketplace is hugely competitive and notoriously difﬁcult to break into for independent designers – nevertheless Granite + Smoke are fast-becoming a go-to studio for timeless designs that effortlessly bring together the appeal of mid-century rigour and modern-day exuberance.

For designers Lindsey Hesketh and Claire Canning – based in Aberdeen and London respectively – the name Granite + Smoke is a reﬂection of their shared history.

“Growing up in Scotland has shaped our appreciation of nature, storytelling and traditions, while the fast-paced vibrancy of urban life in London keeps us inspired by its energy and attuned to emerging ideas. Our work draws inspiration from the many contrasts between these two places and experiences. We think this balance of tradition and modernity inspired by two very different but equally creative worlds helps give our designs a unique voice.”

Hesketh and Canning enjoy working with manufacturers who have generations of craft history to draw from. Their lambswool and cashmere throws are crafted at a Scottish mill dating back to 1866, while their recycled lambswool blankets are woven at a 150 year old mill in the north of England; the last remaining traditional weaver in a town that in the late 1920s boasted over 100,000 looms.

“Working with historical weaving experts using a combination of traditional and modern techniques, each one of our blankets goes through twelve processes. We have recently started working with a small family-run workshop in Delhi to make our 100% organic cotton quilted products – we are open to working with manufacturers abroad who meet our criteria for sustainability, quality, fair working wages and good working conditions.”

The studio is known for a nuanced approach to colour that complements modern interiors where neutral Scandinavian style backdrops are punctuated with bold colourways.

“We love colour and especially enjoy playing with and testing combinations that aren’t obviously complementary, but feel fresh and evoke feelings of friendliness, optimism and joy when used in certain orders and proportions.”

As we enter a new year many of us are thinking about fresh concepts for our homes. With a shared background that spans architecture, interiors and textiles, Hesketh and Canning have precisely the set of skills required to create some of the UK’s most covetable homewares – how do

they approach texture and colour throughout the year in their own homes?

“We think it’s important for our homes to be light with a sense of warmth. Both our homes have fairly neutral backgrounds and use natural and sustainable materials such as timber ﬂooring and joinery giving a sense of warmth and timelessness. Colour and texture is added mostly through layering of furniture, objects and art. We don’t believe you need to make big interior changes throughout the year, apart from the decorations at Christmas time! We believe in investing in pieces of art and furniture that we love and that we’ll keep, but can also be moved around to make subtle changes – like a colourful wool rug or blanket. We also love buying and mixing vintage pieces at auction with contemporary modern designs. The details within a home are what gives it character and personality.”

Does their grounding in Scottish culture reveal itself in their designs?

“Scotland has a rich heritage and cultural identity, from tartan to traditional dress. Its long history of myths and dramatic landscapes of ru ed coastlines and misty Highlands sit alongside a reputation for innovation and problem-solving, friendliness and togetherness and not taking ourselves too seriously. Our aim is to create enduring, approachable and joyful people-centred design and our upbringing and grounding in Scottish culture can be seen in the way we approach projects, designs and the people we engage with. We like to work with like-minded people with a positive outlook and a can-do attitude. We believe working collaboratively and learning from other people’s skills is essential to bringing innovative design to life.”

With sustainability being a key part of their practice – how do those values express themselves in their decision-making as designers and producers?

“Sustainability is a key value and consideration in everything we do, from sourcing materials from accredited suppliers meeting high standards of environmental care, animal welfare and social sustainability to ensuring any dyes and processes used are as environmentally friendly as possible. These values are also reﬂected in the products we make to a degree, for example rugs and blankets not only give a feeling or mood to a space, but also offer a physical sense of comfort by providing insulation and warmth.”

With their intertwined passion for design and creativity, and impressive career trajectory it’s hard to imagine the women behind Granite + Smoke doing anything else, but if the design world hadn’t captured their hearts what completely different enterprise might we ﬁnd them involved in?

“When I was younger I was obsessed with looking at travel magazines and did work experience in a travel agency. After studying architecture I went travelling and lived in New Zealand for a year and discovered my love for different foods and cultures, so if I wasn’t a designer then I think I’d probably be doing something related to food and travel!” says Hesketh.

“I love the outdoors and keeping active and I’m interested in regenerative growing and farming. If I wasn’t a designer I think I might be a horticulturist,” says Canning.

To see Granite + Smoke’s new rug collection made in collaboration with British rug makers Roger Oates Design and their exquisite patchwork cotton quilts head to graniteandsmoke.com @graniteandsmoke @localheroesdesign

Loops Rug

Dealing with the Dead

By Alain Mabanckou rrrrr

Alain Mabanckou’s Dealing with the Dead effectively pronounces you dead and declares your body, mind, soul, and surroundings more alive than ever. Putting the reader in protagonist Liwa Ekimakingaï’s body as they navigate their recent death and burial in Frère Lachaise cemetery, narratives that were once alien in life come to the forefront in death. This is writing that literally and ﬁguratively reshapes you, revealing spatial and emotional dimensions that are both all too foreign and all too familiar.

Mabanckou infuses his novel with the macabre to move, unnerve, and unexpectedly delight, playing with space, light, sound, and texture to produce a cinematically threedimensional text. He is dedicated to communicating native Congolese truths of colonial subjugation, religious superstition, and a quintessential love for one’s landscape. His innovative spatial and temporal manipulation is not only experimental but deeply interrogative. It begs the question: to what depths must we fall, and heights must we rise, to recognise the gravity of our actions and our capacity for renewal – without forgetting the past – but by embodying the people and lands that birthed us, and that we wish to die on?

The narrator clariﬁes early on: “Don’t rub your eyes, it won’t change anything.” In Dealing with the Dead, death is fragmented and reconstructed to expose untold histories and legitimise the imagined world as the real one. [Maria Farsoon]

Confessions

By Catherine Airey rrrrr

A great debut is always to be cherished – we are introduced to a new voice able to change how we view the world – and Catherine Airey’s Confessions is just such a book. It’s such a stylish novel in terms of how the writer has chosen to tell these stories: there’s a conﬁdence and clarity which is rare, and you have to take pause to fully appreciate it. The characters are compelling and completely believable, memorable literary creations each and every one, but it’s the way they interact, and how the stories are woven together, which is most impressive. It’s an unexpected evocation of the IrishAmerican experience with the mythologies of both Ireland and New York feeding into each other, their respective attraction increasing as events unfold.

Opening with Cora’s story, portentously set in New York in 2001, a family saga unfolds back and forth across the Atlantic (and time) which is simultaneously epic and intimate. As the various narrators’ trials and tribulations are related, the need for love and the support of others is exploited and abused, and what seems to be the kindness of strangers proves ultimately to have self-regard at its heart. However, empathy, forgiveness and compassion lead to hope as the generations come to better understand each other, and themselves. Confessions points to both the strength and weaknesses evident in the human condition, but also how, if we are lucky enough, we can not only survive but thrive.

Lamb By Lucy Rose rrrrr

In this surreal literary debut, The Lamb follows Mama and Margot, her ‘Little One’, as they live in the Cumbrian forest, purposefully hidden away and waiting for strays to stumble across their path. When Eden turns up in the middle of winter, it quickly becomes clear she is no stray. The way they sate their hunger must change.

The relationship between women and girls takes centre stage, from twisted mother-daughter relationships and female friendships that linger on something romantic to women creating and destroying life together. Rose writes beautifully about the quotidian and the horrific, with Margot expressing a morbid curiosity and yet a distance from the world around her. The prose is dream-like with the story firmly rooted in place but timeless. The characters are at home in and rely on the rural landscape; this is in stark contrast to the concept of the city: a distant place which brings overconfident strays who become prey to the outdoors and those who understand it.

This is a bizarre coming-of-age novel, describing visions of girlhood in all its viscera, never shying away from the anger or abjection its characters experience. This novel explores consumption in all its forms, detailing a literal hunger as well as the toxic desperation of codependent love. A strange and bold debut from an exciting new voice for those who enjoy Julia Armﬁeld, Kirsty Logan, and Daisy Johnson. [Katalina Watt]

By Kate Greathead rrrrr

It isn’t hard to see why Kate Greathead’s The Book of George, which follows its eponymous character from nascent literary ambition to middle-aged dissatisfaction, has been met with comparisons to John Williams’ now-classic campus novel Stoner

Like Williams, Greathead’s writing is precise and wears its poignancy lightly, but (and it feels in bad faith to write this since it’s clearly the point) George is exhausting company. Uncomfortable in his own skin, he goes from feelings of superiority to self-pity in the length of time it takes to smoke a cigarette.

There’s a certain affable charm to George’s arrested development at ﬁrst, because haven’t we all been somewhat dra ed kicking and screaming into adulthood? In his total listlessness, George is almost an aspirational ﬁgure. Wouldn’t it be great to just coast?

But as the book goes on and his behaviour affects his loved ones – be it his perpetual scrounging, his never committing to anything, least of all his long-suffering on-and-off girlfriend Jenny (God bless you, Jenny) – it is just plain irritating.

He is that speciﬁc brand of guy who thinks that apathy is some sort of death sentence instead of a privilege; who thinks he’s living a waking nightmare, but whose only obstacle is himself. If you know a George, this may be a cathartic read. But if, like me, you try to avoid them, Greathead’s book – though well written – will drag. [Louis Cammell]

Serpent’s Tail, 16 Jan

[Alistair Braidwood] Viking, 23 Jan

Orion, 30 Jan

Atlantic Books, 30 Jan

The

The Book of George

STOCKBRIDGE EATING HOUSE, EDINBURGH

Excellent cooking, homely vibes and a timeless feel make Stockbridge Eating House a great new addition to Edinburgh’s food scene

OThu-Sun, 12-3pm and Thu-Mon, 5-10pm

stockbridgeeatinghouse.co.uk

ne of the things about food, he Carrie Bradshaw’d to himself at the start of a new year, is it’s very cyclical. Styles of service fall in and out of favour, new inﬂuences burst onto the scene then shufﬂe away to regroup and return two years later, everyone gets obsessed with A Thing as if it’s brand new even though it’s been around for decades. If you don’t believe me, just ask any man in their thirties to tell you about the moment they ‘got into’ the plucky new upstart alcoholic beverage Guinness and prepare to lose the next ten minutes of your evening.

As we pass into 2025, ‘things that never go out of style’ is itself one of the hot new movements in food. We’re talking big round plates, chalkboard menus and no gimmicks – not even the gimmick of not having a gimmick. That’s the feeling at Stockbridge Eating House, in the former Bell’s Diner spot on the corner of Saint Stephen Street. The dining room is white walls, checkered tablecloths, and a bar area made up

of one extremely tall fridge and a lovely old wooden dresser next to the coat hooks. Lots of places go for the ‘it’s like being at someone’s house’ vibe, but this captures it better than most – there is a very real sense, both auditory and olfactory, that there is cooking going on just round the corner and we’re gonna see how many folk we can wedge into the living room. The menu is a short trip through Euro-style bistro classics; lots of meat, a bit of ﬁsh, and some chunky sharing dishes.

Now, the thing about cooking for people at home is, deep down, you want to impress them; the thing about keeping it simple is, sadly, it does mean you have to nail whatever it is you choose to do. The good news is that the simple things are done very well here. The charred leeks (£10), on a bumper blob of ricotta with a sprinkling of hazelnuts and a dab or two of herby pesto, manage to melt in the mouth without falling to pieces on the fork. In a world where ‘charred’ is often a euphemism for ‘burnt’, these leeks show that you can in fact flame the hell out of something without destroying half of it; good job, good leeks. The monkfish cheeks (£14) are another straightforward dish with an excellent delivery. Hefty chunks in a beautiful orange crumb, all juicy and flaky underneath that crunchy exterior. There’s a big smear of a beautifully zingy homemade tartare sauce, and a bit of lemon if you want to make things even zingier, and that’s all it needs.

Things are a bit more complex with the squid (£13). Actually, the excellently-cooked squid is just one part of a brilliant little pile of food – there are fat chunks of smoky, salty bacon, crunchy sunflower seeds that seem to have been cooked in that bacon fat, and shredded kale to cut through and ground everything while also letting you convince yourself that this is in fact a salad and actually very healthy. It’s a textural treat, it’s loaded with flavour, and apparently it counts as one of your five-a-day. Very healthy.

As things get more advanced, those layers of ﬂavour and skill keep building and building. The skill comes to the fore with a roast partridge (£28) which is supremely juicy but with beautiful mahogany skin and an excellent jus that coats everything it touches in a meaty, winey ﬁlm. It is also a whole roast partridge, so it’s proper ‘mad king’ shit – if you’re bold with your knifework you’ll have a grand time. Those layers are much more literal in the wedge of gratin which sits next to the partridge; it’s a supremely cheesy and perfectly-cooked bit of decadent potato nonsense, all cream and starch and mustardy goodness. The chips (£5) are also excellent – big crunch, great colour, just a really good chip ready to be thrown into whatever remains of that gravy.

The Stockbridge Eating House opened at the end of October in the site of the former Bell’s Diner, a venue that served food to the people of Stockbridge for over 50 years, and quite literally outlived some of its neighbours. But the thing about food is it’s very cyclical, and everything changes at one point or another.

Stockbridge Eating House is stepping into some big shoes, but it’s doing a terriﬁc job – no matter what trends are to come this year, cooking this good will always be near the top of our hitlist.

7 St Stephen St, Edinburgh, EH3 5AN

Words: Peter Simpson

Image: courtesy

Stockbridge Eating House

Bonemarrow and lentils

Listings

Looking for something to do? Well you’re in the right place! Find listings below for the month ahead across Music, Clubs, Theatre, Comedy and Art in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. To ﬁnd out how to submit listings, head to theskinny.co.uk/listings

Glasgow Music

Tue 07 Jan

THE JESUS LIZARD

QUEEN MARGARET UNION,

19:00–22:30 Rock from Texas. THE RARELY SOCIAL (RESPITE)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Post-emo from Glasgow.

Wed 08 Jan

THE REGENTS (DYLAN WINTERS & THE POSTERITY + FAIRWAYS + THE COWARDS)

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Synth pop from Glasgow.

AMPLE HOUSE (GEORGIA FERRY + BRIGHTHOUSE)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Scotland.

Thu 09 Jan

TANZANA (ALDOUS + NAKED ACTRESS + SAVE FACE)

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Alt rock from Glasgow. STATIC (BRIELLE + GIRL UPSTAIRS) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Glasgow.

Fri 10 Jan

INDOOR FOXES (ALCATRAZ + NIAMH MACLENNAN + THE GRAPEVINE)

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie rock from Scotland. BELGROVE (SIXTH WONDER + HOPES AVENUE)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Metalcore from Scotland.

Sat 11 Jan

LEISURELAND (DENVER NATIONAL HOCKEY TEAM + LOST IN VANCOUVER + VANDERLYE)

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Paisley. FORMER CHAMP (DALLAS LOVE FIELD + TULPA) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Glasgow.

Sun 12 Jan

RAFF (CORIN + KAIT + LORI)

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Glasgow.

WILD AGAIN (MADELINE TULLY + MEJA. & MICHAEL) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Jazz from Edinburgh.

Tue 14 Jan

JAZZ AT THE GLAD THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Jazz.

KONNER (PHANILLA + QUIET MAN) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Synth pop from Scotland.

Wed 15 Jan

MARTHA MAY & THE MONDAYS (COUNT THE DAYS + HUMAN RENEGADE + MARF) KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Punk. STORMO NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:00–22:30 Post-metal from Italy. JOSHUA BASSETT SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Pop from the US. BROKEN VOW (TEST OF PATIENCE + TRAUMA BONDS) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Hardcore from New England.

Thu 16 Jan THE KARAVATS (ROADRUNNERS + SPECTRAL VIEW + THE TAKE BACKS) KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Rock from East Kilbride. OPENING NIGHT: CELEBRATING GLASGOW 850 GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Celtic Connections opening night.

JOZEF VAN WISSEM THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Composer from the Netherlands. VIV & RILEY THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Durham. Fri 17 Jan

LEWIS MCLAUGHLIN ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Edinburgh.

GRETCHEN PETERS (THE BLACK DENIMS) BARONY HALL, 19:30–22:30 Americana from Nashville. SALTFISHFORTY (MOYNIHAN) MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Trad from Orkney. THE XCERTS (REDOLENT + HEIGHTS) KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Alt rock from Scotland. THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:30 Blues from the US. ORCHESTRAL QAWWALI PROJECT GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Indian classical. KARAN CASEY: ‘THE WOMEN, WE WILL RISE’ (CAN DUBH) GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Folk from Ireland. OYSTERBAND ST LUKE’S, 19:30–22:30 Folk from the UK. IMPOSTER PROMOTIONS PRESENTS: ACOUSTIC NIGHT THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:00–22:30 Acoustic lineup. CRAWFORD MACK (KATYA MANSELL + RODDY JOHNSON) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Jazz from Scotland. JOSIENNE CLARKE

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:00–22:30 Indie folk from the UK. Sat 18 Jan

TSUUMI SOUND SYSTEM

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Folk from Finland. JILL JACKSON AND THE SOUTHERN HEARTSTRINGS ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Americana from Glasgow.

FRANKIE GAVIN AND DE DANNAN (TINA JORDAN REES BAND) BARONY HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Ireland.

CAHALEN MORRISON & FRIENDS (NAOMI BEDFORD & THE RAMSHACKLE BAND) MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Folk from New Mexico. JON MUQ CITY HALLS, 17:00–20:00 Blues from Uganda. BLUE ROSE CODE (RHONA MACFARLANE) THE PAVILION THEATRE, 19:30–22:30 Americana from the UK. CORTO -ALTO + FRIENDS: MADE IN GLASGOW BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Scottish lineup. TRAIL WEST OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 20:00–22:30 Trad from Scotland. THE GRIT ORCHESTRA GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk jazz from Scotland. LLAN DE CUBEL (CAPSTAN QUARTET)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Celtic folk from Asturias. JUPITER & OKWESS (ROSEYE)

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Funk rock from the DRC. ROBIN ADAMS (CALUM GILLIGAN) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Glasgow. BATTLE OF THE FOLK BANDS

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:00–22:30 Folk lineup. HANNAH RARITY (ANNA MASSIE + INNES WHITE)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:00–22:30 Trad from Scotland.

THE BELAIR LIP BOMBS

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie rock from Australia. BECCA STARR (MOG + PRO FOCUS + FRANK’S HOUSE) ROOM 2 19:00–22:30 Rap from the UK. Sun 19 Jan THE ZAWOSE QUEENS ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Gogo from Tanzania. MATT CARMICHAEL BARONY HALL, 19:30–22:30 Jazz folk from Scotland. FLYTE (KATIE GREGSON-MACLEOD) MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Indie from London. FRIGG WITH BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Finland. CALLUM STEWART (MCCANDLESS + PUBLIC HOUSE + SEAN CHOON & THE PRAWN MONSOON) KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Motherwell. THE MYTH SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Alt pop from Malta. WRISTMEETRAZOR THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Metal from Washington DC. LINDISFARNE OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 20:00–22:30 Folk rock from the UK. MICHAEL BIGGINS GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 13:30–16:30 Trad from Newcastle. TIM O'BRIEN (JAN FABRICIUS + SEAMIE O'DOWD + DERMOT BYRNE + KATIE SPENCER) GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Americana from the US.

LYLE LOVETT (JON MUQ) GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Country from the US. THE MCDADES (CUA) GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Folk from Canada.

BROWNBEAR ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Indie soul from Scotland.

RON POPE (EMILY SCOTT ROBINSON) DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:00–22:30 Americana from Nashville.

GOOD LOOKS THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Texas.

Mon 20 Jan

RHIANNON GIDDENS + DIRK POWELL CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:30 Folk from the US.

DERMOT BYRNE + ROSS AINSLIE + TIM EDEY + EAMONN COYNE (CHRIS STOUT + STEPH GEREMIA + ALI HUTTON)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Folk lineup.

JOSHUA BURNSIDE (LEMONCELLO) ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Folk from Northern Ireland.

SIMON JOYNER THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Americana from Nebraska.

Tue 21 Jan

BROTHERS OSBORNE O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Country from the US.

DIALOGUES: SU-A LEE + DUNCAN CHISHOLM + HAMISH NAPIER + DONALD SHAW MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland. CUPCAKKE SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Rap from the US. SILENT PLANET THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 18:00–22:30 Metalcore from California. GEORGIA CÉCILE OLD FRUITMARKET

GLASGOW, 20:00–22:30 Jazz from the UK. NIAMH MACKAVENEY + CALUM MCILROY

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 14:00–16:00 Trad from Scotland.

CORRINA HEWAT: SONG OF OAK & IVY (ALASTAIR SAVAGE + ALICE ALLEN)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Trad.

LLOYD COLE

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Pop from the UK. FERNS (EVIE HEALEY ) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Nu-jazz from Scotland.

Wed 22 Jan

BROTHERS OSBORNE

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Country from the US. THE FURROW COLLECTIVE + SALT HORSE

MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Trad.

ANDSOFIA (LIMERENCE + MANTEL + QUALITY CONTROL)

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Glasgow. IN THE TRADITION

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk lineup.

IONA FYFE (HEKATE)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Folk from Scotland.

KITTI

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:00–22:30 Jazz from Glasgow.

CYRIL CYRIL

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie from France.

Thu 23 Jan

CALA ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Folk from Inverness.

EABHAL (THE CANNY BAND)

MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland. WE ARE HERE

SCOTLAND: AREF

GHORBANI + SIMONE SEALES + MIWA

NAGATO -APTHORP

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:30 Folk and trad.

THE CROLLAS (THE MARTELLS + THE NAUTICS + THE NEOPOLITAN)

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie rock from Glasgow.

DU BLONDE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:00–22:30 Grunge pop from Newcastle.

THE MEFFS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Alt indie from the UK.

JOHN METCALFE (LUCIE HENDRY + JUSTYNA KRZY ANOWSKA) TRAMWAY, 19:30–22:30 Classical.

BREABACH WITH SCOTTISH NATIONAL

JAZZ ORCHESTRA

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT

HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland. MISCHA MACPHERSON + SARAH MARKEY

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Gaelic from Scotland.

STEVE WICKHAM (RAY COEN)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Ireland.

Fri 24 Jan

ELEPHANT SESSIONS (EAST POINTERS) O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Indie folk from the Highlands.

FRIGHT YEARS (PARDON + PORTLAND + ZONED OUT)

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie rock from Edinburgh.

MOGWAI

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:30 Post-rock from Scotland.

LIVINGSTON SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Alt pop from Denton.

MAGNUM THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Hard rock from the UK. PEACE & JAM PRESENTS PSYCHEDELIC TAKEOVER PART 3” STEREO, 19:00–22:00 Psychedelic, folk and rock from Glasgow.

JULIE FOWLIS, ÉAMON DOORLEY, ZOË CONWAY AND JOHN MCINTYRE WITH SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk.

ROSS MILLER BAND (FELL LINE)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Trad.

NELL MESCAL + KATIE GREGSON-MACLEOD + ELANOR MOSS ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Folk lineup.

CURLEW (AURORA ENGINE)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Alt folk from Scotland.

NORMAN AND CORRIE (HANNAH READ)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:00–22:30 Jazz from Scotland. NOCROWS THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 World music orchestra from Sligo.

Sat 25 Jan

AZIZA BRAHIM ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Folk and roots from Algeria. OLD BLIND DOGS + É.T.É

BARONY HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland. ABLAYE CISSOKO + CYRILLE BROTTO (TRIPTIC.) MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Trad.

ADAM SUTHERLAND + JOHN SOMERVILLE CITY HALLS, 17:00–22:30 Trad from Scotland. HAWKTAIL + VASEN (CORAS TRIO) CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:30 Folk.

LACUNA (FELLOW MAN + MARIGOLD + YOUTH FOR SALE) KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Folk rock from Glasgow.

CHEAP DIRTY HORSE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:00–22:30 Folk punk from Nottingham. BETHLEHEM CALLING: AN EVENING OF STORIES, MUSIC AND PIPERS FROM PALESTINE TRAMWAY, 19:30–22:30 Trad. THE EARLY NOVEMBER STEREO, 19:00–22:00 Emo from New Jersey.

CROFT NO. FIVE (RUMBA DE BODAS) OLD FRUITMARKET

GLASGOW, 20:00–22:30 Celtic fusion from Scotland. PIPING CONCERT: INVERARAY & DISTRICT PIPE BAND + FINLAY MACDONALD BAND

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 12:30–14:30 Trad from Scotland. RCS TRADITIONAL MUSIC SHOWCASE AND PLOCKTON MUSIC SCHOOL

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 13:00–15:00 Trad.

MALINKY & FRIENDS

25TH AND SESSION A9

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Trad from Scotland.

SHANE COOK & THE WOODCHIPPERS (TERN)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Celtic folk from Canada. CANNTAIREACHD (FIAROCK)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Trad. THE LANGAN BAND

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Trad from Scotland.

BEAUTIFUL COSMOS (DILJEET KAUR

BHACHU) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Indie pop. NO WINDOWS (MOKUSLA) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Edinburgh. Sun 26 Jan THE SPECIAL CONSENSUS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Bluegrass from Chicago. BLAZIN’ FIDDLES WITH SIMON THOUMIRE (DAVE MILLIGAN + ALANA NICAONGAIS)

BARONY HALL, 19:30–22:30 Trad from Scotland.

NECK DEEP

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Pop punk from the UK. ERIC BIBB + GRAINNE HUNT

MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Folk and blues.

HAYDEN THORPE + PROPELLOR ENSEMBLE PERFORM

NESS

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:30 Folk.

LAKE STREET DIVE (ALISA AMADOR) OLD FRUITMARKET

GLASGOW, 20:00–22:30 Folk jazz from the US.

Wed 29 Jan

THE GREAT PLEASURE

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30

Soul funk from Portland. CLARISSA CONNELLY (JULIAN TAYLOR)

MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Fife.

WARM REEKIN’ RICK + SUN STAGS + LOLA O’DOREL + SON OF THE RIGHT HAND

CIORSTAIDH BEATON

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 13:00–15:00 Folk from the Isle of Skye. ROSS AINSLIE & THE SANCTUARY BAND (LEONARD BARRY TRIO)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT

HALL, 19:30–22:30 Trad from Scotland. ST. ROCHS CELTIC CONNECTIONS EXTRAVAGANZA

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT

HALL, 19:30–22:30 Trad. ROAMING ROOTS

REVUE

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT

HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland. RACHEL WALKER + AARON JONES

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT

HALL, 20:00–22:30 Folk from Scotland.

HELEN GANYA + MEZANMI

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Folk from the UK. Mon 27 Jan

KUBLAI KHAN

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 18:00–22:30 Metalcore from Texas. DESTROY BOYS

SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Punk from California. ROAMING ROOTS REVUE

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT

HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland.

Tue 28 Jan

HUNTER, MCMUSTARD & MELLOW PARTY (DUMFRIES COMMUNITY CHOIR)

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:30 Alt folk from Scotland. LUBAN: SEAN SHIBE + AIDAN O’ROURKE + KATE YOUNG

MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Trad from Scotland. JOSIE DUNCAN + MAIRI MACMILLAN

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 14:00–16:00 Folk from the Isle of Lewis.

FEMI KUTI & THE POSITIVE FORCE

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT

HALL, 19:30–22:30 Afrobeat from Nigeria. THIRTEEN NORTH: 'CONNECTED' (CRAIG

ARMSTRONG + SEÁN ÓG GRAHAM + RYAN MOLLOY )

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Electro-classical from Scotland.

RUTH MOODY (HUSHMAN)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT

HALL, 20:00–22:30

Singer-songwriter from Winnipeg.

C DUNCAN + ADAM

ROSS

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Composer from Scotland.

JOSHUA HYSLOP

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Canada.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE + TRIVIUM THE OVO HYDRO, 17:00–22:30 Heavy metal.

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Eclectic lineup. CATTLE DECAPITATION (SHADOW OF INTENT) SWG3 18:30–22:30 Grindcore from the US. SOUL ASYLUM THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Minnesota. IF I COULD ONLY REMEMBER MY NAME: THE MUSIC OF DAVID CROSBY (BC CAMPLIGHT + LIAM O MAONLAI + KRIS DREVER + THE STAVES) GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk.

CATRIN FINCH + AOIFE NI BHRIAIN (HEGEDU) GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Classical.

BMX BANDITS (QUAD90)

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Pop from Scotland. LITTLE ACRES

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Glasgow.

HUMANE THE MOON

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie from London.

Thu 30 Jan

NATALIE MACMASTER + DONNELL LEAHY (FRANCES MORTON)

BARONY HALL, 19:30–22:30 Celtic.

MARY COUGHLAN

MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Jazz from Ireland.

BRIAN KELLOCK

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:30 Jazz from Scotland.

KIKUO

SWG3 19:00–22:30 Synth from Japan.

AN DANNSA DUB (DLU)

TRAMWAY, 19:30–22:30 Trad dub fusion from Scotland.

TEN FE

STEREO, 19:00–22:00 Indie pop from London. TRIP OLD FRUITMARKET

GLASGOW, 20:00–22:30 Trad from Glasgow. KT TUNSTALL

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Pop from Scotland. DONALD GRANT & FRIENDS

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Trad from Scotland. AINSLEY HAMILL (RACHEL NEWTON) GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Folk from Scotland.

HAYSEED DIXIE

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Country from the US.

NIALL MCNAMEE THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Ireland.

BOG BODIES

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Heavy folk from Ireland. Fri 31 Jan FROM THE GROUND (THE SHACKLETON TRIO)

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland.

B O D I E S

MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Berlin. JACOB ALON

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie folk from Edinburgh. EARTHGANG SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Hip-hop from the US. ZETRA THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Synth rock from London. PEATBOG FAERIES (AMPOUAILH) TRAMWAY, 19:30–22:30 Trad from Scotland. KT TUNSTALL BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Pop from Scotland. TRANSATLANTIC SESSIONS

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Celtic fusion. AN LANNTAIR @ 40 GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Trad from the Hebrides. KILA (DEIRA) ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Trad fusion from Ireland. DAVID GRUBB THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Folk jazz from Scotland. Sat 01 Feb KELLY FINNIGAN & THE ATONEMENTS ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Soul from LA. BETH MALCOLM (MATT MCGINN) BARONY HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Perth. SUMMERS/SILVOLA + BOZZINI QUARTET MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Trad. TOM MCCONVILLE + MICHAEL BIGGINS CITY HALLS, 17:00–19:00 Trad. COLD GAWD (SOFT BLUE SHIMMER) NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:00–22:30 Post-hardcore from California. THE OLLLAM (ASTRO BLOC) SWG3 19:00–22:30 Trad folk from Belfast. NEEVE ZAHRA SWG3 19:00–22:30 Country from the UK. THE TOO LATE THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Indie pop from Glasgow. IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE (N’FAMADY KOUYATÉ) TRAMWAY, 19:30–22:30 Afro-electro. THE BLUEBELLS BARROWLANDS, 18:45–22:30 Indie New Wave from Scotland. CEOLAS OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 20:00–22:30 Trad from Scotland. TMSA YOUNG TRAD TOUR

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 13:00–16:00 Trad from Scotland. GNOSS (LAUREN MACCOLL)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland

KARINE POLWART

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland.

MICHAEL MCGOLDRICK + TIM EDEY (ALLISON DE GROOT + TATIANA HARGREAVES)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:30 Celtic folk from Scotland.

KAN (CAAMANO & AMEIXEIRAS) ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Folk from the UK and Ireland. TOTO THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:30 Rock from LA. PARKER MILLSAP THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Oklahoma. Sun 02 Feb FIELD MUSIC ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Sunderland. PICTISH TRAIL MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Eigg. OMAR RUDBERG SWG3 19:00–22:30 Pop from Sweden. JPEGMAFIA BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Rap from the US. NU-AGE SOUNDS: PLANET WORLD OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 20:00–22:30 Jazz folk.

CIARAN RYAN GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 13:00–15:00 Folk from Ireland.

BBC RADIO SCOTLAND YOUNG TRADITIONAL MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR FINAL 2025 GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 17:00–19:00 Trad.

TRANSATLANTIC SESSIONS

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Celtic fusion.

BRIAN FINNEGAN (ELLEN MACDONALD) GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:30 Trad.

NOGOOD BOYO THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Trash trad from Wales.

Edinburgh Music

Thu 09 Jan

THE GERRY JABLONSKI BAND (THE ROBIN ROBERTSON BLUES BAND) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:15–22:30 Blues.

DANIEL MCGURTY (MANIATRIX) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Electronica.

Fri 10 Jan

DAVEY PATTISON BANNERMANS, 20:00–22:30 Blues from Scotland.

Sun 12 Jan

FRANZ FERDINAND THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Scotland.

Mon 13 Jan

ROO GEDDES + NEIL SUTCLIFFE USHER HALL, 11:00–13:00 Jazz folk from Scotland.

Thu 16 Jan

EARTH TO DUST (A.V.L + OBSIDIAN SAND) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Ambient from Edinburgh.

Fri 17 Jan

MOHSEN NAMJOO THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS, 20:30–22:30 Folk from Iran.

LOGAN’S CLOSE (BERNSTRUM AND THE MEN + PUPPY TEETH) THE CAVES, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Dunbar. THE RACKETS THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Alt rock.

Sat 18 Jan

THE FLOATING HEADS (PLETHARA OF DOGS) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Psych from Aberdeen. SULLEN KINK (SARAH OWENS) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Punk from Edinburgh. MOSH FOR MITTUN (ARTIFICIAL PATHOGEN + MIND SET A THREAT + HOLD UP + THERE’S HOPE + MURDERHILL) LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Metal.

Mon 20 Jan

ANTHONY GOMES BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Blues rock from Canada. Tue 21 Jan

ANTHONY GOMES BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Blues rock from Canada. Wed 22 Jan

BEN INGLIS BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Edinburgh.

BEAUX GRIS GRIS & THE APOCALYPSE THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Roots rock from California. DU BLONDE THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Grunge pop from Newcastle.

Thu 23 Jan

TV SMITH (BILLY LIAR) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Punk from the UK. KITTI THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Jazz from Glasgow. CUCAMARAS SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Post-rock from Newcastle. Fri 24 Jan

PET NEEDS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Alt indie.

Sat 25 Jan

THE SKAPONES BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Ska from Darlington. Sun 26 Jan

CHEAP DIRTY HORSE SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Folk punk from Nottingham. Tue 28 Jan

HUTCH SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Psych rock.

Wed 29 Jan

JACOB ALON THE CAVES, 19:00–22:30 Indie folk from Edinburgh. Thu 30 Jan

ABOLISH GOLF (SOCIAL DANCING) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Scotland. HOME COUNTIES SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie.

Fri 31 Jan

THE BUG CLUB THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–22:30 Indie rock from Wales.

LYDIA LUNCH & MARC HURTADO PLAY SUICIDE AND ALAN VEGA

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie. ELUCID THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Rap.

Regular Glasgow club nights

The Rum Shack

SATURDAYS (LAST OF EVERY OTHER MONTH)

VOCAL OR VERSION, 21:00

Vintage Jamaican music on original vinyl by resident DJs and guests.

Sub Club

FRIDAYS (SECOND OF THE MONTH) RETURN TO MONO SLAM’s monthly Subbie residency sees them joined by some of the biggest names in international techno.

Cabaret

Voltaire

FRIDAYS

FLY CLUB, 23:00

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

SATURDAYS

PLEASURE, 23:00

Regular Saturday night at Cab Vol, with residents and occasional special guests.

The Bongo Club

TUESDAYS

MIDNIGHT BASS, 23:00

Big basslines and small prices form the ethos behind this weekly Tuesday night, with drum’n’bass, jungle, bassline, grime and garage aplenty.

FRIDAYS (THIRD OF THE MONTH)

ELECTRIKAL, 23 00

Sound system and crew, part of a music and art collective specialising in BASS music.

FRIDAYS (MONTHLY, WEEK CHANGES)

SOUND SYSTEM LEGACIES, 23 00

Exploring the legacy of dub, reggae and roots music and sound system culture in the contemporary club landscape.

FRIDAYS (EVERY OTHER MONTH)

DISCO MAKOSSA, 23 00

Disco Makossa takes the dancefloor on a funk-filled trip through the sounds of African disco, boogie and house – strictly for the dancers.

FRIDAYS (EVERY OTHER MONTH)

OVERGROUND, 23 00

A safe space to appreciate all things rave, jungle, breakbeat and techno.

SATURDAYS (FIRST OR SECOND OF THE MONTH)

MESSENGER, 23 00

Roots reggae rocking since 1987 – foundation tune, fresh dubs, vibes alive, rockers, steppers, rub-a-dub.

SATURDAYS (MONTHLY )

CHROMATIC, 23 00

Championing all things UKG, grime, dubstep, bass and more, with disco, funk and soul from Mumbo Jumbo upstairs.

SATURDAYS (EVERY OTHER MONTH)

PULSE, 23 00

Techno night started in 2009 hosting regular special guests from the international scene.

SATURDAYS (MONTHLY )

HOBBES MUSIC X CLUB NACHT, 23:00

A collaboration between longrunning club night and Edinburgh record label ft. house, techno, electro, UKG and bass.

Sneaky Pete’s

MONDAYS MORRISON STREET/ STAND B-SIDE/CHAOS IN THE COSMOS/TAIS-TOI, 23:00

House and techno dunts from some of Edinburgh’s best young teams.

TUESDAYS RARE, 23:00

Weekly house and techno with rising local DJs and hot special guests.

THURSDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)

VOLENS CHORUS, 23:00

Resident DJs with an eclectic, global outlook.

FRIDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH) MISS WORLD, 23:00

All-female DJ collective with monthly guests

FRIDAYS (SECOND OF THE MONTH)

HOT MESS, 23:00

A night for queer people and their friends.

Glasgow Clubs

Fri 10 Jan

DJ PIERRE + BOSCO LOCO (ROB MASON + JUNKYARD DOG) MCCHUILLS, 19:00–00:30 House and techno.

RUSH WITH THE BURRELL CONNECTION AKA DREAM E THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 Techno and acid.

Fri 17 Jan

BITROT X STEREO: GYROFIELD

STEREO, 21:00–03:00 Leftfield, electronica and club.

CÉLESTE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

SATURDAYS

SUBCULTURE, 23:00

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests.

Thu 09 Jan

MANGO LOUNGE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Bass and UK garage. Fri 10 Jan

HEADSET: OM UNIT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Bass and techno. DAVID BOWIES

CALL ME MAYBE2010S PARTY

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop.

HEAVY FLOW THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Dance and club.

Sat 25 Jan

Sat 18 Jan

FUNK THE SYSTEM X PSYCHO BUZZ (MCCART (MATTY B2B EUGENE) + JUCÉ (PEACOCK B2B JULIETTE)) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Techno, electro and disco. DISCO LOVE ANNUAL PARTY THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–04:00 Disco.

CRUCIAL ROOTS SOUNDSYSTEM EXIT GLASGOW, 23:00–03:00 Dub.

Thu 23 Jan

DANCE NO EVIL: AURAMATIC (LEWIS ROBERTSON + BREWBOY + SPEKI C + CACKETT) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Garage and electro from Manchester.

SATURDAYS (LAST OF THE MONTH)

SOUL JAM, 23:00

Monthly no-holds-barred, down-and-dirty disco.

SUNDAYS POSTAL, 23:00 Weekly Sunday session showcasing the very best of heavy-hitting local talent with some extra special guests.

The Liquid Room

SATURDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH) REWIND, 22:30 Monthly party night celebrating the best in soul, disco, rock and pop with music from the 70s, 80s, 90s and current bangers. The Hive

MONDAYS POPTASTIC, 22:00 Pop, requests and throwbacks to get your week off to an energetic start.

TUESDAYS TRASH TUESDAY, 22:00

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherry picked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.

WEDNESDAYS COOKIE WEDNESDAY, 22:00 90s and 00s cheesy pop and modern chart anthems.

THURSDAYS HI-SOCIETY THURSDAY, 22:00 Student anthems and bangerz.

FRIDAYS FLIP FRIDAY, 22:00 Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and noveltystuffed. Perrrfect.

SATURDAYS BUBBLEGUM, 22:00 Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure.

SUNDAYS

SECRET SUNDAY, 22:00

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/handle on a Sunday.

Subway Cowgate

MONDAYS

TRACKS, 21:00

Blow the cobwebs off the week with a weekly Monday night party with some of Scotland’s biggest and best drag queens.

TUESDAYS TAMAGOTCHI, 22:00

Throwback Tuesdays with non-stop 80s, 90s, 00s tunes.

WEDNESDAYS TWISTA, 22:00

Banger after banger all night long.

THURSDAYS FLIRTY, 22:00

Pop, cheese and chart.

FRIDAYS

FIT FRIDAYS, 22:00

Chart-topping tunes perfect for an irresistible sing and dance-along.

SATURDAYS

SLICE SATURDAY, 22:00

The drinks are easy and the pop is heavy.

SUNDAYS

SUNDAY SERVICE, 22:00

Atone for the week before and the week ahead with non-stop dancing.

The Mash House

TUESDAYS MOVEMENT, 20:00

House, techno, drum ‘n’ bass and garage.

SATURDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)

SAMEDIA SHEBEEN, 23:00

Joyous global club sounds: think Afrobeat, Latin and Arabic dancehall on repeat.

SATURDAYS (LAST OF THE MONTH)

PULSE, 23:00

The best techno DJs sit alongside The Mash House resident Darrell Pulse.

Fri 24 Jan

RECOVER TO BOUNCE

SWG3, 21:00–03:00 Techno. DISFUNCTION: ACLP VS EXHILARATION SWG3, 23:00–03:00 Techno and underground.

BREAKHAUS (LOWREE F2F FEENA + FOURTH

PRECINCT F2F MIIRA + TEODOR F2F SAM MC) STEREO, 23:00–04:00 Breaks and bass. CURATED WAX (ELK + PATCH FD) THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–04:00 Tech house.

Sat 25 Jan

SPINNIN’ ON THE SPECTRUM (DYOLL + THE SANDMAN + INFERNO) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Techno and house.

Fri 31 Jan

CARV

SWG3, 22:00–03:00 Hard techno. SOUND STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Dubstep and 140.

Sat 01 Feb

DUSKUS SWG3, 23:00–03:00 House. UNDERBELLY STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Edinburgh Clubs

Wed 08 Jan

KATALYSIS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Bass.

BIRTHDAY PARTY LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop. OVERGROUND THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Rave.

Sat 11 Jan

EVOL LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Indie.

KHAOTIC PRESENTS: (TOXIC MACHINERY ) THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Rave.

Wed 15 Jan

VANROUGE THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00 House and techno.

MEMBRANE: JON K & DAKSH

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 House and dub.

Thu 16 Jan

UNKNOWN • UNTITLED X CLUB SIGNAL

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 UK techno.

Fri 17 Jan

PALIDRONE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Bass and techno.

BOLLYNIGHTS

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Bollywood.

NIGHT TUBE THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Sat 18 Jan

CLUB MEDITERRANEO

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Balearic.

DECADE

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Emo, pop punk. MIGHTY OAK

SOUNDSYSTEM THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Dub.

Wed 22 Jan

ANDROMEDA

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 House.

Thu 23 Jan

POTPOURRI

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Queer club.

Fri 24 Jan

RINSE SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Bass.

EDINBURGH DUB CLUB: MUNGO’S HI-FI SOUNDSYSTEM LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Reggae and bass.

PULSE THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

LOWPORT THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 House and techno.

Mon 27 Jan

SATSUMA SOUNDS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 House.

Wed 29 Jan

SHLEEKIT DOSS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Experimental club.

Thu 30 Jan

XOXA PRESENTS

TREASURE TREASURE: HAYLEY ZALASSI & PANOOC SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 House.

Fri 31 Jan

LUCKYME SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Club and bass. BACK TO THE 80S LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Club.

INKOHERENT THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Glasgow Comedy

The Old Hairdressers HAROLD NIGHT

7 JAN, 7:00PM – 9:00PM

Two Glasgow Improv Theatre house teams performing The Harold. Featuring F.L.U.S.H. and Raintown! YER DA WANTS A WORD

21 JAN, 7:00PM –9:00PM Monthly show from Yer Da! Stick your name in the bucket for the jam at end! GIT IMPROV CAGE MATCH

28 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM

Two improv teams battle to be crowned champions of the Glasgow Improv Theatre this month. Audience decides who wins! COUCH SURFS THE WEB

28 JAN, 7:00PM-9:00PM A night of improv comedy where Couch surfs the web. Bring your desktop PC and a LAN cable!

PERFECT IMPROV

14 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM Wade into the stream of improv comedy with stories flowing from a special guest monologist.

The Stand

Glasgow MATERIAL, GIRL

19 JAN, 3:00PM –5:00PM Susan Riddell and Amanda Dwyer present an allfemale line-up.

SCREEN TIME 12 JAN, 4:00PM –6:00PM A new mutlimedia comedy night hosted by Feaghas Kelly.

AURIE STYLA: THE AURATOR TOUR

26 JAN, 4:00PM-6:00PM

After a year of performing worldwide, award-winning comedian Aurie Styla is back on tour, with his biggest one to date.

CARL HUTCHINSON: TODAY YEARS OLD

18 JAN, 4:00PM –6:00PM

Carl is back for a third consecutive back-to-back tour.

BRUCE FUMMEY: SCOTLAND BUILT THE WORLD WIP

19 JAN, 8:30PM-10:30PM

Scotland's hysterical, historical tour guide is back with a work in progress show.

TONY CARROLL: THINK I’M ARS*D 2025 TOUR

27 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM

With a carefree attitude and a knack for turning everyday events into hilarious, relatable stories.

ROB NEWMAN: WHERE THE WILD THINGS WERE

26 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM

From the comedian who invented the phrase 'No Planet B' comes a new show about future cities, lost beavers & more!

SAM LAKE: ESMÉRALDA

29 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM

Esméralda is a heartfelt and hilarious romp through ludicrous anecdotes from Sam's childhood.

JAY LAFFERTY AND LIAM WITHNAIL WORK IN PROGRESS

30 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM

Two of Scotland's stand out stars preview their work in progress shows.

Edinburgh Comedy Monkey Barrel

Comedy Club

AURIE STYLA: THE AURATOR TOUR

26 JAN, 7:45PM-9:45PM

After a year of performing worldwide, award-winning comedian Aurie Styla is back on tour, with his biggest one to date.

ALISON SPITTLE: HIGH VALUE WOMAN (WIP)

11 JAN, TIMES VARY A show about inbuilt misogyny and how f***able she is compared to the green M&M.

KATHY MANIURA: THE LONDON CYCLING MAN (WIP)

15 JAN, 8:00PM –9:00PM Work in progress character comedy and drag king show about an obnoxious London Cycling Man.

RACHEL GALVO: THE SHITE FEMINIST

23 JAN, 7:30PM –8:30PM Comedian, actress, singer and writer, Rachel Galvo brings her raunchy one woman show to Monkey Barrel!

BILLY KIRKWOOD: SILLY (WIP)

25 JAN, 6:00PM –7:00PM A brand-new, wild, fast, funny show from the award-winning comic that bursts with positivity, frantic stand-up and some outright mentalness.

The Stand

Edinburgh SUSAN MORRISON IS HISTORICALLY FUNNY

26 JAN, 5:00PM –7:00PM A trip through some of Scotland’s seediest, skankiest and scandalous history.

BRUCE FUMMEY: SCOTLAND BUILT THE WORLD WIP

19 JAN, 4:00PM-6:00PM Scotland's hysterical, historical tour guide is back with a work in progress show.

TONY CARROLL: THINK I’M ARS*D 2025 TOUR

28 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM With a carefree attitude and a knack for turning everyday events into hilarious, relatable stories.

Regular Edinburgh club nights

Glasgow Theatre

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

L'INFEDELTÀ DELUSA

25-31 JAN, 7:15PM –

10:00PM

A rare performance of Hadyn’s comic opera, staged by twice Olivier Award-nominated director Jamie Manton.

The King’s Theatre HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL

27 JAN-1 FEB, TIMES VARY

A feel-good musical comedy about making your own way in the world.

THE PANTHEON CLUB PRESENTS ANNIE

14-18 JAN, TIMES VARY

Swap the cost of living crisis for the Great Depression in this feel-good musical.

HERE YOU COME AGAIN: THE NEW DOLLY PARTON MUSICAL

21-25 JAN, TIMES VARY

Packed with Dolly Parton bangers, this new musical tells the story of a diehard fan whose fantasy version of the country icon gets him through trying times.

Theatre Royal THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

28 JAN-1 FEB, TIMES VARY

Adapted from Paula Hawkins' novel, this gripping new play will keep you guessing until the final moment.

SCHOOL OF ROCK 15-18 JAN, TIMES VARY Stick it to the man at this joyful musical based upon the cult classic film of the same name.

GO DANCE 2025

21-24 JAN, 7:30PM –

10:00PM

Exciting new dance work by schools, colleges and community groups from across Scotland.

MOVING CLOUD: TRIP & BRÌGHDE CHAIMBEUL WITH SCOTTISH DANCE THEATRE

25 JAN, 7:30PM –10:00PM

A beautiful fusion of Celtic music and contemporary dance in collaboration with Scottish Dance Theatre.

Edinburgh

Theatre

Festival Theatre

SCOTTISH BALLET: THE NUTCRACKER

8-18 JAN, TIMES VARY

Scottish Ballet’s retelling of the dance classic, ripe for the festive season with its dreamlike narrative and Tchaikovsky’s magical score.

MARY POPPINS

22 JAN-15 FEB, TIMES

VARY

Everyone’s favourite nanny floats down on her umbrella in this gorgeous classic.

The Edinburgh Playhouse

THE ROCKY HORROR

SHOW

20-25 JAN, TIMES VARY

It’s time to go to Transylvannia in this thrillingly lascivious musical.

SHEN YUN 31 JAN-1 FEB, TIMES VARY

A gorgeous choreography piece going through 5000 years of China’s history.

BAT OUT OF HELL 6 JAN-11 JAN, TIMES VARY

A heavy rock musical featuring songs from Meatloaf’s extensive back catalogue.

VARNA

INTERNATIONAL BALLET: SWAN LAKE 17 JAN, 7:30PM –10:00PM The ultimate tale of eerie doubles and tragic romance, set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic music.

VARNA

INTERNATIONAL BALLET: THE NUTCRACKER 18 JAN, 7:30PM –10:00PM Keep the festive spirit going into dreary January with this classic ballet.

VARNA

INTERNATIONAL BALLET: ROMEO AND JULIET 16 JAN, 7:30PM –10:00PM Shakespeare’s tragic romance is brought to life by the Varna International Ballet and Prokofiev’s score.

The Studio THEATRE RE: MOMENTS

28-29 JAN, 7:30PM –10:00PM Part TED Talk, part theatrical performance about the very process of theatre making.

Traverse Theatre

PASS DOUBLE BILL

11 JAN, 7:30PM –10:00PM

An exciting double bill of work by PASS's BA Dance and Drama Ensemble students, produced in partnership with Dance Base.

Glasgow Art

Glasgow Women’s Library

KATE DOWNIE: CONVERSATIONS WITH JOAN 6-25 JAN, TIMES VARY Contemporary painter and printmaker places herself in conversation with Joan Eardley, exploring the ongoing affinities within Scottish art.

RAYNA CARRUTHERS: WHILE WE WAIT

7 JAN-29 MAR, TIMES VARY

A series of intimate portraits focused on women forcibly displaced in Jordan and awaiting resettlement.

GoMA

SCOTT MYLES: HEAD IN A BELL

6 JAN-23 FEB, 11:00AM – 4:00PM

An exhibition of painting, sculpture, print, moving image and sound exploring ideas of exchange and circulation, and the cyclicality of materiality.

JOHN AKOMFRAH: MIMESIS: AFRICAN SOLDIER

6 JAN-31 AUG, 11:00AM – 4:00PM

A film installation from acclaimed artist exploring the significant contribution of over six million African, Caribbean and South Asian people from across former colonies who fought and died in World War I.

Street Level

Photoworks

SHEILA ROCK: REBELS AND RENEGADES

7 JAN-23 FEB, TIMES

VARY

Part of a two-part exhibition foregrounding the work of two pioneering female directors who captured the zeitgeist of the punk era.

JILL FURMANOVSKY: REBELS AND RENEGADES

7 JAN-23 FEB, TIMES

VARY

Part of a two-part exhibition foregrounding the work of two pioneering female directors who captured the zeitgeist of the punk era.

The Briggait

CHRISTINA MCBRIDE: DINNSEANCHAS

6-8 JAN, TIMES VARY

A series of photographic works exploring the specific of the Irish landscape and its entanglements with the Irish language.

The Modern Institute

MONIKA SOSNOWSKA: BROKEN GLASS DIRT AND DUST

6-15 JAN, TIMES VARY

Sculptural works exploring architectural entropy, inspired by the structural and societal changes that occurred in the shift from pre- to post-Soviet Poland.

Tramway

LEANNE ROSS: DIRTY DANCING FLOWERS

7 JAN-23 MAR, TIMES

VARY

Words act as the building blocks for a series of paintings and prints that explore the interplay between image and text in vibrant, experimental ways.

MAUD SULTER

7 JAN-30 MAR, TIMES

VARY

An immersive exhibition by the Scottish-Ghanaian poet, artist, photographer, writer, curator, gallerist and publisher whose work sought to claim space for Black Artists and address the erasure and representation of Black Women in art.

Edinburgh

Art

City Art Centre

INKED UP: PRINTMAKING IN SCOTLAND

6 JAN-1 JUN, TIMES VARY

A survey of the historic versatility and experimentation in Scottish printmaking practices.

POP LIFE

6 JAN-9 MAR, TIMES VARY

Examining the intersection between popular culture and contemporary figure drawings, this exhibition explores and subverts the traditional distinction between high and low art. THROUGH LINE

6 JAN-2 FEB, TIMES VARY

The culmination of a series of four group exhibitions at the City Art Centre featuring the work of nine artists including David Connearn, Ian Hamilton Finlay, and Andrew Lamb, spotlighting contemporary art and craft practice in Scotland.

Dovecot

Studios STITCHED: SCOTLAND’S EMBROIDERED ART

6-18 JAN, 10:00AM –

5:00PM

A new exhibition in collaboration with the National Trust for Scotland brings together an extraordinary collection of their embroidered textiles.

PTOLEMY MANN

6 JAN-15 MAR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM

A groundbreaking exhibition marrying intricate techniques of hand-weaving with vibrant, expressive painting.

Edinburgh Printmakers

HOPE/DÒCHAS

7 JAN-16 MAR, 11:00AM – 4:00PM

An exhibition of work by the Edinburgh Printmakers’ Members Community.

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop

ETCHINGROOM1: WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY IN A WONDERFUL WORLD

6 JAN-1 MAR, 11:00AM – 5:00PM

A collaboration between Ukrainian artists Kristina Yarosh and Anna Khodkova, this mural articulates the artists’ experiences of conflict and their strategies for resilience.

JONNY WALKER: A SHARD IN MY EYE

6 JAN-1 FEB, 11:00AM – 5:00PM

A new public commission consisting of a series of fused glass lamps pressed against the windows, illuminating both the gallery interior and the street outside.

Fruitmarket

BARRY LE VA: IN A STATE OF FLUX

6 JAN-2 FEB, 10:00AM – 6:00PM

The first retrospective since the artist’s death in 2021, this exhibition is a survey from the 1960s to his last works, exploring the particular relationship between drawing and sculpture across his work.

Ingleby Gallery

WINGS OF A BUTTERFLY

1 FEB-19 APR 25 11:00AM – 5:00PM

A group exhibition responding to French avant-garde painter Pierre Bonnard’s final diary entry.

Morningside

Gallery

ALL THE BEAUTY

6-11 JAN, 10:00AM –5:00PM A group mixed media exhibition celebrating ideas of beauty in both nature and art.

BJÖRK HARALDSDÓTTIR

6-11 JAN, 10:00AM –

5:00PM

A showcase of new ceramic work taking inspiration from natural forms found in the Icelandic landscape.

Museum of Edinburgh

TAPE LETTERS

6 JAN-23 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM

A project exploring practices of sending messages on cassette tape as an unorthodox method of communication by Pakistani migrants between 1960-1980.

Regular Glasgow comedy nights

The Stand Glasgow

FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH

MONDAY NIGHT IMPROV, 20:30

Host Billy Kirkwood & guests act entirely on your suggestions.

TUESDAYS RED RAW, 20:30 Legendary new material night with up to 8 acts.

FRIDAYS THE FRIDAY SHOW, 20:30

The big weekend show with four comedians.

SATURDAYS THE SATURDAY SHOW, 20:30

The big weekend show with four comedians.

Glee Club

FRIDAYS FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY, 19:00

The perfect way to end the working week, with four superb stand-up comedians.

SATURDAYS

SATURDAY NIGHT COMEDY, 19:00

An evening of awardwinning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday.

Regular Edinburgh comedy nights

The Stand

Edinburgh

MONDAYS RED RAW, 20:30

Legendary new material night with up to 8 acts.

TUESDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)

STU & GARRY’S IMPROV SHOW, 20:30

The Stand’s very own Stu & Garry’s make comedy cold from suggestions.

THURSDAYS THE BEST OF SCOTTISH COMEDY, 20:30

Simply the best comics on the contemporary Scottish circuit.

FRIDAYS THE FRIDAY SHOW, 21:00

The big weekend show with four comedians.

SATURDAYS THE SATURDAY SHOW (THE EARLY SHOW), 17:00

A slightly earlier performance of the big weekend show with four comedians.

Open Eye Gallery

CAROLINE ANN MORDUE: HAUNTS

10 JAN-1 FEB, TIMES

VARY

A series of ìinterior landscapes” exploring quiet moments of domesticity and quotidian life.

AUDREY RAPIER: BETWEEN LAND AND LIGHT

10 JAN-1 FEB 25, TIMES

VARY

A series of quiet landscape paintings, produced mainly in oils, exploring landscape’s observational qualities.

Royal Scottish Academy RSA

BENNO SCHOTZ AND A SCOTS MISCELLANY

6-19 JAN, TIMES VARY

Showcasing the work of Scottish-Estonian artist Benno Schotz alongside the work of other artists who made Scotland their home over the decades.

IN ORCADIA

25 JAN-2 MAR, TIMES

VARY

A group exhibition of newly commissioned and existing work responding to the natural environment of Orkney.

SATURDAYS THE SATURDAY SHOW, 20:30

The big weekend show with four comedians.

Monkey Barrel

Comedy Club

SECOND AND THIRD TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH

THE EDINBURGH REVUE, 19:00

The University of Edinburgh’s Comedy Society, who put on sketch and stand-up comedy shows every two weeks.

WEDNESDAYS TOP BANANA, 19:00

Catch the stars of tomorrow today in Monkey Barrel’s new act night every Wednesday.

THURSDAYS SNEAK PEAK, 19:00 + 21:00

Four acts every Thursday take to the stage to try out new material.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

WOMEN IN REVOLT!

ART AND ACTIVISM IN THE UK 1970–1990

6-26 JAN, 10:00AM –5:00PM

Fresh off a stint at Tate Britain, this exhibition documents two decades of seismic social and political change and the art that emerged from and challenged the ensuing culture.

EVERLYN NICODEMUS

6 JAN-25 MAY, 10:00AM – 5:00PM

The first ever retrospective exhibition by landmark Edinburgh artist, whose joyful artworks explore and resist the global oppression of women and the profound impact of racism.

Stills

JESS HOLDENGARDE: GLIMMER

7 JAN-8 FEB, 12:00PM

5:00PM

Camera, body, light, silver, and sound come together to explore how photographic practice can encapsulate moments of transition.

Talbot Rice Gallery GUADALUPE MARAVILLA: PIEDRAS DE FUEGO (FIRE STONES)

6 JAN-15 FEB, TIMES VARY

Sculptures, paintings and murals explore narratives of healing and recovery, drawing on global healing and shamanic practices.

Dundee

Art

Cooper Gallery

THE IGNORANT ART

SCHOOL: SIT-IN #4: OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE

6 JAN-1 FEB, TIMES

VARY Sit-in #4: Outside the Circle, is an exhibition and public event series inspired by and generated from feminist and queer movements since the beginning of the 20th century.

DCA: Dundee Contemporary Arts

FRIDAYS MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG FRIDAY SHOW, 19:00/21:00 Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

FRIDAYS DATING CRAPP, 22:00 Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, Farmers Only...Come and laugh as some of Scotland’s best improvisers join forces to perform based off two audience members dating profiles.

SATURDAYS MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SATURDAY SHOW, 17:00/19:00/21:00 Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

SUNDAYS MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SUNDAY SHOW, 19:00/21:00 Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

GABRIELLE GOLIATH: PERSONAL ACCOUNTS

6 JAN-15 FEB, TIMES VARY This first solo exhibition in the UK by South African artist Gabrielle Goliath uses video and sound installations to explore decolonial and Black feminist projects of repair.

HELEN CAMMOCK + INGRID POLLARD + CAMARA TAYLOR: SOFT IMPRESSIONS

6 JAN-23 MAR, TIMES VARY

Print works by three landmark artists examine artistic practices as a means of responding to identity and re-thinking historical narratives through soft, poetic actions.

Edinburgh venues round-up: January 2025

As the new year ticks over, we take a look at some of the most exciting new venues in Edinburgh that have (re)opened

THE PENNY BLACK

43 LEITH STREET, EH1 3AT Edinburgh locals might remember the original Penny Black on West Register St as the pub whose opening hours were 6am till noon. The go-to for postal and rail workers at the end of the night shift, The Penny Black made use of a licensing loophole which – alas – isn’t available at its new home, the former Black Bull on Leith Street. Itself an institution, The Black Bull’s closure came as a shock to many a rock/metal/punk fan who came down for gigs until March of this year. Admittedly, not much remains of its Black Bull days (the bull’s head is apparently being auctioned for charity) with new seating, tables and a pool table in the back, but its new owners also own the well-established The Black Cat on Rose Street so this isn’t their first rodeo. It’s still too early to tell whether The Penny Black’s new iteration can live up to either its own or The Black Bull’s legacy, but any venture keeping a much-loved venue from being turned into more flats or offices gets our stamp of approval.

KONJ CAFE

15-17 GRINDLAY STREET, EH3 9AX

The Persian cafe KONJ returns to a bi er space in Grindlay Street (where Gooseneck Bakery used to be) after the closure of the original Home Street enterprise. Proving the old adage that good things come in small packages, it ﬁrst opened in 2019 in a space just big enough for a single six-seater table. The cafe’s founder, Faranak Habibi, quit her career as an aircraft controller in London to bring a slice of her birthplace – Sanandaj, in central Iran – to Edinburgh. Its four-year run came to an end amidst insurmountable bills post-COVID but now, KONJ makes its

Words: Louis Cammell

much-anticipated comeback. Patrons are already fawning over the tahchin: a quintessentially Iranian layered dish of chicken and saffron rice. Habibi describes it as a “home away from home” for the local Irani community but even if you’re just looking to branch out into some new cuisine, she prides herself on the fact that “every customer is treated like an old friend.” Think hot drinks and sweet treats with the ﬂavours of cardamom, rosewater, saffron and cinnamon.

THE PITT

20 WEST SHORE ROAD, EH5 1QD

Starting in Leith in 2015, the beloved Pitt market disappeared in 2022 due to planned redevelopment works but is back with a huge space and even bi er plans. Its event days will bring quizzes, music collabs with Sneaky Pete’s, soul jams and more to its new home of Granton throughout the year. The new indoor/outdoor street food market boasts seven different vendors and – naturally – a sauna. For savoury bites there’s Buffalo Truck, famous for their buttermilk chicken burgers; award-winning Nepalese street food from Choola; Fire Bowl, that serves ‘East Asian style’ street food with the motto ‘rice, meat and heat!’; and authentic (and fully halal) Lebanese cuisine from Lazeez. For drinks, Pulp Friction serves up fruit-infused cocktails and I’ll let you take your own stab at what Long Shot Coffee serves. Finally, Social Bite’s ﬁrst dessert pop-up is catering to the sweet-toothed Grantonites with crumble and custard. The two saunas on The Pitt’s Granton shoreline, called Big Bear and Little Bear (here’s hoping the temperature is just right), overlook the picturesque Firth of Forth which is as breathtaking as the biting cold when your session ends.

The Skinny On... Alison Spittle

Hella chill comic Alison Spittle answers this month’s Q&A from an A&E waiting room. No doubt it’ll end up in her next show

What’s your favourite place to visit and why?

Ooooh good question, my favourite place to visit is my granddad’s house. He lives in an ex-RAF airbase in a rural part of England. It’s tranquil but also directly under a military ﬂight path so granddad is able to name the planes just by sound. I’m not into the military industrial complex but I’m into people showing off their knowledge.

Favourite food and why?

It changes all the time: the day before yesterday it was fattoush, yesterday broccoli stalks (the most underrated food stuffs). As I’m in a WhatsApp group that compares soups and named a show after soup, I’ll have to say soup. I made one with heaps of pearl barley last week and it was divine.

Favourite colour and why?

Green, because when I was ﬁve I wrote a poem based on colours (it won a prize and I hold on to that victory when I’m feeling bad about the way my life has turned out). Anyway, I said black was the beautiful night above us and green was slime and it is, it’s such a life-giving colour! If you saw a green planet as a space traveler it would make you feel safe. Green is go. Green is Shrek. Green is brat.

Who was your hero growing up?

Samantha Mumba, Irish pop superstar. Her song was used in a harrowing road safety advert in Ireland. Once in my twenties, she saw me walking in an industrial estate and gave me a lift to my house. It was a real full circle moment.

Whose work inspires you now?

Ultimate comedian Maria Bamford; director of Anora, Sean Baker; and rapper Tierra Whack. John Wilson’s documentary TV show How To also.

What three people would you invite to your dinner party and what are you cooking?

Fern Brady, Marise Gaughan and Tamsyn Kelly, I would cook a soup and a fattoush and some jazzed up sweetcorn. They can bring dessert. I don’t want a stranger at my dinner party.

What’s your all time favourite album?

Mountainhead by Everything Everything. They’ve never brought out a dud album. Love their work.

What’s the worst ﬁlm you’ve ever seen?

It’s well-loved and I know I’m wrong but the ﬁlm Kids gave me such a visceral reaction that I was very angry at the person for putting it on. Had to stop half way through and it messed up my whole day. You have to be open to art and the world messing you up for a bit or you’ll always be on the same path.

Who or what makes you laugh the most?

Pithy memes about horrible world events.

Who’s the worst?

People who say the phrase ‘the adults in the room’ when talking about politics in a sincere, non nasally voice.

When did you last cry?

If we’re talking eye moistening and trouble talking at a normal pace, probably yesterday while talking to a friend about something. Also, big blubs at the end of Anora.

What are you most scared of?

I’m afraid of dying of natural causes two days before the end of the world. I don’t want to miss out on stuff.

When did you last vomit and why?

When talking about the concept of sour milk, I just did a little dry vom there. I watched Tarrant on TV at a pivotal age.

Edit: During this questionnaire! I’m now in an A&E waiting room.

Exciting! I had my ﬁrst ride in an ambulance and I’ve enjoyed some ‘gas’ for pain.

Tell us a secret?

I’m a stand-up comedian, I have no secrets, I monetise them.

Which celebrity could you take in a ﬁght?

I don’t want to ﬁght someone, but if forced. I’d ﬁght a celeb who I don’t agree with politically and also someone I could physically overpower. So all those manosphere types.

If you could be reincarnated as an animal, which animal would it be?

A tape worm. Feels like a much lower pressured lifestyle; just eating shit and chilling, not worrying about the discourse.

What’s your favourite plant?

I love this little house plant I have that’s made of polka dots. We vibe. I know he feels the same way. I would say this even if I wasn’t on gas.

What are your hopes for 2025? I hope that whatever I’m in hospital for is not serious and also that West Bromwich Albion get promotion.

Alison Spittle: high value woman WIP, Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, 11 Jan, 6pm & 8pm, £10; The Flying Duck, Glasgow, 18 Mar, 7.30pm, £11 (part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival)

Photo: Karla Gowlett