The Skinny January 2012

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Issue 76 January 2012

: D A S T H G I L I W T THE N W A D A NEW COV E R, Y N N I K S HE L AST T H T I W R I E N!” Y B ’ P O P A D H R A O H O T IC “I WA SN’T ING L I K E F *!#ING RAM RAH ME LOOK – JA MES G

FOOD AND DRINK SPECIAL SCOTLAND’S BEST PINT, BEST CHIPS AND BEST DATE VENUE AS VOTED BY YOU

MUSIC DISCOPOLIS ROOTS MANUVA CYMBALS EAT GUITARS STEVE MASON VS MAD PROFESSOR

ART SECRET WARS GLASGOW FINAL

CLUBS NIGHT SLUGS

FILM ARIKA 12: EPISODE 1 STEVE MCQUEEN

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6: Fred Fletch analyses those Mayan calendar apocalypse rumours with a little help from his friends Arnie and Jessica Simpson. Resident foodie Fiona Buchanan reveals her culinary heroes; Deviance Ed Ana defends the humble one night stand; Skinny on Tour visits a train station; Shot of the Month; Stop The Presses squeezes in anything that wouldn’t fit anywhere else.

8: Heads Up: New Year, New You, New Things To Do.

FEATURES 10: The Twilight Sad unveil their incendiary third album.

12: 2012: If the world is ending we know how to score it.

14: Director Steve McQueen (no, not that one. The one who won the Turner prize and is still alive) discusses controversial new film Shame.

15: Arika 12 introduces a series of artists’ films that’s a shot in the arm for the traditional film festival.

17: Night Slugs co-founder Bok Bok talks turkey.

18: Steve Mason talks to digital dub man Mad Professor.

19: Kathleen Edwards says there’s no place like home.

20: Cymbals Eat Guitars find their way around a chorus.

22: In anticipation of the Secret Wars Glasgow finals, we catch up with the last two graff artists standing Conzo and Rogue One, and give you a brief lowdown of the history of graffiti art.

23: Life as a Smashing Pumpkins fan can be a drag.

24: Two new venues in Edinburgh search for comedy success – we talk to the women behind them, JoJo Sutherland and Helen Bywater.

LIFESTYLE 25: Travel: We sent our Music editor to Trans Musicales and all we got was this lousy article.

26: Showcase: Glasgow’s Pidgin Perfect are an architecture practice with a difference. They introduce some of their work and the community they work with.

28: Deviance: Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex. Sex in the Cinema, Sex with food. Or on food, or under the influence of food, or something. It ends in an unexpected foursome, that’s all I know.

food and drink sPECIAL 29: The Skinny Food & DrinK Survey! We unveil the results of months of rigorous polling, revealing you the public’s favourite places to eat chips, drink beer, go on dates and much much more.

31: Your top five drinking establishments in Edinburgh and Glasgow, explored through the time-honoured medium of the pub crawl.

32: The winners of best coffee shop in both Edinburgh and Glasgow show Food Ed Peter that the art of coffee is more complex than he could possibly fathom.

33: To test the effectiveness of Edinburgh’s top date venue we set up a pair of strangers via Twitter and arranged some romantic times for them. They celebrated by drinking astonishing quantities of booze.

34: We caught up with Fence Collective’s Johnny Lynch, aka the Pictish Trail, to find out what’s so good about the Anstruther Fish Bar. 36: Results: Who won what, and the runners up in all categories for Glasgow, Edinburgh and The Rest Of Scotland.

37: fashion: Edinburgh designer Fi Mackay shares her plans for the year ahead for label Eleanor’s Riot.

REVIEW 39: Music: Errors stun with LP3 and We Were Promised Jetpacks take on the January singles.

46: ClubS: Picks of the top nights coming up in January, and a few words from Tabernacle Records’ founders on the benefits of releasing only vinyl.

48: Film: New releases hitting the multiplexes and art houses near you including Steve McQueen’s Shame and Thatcher pic The Iron Lady.

49: DVD: This month’s delights include Apocalypse Now doc Hearts of Darkness and The Burma Conspiracy.

50: ART: Looking forward to the final exhibition at Edinburgh’s Such and Such, and a new solo show from Glasgow’s Alex Dordoy.

51: Books: All our recommendations are made of paper. None of this electronic crap.

52: Tech: Tech ed Alex Cole preemptively whines about 2012.

Comedy: The Impenetrable Click look into the future with a user’s guide to the coming year.

53: Theatre: Dance at the Arches looks set to begin a banner year for the artform, while Manipulate return with their visual theatre and puppetry festival.

55: COMPETITIONS: Win! Things! That! You! Will! Like!

56: LIstings: An exhaustive survey of the events of January – your go-to guide for all things cultural throughout the month.

63: A peek inside the mind of Roots Manuva. Crystal Baws welcomes in 2012 with typically gloomy predictions. Sorry. Happy New Year!

January 2012

THE SKINNY

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Editorial Welcome to 2012 which, if the Mayans are to believed, may be our last year on this Earth. You’ll be pleased to hear that our resident internet troll Fred Fletch has taken the time to systematically debunk this theory with a little bit of help from 80s film and television references. You can read all about it on the page opposite.

Cover stars The Twilight Sad return with their eagerly anticipated third album No One Can Ever Know. They give us a bit of insight into the recording process and how the last couple of years have been treating them. We use the opportunity to get a shot of them eating some chips, thus cunningly tying together their interview with the Food and Drink Special we’re running in the centre pages. Seamless.

Within said Special we present the results of the Food Survey we’ve been running for the last few months, carefully polling you-the-public’s opinions on the best places to go consume in Edinburgh, Glasgow and the rest of Scotland. Turn to p29 to learn who came out on top across categories including best pint, best date venue, best veggie food and best cake. We took the time to rigorously test your recommendations, by going on pub crawls of the top five recommendations in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, and by setting up some strangers via the magic of Twitter to go on a blind date in one of the top date venues. They repaid our kindness by drinking nearly £100 of booze on our tab. Thanks guys. We also quiz Fence Collective’s Johnny Lynch on why the East Neuk of Fife is so renowned for both music and fried fish, and Food Ed Peter heads along to the winning coffee shop to try his hand at some barista-ing.

In Film, we talk to director and visual artist Steve McQueen about controversial new film Shame, which uses sex addiction to explore the contemporary condition. We also look forward to the first installment of Arika 12, a new approach to film

festival programming from the people who brought you Kill Your Timid Notion and Instal.

In Music, we polled the writers to find out what they’re most looking forward to in 2012. It’s all about Future of the Left, El-P and Muscles of Joy, amongst others. You heard it here first. We also catch up with Cymbals Eat Guitars, Kathleen Edwards and Edinburgh new blood Discopolis, who’ve been causing a bit of a stir in the last few months. Roots Manuva gives us an insight into his record collection, and we trail February’s Wee Dub festival by presenting Steve Mason in conversation with digital dub legend Mad Professor. Clubs talks to Night Slugs co-founder Bok Bok about the label’s globe-spanning origins, while checking in with Slabs of the Tabernacle at the end of their first year as a functional record label.

Elsewhere, Art gets heavily involved in the graffiti scene ahead of the Secret Wars Glasgow live painting final between Conzo and Rogue One. Fashion talks to Edinburgh designer Fi Mackay about her label Eleanor’s Riot, and Theatre anticipates some puppetry as Manipulate Festival returns with an array of visual theatre and animation.

That’s just a wee taster of what’s in this issue of the magazine. Happy New Year!

THIS MONTH’S COVER

This month's cover image was created by Glasgow based photographer Euan Robertson. Only discovering a passion for photography in recent years after a number of wayward career moves, Euan has been focusing on a variety of projects to create a diverse portfolio of work. Euan now works as a full-time freelance photographer on commissions throughout the UK. www.euanrphoto.com euanrphoto.wordpress.com

HERO WORSHIP Edna Whyte and Audrey Stone Our resident foodie, Fiona Buchanan, lets us in on who sparked her passion for all things culinary I have spent my life being inspired by strong, artistic, independently minded people: Alice Waters, Gabrielle Hamilton, Keith Floyd, hey, even Jamie from time-to-time. There’s a lot to respect in that lot. They are noble, they all have a cause of one kind or another, and yet they don’t quite cut it as heroes.

My heroes fulfil the role properly; they’ve plenty of strength and courage, and have plenty of tales of bold exploits and derring do. They’re my heroes because they affected me in a heroic way, as some of the first people I encountered, people who shaped me as a working, functional human.

They planted something resolute and determined in me, and something full of hilarious love. Their general piss-taking, farting and joking around coupled with an almost psychotic passion for food and cooking (not eating, not shopping) is what has carried me by the seat of my pants through my culinary life so far.

Now the genesis of my love of food, while not yet historically mapped, probably came from a meal I had as a child. It was on the island of Luing on the West coast of Scotland. It was 1982. As a family we had been sailing around for a couple of weeks – an experience jokingly but realistically described as living under the kitchen table in the rain.

We trekked in shorts and wellies across the island to a little whitewashed croft. Inside was all air and light. We had sandwiches made from homemade bread with rocket and lemony, peppery, mayonnaisey lobster tails. They were works of art.

These artists, Edna Whyte and Audrey Stone, took an incredible leap into the darkness to set up The Buttery in Luing in the 80s when everywhere around them (then and now) was selling frozen scampi and baked potatoes. I can still remember the sense of being in the place of artists, the sense of space and light, and an utterly happy buzz of a family getting torn in to fresh, wild, wonderful food. Like every lover, I chase that time and place in everything I do. Always have.

It was an astonishing moment when I realised that they were making the journey to Glasgow and coming into the shop that I had set up a couple of decades later with them in mind. They were nurturing, and kind, and beautiful to me then, and they were able to see big, rather than sweat the small stuff. If you work with food, it’s not about the invoices, it’s not about the margins; it’s about what you give – NOT what you get. Audrey and Edna gave me the spark that turned into a career. That and a first crack at rocket.

Shots of SKINNY the month ON TOUR

PLASTIKMAN AT Barrowland, 3 Dec,

by Kenny McCOLL See more great photography at www.skinny.co.uk

6

THE SKINNY January 2012

Last month Music Ed Dave fancied a Galette Saucisse and a weekend-long hangover in a foreign land; imagine the shock when he found this reader casually browsing the paper outside the local train station when he got there. Where was he?

Go to www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions and you might win a bottle of wine courtesy of our expert friends at VINO WINES.

Closing date: Mon 30 Jan 2012 Winners will be notified on the day of closing and will be required to respond within one week or the prize will be offered to another entrant. For full terms and conditions, go to www.theskinny.co.uk/terms Over 18s only. This prize isn't redeemable for cash and is to be collected from one of the Vino Wines stores.

OPINION

DEVIANCE

ONE NIGHT STANDS

ILLUSTRATION: KYLE SMART

DO YOU know what I love doing? I love having sex with strangers and then going home. I know, shocking right? While I don’t actually have onenight-stands very often, I do have them, and I want to spend a little time defending them and looking at what they are and what they are not.

A one-night-stand is an agreement that the sex you are about to have does not mean anything.

You’re just people having sex. That’s it. Sometimes this is more successful than others. Our society, our culture, tries to tell us that sex is meaningful and sometimes we are guilty of believing this. We haven’t had gender equality, LGBT rights, contraception and so on for very long.

No-strings-attached sex used to be incredibly risky.

It isn’t now. Certainly there is still the risk of STIs (use protection people!) or date rape, but we have made a huge amount of progress in a short amount of time. Let’s take a moment to celebrate.

We are free to sleep with people for no reason other than that we want to sleep with them and they want to sleep with us. This is amazing.

Now, a word about date rape. I’m not an expert, but I’ll repeat what I know. It is okay to change your mind. You’ve flirted the whole night, bought drinks for each other, met their friends, gone back to theirs; things have happened… but you can still decide to stop at any time. In a way it’s safer now than it used to be, since most of us carry our mobile phones with us wherever we go. Make sure your phone is topped up and charged. I like to keep taxi money with me too, and arrange an alternative sleeping option like a hostel or a friend’s couch in case the night goes badly.

But saying that – sex is a lot of fun in and of itself. Having sex can be a nice distraction, a way of letting off steam. We are lucky to be living in an age where you can casually hook up with strangers without consequence. There is no shame in a one-night-stand, no inherent guilt. Consenting adults, getting their rocks off together.

As ever, more could be said about this issue. In essence though one-night-stands are worth appreciating.

Stay safe, use protection, have good sex. [Ana Hine]

FRED FLETCH

THE APOCALYPSE: AN INTRODUCTION WE ALWAYS knew the world would end; the signs were obvious. Alvin and The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked taking $443,140,005 at the box office is pretty much how the universe tells Planet Earth the results of its AIDS test.

Cold fact: Everything ends and since 99.999% of everything is not Tango & Cash it usually won’t end with a radical high-five. It usually ends badly like Boys Don’t Cry or Weekend at Bernie’s 2. And, as Cher and Mumm-ra from ThunderCats are the only two people who might possibly live forever, I had safely assumed that since I had never once had sex with Sonny Bono or fired lightning at a cat, I would be dead long before the planet got a chance to explode me.

I was utterly wrong.

According to a supernatural calendar that historians just interpreted, the world expires on 21 December 2012. I think the words you are looking for rhyme with ‘HOLY SHIT.’ Archeologists, taking a well earned break from their daily job of unleashing things from tombs for Brendan Fraser to punch, revealed a mysterious Mayan synopsis of the entire history of the world. (SPOILER: we all die at the end.)

You may remember the Mayans as the angry naked men throwing bee hives at each other in Mel Gibson’s movie Apocalypto. Turns out that as well as being bee-covered, the Mayans were actually pretty smart. Historically recognised as innovators in art, astronomy and construction, the Mayans also invented

the concept of a calendar exactly 2006 years before Jessica Simpson’s agent realised he had 12 different pictures of her rubbing her crotch on a petrol pump.

A system of organising days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes may not seem all that mind-blowing to you but you have to understand that the Mayans devised this during an era in history where the only way we measured units of time was by slowly counting out loud the seconds between screaming Viking-attacks.

Calendars are awesome. They tell me which days the full moon falls on and when to celebrate Super Mario Weekend. They also allow me to carefully note which particular date my girlfriend’s birthday is on so that I can absolutely guarantee her a day that is both heroically sexy and heartwarmingly thoughtful. It also reminds me that three days after that, I’ll have to return Big Trouble In Little China to Blockbuster’s.

So what makes the Mayans’ calendar so different from the Firefighting Hunks of 2012 I have proudly hung on my wall? While mine is 12 months of dreamy-eyed, shirtless emergency service men revealing several health-and-safety-flaunting inches of visible cock-neck, the Mayans’ was released in summer 205 AD, covered 20 centuries and included several dimensions of reality that may have escaped your notice. Not only is it the most advanced and complex calendar ever invented but it also predicts the future, which is pretty impressive for a bunch of people who wrapped their genitals in vegetable leaves.

The thing about the Mayan calendar that has everyone so excited is that after 732190 days it

///STOP THE ///PRESSES!!!

Important stuff we don’t have space for anywhere else INTRODUCING SOMEWHERE TO: Offering a wide variety of free spaces to folk aged 16-25 for all sorts of exciting projects from staging exhibitions to filming to putting on gigs to recording. Go to www.somewhereto. com or scan this code to find a venue near you.

THE NEW TERRITORIES FESTIVAL – which has helped define Glasgow as a city of Live Art and radical performance – has been cancelled for 2012. Although the reports in the newspapers have been tight-lipped, rumours of finan cial mismanagement are filtering through the thea tre community.

However, the wonderful artistic direc tor, Nikki Millican, still has the support of the board, even through the company has been wou nd up.

THANK YOU to Glasgo w’s Fun World Fancy Dress shop for providing us with the wonderful cos tumes for the December issu e that allowed us to dre ss Take a Worm for a Walk We ek as Santa and his elve s.

Anyone looking for cos tume hire should check out www.funworldfancyd ress.co.uk or head alo ng to 350 Pollokshaws Road, Gla sgow, G41 1QS. THE FLYING DUCK has introduced Three Chord n for Theatre, every Sunday, as an open mic sessio the arts performance. Given the systemic attack on nd by the ConDem Alliance down south – Scotla which nment gover a have to h enoug has been lucky g it’s recognises the arts, even if they might be thinkin to getting just good propaganda – any new approach . theatre into the public’s face is, frankly, a relief..

IN FOOD NEWS, health food munc hkins Real Foods have a couple of events to help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions as well as impr oving your love life.

Burn al annu s fries’ Yoga Dum and Your Diet is a talk from the healthy BIG BURNS SUPPER: and orfestival ganic food specialists, combining stravaganza returns with a two day tips on healthy eating al festiv The Jan. 8 with 27-2 helpf on ul Bard advic the g e on ratin stret celeb ching. It’s at their Broughton events across St branch on the 21st, tickets are £2.50. They are also blends traditional and contemporary as edy com and art live pres entin arts, l g the latest incarnation of their Orga dance, theatre, visua nic Wine rmance work Club at Brougham St on the 25th, entitled In the Mood well as featuring a site-specific perfo and p line-u the for Love. That’s right, it’s a chance in a public toilet. For more info on to bone up on wine r.com/ just in time for Valentine’s Day! Ticke tickets go to www.bigburnssuppe ts £7.50.

abruptly ends in December 2012. Hunky Firemen 2012 also ends in December but while mine concludes with ‘Jonathan’ who ‘Keeps his pole well oiled for an instant response,’ the Mayan’s ends with ‘FUCKING APOCALYPSE.’ So I guess that’s it then. Cash in our chips.

Jungle-men just wrote us out of the cosmos.

Thanks a lot, assholes.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid of Armageddon – I’ve seen that film at least 4 times.

I turned to the internet for answers. Even though my last few searches included the terms ‘Last Starfighter space helmet’ and ‘TITS’, Google was pleasantly unphased by ‘WHY WE DIE IN 2012?’.

It didn’t take long to discover that the online community had roughly 50 billion somethings to say about the end of the world.

If countless strangers across the globe can collaborate to provide a detailed background and life history to the space wolfman you saw for two seconds in Star Wars Episode IV, they sure as shit could tell me how afraid I should be about our approaching mass extinction.

ANSWER: VERY According to the internet The Mayan Prophecy is 100% real because: a) It’s old. b) It suddenly ends. c) It has predicted almost seven things that have totally sort of happened.

Despite a convincing argument I decided to play devil’s advocate before buying a shot gun and sealing myself into the wall with a 12 months supply of Bibles.

There is an ill-informed assumption that when something is really old, it automatically holds some form of ultimate truth and supernatural wisdom.

If that’s true, my grandfather is about three armchair-based bowel movements and an episode of Heartbeat away from being a sorcerer.

As for the predictions, it all seems to be a case of pareidolia. Random images, objects and stimuli can often be misinterpreted as meaningful and significant if you try hard enough. Given the right environment and state of mind, clouds can often look like elephants and my hand can be Lynda Carter in her most exciting crime fighting costume ever.

Vague references to great wars, huge waves and towers falling are apparently proof enough of the future-predicting powers of the Mayans. If you

gave me two hours, a pen, some paper and a copy of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Commando, not only would I have one hell of an erection, but I’d also have a solid gold argument that when Arnie finally impales Vernon Wells with a metal tube and says ‘let off some steam,’ he was predicting the threat of global warming. Come to think of it, the Mayans describe a time when ‘Man’s creations will destroy him’ which is entirely the plot of Terminator.

He also starred in a movie called End of Days which wasn’t very good.

Obviously the unfinished madness of a longdead culture who had a better record in pretty vases than not-chopping-each-others’-heads-offto-please-the-moon is subject to some technical issues. Sure, the Mayans were smart enough to invent a complex system to predict the future, but they weren’t smart enough to see the Spanish coming. You’d think a culture who could confidently anticipate every planet-devastating event up until the cancellation of our existence might have bookmarked June 1520: ‘Fruity guys in armour visiting. Totally going to fuck us up. Remember to get flu jab.’

By 1697 the Mayans and most of their culture were gone and everything smelled of paella.

Rational minds whose field of expertise extends to ‘not being crazy’ are on hand to offer reassurance.

Despite the publicity generated by the 2012 date, Susan Milbrath, curator of Latin American Art and Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, states, “We have no record or knowledge that [the Mayans] would think the world would come to an end,” in 2012, and when it comes to haunted calendar arguments, some woman who has a degree in Ricky Martin and dinosaur skeletons beats three million anonymous internet men hands down.

So will the world end on 21 December 2012?

Who knows. If we do discover that the ornate Mayan carving of a large Austrian muscle-man crotch-hammering one of his kitchen staff was actually a heads-up on the uniquely insurmountable value of life, we are going to feel pretty stupid for not picking up on the fucking obvious.

So take my advice people. Have fun this year. Go out, meet people, share love – rent Tango & Cash.

Happy New Year everyone.

THE SKINNY CANNOT GUARANTEE THE VERACITY OF ANY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY

7

HEADS UP Our year gets off to a tip-top start, as Celtic Connections rolls into town, Future Shorts takes a trip Westside, and Explosions In The Sky get ready to wow us once more

TUE 3 JAN

WED 4 JAN

In celebration of Werner Herzog’s 70th birthday, the Filmhouse screen a selection of new digital prints of some of his early classics. Tonight sees Herzog’s account of the quest for El Dorado, 1972’s Aguirre, Wrath of God, get an airing, with a powerhouse (read: you wouldnae mess wi’ him) performance from Klaus Kinski as megalomaniac Don Lope de Aguirre.

Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 9pm, £5.60 (£3.60)

Back and bigging up the female comedy contingent, Susan Calman hosts Wicked Wenches, her rather fine all-female stand-up showcase taking in a mix of circuit headliners and newcomers from across the scene.

Tonight sees Katie Mulgrew, Ruth Cockburn, Leona Irvine, and prison officer-turned-stand-up Ava Vidal amongst ’em. The Stand, Glasgow, 8.30pm, £6 (£5/£3 members)

Over the wall

AVA Vidal

SUN 8 JAN

Mon 9 JAN

NYC posse Cymbals Eat Guitars know how to cut loose on the ol’ thunderous drums/guitars/keys combo, as demonstrated to glorious effect on last year’s Lenses Alien LP. They’re also pretty deft at adapting to the landscape they find themselves in, making them a treat to the ears in a live setting (as in, we're there).

O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm, £7.50

The Stand’s reliably good Monday beginner’s showcase, Red Raw, sees a hefty handful of newcomers take to the stage, with tonight’s proceedings being overseen by just about our favourite matriarch in residence, Jojo Sutherland. And, if you're lucky, you may well catch a bigger name headline act road-testing some new material, too. The Stand, Edinburgh, 8.30pm, £2

COMPILED BY: ANNA DOCHERTY

SAT 14 JAN

sun 15 jan

Music download portal Ten Tracks and video production studio LaB join forces for the launch of their new night, Video Loves The Radio Star, which marries live music and video art in one nifty whole. Edinburgh popsters My Tiny Robots headline, launching their new single Zut Alorz, while the LaB team mix live visuals on site. In addition, there will be a showcase of video art from a trio of talented young artists – Candas Sisman, Chris Rutterford, and Calum Scott. The Third Door, Edinburgh, 7pm, £7

Edinburgh Printmakers kick off 2012 with a rather unique solo exhibition from Kirsty Whiten, in which she deals with the complexities of the new familial unit in both large works on canvas and a new series of stone lithographs. Whiten will discuss her artistic practice in a live talk the day before (Saturday 14 January, 2pm, free), which should likely prove more than a little illuminating. Edinburgh Printmakers, Edinburgh, 10am – 6pm (Tue-Sat), until 10 Mar, Free

Deeper than yesterday

My little robots

Photo: John Bryden

FRI 13 JAN The Future Shorts crew make their first foray Westside, taking to Glasgow’s CCA for a handpicked screening of some of the most exciting short films from across the globe. And it’s a sparkly selection of award-winners, including Oscar-winner God of Love, BAFTA-winning The Eagleman Stag, and Ariel Kleiman’s Sundance-winning gem Deeper Than Yesterday, a taut tale of a crew of Russian seamen turned savages. CCA, Glasgow, 8pm, £5

FRI 20 JAN

SAT 21 JAN

Bringing together a selection of works from the last ten years, alongside a number of brand new commissions, Fruitmarket give over the gallery space to London-based artist Anna Barriball, known for moving between the parallel languages of drawing and sculpture, where pencilled sheets of paper become heavily material objects, and items such as windbreaks, found photographs, and a fireplace are redrawn as artworks. Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, until 1 Apr, 11am-6pm daily (noon-5pm Sundays), Free

One of our favourite photographic hubs, Stills Gallery, open their doors for the second installment of their Social Documents programme, for which photographer Allan Sekula will present his most recent series of images looking at the sea as a space of trade, work, exploitation, activism, and the sublime, to show alongside a looped screening of his award-winning documentary film, The Forgotten. Stills, Edinburgh, 11am – 6pm, until 18 Mar, Free

THU 26 JAN

FRI 27 JAN

In one of our favourite musical team-ups of last year, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins released the seven-yearsin-the-making Diamond Mine, an album of such delicate and unhurried beauty that it made it to #5 in our top albums of 2011 list. No wonder then that they arrive at Celtic Connections ready to give it another live airing in Glasgow, armed also with their recent Honest Words EP. O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm, £15. Part of Celtic Connections

Banff Mountain Film Festival arrive in Edinburgh to kick off their world tour, screening a selection of short films from the world’s leading adventure filmmakers, featuring a collective of thrillseekers climbing, kayaking, skiing, and mountain biking in some pretty wild and remote places. We just watched a clip of someone bike-jumping over some scarily high tree-tops: it’s that kind of skill-meetslunacy. Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 7.30pm £12 (£10). Also showing at Glasgow’s Mitchell Library the following night

8

THE SKINNY JANUARY 2012

Alex Girard backcountry skiing, Rogers Pass, B.C.

Photo: Ryan Creary

Jojo Sutherland

THU 5 JAN

FRI 6 JAN

SAT 7 JAN

Kicking off the new year as only they know how – i.e. with a shed-load of musical goodness – King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution, which sees some 75-odd bands taking to the venue over the 15-day schedule. Motherwell’s own hip-hop quintet, The LaFontaines, open proceedings, joined by Darc, TeKlo, and Kid Robotik. King Tuts, Glasgow, 5-19 Jan, 8pm, £6. See listings for full schedule

That Jungledub lot return for 2012 bigger and rowdier than ever, relocating from their usual Wednesday night slot for a one-off Friday special. Expect the usual fine dub, dubstep and jungle playlists from a selection of DJs handpicked from across the Scottish scene, plus hyped-up party shenanigans (what with it officially being the weekend an’ all). Bongo Club, Edinburgh, 11pm, £tbc

How’s about a pummeling metallic soundtrack for the first weekend of the new year? We though so. Soundhaus play host to the Glasgow Death Metal Tea Party, where a rabble of noisemakers including Nerrus Kor, Party Cannon, Agonised Deformity, and Laceration will take to the stage over the course of the evening, with all profits going to the Soundhaus’ impending relocation. Soundhaus, Glasgow, 7pm, £7

The LaFontaines

Nerrus Kor

WED 11 JAN

THU 12 JAN

King Tut’s New Year Revolution continues in full swing with a headline set from experimental Edinburgh trio Discopolis; who are naturally experimental with a complete lack of pretension and genuine pop sensibility – suffice to say we like. We’re also rather fond of their own summing up of their sound as “like digital fucking.” Amen. Stellar support comes form Capitals, Capstin Pole, and Kill The Waves. King Tut’s, Glasgow, 8.30pm, £6

Theez Boyz R Athletes’ bi-weekly night of ear-exercising disco, new wave, dancehall, electronic, and techno (i.e. it's bloody eclectic, yes) returns for its first outing of 2012 with a trio of rather special guests in tow, headered by dubstep specialist Taz Buckfaster, alongside Pi Eye'd, and DJ Noface. And all playing for gratis, marking this out as our little bit of midweek cheer.

Flat 0/1, Glasgow, 11pm, Free

DIY promoter par excellence Cry Parrot arrive at Nice ’n’ Sleazy for a three-day takeover, where they’ll be celebrating the best new Scottish acts on the scene. It’ll be a pick’n’mix selection taking in Sacred Paws, Stefan Blomier, Clip Art, SBG, Mussel Memory, Mother Ganga, Cru Servers, Okishima Island Tourist Association, Power of Love, and God of the Drum – where the essence of the thing is that you turn up and see who’s a-rockin’ the stage that night. Nice ’n’ Sleazy, Glasgow, 12-14 Jan, 8pm, £4

Taz Buckfaster

Photo: Stewart Fullerton

TUE 10 JAN

wed 18 jan

thu 19 jan

Long-haired funnyman Andrew O'Neill brings his off-beat brand of comedy to The Stand. Known for being unable to stay on any one topic, he’ll cover everything from the occult (a particular interest of his), right through to his new short play about, erm, gravy. He’s also likely to enter to a pummeling black metal soundtrack. Nice.

The Stand, Edinburgh, 8.30pm, £10 (£7). Also playing Glasgow's The Stand the following night

The Milk crew return after having hopefully recovered from their New Year mega-bash, with their first outing of 2012 soundtracked by Stirling pop-meets-rock quartet Miniature Dinosaurs, before a selection of live DJs play into the bedtime hours. There will o’course also be the club’s usual heady dose of white, pink, and green milk cocktails, free biscuits, live visuals, and 75p cider straight outta the jumbo-sized supermarket bottle. Flat 0/1, Glasgow, 9pm, £4 (£3)

French musician Anthony Gonzalez (aka M83) tours on the back of the dreamy double disco opus that was last year's <i>Hurry Up, We're Dreaming<i>, which made it to #9 in our albums of 2011 chart. It's essentially a beautiful, anthemic beast of a thing that attempts to soundtrack Gonzalez's childhood dreams, and we for one can't wait to hear it played out in a live setting. The Arches, Glasgow, 7pm, £12.50

Photo: Joe Brown

Photo: Nuria Rius

tue 17 jan

Photo: Martin Senyszak

Mon 16 Jan The Horrors play their rescheduled October date (postponed due to illness), finally taking to the road proper with their self-produced third LP, Skying. It’s probably their most individual creation to date, mainly because it manages to marry layered drone, pile-driving bass, and brass refrains into one gloriously listenable whole. The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, 7pm, £12

Miniature Dinosaurs

SUN 22 JAN

MON 23 JAN

TUE 24 JAN

WED 25 JAN

Hazy Recollections stage a trio of chilled Sunday afternoon showcases as part of Celtic Connections, handpicking a selection of (mostly homegrown) acts from the flourishing indie, folk and roots scene. They kick off with a rather fine pop-tinged bill – Washington Irving, Jonnie Common, The Dirty Beggars, Siobhan Wilson, and Adam Holmes – all offering their own individual take on the nu-folk template. O2 ABC, Glasgow, 2.30pm, £10. Part of Celtic Connections, 19 Jan-5 Feb, celticconnections.com

Texas four-piece Explosions In The Sky are just about as ethereal as post-rock bloody gets, all intricate instrumental melodies, fluttering and intertwining in the most blusteringly beautiful of patterns, paint-splattered with Chris Hrasky’s controlled drums, showed to maximum effect on last year’s Take Care, Take Care, Take Care LP. We shall be playing the eight-minute gem of a song Your Hand In Mine on repeat in the run up, aye. O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7pm, £18

Excitable young pups Tubelord delight with their exuberant, kitchen sink-style approach to music-making: spastic riffing, pop hooks a-plenty, disorienting time sig changes, and lyrics that move from put-the-world-to-right serious, to utterly nonsensical as they merrily go. In other words, they’re an energetic bundle of sheer bloody joy.

Support comes from Indianapolis indie-rockers Olympians. Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, 7pm, £5 advance

Sir David Rodigan, as in the legendary selector and reggae ambassador, returns to Edinburgh as part of West London label Headlock’s rather fine club night, for which the renowned music fanatic will be handpicking a set mixing early roots and dub, with modern dancehall and dubstep. His son, Oliver Rodigan, also pops up through the month at the Wee Red’s Robigan’s Reggae night (20 Jan). The Caves, Edinburgh, 11pm, £8

Washington Irving

SAT 28 JAN

SUN 29 JAN

MON 30 JAN

Brooklyn quartet Clap Your Hands Say Yeah return to their indie-pop roots on the back of last autumn’s Hysterical LP, upping our happy quota with their off-kilter melodies, hazy synths and soporific bass-lines. It takes us right back to their eponymous 2005 debut, which is always a good thing. SWG3, Glasgow, 8pm, £12.50

Will Oldham returns to Scottish Shores under his Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy alter-ego, all lush explorations of America’s historical, musical and psychic backwoods brought to life on subdued beauty of a new album, Wolfroy Goes To Town. We also eagerly await his forthcoming 2012 collaborative album of duets with Glasgow’s Trembling Bells, which we’re hoping may get a wee preview tonight. Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, 8pm, £18. Part of Celtic Connections

Manipulate Festival return to the Traverse for their fifth outing, celebrating the avante-garde and all-out magical side of theatre, puppetry, and animation.

They kick off with Hamletmachine, Heiner Muller’s inspired condensing of Shakespeare’s Hamlet into a nine-page mini epic, merging silent actors with disembodied voices, puppets, and shadow play. Traverse, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £15 (£11/£6 unemployed)

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY

9

10 THE SKINNY January 2012

MUSIC

Future Days

Having lost a member but survived the fall-out, The Twilight Sad have come out fighting with a stripped back, propulsive third album. In celebration we caught up with them for a chat, a victory pint and a ploughman’s Interview: Darren Carle Photos: Euan Robertson

It’s been over two years since The Twilight Sad last graced The Skinny with an in-depth chat ahead of a new album. Back then, the Kilsyth chaps were about to unleash sophomore effort Forget the Night Ahead, having released their 2007 debut Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters to critical acclaim.

Understandably the pressure was on for its follow up, which evidently took its toll. “I think I lost my mind,” admits singer James Graham, noting the shaved head look he adopted at the time. “It’s grown back though,” he says ambiguously. “I wasn’t too happy with the last Skinny cover, me looking like fucking Richard O’Brien.” At this point the frontman glances with mock awkwardness at guitarist Andy MacFarlane, still resplendent with his own shaven bonce. “Looks good though,” he laughs.

The pressure, and any concessions to vanity, eventually paid off. Whilst it would always be a task to better that stealth missile of a debut, Forget the Night Ahead was still a blinder by any account.

Louder, denser and packing a weighty thematic punch, it showcased a band unwilling to rest on their considerable laurels. Yet despite a less than chipper recording process, life didn’t get any easier post-release, culminating in the departure of bassist Craig Orzel in February 2010. “Craig leaving was a shock,” admits Graham, “but at the same time it was after a fucking nightmare tour where we got robbed. He just wanted to go and do his own thing and to be honest it was the right decision for him and it was the right decision for the band.”

Rather than find a straight-up replacement, the band have trimmed down to a core trio in the studio, enlisting Johnny Docherty of Take a Worm for a Walk Week and sometime Aereogramme contributor Martin ‘Dok’ Doherty as live members only. “If we were introducing more people into it, I think it would complicate things,” says MacFarlane of the band’s writing process. Graham agrees; “That’s the one thing that won’t change. It’s the core of what makes the band the band.”

A little objectivity goes a long way, though – a fact all three clearly embrace. Originally slated to produce upcoming third album No One Can Ever Know, legendary DJ and producer Andrew Weatherall eventually operated as something of a muse for the trio as they braved new musical climates. With demos already laid down, a sparser, glacial electro atmosphere began to take shape, with waves of vintage analogue synthesizers taking precedence over the band’s more typical layered and ferocious guitar sound.

We never want to remake the same record just because it’s pleased some people Andy MacFarlane

“He was there to bounce ideas off and reassure us that we were going in the right direction,” claims MacFarlane. “We’ve always known that he was into the band and when we talked to him, everything he said was exactly along our own lines of thought.”

Yet despite Weatherall’s background, and the new slant No One Can Ever Know has brought to their sound, MacFarlane is keen to point out that they were always at the helm of writing and recording.

“There was no deliberate move towards more synths and less noisy guitars,” he explains. “All the pre-production and demos were finished before we even met up with Weatherall. It just happened that it was also the kind of thing he was into at that point.”

What comes through as the driving force for this evolvement is the band’s constant need to keep a fresh and interesting perspective before any external considerations come into play. “We never want to remake the same record just because it’s pleased some people,” says MacFarlane. “I remember John Peel talking about how a lot of bands don’t get the chance to progress because fans, reviewers and magazines don’t like it when things change, so bands just end up sticking to the same formula because they’re making their money.”

Whilst neither MacFarlane nor Graham show interest in calling out contemporary parties who play it safe, they both have slightly different exponents of musical diversity that they admire in mind. “With Neil Young, lots of fans would want a remake of Harvest or whatever his last album was,” cites MacFarlane. “He’d say ‘there’s no way that’s happening,’ then the reaction would be that he had failed, whereas he’d see it as him succeeding by failing to do that. And he’s still going strong, you know?” Graham opts for a different, more popular example. “Same with Madonna,” he exclaims. “She went from Material Girl to Frozen.

That’s a drastic change there.”

Fans needn’t worry that their new direction is quite the curveball these references might suggest. In fact, MacFarlane claims that he tries not to listen to music when writing in order to avoid overt influences. That said, he is happy to admit that No One Can Ever Know is embedded with the DNA of some perennial favourites. “I was influenced by stuff like Public Image, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Can, Cabaret Voltaire, and Wire,” he says. “At certain points in the early 80s, they all sounded really sparse but dead aggressive at the same time. I thought it was clever, not having to put that much down onto record and still get that atmosphere.”

It’s a deft turnabout from Forget the Night Ahead, which MacFarlane claims had the Chem 19 mixing desk “maxed out” with countless parts to songs left on the cutting room floor. Whilst the synthesizers and drum machines of No One Can Ever Know are certainly the most obvious departure, the sparser instrumentation and production occupy something of an equal footing. Then there are MacFarlane’s more propulsive bass lines and Mark Devine’s drumming, given a metronomic edge to hold it all together.

Perhaps a stronger thread that runs through the album is Graham’s distinctive voice, coupled with his typically oblique prose. Although at times he can be a little less cryptic; opening track Alphabet centres on the key refrain ‘So sick to death of the sight of you now, safe to say never wanted you more,’ setting a tone of sorts for the album.

Graham agrees that he is using fewer metaphors these days but isn’t prepared to pull back the curtain just yet. “On the last album I talked a bit too much about it,” he claims. “Maybe I felt I had to give people an insight into what it was about but this time I’m keeping my cards close to my chest. I just feel that anybody who listens to it isn’t going to benefit from knowing what it’s about. There’s more benefit in taking what you want from these songs.”

The feeling from MacFarlane and Graham is that No One Can Ever Know is not that much of a departure from their own viewpoint, though they are acutely aware that it will be seen as such when it’s released in February. Album finale Kill It In The Morning was uploaded to their website back in September and is perhaps the biggest departure in sound when heard in context. “That’s probably the reason we released it,” claims MacFarlane. “We just wanted to get a bit of a reaction.”

However, both are adamant in steering clear of outside opinion as much as humanly possible.

“I’ve always said that the nine good reviews I’ll read will be overshadowed by the one bad one,” says Graham, who prefers to gauge reaction from running the band’s Twitter account. “It fucks with your head and it’s definitely not good for you.”

MacFarlane agrees; “I tend not to read any of that either,” he says. “Everybody thinks they’re a critic these days and I find myself thinking ‘What do you know about music?’ So fuck it, I’m no reading any of that shit.”

It’s certainly an ethos that’s in keeping with the band’s image as outsiders and not part of any particular scene. It’s something they cherish and count towards their relative longevity. “We’ve never been forced on anybody or been on the radio twentyfour seven,” Graham points out. “The only reason we’ve got to where we are is from the support of people who actually like music and want to find albums worth listening to. It’s got nothing to do with what we’re wearing or who we’re shagging.”

No One Can Ever Know is an album that will reward those fans who put in the time and effort. Like so many greats before them, The Twilight Sad have always been a grower of sorts and this third outing doesn’t buck that trend. A cursory listen might simply flag the aforementioned changes, a second and third will likely eke out some quality moments until eventually on your fourth or fifth spin the likes of Dead City or Nil will gut-punch you into hitting that repeat button. “The fact that we attract people who will give a record a second, third or fourth listen is the reason I think we’ve got to this point,” agrees Graham. “You need to go back, you need to give it the time of day and if you do that then you could hopefully have one of your favourite records.”

That all three members are enraptured by their third album is evident when talk turns to playing it live. Even Devine, steadfastly quiet throughout, can’t help but chip in here. “There’s more of a dynamic to the set now,” he offers. “It’s not just

Craig leaving was a shock, but at the same time it was after a fucking nightmare tour where we got robbed James Graham

full-on raucous guitars all the time.” Graham agrees. “Devine’s got a whole new world to deal with and at the same time we’re adapting to it too.

I’ve never enjoyed playing with the band more than I do with these new songs.”

“Maybe in the past we’ve been guilty of being totally ‘bwaaaarrrhhhh!’” he animatedly offers in a very rough approximation of the band’s live wall of guitar sound. “We still have that aspect; I mean, my ears are ringing even more these days.”

“We either need to become a stadium band or get some ear protection,” suggests MacFarlane. All three contemplate this line of thought before Devine brings us back down to earth. “We might just have to settle for the ear protection,” he laughs.

Whilst Wembley Stadium might seem an insurmountable climb, The Twilight Sad’s rise continues to be steady and meticulous, where so many others have rocketed into the hemisphere only to blow up on re-entry. “From Day One we knew this band was going to take time to grow,” MacFarlane nods. “But it’s happening. The last album seemed to take us to the next level and hopefully the same thing will happen with this one, and the next.” So, they’re already thinking ahead?

“We’re really happy with the album, but we’ll never feel one hundred percent content with anything.

If we did then we’d just give up. We’re always thinking ‘What’s next?’”

No One Can Ever Know is released via Fat Cat on 6 Feb Playing Grand Ole Opry, Glasgow on 9 Feb You can hear Another Bed, The Twilight Sad’s new single, exclusively on www.theskinny.co.uk www.thetwilightsad.com

January 2012

THE SKINNY 11

MUSIC

A few Reasons to Look Forward

Don’t stress about whether the Mayan Prophecy might come to pass in 2012, think more about the tunes that will soundtrack the apocalypse...

Somewhere amidst the inundation of sheer commercial banality we, the record-buying public, have endured on a daily basis for the last ten years has lurked Andy Falkous, in one incarnation or another.

The former McLusky front-man defied pessimistic predictions when he wound up that brilliant Welsh trio in 2005 by re-emerging into a barren British rock landscape with the equally inspired Future of The Left.

Thank goodness then that 2012 will see that brilliantly named band unleash their third full lengther in the form of The Plot Against Common Sense. Building upon the gritty tones and bone-dry

humour of earlier years FotL helped keep guitars relevant with both Curses and 2009’s Travels With Myself And Another, and if glimpses of the new material afforded by a couple of recent radio sessions are anything to go by this new album is set to continue that good work. But enough of the proselytising: back to those rumoured song titles.

City of Exploded Children. Teenage Death Party.

The Bisexuality Of Distance... oh and of course Sorry Dad, I Was Late For The Riots... Yep, late or not, what really matters is that FotL turn up to the party. [Austin Tasseltine] www.futureoftheleft.net

El-P

It’s been nearly five years since Definitive Jux label founder and all-round badass Jaime ‘EI-P’ Meline released a true follow-up to his 2007 album I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead. His love for synth-twiddling, beat-making and production was made clear on last year’s stellar instrumental collection Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixxx3, but his head-spinning lyrics and dark sense of humour were sorely missed.

Fresh from an energised reunion of his pioneering group, Cannibal Ox, El’s as yet unreleased third solo LP – tentatively titled Cancer For Cure – should see a marriage of all these elements.

This is the Odd Future generation where free mixtapes are dropping almost daily and the hip-hop universe is in flux, but El-P has always had an irreplaceable voice. He doesn’t rap about typical hip-hop subject matter, instead combining sci-fi and high-art influences with a curiously level-headed sense of aggression. His creative use of samples, restless snare-blasts – not to mention his careful use of cameos, whether Trent Reznor or The Mars

Volta – have led to a vivid and downright frightening experience on his first two albums, which still stand tall as abstract hip-hop classics. If lead track Drones over BKLYN and his sharp guest turns on recent mixtapes by Das Racist and Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire are anything to go by, we can’t wait to hear El Producto hit the hat trick this year. [Ross Watson]

12 THE SKINNY January 2012

Visions is due for release on 30 Jan via 4AD www.myspace.com/boucherville

Muscles of Joy

November saw the release, on the Watts of Goodwill label, of the self-titled debut LP from Muscles of Joy – one of the most eccentric and imaginative acts to emerge on the Glasgow scene in recent years. The seven-piece’s music acknowledges the Slits, Raincoats et al, but is ultimately travelling towards more abstract, improvised landscapes; a rapturously-received set at Cry Parrot’s Music is the Music Language festival in September evinced the widespread interest in that approach.

Muscles of Joy’s development of post-punk/ art-rock tradition is partly driven by the unorthodox use of instrumentation – guitars are deployed in primarily rhythmic ways, and homemade instruments are in evidence – but more fundamentally, it reflects a democratic, open-minded approach to song that refuses to foreground specific individuals, instruments or melodic lines.

Consequently, despite the plethora of musicians, and the diverse range of sound sources utilised, Muscles of Joy’s music always retains a sense of space and uncertainty: pieces develop in an intriguingly wobbly way, eschewing typical song-structures without embracing full-blown

improvisation. It’s a mixture ultimately held together by overlapping vocals, hypnotically entwined with the music’s rhythms. Moreover, it suggests myriad possible directions to take from here: if their rise in 2011 was remarkable, this could be an even better year. [Sam Wiseman] Muscles Of Joy is available at Monorail Music, Glasgow, or direct from Watts Of Goodwill www.facebook.com/Muscles.of.Joy

www.facebook.com/THEREALELP

The History of Apple Pie

Laurel Halo

Laurel Halo’s 2010 EP, King Felix, marked the arrival of a strange and precocious talent. Playing off the most impossibly elegant electronic pop moves against a formidably cold, glassy production style, its lyrical themes were abstract but curiously affecting, due mainly to Halo’s own beautifully controlled vocal performance.

For a debut record it was incredibly selfassured, but in 2011 Halo proved that her laurels aren’t for resting on as she delivered two sister EPs, Antenna and Hour Logic, that moved her sound away from the pop realm and squarely into the domain of electronic exploration. Hour Logic in particular was a revelation – a hyper-detailed gestalt of technoid rhythms and glistening synthscapes that found Halo courageously ditching her vocal hooks and proceeding to playfully reverseengineer the canon of electronic dance music for her own creative ends.

It’s an incredibly rich and rewarding tapestry and manages to add something to the discourse

LP, Visions, apparently designed with the specific intent to energise a live audience, we eagerly anticipate another heady mix of canny musical intuition and soaring ambition; icy introspection and burning desire. [Mark Shukla]

PHOTO: martin clark

Future Of The Left

Experimental bedroom-pop prodigy Claire Boucher (aka Grimes) may have issued her first recording less than two years ago (a charmingly ramshackle bricolage of scratchy loops and sensuous vocals entitled Geidi Primes) but since then she’s managed to accrue a devoted cult following, a healthy amount of critical acclaim and the #1 spot on the 2011 ‘cool list’ compiled by the non-more-hip Gorilla vs Bear blog.

Ask her about her influences and she’s equally as likely to name-check the likes of Mariah Carey or Nicki Minaj as she is Hildegard von Bingen or Arvo Part; a fact borne out by her standout 2010 LP, Halfaxa – a sprawling, otherworldly, yet intensely moving opus that manages to balance breathtaking classical vocal techniques with lo-fi post-Burial atmospherics and an eccentric, unorthodox pop sensibility.

It was, however, her 2011 track, Vanessa – a monstrous, unstoppable earworm of a tune – that proved she has what it takes to hang with her pop heroines on their own terms. With her forthcoming

PHOTO: tommy chase lucas

Grimes

Any album that even threatens to contain a track called Robocop 4: Fuck Off Robocop deserves all the anticipation your musically numb husk of a body can muster

regarding the possible futures (and hidden histories) of electronic music, in addition to being a hugely pleasurable listening experience. There’s still no news of when her first full-length LP might drop but given the scintillating quality of her output so far we’re certain it’ll be worth the wait. [Ted Maul] Hour Logic is out now on Hippos in Tanks. www.laurelhalo.com/

The History of Apple Pie apparently selected their awkward moniker for its easily-Googleable qualities. So we went ahead and looked them up, and it turns out they’ve been around since 1381 – though back then they were known as ‘Tartys in Applis’. Butseriouslyfolks, such pastry-related webpages are growing increasingly outnumbered by those extolling the virtues of these London slacker-rock nostalgists.

Released in May 2011, debut single You’re So Cool modestly announced their sound’s twin illuminations – Stephanie Min’s breathy vocals and Jerome Watson’s fuzz-saturated guitar lines – while B-side Some Kind dialled up the distortion to add depth to their appeal. The DayGlo food-fight video for second single Mallory gave that appeal a fitting visual metaphor: as converse and denim get splattered in cake and jelly, their messy but sweet charms revealed their full potential.

The divisive Yuck have already come out as fans, which is fitting when you consider how neatly the two bands’ influences dovetail: to Dinosaur Jr, Malkmus

and the rest, THoAP fold in shoegaze (check out Before You Reach the End’s feedback bedrock) and noise-pop (early Primitives to give a period reference; Asobi Seksu a contemporary one), to delicious effect.

When their debut album arrives, they’ll leave deserts for dust in the Google rankings. [Chris Buckle] www.thehistoryofapplepie.com

NOTHING GOOD COMES EASY. BOY, WHOEVER SAID THAT WASN’T KIDDING. J A C K D A N I E L’ S

TENNESSEE WHISKEY

After a hard day’s work, please enjoy responsibly. ©2011 Jack Daniel’s. All rights reserved. JACK DANIEL’S and OLD NO. 7 are registered trademarks.

FILM

Sex Addiction and the City

With 2008’s Hunger, Steve McQueen proved himself to be one of the most distinctive voices in British filmmaking.

The Skinny spoke to the director ahead of the release of his controversial new film Shame Interview: Jamie Dunn

It’s never a good sign when your interviewee keeps their outdoor clothes on during the interview, especially when it takes place in a cosy bar, but I wasn’t about to tell Steve McQueen, the burly Turner Prize-winning artist and film-maker, that he won’t get the benefit of his tartan scarf/ bomber jacket combo when he’s back in the windy Glasgow night. McQueen is in town to present his extraordinary new feature Shame to a BAFTA Scotland audience at the Grosvenor cinema on Ashton Lane, and the 42-year-old Londoner is not in the mood for a long drawn-out chat. His answers are short, sharp and never sugar-coated.

Set in New York, which McQueen captures with the same seedy brilliance that Kubrick faked in his Big Apple-set, London-filmed Eyes Wide Shut, Shame follows Michael Fassbender’s Brandon, a well put-together young professional who seems to be living the high-life in his flash bachelor pad in the clouds. Not only is he impressing his sleazy boss with his performance at work, he also demonstrates impressive skirt-chasing skills outside of the office. Brandon isn’t a player making the most of single life, however: he’s an addict, and the blonde he flirts with at the end of the bar or eyes up on the subway is his next hit. If she’s not available there’s always call girls, webcam sex and a masturbation schedule that even a fourteen-year-old with a lock on his bedroom door and a high-speed broadband connection would think was overkill.

“I’m interested in human compulsion,” McQueen tells me when I ask about his choice of sex addiction as subject matter. “It’s funny how we are being sold things all the time: told what to wear, how to wear it, what to do and see. It’s kind of weird, isn’t it? We don’t have control over our lives. Similarly with addiction, the addiction dictates to you rather than you dictating to it, and sexual addiction was one of those things which I found fascinating because everyone has some relationship to sex – everyone.”

Brandon hides his problems behind a veneer of order and routine, and McQueen opens the film by immersing us in this routine. “He gets out of bed, wipes sleep from his eyes, goes to the sink, gets a glass of water, puts the cappuccino machine on, pees, masturbates. It’s a rhythm, like T’ai Chi,” explains McQueen, “and within that journey, the first eight and a half minutes of the movie, there’s only one sentence being said. Slowly. One word. You get an idea who Brandon is through those actions, we don’t need to give more information, any words.”

Indeed, I would argue that McQueen’s films are purer examples of visual storytelling than, say, The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius’ much feted silent movie pastiche that’s currently frontrunner in the upcoming awards season pantomime. Not only are large stretches of Shame sans dialogue, the first act of McQueen’s debut feature Hunger, which recreates the campaign by Republican inmates of Northern Ireland’s Maze prison to be classed as political prisoners, plays out with barely a word being uttered, leaving the camera to lead us through the brutal world of dirty protests and hunger strikes.

McQueen also explored the notion of silent cinema as a video artist, from his wordless short film Bear, where two naked men (one played by the director) exchange ambiguous glances, to Deadpan, his 1997 film installation inspired by Buster Keaton.

When Shame’s dialogue does come, it’s mundane, everyday. “When we talk we talk a lot of shit,” says McQueen, who himself rarely minces his words. “It’s just to get through a situation or

14 THE SKINNY January 2012

I’m interested in human compulsion Steve McQueen

to make the person you’re with feel comfortable.

What we really say is not what we really mean or feel, and often in movies, the first twenty-five minutes, every thing is about character – how they feel, where they’ve come from, their worst fears – but in reality that doesn’t happen. What I wanted to do in this film is through the present reveal the past.”

This description might suggest some British social realist approach, but McQueen – whose two feature films are characterised by extremely long takes, audacious tracking shots and unconventional film grammar – belongs, rather, to our nation’s lineage of baroque filmmakers such as Michael Powell, Nicolas Roeg, Peter Greenaway and contemporaries Lynne Ramsey and Andrea Arnold. The director doesn’t appreciate being categorised as a visual stylist, however. “I don’t put

my stencil onto a subject matter.” For him, it’s the emotions to be communicated or the architecture of the surroundings that drives the aesthetic: “[the scene] has to inform me what it wants and I have to serve the subject, the idea.”

The idea, however, is the least interesting aspect of Shame – the film’s treatment of addiction and its protagonist’s arc while battling his demons don’t tread any ground that hasn’t been explored elsewhere, from The Lost Weekend to Trainspotting. The film’s strengths lie in McQueen’s bold visuals and the ferocious performance from his go-to leading man, Fassbender – a working relationship that McQueen describes as “close, tight and very intense.”

There’s also a third element that makes Shame fizz: Carey Mulligan, who plays Brandon’s needy sister Sissy. With a Marilyn Monroe-esque effervescence, Sissy sashays into her sibling’s closed existence and wreaks havoc. According to McQueen, Mulligan also caused her fair share of chaos on set. “People think of Carey as a sort of English rose, but she’s a tiger with teeth and claws – argumentative, disruptive, but all for the right reasons.” Why Sissy so majorly messes with Brandon’s mojo is unclear. Perhaps her presence unbalances the serial shagger’s equilibrium because she gives him something to care about beyond his own sexual gratification? From their first scene together, which sees Brandon

burst in on his uninvited house-guest having a shower, there also seems to be a heavy charge of incestuous attraction between the pair. Brandon says at one point “we’re not bad people, we just come from a bad place,” and another of the film’s strengths is that what this “bad place” might be is left open for the audience to interpret. “[Brandon] could have given you some long yarn about what could have possibly happened to them, but that wasn’t interesting to me within the narrative form.” What is interesting is that these siblings are dealing with whatever they are dealing with in two completely different ways. “Brandon is imploding and Sissy is exploding, she’s the extrovert. That’s why I made her a singer – she wants to let it out.”

Let it out she does. In the film’s most tender scene we see Brandon listen to Sissy sing a mesmerising version of New York, New York in a swanky cocktail bar. “Life is rather strange, isn’t it? Sometimes the only way you want to connect with someone else is not through the obvious channels,” says McQueen. “I like the idea that verse was the only way that Sissy can connect with her brother, Brandon, in the whole film; it’s the only time that he actually listens.” Mulligan croons the Sinatra classic with an exquisite breathless vulnerability but at an excruciatingly slow pace, with McQueen holding the heartbreaking performance in close-up for several minutes. “She’s doing three things there: she’s singing to the audience in the cinema, she’s singing to the audience in her immediate surroundings, but also she’s singing about her past and her hopeful present to Brandon.”

As well as the song, the city of New York is also clearly significant to McQueen’s film. “Your existence is framed by this huge city, whether it’s Brandon’s office, his apartment, a nightclub or whatever. It makes you feel quite small sometimes, insignificant, because you’re faced with this huge mess of a city and your perspective becomes, who are you within this metropolis?”

Is Shame McQueen’s commentary on our modern way of life, then?

“I don’t know. It’s just these windows [a recurring image in the film is of Brandon seeing his reflection when looking out of various high-rise windows] seem to frame who we are, frame the person within the city. They have this huge space, but they feel trapped. That’s what this film’s really about: freedom.”

Shame is released 13 Jan by Momentum Pictures www.facebook.com/ShameUK

Win Festival Passes For your chance to win a pair of festival passes to Episode 1: A Film is a Statement, getting you in to all of the events taking place at the CCA in Glasgow from 19-22 Jan, go to www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions and complete the following statement.

Q: Jean-Luc Godard famously stated that a tracking shot is a…

1. moral issue 2. difficult manoeuvre 3. fancy gimmick Competition closes Monday 16 Jan. Winners will be notified on the day of closing and will be required to respond within 72 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. For full terms and conditions, see www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

FILM

A FILM IS A STATEMENT “Every aspect of every film is always about more than just film.” From this thesis ARIKA 12 have curated a programme of experimental artists’ films that’s a shot in the arm to the stale form of the traditional film festival WORDS: JAMIE DUNN

16−26 FEBRUARY 2012

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GLASGOW YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL: 5–15 FEBRUARY GLASGOW SHORT FILM FESTIVAL: 9–12 FEBRUARY

WWW.GLASGOWFILM.ORG/FESTIVAL

FROM ARGUMENT

CINEMA CAN be a passive experience, with the audience members voyeurs left to interpret images and ideas alone in the dark. But for a piece of art to live it needs to be discussed, dissected, debated. That’s where festivals come in. If well curated, a film festival can be as vital as a rock concert; a vibrant mosh pit of cinephiles and filmmakers that creates an arena where we can go deeper into the movies than we would dare to venture on our own.

Unfortunately very few film festivals on the tightly packed Scottish film events calendar take advantage of this unique melting pot of cinema possibilities. That’s why reading the programme for A Film is a Statement (the first of three episodes of Arika’s ‘Expanded Festival’ of international film, music, live art and discussion, which takes place at venues across Glasgow from 19 January) is so refreshing.

Purveyors of festivals dealing in experimental sound, image and art, Arika envisage A Film is a Statement as a cross between a festival, a magazine and a discussion. Here’s the mouth-watering description of the festival from its brochure: This is a festival of experimental artists’ film.

It concerns film as a way of thinking (about the world). It’s a series of interesting, intense, challenging, thought-provoking events; a convivial social space.

Before a single frame of film is fed through the projector the festival opens with An Introductory Salon with Hartmut Bitomsky (7.30pm, 19 Jan).

Bitomsky – a celebrated film-maker whose feature length documentary B-52 (1pm, 22 Jan, GFT) is one of the highlights of the festival – kicks off proceedings by leading this free workshop where the audience is invited to bring along video clips to be dissected as a group to, as Bitomsky puts it, “find where the fault lines lie.” Also likely to fire debate is Argument (1pm, 21 Jan), Anthony McCall and Andrew Tyndall’s provocative 1978 investigation

into the ideology of news, the language of fashion and the construction of masculinity. The film, almost unseen for the last twenty years, is a complex examination of three people’s reactions to an edition of The New York Times magazine and is a vicious critique of the publication’s presentation of news and advertisements. Argument is followed by a discussion on how the film’s themes relate to today’s media industry.

Other highlights include Graham Harwood’s intriguing avant-garde project Aluminum (6pm, 21 Jan), which subverts ‘The Futurist Cinema’ manifesto from 1916 and turns it into software that tracks ‘aluminium’ online; Too Soon, Too Late (4.30pm, 22 Jan), Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet’s stunning 1981 film, which contrasts the eerily depopulated landscapes of France with the teeming volatility of Egyptian locations, is screening to mark a year since the Egyptian revolution; and Nina Power, a prominent feminist writer and activist, is presenting November (4pm, 21 Jan), by Hito Steyerl, a montage of politics and pop that celebrates the short life of Andrea Wolf, Steyerl’s best friend, star of her lo-fi martial arts flick and member of the women’s army of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, who was shot in 1998 as a Kurdish terrorist in Eastern Anatolia.

Some of the films in Arika’s festival aren’t really films at all, they’re closer to performances, or lectures, or books, or databases even. By challenging the conventions of festival programming, experimenting with the form the festival takes and blurring the definition of what constitutes a film, Arika is a shot in the arm to Glasgow’s film culture.

Film is a statement, and so is this festival.

A FILM IS A STATEMENT TAKES PLACE IN GLASGOW 19–22 JAN £14 FESTIVAL PASS, £12 EARLY BIRD FESTIVAL PASS (BOOK BY 5 JAN), £6 FESTIVAL DAY PASS, £4 INDIVIDUAL EVENT TICKETS ALL EVENTS AT THE CCA IN GLASGOW UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED ARIKA.ORG.UK

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 15

CLUBS

GLOBETROTTING NIGHT SLUGS BLAZE A TRAIL

Night Slugs co-founder Alex Sushon, aka BOK BOK, muses on the label’s atlas-spanning origins and why US dance music sounds like the end of the world (in a good way) INTERVIEW: RAY PHILP

LIKE MOST post-whatever, UK-based electronic music labels, Night Slugs have been prey to some pretty quixotic stabs at taxonomy. Looking beyond the puzzlement and pedantry commonly observed on whatever internet forum you might care to mention (and, if we’re being entirely frank, on pages like these as well), where splitting hairs seems a semi-professional sport, it suggests that dance music in general has reached a state of maturation that no longer makes it possible to apply specificity to music in HMV aisle-friendly terms of reference.

Alex Sushon, aka Bok Bok, who runs the label alongside James Connolly (L-Vis 1990), has been at pains to adopt a similar philosophy to defining the label’s output over the last two years, coyly tagging it as ‘house’, ‘bass house,’ and other variations of the term. Two years on from Night Slugs’ inaugural release (Mosca’s drowsy take on house and grime, Square One), that nebulousness continues to serve them well, though casting a glance even further back gives a better indication of the scope of influences that the imprint draws upon.

Talking about the Night Slugs parties that predated the label, Sushon says: “At the time it wasn’t such an obvious thing, but I guess the whole remit for the party was to try and unite all of these various styles which we were starting to play, some of which were UK-based, and some of which were regional American styles, and also some African stuff too. So I guess at the time it wasn’t so obvious to do that within a UK context, within the context of sound system music or urban dance music, that kind of heritage we have of it… that was the kind of idea for the party at the time.”

Night Slugs came into being not only to house a

melting pot of globetrotting club music. Crucially, it offered an outlet for Sushon to satisfy an interest in grime music and genres similar to it, though he adds that other artists on the Night Slugs roster – Girl Unit in particular – were quick to move beyond that remit.

“People like Jam City and Kingdom take a lot of influence from [grime], and definitely others, people like Girl Unit have started to, but at the same time there’s a lot of other stuff going on there too, and all the producers really have brought something of their own to the table, but also we have a lot of common interests in other stuff like grime.”

In a previous interview, Sushon spoke of establishing Night Slugs on the back of a disenchantment with grime music. Elaborating further on this point, Sushon says that “part of it is my own trajectory as a person discovering music as well as a DJ, y’know, you just learn about stuff, don’t you? You just discover that other stuff is also cool and has similar faculties, y’know that grime had for me, I found in other places too. Part of the reason that I started looking, I guess, was that the whole infrastructure for grime unfortunately wasn’t really there in that era because it became less raveorientated, and less club-orientated, and more of a mixtape culture started to take over with MCs being the focus, and more of a home listening kind of perspective and aim for the whole movement.”

“I guess that’s where it started to lose me a little bit, and I still follow it really closely but it started to lose me in the sense that I was looking for club music as a DJ, y’know, and that’s what led to us trying to experiment with other stuff.”

Said experiments have encompassed everything from glossy R&B (Kingdom and Girl Unit have made a knack of turning pop-leaning vocals into something altogether more forceful) to more rugged genotypes of US club music, and Sushon’s DJ sets – frequently performed in tandem with Connolly – are particularly reflective of the label’s affinity for US-based music, itself a model for hybrid music that takes guidance from far beyond its borders.

“Both me and James have been playing a lot of stuff from Jersey, both from the Jersey club kind of scene and also the vogue scene. Fade To Mind – our sister label that Kingdom runs – have just found a release from Mike Q, who’s one of the better-known artists from that kind of Jersey vogue scene – they’re just really really great club tools, they’re really great stripped-down drum tracks.

They’re pretty apocalyptic-sounding and pretty punishing, so yeah, they’re cool, something I play a lot at the moment.”

Night Slugs’ prolific 24 months (2010 alone saw a total of 16 singles, compilations and white labels, a release schedule that Sushon says took “a shitload of work”) is at odds with the producer’s sporadic production output, mostly as a result of Sushon and Connolly’s focus on the label. That said, the Southside EP, a sinewy grime workout that, in a manner of speaking, tore the summer a new one, and his more recent collaboration with Dutch house producer Tom Trago, the unambiguously titled Night Voyage Tool Kit, should pave the way for Sushon to become a more prominent artist in his own right in 2012 – but, as ever, he has other artists to think about.

It is my own trajectory as a person discovering music as well as a DJ, y'know, you just learn about stuff, don’t you?

ALEX SUSHON

“In terms of Jam City, [making an album] was something that we suggested to him and he decided to work with it because, personally, I would listen to his music in big batches, and it does seem to make sense alongside other tracks by him. The stuff he’s writing now is orientated to being part of a journey… I’m really all about the club experience, y'know, in terms of production, that’s what motivates me to make tracks so I can play them out and so other people can play them out.

“My music just lives in the club, so for the time being an album format is just not something I’m that interested in.”

WWW.NIGHTSLUGS.NET

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 17

MUSIC

Mason vs Mad Professor Dub disciple Steve Mason talks to the prolific Mad Professor about the foundations of digital dub and keeping track of his vast catalogue

You are known as the digital dub man. Why is that?

Haha, well I didn’t even know I was known as the Digital Dub Man until you said so! The thing about dub, right, is that basic dub was in the 70s – and then nothing happened for a few years. People like myself and Jah Shaka started to experiment, those experiments were at the start of digital technology.

We were some of the first to produce dub using drum machines and digital techniques. That kicked off in the 80s; back then I was one of the most active dub engineers so that’ll be the reason you know me this way.

Did you feel as though you were doing something different to everyone else at the time?

Yeah, I felt as though I was doing something different, but I didn’t necessarily feel ahead. You only know you’re ahead when people comment after the adventure. It wasn’t about being ahead; at the time I just thought ‘why aren’t other people trying these things?’ I realised afterwards that their heads were just somewhere different; I was hearing things they weren’t. I was hearing various collaborations with soul and R’n’B, using tricks in the mix.

18 THE SKINNY January 2012

Do you prefer digital technology compared to analogue? I’m thinking here about drum machines vs. drummers, for example. Do you find one easier or more creative?

I prefer real drums. I think it’s a real art to record and mix real drums; to get that right is the greatest thing – it takes the recording to another level that I still find hard to describe.

In the eighties when samplers became widely used, did you ever experiment with them?

Our first experiment with a sampler was with an E-mu Emulator, we thought it was such a real fascinating keyboard – very expensive keyboard.

We played around with it; one of the first things we did was record My Computer’s Acting Strange.

We did this track called Dodgy Contacts [breaks into song ‘watch those dodgy contacts, wub wub wub wub wub, wa-wa-watch those dodgy contacts – they dangerous’]. And it became very popular in the club – reggae people thought it was weird, but we really enjoyed it.

Who of your peers – I’m thinking about people like Lenny Chin and Dennis Bovell – do you most admire, and is there any kinship between you or is it fierce competition?

It’s not so much a competition because when I started, the hot producers at the time were people like Dennis – he couldn’t do anything wrong. Every track he touched was great and he made it special.

Then he drifted out of reggae and more into the pop stuff. Then Lenny Chin became the popular producer in the UK reggae scene. Even still I enjoy the ‘lovers rock,’ and all those people like Carroll Thompson, Donna Rhoden – they did great things.

I was on the outside looking in on those guys thinking ‘boy, I would love to make music like this!’

I was in the studio myself then, but what I was doing didn’t sound as polished as their stuff. I was waiting my turn – trying to get better every time.

I spoke to Dennis about the sound days of the 70s and 80s and he said there was a real problem with the crowds not feeling British reggae was “authentic.” Did you have any experience of this?

There was always a certain amount of people – not only in the seventies, but the eighties, nineties and even now – who feel that the only authentic

reggae comes from Jamaica. You need to either not cater for those people or send them to Jamaica. It’s about knowing where your head is at as a producer and not being drawn into such politics.

My favorite dub album of yours is Jah Shaka Meets Mad Professor – especially the amazing use of tape delay on Creation Dub. Mighty Sounds! Which of these early dub albums are you most satisfied with?

I really liked the album called Escape to the Asylum of Dub, and also Who Knows the Secret of the Master Tape. They’re really nice, really good; I think those albums reached a height that nothing else came near.

The Massive Attack dub you did back in 1995 was a masterpiece! Were you happy with it?

No, I wasn’t very happy with it! I thought it could have been heavier and longer. But, you know, everybody else was happy – the public were very happy. And it did well – it’s a million seller. Haha…I can’t complain! And it certainly helped my career.

With such a massive back catalogue, do you ever look back and check out what you were doing in say 1984? [laughs] Yeah, always! In fact, funny you should say that – we’re having this festival here in The Gambia and just a couple of hours ago I was thinking ‘I’ve got to tell my sons to transfer some of the stuff from '83-'84 and bring it here so I can play it.

Music of every era records what’s going on.

Music is like a clock – you play it and remember time. For instance, if you hear a song like say The Supremes – Baby Love, or The Temptations – Just My Imagination; maybe you heard it when it was a hit years ago, then when you hear it again tomorrow the first thing you’ll think is ‘oh, when that song was popular I had this girlfriend’ or ‘when this song was popular I was on a beach in Hawaii.’ That’s the beauty of music; it has some real fascinating characteristics. In fact, the human being can’t understand all the powerful elements of music. [laughs] I’m sorry, I get carried away...

Who slipped through the Professor’s net – was there anyone you wanted to work with but never had the chance to?

I was about to work with Dennis Brown in the late nineties – we got together, we ran through some songs. His voice wasn’t there though, and then a few months later he died. He was definitely one.

Having made so much music in your life, do you wake in the morning with that drive and passion to create music like you always must have?

Music? Not in the past few years – largely because my studio has been taken over by my son!

I want it back! [laughs]. I need to either put back my original desk that I built or I need another one.

I don’t really feel the passion to record right now, these days I feel more of a passion for festivals.

Organising events – I’m more into that, just getting these things to work. It’s a real challenge to get it together, a lot of logistics.

Music is like a clock – you play it and remember time Mad Professor

Other than reggae, what music has been a major influence on your career and sound?

Soul music was a big, big influence. Just you listen to any song by Wilson Pickett produced by Gamble and Huff in Philadelphia – I love that Philly late sixties/early seventies era. Love Motown, love Stax. I like Norman Whitfield, George Martin – Tom Bell was an early inspiration. It was all music that infected – it’s just very strong.

You came to the UK from Guyana when you were 13 – did you bring music with you?

Records or tapes?

[Falling about laughing] Naaaaah – there wasn’t anything! Hold on, funnily enough – the only music I brought with me was a cassette of the first Stylistics album that someone passed on. That’s the most influential album for me – I’ve grown to love and really appreciate it.

Was the music of Guyana an inspiration?

No, we didn’t have that many artists! Well, we didn’t at the time – since then, over the past ten years, there’s been a few guys have come up to make a mark internationally. There were a few people I heard growing up, but it didn’t really influence me. I was more influenced by Africa, man – Calypso and stuff. And reggae – yes, the Jamaican, and some Trinidadian, eventually.

Have you ever worked with any Guyanese artists? In my mind a South American Dub album is a mouth watering idea!

Yes, I plan on it. I work with a label from Guyana called Kross Kolor and we’ve released some acts from them, a guy called x2 and a girl called Big Red and it seems to be doing OK, it sells very well.

It’s not my production; I only license them and put them on the general market. I want to work more with them in the future – I want to help. Similar to what I’m trying to do in The Gambia, I want to pay some attention to the Guyanese.

Mad Professor headlines the Wee Dub Festival and hosts his own ‘Roots of Dub’ workshop at The Bongo Club, Edinburgh on 5 Feb www.weedubfestival.co.uk www.ariwa.com

Win Tickets to The Wee Dub Festival For your chance to win a pair of tickets to The Wee Dub Festival taking place across Edinburgh on 3, 4 and 5 February go to www.theskinny.co.uk/ competitions and answer this question...

Q: What is Mad Professor’s real name?

Competition closes Thu 26 Jan Winners will be notified on the day of closing and will be required to respond within 72 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. For full terms and conditions, go to www.theskinny. co.uk/about/terms

MUSIC

A Soft Place To Land Canadian chanteuse Kathleen Edwards finds a home in Bon Iver’s Wisconsin studio Interview: David McGinty Photos: Sol Nicol

I always wanted to be the kid who grew up on the same street, in the same house Kathleen Edwards

Back in October, among the bar queues of The Usher Hall, a smattering of shared opinions pronounce Kathleen Edwards "not a million miles away from Laura Veirs" or "mumble mumble Aimee Mann, mumble". An uneasy reminder of how regularly female artists are lumped together; with each overheard attempt to categorise the Canadian singer/songwriter all that becomes clear is that Edwards, in town supporting Bon Iver, is difficult to pigeonhole.

Earlier that afternoon, The Skinny met up with Edwards, finding a quiet corner to talk about her

new album Voyageur, co-produced by Bon Iver bandleader Justin Vernon, its themes of geography, and where she finds herself now.

Whilst on her previous record, 2008’s Asking For Flowers, Edwards approached the concept of place in a national sense with Oh Canada – a song that communicated her disillusionment with her home country – here everything is more localised, focused on accounts of intimate spaces, and private matters. “I think heart and geography are my two biggest influences, and geography might be a bigger influence”, says Edwards. “It’s just

Kathleen Edwards at the Usher hall, 22 Oct

‘cause you see so much. For people who don’t go to a lot of places, you forget how much of your identity is about where you’re from. That’s what means everything to me… I write personal songs, so geography is literally the most significant influence in my life.”

Voyageur, though its title would suggest otherwise, doesn’t glorify a Kerouac inspired wanderlust, but rather evokes the idea of home, and a distilled longing for a specific place. While it begins with Empty Threat, with its chorus ‘I’m moving to America’, it quickly establishes its theme with songs like A Soft Place to Land, House Full Of Empty Rooms, and Change The Sheets which, to a certain extent, express a sentimentality for domesticity and residence.

From this, it’s difficult to tell whether, for someone who spends so much time on the road, touring is something Edwards relishes or just can’t seem to… “Get away from? My Dad was in the foreign service when I was a kid,” Edwards explains. “So I grew up a few years in Europe and spent a few years in Asia; as much as I knew it was a good experience, I always wanted to be the kid who grew up on the same street, in the same house, and had the same friends since I started going to school. I always wanted that, and there are times when I can say that I’ve had that. I decided at some point in my teenage years to stay in one place for the rest of my life, once I could decide for myself.”

Plans scuppered, however, when she started playing music – “and with that came touring, and before you knew it I was like ‘oh this is what my childhood was preparing me for.’ And so the Voyageur thing… I feel like I’m in a constant state of travelling. I’m a nomadic individual for sure."

The use of such persistent recurring themes often provokes a strong sense of listener empathy, whilst disguising the ‘too personal’ in allegory.

Although on Chameleon Comedian, Edwards sings ‘I’m a chameleon, I just hide behind the songs I write,’ not all of Voyageur’s foundations are obscured by domestic metaphor; more explicitly Pink Champagne recounts the breakup of a marriage. When asked about the gap between this record and 2008’s Asking for Flowers, Edwards offers: “There are lots of reasons,” leaning back in her chair and looking around with a certain degree of apprehension. She hunches forward and continues: “I went through some personal shit that just took a lot of time. I was married and my relationship ended, and that takes time. Even moving takes weeks and months out of your life sometimes. But musically speaking, it took me a long time because I knew that I wanted to do something different this time.”

Working with Justin Vernon at his Wisconsin studio seems to have been a catalyst for this record, and has perhaps helped Edwards craft an arresting sound, more apt to her style of songwriting. “It was great. It was the first time I ever really went somewhere that I wasn’t really home as much, but I was in a home, you know?”

What Vernon and co. have built in Fall Creek, Wisconsin, Edwards describes as having evolved from something fundamental to their band. “I have a lot of respect for what that studio is because it was a home and they’ve made it a workplace too,” she says. “It’s this really beautiful thing that they just sort of keep building as they go, and it’s a product of Bon Iver that started out as music, and truth, and honesty, and then it developed into them making enough money to build this place, and actualising their dreams as musicians; and it’s so cool to be there.”

Voyageur is a record that builds upon and complements Edwards’ commanding songwriting, whilst introducing new dynamics and a varied musicality with confidence. Something she is keen to demonstrate when she returns in February to play Glasgow’s Òran Mór with her full band in tow.

Adapting to suit the particular support slot we catch her on, Edwards opts for a more stripped back set tonight. “I’ve opened for a pretty wide variety of people over the years,” she says, “the nice thing about that is I have the advantage of being able to curb the way I present my music to suit the show… I get to reinvent these songs all the time.”

Voyageur is released via Decca on 16 Jan. Kathleen Edwards plays Òran Mór, Glasgow on 24 Feb www.kathleenedwards.com

January 2012

THE SKINNY 19

MUSIC

Get to the Chorus Staten Island’s Cymbals Eat Guitars say this will be the year they kick it up a notch Interview: Sam Wiseman

Post-indie, post-rock, post-shoegaze – try as you might to affix a pat label onto New York four-piece Cymbals Eat Guitars, somehow nothing quite fits. It seems appropriate enough for a band hailing from the relatively sleepy Staten Island: CEG cannot be lumped in with Brooklyn acts like Gang Gang Dance or Dirty Projectors, although they share with both a taste for elliptical lyrics and audaciously complex song structures.

Speaking from his native territory, singer, guitarist and principal songwriter Joseph D’Agostino affirms that he doesn’t feel “like our music is part of any greater New York scene.” Ahead of a planned UK tour in January, featuring dates in London, Leeds, Manchester and Glasgow (ABC2, 8 Jan), D’Agostino sounds relaxed; he’s comfortable with the way last year’s critically-acclaimed second LP Lenses Alien has worked in the live context so far.

“This record was written in a different way,” he explains. The band’s first LP, 2009’s Why There Are Mountains, was “more of a studio album, with lots of layering and lots of parts that couldn’t be played at once.” As a consequence, the band experienced difficulties when they took the record on the road. As he puts it, “we weren’t very well-prepared for what we were put up against in the first year and a half of our careers” – hardly surprising, considering the two core members, D’Agostino and drummer Matthew Miller, only graduated from high school in 2006. Ironically, however, it was precisely the maturity of Mountains as a record – its dense lyricism and complex

structuring – that led to unforeseen issues when they took it on the road.

Any teething problems in that respect have been sidestepped with Lenses Alien, which retains the core sound of the first album, but was written with live performance, to some extent, in mind.

The band ensured they could play the tracks live together as part of the songwriting process, and as a result, D’Agostino explains, “it was very easy to make the transition from the studio to a live setting, because we’d already done the hard part – all the parts sounded good when we played them together in a room. So our live act has come along in leaps and bounds since we were first playing shows two years ago.” Listening to a song like Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name), an eight-minute epic that conjoins angular math-rock with vortices of ambient noise, it’s easy to understand the groundwork that needed to be laid for CEG to gel on the stage.

That they’ve managed it so quickly is all the more remarkable given that two members, Dan Baer (keyboards) and Neil Berenholz (bass), were replaced in 2009 by, respectively, Brian Hamilton and Matthew Whipple. Although neither departure was acrimonious, such changes could still be expected to upset the band’s equilibrium, or have a significant effect on their sound. D’Agostino agrees: “Most bands, if they make that kind of jump, the record sounds totally different. But I guess we have a unifying creative vision, and we’re cautious that we want our catalogue to sound a

A great place to go. Far.

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20 THE SKINNY January 2012

It’s one thing to write lyrics which look good as a poem, and sound good to the ear, but it’s another to make a chorus that repeats, but doesn’t sound contrived or bubblegum Joseph D’Agostino

certain way.” With Lenses Alien, the band made a conscious effort to build on the complexity of Mountains, its absence of repetition or formal choruses: “We just decided to run with that,” D’Agostino explains, “and see how far it could take us.”

In some respects, in fact, the personnel changes in the band helped with the writing and recording of the LP. D’Agostino wrote “all the parts” on the first record, and as a consequence tended to find himself “going over everything endlessly by myself and then bringing the finished product to the band, and dictating parts to them.” On this album, conversely, both Hamilton and Whipple had plenty of input: “All I had to do was just formulate my own parts,” D’Agostino says,“and then bring it to the band, and they would write their own parts, and flesh everything out.” Not only did this make the songwriting process less dysfunctional, he suggests; it also brought new dimensions to the band’s sound, since their music is “filtered through several different lenses now.” Whipple, moreover, co-wrote two songs – Keep Me Waiting and The Current – and D’Agostino expects future records to continue with the sharing of songwriting duties.

Another crucial new element on Lenses Alien is the record’s producer, John Agnello. Known for work with several of the avant-rock outfits that have influenced CEG, such as Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth, Agnello is well-situated to help a band push that aesthetic in new directions.

Photo: Josh Goleman

The album does so by emphasising clarity and sharpness: “Everything is very well-defined,” as D’Agostino puts it – “the guitars are very powerful, and everything really has an impact in the speakers. It’s really well-focused, and that was because he was on board.” Agnello also helped with the structures of several songs – on Definite Darkness, “he suggested a structure shift that pretty much changed the whole song. He had a way of having us take these changes and implement them, and he made us feel like it was our idea, which I guess is what a good producer does.”

Again, perhaps the most remarkable quality of Lenses Alien, given these disparate new elements in the record’s creation, is the sense of continuity with Mountains. That sense affirms, above all, that CEG have a definite vision of where they want to take things from here. It will no doubt encompass the angularity, complexity and dissonance they’ve specialised in so far; but, as D’Agostino hints, the next album may be a little bit poppier. “We’ve been experimenting with some more traditional pop structures, like in Wavelengths, the eighth song on Lenses Alien – it kind of has a chorus, but not really! But we’re talking about moving in that direction,” he laughs. “Our newer songs, now, are gonna have some choruses!”

As he points out, writing a pop song which avoids a sense of cliché can be deceptively difficult – more so, in some ways, than constructing labyrinthine post-rock compositions. On this, D’Agostino is characteristically insightful: “It’s a hard thing to do – it’s one thing to write lyrics which look good as a poem, and sound good to the ear, but it’s another to make a chorus that repeats, but doesn’t sound contrived or bubblegum.

That’s a challenge for us.” Given the confidence and dexterity with which they’ve developed as an outfit so far, it’s a challenge you fully expect CEG to rise to.

Playing O2 ABC on 8 January

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THE SKINNY 21

ART

Glaswegian Graffiti Glasgow-based Secret Wars finalists Rogue One and Conzo tell us about their art, and we explore a potted history of the scene, right from its early days in Brooklyn

Interview: Andrew Davies-Cole Photos: Jason Andreas This February sees two of the country’s top graffiti artists go head-to-head in the Secret Wars Glasgow final. Last summer, Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum hosted 40 Years of Graffiti – The Advent of Pressurism, citing a 1971 New York Times article as the definite point where the world was made aware that wall-writing was making its mark on the city’s culture. Its headline – Taki 183 Spawns Pen Pals – referred to a teenager who scrawled his name and number across a grimy New York that in the seventies would become synonymous with corruption, street gangs and paranoia (courtesy of cult movies like Serpico, The Warriors and Taxi Driver).

Soon graffiti writers were emboldened by a new tool: the aerosol can. Along with a burgeoning culture of competition, it inspired the evolution of the celebratory ‘masterpiece’: feet-high letters with contrasting outlines creating an effect that ‘pulled out’ images from their surfaces. None of this went unnoticed by New York’s authorities, particularly when writers – or vandals, as they would have it – favoured subway cars as mobile canvases. Arrests and clean-up programs battled bands of writers who claimed the city for themselves.

Since the seventies, graffiti has grown into a colossal subculture – one which often plunges a foot directly into the mainstream. And it’s been a long time since it centred solely on lettering. This February two artists will face-off for the accolade of Glasgow’s Secret Wars champion in a final held at the LA Academy on the Southside. It’s one of many Secret Wars worldwide.

Glasgow finalist Rogue One first tagged almost 20 years ago. “The first thing that got me transfixed by graffiti were the bright colours and letterstyles, with the addition of stars and bubbles to fill up the background: the creativity.” Since becoming enthralled, he’s gone on to develop his own, often startling, photorealistic style. “Photorealistic has been done for years,” Rogue says.

“It’s getting more prolific and detailed nowadays because of the large interest in spray-painting by very artistic people, as opposed to just wild creative youths.”

Rogue One was one such youth when a second generation was inspired by graffiti’s possibilities in the 1980s. Packaged together with an emerging hip-hop ethos, its mix of Stateside grit and glamour proved alluring across the globe. It wasn’t long before the art market demanded a taste.

Jean-Michel Basquiat – a young man from Brooklyn of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent – became the poster boy for those hoping their illicit imaging might lead them to be noticed and accepted by the industry. The late seventies found Basquiat and his friend Al Diaz spray-painting Lower Manhattan with a definite, if often inscrutable, purpose: A PIN DROPS LIKE A PUNGENT ODOR or even 4 THE SO-CALLED AVANT-GARDE. Each expression was linked to the last by the signature SAMO©, a shortening of Same Old Shit.

Hitting the art hub of Soho was a shrewd move and within months of finally proclaiming SAMO© IS DEAD, Basquiat came under the wing of Andy Warhol. The two went on to collaborate on canvas, and Basquiat became central to 1980s Neo-Expressionism.

Although music videos like Blondie’s Rapture (featuring Basquiat) and films such as Wild Style presented graff-writing, B-boying, turntabling and emceeing as four branches from the same tree, the roots of New York’s modern graffiti had developed quite separately. “Some people are rather unhappy about how their artform got swallowed up into the hip-hop package,” says Peter Gerard, the Scotland-based director of film Just to Get a Rep (2004), a documentary on graffiti’s relationship with hip-hop. “It’s important to know

22 THE SKINNY January 2012

wasn’t writing for other graffiti-writers, because there weren’t any. People were trapped riding a train to work, so this was for them – things like: ‘Be all you can…’ Then I started writing for other writers: ‘For those who dare…’ ‘Bad, but not evil…’” In the seventies, his High School of Art and Design friend Al Diaz, who tagged Bomb 1, was a big fan. “He became friends with Basquiat, and he got Basquiat to start writing,” says Flint.

“I’m still friends with Al and he’s said I was the influence – they both wanted to do something in that vein. I wasn’t political – I wanted to inspire people to have hope and live their dreams. That’s what I’m all about.”

Flint’s messages – featuring trademark ellipses – hit home in the most unlikely places. The D Train he frequented held a captive audience of Madison Avenue advertising suits, and Flint’s favoured ‘Be all you can…’ eventually appeared on recruiting ads for the army with an extra ‘be’ in place of ellipsis. “Everything goes in a circle, because I actually took a lot from them,” he admits. “I liked TV and radio taglines and slogans. Simon and Garfunkel’s song The Sound of Silence had the line: ‘The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls…’ It would be pretentious to say they wrote it about me, but a lot of people think they did,” Flint insists. “The truth is, my guitar lessons on 60th Street were with Eddie Simon, Paul’s brother – so who knows?”

It’s important to know and appreciate the true history… but graffiti wouldn’t be what it is today if it hadn't had the forced collision with hip-hop Peter Gerard

and appreciate the true history… but it wouldn’t be what it is today if it hadn’t had the forced collision with hip-hop.”

One man who knows just how far back modern graffiti goes is Brooklyn graf-writer Flint, who features in Gerard’s film. Now 54 years-old, Flint formerly tagged with Taki 183 and claims to have also influenced Basquiat. He first bombed buildings as early as the mid-sixties. “It wasn’t like the graffiti that came later,” Flint explains.

“I’d write sayings, as if from fortune cookies or movie scripts, and sign ‘Flint’.” That name expressed a desire shared by millions before and after him. “I was very introverted and alienated,” he admits. “Being a little hard of hearing made my speech slightly awkward. But I found escape at the movies – fantasies where the guy was a secret agent with a secret identity. I wanted to be cool like them.

“At first it was simple lettering,” Flint reveals. “I

At the Secret Wars final, Rogue One will be up against the 23-year-old Conzo, who started out in his mid-teens. “For me, I simply like the nonsense message and making people laugh,” Conzo admits.

“I don’t even call myself a graffiti artist anymore… these guys go out and paint trains every morning before breakfast and are quite likely banned from half the pubs and clubs in their city, so you have to have a bit of a nutter in you really. I prefer ‘illustrator’ now, as I went back to my roots which have always been illustration.”. As for Flint, some things never change. “A lot of us oldtimers can’t compare with the artwork now, but we still do our thing. We hit freight trains in Florida and London a few years ago – we’re still up to mischief.” Now an award-winning photographer, Flint has bright hopes for the medium he helped place centre-frame of the world’s attention. “We’re just going to take over the world. You see it in clothing, you see it in the way people talk.

This isn’t sixties America anymore. Everybody loves graffiti – unless their house gets spray-painted…”

Secret Wars Glasgow Final, LA Academy, 3 Feb

MUSIC

The Infinite Madness

Being a Smashing Pumpkins fan may be a trying experience, but it’s rarely a boring one Words: Mark Shukla Photo: Alex Woodward

Billy corgan at Glasgow’s O2 Academy last November

If end of the century Pumpkins were a group that had become bloated by theatricality, then the exploits of the band (and frontman Billy Corgan in particular) post-reformation have been pure soap opera. Suddenly the man who once proclaimed to be “fighting the good fight against the Britneys of the world” was stepping out with the likes of Tila Tequila and Jessica Simpson; his online slanging matches with an increasingly unhinged Courtney Love started to resemble a badly written Hollyoaks script; and under increasing criticism from disgruntled fans, Corgan himself took shelter under a particularly unconvincing façade of aggressively spiritual positivity and new age philosophy – a move that later backfired when it emerged that Jimmy Chamberlin’s exit from the band may have been expedited after Corgan introduced him to a mystical life-coach by the name of Shaman Durek.

And then he started his own wrestling promotion.

Of course, none of that bullshit would matter if he was still producing great music, but the fact is that the recurring theme of the Pumpkins’ musical output over the last couple of years has been good (occasionally great) songs played out live and then subsequently murdered by amateurish engineering and bad production choices once the band hit the studio. It was no great surprise then that when the announcement came that both Gish and Siamese Dream were to be remastered, the reaction of many fans was something along the lines of “this man has to be stopped.” This is, after all, the same guy who proudly coined the phrase ‘loud at any volume’ to describe his 2003 album under the Zwan name.

The good news is that far from being the fiasco that many anticipated, these reissues are actually pretty great. Siamese Dream has long been held as the high-water mark for rock production and, despite the remaster being handled by Bob Ludwig (the same guy who brickwalled the fuck out of Nirvana’s recent Nevermind reissue), there’s only a negligible sacrifice in dynamic range for the sake of volume, whilst frequency-wise the recording has been tweaked to sound slightly brighter than the original. Bolder strokes have been deployed with

Musically speaking, this stuff is peerless the Gish remaster, which is noticeably punchier, with increased presence particularly on bass and drums.

Musically speaking, this stuff is peerless. Twenty years on and Gish has retained all of its charm and power. Ostensibly the sound of a naïve misfit from the Chicago suburbs finding a kind of transcendence through rock music, it manages to sound like both a muscular, visceral document of youth and a heady, sonic exploration of the possibilities of otherness. And while it occasionally feels like Corgan is still finding his feet lyrically, tracks like Siva and Tristessa show that the band had already assimilated their classic psychedelic and metal influences to the point where they were able to articulate a unique individual vision with complete clarity.

And so to Siamese Dream: from the opening drum roll of Cherub Rock onward there are no wasted gestures; no false steps – just a succession of staggeringly brilliant songs, each one rendered with real feeling and supernatural finesse. It’s probably the best rock record of the 1990s – a portrait of a life in disarray and a band on the verge of self destruction that somehow manages to swaddle its message in some of the dreamiest and most nourishing guitar tones ever committed to tape.

Available as stand-alone CDs/vinyl, as superblypresented deluxe editions (including new liner notes, unreleased photos, live video footage from the period and a CD of unreleased tracks and rarities) or as audiophile 24-bit/96kHz downloads, it’s especially pleasing to see so much care relished upon the catalogue of a band whose reputation has been tarnished so much in recent times.

Available now on Virgin records. Smashing Pumpkins release their new LP, Oceania, this May

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January 2012

THE SKINNY 23

COMEDY

The Laughter Business

New comedy nights pop up every week across Scotland. Most of them fade away quickly.

We followed two new venues in Edinburgh as they search for comedy success Interview: Bernard O’Leary Photo: Matthew Beech

“It all started when I had a brain haemorrhage,” says JoJo Sutherland, telling the story of how she became a comedian. “I nearly died and I thought that if I survived I should really do something with my life. I was a single parent with three kids on income support, so I thought, ‘fuck it’, did a stand-up course, enjoyed my first gig and never looked back.”

That was about eight years ago. JoJo’s built herself up since then, becoming a familiar face on the circuit and running nights of her own. A few days from now, The Shack on Rose Street will be launching as a weekend comedy club, giving JoJo her own venue in the Edinburgh city centre.

It’s happening at an interesting time. The Stand have extended their empire South of the border with a new 300-seater venue in Newcastle. Conversely, the Highlight chain of clubs have decided to abandon comedy altogether.

“It’s difficult to persuade people to come out and part with their money,” admits JoJo. “Some promoters have poisoned the waters because they’ve inflated the prices. I think you can keep the prices low, pay a decent wage and not piss everyone off.”

JoJo is passionate about the art of comedy and understands the industry. Talking to her, you get the feeling that if she can’t do it then no-one can.

How did they pull it off? Well, there are some things that JoJo and Helen have in common, mainly their respect for comedians and respect for the audience.

“You have to make the audience feel like it’s their club,” says JoJo, “that they’re more than just a bum on a seat. We’ve put together a great room with people who are really up for comedy, and comedians want to do that kind of gig. They want to relax and try out new stuff, and do things that are creatively satisfying. You have to feel creatively satisfied in this job. Otherwise, it’s just a job.”

Helen is mainly just glad it’s over, although she’s also excited about where this will go next.

“I’m glad this is a word-of-mouth, friends-offriends thing. I don’t want people coming in here to get out of the rain. I want people who are really excited about comedy.” The comedians on the bill tonight have really connected with Helen’s shambolic, experimental ethos and taken more risks than they normally would, often with extraordinary results.

The success of a comedy venue is down to one thing: whether people decide to support it or not.

This is going to be like losing your virginity at a televised dogging party

“I’ve never done comedy before, that’s the really perverse thing about this.”

Elsewhere in Edinburgh, newcomer Helen Bywater is about to launch her own comedy night, to be known as Another Fine Mess. Despite having no experience, she’s going to MC the gig herself.

“I haven’t prepared any material so it’s going to be a disaster. It’s a stupid venture from start to finish,” she says, “but there’s a fine line between brave and stupid.”

Luckily Helen has got pretty good organisational skills and has managed to assemble a great line-up of circuit acts and exciting newcomers for her launch night. She’s even blagged a top-drawer headliner with nothing more than charm and the offer of free food and board. She also has incredible belief in every aspect of this night (other than her own performance). “I want this to be like a strange comedy cult,” she says. “There aren’t enough nights in the weirdy, alternative end of things. I’d like it to be a massive Wendy House where people come in and play.”

Everything’s almost ready. Now she just needs to write some material.

When comedians talk about ‘the room’, they don’t just mean walls and furniture. A good comedy room needs a certain kind of ambience: comfortable but not too comfortable, dark but friendly, preferably with a nice low ceiling to trap the laughter.

Walking into The Shack (formerly El Barrio) for the first time, you can immediately tell that it’s a great room. Just the right mix of grime and glamour as you sweep down a beautiful staircase into a nightclub that’s claustrophobic and huge at the same time. Hardback seats to keep the audience awake and a big stage with a classic radio mic under a dazzling spotlight. The only problem is that, with an hour to go until the big launch, it’s not ready. The workmen are rushing to erect the backdrop and hammer the last few pieces of stage into place.

JoJo is too happy to be nervous. “We’re quite

24 THE SKINNY January 2012

Jojo Sutherland

JoJo Sutherland [left] and Helen ByWater

close to the wire, but as long as we can get the builders off the stage, we’ll be good to go. Or else we might just include them in the show.”

Does this feel like the culmination of something? “It does. All the jobs I’ve had over the years, bar work, admin work, comedy, they’ve all come together into this. All those years of being directionless have finally paid off.”

The work finishes mere seconds before the first punters arrive, and suddenly JoJo’s dream is a reality.

Helen’s room is also great in a very different way.

This is the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffalo’s meeting room, a Masonic Lodge-cum-Fringe venue above a youth hostel. The lights are too small and the sound system is too big, and Helen describes it as “the kind of place that chess clubs might have met in the 70s. ”It’s perfect for comedy.

There’s not a lot of setting up to be done, so

Helen is concentrating on her debut performance.

“I’m at the Goldilocks level of nervousness,” she says. “At first I wasn’t nervous enough, then I was too nervous. Now it’s just right. I realise that I am an idiot. This is going to be like losing your virginity at a televised dogging party.”

The comedians arrive first and Helen gives them all a nice slice of lemon tart, because comedy is the new rock’n’roll. They seem unsure of what to expect. So does Helen. So do the audience, when they arrive.

Soon the room is full and there’s nothing left to do except start the show.

Despite being different in almost every way, both nights are resounding successes. A massive crowd at The Shack makes the evening feel like a major event, while Another Fine Mess has exactly the feeling of weird, sweaty intimacy that Helen had been hoping for.

How the people of Edinburgh take to these new enterprises remain to be seen, but certainly they’ve both got the key elements right. The audience get good value for money, the rooms are good comedy venues and the performers have nothing to stop them putting on the best show they can.

These might sound like simple things but they’re often forgotten by poorly-run amateur nights or cynically-run professional venues. Great comedy clubs aim to make every gig a classic. That’s the spirit that’s made The Stand a success; that’s what should ensure success for JoJo and Helen.

Anyway, as Helen says afterwards, “even if nobody comes, at least we’ll get to see some fucking great comedy.”

The Shack on Rose Street, Edinburgh is open Thursday-Friday every week. Details at www.theshackedinburgh.co.uk Another Fine Mess is monthly at The RAoB Club, West Register St, Edinburgh. Details at www.afmess.com

TRAVEL

Awake On Foreign Shores

In search of an alternative winter festival, our Music editor heads for Les Recontres Trans Musicales to find out how the French get down Words and photo: Dave Kerr

Trans Musicales curator Jean-Louis Brossard presents a varied and eccentric bill; forging an unlikely alliance between young electronic and indie rock acts with some of the more daring leftfield talents from the world stage, he shows little interest in the hip or commercially viable.

Dubbed ‘the anti Michael Eavis’ by repeat visitors, his enduring ethos from the multi-venue festival’s foundation back in 1979 remains “to defend and promote a new vision of music that differs from what the public is being force-fed.”

Brossard scours the globe all year round to prepare this three-day smorgasbord, and, like any festival worth its salt, previous years have seen real coups – its organisers continue to proudly trade on early doors performances by Nirvana and Massive Attack. This is certainly not to say that Trans Musicales has its head stuck in the past; the installment we’re thundering through the Euro Tunnel (en route to Rennes, Brittany) for is very much of the time, too – from London’s maverick Mercury nominee Ghostpoet and heavily vaunted industrial disco miserablists Factory Floor, to Nantes’ accidental electro pop hit makers College (see their recent contribution to Cliff Martinez’s Drive soundtrack).

The Franco-Scottish connection is also historically strong here; triumphant tales have travelled home of our own Phantom Band and Anglo Scots Django Django being rightly trusted to helm headlining slots at the abandoned aircraft hangers on the periphery of Rennes in which most of Trans Musicales’ twilight hour action takes place. This particular edition finds Glasgow’s psych revivalists Haight-Ashbury playing the slightly lower echelons of the ‘Bars En Trans’ fringe events that precede the witching hour mania (we’ll be expected to stay up till 6am).

Starting the weekend at one hub for this grassroots strand of the festival, Bar Hic feels like home – essentially a nae nonsense spit and sawdust box room the size of The Thirteenth Note basement.

Here we chance upon ‘coral pop’ ensemble Crane Angels, essentially Bordeaux’s answer to Broken Social Scene (they count members of JC Satan and François & the Atlas Mountains in their swelling ranks), who merry their way through an energised set of rough-hewn and endearingly ramshackle folk rock. Clearly they have a ball on stage, and the crowd is right there with them. Ales are raised in good cheer; a barman resembling The Big Show feeds us free Jäger just ‘cos he’s hard.

Everybody’s happy.

Like that time Eddie Jordan played classic rock covers from the back of a lorry at T in the Park, there are a few bizarre spectacles ahead; from the slums of London’s Brick Lane to the 35,000 capacity Le Liberté literally overnight, Lewis Floyd Henry finds himself plucked from busking obscurity to main stage infamy – although, dressed as a leprechaun and covering Wu-Tang Clan classics with an acoustic guitar, it’s difficult to understand why. Equally as mental – though no less rapturously received by a few hundred misfits too inebriated to care – guitarist and laptop operator Capacocha leads us to believe he’s been raised in seclusion on a steady diet of 90s Eurohouse and LA Woman for the last 20 years before being unleashed from his log cabin to terrorise the youth of Rennes tonight.

But both acts set the weekend’s agenda on opening night: there is fuck all pretension here.

As with most of the second day’s festivities – from revellers taking in the town centre’s carnival

colin Stetson

atmosphere with a beer and a sausage crepe (a €€5 combo from most street vendors), to any given open venue with a PA – the compact Club UBU is buzzing as native trio Juveniles take the stage.

Comprising former er… members of local heroes Russian Sex Toys and Wankin’ Noodles, this slick, synth-propelled incarnation owes as much to Morten Harket’s falsetto as Two Door Cinema Club’s chirpy 80s electro cup-a-soup shtick. It makes sense that Parisian fashion house turned indie label Kitsuné are all over it. Maybe they’re not quite ready to be beamed into present day Inverness, but you get the feeling that, in some guise or other, they’ll eventually go places without a flux capacitor. As their solitary EP release since forming eight months ago points out – they are young.

When night falls on Rennes we find real gold back in Bar Hic (besides the local Pilsner): math rock by design, Lausanne quartet Honey For Petzi cut to the guts of recent album General Thoughts and Tastes; doling out discordant robot rock to the pace of time signatures that shouldn’t work, rotating each

Like that time Eddie Jordan played classic rock covers from the back of a lorry at T in the Park, there are a few bizarre spectacles ahead

player through entirely new roles to keep their hourlong set fresh. Whether it’s through intention or the acoustics of the room, their duelling vocals are often muffled and indistinct, but the sheer energy eclipses any problem that could have been. Mainstay drummer Christian Pahud throws down with particular intensity, looking like he could do with a drip when he finally tumbles offstage, shaking his head to calls of ‘encore une fois!’ Time for a 20 minute bus ride to Parc Expo on the outskirts of town (not before being misdirected by a piss-taking conductor to a snack van dubbed ‘ze ticket bus’ to pay for the fare, such is the local patter).

A midnight set from Detroit saxophonist Colin Stetson proves to be the revelation of the weekend: expressive and emotive, but with his feet firmly clamped to the spot for a full hour – upwards of 1,500 kids find a way of dancing to these manic, droning brass grooves and rhinoceros grunts summoned from the depths of Stetson’s chest.

Rocking back and forth like a man possessed, his track Judges’ bubbling ostinato eerily recalls Pink Floyd’s early use of synth on Dark Side of the Moon. Circular breathing comes in handy. “This is all me,” he says between blows. Nodding to the eight folk sober enough to remember there’s a ban on fags indoors, he offers: “thanks for not smoking.” By turns foreboding and glorious, last year’s New History Warfare Vol. 2 left jazz-heads flummoxed, but tonight Stetson’s other life as a hired gun for Tom Waits and Arcade Fire makes perfect sense.

By the time freak folkie and ATP poster boy Alexander Tucker climbs behind his effects desk to serve up supernatural psych opus Dorwytch, keeping the crowd engaged (those not partaking in the philosopher’s blend anyway) becomes a heavy task. Skewing the traditional folk template with samples, effects pedals and a lilting falsetto, his cosmic, slow-burning set simply takes too long to raise its wheels from the runway.

Dodging past a strangely civilised queue of drunks blowing chunks against the hanger wall outside, it falls on a witch doctor masked Aaron

Jerome, AKA SBTRKT, to resurrect the crowd in the wee hours. Although he’s only been active under the moniker these past two years, remix work for the likes of Radiohead and Modeselektor have seen to it that the London DJ’s fusion of dubstep and Chicago house has been fast tracked to the masses. Joined by his live partner in crime Sampha, the neon glow of the duo’s tribal stage getup brings a Daft Punk-like theatrical element that the kids of Rennes can obviously relate to.

Us? We’re away back to the hotel for a nightcap and a jammy croissant.

The next night, another masked figure graces the same arena: shadowy genre-crosser Zomby puffs blunts and necks champagne from the bottle from the very start of a bafflingly early 9pm slot. “I roll a spliff of high grade skunk and get wonky,” he told Fact Magazine of his writing process a few years back, and it seems the same is true of his live show. Smoke billows from under his V for Vendetta disguise while he gets hotboxed to a mix of tracks lifted from 2001’s sombre Dedication and a full-on homage to early techno, R’n’B and Southern rap, regularly infused with his own trademark rattlesnake rhythm. Classical samples are fused with 90s jungle before he effortlessly carries us back to the modern day. Still, as Zomby gets progressively more chonged, you can’t help wondering if this is ultimately all for his own amusement. Either way, he masterfully weaves an ambience that would better suit the end of the night.

Like some distant, sedate relative of Outkast’s future funk, Seattle’s Shabazz Palaces (significantly, Sub Pop’s first rap signing) pit Ishmael ‘Butterfly’ Butler’s laconic rasp against percussionist Tendai Maraire’s down tempo bongo and hi-hat combo. Slowly slapping hands and burling 360 degrees to intentionally shit synchronized dance moves, they raise the fleeting question of what Kriss Kross are up to. Besides the oddness that comes with their dimly-lit performance and weird, low key bravado, what marks Shabazz Palaces out from so much of the hip-hop world is their willingness to forego the medley format that has become an established standard and give the crowd credit by playing their own material in full.

They play the lion’s share of their sedate debut, Black Up, in jumbled order, without ever defaulting on another knee-jerk salute to past rap titans when the audience starts to look restless. It’s a brave new world.

Following suit, relative veterans Spank Rock continue to defy convention. Last year’s uncharacteristically self-aware Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar may have fallen on deaf ears with its shift from playful party rap to a ‘work for something, fight for something’ call to arms, but on this bill the Baltimore crew’s boundless energy is unmatched. They even have the stones to throw Gimme Shelter in a bass heavy electro freak-out blender with a recurring line of dialogue from The Karate Kid: ‘Put ‘em in a body bag!’

With those words buzzing in our skulls, we bus it out of the Parc Expo complex for the last time; a flask of Jameson confiscated from one of our squad by security comes in handy for the trip home. Knackered but satisfied, we’re pretty certain that whichever path punters chose to take over the last three days, Mr Brossard fulfilled his remit for the 33rd year.

Trans Musicales 2012 takes place throughout Rennes, Brittany on 7-9 Dec www.lestrans.com

January 2012

THE SKINNY 25

SHOWCASE

PIDGIN PERFECT with Tawny Kerr

Pidgin Perfect is a creative studio based in Glasgow whose aim is to help build better communities in Scotland.

Pidgin Perfect understand people’s desire to live in communities that provide comfort, security and a sense of belonging; they are sensitive to the professed gap, which developed during the boom years, between those building our communities and the public at large.

Central to the ethos of Pidgin Perfect is the mantra of ‘placing the community at the heart of urban projects,’ putting people’s needs first in their work. By designing imaginative experiences that constitute meaningful community engagement, Pidgin Perfect gather genuine opinions which they then use to form the basis for design briefs, ensuring the community get what they want.

In their first year Pidgin Perfect’s scope within the urban realm has broadened with every new community interaction. Working closely with groups ranging from allotment holders to architecture students, they have met many interesting personalities who have inspired and encouraged them along the way. This is the story so far…

The Pidgins: Co-founders Dele Adeyemo and Marc Cairns first met while studying towards their Masters in Architecture at the University of Strathclyde, deciding to work together under the name Pidgin Perfect. From the beginning the boys had a friend and supporter in Becca Thomas. She soon joined the flock formally becoming Pidgin Becca. The Pidgins, as people came to nickname them, discovered the great potential in collaborating together.

Uli Enslein: Enthusiastic educator, and lover of benches Uli inspired The Pidgins to explore new ideas around architecture. She introduced the concept of Agit Prop – helping them to create immediate interventions in the public realm and gather more than just facts and figures. This instilled The Pidgins with a dynamic approach to research.

Cedric Price: Forward-thinking and mischievous architect; a legend and inspiration In the 70s Cedric created the PolyArk project, having students from the Architectural Association convert a double-decker bus into an architecture tour bus in which they travelled around the UK. Inspired by Cedric Price, The Pidgins became student activists and created the inaugural Scottish Architecture Students Assembly, or SASA. Davie Welsh: The Last Rag and Bone Man of the old tradition to use a horse and cart Davie first introduced himself to The Pidgins as they stood peering through the railings at Paddy’s Market. He spoke of the importance of Paddy’s to a way of life that was disappearing in Glasgow and his sadness at its closure. Pidgin Perfect worked with Gordon Ballantyne to document the changes and loss of heritage brought on by the closure of Paddy’s in a short film entitled The Last Rag & Bone Man. From this point The Pidgins realised they wanted to act as a bridge between decision makers and often voiceless communities.

Jude Barber: Director at Collective Architecture Jude mentored The Pidgins throughout their architectural education and continues to support the studio. She encouraged them to be enterprising and to push what started as a project into a practice, helping them forge a strong identity.

26 THE SKINNY JANUARY 2012

Amanda Dobbratz: Director of Ironbbratz Studios and former Student Head of Glasgow School of Art Amanda co-founded Ironbbratz Studios as a workspace for start-up creatives in Glasgow’s city centre. After deciding to operate Pidgin Perfect as a full time enterprise, The Pidgins needed a studio and Ironbbratz provided the perfect space.

Suddenly opportunities came about for Ironbbratz as designers and curators of exhibitions, like the Vault Art Fair.

David Smith: Film, TV and Theatre Producer extraordinaire; Programme Manager of Starter for 6 The Pidgins met David in a Dragon’s Den type presentation to gain a place on 2011’s Starter for 6 enterprise programme for start up creative entrepreneurs. Through lots of hard work and brainstorming, The Pidgins learned how to translate the fun things they were doing into a sustainable enterprise and an award-winning business.

Ian Gilzean: Chief Architect for Scotland Pidgin Perfect communicate their work through writing, blogging, Tweeting and talking about all the exciting things they are involved in. This has not gone unnoticed, even catching the attention of the Chief Architect for Scotland. With Ian and other key figures endorsing Pidgin Perfect projects, like the Scottish Architecture Students Assembly (SASA), they are establishing themselves as influential thinkers on the built environment and place-making.

June Johnstone: Caring Social Worker and Community Organiser for the Kennyhill Community Gardens Last summer Pidgin Perfect worked with Kennyhill Community Gardens and Allotments for NVA’s Glasgow Harvest 2011. The Pidgins encouraged participation through jam-making sessions, exhibitions and design workshops.

Working alongside June and local residents, the Pidgins successfully co-created a design within the community, something which Pidgin Perfect look forward to continuing in 2012.

Tawny Kerr: Artist, jeweller, ukulelist.

Fellow Ironbbratz studio member to the Pidgins, in collaboration here at last.

Illustrations by Tawny Kerr www.tawnykerr.com www.pidginperfect.com

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 27

DEVIANCE

Sex and the Cinema A look at the representation of sex and sexuality in cinema, from the Hays code in the 1930s to today's subtler forms of censorship WordS: Helen Wright Illustration: Laurie Rollit

The insane haze-filled dream sequence during which Mia Farrow is impregnated by the devil in Rosemary’s Baby; close-ups of post-coital sweatdripping skin in The Marriage of Maria Braun; ocean spray crashing against a cliff face as Mory and Anta consummate their love in Touki Bouki.

These are some of my favourite sex scenes in cinema. Not by coincidence, none of them actually show any action, but instead find more visually intriguing ways to represent carnality.

This coyness is due in part to our culture’s treatment of sex as a taboo subject. Portrayals and allusions to copulation in films have historically been governed to a large degree by censorship.

Hollywood’s Hays Code, which lasted from the 1930s to the 60s, banned miscegenation and onscreen kisses lasting longer than three seconds amongst its more despicable and ludicrous arbitrations. The way artists circumvent or dance around such limitations in the images they create, though, contributes to cinema’s richness. Despite the best efforts of Will Hays and Co, Hollywood became known as an institution dripping in eroticism.

Studio-era filmmakers played a seductive game of cat and mouse with the censors. Directors like Alfred Hitchcock had fun using various iconographic stand-ins whenever things got steamy. His litany of disguised profanity includes a coincidental firework display illuminating the background as Cary Grant and Grace Kelly embrace in To Catch a Thief, and a train hurtling through a tunnel as Grant envelops Eva Marie Saint at the end of North by Northwest. The petulant auteur even took the piss out of the three-second rule by having his actors – Grant and Ingrid Bergman this time – perform a lustful stop and start kiss lasting a whole scene in Notorious. Nicholas Ray, meanwhile, perfected violent dramatic showdowns in his films, which stood in for fornication and barely hid their oozing sexual tension. In Rebel Without a Cause, James

Dean dances around a coiffured combatant, the pair thrusting and parrying with flick knifes, while Joan Crawford points her pistol evocatively at Mercedes McCambridge in subversive western Johnny Guitar.

Our concept of camp developed largely from the codes that such filmmakers found to present the burgeoning 20th century notion of a heterohomo divide, a topic ostensibly off limits. There are legions of gloriously sissy or butch characters littering this period of American cinema: the limp-pawed lion with a pretty red bow on his head in The Wizard of Oz and Bette Davis’s mannish, strutting dominatrix in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, to name just a couple. These manifestly queer figures bounced off straighterplaying performances, often equally as mannered in their replication of traditional male and female roles, helping create an idea of sexual choice as something simulated through appearance and behaviour.

Restrictions still exist in more recent Western filmmaking in the form of ratings systems and funding allocations. More indirect proscription prevails simply in what is deemed tasteful and acceptable by society at large. Lars von Trier easily baits conservative viewers with his porno-aesthetic games, from his first use of unsimulated sex in The Idiots to Antichrist’s sado-masochistic tendencies.

Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right hides its all-female lovemaking under a duvet whilst the film’s opposite-gendered coupling is depicted in all its orgasmic glory. The works of these contemporary artists embody differing responses to the squeamishness surrounding sex acts that still permeates the movies. Watching them is somehow more satisfying than films that bare all as part of our brave new sexually liberated world. Long may censorship, sex, and cinema continue to frolic libidinously in the Hay.

Food, Sex, and Lies

In honour of The Skinny's January Food and Drink Special, a look at erotic food stuffs and foursomes interview: Matthew Bobbu Illustration: Laurie Rollit

When people think about food and sex they tend to go down limited avenues of thought.

There’s Aphrodisiac Avenue, where certain foods are attributed magical powers. Then there’s Kinky Crescent, where coital confectionary, such as edible underwear and chocolate body paint, is the limit of food’s involvement in sexuality.

There’s also what I refer to as 'Hot Shots Road', where mentions of food and sex in the same sentence immediately evoke images of that scene from Hot Shots.

Aphrodisiacs, quite simply, don’t exist – at least, not in the manner that popular culture would have us believe. Medicines that increase the libido are referred to as aphrodisiacs, certainly, but there is not a single foodstuff in all of history that has any scientific support for its status as something to get you laid. That rumour you heard about

28 THE SKINNY January 2012

oysters being sexy food, because they resemble female genitalia? Not only an exceptionally weird concept, but entirely untrue.

The relegation of food’s involvement in sexuality to purely the level of a kinky toy perpetuates a negative perception of sex in much the same way that abstinence-based sex education does. Don’t get me wrong – I thoroughly encourage you to have a bit of fun with bras made from candy, or by spreading chocolate sauce all over your partner’s genitals. But don’t think food and sex has to be ‘naughty’; and if you’re the sort of person who thinks that sex shouldn’t be sticky and punctuated by giggles, then it’s probably not for you. If you are going to try it, I suggest white chocolate yoghurts; they can be real good fun.

The trouble with trying to make food and sex go together in some kind of fetishised way is that it

takes food out of the context of, well, food, and tries to crowbar it into the context of sex as seen by popular culture – that is, not a very positive context.

What people should pay more attention to is the simple sexiness of a bloody good meal. There’s a reason that we refer to it as a sexual ‘appetite’, and why the way to a man’s heart (or woman’s, really) is through the stomach.

When I invited two beautiful ladies over to join

me in sharing a meal prepared for us by one of my chef friends, we didn’t need a reputed aphrodisiac; we didn’t need to make the food into some kind of pleasure aid; we didn’t even need to put on a big spread with candles and romantic music. We just sat in my student hovel, shared a delicious meal together, and the foursome happened all by itself.

For more of Matthew’s writing visit his website www.livinglibertine.com

Illustration: Jacob Stead

the skinny food and drink survey 201 2 It seems strangely fitting to be writing this introduction in a hotel room in London, as Scotland is about to be blown away into the Arctic Sea by the most infamous Bawbag since Michaelangelo sculpted David and scared the hell out of Renaissance Italy. Specifically, I’m coming to you from Shoreditch, in trendy post-industrial East London, where the pigeons have ironic moustaches and everything is a recording studio. A place where the cool cats come together to decide what’s hot, and they’ve just decided that the word ‘hot’ is out for this season. A place where trends are set, a wonderland where all the fun and exciting stuff happens before small chunks of it are sent off to the rest of us.

Except that’s not really how things work. Fun, cool, interesting stuff happens everywhere, all the time, often right under your nose. Nice cups of tea or pints of craft beer are not confined to the M25, and no vermin with facial hair is going to tell me otherwise. Besides, none of us really pay much attention to V-necked poseurs with haircuts that look like the offspring of the Sydney Opera House and a ball of wool. When you want advice on what to wear, which films to watch or where to eat, you listen to your friends, workmates, and the other people you rub shoulders with day-in day-out.

‘Real people’, we’ll call them. People such as your good self. Hello.

When we first came up with the idea for a food special, it became clear that we needed to somehow involve you ‘real people’. Like apes sat in front of a mirror, we are self-aware enough to know that if we had simply picked our favourite restaurants, pubs, and cafes and plonked them on the page that wouldn’t cut it. Luckily, unlike apes, we know how to set up online surveys and operate spreadsheets.

So we decided to ask you for your suggestions on everything from the best pint in Edinburgh to the top place to grab a coffee outside the big two Scottish cities. After all, who better to ask for suggestions than the audience who’ll (hopefully) end up reading this? That’s you again. Hiya.

We’ve waded through hundreds and hundreds of your votes to bring you a comprehensive list of some of Scotland’s top places to eat, drink, be merry, gorge in the wake of merriment, get your groceries, and impress the opposite sex. From the Highlands to the Borders, coast-to-coast, we read and counted them all, even the jokey ones.

We’re looking at you, people who laughed at the idea of good vegetarian food or suggested that the Finnieston Crane was the best place to go on a date. Now your selections have been charted,

noted, whittled down and tabulated into one handy results page.

We say one page, because as much as we’re grateful for your votes, eight solid pages of names and addresses would be a little dull for all of us.

To that end, we’ve been out and about testing your favourite pubs at either end of the M8, in an entirely scientific and rigorous test of their merits.

We also pop down to meet the team at Artisan Roast to find out just what makes their coffee so good, as well as speaking to Fence Collective supremo and noted Fife resident Johnny Lynch about the renowned and revered institution that is the Anstruther Fish Bar. (Oh, and we sent two of our readers on a blind date, to test the power of your favourite date place. Tee-hee.)

So here they are, your choices in The Skinny Food & Drink Survey. Thanks to everyone who voted, consider this supplement a token of our appreciation. And remember, these results were chosen entirely by you, so if you disagree with them you only have yourself to blame. Well, yourself and your fellow readers. The ‘real people’.

You certainly can’t pin it on us. However, if you really have to, I know a place where you can find some ‘trend-setters’ with naff haircuts to take the rap. [Peter Simpson]

We’ve waded through hundreds and hundreds of your votes to bring you a comprehensive list of some of Scotland’s top places to eat, drink, be merry

January 2012 food and drin k survey

THE SKINNY 29

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FOOD & DRINK

Pub Crawls

You picked your favourite pubs for the Survey, but how well did you choose? We sent two of our finest men out to find out – these are their harrowing true stories

Photo: Hannah Killoh Photo: Hannah Killoh

We haven’t read theirs yet, but we bet our chums in Edinburgh will have over-intellectualised their crawl, and spent the whole time carping on about the joys of a mahogany bar stool. Well, lads, it’s just a bit of wood, it’s not that important. We are going to keep this snappy. Ready to go for a pub crawl? Then let’s go!

19:30: The Belle, Great Western Rd We arrive. Well, I arrive. I have a pint, and it’s pretty tasty. There are a reasonable number of chairs, and no-one has spat at me or tried to sell me a dog. A good start.

20:00 The rest of them finally show up, forcing me to choose between frog-marching them down the road to Brewdog, or staying for another. This is a pub crawl, so I grab another and start flicking the useless gits with beer mats.

20:30 My hands are covered in bits of paper and the floor looks like there’s just been a wedding sponsored by Belhaven Best. They get the message, so we’ll head off.

21:00: Brewdog, Argyle St Beer for Punks, eh? Well look who’s too cool for school, with your Pop-Up Pirate and your stuffed animals? Well, let’s try some of that ‘Punk IPA’, eh? Punk, eh? Oh wow, this is actually not bad.

Jeez, that’s got a kick. Yes, I’ll have another one of those.

21:20 Why am I still so bad at Buckaroo? It’s just putting stuff on a horse!

22:00: Blackfriars, Bell St We’re in town, with more ales than I knew existed and a fruit machine instead of classic children’s games. We pass the time reliving childhood defeat and working out which of the many beards are leftovers from Movember that the owners have been too lazy to shave off.

23:00: Horseshoe Bar, Drury St We’re on the move again. The Horseshoe is shaped like it’s named, and there are horses everywhere. Not live horses, but it’s still a little off-putting. Things are a bit too tweedy for us, so it’s off to...

23:30: Nice N Sleazy, Sauchiehall St Sleazy’s! It’s loud, it’s roasting, and yet everyone seems to still be wearing hats. Take them off people, it’ll make things a lot easier. We’re happy here, as surviving Sauchiehall St always makes this place feel like the end of a level of Left 4 Dead.

We’ve dodged the zombies, and our reward is a pint of Fosters with a White Russian chaser. And I think this our last stop...

00:15 Can I get three pints and three White Russians?

Cheers! [BD]

January 2012 food and drin k survey

Photo: Ralph Mackenzie

It’s about 7pm on a Tuesday evening. We all have work on Wednesday, and two of our number are in at 9am. Yet here we are, hitting the pubs in the name of journalism. Owing to our circumstances, this is intended to be a strictly scientific endeavour.

One pint per location, the same drink or similar each time, we’ll take enough time to savour the ambience and check the nick of the toilets, then move on. Professional.

First up is Cloisters on Brougham St, which wins points for sitting yards from your host’s front door.

Those who traipsed up from Leith don’t think this is worth mentioning, but I’ve got the pen so it’s going in. We head to the bar, and are met by taps with decorated porcelain handles. This is good, as is one of us tripping over a chess table on the way across. Chess means civility, decorum and class.

The man with the bruised shin disagrees, and is over-ruled. The pub itself is the opposite of the TARDIS, smaller inside than it appears (probably due to the dark wood everywhere), and filled with a nice mix of locals, students, and beardy CAMRA types in sweaters.

We look at our itinerary, abandon the notion of travelling across town only to come back again, and hit the Blue Blazer, in the shadow of the ‘pubic triangle’. We debate whether we can mention said triangle, and decide that we can. There are hanging baskets outside, and a fire inside that would take the moustaches right off the art students in front of it. No posh handles on the taps this time, and a couple of the group are tempted by the rum list before being pulled back into line.

They are forced to have a pint and a sit-down, which, as you can imagine, goes down terribly.

The pub expertly straddles lively and homely, and there’s a huge barrel in the middle of the floor. Better than a chess table, we reckon. More inclusive.

As is the way with these things, the winner has to be saved until last, so it’s a mile-long walk to Frederick St for the Queens Arms. We arrive cold and disappointed that there are no actual arms on display. The last place had a barrel, we sigh.

Luckily, it’s warm inside, and we manage to grab a booth in a little nook by the bar. There are a lot of young people here, we surmise. It turns out that by ‘young people’ we mean grown men several years older than the lot of us. We fear we may have spent too long in those old man pubs.

No sooner are we comfy than duty drives us the best part of a mile to Holyrood 9A. Questions as to its location are met with manly derision, and a hopeful assertion that it’s ‘over this way’. Luckily, it is ‘that way’, and mutiny is staved off. It’s a good looking bugger, all high ceilings and shininess.

There are plenty of beers to choose from, and everyone seems happy. We’re happy, and fairly knackered after shifting the best part of two miles in the cold. One of us wonders out loud whether we’ll still be able to get food from the complicated burger menu, and we nearly crack.

We don’t, though, and are soon off to our final port of call. The Bow Bar, at the foot of Victoria St. Small, wooden, and a little bit like a ship’s galley. No music, so we can hear each other hurl abuse and complain about wet and cold feet. We hover by the bar, and hover, and hover, eventually grabbing a seat by the window. We spy polo-shirted hordes headed for the Cowgate, and for a moment we pity them. Then we slump into the wooden seats, and send our injured comrade to the bar on his one good leg. After all, you can’t say we haven’t earned it. [PS]

Photo: Hannah Killoh

G L ASG OW

Photo: Thomas Mountney

EDI NBURG H

Photo: Hannah Killoh

Words: Peter Simpson and Ben Donaldson

THE SKINNY 31

FOOD & DRINK

MASTERS OF THE ART’ Artisan Roast have done the double, and been voted best coffee shop in Edinburgh and Glasgow. We ventured into their world of precision, quirkiness and exquisite facial hair to find out what makes them tick WORDS: PETER SIMPSON PHOTOS: PETER MARSDEN

LUKASZ GASIOROWSKI has one hell of a moustache. It’s precise, full-bodied, with areas of light and shade and a meticulously-crafted shape.

It jumps out at you, but then settles in perfectly.

It’s almost as though it’s a metaphor for Artisan Roast’s coffee, but then no-one could put that much effort into a cup, could they?

“When we look at the beans,” he says, “we need to prepare them in a different way on a Thursday compared to a Monday, use different amounts or a slightly different grind. There are changes to the CO2 levels in the coffee we need to watch out for.” Yes, it turns out you can put that much effort into a coffee.

It’s that effort and overwhelming focus that have made Artisan Roast your favourite coffee stop in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. That and the fact that their coffee tastes bloody good. Lukasz is the manager of Artisan Roast’s original Broughton Street shop, where the company’s first roaster sat for several years before the operation was moved to Glasgow. Given that Artisan now roast 600kg of coffee a week, it’s probably not a bad thing that the roaster’s out of the way. In its place there are coffee sacks for wallpaper, and cafetieres fashioned into light fixtures. Even the wood floor looks as though someone’s varnished it with a coat of espresso.

They are the mad professors of the coffee world, hiding out in plain sight, always tweaking and improving on their work. It’s clear enough that what Artisan get up to goes beyond the usual corporate wonkspeak of ‘passion about coffee’. If the high street chains are ‘passionate’ then these

PETER SIMPSON LEARNS THE ROPES

guys are hiding in the stationery cupboard with the coffee, and don’t want to be disturbed.

“We do everything in-house, ourselves,” Lukasz says. “We started out just as a roastery, and we still roast all our own coffees as well as supplying them to other cafes and restaurants. We know where everything has come from, because we source all the beans ourselves. We’re always getting notes on each batch, looking at what characteristics different beans have and the best ways to bring out the flavours.”

Everything here is planned and finessed, down to the finest detail. The coffee machine is a hand-operated 1950s pump-action beast the likes of which you’ll never have seen before. I’m informed that it takes between 30 and 32 seconds to extract an espresso, yet I don’t see a clock or watch anywhere.

Lukasz tells me that new staff, who already have a minimum of a year’s professional experience,

spend up to two weeks working on milk. Just the milk. Barista Alex chips in to back him up.

“Say you go into a Costa and get a latte,” she says. “It’s going to be covered in these big bubbles that look like clouds. That’s not what you want.

You need little microbubbles that don’t immediately separate from the milk, because that way you keep all the flavour in.” The pair nod in agreement, leaving me to gurn and let out the non-commital hum of a man who is a little taken aback and confused.

A man who has somehow ended up discussing the optimum size of milk bubbles.

Lukasz seems to sense my trepidation, and lets out a wry smile. “It doesn’t sound that important on its own, but the point we try to make is that it might only be a little thing, but the little things all add up.

“Making coffee for us is about attention to detail, and consistency,” he adds. “Knowing what to look for – the temperature of the water, the

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size of the grind, the ratios of coffee to milk – is important, but you need to be able to do it over and over again. It’s no good making one nice coffee and 20 bad cups.”

As for the rest of us, the Artisans believe that great coffee isn’t out of the reach of our clumsy hands. Lukasz says: “The equipment you can get these days, and the coffees you can buy, mean that anyone can make a nice coffee at home. And even if you don’t fancy doing that the coffee scene in Edinburgh is so great that there’s plenty of places you can go. Edinburgh has about ten or 12 really top-end coffee places, which for somewhere of this size is amazing.

“We get people in all the time asking for advice on making the stuff at home, and we tell them all the same thing. Pay attention to what you’re doing; don’t just throw your stove-top coffee pot on first thing in the morning, leave it alone, then expect a good coffee. Take your time, and look out at each stage of the process to make sure you’re doing things properly.”

These guys take the time to do things properly, and they maintain total control over each stage of your coffee’s journey from the plantation to your palate. That’s why Artisan Roast do the best coffee around – planning and detail. If they wanted to overthrow the City Chambers or carry out a bank job, I can’t imagine they would have too much trouble. They’d probably have planned and done it before any of us had even noticed. And hey, if they do ever decide to go rogue, they’ve got a man on the team with the perfect ‘tache for it.

Date Night The Skinny does not provide a dating service. Usually.

But seeing as this is a food ‘special’, we decided to make an exception, and send two of our readers off on a blind date. Hilarity (for us at least) ensued interview: PETER SIMPSON PHOTOS: Matthew Beech Dating, eh? What’s that all about? Going outside in your own time, often on evenings or weekends, to attempt simultaneous feeding and conversation with a companion you don’t know well enough to eat in the presence of. Very odd and yet, strangely, the kids are mental for it. So when we came up with this whole Food and Drink Survey, we thought it best to find out where to go on such ‘dates’, and also to find two ringers to go on a date for us to give us some honest feedback. Handily, this meant that we didn’t have to, instead playing the important observer-slash-Cilla Black role in this experiment.

Donning our ginger fright wigs, affecting dreadful Liverpudlian accents and hitting the social networks, we found two Skinny readers and sent them to Under the Stairs to document the experience of a blind date in your favourite date place. In the female corner we have Nicola, a marketing bod who likes dresses, beards, Twitter and dance.

She has a goldfish called Gemma who appeared on the stage at the festival, and enjoys singing loudly. Nicola, we mean, not the fish. Representing men everywhere is Paul, who used to work in advertising until he realised it was the devil’s work.

He now teaches sex education to angry hormonal teenagers, runs youth clubs and does lots of volunteering. He also designs greetings cards, because I suppose the sloganeering never truly leaves you. So those are our contestants, now prepare yourselves for a lorra lorra laughs.

Untitled-3 1

The décor – date-friendly, or sterile and cold like a mad dentist’s waiting room?

Nicola: Kitsch, homely and just the right amount of dark. It’s like you’ve walked into the living room of one of those very cool old ladies with their hair in a fabulous bun. Too many tables crammed into a small place but I’ll forgive that. Cosy.

Paul: It’s already my dating venue of choice: a nice cosy basement that’s intimate, bustling, candlelit, and pretension-free. Oh, and it isn’t on George Street, which is always good.

The food – impressive, depressive, or aggressive?

N: Tasty, well-presented and not too pricy.

Halloumi salad had a bit too much onion though... not ideal for a date! Also, definitely should be more on offer dessert-wise. Slim pickings! [Boom boom – Ed.] P: Don’t order the cheesecake. The waiter enthused over how great the carrot cake was. I naïvely opted for the breakfast cereal/nut/granola/ raspberry/non-cheescake. My date chose the carrot cake – which was gorgeous. Note to self: listen to waiter in future.

The clientele – will they steal your bag, date, or thunder (delete as applicable)?

N: A nice mix of folk. Young professional types who all seemed fairly relaxed and fun. Aside from a few funny looks when our photographer arrived, everyone was getting on with their own evening.

Perfect for a date.

P: They were alright, except for the fact that the whole bar knew we were on a date. But there’ll be more on that later.

The staff – helpful, or ‘helpful’?

N: The barman seemed to think that we needed to loosen up a bit, and tried to help us along. I don’t advise letting them do this for a first date!

P: They knew we were reviewing the venue, so it was in their interests to be attentive. Still, they did a great job of that. Plus, the waiter helpfully suggested ‘more’ drinks, I’m guessing to ease his sense of awkwardness of serving a blind date. Good call.

The date – in the words of Cilla, “how did you get on”?

N: A very relaxed and pleasant evening, where conversation topics included procurement of free curry in strip clubs, the opera, previous date disasters and bra fitting. I’d never thought to go on a date to Under the Stairs before, but I’d definitely recommend it and do it again.

P: Hmm, aside from arriving 15 mins late, we were both easily rolling out the chit-chat and then a pap rocked up to our table, with his long lens. Like I said, the whole bar now knew we were on a date.

The ‘more’ drink eased the painful embarrassment,

so we happily performed the clichéd shot of gazing in to each others’ eyes…whilst crying inside.

There we have it, a successful blind date in a nice, welcoming venue where the waiters know their cakes but will still let you make a costly error. No-one sleazed on either of our daters, and they seemed to have a very nice time.

And our photographer evidently got his snaps, so everyone’s happy, or at least internalising their emotional pain while projecting happiness. Fine by us – always leave them crying inside, that’s what we say. We might not get it, but if you ask us, this dating thing might just catch on.

The bill - Note the tequilas

23/08/2011 13:15

January 2012 food and drin k survey

THE SKINNY 33

FOOD & DRINK

FENCE ‘N ’CHIPS

One of them is known far and wide for their unique take on a traditional art. The other is your favourite chip shop. We spoke to FENCE COLLECTIVE’s Johnny Lynch about fish suppers, nostalgia, and the elderly INTERVIEW: PETER SIMPSON

We’ll call it ‘Fesh’, a mix of Fence and fish. It’s handy because that’s already how Glaswegians pronounce the word fish

PHOTO: MARKUS THORSEN

JOHNNY LYNCH, the Fence Collective mainstay also known as The Pictish Trail, has just had a brainwave. “We should combine Fence Records with a fish and chip shop,” he jokes.

“We could put download codes for the music on the little forks, get James Yorkston in to do the white pudding. Forget records, that’s the way forward!” He’s even got an idea for the name.

“We’ll call it ‘Fesh’, a mix of Fence and fish. It’s handy because that’s already how Glaswegians pronounce the word fish.”

Yes, the two most famous exports to come out of the East Neuk of Fife in recent years are the world-renowned and celeb-attracting Anstruther Fish Bar and the folky loveliness of Fence, run out of the Neuk by Lynch and Kenny Anderson, aka King Creosote. The small villages of Anstruther, Cellardyke and Pittenweem may seem like an unlikely mecca for top-end chippys, but Lynch has a theory as to why.

“Fifers all have terrible diets. Honestly, one of the staples of the Fife diet is a macaroni pie from the bakers, in a roll, with brown sauce on it. You then take that round the corner and get some chips to go with it. It’s every kind of carbohydrate you can think of in one go.”

As for the Neuk itself, the decline of the fishing industry hasn’t been kind. Other than during the summer holidays and the likes of the Homegame festival Fence put on in the Neuk, there isn’t a whole lot going on.

“Back in the 60s and 70s, Anstruther was a

JOHNNY LYNCH

proper little holiday town,” Lynch says. “You look at the old pictures and it’s full of really busy caravan parks and holiday parks. It was almost like the Scottish Blackpool, in a good way.

“When people come up for Homegame or to see gigs they start getting flashbacks to their youth.

It’s a very nostalgic place. Nowadays, though, it’s a sleepy wee village where everyone is someone’s granny. When the kids hit 16 or 18, they’re all out of here, and it seems like all the grannies in Scotland come to Fife at a certain age, there’s just so many of them. Us lot are counted as the ‘young ones’ when we’re out in the pub.”

The success of Fence and the Fish Bar have

date ‘ 5 p o t e One of th edinburgh in venues’ inny } { The Sk

Q- Got a date?

A- Under the stairs We’ll do our best to help you get laid!

shone a light on this corner of Fife, and Johnny thinks there are some similarities behind the unlikely pair’s renown.

“The Fish Bar is all about the experience. It isn’t at all posh – it’s a proper chip shop, with cardboard trays and little forks, and their fish and chips are great. There’s something about the surroundings though that makes it all a bit better. You’re down at the seafront in this little old fishing village, looking out to the water, surrounded by little old ladies, feeling like a giant because no-one else is taller than 5’ 4”.

“I think if you had Anstruther fish and chips in Glasgow or Edinburgh, you’d think they were

coffee bar

café

Quality, Speciality Coffee

Great Tasting, Locally Sourced, Homemade Food & Sweet Treats Sit in & Takeaway / FREE WiFI

food served daily : open early - 1am : www.underthestairs.org 0131 466 8550 3a merchant street, edinburgh eh1 2qd info@underthestairs.org

34 THE SKINNY FOOD AND DRIN K SURVEY JANUARY 2012

291 Byres Road, Glasgow tel: 0141 339 5336 email: info@avenue-g.com web: www.avenue-g.com

nice, but that they were just fish and chips. But the journey to come here makes it feel a bit more special, and a bit different. That’s how we find things with Fence; we’re slightly out of the way, but when people get here they get taken in by the place. They’ve been on a journey to get here, and it makes everything that bit better when they finally arrive.”

Anstruther, then; home to the old, the carbloaders, a lovely bunch of folkies, and Scotland’s best chip shop. You should pop by some time, and see what all the fuss is about. Johnny recommends the macaroni cheese, at least until ‘Fesh’ is up and running.

Theatre Royal Dumfries £14.50

“Superb and Uncontrollable” Sunday Times

“So much energy and fizz” The Evening Standard

“Such glittering panache” The Telegraph

FOOD & DRINK

RESULTS

You voted, we counted, and here they are – your favourite places to eat and drink in Scotland

EDINBURG H BEST PINT Bow Bar, West Bow: The very definition of a ‘real pub’; no annoying music, plenty of dark wood, and a great beer selection.

Blue Blazer, West Port Holyrood 9a, Holyrood Rd Queens Arms, Frederick St Cloisters, Brougham St

KING OF COFFEES Artisan Roast, Broughton St, Bruntsfield Pl: They travel to meet growers. They run a blog packed with coffee science and bean grading guides. They do it all, and that’s what makes their coffee so good.

Kilimanjaro, Nicholson St Wellington Coffee, George St Cafe Gaia, Leith Walk Black Medicine, Marchmont Rd, Barclay St, Clerk St

BEST DATE PLACE Under the Stairs, Merchant St: A basement restaurant with great food by day, a quirky and cosy bar by night, with comfy sofas and brilliantly moody lighting.

Restaurant Mark Greenaway, Picardy Place Outsider, George IV Bridge Bramble, Queen St Spoon, Nicholson St

FAVOURITE FOOD SHOP Peckhams, Bruntsfield Place, South Clerk St: A hybrid of the perfect grocer and a top-drawer off-licence, where a man can get a £75 bottle of top-end vodka and a kick-ass sandwich at the same time.

Earthy, Ratcliffe Terrace Real Foods, Brougham St, Broughton St Valvona & Crolla, Elm Row Cornelius Beer, Easter Rd

TITAN OF TAKEAWAYS Kebab Mehal, Nicholson St: A stand-out among the Southside’s myriad Asian restaurants, and when you get your hands on one of their curries or kebabs you’ll see why.

Illegal Jacks, Lothian Rd La Favorita, Leith Walk Karen’s Unicorn, Abercrombie Pl Thai Pod, London Rd

CHIP SHOP CHAMP The Tailend, Albert Pl: A fire earlier this year hasn’t kept the Tailend from putting out the best fish suppers in the city in their restaurant and takeaway.

Cafe Piccante, Broughton St L’Alba Doro, Henderson Row La Campagnola, Drumsheugh Pl Newington Fish Bar, Clerk St

VITAL VEGGIE SPOT David Bann, St Mary’s St: No anaemic salads here; Bann’s menu is packed with inventive vegetarian dishes good enough to tempt even the most bloodthirsty meat-eater.

Hendersons, Hanover St Kalpna, St Patrick’s Sq Urban Angel, Forth St/Hanover St Baked Potato Shop, Cockburn St

COLOSSUS OF CAKES Eteaket, Frederick St: Their choice of cakes is incredible, the taste and quality is exquisite, and the décor is fantastically quirky.

Mimi’s Bakehouse, The Shore Falko Konditormeister, Bruntsfield Pl Chocolate Tree, Bruntsfield Pl Hula, West Bow

G L ASG OW BEST PINT Nice n Sleazy, Sauchiehall St: We could use the rest of this page to list the names who’ve graced Sleazies over the years.

Instead, we’ll encourage you to head down to this institution, and soak up the (recent) history.

Blackfriars, Bell St The Belle, Great Western Rd Horseshoe Bar, Drury St Brewdog Bar, Argyle St

KING OF COFFEES Artisan Roast, Gibson St: Everything good about the Edinburgh branch, and a chance to see their roaster in action as well.

Tinderbox, Byres Rd, Ingram St Avenue G, Byres Rd Coffee Chocolate and Tea, Argyle St Kember and Jones, Byres Rd

BEST DATE PLACE Sisters, Kelvingrove St: A topend joint in one of the nicest parts of town, and therefore the textbook definition of ‘good date location.’

Bar Gandolfi, Albion St Two Fat Ladies, Argyle St Hillhead Bookclub, Vinicomb St Firebird, Argyle St

FAVOURITE FOOD SHOP Peckhams, Glassford St, Byres Rd: The same great range as Edinburgh, but in Glasgow as well. Who says the two cities can’t play nice?

Delizique, Hyndland St Lupe Pintos, Great Western Rd Grassroots, Woodlands Rd Heart Buchanan, Byres Rd

36 THE SKINNY FOOD AND DRIN K SURVEY JANUARY 2012

TITAN OF TAKEAWAYS Little Italy, Byres Rd: This Italian cafe-takeaway has been on the go for years, and the quality of the food and drinks on offer make it easy to see why.

Taco Mazama, Renfield St Banana Leaf, Old Dumbarton Rd Mother India, Westminster Ter Ichiban, Queen St

CHIP SHOP CHAMP Philidelphia, Great Western Rd: A West End chippy that does the little things better than most. They also do a good job of the ‘big thing’ of making a good fish supper.

Kings Cafe, Elmbank St Jack McPhee, Hope St The Grove, Argyle St Blue Lagoon, West Nile St

VITAL VEGGIE SPOT Mono, Kings Ct: Veggies are catered for all day long at this Trongate institution, and there’s a ping-pong table if you need to work off the falafel belly.

13th Note, King St Tchai Ovna, Otago Lane Stereo, Renfield Lane The 78, Kelvinhaugh Street

COLOSSUS OF CAKES Avenue G, Byres Rd: Locallysourced ingredients fill the menu, and the delicious cakes are no exception.

The Butterfly and the Pig Tea Rooms, Bath St Fifi and Ally, Princes Sq Vanilla Black, Sauchiehall St Hidden Lane Cafe Gallery, Argyle St

TH E REST OF SCOTL AND BEST PINT Under the Hammer, North Silver St, Aberdeen: An atmospheric pub set beneath an Aberdeen auction room.

Pun-tastic.

Art Bar, Perth Rd Dundee Salmon Inn, Bank Street Galashiels

KING OF COFFEES 88 Degrees, High St, Kirriemuir: A great cafe menu make this a great place to ‘do coffee’ as well as just drink the stuff.

Nardini’s, Greenock Rd, Largs Tea Leaves and Coffee, Perth Rd, Dundee

BEST DATE PLACE Junk Rooms, Friars St, Stirling: Mismatched furniture, live music, and an attached gallery-shop make this ideal for impressing/ buying off that special someone in your life.

Monachyle Mhor, Lochearnhead Jute Cafe Bar, DCA, Perth Rd, Dundee

FAVOURITE FOOD SHOP Green Seafood Shack, Harbour, Oban: Possibly the freshest seafood in the whole country served up just yards from the ocean.

House of Bruar, Blair Atholl Belhaven Smokehouse, Dunbar

TITAN OF TAKEAWAYS Earl of Sandwich, The Green, Aberdeen: EARL don’t let down their famous namesake, offering more sandwich choices than you can shake a Nobleman’s stick at.

Beijing Beijing, High St, Galashiels Gurkha Kitchen, George Street, Aberdeen

CHIP SHOP CHAMP Anstruther Fish Bar, Shore St, Anstruther: It’s in the middle of Fife, and yet every American exchange student and London foodie knows about the Anstruther Fish Bar and its delicious fish suppers.

MHOR Fish, Main Street Callander Allanwater Cafe, Henderson St, Bridge of Allan

VITAL VEGGIE SPOT Musa, Exchange St, Aberdeen: Gannet-eating antics aside, Musa gives its herbivorous guests little reason to complain with some great veggie dishes.

Foyer Restaurant & Gallery, Crown St, Aberdeen Pillars of Hercules, Falkland, Fife

COLOSSUS OF CAKES Fisher and Donaldson, Dundee/Fife (various locations): Worth the win here for their custard-filled fudge doughnuts alone, which taste heavenly but could give you diabetes simply by looking at them.

Kilau, Little Belmont St, Aberdeen Jackie Lunn, The Borders (various locations)

Thank you to everybody who voted and remember, these results were chosen entirely by you, so if you disagree with them you only have yourself to blame.

FASHION

Eleanor’s Riot Interview: Alexandra Fiddes

Launched in early 2011 by Edinburgh based designer Fi MacKay, Eleanor’s Riot creates both beautifully elegant and extremely wearable pieces.

The intention behind the label is to offer customers a unique and affordable alternative to high street ‘fast fashion.’

Nearly one year after its start up, Eleanor’s Riot is going from strength to strength. Although designer Fi Mackay says she’s “Still amazed that I am making and selling my own clothing. It’s a dream that once seemed so unattainable.”

This dream began when MacKay started taking dressmaking night classes to help with her art college application, after always intrinsically knowing that designing and making as a career was something that she needed to pursue – “I have always found fashion quite fascinating, have always enjoyed and wanted to be part of it.”

After completing an HND at Telford College in Costume Design, she then took a slightly unusual route into running her own fashion brand. “I went

into college knowing that I wanted to learn to cut and construct to a professional level and after talking to the tutors decided the costume course was the one for me as it offered a stronger tailoring programme.” Practical skills are taught alongside an intense fashion history aspect, which MacKay says “really heightened my knowledge of female clothing.” This is definitely seen within her debut collection, which is heavily inspired by 1960s schoolgirls; where hemlines are short, but necklines are prim and proper with only a hint of subtle embellishment.

This collection inadvertently created a difficult decision for MacKay. “I gained a place to complete my degree in Costume Design but was also offered the chance to make and sell a line within Godiva Boutique in Edinburgh. I thought I would see how it went for a year and have never looked back.”

Even when busily working on garments for fashion boutiques such as Godiva, LaLaLand and Audrey Grace Boutique (in Mississippi!), MacKay’s

costume background shines through. “I decided to create an illusion, a girl that I would dress up and design for, who could change to become whoever I wanted her to be.” But why Eleanor specifically? “I chose the name Eleanor after a talk with my sister, she showed me several old stories about a woman called Eleanor who was too perfect for this world and I loved it!”

MacKay has an ongoing collaboration with her sister, fine artist Kate MacKay. “She hand illustrates white cotton garments that I make, taking inspiration from folklore and fables.” Being artistic evidently runs in the family. “I am always amazed at how Kate manages to transform the fabrics and turn them into works of art. We are really fortunate to be able to create something together that we are so passionate about.”

Designing with a character in mind and always thinking about the overall story means that every individual piece, in MacKay’s words, “stays true to the ethos of the brand.” Firstly the colour palette is

chosen, then textures and fabrics that are suitable for the season, and finally the shapes of the pieces which can then be hand made by MacKay herself.

“This then has to be broken down to create the patterns and samples and once I am satisfied I can start on production,” she explains. Additionally, careful consideration is taken into “what people will buy and what people will love to wear.”

So following an extremely busy past few years, what does January and 2012 have in store for Eleanor’s Riot and Fi MacKay? “January will be spent finalising samples for my Spring/Summer collection and the opening of my own online boutique. Fingers crossed anyway.” We certainly have ours crossed too!

To find out more and to keep up to date with what Eleanor’s Riot is involved in please visit www.eleanorsriot.co.uk

Photography David Anderson www.dnanderson.co.uk

January 2012

THE SKINNY 37

January 2012 CHRIS RAMSEY: OFFERMATION Friday 3rd February, 8 pm Pleasance Theatre £10/£6 (students) Following a nomination from the hugely prestigious Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards, Chris brings his critically acclaimed show to Pleasance Theatre. Since appearing on the comedy circuit in 2009, Chris has experienced a meteoric rise to the top. He has previously appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats (Channel 4), Show and Tell (E4), Comedy Rocks (ITV1) and Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC3), and is soon to be seen on Celebrity Juice (ITV2), Argumental (Dave) and Richard Bacon’s Beer and Pizza Club (ITV4).

Edinburgh University Students’ Association events are open to ALL STUDENTS.

Ways to Book Online: www.eusalive.co.uk Phone: 0131 650 4673 In Person: Teviot, 13 Bristo Square, Edinburgh EH8 9AJ Teviot Box Office opening hours: Mon – Sat 11am – 7pm | Sun 12pm – 5pm

38 THE SKINNY JANUARY 2012

21

MUSIC

Live Music Highlights

METAL COLUMN

Combining electro, pop and house may be about as revolutionary as beans on toast but Edinburgh’s Discopolis have arrived at a uniquely energising and euphoric take on the recipe thanks to their use of silky live vox and no-nonsense drops. They play Glasgow King Tut’s on 10 Jan with support from emotive indietronica duo Capitals, plus Capstin Pole and Kill The Waves – all part of Tut’s New Year’s Revolution: a 15 day mission to rep the b’jesus out of our homegrown talent.

The product of a collaboration between Stars of the Lid man Adam Wiltzie and American pianist Dustin O’Halloran, A Winged Victory For The Sullen are all set to deploy their achingly elegiac drones and mournful piano refrains at Glasgow Òran Mór on 15 Jan. No way these men don’t have mad bank invested in Kleenex®. Get set to melt.

Skin-flayingly fierce alt-rock desperados United Fruit head up a stellar bill at Glasgow King Tut’s on 16 Jan alongside math-funk bad boys Lady North plus Hunt/Gather and Natalie Pryce. If you’re down with muscular, dynamic guitar music then you can’t really afford to sleep on this. Tinnitus schminnitus.

Synth wizards M83 managed to resolve their ultra-lush dream pop inclinations with stadium rock grandeur on their latest opus, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, and all reports suggest their current live show does a damn good job of replicating the effervescent fizz and tickle of that particular album.

We expect a ruddy good show at Glasgow Arches on 19 Jan. Stereolab/Monade mainstay Laetitia Sadier will play an intimate solo set at Glasgow Platform on 21 Jan as part of the Celtic Connections festival. Armed with just an electric guitar (and a rich, mesmerising voice, obvs), Sadier’s solo work is a more revealing and personal variation of the psych-pop/new wave template that she perfected with Stereolab. Gorgeous stuff, and with support from both Jo Mango and Dan Haywood’s New Hawks this promises to be a great evening.

Irony-free Norwegian electronic pop outfit Casiokids make music to smile and dance to, so anyone in need of some undistorted good vibrations should get along to Glasgow Captain’s Rest on 21 Jan. Expect chunky and direct DIY synth-pop peppered with gently evocative Norwegianlanguage vocals.

Tubelord may have have a somewhat infuriating penchant for over-earnest vocals, but what they lack in lyrical fortitude they more than make up for in propulsive, gymnastic rock moves and sheer infectious enthusiasm. Check them at Glasgow

Captain’s Rest on 22 Jan, Aberdeen Tunnels on 23 Jan and Edinburgh Sneaky Pete’s on 24 Jan. Perennial standard-bearers for cathartic, instrumental guitar music, Explosions in the Sky will play Glasgow O2 Academy on 23 Jan. These chaps always play with heart, so expect a ruthlessly sustained attack of big, beautiful sounds.

Despite having fallen foul of the indie hype machine a few years back, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah came back strong this year with an enjoyably direct album entitled Hysterical. Expect pretty, chiming guitar lines; driving post-punk basslines; mannered, nasal vocals – you know the deal by now. See them at Glasgow SWG3 on 28 Jan. Comprised of ex-Sleater-Kinney heads Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss plus Helium’s Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole of The Minders, Wild Flag are a band positively overflowing with individual talent. On stage they manage to blend Sleater-Kinney’s driving, melodic urgency with Helium’s off kilter pop sensibility and supercharge the whole shebang with a delightful upbeat grooviness. Yeah, Glasgow Òran Mór on 30 Jan is gonna go off motherfuckers.

Explosions in the Sky

Photo: Nuria Rius

Discopolis

Photo: Nick Simonite

Photo: Eoin Carey

words: Mark Shukla

M83

HOT TICKET of the month Celtic Connections 19 Jan – 5 Feb, Various Venues

Beginning on 19 Jan, Glasgow’s annual folk, roots and world music festival isn’t just about forcing school kids into concert halls and bigging-up fiddle music; it’s actually a pretty great excuse for gathering together some top-drawer homegrown and international talent for collaborations, gigs and good times aplenty. Cornershop make a rare appearance at Platform on 20 Jan (with support from indie tykes the 1990s) to remind everyone they have a lot more strings to their bow than just ‘that tune’, followed by honey-voiced Irish folk singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow at the Mitchell Library on 21 Jan and Spanish indie-folk ingenue Russian Red (featuring Belle & Sebastian’s Stevie Jackson and Bob Kildea) at the same venue on 22 Jan. King Creosote & Jon Hopkins will provide what promises to be one of the festival’s high points as they revisit cuts from their quietly spectacular Mercury Prize-nominated album, Diamond Mine, at ABC1 on 26 Jan, whilst the talented triple-bill of Admiral Fallow, FOUND and Chasing Owls play at the same venue on 27 Jan. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy makes an appearance at the Old Fruitmarket on 29 Jan plus there’s a couple of label nights that you won’t want to miss: Chemikal Underground

Aye, aye – so a new year means new beginnings, the kicking of old habits and the setting of goals, but let’s just put the unrealistic stuff aside for the moment to focus on what really matters: badassery and those who will be dishing it out over the course of this admittedly pretty quiet month. Look closely though and there’s still a few crackers guaranteed to help get your 2012 off to a roaring start.

After the inevitable post-New Year lull, local bros Casey Ryback bring the sleaze to Ivory Blacks (8 Jan). Expect some good ol’ hard rock riffage with synths thrown on top for good measure. On the metalcore front, Yorkshire quintet Asking Alexandria are sure to provide sick breakdowns aplenty at the O2 ABC (12 Jan) with support coming from the equally ‘brootal’ blessthefall. Plenty of opportunities to show off your best crab-stances.

If that’s not enough to shake the January blues, take note: U.S. exports The Saddest Landscape will be bringing their cathartic form of screamo across the pond to The Banshee Labyrinth (13 Jan) with We Were Skeletons, giving you the perfect opportunity to air your grievances. It might just prove to be a therapeutic experience. But if you’re looking for something a bit different, hardcore punk legend Henry Rollins is your huckleberry for a more suitable alternative. Catch his always insightful, political and rant-filled spoken word show at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on the same night. Fifers can see him play Dunfermline’s Carnegie Hall (14 Jan). Your move, creep.

Classic rock worshippers Morpheus Rising bring triumphant heavy metal in the vein of Iron Maiden or Iced Earth. They’re playing Bannerman’s (14 Jan), but if you’re looking to see some seasoned vets in action, the current incarnation of Thin Lizzy have got you covered. The boys are back at the Barrowlands (19 Jan). What’s more, they’re set to be joined by Neil Fallon’s Maryland stoner gods Clutch. An odd pairing, but it could turn out to be a pretty special one.

The going gets tougher as we approach the end of the month. Deathcore band The Black Dahlia Murder are sure to disintegrate eardrums when they hit up the Cathouse (22 Jan). They’ll be joined by blackened-thrash outfit Skeletonwitch and symphonic tech-metal weirdos Fleshgod Apocalypse. That’s a relentless line-up, so you’d best be bringing yer lug plugs – earning a lethal dose of tinnitus wasn’t on your list of New Year’s resolutions, now, was it? [Ross Watson] www.henryrollins.com

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

at Brel on 24 and 31 Jan (line-ups tbc) as well as Rock Action (featuring Remember Remember and Adam Stearns & The Glass Animals) at Brel on 29 Jan. Others to look out for include the resurgent Mull Historical Society with support from Washington Irving (3 Feb). Celtic Connections has evolved way beyond its folk and global roots, and there’s plenty more on offer beyond this selection. See celticconnections.com for full festival listings.

rollin ’ rollin ’ rollin ’

www.celticconnections.com

January 2012

THE SKINNY 39

Live Reviews

Galoshins / Mr Peppermint / The Cosmic Dead / Battery Face 13th Note, 18 Dec

rrrr The Kinning Park Complex, a recently-established community/ arts centre in a former late-Victorian school, tonight boasts one of the more eagerly-anticipated lineups to grace Glasgow’s underground scene in recent times.

Accordingly, as improv/rock/ noise duo Mick Flower and Chris Corsano take the stage, a sold-out crowd fills the school’s former gym. It’s not a perfect venue in terms of acoustics and visibility, although its nostalgic charm compensates.

The pair have been playing together, on and off, for several years now, and Corsano’s breathtakingly athletic drumming seems almost symbiotically entwined with Flower’s dexturous manipulations of the shahi baaja. Flower plays this instrument, a form of electric zither, in a unique style that betrays his background in avant-rock: John Cale-esque drones form a rippling backdrop to Corsano’s

Robert Redford / Django Django / She’S Hit Nice 'N' Sleazy, 26 Nov

rrrr Tonight’s line-up is a riddle alright, with Hollywood royalty atop a bill of curiously monikered support. First up, the erratically capitalised SHe’S Hit, who smother rock 'n' roll bravado in dirty feedback and shoegaze layers. Their inspirations sit pretty on the surface, but it’s delivered with thrilling confidence; they’re men of few words, but achieve a lot with their time.

Next Fortean puzzle: just how do the so-good-they-namedit-twice Django Django stay cool despite having a song that sounds a bit like an Egyptian electro-Macarena (Skies Over Cairo). Looking bonny in matching Ts, they set pulses racing via curiously broad influences, and the packed-tight, enthusiastic crowd duly treat them as heroic headliners. Which they maybe, sort of, kind of are – or were, at least, back when the gig was first announced…

But when you’ve got none other than Robert Redford on your schedule – cinema icon

www.sublimefrequencies. com/tour/inerane.html

and silver fox extraordinaire – you’d be remiss not to make space for ol’ Sundance as main attracti… OK, so efforts to conceal the headliners’ true identity have been long abandoned, but while the arrival of The Phantom Band on stage surprises precisely no one (for starters, they’ve used the pseudonym before), it fair invigorates everyone who a) secured a ticket for this sold-out show, b) braved the monsoon whipping Glasgow to tatters outside and c) prevailed through a rather lengthy between-band wait (though the latter is no slog, thanks to sharp sounds from hosts The Hot Club).

“You’ve been waiting ages eh?” says Rick, swigging from a hip flask, “what, you got a bus to catch or something? Oh, you’ve missed it…” Thankfully, they make revising transit a nobrainer: a propulsive A Glamour opens strong; Throwing Bones’ krautrock-cruise ups the ante, while Left Hand Wave appears to hypnotise the fan to our left, spotted waving limbs like Drunken Master. Their performance may not showcase the band at their absolute best, but tonight was worth the wait. [Chris Buckle]

40 THE SKINNY January 2012

Thurston Moore The Arches, 28 Nov

rrr A flustered arrival onto The Arches stage after being disoriented by the Glasgow streets brings Thurston Moore to a discerning, and disconcertingly polite, seated crowd. What on first glance seems a wistful and dreamy take on acoustic folk by a mellowed out ageing rocker becomes something defiantly progressive. Appearances are deceiving – the harp, violin and acoustic guitars belie the antifolk drudgery they might imply.

Instead, Fri/End is a particularly standout track with its soaring, crashing and pounding crescendo, and is a great example of how live, Moore succeeds in his ability to turn his records into something greater than the sum of their parts. On stage, there’s

Lanterns On The Lake Electric Circus, 30 Nov

rrrr Newcastle duo Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell offer up some sparse yet evocative odes to fickle relationships as tonight’s opening act.

From the plaintive call to unrequited love that is Letters to Lenore, to a sanguine tale of a drunken party girl, there’s something here that everyone can empathise with. Jonny even pulls back the curtain on the

more power and urgency given to his songs and there are times when the indomitable force of Sonic Youth shines through the – almost – wearisome attempts at heart-on-sleeve figurative imagery. He utilises the more interesting aspects of his band to excellent effect.

The surprisingly powerful pluck of the harp, at opportune moments, overpowers everything else on stage, bringing moments of genuine beauty. Many of Moore’s solo songs do go off wandering, though, while the rest maintain that driving, energetic insistency of earlier work. But it’s his soothing, irreplaceable voice, filling the vaults of the Arches, which reminds tonight’s crowd of what we’ll miss in his greater incarnation, if they really have chosen to retire. [Fred Weedon]

Thank goodness for The 13th Note. In the last decade this ragged, unpretentious little bar has been an enduring champion of the Scottish underground as other venues buckled and fell around it. Even in difficult times, the ‘Note has given shelter to the kind of true underground sounds hipper establishments refused to take a chance on, aided in no small way by now-sadly-outgoing promoter Brendan O’Hare. Tonight is a perfect example of why Glasgow can count itself very lucky to have this creative hub.

Openers Battery Face, heftily comprised of ex-Project: Venhell members, are an energetic fusion of acerbic art-punk and dense synth pop. Their ability to slide from water-tight, turn-on-adime riffs into frenzied free noise is remarkable and their performance tonight is quite brilliant.

Their successors, The Cosmic Dead, initially seem like the odd man out on an otherwise upbeat bill, having mutated from one incarnation to another in the last few years and armed with a reputation for dense, esoteric improvisational doom.

What transpires however is quite exceptional. A half hour of uninterrupted, free-flowing stoner

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www.sonicyouth.com/ dotsonics/thurston

latter, admitting that the intoxicant in question was in fact Buckfast and not rosé as the song suggests.

That’s good poetic license there, folks.

All the while, a strong crowd has gathered for headliners Lanterns on the Lake on the last evening of their current tour.

Trendy urbanites in faux-fuddy duddy clothing rub shoulders with genuine middle-agers in more conventionally fashionable threads, providing a nice analogy for the Lanterns sound. Guitars are given the Sigur Rós treatment with the use of double-bass bows, fluttering electronics give way to violins and pattering drums before waves of martial percussion perpetually reach for ever-inventive crescendos. The quieter moments hit home too, with vocalist Hazel Wilde hushing noisy bar-dwellers at forty paces with the elegiac Ships In The Rain. Indeed, the wet stuff itself awaits us outside, but we’ve been warmed enough by a stellar evening. [Darren Carle] www.lanternsonthelake.com

photo: EOIN CAREy

Kinning Park Complex, 2 Dec

more spasmodic assaults, but the true beauty and subtlety of its kaleidoscopic shimmer becomes evident in the music’s more subdued passages.

Niger’s Group Inerane, playing tonight as part of their first-ever European tour, are one of the more remarkable global acts that the Sublime Frequencies label has brought to a wider audience. Bibi Ahmed’s quartet have developed an electrified take on traditional Tuareg music, which centres around group singing and gyrating twin-guitar lines, that ebb and flow over undulating bass and drums.

The blues and psych elements of the sound, combined with its mesmerisingly addictive rhythms, create a mixture that bears plenty of affinities to the western rock tradition, without being beholden to it; it’s a blend that is ecstatically received by the crowd. Having sold out the sizeable space here, Group Inerane will surely be back before long – and when they are, one suspects, they’ll need a bigger venue. [Sam Wiseman]

photo: Matthew Beech

Group Inerane & Flower/Corsano Duo

photo: Euan Robertson

photo: Gemma Burke

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majesty with four band members so involved in their art that they might well have been playing in outer space for all they notice the open-mouthed cluster of spectators blown like trees in a gale before some utterly huge riffs. It would appear TCD have finally found their formula.

With no small shoes to fill, art-punk duo Mr Peppermint take the stage and waste no time smashing equal measures of Sonic Youth and Lightning Bolt into the faces of tonight’s eager audience. Numerous new tracks appear amidst familiar numbers from their excellent debut album and the quality of both is intimidating. It’s no small ask to follow the bands that went before but Mr Peppermint are every bit the match for it.

Finally the hotly-tipped Galoshins arrive to throw a lighter (though no less energetic) sound into the mix. While they generally dwell in the realms of synth-led art-pop, some healthy electronic augmentations and memorable drum-flurries see them swing to encompass comparisons as varied as Eagles Of Death Metal and Cardiacs. It makes for a fittingly strong ending to a stellar collection of native talent. Proof positive that, outwith the hype and the press releases and the who-knows-who of Scotland’s more obvious 'alternatives' lurks a truly vibrant generation of free-thinking artists. [Austin Tasseltine]

Muscles of Joy Òran Mór, 27 Nov

rrrr Having separated from Divorce, it seems Palms have full custody of singer Sinead, and anyone only familiar with the caterwauling dervish schtick she deployed in the former may be surprised by the latter act’s restraint.

Atonal guitars hint at Pod-period Breeders, but there’s a coarser edge, marking the trio out as an exciting prospect that we look forward to watching flourish.

If Palms’ potential comes from their confident execution of familiar stylistic cues, Muscles of Joy’s magnetism originates in something near-wholly idiosyncratic. The seven-strong collective open their album launch with avant-garde oddity Swan Shape,

its theatrical gaggle of woops, giggles and cymbal splashes intimating something deeper than the average pop ditty, even if its abstruseness denies easy understanding.

While the remainder of the set is comparatively straightforward – as straightforward as phonetically sung Venezuelan folk songs and multi-part a-cappella can be – they remain consistently captivating, the music’s improvisational origins evident in the organic momentum with which tracks layer vocals and diverse instrumentation into beguiling wholes. But the temptation to go full-pseud in their presence is tempered by their clear sense of fun; their music engages the brain, but that doesn’t mean the heart can’t get involved as well. [Chris Buckle] www.facebook.com/Muscles.of.Joy

RECORDS

THE DIRTY DOZEN Mike Palmer and Sean Smith of WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS exercise diplomacy on the January singles INTERVIEW: DARREN CARLE PHOTOS: SOL NICOL

there but you hardly ever need it. It does the job but it’s not really that important.

Sean: We’ll give it a five.

Bon Iver – Towers (4AD, 23 Jan) Mike: I haven’t heard this album yet. I was the guy who didn’t really like his first one... but this is sounding pretty good.

Sean: It’s a strange single but then there aren’t any obvious singles on that album.

Mike: It’s a brave choice. Should we go as high as eight?

Sean: Maybe seven-and-a-half.

The Big Pink – Hit the Ground (Superman) (Forest Swords Remix) (4AD, 30 Jan) Sean: Intriguing – I’m a bit confused by this being a remix.

Mike: I like it, but the remixer is getting the credit. I love it when the vocals are cut up like that, a bit like Fourtet.

Sean: I’m liking it a lot. A seven-point-five. But The Big Pink are only getting point-five of that.

Bombay Bicycle Club – Leave It (Island, 2 Jan) Sean: I’m quite enjoying it. Our drummer Darren loves this band so I really want to hate it.

Mike: The production’s not great.

Sean: I think I like this less than the Arctic Monkey’s song. Can we give it a two just to piss off Darren?

Mike: Yeah, let’s do that. It’s really a four or five but we’re going to give it a two.

SINGLE OF THE MONTH Arctic Monkeys – Black Treacle (Domino, 23 Jan) Mike: It sounds a bit like an album track to be honest. Humbug was interesting with four different things going on at once, but there’s not much going on here.

Sean: I don’t think it’s up to much, maybe not even a six. Will we just go five? Or should we bump them up to six just because we like them?

Mike: Nah. The Subways – It’s a Party (Cooking Vinyl, 2 Jan) Mike: It sounds like the Ting Tings and it feels like we’re in Topman.

Sean: It’s a bit 2001 at The Liquid Room.

Mike: It’s been produced to make sure it sounds good on the radio. I think that’s maybe making it sound worse.

Sean: I’m going with a three for that, I’m not going to mess about it.

Mike: It’s been off for ten seconds now and I already can’t remember how it goes.

Pulled Apart By Horses – V.E.N.O.M. (Transgressive Records, 16 Jan) Mike: I could see them playing this live and it being awesome but on record, it’s different. If it was on a Rock Band game it would be amazing.

Sean: I think you’d be playing all night.

Mike: I was into the intro and the first verse but then I’ve not been interested since.

Sean: I’m giving it four. I’m not having them screaming all that V-E-N-O-M at me.

Trailer Trash Tracys – Candy Girl (Double Six, 9 Jan) Sean: It doesn’t sound too obviously radio-friendly.

Mike: I like how it’s not shouting at you. I’d be interested in what the rest of the album sounds like. It’s not a ten though.

Skinny: Well, I’d expect a ten to have you leaping out of your seat.

Mike: Yeah, I’m quite comfortable here. It’s not quite a seven. We’ll call it six-and-a-half.

Anja McCloskey – A Kiss (Sotones Records, 16 Jan) Sean: Interesting. It’s got a wee Beirut tinge to it.

Mike: She’s got an unusual voice but I like how it’s not saying ‘look how amazing my voice is.’

Sean: It feels like it’s on the cusp of being quite good or really annoying. We can’t go too high with this one. If you’re going to be like Beirut you’re going to have to do much better than this.

Mike: A good effort though. How about a six?

Lana Del Rey – Born To Die (Polydor, 23 Jan) Mike: It’s a really unusual vocal take. If I was producing it I’d be like ‘alright, do you not want to try that again?’ I don’t like the strings either. It’s the ‘radio strings’ button.

Sean: I don’t mind this too much. I’d like to hear

other things. Rumour has it she had a pretty good first song. There’s good and bad in this. Let’s say a four.

Bear Driver – Never Never (Adventure Club, 2 Jan) Mike: Deerhunter vocals, that’s good.

Sean: It’s very sexy.

Mike: Yeah, I’m enjoying this.

Sean: Sounds like the summer of ’72 in California. It’s not got a big crazy chorus, which I like. It just went up one gear. I’ll give this a seven.

First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar (Wichita, 23 Jan) Mike: She’s got a decent voice. Where are they from? Stockholm? I dunno, that’s a deep Southern American accent she’s got. Does that matter?

Sean: I like the vocals but the music is just a wee bit predictable.

Mike: First Aid Kit? It’s something that’s always

Errors – Pleasure Palaces (Rock Action, 23 Jan) Mike: I like that they’re doing vocals now. They’re just like, ‘fuck it, let’s sing’. They do that bouncy percussion thing a lot, but I just love it and they’re so good at it. Can we really give single of the month to Errors? Is it a bit like Barcelona winning?

Sean: Oh shit, this is the last song as well..

Mike: It’s just getting better though. Another arpeggiator! I’m trying to mark it down, I’m trying to think of reasons to give it less than a nine... oh no, come on! That extra little kick-drum there!?

We’ve got to...

Sean: [Resignedly] OK, it’s good. A disappointingly good Errors song. Bastards!

WWW.WEWEREPROMISEDJETPACKS.COM

EP REVIEW DIVORCE / JAILHOUSE FUCK SPLIT 10”

SIXSIXSIXTIES, 16 JAN

rrrrr While some split records wobble under the incompatibility of their contributors, this 10" is a perfectly matched collision of our own femalefronted no-wave standard-bearers Divorce and their Northern European equivalent Jailhouse Fuck. If anything, the Glasgow-based quartet are the nastier of the pair, with Cactusk an especially hateful, down-tempo outpouring of bile.

Jailhouse Fuck are fractionally more whimsical in their contributions. Only very slightly, mind, as this is still some intensely visceral stuff. Their opening number, Lick Your Stick, is built on some frantic guitar work as well as a chorus that’s about as anthemic as this sort of unfettered catharsis gets.

What results is a hideously good, brilliantly unpleasant fuck-you of an EP that courses with the enduring spirit of true punk rock abandon. [Austin Tasseltine] WWW.SIXSIXSIXTIESRECORDS.BIGCARTEL.COM

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 41

ALBUM REVIEWS

RECORDS

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: ERRORS

HAVE SOME FAITH IN MAGIC ROCK ACTION, 30 JAN

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For their latest trick, Errors have produced their most impressive album thus far. Tusk is an impeccable introduction – bombastic and tight, its opening is a Richard Burton monologue-short of Jeff Wayne, its central melody a crystal-prog wonder. It’s one of their third album’s boldest points of progression from past releases, though the echoing vocals that slink through single Magna Encarta also refresh the band’s palette.

It’s not the first time a human voice has entered Errors’ sphere – as far back as 2006’s How Clean Is Your Acid House? EP, Terror Tricks arrived with vocoder over its glitches – but on Have Some Faith in Magic the typically instrumental quartet exercise their larynxes in a more sustained fashion. It’s a significant alteration, one with an attendant

danger of homogenisation, but – in a manner comparable to Battles’ recent evolution – they make good on their promise to treat the vocals like any other instrument.

Despite these tweaks, Errors’ strengths remain consistent, dextrously push-pulling the listener between dance floor and headphones, the latter to appreciate the invention on offer, the former to get lost in its folds. The pointillist-style artwork is nicely representative in this regard – intricately clever up-close, unfussy yet beautiful when surveyed as a whole: quite simply, magic. [Chris Buckle] ERRORS PLAY DOGHOUSE, DUNDEE ON 23 FEB, AND THE LEMON TREE, ABERDEEN ON 24 FEB WWW.HAVESOMEFAITHINMAGIC.COM

PLUG

THE BIG PINK

DJ FOOD

NINJA TUNE, 9 JAN

4AD, 16 JAN

NINJA TUNE, 23 JAN

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BACK ON TIME

FUTURE THIS

THE SEARCH ENGINE

Luke Vibert’s prolific output over the last two decades is such that the West Country producer’s latest release suggests that even he has lost track. Back On Time, a collection of jungle and drum and bass records unearthed from long-forgotten DATs labelled ‘1995-98’, retains the warmth of the sample-based analogue production of that era, and yet the album has matured with rather more grace than its saggy-arsed peers.

Feeling So Special, Back On Time’s most immediately satisfying offering, should resonate with UK garage enthusiasts, but repeated listens reveal that Vibert’s furtive crate-digging extends some way beyond identifiable EDM territory. Showing a glimpse of Vibert’s hiphop leaning alias Wagon Christ, the title track’s swinging jazz bass and wistful strings pacify Back On Time’s snarling tempo, a trick employed across the album with consistent success. While there’s no way of telling how the record would have fared upon a 90s release, Back On Time is undisputably deserving of an Indian summer. [Ray Philp]

Two years on from their acclaimed debut A Brief History of Love, this London-based electro-shoegaze duo here augment the narcotic atmospheres of that record with a remarkably assured pop sensibility. From the opener Stay Gold, which embellishes the amped-out melodic loops of Sleigh Bells with more densely-layered samples, Future This combines irrepressible exuberance with painstaking detail. The record was mixed by Alan Moulder, whose CV includes Loveless, and MBV’s influence is evident in the rich textures and slow-mo guitar washes.

As with M83, the insistent earnestness may grate for some listeners.

The emotional touchstones here are 80s feelgood cinema and pop, and it’s really only on the two closing tracks that a welcome air of genuine melancholy creeps in. That sentimentality is, however, realised in deeply memorable songs, which weave samples, drum loops, guitars and synths into such a gorgeously cohesive tapestry that to demand a greater emotional range is perhaps to miss the point. [Sam Wiseman]

DJ Food has always been a refreshingly nebulous project, with production duties falling to Coldcut, myriad collaborators, and the current helmsman, Strictly Kev. That lack of a central identity perhaps explains the eleven-year gap between 2000’s Kaleidoscope and this distillation of recent EP material. A lot has happened in electronica over that period, but DJ Food remains centred around the intricate, sample-heavy hip-hop blueprint established in the early 90s.

On tracks like Giant, that delicately funky sound, layered with melodic arpeggios, still feels surprisingly fresh. Elsewhere, things are often dominated by abortive rock-inspired attempts to infuse things with an incongruous aggressiveness (see The Illectrik Hoax).

Whereas, say, The Bug has found dub and dancehall to provide a fertile basis for similar assaults, in this context they feel clunky. While such experiments typify the admirable open-mindedness that has characterised DJ Food over the years, they misfire too often to hold The Search Engine together. [Sam Wiseman]

WWW.NINJATUNE.NET/PLUG

PLAYING KING TUT’S ON 14 FEB

PLAYING KELBURN GARDEN PARTY ON 30 JUN

WINO & CONNY OCHS

LETKA

DEAR READER

EXILE ON MAINSTREAM, 30 JAN

BURNING SHED, 16 JAN

CITY SLANG, 9 JAN

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FAR OFF COUNTRY

HEAVY KINGDOM

Former Obsessed front-man and Dave Grohl-collaborator Wino takes a break from his usual, riff-driven pummelling rock for some acoustic down time. In this case he is teamed with modern hippy savant Conny Ochs for 11 cuts of minimalist, introspective musings. The theme would seem to be the exorcism of the sort of pseudo-moribund, liquor-soaked demons most weathered rock musicians probably find murmuring around the recesses of their mind in between groupies.

While clearly fielded as stripped-back, unpretentious, Springsteenesque catharsis, it does on occasion lapse into the uniform beige of unplugged grunge previously done better by the likes of vintage Alice in Chains. In saying that, however, it’s not without its highlights.

Dust is one such moment, resplendent with a healthily unforced vocal sincerity and some nicely judged bluesy guitar work. Heavy Kingdom is a thoroughly fit-for-purpose collection of rather retro strummy guy rock, unfussily captured to the point of sounding almost like a live session and mercifully light on the crooning. [Chris Cusack]

Letka have the fixings of something special: Sandra O’Neill sings beautifully; Peter Chilvers has proven his diverse talents through collaborations with Brian Eno amongst others; while Eno himself contributes to opener Beyond the Fold, a presence guaranteed to boost their debut’s visibility. And yet something feels amiss, their pace-less alt-country pitched too safe to match its ‘post-ambient’ billing.

More imaginative song selections might have helped (trying to reinvent a genre via staples like Country Roads seems somewhat futile), though their chillily pristine version of Not a Job fares little better, paling next to Elbow’s soulful original. But then redemption arrives for the finale, the ingredients finally clicking for a haunting cover of I Dream a Highway. Of course, one great track does not a great record make, but as it stretches through fourteen sumptuous minutes – a third of the album’s length – it goes a long way towards redressing the balance. [Chris Buckle] WWW.LETKA.CO.UK

FRANCOIS & THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS

KATHLEEN EDWARDS

DOMINO, 23 JAN

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E VOLO LOVE

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VOYAGEUR

ROUNDER, 16 JAN

IDEALISTIC ANIMALS

Idealistic Animals, the second record from South Africa’s Dear Reader, sees now-sole member Cheri MacNeil relocated to Berlin from Johannesburg. The album explores transition in various senses: MacNeil’s loss of religion, and the decision of her erstwhile musical partner Darryl Torr to stay in South Africa, are refracted through the lyrical content. Discussions of spirituality necessitate a delicate lyrical touch, and MacNeil’s approach to the problem utilises a bewildering schematic approach. Thus, each song is named after a caps-locked animal, followed by an apparent non sequitur in brackets, e.g. GIRAFFE (What’s Wrong With Us).

Musically, a kind of Fleet Foxes-esque grandiose, polished folk sound backgrounds MacNeil’s assured, heartfelt vocals, and the arrangements are ambitious, rising from stripped-back beginnings to crescendos of richlylayered brass, guitar and piano. It’s a record that reaches for the dramatic idiosyncrasies of 80s Kate Bush, and although MacNeil’s lyrics lack Bush’s singular strangeness, hers is undoubtedly an original voice. [Sam Wiseman]

CHRIS DEVOTION AND THE EXPECTATIONS

AMALGAMATION & CAPITAL ARMELLODIE, 30 JAN

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Saintes-born Francois Marry has been on Scottish radars for some time already, as a continental cousin of Fence (who released previous album Plaine Inondable) and touring member of Camera Obscura. Signing to indie titan Domino would suggest a calculated bid for wider recognition in the UK and beyond, but if E Volo Love is destined to push its creator into the spotlight, it will do so gently.

Airily produced by Jean-Paul Romann (best known for his work with Tinariwen), it’s unfussy, yet intricate; redolent of the past, yet inventively forward-thinking. It’s also unabashedly romantic: hopeless mono-linguists won’t have to recruit a Babel fish to unlock the beating hearts of Les Plus Beaux and Cherchant Des Ponts – they’re right there in the former’s afro-beat sway and the latter’s string-backed duet. A study in understatement delivered with finesse, be sure to find time to let E Volo Love in; it is tray bon. [Chris Buckle]

The fruits of a few years’ absence and an ongoing collaboration with Bon Iver figurehead Justin Vernon, Voyageur presents a more developed, confident, and articulate Kathleen Edwards.

Recorded at Vernon’s studio – a converted family home – in Fall Creek, Wisconsin, the location certainly seems to have lent itself to the Canadian songwriter’s state of mind, which builds and elaborates upon the domestic relationship themes of 2008’s Asking for Flowers.

The pair’s own relationship and work together on Edwards’ latest single Wapusk may be helping garner attention, but it is not undeserved. Although the record features a number of collaborations, which include Oxford folkies Stornoway and a vocal appearance by Norah Jones on the stunning For The Record, the star is never outshone. Writing openly about the break-up of her marriage and longing for a sense of home, Voyageur’s concise and intimate songs convey a universal sentiment that is not easily shaken. [David McGinty]

Encounter Amalgamation & Capital anonymously and you might presume it a greatest hits rather than a debut, its no-nonsense new-wave suggesting a lost genre classic from a contemporary of Elvis Costello – a Jags, or an Any Trouble perhaps, with extra punk crunch in some of its more straight-up rock 'n' roll numbers. It’s packed to the gills with big hooks and boundless charm, Devotion’s song-writing so expertly lean that the occasional non-starter is easily overlooked.

Highlights include I Don’t Need You Anymore, an old-fashioned pop hit in all but sales and timing; Blister’s robust yet radio-friendly riffing; and closer Better than This, sounding positively epic after so much bubblegum. Needless to say, Devotion and his Expectations are not exactly reinventing the wheel, but nor are they attempting to; instead, they’ve elected to rev it into a rubber-shredding spin, sparks flying from every boldly struck power chord and cheeky lyrical bon mot. [Chris Buckle]

PLAYING ÒRAN MÓR AS PART OF CELTIC CONNECTIONS ON 22 JAN

PLAYING ÒRAN MÓR, GLASGOW ON 24 FEB

WWW.CHRISDEVOTION.COM

42 THE SKINNY JANUARY 2012

HYPERPOTAMUS

ALL THE SAINTS

FIRST AID KIT

PIAS/BELIEVE DIGITAL, 9 JAN

SOUTERRAIN TRANSMISSIONS, 30 JAN

WICHITA, 23 JAN

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DELTA

Hyperpotamus’s talents are unquestionable – search for video evidence of his looping skills, and marvel as he builds complex tracks from no more than a microphone, a pedal board, and his own voice. This is as refined as the ‘one-man band’ concept gets, with not only every idea emanating from its creator, but every single sound stemming from his adaptable larynx.

When visible, Hyperpotamus shares with all loop-pedal practitioners that curious alchemy of witnessing the singular made plural – the thrilling orchestration of inconspicuous vocal components into incongruously busy compositions. But on record, when this layering process is cloaked, only the final product matters – and it is here that Hyperpotamus’s skills lose their fascination. Unfortunately, when divorced from their notable assembly method, most of these tracks just aren’t particularly compelling, leaving novelty their only sturdy point of recommendation. As a performer, Hyperpotamus raises eyebrows; as a songwriter, he lifts shoulders into shrugs. [Chris Buckle]

INTRO TO FRACTIONS

This second offering from Atlanta’s All The Saints finds the band chin deep in psychedelic shoegaze. Like their debut, they continue to take cues from English masters like Spiritualized and Swervediver, combining distortion-drenched waves of noise with hazy, dream-like production. When they pull it off, as on Intro To Fractions’ epic opening trio, they’re a potent and powerful force.

Proving they’re more than 90s alt.rock sympathists, Alteration brings to mind the more modern up-tempo abrasiveness of Liars.

On EIO, Matt Lambert’s effect-driven guitars create a disorientating atmosphere that gives way suddenly to a thunderous yet most tuneful chorus on the album. Consistency is brought down by brief flirtations with ear torture, chiefly the three interludes used to weave the album together; 4H Trip and Dangerflowers are a fairly joyless mess, whereas Sunk Hill is a lull too far. More mature and refined than 2008’s Fire On Corridor X, but like a cake with a burnt crust a few imperfections spoil the whole. [Euan Wallace]

THE LION’S ROAR

If 2010’s The Big Black & The Blue marked their initial emergence from the backwoods of Stockholm from the resonant echoes of their now notorious Fleet Foxes cover, it’s with The Lion’s Roar that the Söderberg sisters reveal their American-inspired full band ambition. Working in Omaha, Nebraska with Mike Mogis, First Aid Kit find themselves able to actualise the sound of their favourite American country records, but with the perfect sombreness of outsiders.

Their influences are tightly knit and proudly adorned, but what is most interesting is their inflection, interpreting this sound in their own way.

This charm is regretfully absent when lifting straight from their heroes, as on the disappointing King Of The World, co-written with and featuring Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst, complete with Tilly and the Wall-esque exclamations and handclaps, and Ring Of Fire’s Mexican trumpets to boot. Their best tracks, like I Found A Way, allow the teenage sisters’ close natural harmonies to flood from the speakers. [David McGinty] PLAYING KING TUT’S, GLASGOW ON 27 FEB

KOBRA AUDIO LABS

TRAILER TRASH TRACYS

WILEY

DUMB HERO, OUT NOW

DOUBLE SIX, 9 JAN

BIG DADA, 19 JAN

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TWO BLUE TOWERS

K.A.L.’s new release is a musical homage to his hometown of Wishaw. Part audio-collage, part art object, it is released via Bandcamp as a limited-edition cassette with bespoke artwork, handcrafted by the artist. K.A.L. travels in the same territory of sonic murk and sharp edges as RZA and Anticon’s Jel (Themselves / cLOUDDEAD), and imbues both continuously-mixed ‘sides’ of the album with an ever present menace constructed from the juxtaposition of soft synths and hard horn stabs, distorted kicks and echoplex vocals.

This is one for fans of heavy, psychedelic music – K.A.L. guides the listener on a journey that takes in instrumental hip-hop, electro, shoegaze and haunted house, never resting on one sonic palette for more than a few minutes. A fondness for distressed samples, found sounds, static and atonal noise leaven the sonic mixture, resulting in an experience that is schizophrenically both comforting and disturbing; beautiful and strange.

Much respect to K.A.L. for putting the ‘trip’ firmly back in trip-hop – this is a million miles from the coffee-table sounds of late-period DJ Shadow; rawer, less polished, and all the more intoxicating for that. [Bram E. Gieben]

ESTER

EVOLVE OR BE EXTINCT

The debut LP from this London-based quartet is a well-realised take on ethereal, melancholic indie, which shoehorns diverse elements – 80’s-inspired drum programming, spattered bursts of free jazz, and tremolo-heavy guitar – into a surprisingly cohesive whole. The obvious sonic and atmospheric touchstones are Badalamenti and Lynch, but although Suzanne Aztoria’s vocals bear a passing resemblance to those of Julee Cruise, Trailer Trash Tracys build on that foundation to produce something distinctive.

Ester’s weak point is neither in the breadth of ideas here, nor the coherence of TTT’s kaleidoscopic soundscape; it’s rather in the slightly forgettable character of many of the songs. Things work most effectively when the clutter is stripped away, as on the narcotised, reverb-drenched lament of You Wish You Were Red, or the lurching, slow-mo synthpop of closer Turkish Heights. Elsewhere, their admirable desire to embellish the dreamlike atmospheres with more incongruous elements sometimes impedes things. [Sam Wiseman]

After last year’s patchy 100% Publishing, Wiley rebounds with Evolve Or Be Extinct. His eighth album kicks off with the digital skank of Welcome To Zion, a powerful return to basics featuring sparse production and lightning-fast rhymes. The pace ramps up with the title track as Wiley attacks the fevered egos of commercial grime MCs. The four-to-the-floor of Boom Blast follows the Rolex model, with fairly mindless lyrics about ‘the feeling’ and wanting to ‘touch the ceiling’, but it is a mercifully brief concession to mainstream appeal, and a smart contrast to the slow-mo electro/rave of I’m A Weirdo.

Wiley is a weirdo, and that’s perhaps why he sells fewer records than his former protégée Dizzee Rascal, but his playful, mercurial approach feels much closer to the original vision of grime than the safe, familiar enormo-pop of his contemporaries. He hasn’t lost his sense of humour, and remains a gifted, massively prolific writer and producer – in short he’s a national treasure. This is him on top form, delivering a coherent, intermittently hilarious, sonically adventurous album. [Bram E. Gieben]

PLAYING CAPTAIN’S REST, GLASGOW ON 15 JAN

PLAYING O2 ACADEMY ON 23 JAN

THREE CANE WHALE

PORCELAIN RAFT

VAKUNØHT

IDYLLIC RECORDS, 9 JAN

SECRETLY CANADIAN, 23 JAN

PREDESTINATION, OUT NOW

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THREE CANE WHALE

STRANGE WEEKEND

Recorded live in an eighteenth-century church, in a single eleven-hour sitting, by a minimalist-folk-jazz ‘supergroup’ wielding lyre and bowed psaltery: it’s fair to label Three Cane Whale’s debut a somewhat anachronistic proposition. But it’s also a pleasantly surprising one; the aforementioned backstory might suggest a tediously niche slog for anyone but the most ardent of aficionados, but the Bristolian trio lock on to an accessible aesthetic that speaks to a wealth of musical traditions and triggers a broad range of emotions.

Each short instrumental piece (few breach the four-minute mark) finds its own tone, tweaking the presiding atmosphere in a multitude of interesting ways: Look Up at the Sky (And Remind Yourself How Insignificant You Are) belies its unsubtle title with an air of whimsy; Dancing Ledge trades trumpet and acoustic guitar lines to great effect; while Cassiopeia’s simple glockenspiel melody gradually cedes to one of the album’s warmest segments. [Chris Buckle]

Having impressed with four eclectic EPs (most notably last year’s Gone Blind) and stirred significant buzz at 2011’s SXSW, Porcelain Raft release debut LP Strange Weekend. Entirely the work of Mauro Remiddi, these intricate soundscapes and layered vocals could easily be mistaken for the efforts of a collective.

Standout numbers Is It Too Deep For You and Put Me To Sleep are especially striking, revealing Remiddi’s underlying pop sensibility.

When you suspect that these elaborate sonic swathes and drones are headed towards chaos, in sweep brittle acoustic guitars and tender vocals to maintain order and highlight his ear for melodic songwriting.

This contrast of real and synthetic noise blends and counteracts in a fashion; along with Remiddi’s androgynous vocals, it’s strangely reminiscent to Blonde Redhead – no bad coincidence, of course. That it’s all the work of one frustratingly talented man operating in a Brooklyn basement is especially incredible. [David McGinty]

WWW.SOUNDCLOUD.COM/THREE-CANE-WHALE

PLAYING THE ARCHES, GLASGOW ON 19 JAN

LAURA GIBSON LA GRANDE

CITY SLANG, 9 JAN

rrrr Laura Gibson hails from Portland, Oregon, but La Grande owes little to that city’s signature brand of introspective indie; her first record on City Slang exudes a backwoods warmth, and is more beholden to the US folk and country traditions. The vocals are closely-miked throughout, allowing Gibson’s rich-yet-childlike voice – Karen Dalton is a comparison that springs to mind – to shine through, particularly on the more stripped-down pieces, such as Crow/Swallow.

Elsewhere, the record’s appropriation of diverse instrumentation – including pump organ, vibraphone, synth, marimba and steel guitar – gives it a lustrous, cinematic quality that recalls Nina Nastasia’s The Blackened Air. Gibson rarely lets that omnivorous musicianship impede her songs, however; La Grande is too intimately tied to the landscapes of Oregon that inspire it to lose focus. Contemporary records in the American gothic folk tradition that manage to assert their own distinctive personality are rare, but that’s what Gibson has produced here. [Sam Wiseman]

GAGARIN’S START

Former members of Senator and Bangtwister weave psychedelic tales of space travel, mysterious transcripts and alien parasites on this debut as, essentially a marriage of psych rock, sludge and stoner pop à la Torche. Gagarin’s Start often makes for a thrilling listen, although they can occasionally lack that band’s sharp bite when they opt for overly lengthy song structures – Ol George and Creep are guilty as charged.

Credit where it’s due though: they make a rapturous din when they stick to their core sound; a concise blueprint of urgent low-end riffs, thrashy drums and cathartic howls on tracks like Far Far Away and (ahem) Squidshag, which makes their dalliances with murky background monologues and effects-heavy sprawling instrumentals all the more frustrating.

Luckily, they’re on their game most of the time – hell, Orpheus sounds like Mastodon impersonating 13th Floor Elevators at their most spaced-out, which is no bad thing. Vakunøht have the potential to blow up like a supernova, if only they could show a touch more moderation. [Ross Watson]

THE TOP FIVE

HOWLER

1

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2 3 4 5

ERRORS

HAVE SOME FAITH IN MAGIC

WILEY

EVOLVE OR BE EXTINCT

PORCELAIN RAFT

STRANGE WEEKEND

THE BIG PINK

FUTURE THIS

FRANCOIS & THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS

E VOLO LOVE

AMERICA GIVE UP ROUGH TRADE, 16 JAN

Minnesotan quintet Howler need to cut loose from their influences, or seek out new ones. The debts to The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy and The Strokes’ Is This It are so pervasive on this debut album that they obscure any sense of a band establishing their own sound. Too Much Blood effectively takes the drums from the JAMC’s Just Like Honey and adds a layer of Shagri-Las’ harmonies, which is fine for nostalgia, if a little implausible in 2012.

America is the most promising track here – the Jim Reid style vocals pitched against choppy rhythms and bludgeoning guitars, providing a genuinely arresting moment on an otherwise uneven record. Frontman Jordan Gatesmith is only 19, and there’s enough material on America Give Up to suggest an interesting future for the band, but for now they remain a work in progress. [Simon Fielding] PLAYING KING TUT’S, GLASGOW ON 4 FEB WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/HOWLERBAND

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 43

MUSIC

NEW BLOOD

INTO THE RAINBOW VEIN Having started life as a Bloc Party tribute act a few short years ago, Edinburgh’s DISCOPOLIS have since morphed into a band that the world can embrace. The Skinny joins them on tour in Malta INTERVIEW: JP MASON PHOTO: EOIN CAREY JUST TWO short years ago, if you’d told the three young lads in Edinburgh band Ryan’s Mothership that they’d go on to play T in the Park, Wickerman, both Reading and Leeds, have an album released in Japan and be playing their penultimate gig of 2011 in Malta, chances are they’d have shrugged nervously and played another Bloc Party cover.

Since modifying their more typical bass, drums and guitar setup, confidently concocting their own original material and reinventing themselves as synth embracing wizards Discopolis, the trio – comprised of Fergus Cook, Laurie Corlett-Donald and Dave Lloyd – have become a rare prospect.

And they literally came from nowhere: having piqued the interest of the 2011 T-Break judging panel, the band were short listed among the 16 unsigned bands nominated to play last year’s event. Their ascent since has been nothing short of remarkable. Taking in the well-trodden local gigging circuit that so many bands trudge their way through over a period of years, Discopolis were surely using Sat Nav to find a shortcut as they went from underground hype to one of the most vaunted bands in Scotland in a matter of months.

From a sparsely attended gig at Teviot Union in June to a packed out Cabaret Voltaire in October via the well kent venues of Auld Reekie, the band have only released one single in the UK so far – the dazzlingly infectious Lofty Ambitions – which found mainstream attention on Radio 1 and was duly dubbed “tasty” by veteran DJ Pete Tong.

Their music is a hybrid of electronica and guitar,

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“CALLUM, up in the crow’s nest, is all guitar-cradling and neckerchief-wearing, while Sam will go down with the ship, laughing to the last at his cockpit of keyboards,” collectively explain Glasgow (via Fife) quartet, Milk. “Michael plays at drums and dressing up down in the engine room, and Pablo stands at the prow, full of windy rhetoric and last night’s leftovers.” Any room for a celebrity endorsement on board? After all, that ‘Got Milk’ campaign has done wonders for dairy sales over the years – want to co-opt any Milk-the-Drink lovers as spokespersons for Milk-the-band?

“Can we breed them? If so we’ll take the lithe and insatiable sexuality of Isabella Rosellini, couple it with the high-society histrionics of Elton John, and marry that off with the future-race breeding of the Olsens and the ruthless art-as-a-sacrificial-cow ambition of James Cameron.” Finally, this sexual, ambitious future-race progeny would be “wrapped in plastic, à la Joan Rivers.”

If their creation sounds elaborate and messy, it fits their musical identities; if their answers sound articulate yet obfuscating, it reflects their crafty, cultured smarts.

“We think that bands are too readily vilified for not nailing a signature sound,” they argue. “It seems to us that using a broad palette can produce the most interesting and enjoyable results.” Their particular palette reaps the rewards of a four-way musical input that doesn’t necessarily flow naturally in the same direction.

“I think it would be fair to say that we began this at odd angles, and so the approach has been to try and

Text Chris Buckle Photo www.ryanmcgoverne.co.uk

MILK SUPPORT FOUND AT THE ELECTRIC CIRCUS, EDINBURGH ON 7 AUG AS PART OF THE EDGE FESTIVAL

challenge each other, taking our disparate inspirations and finding ways to harmonise them. We enjoy sifting through the noise.” When the sifting is finished, nuggets of Lizard King stargazing, smooth 80s grooves, moody atmospherics, deadpan humour and prog-squiggles remain. The unorthodox blend slips through genres like cow lactose through fingers. “We converge in strange places,” they acknowledge.

Milk confound classification in part through tactical shyness. Their low-profile moniker and lower-profile web presence constitute a genuine attempt to avoid the pigeonholing that rubberstamps acts straight from the womb. Milk are leaving their options open and keeping followers guessing.

“We’re still in the formative stages of playing this music together, so anything that allows the freedom to go off on creative tangents is a must,” they explain. “The name gave us the blank slate. If you treat a band’s name as a statement of intent, then ours remains open to interpretation.” Refreshingly, in an age where choosing a MySpace background sits uncomfortably high on new-starts’ ‘to do’ lists, they’re uninterested in cultivating a potentially-straitjacketing online persona. “We want the opportunity to surprise others and ourselves.”

Live, they don’t let such opportunities pass them by. But what about recordings? Any releases on the horizon? “In this regard,” they assert, “we reserve the right to remain mysterious.” Seems Milk will be whetting appetites a little longer yet.[Chris Buckle]

Ah Milk. Great source of calcium, won Sean Penn an Oscar… er, hang on, something’s off. Google has failed me – guys, you’ll have to introduce yourselves…

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AUGUST 2010

THE SKINNY 51

See www.edinburghpeoplesfestival.org for further details and tickets

• Drama from SpartaKi Theatre Company

• Why the finest comics in Edinburgh end up in Gorgie

• Aid for Afghanistan - a concert

• 3rd Annual Hamish Henderson memorial lecture

• Photographic exhibition 'The Bad and the Beautiful'

• Investigating Rebus's Edinburgh

• Tour Edinburgh's dramatic radical past

• Film premiere of 'Morticia' by Nabil Shaban

August 7th-14th

www.theelectriccircus.biz

Highlights from this year’s hugely successful two-week festival, which took place in March at BFI Southbank. The season includes LLGFF Closing Night Gala Children of God, a fascinating and politically bold study of sexuality in the Bahamas; lesbian comedy And Then Came Lola; erotically charged crime thriller The Fish Child; acclaimed Argentinian drama Plan B; and two programmes of shorts, one for the girls and one for the boys!

London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival On Tour 10 Aug to 2 Sep

A key work from an era that’s now considered the last Golden Age of American cinema, Bob Rafelson’s superlative character study established Jack Nicholson as the foremost actor of his generation. One of the few honest American films about social class, family and alienation. Don’t miss this wonderfully restored classic.

Five Easy Pieces 13 Aug to 19 Aug

Directed by Juan José Campanella and showcasing two of Argentina’s biggest stars, this is a riveting thriller spiked with witty dialogue and poignant romance. Receiving rave reviews and awards, it was also the surprise winner of this year’s Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film, beating off stiff competition from The White Ribbon and A Prophet.

The Secret in Their Eyes 13 Aug to 9 Sep

MUSIC

recommends this month...

the bands playing the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds. I was immediately blown away

by Discopolis.”

Which leads us to the present day: Discopolis are here in Malta, playing in front of a healthy crowd hundreds of miles from home. Having acclimatised the night before in the local bars, they take to the stage confidently and despite playing on a bill with bands who rely more heavily on a Fender than a Korg, they easily win over the audience just as they’ve done so many times back home. In fact, they’re called back on for an encore and do so with Timber Merchants – the first song they wrote together as a band – a suitably

HOME OF THE EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Clockwise from top left: Pablo; Callum; Michael; Sam

LIVE PHOTOGRAPHY

films worth talking about

A NEW virtual shop/gallery is now open online, selling affordable, limited edition prints by a selection of seven Scottish artists, all of whom have previously been displayed in the Showcase section of The Skinny.

Markus Thorsen presents a series of monochrome music photography, capturing the energy of artists including Mogwai, Killing Joke and the Prodigy playing live.

Got Milk?

which at times evokes compatriots Boards of Canada, though there are nostalgic triggers kindred to M83 and moments that recall Deadmau5’s more ambient passages, all of whom the band readily admit are influences. But like any band with staying power, Discopolis are no plagiarists – it’s clear from the get-go that they’ve worked hard to develop an individual sound, putting them light years ahead of so many contemporaries. Their originality has quite rightly seen them appreciated not only on these shores, but by music enthusiasts paying attention around the globe.

One such individual is Fumi Chikakoshi, who specialises in bringing UK bands to the Japanese market via his Rallye Label (Toro y Moi/Whitest Boy Alive). Having heard of the band by way of a blog, he immediately got in touch with a view to releasing a record. The band realised it was an opportunity they could ill-afford to turn down and duly sent over as many finished tracks as they had.

As a subsidiary of a major label, Fergus describes his idea of how Fumi’s pitch might have taken place: “I had this idea of him walking into a room on the 30th floor of a building with a long table full of guys, trying to convince them that we were any good and if they didnt like us he’d get thrown out the window.”

Fortunately Fumi survived the meeting; an album is now available and selling well in Japan, which has led to a raft of comments they can’t understand being left on their Twitter and Facebook pages.”Yeah, we have no idea what they mean,” says Dave. “Hopefully it’s positive, but the reviews we’ve been sent are good so that must mean somebody likes us out there!”

It may only be a matter of time before they’re whisked away to the Far East, but in the meantime other live opportunities have presented themselves – step forward promoter Jean Zammit, who was putting together a bill in his native Malta for a two day festival when he stumbled upon the lads.

“We were looking for an up and coming British band,” explains Zammit, “so I started going through music blogs, then I decided to check out

NEW BLOOD

I swear we saw a shooting star

LAURIE DONALD

DISCOPOLIS PLAYING V-GEM, MALTA ON 3 DEC

euphoric climax to an impressive set, leading to a raft of autograph hunters at the side of the stage which the lads duly oblige despite their bewilderment.

Speaking about the gig itself, Laurie from the band was clearly left on a high: “We played to a packed out crowd in a place none of us had ever been,” he beams. “It was two days after my 20th birthday and 20 degrees outside. Afterwards we went swimming in the sea at 4am and I swear we saw a shooting star.”

This excitable snapshot is typical of the band’s fresh-faced enthusiasm, and it’s genuinely uplifting to see so many doors opening for such a talented (and nice) bunch of lads. They’re all good friends outside of the band, as they are with their management team, which hopefully bodes well for navigating the potentially murky waters of the changing industry they’re now enrolled in. Allied to this, they’ve had nothing but deserved support from the music community in Scotland – the fans, DJs and journalists at the grassroots. One thing is for sure, Discopolis may only be paddling at the moment but you get the feeling that this year they’ll be catching waves to many more exotic destinations.

DISCOPOLIS PLAY KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION ON 10 JAN

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/DISCOPOLISMUSIC

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The high quality prints are produced on 310gsm German etching paper, and range in size from 30x40cm to 60x80cm. Prices start at just £75, and the venture is supported by Own Art, which provides you with an interest free loan to spread the cost of buying an artwork across ten months.

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JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 45

PREVIEWS MATTHEW HERBERT

CODE PRESENTS LUCY

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FRI 27 JAN

LA CHEETAH, SAT 21 JAN

This month’s CODE has deep and dark techno on the menu with Stroboscopic Artefacts’ founder LUCY taking to the turntables. As well as running the label responsible for offerings from Xhin and Perc amongst others, Luca Mortellaro’s own music has been released on a range of prominent labels such as CLR and Luke Slater’s Mote-Evolver. His talents extend beyond production though and last year’s Resident Advisor mix is a fine showcase for Mortellaro’s abilities as a DJ. A delicately blended foray through dub-infused techno of the most brooding variety, this compilation gives a clear indication of what to expect from a LUCY set. Despite hailing from Italy and originally settling in Paris, home to a particularly strong electronic scene of its own, LUCY’s sound has far more in common with that of his new base of Germany. Both in his own productions and the records he releases through Stroboscopic Artefacts, his style is perfectly aligned to the sweaty nights in that legendary East Berlin clubbing institution, Berghain. Expect gritty, no nonsense techno, punctuated by passages of stark, staggered IDM. Support comes from CODE resident, Nick M. [Ronan Martin]

11PM - 3AM, £TBC

11PM - 3AM, £10+BF

LACHEETAHCLUB.TUMBLR.COM

WWW.RESIDENTADVISOR.NET

KARNIVAL PRESENTS POPOF

HEARD IT THROUGH THE BASSLINE PRESENTS PANGAEA

CLUBS

Matthew Herbert is a DJ like no other, an endlessly creative whirlwind of musical energy who eats up the world he inhabits only to spit it out through unique electronic records. His discography should make every other producer who relentlessly pursues a narrow music field ashamed. Kitchen items, human skin and hair, the sound of thousands of people biting apples and the sewers of Fleet Street have all ended up being fed through the sampler that Herbert treats as a tool to deliver his philosophy that the world around us is the instrument to be recorded and manipulated.

Herbert’s most audacious album to date, 2011’s One Pig, followed a pig throughout its life from the sty to the slaughter house by using drums made of pig skin and other instruments made from its bone.

The genuine warmth and intelligence of this and all his records allows it to transcend mere gimmickry and his greatest asset is his ability to push the boundaries whilst remaining a fundamentally great listen. It is an absolute treat to find such an extraordinary DJ being coaxed North to play and it is to the credit of La Cheetah that they have pulled it off. [Neil Murchison]

CABARET VOLTAIRE, SAT 28 JAN

Karnival celebrates six years of clubbing by introducing the Parisian rave scene escapee Alexander Paounov, otherwise known as Popof, to Edinburgh.

The last few years have not been short on having some major international names guesting behind the decks – Andrew Weatherall, Ivan Smagghe and Digitalism have previously played as Karnival has grown from its humble Thursday night beginnings to take its rightful place on a Saturday.

Kev Hendry’s night continues to draw some of the highest calibre DJs and producers although not without the odd mishap. “One international DJ developed a sudden taste for whisky before his set and just managed to hold it together till the end. He was found loitering in the elevators of the prestigious Missoni Hotel just hours later, completely naked,” he says. The French producer with the task of marking another milestone in the night’s history is certainly of the quality that Karnival has become famed for attracting. Having begun as part of the free rave collective Heretik System, Popof has gravitated towards a more minimalist techno and electro sound. This led him to get noticed by some of the biggest names in the scene including Tiga, and his remix of his huge tune Sunglasses at Night is sheer electronic mayhem on the grandest of scales. [Neil Murchison]

THE CAVES, TUE 17 JAN

When we heard that Heard it Through the Bassline were soon to stop running their quality midweek nights showcasing some of the hottest DJs around, our immediate reaction, inevitably, was one of disappointment. Having given a platform for some of the earliest appearances in Edinburgh for people such as James Blake, Ramandanman, Ben UFO, Koreless and Jacques Greene, HITTBL’s end will inevitably be a loss for anyone wanting to check out electronic music that is ahead of the curve.

With promoters David Coleby and Joel Sharples having finished their Uni degrees, the life cycle of the night has come to a natural end, even if the demand for the music has, if anything, only been growing. The only consolation for regulars will be a heavyweight line-up headed by Hessle Audio cofounder and one of dubstep’s major proponents, Pangaea. Having previously featured the label’s other co-founders, Ben UFO and Ramadanman, Pangaea gets his turn to deliver what will make everyone else realise how far behind they really are. With a support made up of ALLCAPS’ Bake, LuckyMe’s Eclair Fifi, and Dummymag’s Cadenza the last night will inevitably be rather massive.

[Kenneth Scott]

CLUBBING HIGHLIGHTS WORDS: NEIL MURCHISON ILLUSTRATION: LEWIS MACDONALD There are many deep, symbolic interpretations of T.S Elliot’s claim that April is ‘the cruelest month,’ most of which neglect to factor in that he was a freelance writer with a year’s worth of tax returns to sift through. The cruelest month for the rest of us is this one. Whether you are genuinely skint or just trying to live with a new financial regime or, worst of all, you’ve decided that dancing, drinking and staying up late is bad for you, then fine. You see how that goes. For the rest of us it’s business as usual. i AM have some good news for people who love bad news in the form of a brand new night focusing on soundsystem culture called Bad News at The Arches on Fri 20 Jan. With an emphasis on more than just music there will be graffiti walls along with some the country’s best Street artists in attendance. That’s not to say the music has been overlooked though, as along with a mammoth 26KW soundsystem they have got some serious talent to take full advantage of it with Zed Bias, Girl Unit, Loefah and Phaeleh all on the bill.

Changes are afoot on Wednesday nights at The Liquid Room as Mansion moves from The Green Room & Below the Stairs to take up a new residency for what will be a new addition to mid weeks. Not only do they have Tim Mason – whose song The Moment has been on rotation with some of the world’s biggest DJs and which led to him being snapped up by Steve Angello’s Size Records

– for the launch on Wed 18 Jan, but the night will also premiere the new second room that is hidden below the main dancefloor which will be playing R‘n’B and hip-hop. Book Thursdays off now.

Musika will also be hosting their annual resident’s party at The Liquid Room on Sat 14 Jan with the regular team of Derek Martin, Laurie Neil and Kirk Douglas taking an extended voyage through deep house and techno.

Sub Club and i AM have Drums of Death on Tue 31 Jan unleashing a whole world of dark, distorted electro in its most relentless form. With three EPs released last year including Red Waves and Black Waves, there is a lot of seriously filthy new material ready to be dropped. Sneaky Pete’s plays host to LuckyMe on Fri 27 Jan who feature the supreme talents of Manc Dubliner Krystal Klear who is right on the money with that sparkling neo new jack swing vibe that makes you feel like you are in an MTV video from the early 90s with the contrast set too high (a good thing). Thrown together with some 80s boogie this is an irony free love-in for all things Teddy Riley.

Finally, Xplicit has joined up with Leeds’ Wax:On and We Own for a the start of a huge new monthly outing and they kick things off on Sat 21 Jan, The Liquid Room with the huge pairing of Fake Blood’s bouncing squelchy basses and Jakwob’s spacious dubstep.

DD is the Edinburgh based DJ who runs Compakt at Cabaret Voltaire dealing in all sorts of techno, tech house and electro. He also produces as one half of The Setup

6 OLIVER HUNTEMANN – Hope An instrumental seems wrong minus the Robert Owens vocal but there is just such feeling in the beats.

7 DUBBEL DUTCH – B Leave Haunting stabs lead in to a killer drop with a frantic rhythm and serious bass. Both melancholy and highly danceable.

8 THE SETUP – Grindstone Part of Abaga’s compilation aiming to save the BBC Radio 1 Introducing in Scotland show, a most worthy cause. We tried to create a quirky but funky techno in the vein of Gaiser and can’t wait to play it live at Animal Hospital in March.

9 TODDLA T – Streets So Warm (Zed Bias Remix) I’m just a total sucker for ragga vocals and the one here is catchy as hell with killer bass and his classic snare sound.

10 DUSTY KID – Argia (Popof Remix) Popof takes a step away from the big room anthems with this understated piece of techy goodness.

11PM - 3AM, £12 (£10 ADVANCE) WWW.THECABARETVOLTAIRE.COM

DJ CHART DD

11PM – 3AM, £4 (£6 AFTER 11.30)

1 A-TRAK & ZINC – Stingray No one does bass like Zinc does. Add a foghorn-type noise and cheeky risers and it’s on!

2 PROFISEE – Hold Up (The Setup Remix) Profisee’s flow still sounds fresh. On this doubletime remix we beefed up the bass and brought in some jungle-esque drums for maximum dance floor effect.

3 EVIL NINE – Roar The interesting use of percussion is the only hint of their breaks past on this deep, glitchy slice of house.

4 MLADEN TOMIC – Tribe Touring (Uto Karem Remix) This track is perfect for me to transition from house or garage to techno.

5 MOSCA – Bax Mosca cross breeds classic UKG with itself to get a purer strain but still manages to sound very now.

46 THE SKINNY JANUARY 2012

COMPAKT WILL TAKE PLACE NEXT AT CABARET VOLTAIRE ON FRI 13 JAN, 11PM - 3AM, FREE BEFORE 12, £5 AFTER MAGIC DRUM IS RELEASED ON HOUSE PARK RECORDS ON 28 DEC VIA ALL MAJOR DIGITAL STORES

CLUBS

KEEPING TABS ON SLABS

O2 ABC Love Music Column

With the release of The Third Man’s Follow As Satellites EP, TABERNACLE RECORDS owners Andrew Ingram and brothers Joel and Jasper Shaw discuss how the Glasgow label was spawned INTERVIEW: RONAN MARTIN

FLIPSVILLE

ARTWORK: ANDREW INGRAM

O2 ABC2, SAT 21 JAN, 11PM-3AM

WHEN THE owners of an independent electronic label commit to a costly policy of ignoring the digital revolution by releasing on vinyl only, it becomes clear that this is a label driven by firmly held ideals above all else. Tabernacle Records emerged from the seeds sown by Glasgow club night Slabs of the Tabernacle, and it is characterised by the same zeal that made those parties such a success. The label’s quality has been firmly established with the release of tracks by techno torchbearers such as John Heckle and Xenogears, Glaswegian analogue electro duo Fancy & Spook, and Slabs regular Arne Weinberg.

Is there an ethos that shapes the label and the kind of music that is released?

Andrew: In terms of the kind of music we aim to release, a lot of the previous artists accrued over the years from the Slabs events. But now we are looking further afield, contacting older artists and undiscovered artists. I think we’ve always wanted to stress that quality is of the greatest importance to us. A lot of time is invested in sourcing the right tracks, creating artwork, and coming up with concepts for future releases. So we treat what we do with the label as seriously as we can. It needs to be treated with this focus in order to survive, especially in such competitive times for the industry.

Thus far, Tabernacle Records has been limited to vinyl only releases. Can you explain this decision?

Jasper: For starters, we are all vinyl heads and only DJ with vinyl. By choosing vinyl over CD and digital releases, we are pursuing a labour of love rather than a motivation to try and make a profit.

With the physical release it is also a platform not only for musicians that we like but also for visual artists. There is something more satisfying and enduring about the physical form – both in music and in art. Our preference is for DJs to play records, and vinyl is the way we all consume the music. Why would we release on any other format?

With changes in the way music is distributed, and digital sales beginning to dominate in electronic music, how does Tabernacle Records fit in?

Jasper: I guess we don’t fit in with these changes.

We were recently speaking with another small label owner about this. He suggested that releasing vinyl is like a form of quality control. With digital releases it’s all too easy to put anything out without putting

We are pursuing a labour of love rather than a motivation to try and make a profit JASPER SHAW

anything into it in the first place. We’re not saying that all digital sales are rubbish or that all vinyl is excellent – but you are more likely to think about what you put out if you are spending lots of your own hard-earned cash to release a product.

In what ways are small independent labels like Tabernacle Records important?

Joel: Small labels help to inject personality into a predominantly sterile music scene. They help to contribute to a community that is reducing in size by the year. It is therefore important that we try to keep it alive by releasing good quality electronic music.

Hopefully this might also encourage more promoters, artists and musicians to start up their own labels.

Finally, we have to ask, what are the origins of the name Slabs of the Tabernacle?

Joel: The name came from a Radio Magnetic show we did. At the time we liked the fact that it caught people off guard. There were, and are, too many nights with rather uninspiring names. We wanted to distinguish ourselves from the pack with a name that was a little different. As for the origin, you’re not getting that! It would become a lot less mysterious if we told you.

Imagine going down to O2 ABC on a Saturday night and accidently stumbling across a whole genre of music that you were only vaguely aware of, that you had no idea you liked and end up dancing to all night.

O2 ABC2 on a Saturday has been a kind of musical trojan horse, bringing all sorts of genres that stand a little outside what is in vogue right into the heart of the clubbing weekend. On the third Saturday of the month for the last half year Flipsville has been spinning a cocktail of rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly, rhythm & blues and garage punk. “I’ve always felt that this is music that needs to be played loud and be heard,” explains Neil MacInnes, Flipsville’s resident DJ. “ABC already has a great audience and it’s all cool, young people who go there and I wanted them to come downstairs and discover it for themselves and let them maybe tell other people and so far that’s how it’s been working. I’d like to think of it as Glasgow’s best kept secret.”

A lot of Neil’s musical influences came from his father who listened to the likes of Buddy Holly and Hank Williams and played in skiffle bands during the 60s in Paisley. “Everyone has their own opinions about rock ‘n’ roll and there are the classics like Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis that they know and love but we also like to delve deeper while still making people dance. Ultimately it’s about introducing them to stuff they have never heard but in such a way they feel like they know it already.”

Being part of ABC's Love Music on a Saturday has allowed lots of people to discover the same music that influenced him. “I hope that it is a way to get young blood to make the connections with the music they listen to and if they recognise a song it will get them thinking and having a good time.” For 2012 the night is looking to feature live bands to add another element but for Neil it is still primarily about playing great records. “The thing I love is that most rock ‘n’ roll songs are two minutes of unbridled energy that is held on a record and it is all about that sound and energy. That wins for me”.

FLIPSVILLE TAKES PLACE ON THE THIRD SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT O2 ABC2 AS PART OF THE WEEKLY LOVE MUSIC

WILEY O2 ABC, WED 21 MAR, £12

Wiley, the Godfather of the grime scene, a member of Roll Deep (alongside Dizzee Rascal and occasionally Tinchy Stryder) and the man who in 2010 effectively torched his record deal by uploading over 200 unreleased songs online for free. Now with that difficult period behind him he’s back with a new album Evolve or Be Extinct this month and a first UK wide tour supported by JME (Boy Better Know), Fugative and A-List.

O2ABCGLASGOW.CO.UK WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/O2ABCGLASGOW

THE LATEST RELEASE ON TABERNACLE RECORDS IS FOLLOW AS SATELLITES EP BY THE THIRD MAN OUT NOW WWW.TABERNACLERECORDS.CO.UK

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 47

REVIEWS

January Events FILM

Both the GFT in Glasgow and the Filmhouse in Edinburgh are screening some of Werner Herzog’s collaborations with Klaus Kinski this month. Shooting conditions with the volatile actor are legendary, but you can see the results between 28 Dec and 5 Jan at the Filmhouse and at the GFT later in the month, with both cinemas showing Aguirre, Wrath of God (17 Jan, GFT), Nosferatu the Vampire (24 Jan, GFT) and Fitzcarraldo (31 Jan, GFT). The latter in particular should not be missed, with Herzog dragging a real 340 ton steam ship over a mountain using Stone Age methods.

War Horse Aguirre, Wrath of God

War Horse

Shame

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steve McQueen

Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, Tom Hiddleston, Niels Arestrup Released: 13 Jan Certificate: 12A

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie Released: 13 Jan Certificate: 18

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Steven Spielberg always seemed like the perfect director to bring War Horse to the screen, and his version of the stage play, adapted from Michael Morpurgo’s book, mostly lives up to expectations. This story of a young man (Jeremy Irvine) separated from his beloved horse by the Great War is a resolutely old-fashioned piece of filmmaking, played with a sincerity of emotion that will either repel viewers or move them to tears. At times, the director can be guilty of trying a mite too hard to yank on our heartstrings, but so many sequences here show Spielberg at his absolute best – notably a thrilling raid on a German camp, or a lovely moment between two enemy soldiers as they tend to the wounded horse in No Man’s Land. Even with a running time of almost two and a half hours, War Horse is captivating and frequently affecting. In time it may come to be regarded as yet another family classic from this great filmmaker. [Philip Concannon] War Horse is released 13 Jan by Dreamworks

Shame is a film about addiction, but what separates it from other movies on this subject is that the drug for Brandon (Fassbender) is sex. He gets his fix any way he can – one-night stands, prostitutes, internet porn – but his behaviour brings him no joy or satisfaction; just a constant, insatiable need for more. The cyclical, self-destructive nature of addiction is vividly realised

by McQueen, who directs with a frank confidence throughout, but Shame starts to adopt a more operatic tone in its latter stages as Brandon is brought to his knees, and this threatens to unbalance the picture. The best moments are the quieter ones – a flirtation on the subway, a stunningly filmed late night jog – and there is plenty to admire in the two lead performances. Brandon’s desire, despair and self-loathing are etched on the face of the astonishing Fassbender, and Carey Mulligan brings a touching fragility to her role as his sister, while simultaneously nailing a show-stopping rendition of New York, New York. [Philip Concannon]

The Descendants

The Iron Lady

Director: Alexander Payne

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard Released: 27 Jan Certificate: 15

Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Head Released: 6 Jan Certificate: 12A

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Alexander Payne (Sideways, Election) directs his first film in seven years with this charming comedy. Matt King (Clooney), trustee to his extended family’s valuable plot of picturesque territory in Hawaii that’s been passed down through generations, is all at sea after his wife falls into a coma following a boating accident. Having to take more direct responsibility for his two precocious daughters whilst also juggling the responsibility of brokering the sale of the land to keep his oddball relatives happy, the waters are muddied further with the discovery of his spouse’s long-term affair.

Though lacking the acid bite of his best work, there’s certainly enough wit and eccentricity to draw favourable comparisons, and by eschewing dreary sentimentality Payne elicits genuine warmth for his film’s protagonists. Clooney is excellent as the frustrated and befuddled Matt, and Shailene Woodley, as his embittered eldest, Alex, provides one of the most impressive breakthrough performances in years. Moving, thoughtful and frequently hilarious, it’s good to have Payne back. [Chris Fyvie]

Meryl Streep, wearing what looks to be Jennifer Saunders’ prosthetics from that Absolutely Fabulous episode set in the future, is Baroness Thatcher. It’s two decades since the ‘glory days’ of Number 10 and the former PM is ready for the knacker’s yard. Her mind, addled by dementia and pickled in Johnnie Walker, is playing tricks on her. Not only has late hubby Denis (Broadbent) become her ghostly Banquo, she’s also flashing back to her tyrannical premiership, which she reimagines as a rags-to-riches fairytale with her as the plucky greengrocer’s daughter who took on the establishment. Streep, aided by a camp array of teeth and hair, captures Thatcher’s strangeness and her psychotic belief in her own political omniscience – generously, she also imbues Maggie with some humanity. This great turn aside, Phyllida Lloyd’s direction and Abi Morgan’s script are about as deep as George Osborne’s treasury coffers, with Thatcher’s decimated Britain of strikes, riots, unemployment, terrorism and war reduced to glib I Love the 80s-style montage. [Jamie Dunn]

Haywire

J. Edgar

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Director: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas Released: 18 Jan Certificate: TBC

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Judi Dench, Naomi Watts Released: 20 Jan Certificate: 15

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Haywire is the kind of lucid action thriller Paul Greengrass might make if he ever invested in a tripod. Breakneck action with graceful, but nasty, fight sequences isn’t the main reason to cherish Steven Soderbergh’s latest genre experiment though. Gina Carano, MMA (mixed martial arts) champ and, on this evidence, future movie star, not only kicks arse when she goes toe-to-toe with Fassbender, Tatum and co.; she more than holds her own in the acting stakes too, creating a lean, mean assassin that renders recent female action turns by Angelina Jolie (Salt) and Zoe Saldana (Colombiana) utterly risible in retrospect. The patsy-out-for-payback plot may be old hat, but Soderbergh’s trademark tricksy structure and elliptical flashbacks do a fine job of making the familiar feel fresh. Indeed, it’s the prolific filmmaker’s most vital film since his previous revenge flick, The Limey. Audiences who have suffered through Ewan McGregor’s ropey post-Trainspotting career can also delight in the Scot receiving a right good on-screen kicking. [Jamie Dunn]

48 THE SKINNY January 2012

After the success of BBC’s documentary series Frozen Planet, it seems likely that the GFT’s Frozen Landscapes season will be popular. Five films are included, starting with one of Charlie Chaplin’s finest outings as the iconic Tramp, who attempts to make his fortunes in The Gold Rush (8 & 10 Jan). Also showing are How I Ended the Summer (15 Jan), The Great White Silence (22 Jan), a rare screening of Akira Kurosawa’s Oscar-winning Dersu Uzala (29 Jan), and Herzog’s unmissable depiction of the Antarctic in Encounters at the End of the World (5 & 7 Feb).

Two classic musicals are being shown at the DCA in Dundee, starting with Vincente Minnelli’s An American in Paris on 3 Jan. Featuring choreographer and star Gene Kelly as a GI who stays in Paris after the war has ended, this sumptuous film allows the stunning set pieces and costumes to take the lead, culminating in a 20 minute dance extravaganza. This is followed by West Side Story on 4 Jan. The modern take on Romeo and Juliet won ten Oscars, including

An American in paris

Best Picture and Director, at the 1962 Academy Awards, and here’s your chance to see why.

Horror novelist and broadcaster Muriel Gray will be talking to Mark Millar at the GFT on 8 Jan for Geek Film Night. She has chosen Pitch Black for the month’s screening, and will be providing her reasons for doing so. The sci-fi film, starring action star Vin Diesel, tracks ten survivors marooned on a barren planet struggling to survive monstrous aliens after the sun goes down.

rr Few public figures have remained as enigmatic and elusive as J. Edgar Hoover, so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that Clint Eastwood’s sluggish biopic fails to unravel the heart of this polarising character as it hops backand-forth in time, despite a fiery and charismatic performance from Leonardo DiCaprio. J. Edgar is oddly uncritical of the terror that Hoover instilled in so many people as he transformed the FBI into a pervasive force in American society. He was the most feared man in the country, but you wouldn’t know it from this picture, which focuses instead on Hoover’s personal relationships with his domineering mother (Judi Dench) and longtime partner Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer). The funny, tender scenes between DiCaprio and Hammer are the best in the film, at least until the latter’s charming performance dies underneath some of the worst old age prosthetics you’ll ever see in a major Hollywood production. Sadly, such half-assed make-up work epitomises the slapdash nature of this dreary, shallow film. [Philip Concannon]

Pitch Black

Finally, for those who missed some of the most talked about films of 2011, head to the Filmhouse, where a selection are being screened again.

Included in the line-up are the harrowing film adaptation of We Need to Talk About Kevin (1-3 Jan), the acclaimed Formula 1 documentary Senna (4 & 5 Jan) and A Separation (4 & 5 Jan). Check out the Filmhouse website for more details. [Becky Bartlett]

DVD REVIEWS VIDEODROME

THE GUARD

WHISPER OF THE HEART

DIRECTOR: DAVID CRONENBERG

DIRECTOR: JOHN MICHAEL MCDONAGH

DIRECTOR: YOSHIFUMI KONDO

STARRING: JAMES WOODS, DEBORAH HARRY RELEASED: OUT NOW CERTIFICATE: 18

STARRING: BRENDAN GLEESON, DON CHEADLE RELEASED: 16 JAN CERTIFICATE: 15

STARRING: YOUKO HONNA, KAZUO TAKAHASHI RELEASED: 9 JAN CERTIFICATE: U

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In the paranoid Cold War coke comedown of the early 1980s David Cronenberg unleashed this unsettling masterwork, now on Blu-ray.

James Wood is Max, a sleazy cable TV president looking to feed the dark desires of his ravenous audience. As Debbie Harry’s kinky character states: “We live in over-stimulated times... we always want more.” And this is what Max aims to provide, even if that more is torture and murder. What he finds, however, is Videodrome, a mindaltering experience leaving him with a soluble sanity fizzing away to nothing in the bottom of a glass. Replace video with dot com and this disturbing parable relates directly to our own digital age where beheadings and hardcore sex are readily available online. Cronenberg goes beyond body horror and delivers horrific mind mutilation, leaving us with a twisted psychological spasm of a film which directly tackles TV, the demon in the corner of the room. Long live the new flesh. [Alan Bett]

John Michael McDonagh – forever cursed to be billed as brother to In Bruges’ writer-director Michael – tries his hand at directing in this scalding debut. Starring Brendan Gleeson as foul-mouthed, small-town Garda Sergeant Gerry Boyle, Irish humour mixes with dark overtones to create this wise-cracking black comedy. Don Cheadle co-stars as uptight FBI agent Wendell Everett sent to get to the bottom of a high profile drug trafficking scheme off the coast of Galway. A trio of mis-matched gangsters, including Londoner Mark Strong, run rings around the Garda in a cat-and-mouse game along winding country roads and a perishing coast. Like Gleeson, it’s a little flabby around the middle but its roughand-ready approach creates a medley of ridiculousness that somehow hits the right notes. Despite some over-stretching, its dialogue pays off.

High-brow references and small-town idiosyncrasies clash in rib-tickling fashion, leaving us to ponder whether The Guard’s subjects are really mother-effing dumb, or really mother-effing smart. [Nicola Balkind]

Making a welcome debut on Blu-ray, Whisper of the Heart is a minor classic from Japan’s legendary Studio Ghibli, home of the award winning Spirited Away and Princess Monomoke.

A young schoolgirl is determined to prove herself to a talented maker of musical instruments and starts writing stories about a mystical cat known as The Baron. Losing herself totally in the creative process we join her in some spectacular flights of fancy, which help her make big decisions about what to do with her life.

Visually the film does not disappoint, and it’s always beautiful and often breathtaking, but some might be disappointed that not a great deal happens. It’s really quite a simple story about finding inspiration from the one you love. And what’s wrong with that?

It may be quiet and even slow at times, but it’s so sweet and sincere that it’s hard not to warm to it. A little treasure. [Scotty McKellar]

PUNISHMENT PARK

HEARTS OF DARKNESS

THE BURMA CONSPIRACY

DIRECTOR: PETER WATKINS

DIRECTOR: FAX BAHR, GEORGE HICKENLOOPER

DIRECTOR: JEROME SALLE

STARRING: PATRICK BOLAND, KENT FOREMAN RELEASED: 23 JAN CERTIFICATE: 15

STARRING: ELEANOR COPPOLA, FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA RELEASED: 9 JAN CERTIFICATE: 15

STARRING: TOMER SISLEY, SHARON STONE RELEASED: 23 JAN CERTIFICATE: 15

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Through a combination of radical politics and formal experimentation British director Peter Watkins has pushed the limits of the docudrama since the 1960s. Available on a Blu-ray/DVD dual-format for the first time, Punishment Park is his controversial 1971 feature released at the height of the anti-Vietnam protests. Using non-professional actors, improvisation and documentary techniques, this ambitious, if rough-and-ready film portrays a fictional world in which the Nixon administration has declared a state of emergency and is forcing an assortment of student radicals, black militants, and pacifists to choose between a prison term and playing a deadly game in which they are pursued across the desert by armed soldiers. In these postBush times its portrayal of the ruthless use of presidential decree and trial without jury seems more relevant than ever; yet, with its cast of freaks and squares, over-the-top acting, and obsolete rhetoric it has also become a fascinating period piece. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]

Deriving its name from the book that gave Apocalypse Now its story, Hearts of Darkness is perhaps the world’s best-known “The Making of...” documentary. Narrated by Francis Ford Coppola’s wife, Eleanor, it’s the source for much of the lore about the interminable production of the flamboyant director’s Vietnam War Film to end all Vietnam War Films. Hearts of Darkness follows the 238 day, $20 million shoot for Apocalypse Now, faithfully recording its legendary mishaps: from replacing its original lead (Harvey Keitel) two weeks in, through sets destroyed by monsoon rains and helicopters borrowed from the Filipino army recalled to fight rebels in the middle of filming; to the nightly, frenzied script re-writes. All these fed a media storm back home, so that it was probably no wonder Kramer vs. Kramer won the Oscar for Best Picture – everyone must have been sick of hearing about the Apocalypse out East. But 90-minutes of selfindulgence makes it a cinephile favourite. [Nicola Balkind]

Episode 1

The Burma Conspiracy is the second film based on Belgian comic series Largo Winch. It features a Bosnian hero who lives in Switzerland, has more European co-producers than Greece has bad debts, and dialogue that switches between French and English. Unlike our PM, this film seems steadfastly for European unity. But it is also an action thriller which wants to beat Hollywood at its own game.

The film takes in a series of decent action sequences and a wide range of exotic locations in an attempt to out-Bourne the Bourne series, but it suffers from the usual underdog flaw of having to try too hard. The producers draft in a well-preserved Sharon Stone to add star power, but their budget evidently didn’t stretch far; she vamps it up in a few minor interior scenes, her character existing mostly in parallel to the main plot. The closest she comes to full European integration is her single line in French: “Calmez-vouz, Monsieur Winch!” [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]

Thu 19 — Sun 22 Jan 2012 CCA, Glasgow

a

iS

Frame montage tracking Shot cloSe Up Film StrUggle Diagram a propoSal Declaration Statement

EvEry aspEct of EvEry film is always about morE than just film. this is a fEstival of ExpErimEntal, artists’ film. it concErns film as a way of thinking (about thE world). it’s a sEriEs of variously intErEsting, intEnsE, challEnging, thoughtful EvEnts; a kind of convivial social spacE.

co-producEd by:

jEan-mariE straub, hartmut bitomsky, ayrEEn anastas and rEnE gabri, karEn mirza and brad butlEr, lutz bEckEr, nina powEr, graham harwood, chto dElat?

supportEd by:

W W W .T H E S K I N N Y. C O . U K PHOTO: EUAN ROBERTSON

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 49

PHOTO: ROSS FRASER MCLEAN

ART

PREVIEWS

FULL STOP SUCH AND SUCH, 14-29 JAN

For 18 months Such and Such gallery has been an important element of the vibrant art scene in and around Leith Walk. One of the first spaces of its kind to open in the area, it prides itself on showing a diversity of work, from illustration and photography to painting and sculpture, jewellery and textile design. It has always been keen to highlight the strong DIY ethic prevalent in Scotland.

Full Stop is the gallery’s final show at the Brunswick Street address and will be a mini retrospective, showing some of the artists who have exhibited in the gallery over the past year and a half. Confirmed so far are painters Callum Monteith and Rabiya Choudhry, illustrators Jamie Johnson and Al White, and printmaker Rachel Barron, as well as contributions from Edinburgh pop-up art collective Go Reborn and fashion designer Judith Clark.

Clark was recently nominated for Designer of

the Year at the Scottish Style Awards 2011 and is a bold up-and-comer making dark, almost baronial garments. Johnson, inspired by the people he sees in and around Leith, depicts a world inhabited solely by magical vagrants. Callum Monteith seems to have been plucked right out of late 19th-century France, mainly painting mountains in a post-impressionistic style – which in itself is pretty bold.

First opened as an independent artist run space co-founded by Alexandra Fiddes, Caroline Cloughley, Charlotte Hannett and David Lemm, Such and Such will continue as a collaboration between the three remaining founders (Hannett is moving on to pastures new, aka Glasgow). They plan to relaunch with a new project later in 2012.

[Andrew Cattanach] 2PM-5PM DAILY, PREVIEW FRI 13 JAN, 7PM-9PM SUCHANDSUCHSTUDIO.BLOGSPOT.COM/

SEMENYA 2

ALEX DORDOY THE MODERN INSTITUTE, 14 JAN-22 FEB

Alex Dordoy graduated from the Painting and Printmaking department of the Glasgow School of Art back in 2007 and was soon picked up by the Modern Institute, who represent, amongst others, recent Turner Prize winner Martin Boyce. His first solo show with the gallery was in 2009 and was a playful combination of painting and sculpture.

He has since completed a residency at the prestigious independent art institution De Ateliers in Amsterdam where he lost none of his playfulness. He still makes the same bafflingly intriguing objects that come from an art practice that is neither entirely dependent on ideas or wholly reliant on material concerns.

He’s been making plaster sculptures on which he’s depicted a warped portrait of athlete Caster Semenya, who, after her victory at the 2009 World Championships, was subjected to a gender test. The International Association of Athletics

SEMENYA 3

Federations, who carried out the test, was heavily criticised for their handling of the affair.

Like most of Dordoy’s work, these objects are first and foremost materially captivating. They are awkward in shape, with the rough edge of something evidently handmade. But nonetheless, they have this other, not wholly distinct, conceptual element, that reverberates through the work. And just as there will always be a disparity between our sense of gender and the empirical truth of our chromosomes, the physical attributes of Dordoy’s sculptures are likewise not wholly complicit with their subject matter.

Dordoy will also show a series of new paintings.

Using images found on the internet, he makes a collage on Photoshop before painting onto canvas.

Landscape in format, he sees them as odd dreamscapes that reference online conspiracy theories, including one that claims aeroplanes are depositing toxic chemicals in the atmosphere. Why they might be doing this, no one knows. [Andrew Cattanach] FREE

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

GRID: MAPPING GLASGOW ART Set up by two Glasgow art school graduates, GRID has been mapping the galleries and institutions of the city for over a year now. We chat to creators SEBASTIAN KALVIK and ARRON SANDS about how it all came about

Galleries across Scotland are members of the Own Art scheme. By offering interestfree loans of £100-£2,000 through Own Art, buying an original piece of quality contemporary art or craft couldn’t be easier. For more information about Own Art and a list of participating galleries see the Own Art website: www.ownart.org.uk Look for the pink logo. (representative 0% APR)

50 THE SKINNY JANUARY 2012

LAUNCHED IN September 2010 by Fine Art graduates Sebastian Kalvik and Arron Sands, GRID is a map showing contemporary art events across the city of Glasgow. With event listings on one side and the pinpointed locations on the other, GRID provides a concise guide to Glasgow’s rich cultural landscape. Currently on its ninth issue (January–February 2012), GRID is distributed in alternate months across a variety of venues and institutions in the city and is available for free.

It was back in 2008 that the foundation for GRID was first laid. “We both came to Glasgow at the same time and were lucky enough to arrive when Glasgow International Festival (GI) was on,” says Sands. “The GI map was available, which gave us immediate insight into Glasgow’s contemporary art institutions – and the offsite and one-off events that Glasgow has on a regular basis. But after GI it was more than obvious that there was a gap, and for anyone coming to Glasgow, this information wasn’t available to them.”

“There are lots of pop-up spaces in Glasgow – exhibitions that happen in temporary spaces.

Something was needed that gives a bit more of a geographical context,” adds Kalvik.

GRID, Kalvik and Sands like to stress, is not solely for the art community. It’s about reaching out to a broader audience. “The importance of having a map is to show people that it’s not just in

the West End or the city centre that contemporary art exists,” explains Sands. “I like the idea that someone can pick one up in a cafe near their house and realise that there are two or three galleries just around the corner from where they live.”

In April 2011 the GRID website, www. glasgowgrid.co.uk, was launched containing regularly updated listings of art events in Glasgow.

A preliminary version of the mobile site is available for iPhone and Android devices.

GRID Glasgow is produced with the support of Creative Scotland through the Own Art scheme.

Creative Scotland’s support of GRID reflects a continued investment in Glasgow’s arts infrastructure by assisting the production of a high quality product that help locals and visitors enjoy the scope and scale of Glasgow’s visual arts scene.

Andrew Leitch, Lead Officer for Own Art at Creative Scotland, says “We hope that this will encourage the public to be more adventurous, and to consider new directions, in contemporary art buying.”

Own Art is also supporting the development of a special edition of GRID Glasgow for the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art 2012, which will be launched In March 2012.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GRID ARTMAP OF GLASGOW VISIT THE GRID GLASGOW WEBSITE YOU CAN FOLLOW GRID ON TWITTER @GLASGOWGRID

Offer subject to age and status. Terms and conditions apply.

You will need a UK bank account that can handle direct debits, proof of identity and address, and you will also need to be over 18. Own Art is operated by ArtCo Trading Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arts Council. Registered address: Arts Council England, North East, Central Square, Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3PJ

249 West George Street Glasgow G2 4QE

BOOKS

REVIEWS SCOTLAND THE BEST 2012

POEMS OF YOUTH AND TURBULENCE

THE BOYS: THE BIG RIDE

BODY OF WORK

BY PETER G MACKIE

BY PETER IRVINE

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BY GARTH ENNIS, RUSS BRAUN, DARICK ROBERTSON AND JOHN MCCREA

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Scotland the Best is a guide to travelling around, or simply living in Scotland, as it rates restaurants, cafes, hotels, pubs, regular events and a whole lot else besides throughout the country. How to review such a thing? Well, let’s say that obviously the best guide to what’s going on in Scotland is obviously the listings in The Skinny, that’s a given, but this is a very worthy runner-up. Author Peter Irvine uses a simple ‘tick’ system to rate places. One tick means amongst the best in Scotland, two amongst the best in the UK, and three amongst the best in the world. Few things get three ticks – I only noticed Loch Lomond achieving the honour, which seems fair. (There’s also a two ticks and a plus for chef recommendations). No ticks seems to mean it might be good or bad, just not yet deserving of a tick. This is quite a genial way to rate places, accentuating the positive, and there’s a warm tone to the book in general, with Irvine’s comments on every entry more like a friend’s advice than, as can be the case with guidebooks, a judgment from on high. Well worth investing in... if there isn’t a Skinny handy. [Keir Hind] OUT NOW. PUBLISHED BY HARPERCOLLINS. COVER PRICE £15.99

This collection is one of poems written by Peter G Mackie between 1969 and 1984. He was a youth at the time – the collection spans his work between his early teens and early twenties. And, unfortunately, his life was also very turbulent. Mackie was put, mistakenly, into a psychiatric hospital when very young, and ran away from home aged 16. Spells of homelessness, living on a commune, in a bedsit, travelling, and selling The Big Issue have followed. The value of this collection is that it shows the progression of the author’s work as he ages, and it’s an unusual progression. The earliest poems can be juvenile, but do have some fascinating imagery. Oddly, Mackie keeps writing about either the weather, or more commonly celestial concepts, stars, planets, nebulae, or molecular physics, electrons, atoms, etc., to the point that the personas narrating the poems are seemingly absent, or only glimpsed. As this collection proceeds, personas and characters in the poems become more firmly established – and in fact, some of the stronger later poems, such as The Hermit, are third person character pieces. Watching the ongoing development in these poems makes for a really fascinating collection, tracking a poet’s growth in very difficult circumstances. [Nat Smith] OUT NOW. PUBLISHED BY CHIPMUNKAPUBLISHING. COVER PRICE £10

rrrr The Boys is author Garth Ennis’s attempt to, in his words, “Out-Preacher Preacher.” If you haven’t read his earlier Preacher comics, suffice to say that this means it’s violent, gruesome, bloody, and often hilarious, if you’ve got the stomach for it. This is a comic set in something close to a real world, but with superheroes in it. And those superheroes are actually the villains, with the top hero group, The Seven (a version of DC Comics’ Justice League) being manipulated by corporate interests, and the others being all kinds of ridiculous, as crimefighting in fancy dress would be. Who watches these watchmen? The Boys do.

They’re a group of super-agents for the CIA, led by the smart but thuggish Englishman Butcher.

They don’t even necessarily approve of the CIA’s methods, but they’re much the lesser of two, or more, evils. In this episode flashbacks tell us much more than before about the founding of The Boys, and where their powers come from, whilst in the present they move closer to a final battle with The Seven. Best to start at the start if you haven’t read this before; if you have, this is a solid and entertaining ninth installment. [Ryan Agee]

OUT NOW. PUBLISHED BY TITAN BOOKS. COVER PRICE £16.99

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

LITTLE RIOT is an interaction design company initially set up by Duncan of Jordanstone graduate Joanna Montgomery to develop Pillow Talk, which is due to hit the market next year.

Pillow Talk aims to connect long distance lovers – each person has a ring sensor they wear to bed at night, and a flat fabric panel which slots inside their pillowcase. The ring wirelessly communicates with the other person’s pillow; when one person goes to bed, their lover’s pillow begins to glow softly to indicate their presence.

Placing your head on the pillow allows you to hear the real-time heartbeat of your loved one.

Due to the worldwide exposure Pillow Talk has already received, the company has become known for its emotional impact and now also undertake consultancy work for other companies developing products and services, helping them deliver engaging user experiences and interactions.

“The company was officially formed in September 2010. Pillow Talk began life as my degree project and quickly went viral on the internet. I started receiving hundreds of emails from people asking where they could buy it. What really struck me was that people were telling me it would change their lives and improve their relationships. That was the moment I decided to start the company; I was in a position to create something amazing – and not only would it be my perfect job, I had the opportunity to have a small positive impact on people’s lives.

“Little Riot’s main focus is creating new ways for

EDITED BY GILES FODEN

Body of Work is a celebration of 40 years of the creative writing course at the University of East Anglia. It’s important to note the word celebration here; this isn’t a collection of the creative writing the course has produced. The course started in the earliest days of the 1970s, and was run then by Angus Wilson and Malcolm Bradbury, two then-famous novelists whose reputations seem to have dimmed a little since. Perhaps, ironically, the novelists they nurtured formed part of a wave of new writers who drew attention away from them. And it would be a large part, because those novelists included Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguro early on, both of whom have pieces here about their time at UEA, and many others later, up to ‘newer’ novelists like Joe Dunthorne. There’s an introduction by Giles Foden, the University’s current professor of creative writing, which discusses the notion of creative writing courses as a whole, gently pushing aside the various objections to it, and this, like much of the rest of the book, will certainly whet the appetite of anyone considering, already doing, or even teaching a creative writing course. A fascinating anthology around a fascinating subject. [David Agnew]

OUT NOW. PUBLISHED BY FULL CIRCLE EDITIONS. COVER PRICE £28

BUSINESS ADVICE

people to interact – particularly when these people are in different places. In the ever-growing complexity of today’s digital world, human desires are beginning to exceed technology. We value user-experience and we recognise that things can be better.

“I was part of the Starter for 6 this year; I needed guidance, advice and someone to help steer me down the correct path – and they could offer me that. The experience of the programme was invaluable. The things I learned helped shape my business model into something much more structured than anything I’d had at the beginning.

Being around other people in the same boat, facing the same challenges and working towards the same goals is also worth more than people realise.

“Securing the funding meant I was able to develop my rough prototype into a finished, manufacturable product. It accelerated me to the final hurdle – I will soon be able to begin ordering stock. The programme also gave me confidence in myself and my idea, and the fact I’ve been through the process has strengthened my credibility – very useful when I’m speaking to potential investors or contacts.

“Pillow Talk is due to launch in early 2012.

My hope is that it will establish Little Riot as a reputable interaction design company and the international leader for ‘digital intimacy’ products. I have ideas for many more products, so the plan is to continue getting bigger and better and take the world by storm.”

STARTER FOR 6 IS AN ENTERPRISE TRAINING PROGRAMME THAT SUPPORTS UP AND COMING ENTREPRENEURS FROM THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ACROSS SCOTLAND APPLICATIONS FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF STARTER FOR 6 ARE OPEN UNTIL MIDNIGHT ON TUESDAY 31 JANUARY 2012 WWW.CULTURALENTERPRISEOFFICE.CO.UK/STARTERFOR6 WWW.LITTLERIOT.CO.UK

Cultural Enterprise Office offers a range of specialist business support and development services for creative businesses (both start up and growing) and practitioners that includes a free business coaching programme. Lead Adviser, Lynne O’Neil responds to a problem from a Glasgow artist who is struggling to find a balance between her work and creative practice.

THE PROBLEM As an artist and mother of two I'd like to find a way to concentrate more effectively on my art career.

At the moment I feel a lot of pressure to do project work in order to make enough money to support my family. While I enjoy it, it can be a distraction from my own practice. I feel quite bogged down in it, with most of my time and energy going into earning money rather than the process of creating my own work, which I feel should be a priority.

I'm looking for some advice on how to manage my time, how to juggle my different priorities and my creative ambitions.

Janie, Glasgow

REPLY Dear Janie, First of all I’d like you to visualise what you would like your art career to look like and describe this.

If we fast forward to December 2012 what would you like to have achieved…? Yes this is the time for big goal-setting. If you were reading a newspaper/magazine article about yourself what would it say…. use your imagination here.

Once you have set out your goals I’d ask you to look at them in practical terms. We have a great free resource that could help you do this – CEO’s Planning Your Time and Project workshop slides which includes a visual planning tool (find it here - www. culturalenterpriseoffice.co.uk>events>workshops.)

The trick is to divide your time into manageable chunks (say monthly or 6-week periods) which will help you see where the critical points are and what potential stumbling blocks there might be. We can then look at other resources or support that you can tap into, identify costs and help you keep track of your progress. We can help you address the particular issues that you face as you take your plan forward and our Enquiries team can help if you need more specific information along the way.

Put your plan somewhere you can see it easily (stick it up on the wall perhaps) and check it frequently because it’s what’s going to help you reach your goal. It’s your blueprint for success.

Next let’s look at the shape of your week – as a busy working mum it’s really important you create boundaries around different areas of work. Your project work is important as it brings in money, your creative work is very important as it informs your project work and I imagine is your passion in life! So give it space.

Split up your working week – use again our online planning tool (7 days/21 slots), be ruthless in not letting other stuff in, say NO, and if need be create accountability with a friend, Adviser or coach.

Lynne O’Neil Glasgow & West Central Adviser, Cultural Enterprise Office FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO YOU VISIT WWW.CULTURALENTERPRISEOFFICE.CO.UK OR CALL THE ENQUIRY LINE ON 0844 544 9990 (MONFRI 9:00AM-5:00PM AND WED 5:00PM-8:00PM)

Dir

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 51

TECH

The Whines of 2012 When tech is more fun with whining

Words: Alex Cole ILLUSTRATION: Jamie Johnson

COMEDY

bite-sized tech nuggets with ALEX COLE

THE FEED

Typically I use this space, at this time of year, to predict the coming trends in tech, gadgets and online stuff, and make all sorts of happy-slappy calls about what will work. Well, seeing how spectacularly right I was for 2011 (ish), it’s probably time to use this space for something more productive: whinging.

So, without further ado (like you needed more ado in your life), here are the top Whines About Technology for 2012.

• Streaming: Yes, more and more video content is coming over the internet, and yes, that’s probably where things are heading, but honestly, streaming video still sucks. The internet wasn’t designed for trucking your HDTV cut of Countryfile, and it shows. If I have to sit through one more ‘buffering’ animation when 50 year old TV tech can do this in milliseconds, I’ll scream.

• Wireless: Google launched a digital wallet that works like an Oyster Card, it’s in passports and bank cards and you can even charge a phone by chucking it on a mat, and the hell of it is, despite all this wireless tech, it’ll be at least five years before it really gets used. Home theatre and computer setups are still rats’ nests of wires and

cables, and we’re this close to never having to unfold a dirty fiver to pay for anything, and it’ll still take an age to make it happen.

• Roaming: If you make me pay £6 for every MB I use abroad, you are no friend of mine, or to the world.

And you probably hate puppies and orphans.

• Gagitocracy: In line for the first iPhone? No one cares. Got a tablet? I can tell you where to shove it. Set up your pricey IP-connected home theatre? Well don’t – actually, I might want to use that later for the Spooks box-set. Otherwise, world, let’s just all agree that we all have fancy stuff, and don’t know how to use it, or don’t and really couldn’t care less about those who do. Gadgets are shiny, but at the end of the day, they’re tools, and if you brag about yours, you are too.

• Social Networks: We haven’t seen any major new social networks take root in the last few years, and there’s a good reason: we’ve already found what it is most people want to do with them (hint: it’s get laid). Unless you can come up with a theme better than that, I really don’t think we need another.

And that’s 2012, people. You’re welcome.

YouTube tries to move into education, so long as curriculum includes cat videos • Cops now using anti-riot laser, totally better than kettling. Also, lasers • Court tweeter caused a mistrial, which is pretty much the most exploitable thing possible • Carrier IQ spyware on all smartphones used by FBI, check here if you have it: http://goo.gl/0s20p • Pirate sites counter-suing movie and record industry, will totally pirate other lawsuits • Kindle Fire to get major update, hoping to fix a lot of whining buyers. I mean, errors

2012: A User’s Guide

What does the future hold? Will the Mayan prophecy come true in 2012? What should I have for lunch? Glasgow sketch anarchists The Impenetrable Click answer your questions about the year ahead...

You are waiting at a bus stop, and the bloody thing just isn’t coming. Maybe you just missed the last bus by a quantum particle; maybe there has been a delay in traffic. Either way, if you had known that you would be waiting so long, you would have made a tuna sandwich. You could be eating a tuna sandwich right now, and it’s the bus’s fault. You hate buses. You hate them. If only you had known the future!

On behalf of sandwiches everywhere, The Impenetrable Click are proud to reveal to The Skinny’s readership that we have constructed a supercomputer capable of predicting future events. It’s made of cardboard and disappointment. Strap on your learning pants and dig these forecastings before Ladbrokes shuts down our whole operation.

Realising that, by building our computer, we had brought about the Technological Singularity where artificial intelligence surpasses the human

52 THE SKINNY January 2012

capacity for reasoning, we hesitantly asked our supercomputer if this would bring about a robot apocalypse. He told us no, things will be fine and humans will be treated very well in return for our energy blood.

In finance, in a bid to fix Italy’s financial woes, new Prime Minister Mario ‘Super Mario’ Monti causes an international furore by kicking a shell at Nicolas Sarkozy before picking up Angela Merkel and jumping down a sewer. In response, France will appoint Sonic the Hedgehog as Finance Minister.

Closer to home, a constitutional crisis will beset the UK with revelations that David Cameron is actually a ventriloquist’s dummy operated by Nick Clegg. When asked for comment, Cameron said, “gottle o’ geer, gottle o’ geer” before his jaw fell off.

Bereft of Steve Jobs, Apple releases the new iPhone 5, a revolutionary smart phone designed

around a cup and string. Millions queue for days to buy the new must-have item, but sales take a dip after revelations of reception problems caused by many of the strings being too short. Samsung immediately releases a design based on a coffee mug and fishing wire; lawsuits follow. Sales of both are overshadowed by the release of the Hoverboard, a new invention that makes chess interesting.

In the Americas, Paraguay elects a goat as president; nobody notices. More interestingly, Fidel Castro finally kicks the bucket. We didn’t even use the computer for this one.

In July, a great hurricane will batter the British Isles. All of Ireland sinks, apart from County Cork, found bobbing aimlessly at sea.

On 21 December, thousands will gather at the largest Mayan temple, La Danta, for the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar and, possibly, the world. They watch with bated breath as a small flap at the top of the temple opens and

a square of chocolate falls out. The Mayans subsequently release a new calendar featuring firemen dressed as Cliff Richard.

Cliff Richard will expire on Christmas Eve after bumping his head on a particularly tough piece of mistletoe and toppling backwards into a vat of wine.

So will end another lovely year on Earth. The Impenetrable Click hopes that your 2012 fortune cookie will be crispy, delicious and free at the end of every meal.

Oh, and by the way, your bus is going to be late. Hope you’ve got mayonnaise!

The Impenetrable Click are a Glasgow-based sketch comedy group comprising Alan Scott, Geoff Gawler, Sarah Cassidy and Will Setchell. Each bi-monthly show features all new material and special guests.

The next show is Monday 30 Jan at The Captains Rest. See them at the Glasgow Comedy Festival on Mon 26 Mar www.theimpenetrableclick.com

Dance The Arches

process in improvisation. Coming out of his group improvisation sessions over the past year, Tom Pritchard is taking a solo, I’m Glad You’re Here, For A Moment, I Lost Myself: Loic Lalande and Alterraxis take a fixed narrative and improvise through the story.

Pritchard is an energetic presence in the Glasgow dance community, running contact improvisation jams and holding his On the Stage of the Present as an ongoing multi-disciplinary journey.

Pritchard typically uses text as well as movement: the decision to go solo perhaps inspired by his success in Smallpetitklein’s Falling Man. Lalande is a newer voice, having worked with Penny Chivas – who also worked with Pritchard and is currently part of Plan B’s ceilidh revolutionaries.

Through these two events, The Arches is making an early statement of support for dance as 2012’s surprise success. [Gareth K Vile]

After a strong showing at last year’s Fringe – Dance Base’s programme was exceptionally successful – Scottish based dance is threatening to become more than a minority enthusiasm. In the The Shoogle Project quiet of January, The Arches is staging two double Dance Base, Nov 2011 bills that showcase some of the dancers set to rise from the underground.

The pairing of Jack Webb and Rosalind Masson The rise of immersive performance feels like a is an intriguing juxtaposition of Webb’s tough, desperate strategy by beleaguered artists: if the jagged style and Masson’s more fluid approach. point can’t be made through a soliloquy or a pas Webb has been exploring a disorientating, almost de deux, maybe a dancer dragging the audience acrobatic dance that owes a great deal to the up for a boogie might help. Plan B, helmed by masterful tensions of Iona Kewney’s movement, the redoubtable traditional Scottish dancer Frank while Masson essays an elegant blend, based on McConnell, have teamed up with folk-rockers improvisation. Quartet puts them side-by-side, Shooglenifty to re-energise the ceilidh by marrying a live gig with performance dance in an enthusiaschoreographing for each other as well as taking tic, immersive ritual celebration solos. It is certainly an exciting advance from their Jack Webb & Rosalind Masson: Quartet Fri 13 Jan, 7.30pm, £6/£4 In under two hours, The Shoogle Project moves Fringe shows: Webb’s edgy Live Art attack was a Loic Lalande & Tom Pritchard Double Bill startling contrast against Masson’s meditation on traditional dances onto the stage, using its patSat 28 Jan, 7.30pm, £6/£4 The Arches Box Office: 0141 565 1000 environmental destruction. terns and tropes – including an impressive burst of DBhoy_EdFestTheatre_155x256_Skinny_DBhoy_EdFestTheatre_155x256_Skinny 09/12/2011 17:59 Page 1 www.thearches.co.uk Second up are a couple of artists basing their Irish clogging – and pulls the crowd up there too.

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By the finale, when Shooglenifty have exploded into a disciplined rock out, the gap between contemporary choreography, country dancing and concert has been shattered: the audience and company are together on the dancefloor, finding their personal grooves together.

On the way, Plan B tell brief stories through formal set-pieces, interrupted by invited invasions from the crowd. McConnell himself essays a charming solo, while the company redesign the traditional ceilidh stagger into a series of forceful dances. Somewhere between an intelligent updating of an apparently marginalised tradition and a dynamic concert experience, The Shoogle Project is a satisfying meeting of mind and emotion that connects the Celtic to the contemporary.

[Margaret Kirk] Part of Celtic Connections, ABC, Glasgow 20 Jan

BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LISA THOMAS MANAGEMENT PRESENT

AS SEEN ON LIVE AT THE APOLLO

‘SUBTLE. INTELLIGENT. PERCEPTIVE. AND VERY, VERY FUNNY.’ THE SCOTSMAN

DANNY BHOY LIVE AT THE

EXTRA DATE ADDED!

TUE

7 8 WED

FEBRUARY 2012 7.30PM SHOW TO BE RECORDED FOR DVD RELEASE

BOX OFFICE 0131 529 6000 www.festivaltheatre.org.uk www.dannybhoy.com January 2012

THE SKINNY 53

THEATRE

Be Manipulated

As Manipulate Festival returns to Edinburgh with another innovative array of visual theatre and animation, we talk to programmer Simon Hart about what to expect

Originally choreographed in 2001, Luvos is Editta Braun’s savagely erotic response to genetic modification. Sinister and disturbingly sensual, Braun distresses and distorts the human body, using dance’s potential for the expression of abstract ideas to picture an evolutionary process damaged by human meddling.

Simon Hart, who is bringing Luvos from Austria to Edinburgh as part of the Manipulate Festival, sees it as a striking example of how ‘visual theatre’ can reach the places where scripts might struggle.

“For me, Luvos articulates in a very powerful and oblique way my fears and concerns about the results of global warming, and of uncontrolled genetic experimentations with elements of our natural world,” he explains. “One of the strengths of a serious exploration of these themes in a piece like Luvos is that the series of beautifully disturbing images it presents engages my understanding and imagination at a more fundamental, non-verbal, non-narratively linear level than a more overtly agitprop, spoken piece of theatre would do. In this way I find myself repeatedly considering these issues primarily through the vividness of the images that remain with me.”

Hart, artistic director of Puppet Animation Scotland, which champions visual theatre and puppetry for both adults and children, is becoming one of the most important programmers in Scotland. Fearless in his selections – last year he included a meditation on brutal murder, while Manipulate 2012 connects political animated movies (Waltz with Bashir), Fringe successes (Polaris) and European experimental theatre – Hart has made a convincing case for drama beyond the traditional script. “I think the best visual theatre has the potential to engage with its audiences in more varied – and dare one say, at times in more profound – ways than text-based theatre.

Individuals watching a visual piece like Luvos will engage with and interpret its powerful images each according to his or her own personality and history,” he admits. “Potentially, there are as many different nuanced responses to one of Manipulate’s productions as there are audience members.

Certainly in my experience the range and passion of comments and discussions one hears in the bar afterwards backs this up!”

Manipulate’s past productions – including rising stars 1927 from England, famed for their wry fusion of vintage style with an almost Soviet austerity, and Germany’s Figuren Theatre Tübingen who take old school puppetry and fuse it with other arts – has defined the Festival as far more than a simple selection of puppets and cartoons. Hart’s use of the term ‘visual theatre’ is a careful nod to his eclectic choices, but also defines a broad category that approaches performance without founding it, necessarily, on a known text. As Hart acknowledges, this sort of work is often marginalised in Britain. “I think the shadow of Shakespeare, and our strongly word-based theatre tradition and practice in Scotland and the rest of the UK, makes it harder for practitioners round the edges – in visual or physical theatre, dance and mime etc – to find the room and the resources to create work successfully,” says Hart. “This pre-eminence of our great, primarily literary, theatrical heritage can be a real double-edged sword at times, and the development of newer theatrical forms and means of expression can at times suffer as a result.” So while Manipulate’s shows are individually evocative and emotive, the overall programme becomes a manifesto for a way of creating art.

Referring to Luvos, Hart believes that “it is harder to ignore those troubling pictures that arise from our unconscious fears and pre-occupations that a piece like this can evoke, than reasoned, logical verbal expositions about these important

54 THE SKINNY January 2012

photo: B Frenzel

Interview: Gareth K Vile

Luvos

issues.” Admirably, Hart sees this immediacy as having a social consequence. “Therefore, we might then do more about them.”

Given the seriousness of this year’s content – Waltz with Bashir looks at war crimes, Off to the Asylum studies madness, The Great Puppet Horn comes back with some satire – Hart’s vision advocates the potential of theatre as part of public debate. And in a time when Scotland is looking hard at its own sense of identity, Manipulate manages to both support local creativity and present the best of the world’s work. “We have so many really talented and passionately committed, visually-orientated theatre practitioners in Scotland. Manipulate offers members of this community a powerful focus that provides creative nourishment and inspiration through engagement with the best international work we can bring to Scotland. We have a strong aspiration that over the next five years Scottish artists will provide Manipulate with work of the highest quality and ambition that will stand securely alongside these international productions, and that we can then promote and tour this work abroad. That’s the challenge we would like to extend to Scottish artists!”

And as if to demonstrate that nothing is beyond Manipulate’s interest, and that there is no theatre that cannot be energised by an infusion of puppetry, even one of Shakespeare’s most over-produced, and consequently played-out, specials is getting an injection, as Hart clarifies. “I wanted to bring Hamletmachine to Manipulate partly because the company, Theatre Sans Soucis, started with the words and then transformed them – and their meaning – through primarily visual means of great vividness and power. I believe it’s up to each individual audience member to intuit the meaning of the images they experience in front of them and relate them to the words they are hearing – and

seeing – at the same time. And that journey of discovery will be unique to every person. For me that’s one of the great joys of Manipulate – the great variety of different responses to the same piece, and the passion with which our audiences will articulate them.” And Hamletmachine has the qualities that have become a trademark of Manipulate’s programme.

Hart continues: “This is a very stylish European production which combines many elements of current visual theatre practice – object manipulation, projection and animation of images, voice-overs and complex soundscapes – as well as lots of water – to articulate and illuminate a ‘difficult’ text.” From its first stirring up in Dundee, to its current incarnation as part of The Traverse’s recent attempts to redefine itself as a ‘theatre of new writing,’ Manipulate has always been about the challenge. Once Hart had demonstrated that puppetry wasn’t just for kids, he started to include choreography, expanding his definitions of visual theatre, supporting local artists like Pony Pie (creators of the excellent How Keanu Reeves Saved the World) and integrating animated cinema, short compilation shows and major pieces from around the world into one of Scotland’s most important theatre festivals. Only New Territories has a similar intelligence and eclecticism, combining a curatorial focus with a willingness to find radical, experimental creativity. “Quality aside, I have not yet seen something that I would consider too extreme to include in a Manipulate festival programme. ”Hart concludes, “I always aim to programme work, like Jerk [a monologue based on the true story of serial killings] during Manipulate 2011, that has the potential to challenge and disturb habitual assumptions.”

Manipulate Festival, Traverse, 30 Jan-4 Feb Various times and prices www.manipulatefestival.org/festival

We have a strong aspiration that over the next five years Scottish artists will provide Manipulate with work of the highest quality and ambition that will stand securely alongside these international productions Simon Hart

COMPS

WIN A TEN FILM PASS WIN A MEAL FOR 4 TO THE GLASGOW AND A ROUND OF FILM FESTIVAL 2012 DRINKS AT BAR 50

The Glasgow Film Festival returns following a very successful 2011, which saw them exhibiting in cinema spaces, galleries and unusual venues all across the city (including a swimming pool!). This year’s festival will once again incorporate both the Glasgow Youth Film Festival (5-15 Feb) and Glasgow Short Film Festival (9-12 Feb), with the GFF’s main programme running from 16 – 26 February.

With so many exciting screenings taking place, the GFF are offering one Skinny reader the chance to win a ten film pass to the main festival. You can see ten films solo if you want or take a friend to five, but you need to redeem the tickets quickly to avoid disappointment, as the pass will not guarantee entry to screenings.

To enter, visit www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions, or scan the QR code with your smartphone, and answer the following question: Q: Which film starring Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu held its UK premiere at the 2011 Glasgow Film Festival?

Closing date Tue 17 Jan Winners will be notified on the day of closing and will be required to respond within 72 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Tickets are not redeemable for cash. For full terms and conditions, see www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms.

Tickets go on sale on Thurs 19 Jan WWW.GLASGOWFILM.ORG

So, It’s freezing outside, and everyone’s skint in the post-Christmas period. Edinburgh’s Bar 50 - just off of the Cowgate - would be the perfect retreat for a good bit of grub and a drink, especially if the grub and drink were free.

Thankfully, Smart City Hostels are offering to dine and water one lucky Skinny reader and three friends with a meal for 4 and a round of drinks. No need to rush out into the cold evening though, after dinner you could chill out on the comfy sofas, play pool, or have a look at what’s on the wide screen TVs. For your chance to win go to www.theskinny.co.uk/ competitions and answer this question...

Q: What colour are the pool tables at Bar 50? (pssst. There’s a clue in the photo) 1. BLUE 2. RED 3. GREEN Competition closes Tue 31 Jan Winners will be notified on the day of closing and will be required to respond within 72 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Prize must be redeemed in February 2012. Entrants must be over 18 and may be asked for identification. For full terms and conditions, go to www.theskinny.co.uk/ about/terms WWW.SMARTCITYHOSTELS.COM/BAR50 WWW.DRINKAWARE.CO.UK

Bookstore Café

43 Bread St, Edinburgh EH3 9AH

Ryan Creary: Alex Girard backcountry skiing, Rogers Pass, B.C

T 0131 229 4444 W www.pulp-books.com

Queens Hall, edinburgH 27 January 2012 7:30PM £12 / £10 (COnCessiOn) TO bOOK Call: Queens Hall bOx OffiCe 0131 668 2019

The Banff Mountain Film Festival brings to life the spirit of extreme adventure, remote cultures and the world’s last great wild places - all through the big screen. An inspiring evening with great prize giveaways.

For more info and to watch the trailer visit:

www.banff- uK.COM

Proprietor Steve Rapaport and friends welcome you to Pulp Fiction, Edinburgh’s only secondhand genre-fiction bookshop.

A spacious community venue, it offers thousands of mystery, fantasy, romance, crime, and science fiction novels, accompanied by tea, sofas, events and music. Art on the walls will generally be arresting and usually for sale. Cakes may be present.

Come for a ripping good yarn and a latte, and emerge a week or a decade later, shaking off the lingering effects of stun rays, enchantments, seduction or spycraft.

All Books:

10% off with Student Card or 15% off with this ad Sk01

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 55

Glasgow music Tue 03 Jan MAE

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £9 adv.

Alternative indie-rockers from Virginia Beach, fronted by Dave Elkins on vocals and guitar.

Jamie Bell

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

The talented fingerstyle jazz guitarist plays his own arrangements of standards.

Speedboat Salesmen (Cavalcades, Drug Couple, Tramadol Party) 13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Manchester trio playing noisy indie-rockin’ emo tunes about ‘girls and stuff’.

Wed 04 Jan

Glasgow Death Metal Tea Party 2012 (Nerrus Kor, Party Cannon, Agonised Deformity, Laceration) Soundhaus, 19:00–23:00, £7

Soundhaus host their last ever metal show (in this venue anyway, in lieu of the venue’s impending demolishment), set to be an all-out metallic rabble of a thing.

Butterfly Saturdays

Butterfly & Pig, 20:00–02:00, Free

Resident rockers The Meat Men play a live set, followed by DJ Dave Stone.

Plus free entry to the Buff Club’s official after-party.

Sun 08 Jan Cymbals Eat Guitars (Milagres) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £7.50

Live Jazz

NYC posse who know how to cut loose on the ol’ thunderous drums/ guitars/keys combo.

The residents play a mix of jazz classics and modern standards.

The King Hats, The Heretics, Sick Kids, People Places Maps

Thu 05 Jan The LaFontaines, Darc, Teklo, Kid Robotik

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Muscular Dystrophy Fundraiser (Craig Durning, Rank Berry, Trauma Inc, Dead Medicine)

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Gary Johnstone

Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

The Joker’s Rage and 3 Card Trick frontman plays material from his brand new solo album.

Dave Dominey

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

Funked-up bass loops with laptop, electric bass and a featured guest soloist.

Mackenzie and Swad, Jakeybytez, Erin Friel, The Heavy Damage 13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £4

Alternative-styled hip-hop showcase, with Mackenzie & Swad launching their new 7-inch EP, plus Tescko on the decks and a raffle!

Fri 06 Jan Thunder: Acoustic

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

Thunder’s Danny Bowes and Ben Matthews play a special stripped-back acoustic set.

Ocean House

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £8

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

Choice selection of rock and solo acts performing in aid of Muscular Dystrophy.

Blues Kitchen

Slouch, 18:00–21:00, Free

Early evening showcase of live blues bands.

Mon 09 Jan Vukovi, Cities and Skylines, Atlas, Eras King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Scarlet INside

Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

Genre-crossing Glasgow trio headered by Kevin Kennie, who’s dabbled in every kind of music from heavy metal to jazz piano.

Michael Simons

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

Folk and blues fingerstyle guitarist.

Hard rock squares up to post-grunge as the Glasgow foursome return with their rejigged line-up.

Live Jazz

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

The residents play a mix of jazz classics and modern standards.

Thu 12 Jan Asking Alexandria

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Hardcore-meets-screamo inspired rock’n’roll from the English fivepiece led by Danny Worsnop.

Mallory Knox (Stars Of The Search Party, Verses) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £6

Pop-meets-rock quintet named after Juliette Lewis’ psychopathic character in Natural Born Killers, in case you were wondering.

Tango In The Attic, The Black Rats, Letters, Punto The Feef King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Cry Parrot New Year Fest Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–23:00, £4

DIY promoter Cry Parrot stage a threeday Sleazy’s takeover, where they’ll be celebrating the best new Scottish acts on the scene, taking in the likes of Sacred Paws, Clip Art, Mussel Memory, Mother Ganga and Cru Servers.

Yaman

Glasgow foursome fusing old school thrash with death metal vocals.

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Sneak (Fiction Faction, Panda Trap)

Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

The Glasgow indie-meets-electronic outfit return to the gigging scene for their first show of 2012.

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

Back For Good

Theatre Royal, 19:30–22:00, From £18.50 (£15.50)

All-singing, all-dancing Take That tribute act.

The Big Dish (Iona Marshall)

Hazy Recolections (Washington Irving, Jonnie Common, The Dirty Beggars, Siobhan Wilson, The Embers)

Vigo Thieves, The Last Of The Free, Iain McLaughlin and The Outsiders, Cherri Fosphate King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Cry Parrot New Year Fest Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–23:00, £4

DIY promoter Cry Parrot stage a three-day Sleazy’s takeover, where they’ll be celebrating the best new Scottish acts on the scene, taking in the likes of Sacred Paws, Clip Art, Mussel Memory, Mother Ganga and Cru Servers.

Badmouth Battles (Trauma Inc)

Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

Building on the success of their debut back in November 2011, the Badmouth Battles are back for a night of head-to-heads between a who’s who of cutting edge Scottish hip-hop.

One Direction

SECC, 19:00–22:00, £sold out

Fresh-faced X-Factor almost-weres, playing a sell-out two-night stint.

Deep joy.

Novana

O2 ABC, 18:30–22:00, £8

Nirvana tribute act.

All Time Low

Butterfly & Pig, 20:00–02:00, Free

Green Door Clinic (Clyping Kids, Systems, Dawn Cartel) Maggie May’s, 20:00–22:30, £5

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

Chirpy American punk-pop, all fastpaced and fizzy with hooks.

Hard rockin’ Glasgow five-piece, fusing catchy guitar riffs with choirboyesque three-part harmonies.

Kobi Onyame, Hector Bizerk, Black Bros, Michelle Elii

End Of A Year (Aficionado, Citizens, Bonehouse)

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Cry Parrot New Year Fest Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–23:00, £4

DIY promoter Cry Parrot stage a threeday Sleazy’s takeover, where they’ll be celebrating the best new Scottish acts on the scene, taking in the likes of Sacred Paws, Clip Art, Mussel Memory, Mother Ganga and Cru Servers.

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Side project of a number of Albany musicians, taking their sound to a more melodic, post-hardcore kinda place.

Sun 15 Jan A Winged Victory For The Sullen

Oran Mor, 19:00–23:00, £13.50

Collaborative project from a collection of Americans who now call Europe their home, mixing classical, ambient and post-rock sounds.

Tue 10 Jan Discopolis, Capitals, Capstin Pole, Kill The Waves King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

JEM

One Direction

SECC, 19:00–22:00, £sold out

Fresh-faced X-Factor almost-weres, playing a sell-out two-night stint.

Deep joy.

Esperi, Callum Baird, Bronagh Monahan, Gary Ovens King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Butterfly & Pig, 20:00–02:00, Free

Wed 11 Jan Lynnie Carson, Matt Scott, James Murray, Johnny Barr

From Our Hearts (Miss The Occupier, Fat Janitor)

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Gothenburg-formed ensemble featuring Francis of San Fran and the Ciscos, reveling in turning it up to 11.

And then some.

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

56 THE SKINNY January 2012

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £3

Ravaged rock’n’roll-styled metal from the LA-based duo of Tarrie B and Mick Murphy, fueled on their fiery DIY ethic and heavy rock beats.

Beerjacket, Michael Cassidy, Coat Hooks, Julia and The Doogans King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

KA Radio Fundraiser (Mechanical Smile, Colour Cells, Cheryl Scott, Giro FM) Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

Showcase of live bands playing to promote new Scottish radio station, KA Radio. The night will be broadcast simultaneously live online.

Katherine Jenkins

SECC, 19:30–22:00, From £27.50

The multi-platinum mezzo soprano does her thing.

Live Jazz

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

Whatever They Say

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

More acoustic indie-pop loveliness from Glasgow duo David Smith and Cameron Muir.

Thu 19 Jan Pareto, Dilectrics, Bear Arms, WeCameFromWolves King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Andrea Heins

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

The Canadian-born singer/songwriter works her magic on guitar, vocals and auto-harp.

M83 (Porcelain Raft)

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

French musician Anthony Gonzalez tours on the back of last year’s dreamy double disco opus, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, which made it to number 9 in our albums of 2011 chart.

A double-whammy of acoustic singer/songwriters take their craft to the stage.

Glasgow-based noisemakers riding along on a lo-fi patchwork of psychedelia, garage and surf.

Morpheus Rising (Dog Moon Howl, Shorthouse)

Fri 20 Jan

Classic-styled rock and metal from the twin quitar York quintet.

Blues Kitchen

Slouch, 18:00–21:00, Free

Early evening showcase of live blues bands.

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–22:30, £tbc

Mon 16 Jan United Fruit, Lady North, Hunt/Gather, Natalie Pryce King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Michael Simons

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

Folk and blues fingerstyle guitarist.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

One-off reunion show for the Airdrie rockers, playing favourites from their three-album catalogue, plus a few surprise covers. Part of Celtic Connections.

Origami

Brel, 15:00–18:00, £5

The London-based jazz outfit, normally to be found residing in Oliver’s Jazz Bar in Greenwich, take a trip north. Part of Celtic Connections.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

O2 ABC, 14:00–17:00, £10

Handpicked selection of acts from the flourishing Glasgow indie, folk and roots scene. Part of Celtic Connections.

Ian Stephenson Trio Brel, 19:30–22:00, £10

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

Multi-instrumentalist Ian Stephenson performs material from his debut LP, accompanied by Sarah Hayes (of Admiral Fallow) and piper-cum-pianist Andy May. Part of Celtic Connections.

The Serious Men

Hard-riffing trio, whose impressive sound has been honed to perfection (i.e. they sound bloody massive live).

Happy-go-lucky Glasgow quintet, fueled on their relentless pop sensibility and incessant beats.

Early evening showcase of live blues bands.

Lawson

London-based foursome completed by the later addition of singer/songwriter Andy Brown, who bonded with the rest of the band over pear cider.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–23:00, Free

Dumbartonshire Invasion (The Lost Society, Holy Pistol Club, Strange October) Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

It’s Dumbartonshire’s turn to descend on Pivo Pivo, with some of their finest bands and musicians commandeering the night and showcasing their worth.

The Xcerts

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Blues Kitchen

Slouch, 18:00–21:00, Free

Tubelord (Duke)

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–22:30, £tbc

Energetic trio with a kitchen sinkstyle approach to music-making: spastic riffing, pop hooks a-plenty, disorienting time sig changes, and lyrics that move from put-theworld-to-right serious, to utterly nonsensical as they merrily go.

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Carolina Chocolate Drops (Punch Brothers) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

North Carolina folkies reinventing the African-American string-band tradition, inspired by their legendary mentor, 90-year-old fiddler Joe Thompson. Part of Celtic Connections.

Various Cruelties

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

London-based Liam O’Donnell takes his favoured indie and soul genres and moulds ‘em into something unique.

Butterfly Fridays

Butterfly & Pig, 20:00–02:00, Free

Live acoustic blues from house band The Fortunate Sons, followed by DJ Junior on deck duty.

Meanwhile City (Junebug, The Blinding, The Rich) Maggie May’s, 19:30–22:30, £6 (£4)

Female-fronted rock quintet headered by Nikki Herd, while Dave Lawlor takes up the official guitarshreading lead.

Wed 25 Jan Alternative Burns Night (Babelfish)

Oran Mor, 19:00–23:00, £14

Primal popsters Babelfish host an alternative Burns night, with their radical new 21st Century renditions of Burns material. Part of Celtic Connections.

Luka Bloom (The Long Notes) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Irish folk-rock troubadour, who also boasts the accolade of personal musician to the Dalai Lama. Part of Celtic Connections.

Louis Abbott and Friends Brel, 19:30–22:00, £5

The Admiral Fallow mainman invites along a batch of (likely well-known) chums for a musical singalong. Part of Celtic Connections.

Young Philadelphia (Rollor) Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

Noisy post-punk freakout duo, who know a thing of two about commandeering a stage.

Live Jazz

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

The residents play a mix of jazz classics and modern standards.

Thu 26 Jan CW Stoneking

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £14

The Australian-born singer/songwriter know for his roundabout take on early jazz and blues. Part of Celtic Connections.

King Creosote and Jon Hopkins O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Bored rigid at the latest

3D sequel

Or Blown away by fantastic live music?

The Mercury Prize-nominees responsible for one of our favourite albums of 2011, no question. Part of Celtic Connections.

The Graveyard Full Of Blues Tour (Sleepy Eyes Nelson) Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

Joint album launch and tour from two new Scottish blues acts, with local support of a similar ilk.

Roots Manuva

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £15

The prolific rapper and producer (aka Rodney Hylton Smith) does his thing, with rhymes, soul and a hefty dose of bass all present-and-correct.

Fri 27 Jan Larkin Poe

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £14

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £25

Los Tentakills

Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £14

The residents play a mix of jazz classics and modern standards.

Mark Ayling, Brian Curran

Kaleidoscopic pop from the Londonbased quartet with a penchant for solfeggio harmonies.

Live acoustic blues from house band The Fortunate Sons, followed by DJ Junior on deck duty.

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £12 adv.

Reincarnation of the Irish hard rock legends, featuring Dio/Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell and Ricky Warwick of The Almighty on vocals.

Psychedelic folk-rock with flecks of the blues, from the London, Bedford and North Yorkshire-straddling foursome.

Butterfly Fridays

My Ruin (Godsized, Sanctorum, Long Day Fear)

Young Philidelphia singer/songwriter who got her break on Fox talent show So You Think You Can Dance, singing a selfpenned break-up anthem, obviously.

Trailer Trash Tracys

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

Indian and Scottish music arranged for guitar and cello.

Wed 18 Jan

Christina Perri

Wolf People

Stereo, 19:30–22:30, £8

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

Thin Lizzy

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

A night of poetry, song and story, with an additional open mic session.

King Tut’s host their annual New Year’s Revolution mini-fest, with an all-Scottish line up playing over the 15 day schedule.

The vibrant Glasgow folk collective mix traditional rootsy Scottish tunes with contemporary influences, all bagpipes and whistles. Part of Celtic Connections.

Fri 13 Jan

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

Raymond Meade, Elan Few, Mono Six, Luca

Young Scottish folk fusion outfit, mixing Celtic and electronic sounds in live Gaelic vocals, pipes and whistles.

Part of Celtic Connections.

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £sold out

Chirpy American punk-pop, all fastpaced and fizzy with hooks.

Resident rockers The Meat Men play a live set, followed by DJ Dave Stone.

Plus free entry to the Buff Club’s official after-party.

Indian classical music on sitar and flute.

Magic Carpet Cabaret

Sat 07 Jan

The Treacherous Orchestra (Gabby Young and Other Animals)

Butterfly Saturdays

would you rather spend your night out?

The River 68’s, The Fleet, The Toi, Kontraband

Live acoustic blues from house band The Fortunate Sons, followed by DJ Junior on deck duty.

Sat 21 Jan Niteworks

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

How

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £6

Butterfly & Pig, 20:00–02:00, Free

Tue 17 Jan Open Swimmer, Reverieme, Randolph’s Leap, Ajimal

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Silvertrace

Butterfly Fridays

Sat 14 Jan All Time Low

Laetitia Sadier (Jo Mango, Dan Haywood’s New Hawks) Platform, 19:00–22:00, £10 (£7.50)

One half of seminal post-rockers Stereolab, Laetitia Sadier shines as a solo talent in her own right, with a set handpicked from her mesmerising solo debut, The Trip. Part of Celtic Connections.

Butterfly Saturdays

Butterfly & Pig, 20:00–02:00, Free

Resident rockers The Meat Men play a live set, followed by DJ Dave Stone.

Plus free entry to the Buff Club’s official after-party.

Zoe Muth and The Lost High Rollers (Turtle Dhuks) The Arches, 19:30–22:00, £14

Young Seattle native Zoe Muth does her lovely Americana thing, aidedand-abetted by her live backing quartet, The Lost High Rollers. Part of Celtic Connections.

Tate & Lyle (The Man From Ultra, Scrambled Ovulation) 13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £6

Sleazy sonic carnage from the punishing Elizabeth Veldon and p6 (aka the frontman of Desalvo), in what will be their last ever performance.

Mon 23 Jan Secret Sisters

Oran Mor, 19:00–23:00, £12.50

The Alabama sister duo do their new-age traditional country thing, all harmonic and lovely like.

Brel Sessions

Brel, 21:00–01:00, Free

Acoustic, drop-in style, indie-folk session with Laura Wilkie (of Rachel Sermanni) and Sarah Hayes (of Admiral Fallow).

Explosions In The Sky

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £18

Intricate instrumental melodies from the Texas four-piece, fluttering and intertwining in the most dazzling of patterns.

Oran Mor, 19:00–23:00, £10

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Eccentric singer/songwriter singing oft heartbreaking little ditties about this ‘n’ that.

Snow Patrol

SECC, 18:30–22:00, £32.50

Wing and a Prayer

Milton Keynes quartet straddling the line between hardcore noise and UK skacore mash-ups, all punky and defiant with it.

Live showcase of blues-influenced singer/songwriters.

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Chemikal Underground and Friends

Leeds/London quartet fronted by the brooding voice and densley-crafted songwriting of Ralph Pelleymounter.

Part of Celtic Connections.

Mark Hole

Anti-Vigilante

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

Eccentric Norwegian synth-poppers e’er in possession of thunderous drums, swirling electronics and, quite possibly, cowbells.

Sun 22 Jan

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Louis Abbott and his merry six-piece colonise the stage for a rousing collective rabble of a thing, likely turning into a mass audience sing-song the moment they crack out Squealing Pigs. Part of Celtic Connections.

Folk and blues fingerstyle guitarist.

Michael Simons

Tue 24 Jan

To Kill A King (Francois and The Atlas Mountains)

Admiral Fallow (Dry The River, Chasing Owls)

Gary Lightbody et al do their amiable indie-rock thing. We once rather beautifully described them as a “bed-wet fest”. Enjoy.

Casiokids

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–22:30, £7

Traditional bluegrass-styled offerings from sister duo Rebecca and Megan Lovell, with a selection of original songs and covers sung in the sweetest of vocal harmonies. Part of Celtic Connections.

Brel, 19:30–22:00, £5

Showcase evening curated by the inimitable Chemikal Underground label. Part of celtic Connections.

Lower Than Atlantis (Sights and Sounds)

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £8.50

Hard-rockin’ foursome hailing from Hertfordshire.

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

Butterfly Fridays

Butterfly & Pig, 20:00–02:00, Free

Live acoustic blues from house band The Fortunate Sons, followed by DJ Junior on deck duty.

KAN (Guidewires)

The Arches, 19:30–22:00, £14

Inventive folk project fronted by flute/whistle player Brian Finnegan and demon fiddler Aidan O’Rourke, joined on drums and guitar by Ian Stephenson and Jim Goodwin respectively. Part of Celtic Connections.

Sixth Avenue Traffic

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Glasgow quartet currently filling their days experimenting with rock, punk, funk and soul.

G lasgow MUSIC Sat 28 Jan Foy Vance (Finlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers) Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £14

County Down native who infuses his Irish influences with soul, blues and gospel, fresh from recording his second LP with producer extraordinaire David Holmes.

Blazin’ Fiddles (Sol i Serena) O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Contemporary fiddle troupe from the Highlands and Islands. Part of Celtic Connections.

E D I N B U R G H music Hazy Recolections (Foy Vance, Dean Ownes, Finlay Napier, Doghouse Roses, Kim Edgar) O2 ABC, 14:00–17:00, £10

Johann Strauss Gala

The Johann Strauss dancers and orchestra return with their enchanting new Viennese Ball show, bedecked in full period costume.

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Peatbog Faeries (Stanley Odd)

Wed 04 Jan

Mon 09 Jan

Jazz Bar Quartet

Jazz Bar Big Band

Acoustic-styled musical variety show, headered by Edinburgh’s The Last September, which is essentially frontman Pete’s Deanes tender songs set to music by his live indie-folk six-piece.

High octane contemporary folk from the Isle of Skye crew. Part of Celtic Connections.

Driving modern jazz from the sax, piano, bass and drums four-piece.

Four trumpets, four trombones, five saxes and four rhythm. That do you?

Sat 14 Jan

Mike Kearney KA-TET

The Babes

Morpheus Rising (Dog Moon Howl)

Electric six-piece playing unique arrangements, plus improvised renditions of classics.

Classic-styled rock and metal from the twin quitar York quintet.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

or

with a whole new set of characters?

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Blues and funk five-piece, with added horns.

Thu 05 Jan Rend Collective

The Caves, 20:00–23:00, £6

The religious collective of musicians and artists launch their new worship album.

Unpeeled

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £5

Handpicked showcase of burgeoning local music-makers.

Future Heroes

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Madcap guitarist Aki Remally and his funk four-piece man The Jazz Bar’s regular Thursday nighter.

Fri 06 Jan Full House

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Indie-rock, pure and simple.

Brel, 15:00–18:00, £5

High-energy disco-pop from the Glasgow seven-piece. Part of Celtic Connections.

Man Overboard

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £8 adv.

New Jersey pop-punk quintet, formed by childhood buddies Nik Bruzzese and Wayne Wildrick.

The February Solution (Madman Is Absolute, Second Skin, Insurgent)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–23:00, Free

The hardcore and metallic Glasgow noisemakers reunite for a Sleazy’s basement takeover.

Snow Patrol

SECC, 18:30–22:00, £32.50

Gary Lightbody et al do their amiable indie-rock thing. We once rather beautifully described them as a “bed-wet fest”. Enjoy.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah SWG3, 20:00–22:30, £12.50

The Brooklyn quartet return to their indie-pop roots on the back of last autumn’s Hysterical LP, all off-kilter melodies, hazy synths and soporific base-lines.

Panic At The Disco

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

American alternative rock duo made up of dapper chaps Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith.

Butterfly Saturdays

Butterfly & Pig, 20:00–02:00, Free

Resident rockers The Meat Men play a live set, followed by DJ Dave Stone.

Plus free entry to the Buff Club’s official after-party.

The Sweetback Sisters The Arches, 19:30–22:00, £14

Vintage country-styled tunesmithery from the rockin’ four-man band, fronted by Kansas/Californian-born singer/songwriters Emily Miller and Zara Bode. Part of Celtic Connections.

Remember Remember (Adam Stearns and The Glass Animals) Brel, 19:30–22:00, £10

Musical brainchild of multiinstrumentalist Graeme Ronald, now a fully-fledged live seven-piece shot through with samples, keys, glockenspiels and loop pedals. Part of Celtic Connections.

Argent (Wishbone Ash)

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

Longstanding English rockers founded by keyboardist Rod Argent, back and rockin’ on the live circuit.

La Dispute (Former Thieves) King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £8.50

Five pals from the Upper Midwest with a mutual passion for using music as a means to express and connect, taking their sound from blues to screamo as they go.

Breadcrumb Trail (Without Aeroplanes, Vasa, Ohm) Pivo Pivo, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

New monthly experimental night, where featured acts, groups and soloists from wide-ranging fields unite with the single unifying factor of making innovative and forward-thinking music.

Alfie Boe

SECC, 19:30–22:00, From £20

The Blackpool-born tenor, and onetime car mechanic, does his refreshing take on the classical genre.

Bonnie Prince Billy

Old Fruitmarket, 20:00–22:00, £18

Will Oldham returns to Scottish Shores under his Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy alter-ego, with yet more lush explorations of America’s historical, musical and psychic backwoods. Part of Celtic Connections.

Martha Reeves and The Vandellas

The Arches, 19:30–22:00, £20

The mighty motown legends play as part of Celtic Connections.

Blues Kitchen

Slouch, 18:00–21:00, Free

Kasule (Gav Prentice)

Early evening showcase of live blues bands.

Three Glasgow chaps who build their lo-fi electronic soundscapes from pulses, tones and a thousand burbling hooks. Support comes from Over The Wall’s Gav Prentice.

fiN

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Mozart Parties

The Art School Union, 19:30–22:00, £6

London-born singer/songwriter James Bennett’s shoegaze-y indie-pop project, all dreamy and lovely like.

Sun 29 Jan Manran (Tarras)

Oran Mor, 19:00–23:00, £13

Traditional Scottish ensemble combining driving accordion, fiddle, Highland pipes, Uilleann pipes and wooden flute in one damned impressive whole. Part of Celtic Connections.

Electric Circus Live Lounge (The Last September, Danny McGeever, Alistair McErlance)

Handpicked selection of acts from the flourishing Glasgow indie, folk and roots scene. Part of Celtic Connections.

Fallingin love Federation Of The Disco Pimp

Usher Hall, 14:00–17:00, £tbc

Swirling guitars and driving beats from Aki Remally and his groove band.

Same old faces at the same old pub quiz

Tue 03 Jan Tuesday Heartbreak

Captain’s Rest, 20:00–22:30, £tbc

South-west London schoolmates turned guitar-pop quartet fronted

by Luke Joyce, stopping by Glasgow ahead of their official single launch party in London a few nights later.

Mon 30 Jan Wild Flag

Oran Mor, 19:00–23:00, £12.50

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Swirling guitars and driving beats from Aki Remally and his groove band.

Flutes En Route

Usher Hall, 10:30–12:30, £2 (students free)

The experimental flute quartet tinker with familiar classics and perform some of Scottish composer Rory Boyle’s classics. Part of the Emerging Artists series.

Ed Sheeran

HMV Picture House, 18:30–22:00, £15

Suffolk singer/songwriter currently getting the radio airwaves in a twist, fusing hip-hop and folk in one beatready whole.

Wed 11 Jan

Mike Kearney KA-TET

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Driving modern jazz from the sax, piano, bass and drums four-piece.

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £6

Video Loves The Radio Star The Third Door, 19:00–23:00, £7

Music download portal Ten Tracks and video LaB join forces for a night of live music and video art, with experimental popsters My Tiny Robots headlining and launching their new single on the night.

Late ‘n’ Live: Diwan

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Senegalese singer Samba Sene brings in his pulsating six-piece party band for a late session, complete with African percussion and funk DJs playing into the bedtime hours.

Viennese New Year Gala

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £12.50

Viennese-styled orchestral evening with the RSNO celebrating the New Year with a selection of Strauss favourites.

Sat 07 Jan Henry’s Christmas Party Henry’s Cellar, 19:30–03:00, £4

Henry’s host their annual January Christmas Party (we’re sure it makes sense to them), with a selection of their favourite bands gracing the stage throughout the night, plus free scran!

Late ‘n’ Live

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Live funk and soul players, plus funk DJs taking it into the bedtime hours.

The Falling Rain (Disposable) Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Heavy rock and metal offerings from the fiery furnace of East Lothian.

Audiotist, Annoying Ringtone, Vore

Thu 12 Jan Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £9.50

Zesty re-working of Handel’s early composition, with fiery soprano Camilla Tilling at the helm.

Future Heroes

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Madcap guitarist Aki Remally and his funk four-piece man The Jazz Bar’s regular Thursday nighter.

Tinderbox Orchestra: Fundraiser Jam

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

The 35-odd piece youth orchestra host a massive party night to raise funds for their next project. Go support the funk.

Nigel Kennedy

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £36

The talented classical violinist and violist plays Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Fri 13 Jan Ded Rabbit

Nobles Bar, 19:00–22:00, Free

Band of brothers playing an eclectic mix of indie and sax funk.

Jazz Bar Quartet

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Driving modern jazz from the sax, piano, bass and drums four-piece.

Late ‘n’ Live

Acoustic, drop-in style, indie-folk session with Laura Wilkie (of Rachel Sermanni) and Sarah Hayes (of Admiral Fallow).

The Sunday Sinners

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Tamla motown funk and soul, fronted by singer Fiona Lynch.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5

A fairly new addition to the Edinburgh scene, Spaceface specialise in explosive walls of sound that take their cue from post-rock and instrumental greats like Mogwai.

Monthly blues showcase, handpicked by singer James Carr (of The Engines).

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

The crazed Edinburgh post-rock deviants let loose on stage, describing themselves as ‘the sound of thunder in a valley’.

Carbona Not Glue

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £5

Ramones tribute act.

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £5 (£4)

NSPCC Scotland Winter Concert Usher Hall, 14:00–16:00, £10

A collective of talented musicians and singers from Edinburgh schools perform their annual winter concert.

Proceeds go to NSPCC.

Experimental rock duo from Bathgate, recently seen headlining the T Break stage and supporting the mighty Biffy Clyro.

Sun 15 Jan CRANACHAN

Bannerman’s, 21:00–23:00, Free

Classic rock covers.

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

The Sunday Sinners

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Tamla motown funk and soul, fronted by singer Fiona Lynch.

WeCameFromWolves

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £4

Perthshire post-rockers big on the euphoric choruses, hooks and harmonies.

Mon 16 Jan

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £5 (£4)

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Village, 20:00–22:30, £5

Lindi Ortega

Voodoo Rooms, 19:30–23:00, £8

The Canadian singer/songwriter does her country-styled-pop-meetsrockabilly thing, most likely in cherry-red cowboy boots.

Limbo (Dead Boy Robotics, Homework, The Lotus Project) Voodoo Rooms, 20:00–23:00, £5

Live music-cum-club night, headered

by Edinburgh duo Dead Boy Robotics, incorporating laptops, guitars, vocal yelps and tribal drumming in their rather epic brand of new wave.

Electric Circus Live Lounge (The Stormy Seas, Dixie Beaver, Andrew Thomas) Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, Free

Acoustic-styled musical variety show, headered by The Stormy Seas gloriously melancholy folky offerings.

Jazz Bar Big Band

Sat 21 Jan

Four trumpets, four trombones, five saxes and four rhythm. That do you?

Killing Time

The Jazz Bar, 21:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

The Babes

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

More in the way of driving guitars and big harmonies as The Horrors bridge the gap between rock, goth and punk theatrics as only they know how. Rescheduled date.

Tue 17 Jan

Usher Hall, 10:30–12:30, £2 (students free)

Skerryvore

Tubelord (Eras)

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5 adv.

Energetic trio with a kitchen sinkstyle approach to music-making: spastic riffing, pop hooks a-plenty, disorienting time sig changes, and lyrics that move from put-theworld-to-right serious, to utterly nonsensical as they merrily go.

Wed 25 Jan

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Blues and funk five-piece, with added horns.

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £4

Alternative rock offerings from the Belfast trio.

£10 house?

for the best seats in the

Foy Vance (Micah Vincent)

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £10 adv.

County Down native who infuses his Irish influences with soul, blues and gospel, fresh from recording his second LP with producer extraordinaire David Holmes.

Sat 28 Jan KISS Tribute

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Er, a tribute to Kiss. And facepaint, naturally.

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £5

The Classic Rock Show

Queen’s Hall, 20:00–22:00, £20

Mixed selection of classic rock, playing anthem-upon-anthem from the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd.

Late ‘n’ Live

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Live funk and soul players, plus funk DJs taking it into the bedtime hours.

The Litigators, 10:04s, The Dark Jokes, Seven Deadly Sins The Liquid Room, 19:00–22:00, £5

Live music showcase raising funds for the Homeless World Cup.

The Sensational David Bowie Tribute Band

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £7 adv.

Er, a David Bowie tribute act. We hear they’re sensational.

CRANACHAN

Bannerman’s, 21:00–23:00, Free

Classic rock covers.

The City Calls (Altered Sky, Modern Misfortune, Recipe For Disaster)

Cabaret Voltaire, 19:00–22:00, £6 (£5)

The Southampton rockers play as part of their A Spark To Ignite tour, showcasing their new mini album of the same name.

Napier Songwriters Showcase

Madcap guitarist Aki Remally and his funk four-piece man The Jazz Bar’s regular Thursday nighter.

Songwriting tutor Taj Wyzgowski showcases new material from a group of young, studying singer/songwriters.

Thu 19 Jan

All-day showcase of a up-and-coming bands handpicked by Privilege Promotions, plus a selection or stalls selling records and the like.

Mad Nurse (Cable 35)

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Violinist Hilary Hahn leads this unique orchestral performance of Franco-Russian contrasts, backed by the RSNO chorus ladies.

Future Heroes

Rendition of Brahms’ mighty piano concerto, Piano Concerto 2, with Pierre-Laurent Aimard taking on the titanic solo part.

Late ‘n’ Live

Voodoo Rooms, 18:30–23:00, £17

Sun 29 Jan

The US piano star plays as a trio, with German colleagues Martin Zenker (bass) and Rick Hollander (drums).

The multi-platinum mezzo soprano does her thing.

The Friday Fix (Vladimir Mctavish, Billy Kirkwood, Keara Murphy, Jamie Dalgleish, Eleanor Morton, Viv Gee)

Mike Kearney KA-TET

My Extraordinary, Art Of Privilege, Death Trap City, A Ritual Spirit, Emissary, The Aftermath

Edinburgh Playhouse, 19:30–22:00, £tbc

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

The festival-trotting indie-rock sevenpiece take to the stage with their mightly mix of originals and covers, plus funk DJs playing into the bedtime hours.

A showcase selection of new bands handpicked by Bainbridge Music.

Driving modern jazz from the sax, piano, bass and drums four-piece.

David Berkman Trio

Katherine Jenkins

Late ‘n’ Live: The Dark Jones

Bainbridge Music Showcase (Ames, Seneka, Toy Machine, Little Birds)

or

Studio 24, 15:00–22:00, £8 adv. (£10 door)

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Classic 70s/80s jazz and funk from electro-bassist Sam Firth and his mass ensemble.

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Jazz Bar Quartet

A look at the works of composer Gyorgy Ligeti. Pre-concert talk with Dr Michael Searby (6.30pm).

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £10 (£8)

J-Phunk

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £11

Usher Hall, 11:00–13:00, £2 (students free)

Blazing bagpipes, fiddle and accordians, lynchpinned on Alec Dalglish’s soaring vocals. Part of the Emergent Artists series.

to sweat it out in a mosh pit

Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £9.50

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–03:00, £5

Showcase night playing host to a handpicked selection of rock and punk female-fronted bands.

RSNO: Hilary Hahn Plays Prokofiev

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Blues and funk five-piece, with added horns.

Fri 27 Jan Rock Chick Night (Seafield Foxes, The Fnords, November Orchid, Daddy No, Ste McCabe)

Swirling guitars and driving beats from Aki Remally and his groove band.

Scottish Chamber Orchestra: In The Steppes of Central Europe

Mike Kearney KA-TET

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £6 adv.

Vic Galloway returns for his showcase slot, where the man himself gets to pick the acts for your aural delectation, this time headered by United Fruit’s all-out post-hardcore abrasion served at F1 velocity.

Favourited pick’n’mix Friday night bill of comedy, live music and DJs.

£50

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Emma Versteeg

Tue 24 Jan

Vic Galloway Presents (United Fruit, PAWS)

Tuesday Heartbreak

Pay

Tuesday Heartbreak

Swirling guitars and driving beats from Aki Remally and his groove band.

The Jazz Bar, 21:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Thu 26 Jan

Funk, indie and rock mix for your Saturday night pleasure.

The Horrors

The Liquid Room, 19:00–22:00, £12

Mon 23 Jan

Stillpoint (Shakedown Project)

Bannerman’s, 20:00–23:00, £5

Electric six-piece playing unique arrangements, plus improvised renditions of classics.

Wed 18 Jan

Jazz Bar Quartet

Mad Nurse (Daisy Chain Gang)

Showcase night of handpicked acts from the Edinburgh scene, headered by the acoustic folk-rock loveliness of The Deadly Winters.

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, Free

Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £11

Spaceface (The Jackals, Thousandsounds)

Stormy Sunday Blues

The Deadly Winters, Paul Gilbody, Steve Heron

Sun 08 Jan Bannerman’s, 21:00–23:00, Free

Fri 20 Jan

The Fire and I (Hagana, Underclass)

RSNO: Norrington Conducts Brahms

Groudbreaking conductor Sir Roger Norrington powers the RSNO through two centuries of masterpieces, from Rameau’s sensational baroque dances to Brahms mellowest symphonies.

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Tamla motown funk and soul, fronted by singer Fiona Lynch.

Vocals-fronted eight-piece led by trumpeter Cameron Jay, big on the grooves and punchy on the threehorn brass section.

Sneaky Pete’s, 19:00–22:00, £5

Live funk and soul players, plus funk DJs taking it into the bedtime hours.

Jed Potts and The (Hillman Hunters)

The Sunday Sinners

Leith’s favourite scallywags return with a newish line-up and their fearsome brand of indie-folkmeets-punk.

Breakcore showcase, including a live set from Belgium mentalists Audiotist.

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Riff-driven 90s inspired pop from young Hampshire lass Hannah Clark, shotthrough with dark and dream-like lyrics.

Bannerman’s, 17:00–23:00, £tbc

Four trumpets, four trombones, five saxes and four rhythm. That do you?

Young soprano Emma Versteeg is accompanied by pianist Sam Hutchings on an international tour of song. Part of the Emergent Artists series.

The Banshee Labyrinth, 20:00–23:00, £4

Punk and hardcore all-dayer of noise.

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £6 adv.

Late ‘n’ Live: The Union

Driving modern jazz from the sax, piano, bass and drums four-piece.

Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Handel’s Water Music

Foe

Emelle (Jim Harbourne, Reubam)

Suffolk singer/songwriter currently getting the radio airwaves in a twist, fusing hip-hop and folk in one beatready whole.

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Sun 22 Jan Bombjuice

Jazz Bar Big Band

The Dunedin Consort celebrates its 15th anniversary with a series of concerts exploring Bach’s richly varied Brandenburg concertos, and some of his cantatas.

Driving modern jazz from the sax, piano, bass and drums four-piece.

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Madcap guitarist Aki Remally and his funk four-piece man The Jazz Bar’s regular Thursday nighter.

Eight-piece modern jazz trio led by sax plater Andy Mears.

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Jazz Bar Quartet

Jazz Bar Quartet

Future Heroes

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, £5 adv.

Live funk and soul players, plus funk DJs taking it into the bedtime hours.

Ed Sheeran

HMV Picture House, 18:30–22:00, £15

Edinburgh trio heavily-influenced by British rock’n’roll, currently building their profile on the local scene.

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Andy Mears Octet

Blues and funk five-piece, with added horns.

Queen’s Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £9.50

Blow (Greg Pearson, The Rah’s)

Driving modern jazz from the sax, piano, bass and drums four-piece.

Late ‘n’ Live

Dunedin Consort: Brandenburg Series 1

Driving modern jazz from the sax, piano, bass and drums four-piece.

Folk and blues fingerstyle guitarist.

Tuesday Heartbreak

Monthly indie-pop night where a selection of, er, indie-pop acts play in aid of Marie Cure Hospice.

Henry’s Cellar, 19:00–22:00, £3

Brel Sessions

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea, 20:00–22:00, Free

Tue 10 Jan

Jazz Bar Quartet

Intimate and electric blues from Potts and his merry band.

Michael Simons

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Indie Funday Friday (Night Noise Team, The Jacarandas, Gigantic Leaves, Little Love and the Friendly Vibes)

New all-female indie-styled supergroup featuring previous members of Sleater-Kinney, Helium and The Minders.

Brel, 21:00–01:00, Free

The Jazz Bar, 21:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Electric Circus, 19:00–22:00, Free

Jazz Bar Quartet

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

SCO: Aimard Plays Brahms Usher Hall, 19:30–22:00, £tbc

Wee Red Bar, 19:00–22:00, £4 (£3)

The crazed Edinburgh post-rock deviants let loose on stage, describing themselves as ‘the sound of thunder in a valley’.

The Jazz Bar, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Mon 30 Jan Jazz Bar Big Band

The Jazz Bar, 21:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Four trumpets, four trombones, five saxes and four rhythm. That do you?

The Babes

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Electric six-piece playing unique arrangements, plus improvised renditions of classics.

Live funk and soul players, plus funk DJs taking it into the bedtime hours.

January 2012

THE SKINNY 57

Glasgow CLUBS Tue 03 Jan

Cathouse Fridays

Sun 08 Jan

Thu 12 Jan

Wild Combination

Rock, metal, dance and indie over two levels, with the residents manning the decks.

Quids In

Jellybaby

Electro, funk and disco soundtrack, plus a chance to win the door fees.

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Hail Destroyer

Ready Ready

Blitz!

Pick’n’mix of rock, metal, punk and old school hip-hop with DJs Quarterback and Muppet, plus an all-new hip-hop bar on the side.

The best in new hip-hop and R’n’B with DJ Cool Master.

The La Roche Rumba gang bring their mutant disco to Maggie May’s, playing an eclectic range of music, accompanied by audio-visual mash-up artist Thriftshop XL.

Cathouse’s Open Mic Night

Freaky Freaky

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Badseed

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sun 15 Jan

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro.

Quids In

Fridays @ The Shed

Electro, funk and disco soundtrack, plus a chance to win the door fees.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, digs out some vinyl gems.

Killer Kitsch

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Electronic music of all ages, for all ages.

Junk Disco

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Hotch-potch night of chart anthems, a live video feed, dress-up chests and karaoke in the wee room.

I AM: The Year Of Terrible Destruction or New Age Of Peace Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £4

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa host an end of the world/any excuse for a party-style party.

Wed 04 Jan Subversion

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Alternative pop from the 80s and 90s, with a bit of industrial dance and classic rock thrown in.

Take It Sleazy

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

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

Garage Wednesdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Chart and classics with yer man Andy R, plus weekly live movie showings.

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Booty Call

Mixed bag of indie, rock, underground hip-hop and chart classics over four rooms.

Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Brand new queercentric night with its focus firmly on 90s-inspired new romantic and danceable pop hits.

Badseed

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Fridays @ Bookclub

Hillhead Bookclub, 21:00–00:00, Free

The best in new hip-hop and R’n’B with DJ Cool Master.

Boom Boom

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Considered mix of garage, post-punk and girl groups, presented by Adele of Sons and Daughters and the Sophisticated Boom Boom.

One More Tune

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Eclectic anything-goes mix of tracks from the OMT crew.

Taking Back Thursdays Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Emo, pop-punk and rock, plus extreme death metal and thrash in the back bar.

Misbehavin’

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Monthly mish-mash of electro, dance and dirty pop with DJ Drucifer.

Boom Thursdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Chart and indie classics with yer man Gerry Lyons, plus a live Twitter feed where you can log your tune requests (#Garagelive).

Feel My Bicep

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Cosmic and sweaty mix of 80s sleaze, house and disco.

Walk ‘n’ Skank

Club 520, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

The Mungo’s Hi Fi crew in their official Glasgow residency, bringing you the very best in bass, natch.

Fri 06 Jan Propaganda

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Damnation

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5

Alternative rock, metal, punk and ska.

David Barbarossa’s Thing Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Two floors of punk-rock, reggae and classic disco, with local scallywag David Barbarossa.

It’s worth a

Classic and underground disco, plus dusted-down old soul with Solar Disco’s Kev Stevens.

second look.

Sat 07 Jan Love Music

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11.30)

Get £10 tix if you’re under 26.

Any Seat. Any Performance.

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests.

Absolution

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5

Sunday Roaster

One More Tune

Eclectic anything-goes mix of tracks from the OMT crew.

Nu Skool

Resident Wee Cheesy throws in mash-ups, chart-attacks and more mayhem that should really be allowed on the Sabbath.

Shed Sundays

Emo, pop-punk and rock, plus extreme death metal and thrash in the back bar.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Cathouse Saturdays

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Punk, rock and metallic beats with DJs Billy and Muppet.

Voodoo

Cathouse, 16:00–21:00, £4 (£2 members)

Rock, metal and indie night for the under 18s.

I Heart Garage Saturdays The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Student superclub offering up a slice of everything from hip-hop to dance, funk to chart, and everything inbetween.

Freakbeats

Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, £5

Mod, soul, ska and groovy freakbeat 45’s, with DJs Jamo, Paul Molloy and Gareth McCallum.

Highlife

La Cheetah, 23:00–03:00, £5

The ever-capable JD Twitch mans the Highlife decks, with support from the one-and-only Auntie Flo.

Subculture (Harri & Domenic) Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Long-running house night with Harri & Domenic, and a variety of live guests.

Rip This Joint

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk.

Shed Saturdays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£7 after 11)

Andy Robertson plays a mix of commercial pop and cheese classics, plus hip-hop hits in the Red Room with DJ Derek.

Saturday @ Bookclub

Hillhead Bookclub, 21:00–00:00, Free

Funk, soul and hip-hop with everyone’s favourite floral-shirted vinylist, Andy Taylor.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Shed, 23:00–03:00, £2

The Shed’s regular weekendextender (i.e go to work on Monday with a hangover).

Mon 09 Jan Burn

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

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

Space Invader

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Andy R plays chart hits and requests, past and present.

Tue 10 Jan Wild Combination

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, digs out some vinyl gems.

Killer Kitsch

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Electronic music of all ages, for all ages.

Junk Disco

Boom Thursdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Chart and indie classics with yer man Gerry Lyons, plus a live Twitter feed where you can log your tune requests (#Garagelive).

Old Skool

Indie rock ‘n’ roll, past and present.

South African house, grime, jungle, R’n’B and hauntology. A tropical mix, ayes.

Connoisseur’s mix of vintage jazz, funk and soul.

Power Tools

Garage Wednesdays

Korben Dallas and Nushta Drognova play a zesty mix of Italo, disco and house.

La Roche Rumba

Maggie May’s, 20:00–03:00, £6

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Pop classics and a good dose of cheese with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus hip-hop hits in the Red Room.

Fridays @ Bookclub

Hillhead Bookclub, 21:00–00:00, Free

Classic and underground disco, plus dusted-down old soul with Solar Disco’s Kev Stevens.

Dirty Basement

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Glasgow DJs playing delights from across the musical spectrum, including soul, funk, bass, techno and electro.

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £4

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa joined by a variety of local talent, playing the usual mix of electronica and bass.

Wed 11 Jan Subversion

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Alternative pop from the 80s and 90s, with a bit of industrial dance and classic rock thrown in.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Olympico (Pi Eye’d, DJ NoFace, Taz Buckfaster) Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Bi-weekly night of ear-exercising disco, cosmic, electronic and techno, with some rather special guests dropping by.

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £1

Booty Call

The rather ace gig-in-a-club night returns for 2012, soundtracked by Stirling pop-meets-rock quartet Miniature Dinosaurs, plus the usual heady dose of milk cocktails, free biscuits, live visuals, and 75p cider straight out the supermarket bottle.

Mixed bag of indie, rock, underground hip-hop and chart classics over four rooms.

Flat 0/1, 21:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Lock Up Your Daughters

Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Classic open mic night, with live performances and a cheeky karaoke twist.

Ready Ready

The electro and bass beats spectacular celebrate their very first birthday with a set from Keith & Supabeatz.

Cathouse, 21:00–01:00, Free

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 adv. (£5 door)

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 12)

La Cheetah, 23:00–03:00, £8

Riot Radio

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 (£3) after 12)

Sunday Roaster

The best in new hip-hop and R’n’B with DJ Cool Master.

The Rev Up

Badseed

A night of pure vinyl grooving, of the heel-stomping 50s and 60s garage type.

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro.

One More Tune

Eclectic anything-goes mix of tracks from the OMT crew.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Pop classics and a good dose of cheese with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus hip-hop hits in the Red Room.

Taking Back Thursdays

Fridays @ Bookclub

Emo, pop-punk and rock, plus extreme death metal and thrash in the back bar.

Classic and underground disco, plus dusted-down old soul with Solar Disco’s Kev Stevens.

Boom Thursdays

Fresh DJs

Chart and indie classics with yer man Gerry Lyons, plus a live Twitter feed where you can log your tune requests (#Garagelive).

Exactly as it might suggest, with a fresh rota of DJs booked a-new each month to keep things, er, fresh.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Shed, 23:00–03:00, £2

Mon 16 Jan

Metal, industrial and pop-punk over two floors.

Burn

Wrong Island

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

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

Milk (Miniature Dinosaurs)

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

The Shed’s regular weekendextender (i.e go to work on Monday with a hangover).

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Chart and classics with yer man Andy R, plus weekly live movie showings.

Cathouse’s Open Mic Night

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests.

Nu Skool

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Rock, metal, dance and indie over two levels, with the residents manning the decks.

Dirtbox: 1st Birthday

Shed Sundays

The legendary Teamy and Dirty Larry spin some fresh electronics for your aural pleasure.

Cathouse Fridays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Thu 19 Jan

Sat 14 Jan

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Jellybaby

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Pick’n’mix of rock, metal, punk and old school hip-hop with DJs Quarterback and Muppet, plus an all-new hip-hop bar on the side.

Love Music

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11.30)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Straight-friendly lesbian party, this month with a motown and northern soul special, with Jamo, Duncan Harvey and DJ Rio bustin’ the jams.

Hail Destroyer

Resident Wee Cheesy throws in mash-ups, chart-attacks and more mayhem that should really be allowed on the Sabbath.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Space Invader

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Andy R plays chart hits and requests, past and present.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Indie rock ‘n’ roll, past and present.

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fridays @ The Shed

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Hillhead Bookclub, 21:00–00:00, Free

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Bad News

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £10 (plus booking fee)

Launch night featuring Girl Unit, Zed Bias, Loefah and Phaeleh

Cathouse Saturdays

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Sat 21 Jan

Voodoo

Love Music

Cosmic and sweaty mix of 80s sleaze, house and disco.

Rock, metal and indie night for the under 18s.

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests.

Walk ‘n’ Skank

I Heart Garage Saturdays

Absolution

The Mungo’s Hi Fi crew in their official Glasgow residency, bringing you the very best in bass, natch.

Student superclub offering up a slice of everything from hip-hop to dance, funk to chart, and everything inbetween.

Metal, industrial and pop-punk over two floors.

Back Tae Mine

Indie dancing club, playing anything and everything danceable.

Feel My Bicep

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Club 520, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Fri 13 Jan Propaganda

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Damnation

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5

Alternative rock, metal, punk and ska.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Old Skool

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Connoisseur’s mix of vintage jazz, funk and soul.

Cathouse, 16:00–21:00, £4 (£2 members)

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11.30)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5

Bottle Rocket

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, £5

House-party styled night, with a group of rotating DJs alongside regular guests DJs. Plus free toast for all.

Nu Skool

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

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

La Cheetah Club: Orlando Voorn

La Cheetah, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£8 after 12)

Dutch DJ Orlando Voorn takes over La Cheetah, flitting as he does between a variety of musical styles, including techno, ambient, hip-hop and electro.

The Rock Shop

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 (£3) after 12)

Rock, indie and golden surf classics.

Cathouse Saturdays

Punk, rock and metallic beats with DJs Billy and Muppet.

Wild Combination

Indie, rock and pop with resident DJ Jopez.

Voodoo

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, digs out some vinyl gems.

Feel My Bicep

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Killer Kitsch

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Cosmic and sweaty mix of 80s sleaze, house and disco.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Walk ‘n’ Skank

Electronic music of all ages, for all ages.

Club 520, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Cathouse Fridays

Subculture (Harri & Domenic, Junior, Telford & Esa)

Junk Disco

Rock, metal, dance and indie over two levels, with the residents manning the decks.

Long-running house night with Harri & Domenic, and a variety of live guests.

Hotch-potch night of chart anthems, a live video feed, dress-up chests and karaoke in the wee room.

Fri 20 Jan

Booty Call

Rip This Joint

I Am

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk.

Rip This Joint

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa joined by a variety of local talent, playing the usual mix of electronica and bass.

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk.

Wed 18 Jan

Shed Saturdays

Subversion

Andy Robertson plays a mix of commercial pop and cheese classics, plus hip-hop hits in the Red Room with DJ Derek.

Alternative pop from the 80s and 90s, with a bit of industrial dance and classic rock thrown in.

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mixed bag of indie, rock, underground hip-hop and chart classics over four rooms.

Common People

Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Celebration of the 90s, with hits aplenty and a pre-club bingo session where you can win retro Gameboy’s and the like.

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£7 after 11)

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Tue 17 Jan

Shake It Up

The Mungo’s Hi Fi crew in their official Glasgow residency, bringing you the very best in bass, natch.

Hansel & Gretel 58 THE SKINNY January 2012

Hillhead Bookclub, 21:00–00:00, Free

Punk, rock and metallic beats with DJs Billy and Muppet.

I Am

Chart and classics with yer man Andy R, plus weekly live movie showings.

Connoisseur’s mix of vintage jazz, funk and soul.

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

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

Korben Dallas and Nushta Drognova play a zesty mix of Italo, disco and house.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £6

Taking Back Thursdays

Kino Fist

Garage Wednesdays

Old Skool

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Hotch-potch night of chart anthems, a live video feed, dress-up chests and karaoke in the wee room.

Power Tools

Flat 0/1, 23:00–03:00, Free

Not Moving

Funk, soul and hip-hop with everyone’s favourite floral-shirted vinylist, Andy Taylor.

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

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

Saturday @ Bookclub

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 (£3) after 12)

Absolution

Metal, industrial and pop-punk over two floors.

Cross-genre danceathon with residents Noj and Mark. They will play The Fall.

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 12)

Fortnightly fun with Vitamin’s Sam Murray, sifting through some fresh R’n’B and electronic from Scotland and beyond.

Opera.

Pop classics and a good dose of cheese with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus hip-hop hits in the Red Room.

Jellybaby

Ready Ready

Cathouse, 21:00–01:00, Free

Classic open mic night, with live performances and a cheeky karaoke twist.

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 12)

Fridays @ The Shed

Pandemic

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 adv. (£5 door)

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro.

Thu 05 Jan O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 adv. (£5 door)

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £1

Riot Radio

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £4

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Propaganda

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Argonaut Sounds Reggae Soundsystem

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £3

Roots reggae, dancehall and rocksteady in original soundsystem stylee, kicking off their 10th year, no less.

Damnation

Cathouse, 16:00–21:00, £4 (£2 members)

Rock, metal and indie night for the under 18s.

I Heart Garage Saturdays The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Student superclub offering up a slice of everything from hip-hop to dance, funk to chart, and everything inbetween.

Singles Night

Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £5

Andy Divine and Chris Geddes’ gem of a night deciated to 7-inch singles from every genre imaginable.

Code (Lucy)

La Cheetah, 23:00–03:00, £10

The inimitable CODE crew return to La Cheetah, this time with modern techno mastermind Lucy in tow.

The Rock Shop

Maggie May’s, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 (£3) after 12)

Rock, indie and golden surf classics.

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £5

Alternative rock, metal, punk and ska.

Glasgow • Edinburgh | 4 -18 February scottishopera.org.uk

GLASGOW CLUBS SUBCULTURE (HARRI & DOMENIC)

MON 23 JAN

OLYMPICO (ANIMAL FARM)

Long-running house night with Harri & Domenic, and a variety of live guests.

BURN

Bi-weekly night of ear-exercising disco, cosmic, electronic and techno, with some rather special guests dropping by.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

RIP THIS JOINT

SLOUCH, 23:00–03:00, FREE

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

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

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk.

SPACE INVADER

SHED SATURDAYS

Andy R plays chart hits and requests, past and present.

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£7 AFTER 11)

Andy Robertson plays a mix of commercial pop and cheese classics, plus hip-hop hits in the Red Room with DJ Derek.

SATURDAY @ BOOKCLUB

HILLHEAD BOOKCLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Funk, soul and hip-hop with everyone’s favourite floral-shirted vinylist, Andy Taylor.

POWER TOOLS

FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Korben Dallas and Nushta Drognova play a zesty mix of Italo, disco and house.

SUN 22 JAN QUIDS IN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £1

Electro, funk and disco soundtrack, plus a chance to win the door fees.

HAIL DESTROYER

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Pick’n’mix of rock, metal, punk and old school hip-hop with DJs Quarterback and Muppet, plus an all-new hip-hop bar on the side.

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

TUE 24 JAN WILD COMBINATION NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Kilmarnock’s hairy disco legend, David Barbarossa, digs out some vinyl gems.

KILLER KITSCH BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Electronic music of all ages, for all ages.

JUNK DISCO THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Hotch-potch night of chart anthems, a live video feed, dress-up chests and karaoke in the wee room.

I AM SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa joined by a variety of local talent, playing the usual mix of electronica and bass.

WED 25 JAN

CATHOUSE’S OPEN MIC NIGHT

LAID

Classic open mic night, with live performances and a cheeky karaoke twist.

Brand new gig-in-a-club night, with an impressive live line-up of bands and a rather quaint egg theme.

CATHOUSE, 21:00–01:00, FREE

SUNDAY ROASTER

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Resident Wee Cheesy throws in mash-ups, chart-attacks and more mayhem that should really be allowed on the Sabbath.

SHED SUNDAYS

SHED, 23:00–03:00, £2

The Shed’s regular weekendextender (i.e go to work on Monday with a hangover).

BLOC+, 21:00–03:00, FREE

SUBVERSION CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 AFTER 12)

Alternative pop from the 80s and 90s, with a bit of industrial dance and classic rock thrown in.

GARAGE WEDNESDAYS THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Chart and classics with yer man Andy R, plus weekly live movie showings.

FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

SHAKE IT UP MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Indie, rock and pop with resident DJ Jopez.

FEEL MY BICEP FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

THU 26 JAN

Cosmic and sweaty mix of 80s sleaze, house and disco.

JELLYBABY

WALK ‘N’ SKANK

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 ADV. (£5 DOOR)

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

READY READY

CLUB 520, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

The Mungo’s Hi Fi crew in their official Glasgow residency, bringing you the very best in bass, natch.

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12)

FRI 27 JAN

The best in new hip-hop and R’n’B with DJ Cool Master.

PROPAGANDA

DANSE MACABRE

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

LA CHEETAH CLUB: MATTHEW HERBERT LA CHEETAH, 23:00–03:00, £10 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

La Cheetah pull it out the bag, welcoming none other than London electronic musician and producer Matthew Herbert to the decks. As in, we’re there.

PRESSURE THE ARCHES, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

THE HOT CLUB

THE ROCK SHOP

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

MAGGIE MAY’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 (£3) AFTER 12)

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Rock, indie and golden surf classics.

Pick’n’mix of rock, metal, punk and

SUBCULTURE (HARRI & DOMENIC)

old school hip-hop with DJs Quar-

Tearin’ it up with 60s psych-outs and modern sleaze, provided by Rafla and Andy (of The Phantom Band).

NU SKOOL Nick Peacock spins a fine selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Long-running house night with Harri & Domenic, and a variety of live guests.

terback and Muppet, plus an all-new

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

RIP THIS JOINT

SLIDE IT IN (NICOLA WALKER)

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Mighty deep house and techno monthly, coming together for an epic celebration of electronic sound with resident DJs Slam (and some live guests to be revealed).

Punk, rock and metallic beats with DJs Billy and Muppet.

RIOT RADIO

Rock, metal and indie night for the under 18s.

MAGGIE MAY’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 (£3) AFTER 12)

VOODOO CATHOUSE, 16:00–21:00, £4 (£2 MEMBERS)

Indie rock ‘n’ roll, past and present.

I HEART GARAGE SATURDAYS

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £5

BADSEED

ONE MORE TUNE

Alternative rock, metal, punk and ska.

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

BLACK TENT

FRIDAYS @ THE SHED

Student superclub offering up a slice of everything from hip-hop to dance, funk to chart, and everything inbetween.

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£6 AFTER 11)

IMPACT: 10TH BIRTHDAY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

The Danse Macabre regulars unite those two happiest of bedfellows, goth rock and, er, classic disco.

Eclectic anything-goes mix of tracks from the OMT crew.

TAKING BACK THURSDAYS CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Emo, pop-punk and rock, plus extreme death metal and thrash in the back bar.

COUNTERFEIT CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Full-on mix of nu-metal and hard rockin’ tunes, with yer man DJ Muppet.

BOOM THURSDAYS THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Chart and indie classics with yer man Gerry Lyons, plus a live Twitter feed where you can log your tune requests (#Garagelive).

STUC DANCE NIGHT BARROWLAND, 19:30–00:00, £8 (£4)

Songs For Social Justice host a fundraiser night, with guest DJs Jerry Dammers, Eunice Olumide and Mark Linton playing the best in soul, ska, reggae and funk. You provide the dancing.

DAMNATION

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Indie, electro and anything inbetween with Pauly (My Latest Novel), and Simin and Steev (Errors).

OLD SKOOL BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6

Connoisseur’s mix of vintage jazz, funk and soul.

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Rock, metal, dance and indie over two levels, with the residents manning the decks.

BOOTY CALL THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mixed bag of indie, rock, underground hip-hop and chart classics over four rooms.

PIN UP NIGHTS: INTERGALACTIC FLYING DUCK, 21:00–03:00, £TBC

The Pin Up crew bring the fun with a space and sci-fi themed night, with Nevada Base playing live, and the Edinburgh It’s Funtime quizmasters testing your sci-fi knowledge in the kitchen bar.

SLOUCH, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Pop classics and a good dose of cheese with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus hip-hop hits in the Red Room.

FRIDAYS @ BOOKCLUB HILLHEAD BOOKCLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Classic and underground disco, plus dusted-down old soul with Solar Disco’s Kev Stevens.

AM$TRAD BILLIONAIRE FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Dance orientated night from Glasgow DJ Am$trad Bill.

SAT 28 JAN LOVE MUSIC O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11.30)

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests.

ABSOLUTION CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £5

Metal, industrial and pop-punk over two floors.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

HAIL DESTROYER

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

SOUNDHAUS, 20:30–02:30, £TBC

The hardcore and industrial night celebrates its tenth year over the three arenas of Soundhaus, with Promo, D-Passion and N-Vitral headering, alongside a shed-load of support across the stages.

BACK TAE MINE FLYING DUCK, 21:00–03:00, £5

House-party styled night, with a group of rotating DJs alongside regular guests DJs. Plus free toast for all.

BANJAX LA CHEETAH, 23:00–03:00, £10

Wonky techno, acid and rave with the residents and a live versus set, where Squire of Gothos goes head-to-head with Phatworld and Dankle.

COLOURS (HARDWELL, NICKY ROMERO)

SLOUCH, 23:00–03:00, FREE

hip-hop bar on the side.

CATHOUSE, 23:00–01:00, £4 (£2)

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk.

Cult rock hits from the 70s, 80s

SHED SATURDAYS

and 90s.

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£7 AFTER 11)

Andy Robertson plays a mix of commercial pop and cheese classics, plus hip-hop hits in the Red Room with DJ Derek.

SATURDAY @ BOOKCLUB HILLHEAD BOOKCLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

SUNDAY ROASTER THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Resident Wee Cheesy throws in mash-ups, chart-attacks and more

Funk, soul and hip-hop with everyone’s favourite floral-shirted vinylist, Andy Taylor.

mayhem that should really be al-

POWER TOOLS

SHED SUNDAYS

FLAT 0/1, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Korben Dallas and Nushta Drognova play a zesty mix of Italo, disco and house.

lowed on the Sabbath.

SHED, 23:00–03:00, £2

The Shed’s regular weekend-

DEADLY RHYTHM

extender (i.e go to work on Monday

CHAMBRE 69, 23:00–03:00, £5

with a hangover).

Double dose of headline action, as Glasgow born-and-bred mash-up master Martelo goes head-tohead with London lass Josey’s disco-tinged eceletic beats. First 100 go free.

MON 30 JAN BURN BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

SUN 29 JAN

Long-running trade night, with

ZOMBIE PIRATE SCHOOL DISCO

Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £4

School disco-styled fun night with a dress-up zombie-meets-pirate theme. Make of that what you will.

disco beats.

SPACE INVADER

THE ARCHES, 23:00–03:00, £15

QUIDS IN

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Two of EDM’s brightest young things makes their Arches debut, kicking off Colours’ 17th year of being in style.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £1

Andy R plays chart hits and requests,

Electro, funk and disco soundtrack, plus a chance to win the door fees.

past and present.

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 59

EDINBURGH CLUBS Tue 03 Jan

Beep Beep, Yeah

Witness

Big ‘N’ Bashy

Split

Retro pop stylings from the 50s to the 70s. In Speakeasy.

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of garage, dubstep and bassline house with the Attic Kings and Blackwax DJs.

Mighty mix of reggae, grime, dubstep and jungle.

Long-running indie, rock and soul night.

Thu 12 Jan

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Messenger

Sick Note

Sweet reggae rockin’ from the original sound system.

The Cab’s flagship indie and electro favourite.

Bubblegum

Frisky

Handpicked weekend mix of chart, dance and retro 80s classics.

Chart, dance and electro fare, plus punter requests all night long.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, Free

Long-running D’n’B night from residents Beefy and Wolfjazz, plus a rotating collective of DJs.

Antics

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Alternative anthems, cherry-picked from genres of rock, indie and punk.

Tuesday Heartbreak

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Swirling guitars and driving beats from Aki Remally and his groove band.

Soul Jam Hot

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £4

Tease Age

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£7 after 12)

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Late ‘n’ Live

Animal Hospital

Live funk and soul players, plus funk DJs taking it into the bedtime hours.

Minimal and techno for cool kids, with Gabriel Kemp and pals.

Wed 04 Jan

Rewind

Octopussy

Slap Bang

Rewind take a journey back through the ages, digging out anthemic gems from the last 40 years.

Chart, indie and electro student favourite, with a bouncy castle an’ all.

Fake

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, Free (£2 after 12)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fresh mix of funk, soul, disco and hippity-hop from the Soul Jam Hot DJs.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Genre-spanning midweeker with the residents playing a musical mish-mash, alongside rotating guests. In Speakeasy.

Bangers & Mash

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Liquid Room, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

Midweek student favourite of chart and cheese classics.

Horror-loving bass, breaks and techno night with Zombie Love and Bus Daddy.

Indigo

Propaganda

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£1)

Indie, pop and alternative favourites with a distinctly danceable beat, taking in everything from LCD Soundsystem to The Ting Tings.

Witness

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of garage, dubstep and bassline house with the Attic Kings and Blackwax DJs.

Thu 05 Jan Sick Note

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Speaker Bite Me

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

Brand new night from the Evol DJs that values all kinds of pop music, as long as it’s got bite.

Sun 08 Jan Funk de la Flik

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

TheCab’sflagshipindieandelectrofavourite.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

DJ Flik spins an eclectic mix of funk for Cab’s new laid-back Monday nighter.

Frisky

The Sunday Club

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Spin!

The notorious Magic Nostalgic ‘wheel’ takes on a new persona, picking a more alternative and underground selection with each spin.

Fri 13 Jan Compakt

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 12)

Techno showcase night, playing only the finest cuts from the genre.

Bound For Glory (Beefy)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £5

Eclectic-themed monthly where guest DJs get to play whatever they damn well want (with all profits going to Oxfam). In Speakeasy.

Planet Earth

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Retro from 1970 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

Chart, dance and electro fare, plus punter requests all night long.

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Two rooms of chart, cheese and all the indie-pop requests you can think of.

Bandioke

Dapper Dans

Coalition

Live band karaoke session. Also gets you free entry to retro after-club, Planet Earth.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

The usual mix of disco, house and party classics from Picassio and D-Fault, with Decks FX and OSX.

Octopussy

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dubstep, breaks and bassline house from AF Meldrum and a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

Mon 09 Jan

Chart, indie and electro student favourite, with a bouncy castle an’ all.

Trade Union

Fri 06 Jan

Anything goes trade night with Beefy and Wolfjazz (and their pals). In Speakeasy.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Cab Vol Stars

Nu Fire

New night programmed by, and featuring performances from, Cab Vol’s very own bar staff, plus some of their favourite local DJs.

Moving from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £5

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Citrus Club, 19:30–22:00, £4

Rude

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

The legendary 90s night is revived, offering up its inimitable mix of reggae, ska, dub and early ragga.

Four Corners

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Soulful party fodder, from deep funk to reggae beats with your regular DJ hosts Simon Hodge, Johnny Cashback, Astroboy and Wee-G.

Misfits

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Tue 10 Jan

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Split

Late ‘n’ Live

Bandioke

Long-running D’n’B night from residents Beefy and Wolfjazz, plus a rotating collective of DJs.

Live funk and soul players, plus funk DJs taking it into the bedtime hours.

I Love Hip-Hop

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 (£3) after 11)

Planet Earth

Retro from 1970 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top. Citrus Club, 19:30–22:00, £4

Live band karaoke session. Also gets you free entry to retro after-club, Planet Earth.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, Free

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Jungledub Special

Selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

Dub, dubstep and jungle from DJs across the Scottish scene, playing in a special Friday edition.

Antics

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Misfits

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

Hideout

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 (£3) after 11)

Brand new Friday nighter, with seasoned Edinburgh DJs Mastercaird and Stevie C playing anything danceable.

This Is Music

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Alternative anthems, cherry-picked from genres of rock, indie and punk.

Tuesday Heartbreak

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Swirling guitars and driving beats from Aki Remally and his groove band.

Soul Jam Hot

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fresh mix of funk, soul, disco and hippity-hop from the Soul Jam Hot DJs.

Wed 11 Jan

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Slap Bang

Go-Go

Genre-spanning midweeker with the residents playing a musical mish-mash, alongside rotating guests. In Speakeasy.

Indie and electro from the Sick Note DJs. HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £3

Brand new mix of anything your ears want to hear, from resident DJ Gentleman Jonny.

Big Time

Electric Circus, 23:30–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

New night playing all the best in old and new disco, funk, soul and rock’n’roll, handpicked by dapper chaps Gav & Jack.

Sat 07 Jan Trade Union (Tony Nicol)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £5

Movida Corona competition champion Tony Nicol takes a shot on the decks, at Cab’s favourited anything-goes trade night.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

JungleDub

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dub, dubstep and jungle from DJs across the Scottish scene.

Bangers & Mash

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Midweek student favourite of chart and cheese classics.

Indigo

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£1)

Indie, pop and alternative favourites with a distinctly danceable beat, taking in everything from LCD Soundsystem to The Ting Tings.

60 THE SKINNY January 2012

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Bubblegum Handpicked weekend mix of chart, dance and retro 80s classics.

Late ‘n’ Live The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Live funk and soul players, plus funk DJs taking it into the bedtime hours.

Residents special of classic Italo and straight up boogie allied with contemporary house and disco.

Witness

Saturday Night Beaver

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of garage, dubstep and bassline house with the Attic Kings and Blackwax DJs.

The Musika residents showcase the cream of deep house and techno.

The Cab’s flagship indie and electro favourite.

Bass Syndicate

Frisky

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

The regular Edinburgh breaks and bassline Manga crew takeover.

Propaganda HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

The Den Electric Circus, 22:00–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

Handpicked selection of jive, rock, blues and funk from the B-Sides DJs.

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Chart, dance and electro fare, plus punter requests all night long.

Indigo The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£1)

Indie, pop and alternative favourites with a distinctly danceable beat, taking in everything from LCD Soundsystem to The Ting Tings.

Spare Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Danco and Kami play some hench beats. Nuff said.

Sun 15 Jan

Octopussy

Funk de la Flik

Chart, indie and electro student favourite, with a bouncy castle an’ all.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

DJ Flik spins an eclectic mix of funk for Cab’s new laid-back Monday nighter.

The Sunday Club The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Two rooms of chart, cheese and all the indie-pop requests you can think of.

Coalition Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dubstep, breaks and bassline house from AF Meldrum and a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

Mon 16 Jan Trade Union Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Anything goes trade night with Beefy and Wolfjazz (and their pals). In Speakeasy.

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Spin!

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, Free (£2 after 12)

The notorious Magic Nostalgic ‘wheel’ takes on a new persona, picking a more alternative and underground selection with each spin.

Fri 20 Jan Bed Bug (High Contrast) Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £13 (£12)

Welsh D’n’B wonder High Contrast joins the prestigious Bed Bug roster, with support from Jigsaw and Axis DJs.

Damn Hot (The Players Association) Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £3

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Toe-tapping, soul shaking, blistering beats: job done. In Speakeasy.

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good old 90s classics.

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Mixed Up

Nu Fire Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Moving from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 17 Jan Split Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, Free

Long-running D’n’B night from residents Beefy and Wolfjazz, plus a rotating collective of DJs.

I Love Hip-Hop Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Caves, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£6 after 11.30)

Hessle Audio co-founder Pangaea makes his first ever Edinburgh appearance down’t the Caves, as Heard It Through The Bassline stage their last big show.

Planet Earth Retro from 1970 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

Bandioke Citrus Club, 19:30–22:00, £4

Live band karaoke session. Also gets you free entry to retro after-club, Planet Earth.

Tuesday Heartbreak

Sat 14 Jan Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Special weekend edition of The Cab’s flagship indie and electro favourite.

Eden (Claudio, Gregsta)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £5

Funky house and dirty electro playlists from the past and future, so say they.

Tease Age

Soul Jam Hot Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fresh mix of funk, soul, disco and hippity-hop from the Soul Jam Hot DJs.

Wed 18 Jan Slap Bang Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Genre-spanning midweeker with the residents playing a musical mish-mash, alongside rotating guests. In Speakeasy.

JungleDub Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dub, reggae and dancehall, with special guest Oliver Rodigan (as in, son of reggae music don David Ram Jam Rodigan).

Hideout The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 (£3) after 11)

Brand new Friday nighter, with seasoned Edinburgh DJs Mastercaird and Stevie C playing anything danceable.

This Is Music Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Indie and electro from the Sick Note DJs.

Go-Go HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £3

Brand new mix of anything your ears want to hear, from resident DJ Gentleman Jonny.

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night.

Dub, dubstep and jungle from DJs across the Scottish scene.

Big Time

Basics

Bangers & Mash

Retro mix of 50s and 60s R’n’B and northern soul.

Midweek student favourite of chart and cheese classics.

New night playing all the best in old and new disco, funk, soul and rock’n’roll, handpicked by dapper chaps Gav & Jack.

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £5

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £5

Swinging soul spanning a whole century with DJs Tsatsu and Red-6, plus live dancers a-go-go.

Bubblegum The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart, dance and retro 80s classics.

Late ‘n’ Live The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Live funk and soul players, plus funk DJs taking it into the bedtime hours.

The Egg Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£4 after 12)

Art School indie institution with DJs Chris and Paul.

Xplicit Vs Wax On (Fake Blood, Jakwob) The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £tbc

Dub heavyweight Xplicit joins forces with Wax On for their brand new joint monthly party, with yer man Fake Blood sharing deck duty with dubstep master Jakwob.

Wasabi Disco Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

A heady bout of cosmic house, punk and upside-down disco with yer man Kris ‘Wasabi’ Walker.

Propaganda HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Pop Rocks Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty of danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all).

Sun 22 Jan Funk de la Flik Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

The Sunday Club

Electric Circus, 23:30–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

JungleDub

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Caves, 23:00–03:00, £6 adv. (£8 door)

Sir David Rodigan, the legendary selector and reggae ambassador, returns to Edinburgh as part of Headlock’s first date of 2012.

Anything goes trade night with Beefy and Wolfjazz (and their pals). In Speakeasy.

Mixed Up The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good old 90s classics.

Nu Fire Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Moving from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 24 Jan Split Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, Free

Long-running D’n’B night from residents Beefy and Wolfjazz, plus a rotating collective of DJs.

I Love Hip-Hop Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free

Selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

Antics The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Alternative anthems, cherry-picked from genres of rock, indie and punk.

Tuesday Heartbreak The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Swirling guitars and driving beats from Aki Remally and his groove band.

Go-Go HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £3

Brand new mix of anything your ears want to hear, from resident DJ Gentleman Jonny.

Retro Catz Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

New night with a cast of all-female DJs working their way through some sexy retro, complete with glitter balls, naturally.

Midweek student favourite of chart and cheese classics.

Witness

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of garage, dubstep and bassline house with the Attic Kings and Blackwax DJs.

Thu 26 Jan Sick Note

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £12 (£10)

Karnival celebrates its sixth year of being with French beat master Popof, plus Edinburgh Rocks manning room two, and Rendezvous in The Speakeasy.

Tease Age Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2/£1 students

Long-running indie, rock and soul night.

The Cab’s flagship indie and electro favourite.

Messenger

Frisky

Sweet reggae rockin’ from the original sound system.

Chart, dance and electro fare, plus punter requests all night long.

Bubblegum

Stacks

Handpicked weekend mix of chart, dance and retro 80s classics.

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Wee Red Bar, 22:30–03:00, £3

The finest cuts of soul, funk, motown and good ol’ rock’n’roll.

Indigo

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £3 (£1)

Indie, pop and alternative favourites with a distinctly danceable beat, taking in everything from LCD Soundsystem to The Ting Tings.

Ride

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Ride girl’s Checkie and Lauren play hip-hop and dance, all night long.

Octopussy

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£4)

Chart, indie and electro student favourite, with a bouncy castle an’ all.

Spin!

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, Free (£2 after 12)

The notorious Magic Nostalgic ‘wheel’ takes on a new persona, picking a more alternative and underground selection with each spin.

Fri 27 Jan Retro from 1970 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Homegame show for the globetrotting music, art and all-round party crew, now in their second year of great party-throwing.

Sat 28 Jan

Coalition

Mon 23 Jan

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £5 (members free)

Karnival’s 6th Birthday Bash (Popof, Edinburgh Rocks, Rendezvous)

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Planet Earth

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

LuckyMe (Krystal Klear, The Blessings, Eclair FiFi)

Bangers & Mash

Two rooms of chart, cheese and all the indie-pop requests you can think of.

Misfits

Retro Catz

Swirling guitars and driving beats from Aki Remally and his groove band.

Soulsville

Trade Union

Wee Red Bar, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £3 (£2)

Danceable mix of the best in 60s ska, rocksteady, bluebeat and reggae.

Dubstep, breaks and bassline house from AF Meldrum and a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

Robigan’s Reggae (Oliver Rodigan, Robigan, C-Biscuit)

Antics

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Genre-spanning midweeker with the residents playing a musical mish-mash, alongside rotating guests. In Speakeasy.

Headlock (David Rodigan, Cadenza)

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

First 2012 outing for the inimitable glam techno and electro night, with the usual themed shenanigans.

Slap Bang

Dr No’s

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £5

Confusion is Sex

Wed 25 Jan

Dub, dubstep and jungle from DJs across the Scottish scene.

DJ Flik spins an eclectic mix of funk for Cab’s new laid-back Monday nighter.

Launch for Edinburgh Tekno Cartel’s new night, with a sci-fi theme, live visuals from VJ Mavdog and music covering techno, acid house, bassline, jungle, dubstep, metal and breakcore. Phew.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

ETC01: Space Trash (Alias23, Damaged Electronics, Morphamish, Toxicologist)

Alternative anthems, cherry-picked from genres of rock, indie and punk.

Sick Note Saturday

Lesbian and bi-friendly favourite with Trendy Wendy and pals. In Speakeasy.

Long-running indie, rock and soul night.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Brand new mix of anything your ears want to hear, from resident DJ Gentleman Jonny.

New night with a cast of all-female DJs working their way through some sexy retro, complete with glitter balls, naturally.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

Sick Note

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £6

The favourited student midweeker makes the move to The Liquid Room, with live electronic rising star Tim Mason manning the decks for the official launch.

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £3

Fresh mix of funk, soul, disco and hippity-hop from the Soul Jam Hot DJs.

The Liquid Room, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£8 after 12)

Heard It Through The Bassline (Pangaea, Eclair Fifi)

Go-Go

Soul Jam Hot

Tease Age

Brand new Friday nighter, with seasoned Edinburgh DJs Mastercaird and Stevie C playing anything danceable.

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sat 21 Jan Gasoline Dance Machine

Thu 19 Jan

Selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

Indie and electro from the Sick Note DJs.

The Liquid Room, 22:00–03:00, £5

Musika

Hideout

This Is Music

Mansion: Launch Party (Tim Mason)

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, £1 (£6 after 11)

Bandioke

Citrus Club, 19:30–22:00, £4

Live band karaoke session. Also gets you free entry to retro after-club, Planet Earth.

Samedia

The Third Door, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Eclectic fun night transporting late-night party people to an imaginary jungle voodoo den-cum-lost township shebeen.

Wonky

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Resident DJs Wolfjazz and Hobbes take care of all you bass ‘n’ beat needs.

Dancehall (Robert Lee) The Caves, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£8 after 12)

Riddim Tuffa and Big Toe’s HiFi unite once again to nice-up the dance with some heavyweight dubplates and a massive selection of digital reggae, raggamaffin and some serious 90s dancehall.

Misfits

Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£7 after 12)

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Late ‘n’ Live The Jazz Bar, 23:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Live funk and soul players, plus funk DJs taking it into the bedtime hours.

Vegas Voodoo Rooms, 20:30–01:00, £tbc

50s-themed party fun night, with Frankie Sumatra, Bugsy Seagull, Dino Martini, Sam Jose and Nikki Nevada.

Plus Vegas showgirls a-go-go, natch.

Madchester The Liquid Room, 22:30–05:00, £7 (£5)

Indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

Playdate: 4th Birthday Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

House specialists Stewart and Steven play, er, some special house in celebration of their fourth year of being.

Propaganda HMV Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Student-orientated indie night with guest DJs dropping by.

Magic Nostalgic Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 after 12)

Hotch-potch of tracks chosen by a spinning wheel. Expect anything from 90s rave to power ballads, and a lot of one-hit wonders.

Sun 29 Jan Funk de la Flik Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

DJ Flik spins an eclectic mix of funk for Cab’s new laid-back Monday nighter.

The Sunday Club The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Two rooms of chart, cheese and all the indie-pop requests you can think of.

Coalition Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Dubstep, breaks and bassline house from AF Meldrum and a cast of Edinburgh’s best underground DJs.

Mon 30 Jan

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Trade Union

The Egg

Anything goes trade night with Beefy and Wolfjazz (and their pals). In Speakeasy.

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£4 after 12)

Art School indie institution with DJs Chris and Paul.

Hideout

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 (£3) after 11)

Brand new Friday nighter, with seasoned Edinburgh DJs Mastercaird and Stevie C playing anything danceable.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Mixed Up The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good old 90s classics.

Nu Fire Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Moving from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

DUNDEE MUSIC

COMEDY

Tue 03 Jan

Sat 21 Jan

GLASGOW

Thu 12 Jan

Mon 23 Jan

Fri 06 Jan

Friday Live

Fit O’ The Giggles

Live & Local

Peter And The Test Tube Babies (Patrol, The Eddies)

Tue 03 Jan

The Thursday Show (Andy Sir, Mike Newall)

Improv Wars The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £4 (£2)

Beat Generator Live!, 20:00–22:30, £8

Red Raw

The Friday Show (Ian Coppinger, Ava Vidal, Sean Grant, Damien Kingsley)

Resident host Jojo Sutherland introduces some of the finest stand-up talent from across the UK.

Tue 24 Jan

Prime stand-up from the best on the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Showcase of new material from the Fit O’ The Giggles lot, taking in sketches, stand-up, musical comedy and a good deal more besides.

Duke’s Corner, 20:00–22:00, Free

Open mic-style platform for local bands and solo artists to showcase their wares.

Tue 10 Jan Live & Local Duke’s Corner, 20:00–22:00, Free

Open mic-style platform for local bands and solo artists to showcase their wares.

Street punk classics from the 70s formed rascals, who came to life in frontman Peter Bywaters’ dad’s garage.

Mon 23 Jan The Black Dahlia Murder Beat Generator Live!, 20:00–22:30, £12

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands roadtesting new material.

Wed 04 Jan Wicked Wenches (Ava Vidal, Katie Mulgrew, Ruth Cockburn, Leona Irvine) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3 members)

Detroit-based melodic death metallers who list their interests as ‘smokin’ motherfucking weed and eating motherfucking snacks’. Nice.

All-female stand-up, with a suitably varied mix of headliners and newcomers. Hosted by resident Susan Calman.

Tue 24 Jan

Tue 17 Jan

Thu 05 Jan

Live & Local

Live & Local

Duke’s Corner, 20:00–22:00, Free

The Thursday Show (Ian Cognito, Chris Forbes, Nicola MantaliosLovett, Stephen Halkett)

Fri 13 Jan Sex Pistols Experience Dexter’s Bar, 20:00–22:30, £7

Sex Pistols tribute act.

Duke’s Corner, 20:00–22:00, Free

Open mic-style platform for local bands and solo artists to showcase their wares.

Open mic-style platform for local bands and solo artists to showcase their wares.

DUNDEE CLUBS Fri 06 Jan

Asylum

Beartrap

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £5

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Eclectic mix of art-rock, indie and punk.

Sat 07 Jan Asylum Kage, 23:00–03:00, £5

Alternative selection of rock, metal and punk.

Alternative selection of rock, metal and punk.

Fri 27 Jan Bleep

Fri 13 Jan

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £4 (£6

Bassorgy Soundsystem (Special Ed, 4OI, TNUK, Farfletched)

after 12)

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £5 (£7 after 12)

Full-on electro, D’n’B and dub orgy, complete with a massive soundsystem and live visuals over eight screens.

Transmission Kage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Indie, pop and hardcore with DJs Wolfie and The Girl.

Sat 14 Jan Asylum

Carbon The Hideout, 22:30–03:00, £4

Alternative-styled club night, handpicking from genres of metal, industrial, rock, indie and anything else they damn well fancy.

Fri 20 Jan Mungo’s HiFi Soundsystem (Blackout Ja) Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

Heavyweight selections from Mungo’s Soundsystem, helped along by reggae artist and producer Blackout Ja.

Felt

Sat 21 Jan Locarno Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £5 (£7 after 12)

Rockabilly, doo-wop, soul and all things golden age and danceable with the Locarno regulars.

Fri 06 Jan The Friday Show (Ian Cognito, Chris Forbes, Nicola Mantalios-Lovett) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Prime stand-up from the best on the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 07 Jan The Saturday Show (Ian Cognito, Chris Forbes, Nicola Mantalios-Lovett) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

bleeps with the residents and their

Sun 08 Jan

handpicked guests.

Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service

Zazou

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Celebrating the sounds of the futures of yesterday (aka forgotten retro classics and decadent Euro-pop).

Chilled comedy showcase with resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond.

Glasgow Kids Comedy Club The Stand, 15:00–16:30, £4

Jokes suitable for little ears (i.e. no sweary words), for children aged 8-12 years-old.

Fresh Meat

Sat 28 Jan Autodisco Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £8

Electro-funk, house and disco with your regular hosts Dave Autodisco and Dicky Trisco.

Asylum Kage, 23:00–03:00, £5

Alternative selection of rock, metal and punk.

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Indie dancing tunes, from retro-pop to eclectic rock.

Handpicked selection of headline acts and new comers over a two-hour showcase.

Ear-bleeding electronic beats ‘n’

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £5

Alternative selection of rock, metal and punk.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4 members)

Carbon The Hideout, 22:30–03:00, £4

Alternative-styled club night, handpicking from genres of metal, industrial, rock, indie and anything else they damn well fancy.

Butterfly & Pig, 20:30–22:30, Free

A mix of Scotland’s experienced acts test out some new material, alongside a selection of the finest up-and-coming talent Glasgow and Scotland has to offer.

Mon 09 Jan Improv Wars The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £4 (£2)

Improvised comedy games and sketches, with an anything-goes attitude.

Tue 10 Jan Red Raw The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands roadtesting new material.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4 members)

Handpicked selection of headline acts and new comers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 13 Jan

Red Raw

The Friday Show (Andy Sir, Mike Newall)

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands roadtesting new material.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Prime stand-up from the best on the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 14 Jan The Saturday Show (Andy Sir, Mike Newall) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Sun 15 Jan Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled comedy showcase with resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond.

Fresh Meat Butterfly & Pig, 20:30–22:30, Free

A mix of Scotland’s experienced acts test out some new material, alongside a selection of the finest up-and-coming talent Glasgow and Scotland has to offer.

Tue 17 Jan Red Raw The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands roadtesting new material.

Wed 18 Jan Andrew O’Neill: Alternative The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7)

The long-haired funnyman presents his off-beat brand of stand-up, complete with a short play about gravy.

Thu 19 Jan The Thursday Show (ian Moore, Andrew O’Neill, Phil Differ) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4 members)

Handpicked selection of headline acts and new comers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 20 Jan

Wed 25 Jan Burns Night Special (Vladimir McTavish, Susan Calman) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£5)

The Stand celebrate Rabbie Burns’ birthday with a line-up of strictly homegrown talent.

Thu 26 Jan The Thursday Show (Ian Coppinger, Nick Helm, Patrick Rolink) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£7/£4 members)

Sat 07 Jan The Saturday Show (Ian Coppinger, Ava Vidal, Sean Grant, Damien Kingsley) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Friday Live The Shack, 20:00–22:00, £8

Resident host Jojo Sutherland introduces some of the finest stand-up talent from across the UK.

Prime stand-up from the best on the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

Saturday Live The Shack, 20:00–22:00, £10

Packed bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Sun 29 Jan Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled comedy showcase with resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond.

Fresh Meat Butterfly & Pig, 20:30–22:30, Free

The Comedy Academy

City Café, 20:30–22:30, £3 (£2)

Tue 10 Jan

The Friday Show (Nick Revell, Gary Little, Marlon Davis, Matt Richardson)

Electric Tales (Sian Bevan, Susan Morrison) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4)

Comedy meets storytelling, with the promise of robot badges. We’re sold.

Wed 11 Jan The Melting Pot The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£2.50 members)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3 members)

Fun Junkies

Fresh Meat Butterfly & Pig, 20:30–22:30, Free

A mix of Scotland’s experienced acts test out some new material, alongside a selection of the finest up-and-coming talent Glasgow and Scotland has to offer.

Thu 05 Jan The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £8 (£5/£4 members)

Handpicked selection of headline acts and new comers over a two-hour showcase.

The Comedy Academy The Shack, 21:30–23:30, £3

A selection of up-and-coming Scottish comedic talent showcase their wares.

The Shack, 21:30–23:30, £3

A selection of up-and-coming Scottish comedic talent showcase their wares.

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

The Thursday Show (Ian Coppinger, Ava Vidal, Sean Grant, Gareth Waugh)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £8 (£5/£4 members)

Showcase of new material from the Fit O’ The Giggles lot, taking in sketches, stand-up, musical comedy and a good deal more besides.

Wicked Wenches (Ava Vidal, Katie Mulgrew, Ruth Cockburn, Leona Irvine)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Fri 27 Jan

Fit O’ The Giggles

The Saturday Show (ian Moore, Andrew O’Neill, Phil Differ)

Sun 22 Jan

The Shack, 21:30–23:30, £3

A selection of up-and-coming Scottish comedic talent showcase their wares.

The Friday Fix (Vladimir Mctavish, Billy Kirkwood, Keara Murphy, Jamie Dalgleish, Eleanor Morton, Viv Gee)

Handpicked selection of headline acts and new comers over a two-hour showcase.

Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service

The Comedy Academy

Handpicked selection of headline acts and new comers over a two-hour showcase.

Tue 03 Jan

All-female stand-up, with a suitably varied mix of headliners and newcomers. Hosted by resident Susan Calman.

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £8 (£5/£4 members)

Handpicked selection of headline acts and new comers over a two-hour showcase.

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands roadtesting new material.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Sat 21 Jan

Packed bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Thu 26 Jan The Thursday Show (Martin Mor, Keir McAllister, Adnan Ahmed, Julia Sutherland)

Prime stand-up from the best on the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

EDINBU R G H

Prime stand-up from the best on the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7)

The long-haired funnyman presents his off-beat brand of stand-up, complete with a short play about gravy.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £8 (£5)

The Stand celebrate Rabbie Burns’ birthday with a line-up of strictly homegrown talent.

Thu 19 Jan

The Thursday Show (Steve Gribbin, James Sherwood)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Andrew O’Neill: Alternative

Wed 25 Jan Burns Night Special (Joe Heenan, Susan Morrison)

The Thursday Show (Nick Revell, Gary Little, Marlon Davis, Eleanor Morton)

Red Raw

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

City Café, 20:30–22:30, £3 (£2)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4)

The Friday Show (Martin Mor, Keir McAllister, Adnan Ahmed, Paul Ricketts)

Resident host Jojo Sutherland introduces some of the finest stand-up talent from across the UK.

Maggie May’s, 19:30–22:00, £5

The Saturday Show (Ian Coppinger, Nick Helm, Patrick Rolink)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands roadtesting new material.

Tue 17 Jan

Maggie May’s Live Comedy

Sat 28 Jan

Mon 16 Jan Red Raw

Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

Mon 09 Jan

Live comedy showcase in Maggie May’s basement, featuring a total of nine comedians talents over the course of the evening.

The Shack, 20:00–22:00, £10

Resident host Jojo Sutherland introduces some of the finest stand-up talent from across the UK.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with cheeky chappies Stu & Garry.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Saturday Live

A collective of comedians experiment with the medium of stand-up, under the watchful eye of Jo Caulfield.

Chilled comedy showcase for a Sunday evening.

Showcase of new material from the Fit O’ The Giggles lot, taking in sketches, stand-up, musical comedy and a good deal more besides.

Fri 27 Jan

Tue 24 Jan Jo Caulfield’s Comedy Collective

The Sunday Night Laugh-In Chilled comedy showcase for a Sunday evening.

City Café, 20:30–22:30, £3 (£2)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Fit O’ The Giggles

Handpicked selection of headline acts and new comers over a two-hour showcase.

The Friday Show (Ian Coppinger, Nick Helm, Patrick Rolink)

Sun 15 Jan The Sunday Night Laugh-In

Sun 08 Jan

Comedy sketches picked by the audience and performed by a troupe of actors and musicians.

Chilled comedy showcase with resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond.

Diverse and obscure offerings from the comedy spectrum, featuring stand-up, variety acts, sketches, musical comedy and, er, magicians.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£9/£5 members)

A mix of Scotland’s experienced acts test out some new material, alongside a selection of the finest up-and-coming talent Glasgow and Scotland has to offer.

The Friday Show (ian Moore, Andrew O’Neill, Phil Differ)

Wed 11 Jan The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£2.50 members)

Improvised comedy games and sketches, with an anything-goes attitude.

The Shack, 20:00–22:00, £8

Thu 12 Jan

Fri 20 Jan The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Prime stand-up from the best on the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 21 Jan

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Voodoo Rooms, 18:30–23:00, £17

Favourited pick’n’mix Friday night bill of comedy, live music and DJs.

Sat 28 Jan The Saturday Show (Martin Mor, Keir McAllister, Adnan Ahmed, Paul Ricketts) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Friday Live

The Shack, 20:00–22:00, £8

Resident host Jojo Sutherland introduces some of the finest stand-up talent from across the UK.

Sun 29 Jan

The Saturday Show (Nick Revell, Gary Little, Marlon Davis, Matt Richardson)

The Sunday Night Laugh-In

Packed bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

Chilled comedy showcase for a Sunday evening.

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Friday Live

Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £8 (£5/£4 members)

Resident host Jojo Sutherland introduces some of the finest stand-up talent from across the UK.

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with cheeky chappies Stu & Garry.

The Comedy Academy

Sun 22 Jan

The Shack, 21:30–23:30, £3

The Sunday Night Laugh-In

Resident host Jojo Sutherland introduces some of the finest stand-up talent from across the UK.

A selection of up-and-coming Scottish comedic talent showcase their wares.

Fri 13 Jan The Friday Show (Steve Gribbin, James Sherwood) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£9/£5 members)

Prime stand-up from the best on the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 14 Jan The Saturday Show (Steve Gribbin, James Sherwood) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes.

The Shack, 20:00–22:00, £8

The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

Saturday Live

The Shack, 20:00–22:00, £10

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Rock and Roll Ping Pong

Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The It’s Funtime jokers present a free, fun, table tennis evening, with dancing discs from DJ Ding Dong.

Chilled comedy showcase for a Sunday evening.

The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with cheeky chappies Stu & Garry.

Saturday Live

The Shack, 20:00–22:00, £10

Resident host Jojo Sutherland introduces some of the finest stand-up talent from across the UK.

Mon 23 Jan Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands roadtesting new material.

Bongo Club, 19:30–23:00, Free

Mon 30 Jan Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands roadtesting new material.

Fit O’ The Giggles

City Café, 20:30–22:30, £3 (£2)

Showcase of new material from the Fit O’ The Giggles lot, taking in sketches, stand-up, musical comedy and a good deal more besides.

For full listings go to www.theskinny.co.uk/listings or scan below

January 2012

THE SKINNY 61

T H E AT R E

GLASGOW

Citizens Theatre Hansel and Gretel various dates between 3 Dec and 7 Jan, times vary, From £12.50

Edinburgh Playhouse We Will Rock You

various dates between 29 Nov and 7 Jan, times vary, From £21

Alan McHugh offers up a new twist on the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale, accompanied by an original live score.

Surefire crowd-pleaser for the festive season, packed with Queen’s inherently theatrical songs and a witty script by Ben Elton.

Little Ulla

Lord Of The Dance 2012

various dates between 10 Dec and 7 Jan, times vary, From £6.50

16–18 Jan, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £tbc

Festive show for little ‘uns, about a special mountain goat called Little Ulla. Cuteness abounded.

Michael Flatley’s Irish dance spectacular returns for 2012, boasting an inhuman 150,000 taps per performance.

O2 ABC

The Rat Pack Vegas Spectacular

The Shoogle Project 22 Jan, 7:00pm – 10:00pm, £15

Shooglenifty team up with renowned Highland dance-maker Frank McConnell for a unique part gig, part live dance exravaganza. Part of Celtic Connections.

Paisley Town Hall A Kind Of Queen 29 Jan, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, £14 (£12)

Magic’s live reproduction of a live Queen concert, complete with a massive light show.

SECC Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates 17 Dec – 7 Jan, not 18 Dec, 25 Dec, 1 Jan, times vary, From £12

Annual pantomime fare, with John Barrowman and The Krankies leading the cast in this festive swashbuckling adventure.

Matinee performances also available.

The Arches Quartet 13 Jan, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £6 (£4)

Two up-and-coming Scottish dance artists, Jack Webb and Rosalind Masson, perform their own solo material simultaneously, side-by-side.

Loic Lalande and Tom Pritchard: Double Bill 28 Jan, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £6 (£4)

Unique and improvised dance double bill, featuring new pieces from Loic Lalande and Tom Pritchard.

The King’s Theatre Sleeping Beauty various dates between 2 Dec and 8 Jan, times vary, From £14.75

Wicked fairy meets beautiful princess: pantomime hilarity ensues.

Grease 17–28 Jan, not 22, times vary, From £14.50

Frothy singalong musical favourite with the lovelorn Sandy and Danny.

Theatre Royal Back For Good 7 Jan, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, From £18.50 (£15.50)

All-singing, all-dancing Take That tribute act.

Betrothal In A Monastry 20–21 Jan, 7:15pm – 10:00pm, From £8.50

Whimsical story of young love, based of Richard Sheridan’s play The Duenna, brought to life by the emerging students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Tron Theatre The Captain’s Collection 25–26 Jan, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £13

Vibrant dramatisation of the life and work of Captain Simon Fraser – fiddler, composer, dispossessed laird and Empire soldier. Part of Celtic Connections.

Woody Sez 29 Jan – 2 Feb, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £13

21 Jan, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £17

Rat Pack-styled musical favourite, taking a trip back to the glitz and glam of 50s Las Vegas.

Save The Last Dance For Me 30 Jan – 4 Feb, times vary, £tbc

Coming-of-age musical tale, riding along on the rock’n’roll classics of the early 60s.

Festival Theatre The King and I

various dates between 14 Dec and 7 Jan, times vary, prices vary

Lavish new production of the beloved musical, with giant gold Buddha’s, shiny costumes and acrobatic dancers, no less.

Prokofiev’s Betrothal In A Monastry

26 Jan, 28 Jan, 7:15pm – 10:00pm, From £15.50

Whimsical story of young love, based of Richard Sheridan’s play The Duenna, brought to life by the emerging students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Jekyll and Hyde

The Winter Collection Until 31 Jan, times vary, free

Winter showcase of 19th-21st Century British drawings, paintings and sculpture from renowned names such as Elizabeth Blackadder, FCB Cadell and John Houston.

Gallery of Modern Art Alasdair Gray: City Recorder Until 10 Jun, times vary, Free

Choc Ly Tan until 14 jan, times vary, free

New work from French-born, London-based, video artist Choc Ly Tan, in which she narrates a poetic and political concept using spoken word, imagery and sound.

EDINB U R G H Axolotl Gallery Omar Arraez various dates between 2 Dec and 25 Jan, times vary, Free

Showcase of work from the celebrated Glasgow artist and playwright, focusing on his City Recorder series – a large body of work that Gray created as an ‘artist recorder’ for the City of Glasgow in 1977.

Exhibition of paper portraits from Spanish artist Omar Arraez. Part of the Spanish Film and Arts festival, organised by CinemaAttic.

You, Me, Something Else

Axolotl Christmas Show

Until 18 Mar, times vary, Free

Examples of current sculptural practice in Glasgow, focusing on ten artists who are all at different stages of their international careers.

Includes work from Karla Black, Claire Barclay, and collaborative duo Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan.

various dates between 2 Dec and 7 Jan, times vary, Free

Mixed Christmas showcase, including illustrations by Turine Tran and Miriam Sturdee, embroidery by Sandra Collins, and, er, knickers by Denise Zygadlo.

Atelier Public

City Art Centre

Exhibition that takes the form of a working artist studio, fueled on a number of mini residencies and public participation.

Reflection

Until 15 Jan, times vary, Free

Glasgow Print Studio Glasgow Print Studio: Christmas Show

various dates between 7 Dec and 29 Jan, times vary, Free

1 Dec – 12 Feb, times vary, Free

Exhibition highlighting contemporary art and craft being produced by a handpicked selection of Edinburgh makers, aimed at supporting local artists in the area.

That Was Then: This Is Now

Ingleby Gallery Alison Watt: Hiding In Full View various dates between 30 Nov and 28 Jan, 10:00am – 6:00pm, Free

New series of self portrait paintings, indirectly inspired by the imagery of photographer Francesca Woodman’s intense and dreamlike tableaux.

Inverleith House Thomas Houseago: The Beat Of The Show various dates between 30 Nov and 21 Jun, 10:00am – 5:30pm, Free

The first major outdoor exhibition of sculptures by British artist Thomas Houseago, comprising of new and recent large-scale works, mostly in bronze. Sculpture map available from Inverleith House reception.

Andrew Kerr various dates between 30 Nov and 22 Jan, 10:00am – 5:30pm, Free

New body of work from GSA graduate Andrew Kerr, featuring a selection of new and recent works. To be accompanied by a mini basement exhibition celebrating the life and work of avant garde filmmaker Maya Deren.

Leith Gallery Leith Gallery’s Christmas Exhibition 19 Dec-7 jan, 11am-5pm, free

Eclectic festive exhibition including work from Jennifer Irvine and Jacqueline Marr, not forgetting Emma Butler-Cole Aitken’s cute little glass ornaments.

1 Dec – 8 Jan, times vary, Free

Recent Acquisitions

Turner In January

21 Jan – 4 Mar, times vary, £tbc

1–31 Jan, times vary, Free

Some Objects Blackened And A Body Too

Showcase of items recently acquired by the City Art Centre, illustrating how their collection has developed over the last few years.

Annual January showcase of works from JMW Turner, with some 38 watercolours providing a remarkable overview of the great artist.

New body of work from French artist Lili Reynaud-Dewar, consisting of sculptures made of tinkered with found objects.

Collective Gallery

The panto to end ‘em all, with Allan Stewart playing the dame and the opportunity to boo the hell out of Grant Stott.

Christmas Window Exhibition: Oliver Braid

Out of the Blue Drill Hall

Royal Lyceum Theatre

Street Level Photoworks

The Infamous Brothers Davenport

Harry Papadopoulos

14–15 Jan, 9:00pm – 1:00am, £6 (£9 VIP)

New monthly ye olde-styled Victorian night, filled with weird and wonderful acts including burlesque beauties, circus amazement’s and folks straight outta freak show.

King’s Theatre Cinderella

various dates between 3 Dec and 22 Jan, times vary, From £22.50 (£19.50)

24 Jan – 11 Feb, not 29 Jan, 30 Jan, 5 Feb, 6 Feb, times vary, From £14.50

Theatrical treat of magic and illusion, inspired by the true story of the Davenport Brothers.

The Infamous Brothers Davenport: Preview

19 Jan, 21 Jan, 7:45pm – 10:00pm, £5

Theatrical treat of magic and illusion, inspired by the true story of the Davenport Brothers. Discount preview performance.

Traverse Hamletmachine

30 Jan, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £15 (£11/£6 unemployed)

Heiner Muller’s inspired condensing of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, merging silent actors with disembodied voices, puppets and shadow play.

Part of Manipulate Festival.

various venues The Sleeping Beauty

various dates between 17 Dec and 14 Jan, times vary, prices vary

EDINB U R G H

D U NDEE

Brunton Theatre

Dundee Rep

Aladdin

Five Pound and Twa Bairns

12–14 Jan, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £12 (£10)

Festive pantomime re-telling of the Aladdin tale, with Widow Twankey and Wishee Washee et al.

New production of the Scottish musical drama based around the Tay Rail Bridge disaster, centred on three very different woman united by loss.

Captain’s Collection

Breakin’ Rules

Vibrant dramatisation of the life and work of Captain Simon Fraser – fiddler, composer, dispossessed laird and Empire soldier.

Cyril Gerber Fine Art

Transmission Gallery

National Gallery of Scotland

Scottish Ballet present their magical re-telling of the classic fairytale, set to Tchaikovsky’s original score.

27 Jan, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £11.25 (£9.25)

GLASGOW

Showcase of Scottish tapestry artists, from sixteen makers working in the industry today.

Gutterlane

A fittingly heartfelt and uncontrived tribute to folk icon Woody Guthrie, brought to life through story and song. Part of Celtic Connections.

various dates between 3 Dec and 7 Jan, times vary, prices vary

A rt

21 Jan, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £8 (£5)

Head-spinning airborne action from some of Scotland’s best hip hop dance crews on the scene. Wickidy wack, etc.

62 THE SKINNY January 2012

Festive exhibition featuring a range of unique artist-made prints and gifts, available to view and buy.

Mary Mary various dates between 30 Nov and 14 Jan, 12:00pm – 6:00pm, Free

various dates between 17 Dec and 25 Feb, times vary, Free

Showcase exhibition of the iconic rock photography of Harry Papadopoulos, his guerilla-style lensmanship taking in the likes of Bowie, Blondie and, yes, Spandau Ballet.

The Duchy Obstacles Of Vision

various dates between 3 jan17 Dec and 11 Feb, 12pm-6pm, free

Installation and works on paper by Glasgow-based artist Lynn Hynd, exploring the relationship between line and form.

The Lighthouse High Street

various dates between 9 Dec and 17 Apr, times vary, Free

22 Dec – 12 Jan, not 26 Dec, 2 Jan, 9 Jan, 11:00am – 5:00pm, Free

While most galleries shut up shop for the Christmas period, those thoughtful folks over at Collective leave a little surprise behind with their annual Christmas window display, for which Oliver Braid will be creating an exciting new work.

New Work Scotland Programme 2011: Part 3 21 Jan – 19 Feb, not 23 Jan, 30 Jan, 6 Feb, 13 Feb, 11:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Group offering from Ash Reid, Jack McConville, and collaborative duo Amelia Bywater and Christian Newby, as part of the New Work Scotland Programme, giving Scottish-based graduates their first significant visual art project or commission.

Edinburgh Printmakers Kirsty Whiten: Breeder Badlands

Though-provoking exhibition, created by Architecture and Design Scotland, charting the evolution of our High Streets, our changing shops and shopping habits and the impact this has had on us today.

14 jan-10 mar, 10am-6pm, free

The Modern Institute

Fruitmarket Gallery

Alex Dordoy

various dates between 14 Jan and 22 Feb, times vary, Free

New exhibition of work from contemporary Glasgow artist Alex Dordoy.

Tramway T Rooms

27 Jan – 11 mar, times vary, free

Matthew Darbyshire continues with his exploration into design as a barometer of social change, transforming Tramway’s main gallery space with an ambitious and thought-provoking response to the building’s own physical and social context.

Unique solo exhibition from Kirsty Whiten, dealing with the complexities of the new familial unit in both large works on canvas and a new series of stone lithographs.

Bill Bollinger 30 Nov – 7 Jan, times vary, Free

Reviewing the radical practice of the American artist, known for his use of technical and industrial materials.

The exhibition brings together major sculptures, documentary material, photographs and sketchbooks.

Anna Barriball 20 Jan – 1 Apr, times vary, Free

Selection of works from the Londonbased artist known for moving between the parallel languages of drawing and sculpture, showcasing a collection of new commissions alongside existing works.

Border Work 4–27 Jan, not 8, 15, 22, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

A collection of photographs and stories from deported migrants in Nogales, a town on the USA/ Mexico border, by Edinburgh-based photographer Alice Myers.

Queen’s Gallery The Northern Renaissance: Dürer to Holbein 29 Aug – 15 Jan, 9:30am – 6:00pm, £6 (£5.50)

Bringing together over 100 works by the greatest Northern European artists of the period.

Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) Muse 29 Aug – 9 Jan, times vary, Free

Collection of RSA works concerned with portraying the female character and figure.

The Art of Sylvia Wishart 1 jan-29 feb, 10am-5pm (12pm-5pm sundays), free

RSA showcase of Orkney painter Sylvia Wishart, in which the rugged landscapes of Orkney play the main focus.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art The Scottish Colourist Series 1 Dec – 18 Mar, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

The National Galleries of Scotland present the first of their Scottish Colourists Series with a retrospective of the work of F C B Cadell.

The Sculpture Show 17 Dec – 24 Jun, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Giving themselves over to sculpture in all it’s many forms, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art host a sculptural showcase of works moving from the 1900s to present day.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery Romantic Camera

30 Nov – 3 Jun, 10am-6pm or 10am9pm, Free

Presenting their first exhibition since the grand re-opening, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery explore the highly charged relationship between romanticism and photography in Scotland.

Hot Scots

1 Dec – 1 Apr, 10am-6pm or 10am9pm, Free

Selection of photographic portraits of some of Scotland’s most famous faces, taken by celebrated photographers including Eva Vermandel and Albert Watson.

Stills Allan Sekula: Ship Of Fools 21 Jan – 18 Mar, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free

the art of science A new virtual shop/gallery is now open online, selling affordable, limited edition prints by a selection of seven Scottish artists, all of whom have previously been displayed in the Showcase section of The Skinny.

David Lemm lives in Edinburgh and works primarily as an illustrator, while also developing his practice in drawing, painting and printmaking. The works presented here explore his fascination with scientific theory. You can see his work in the flesh this month at Full Stop, the final exhibition of Such and Such, the studio / gallery on Edinburgh's Brunswick St. 14-29 Jan, 12-5pm daily, free.

Preview Fri 13 Jan, 7-9pm

For the second installment of his Stills’ programme, Allan Sekula presents his most recent series of photographs which examine the sea as a space of trade, work, exploitation, activism and the sublime.

Talbot Rice Gallery Beholder

various dates between 1 Dec and 18 Feb, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Taking ‘beauty’ as the starting point, Talbot Rice have invited various artists, individuals and organisations to loan or nominate a work that they feel represents beauty. Viewers will then be invited to vote for the artwork they consider most beautiful.

D U NDEE Cooper Gallery I Really Must Congratulate You On Your Attention To Detail , times vary, free

Largest exhibition to date from German artist Viola Yesiltac, features glass sculptures and photographic works that explore the displacements that operate between photography, drawing, sculpture and performance.

DCA Torsten Lauschmann: Startle Reaction

various dates between 30 Nov and 8 Jan, times vary, Free

For Lauschmann’s largest solo show to date he uses automatons and cinema to play with the notion that we are capable of believing in things that have been proven to be false, with 3D glasses allowing exhibitiongoers to watch multiple films at once.

Jane and Louise Wilson

21 jan-25 mar, 12pm-6pm or 11am6pm, free

Sibling duo who studied respectively at Newcastle Polytechnic and Dundee’s DJCAD, joining together to showcase two varied bodies of recent work.

Hannah Maclure Centre N55: Space Frame Vehicle 1 Dec – 27 Jan, weekdays only, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Art collective N55 collaborate with artist Till Wolfer for a unique and interactive design project that enables individuals to build their own vehicles for transportation of people and goods.

Part of NEoN Digital Arts Festival.

The McManus Cecil Beaton: Queen Elizabeth II

30 Sep – 8 Jan, times vary, Free

Selection of Cecil Beaton’s portraits of The Queen, depicting her role as princess, monarch and mother.

Winter Works On Paper 1 Dec – 29 Jan, times vary, Free

Annual winter exhibition, this time displaying the etched works of Whistler, including prints from the original collection of James Guthrie Orchar.

A Painted World: Alan Robb 27 Jan – 18 Mar, times vary, Free

Showcase exhibition from figurative painter, and former Head of the School of Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Alan Robb.

The high quality prints are produced on 310gsm German etching paper, and range in size from 30x40cm to 60x80cm. Prices start at just £75, and the venture is supported by Own Art, which provides you with an interest free loan to spread the cost of buying an artwork across ten months.

You can see and buy the full collections online at www.theskinny.co.uk/shop or www.culturelabel.com

MUSIC

A MUSOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TOP 10:

ROOTS MANUVA

CRYSTAL BAWS WITH MYSTIC MARK

A peak inside the mind of maverick MC Rodney â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ROOTS MANUVAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Smith, who shares his diverse set of desert island discs WORDS: ROOTS MANUVA ILLUSTRATION: NICK COCOZZA

KRS-One did so much for hip-hop, both on the business front and artistically ARIES 21 MAR â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 20 APR After going off the rails at New Year and thereafter orbiting through a belt of her own sick astronomers discover Venus is pregnant with another planet. Her mass increases until Nibiru is spewed from her steamy, churning womb with an Earthbound trajectory. This is your last New Year. Enjoy it.

TAURUS 21 APR â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 21 MAY Haemorrhoid problems?

Try cramming a crystal in your crack; its vibrational energy and healing properties will ease your pain, probably.

1. Eric B and Rakim â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Follow the Leader (1988) One of the first long players I ever got into. I truly admire their spin on bling, loveable ruggedness and poetry. Rakim has influenced too many MCs to count and still does. Musically, this is still ahead of the times. Rakim is the king of metaphoric rhymes and real visual simile.

2. Boogie Down Productions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop (1989) Another major influence of mine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; KRS-One did so much for hip-hop, both on the business front and artistically. He was one of the hip-hop artists to re-sign to a major as a production company boutique label and made sure younger artists around him had his hands on guidance in the early stages of their careers. He still tours today and has lasted over three decades in this business, where so many careers last for one record.

3. Linton Kwesi Johnson â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bass Culture (1980) In many ways one of the first British MCs/ poets to translate to a major label and have both a presence in the written word as well as music. This album covers so much information on life for first generation British migrant culture, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a first class sonic masterpiece with an amazing soundscape.

4. Kate Bush â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Aerial (2005) I love the way Kate Bush uses her voice. The musical arrangement on this record is very detailed with an amazing use of extended harmony and sonic cross-reference to the past and present. I personally admire that the song lyrics can be interpreted in many ways.

5. Radiohead â&#x20AC;&#x201C; In Rainbows (2007) This band continues to push boundaries and avoid the obvious rock and roll model of song.

They embrace new genres and styles while still keeping the integrity of their own world of sound â&#x20AC;&#x201C; very multi-dimensional. They break the rulebook with every record they make. This record is also such a significant statement on how to release records.

6. Buccaneer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Da Opera (1998) This is the blueprint for all dancehall records.

The lyrics and production techniques still stand the test of time 14 years later. This is a very good example of accessible high quality `dance.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 7. Leftfield â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Rhythm and Stealth (1999) One of the few bands to truly and honestly take electronic music to the live arena and make it human. This record proves you can breathe

life into a machine while still being futuristic in sonic construction. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just say this because I am on the record â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it truly is a master piece!

8. Michael Jackson â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Thriller (1982) My favourite MJ record. Thriller contains tough grooves, tight harmonies and amazing vocal performances way before the digital auto tune days, and still every note is pitch perfect and every beat is immaculate without the use of a drum machine. But it sounds computer tight in my ears.

9. MJ Cole â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sincere (2000) A truly inventive use of classical music training and soulful vocals. This two step (or garage!) record truly defies genre classification because it uses so much of all that is influential to the culture of British base culture.

10. Portishead â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dummy (1994) Many call this a triphop record, which I think is a very lazy description of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really a modern British blues record. Hip-hop beat construction merged with organic instrument playing and sample manipulation is topped off with the amazing voice of Beth Gibbons. Dummy is my favourite British hip-hop, without containing any rapping!

ROOTS MANUVA PLAYS THE ARCHES ON 26 JAN WWW.ROOTSMANUVA.CO.UK

GEMINI 22 MAY â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 21 JUN Rupert Murdochâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bought your sign and has turned it into a vehicle for celebrity news, thus thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no predictions for you this month. I can tell you what Jordanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up to though: Y-shaped all month as a scrum of neckless, tanned mutants vie for control of her stinking placky minge.

CANCER 22 JUN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 23 JUL After impregnating Venus and bailing, Mars now occupies what scientists are calling a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bedsit orbitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; around Proxima Centauri. This bodes unfortunately for Cancerians.

Expect to spend a lot of time crying in a corner.

LEO 24 JUL â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 23 AUG You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t turn heads when you enter a room, rather you turn stomachs. When you smile your face resembles a Dobermannâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sphincter with a rancid jobby Mr. Whippying out into a bowl of dessicated guts.

VIRGO 24 AUG â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 23 SEP Police are still on the lookout for the Holy Spirit (described as an odourless gas) and His effeminate, winged accomplice Gabriel, after a builder in drag on a stag night was â&#x20AC;&#x153;immaculately date-rapedâ&#x20AC;? by mistake over Christmas. Keep a close eye on your wombs

Virgoans, He wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make the same mistake twice.

LIBRA 24 SEP â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 23 OCT Saturnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your big gas taskmaster. This throbbing ball of unforgiving hell-fire flies into your chart and marinates your existence in woe.

SCORPIO 24 OCT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 22 NOV Opening yourself up to higher understanding by taking DMT you finally crack, superior knowledge taking its toll, and you get cataracts of the third eye.

SAGITTARIUS 23 NOV â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 21 DEC

I agree, if weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to have homeopathy on the NHS why donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we have Crowley sex magick on there too?

CAPRICORN 22 DEC â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 20 JAN

In January you discover the CIA invented conspiracy theories to keep us distracted from the biggest conspiracy theory of all: that the CIA have been inventing conspiracy theories to keep us distracted from the fact the CIA have been inventing conspiracy theories. Your mind reels in recurrent paranoia.

AQUARIUS 21 JAN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 19 FEB No, what you do at the sperm bank is not â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;quantitative easing.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

PISCES 20 FEB â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 20 MAR Still reeling from receiving no Christmas bonus?

Fret not, the office offers many opportunities for the highlymotivated individual. The open plan nature of the workplace is ideal for tactical deployments that utilise cover while maintaining a large firing area. Memos, contracts and a red rain of ass fly as you Rambo your way into your bossâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office. Briefly you promote yourself to CEO before the police turn up and Swiss cheese you with a lead redundancy package.

JANUARY 2012

THE SKINNY 63