The Skinny November 2022

What we've lost, and what must be saved

The Skinny's favourite songs we listen to when we're angry

Martha Wainwright — Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole Flight of the Conchords — Bret's Angry Dance Robyn — Dancing on My Own

Daft Punk — Get Lucky LCD Soundsystem — Movement Kelis — Caught Out There Billie Eilish — Happier than Ever UK Apache with Shy FX — Original Nuttah 25 Slipknot — People = Shit

Alanis Morissette — You Oughta Know Florence + The Machine — Kiss With a Fist Wolf Alice — Yuk Foo OTMGirls — A ressive Girl (English ver.) DISCWOMAN 51 x Akua Listen to this playlist on Spotify — search for 'The Skinny Office Playlist' or scan the below code Issue 202, November 2022 © Radge Media Ltd. Get in touch: E: hello@theskinny.co.uk The Skinny is Scotland's largest independent entertainment & listings magazine, and offers a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business. Get in touch to find out more. E: sales@theskinny.co.uk

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be re produced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher.

Printed by DC Thomson & Co. Ltd, Dundee ABC verified Jan – Dec 2019: 28,197 printed on 100% recycled paper

Championing creativity in Scotland

Meet the team

We asked – What are you currently angriest about?

"That I had Sk8tr Boi stuck in my head for one full day last month after proof ing Laurie's Olga Koch interview."

"I *was* annoyed that my bus stop had moved 100 yards up the road, but that's been fixed. Basically, I'm open to su estions."

"lol. lmao."

I'd throw it in the sea."

"The uneven paving slabs of Edinburgh can go fuck themselves. Yes, I fell today (Thu 27 Oct) at lunchtime. I have hurt my hand. It hurt to type this."

– I need not elaborate more."

"Suella

"That you can’t get Cadbury’s Mini E s outside the Easter retail bracket. Oh. And the general Westminster shitshow including how a nurse would have to work for 20,000 years to accumulate the wealth of Rishi Sunak."

"That's between me, my therapist, and my mom when I'm tipsy."

Business

"The general vibes. Majorly off."

Production

"My £60,000 (and growing) student debt."

Editorial Sales

"Twin Peaks isn't on any reputable streaming sites when it's the perfect season for it! That, or the despair."

"I worked Avril Lavigne lyrics into a piece in last month's issue and not one of my colleagues has commented on it."

"Literally everything. Leave me alone "

"The price of literally everything."

"George."

"How difficult it is to settle on one answer to this question."

Anahit Behrooz Events Editor, Books Editor

Rosamund West Editor-in-Chief

Jamie Dunn Film Editor, Online Journalist

"A Grab Bag of crisps now cost over a quid! If this country wasn't already an island,

Polly Glynn Comedy Editor

Lewis Robertson Digital Editorial Assistant

Peter Simpson Digital Editor, Food & Drink Editor

Eilidh Akilade Intersections Editor

Rho Chung Theatre Editor

Sandy Park Commercial Director

Tom McCarthy Creative Projects Manager

George Sully Sales and Brand Strategist

Heléna Stanton Clubs Editor

Braverman

Harvey Dimond Art Editor

Laurie Presswood General Manager

Tallah Brash Music Editor

Dalila D'Amico Art Director, Production Manager

Phoebe Willison Designer

"Avanti West Coast."

Editorial

Words: Rosamund West

The Scottish cultural community was rocked last month by the sudden closure of Edinburgh’s Filmhouse, and the unceremonious redundancies of its staff, as well as those of Edinburgh International Film Festival. We invite some of the people whose lives have been enriched or altered by these institutions (hint: everyone in Scottish film) to share what made them so vital, and consider what needs to be saved from the organisational ashes.

Clearly there were issues within these businesses that go far beyond the cost of living crisis. Glasgow Short Film Festival’s Sanne Jehoul has penned an op-ed considering what a better screen sector should look like; one built on fairness, diversity and passion. Celebrating that passion, we speak to a pair of directors – Ruben Östlund discusses his latest satire on the global elites Triangle of Sadness, and why film people really just want to watch Adam Sandler movies. Scottish director Charlotte Wells introduces her much-anticipated debut Aftersun, which hits cinemas this month.

There’s an overall sense of protest and resistance neces sary in our ongoing national shitshow. Music talks to some of those leading the charge against inequality, starting with London-based DIY punk group Big Joanie. As they release their second album Back Home, the trio discuss diasporic identity in Britain, and being the change they want to see in the music industry. We meet fellow trailblazers Nova Twins ahead of their Scottish dates, and hear how they’ve helped foster a community for Black and POC punk and heavy rockers. Hyperdub founder Steve Goodman, aka Kode-9, drops by to share a quote-filled Q&A covering indyref2, the mind-expanding potential of dance music and Scotland’s complicity in colonialism.

Art takes a tour through Norman Gilbert’s Tramway retro spective, talking to his son about his intimate paintings of family life. One writer also explores Hannah Lim’s solo show in Edinburgh Printmakers, which challenges ideas of ornamental ism in discussions of Asian art to explore her cultural identity as a woman of mixed Singaporean and British heritage.

As Scottish poetry festival Push the Boat Out returns, we chat with some of the poets featured in More Fiya, the BlackBritish poetry collection which will be celebrated in an event on 6 November. Clubs meets the people behind the Redstone Press label as they gear up to celebrate their fifth birthday, while comedy talks to Jessica Fostekew about pubic hair and human ity’s capacity for change.

Intersections takes influence from Swedish culture to consider the radical potential of their coffee-and-cake ritual of fika. We then talk to activists about the costs of speaking up, digital discourse and how to survive under the weight of public scrutiny.

A global gathering of creatives coordinates each year to celebrate Fair Saturday, a counterpoint to the preceding Black Friday which aims to centre creativity and empathy in rejection of mass consumerism. We take a look at some of the events being staged in Scotland to imagine building a better society. As the fourth play in Rona Munro’s James Plays, James IV: Queen of the Fight tours Scotland, we meet director Laurie Sansom to discuss racism and royalty.

Finally, we close on a surreal and horrifying note with a Q&A with author, actor and visionary Garth Marenghi. Turn to the inside back page to learn more on the 17th century goblin slayers of Dublin Town, and battering Richard Osman.

Cover Artist

Irina is a London-based illustrator passionate about animation, typography and all things creative. Her work is characterised by grainy textures, bold colours, and an overall feeling of calmness.

@irina.selaru

Love

On Old Bread

Words: Graham Peacock

I’m not good at throwing things out. I keep torn receipts, empty envelopes, and broken glasses with old prescriptions. My drawers are filled with expired loyalty cards, high school textbooks I forgot to return, and flyers from insignificant events.

It’s not that I’m nostalgic. I’m bad at reflecting, or remembering things how they happened. I look back and don’t care like I used to. I can’t fill in the blank spots. I’ve lost touch with the versions of myself that first picked up these objects, as well as a lot of the people who gave them to me.

Last month, I came back from a trip to Marseille too lazy and preoccupied to unpack. Days passed. I picked out what I needed as and when. Eventually I tipped out my bag, and found the remains of a half torn baguette from a sunset picnic, rock hard, and wrapped up in faded paper.

It was probably ten days old. The thud to the floor felt ominous. I knew there would be mould. My impulse was to keep it: to file it away in a cupboard or a box under the bed. But filing away mould would mean things had gone too far.

I wanted to keep the bread because I wanted to remember the supermarket where I bought it, the sea port where I ate it, the rats and tourists and locals who moved along the path, and that by the time the sunset picnic started, it was already dark. I want to keep it all. Without the bread I’ll forget. Bread is perhaps my limit though, so I threw it out.

I’m not convinced my memories will dry up any less without these objects, but I still, as a general rule, believe there’s some way to keep everything forever.

Heads Up

Phoebe Green

The Mash House, Edinburgh, 19 Nov, 8pm Scrappy Manchester singer Phoebe Green’s music is as bold as their trademark look. Using the bubbly en ergy of pop and the dreamy possibilities of synth as a subversive starting point, her music – upbeat and wryly dark – explores the tempting absolution of selfdestruction found in heartache and coming-of-age. Witty, vulnerable, and helplessly seductive, her smart electro-pop beats and honest lyricism mark her out as a shining new name in indie pop.

Glasgow Print Fair

The Lighthouse, Glasgow, 5 Nov, 10:30am

For one day only, Glasgow Print Fair is taking over The Lighthouse with some of the bi est and best names in printmaking selling their wares. From local to fur ther afield artists, numbered among the stallholders are anarchic powerhouse Black Lodge Press, Brigh ton-based illustrator Lucy Sherston, Scottish literary magazine Extra Teeth and even some The Skinny con tributors, including the lovely Lauren Morsley and Ka tie Smith.

There has never been a more crucial time to support Scotland’s independent film culture. We pick out some of the most unique screenings and film festivals this month, as well as the usual gigs, exhibitions, and theatre

Behrooz

The Great Western Various venues, Glasgow, 12 Nov, 12pm

This year’s Great Western, Glasgow’s daylong festival dedicated to some of the most exciting names in contem porary music, returns with one of their most stunning lineups yet. Catch the likes of Pussy Riot (get ready to rage), Los Bitchos, Martha Ffion and Withered Hand across the city’s venues – from Stereo to The Hug and Pint and more.

Radical Book Fair

Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, 1013 Nov

If you too are feeling extra angry and extra wanting to do something about it given, well, everything, then Lighthouse Bookshop’s annual Radical Book Fair is a great place to start. Themed this year around “Our Fight”, events include a panel on Mutual Aid featuring activists Eshe Kiama Zuri and Miss Major and organisations Food Not Bombs and United Sex Workers, a queer life drawing session, and the usual delicious curated book stalls.

The Skinny + MUBI: Aftersun Cameo, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre, 16 Nov

Inverness Film Festival

Eden Court, Inverness, 4-10 Nov Inverness Film Festival always puts on a remarkable show, bring ing some of the bi est and best films from the international cir cuit (Venice, Cannes, Berlin…they’re all here) right to the heart of the Highlands. Some highlights from this year’s rich and exhilarating pro gramme include Golden Lion-winner All the Beauty and the Blood shed, Jafar Panahi’s No Bears, and the tender, instant queer British classic Blue Jean.

Fair Saturday

Various venues, Edinburgh, 26 Nov

We’ve partnered with MUBI to bring you one of the year’s best films (this is not hyperbole, this is not a drill) for free. Head down to Glasgow Film Theatre or the Cameo for an advanced screening of Charlotte Wells’ extraordinary Aftersun, a heart-wrenching, sundrenched mediation on grief and mem ory starring Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corio. You can reserve your free ticket on our website, and there will even be free (and very sturdy) MUBI tote bags on the evening.

Compiled by Anahit

Sigrid

Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 8 Nov, 7pm

White and Givan: Worn Tramway, Glasgow, 11 Nov, 7:30pm

George Finlay Ramsay: Family Fugue Generator Projects, Dundee, until 6 Nov

Family Fugue by George Finlay Ramsay

Grassmarket Market

White and Givan, Worn

Sigrid

Photo: Maria Falconer

Photo:

Photo: Lewis Vorn

Image: Lucy Sherston

Photo: Nan Goldin

Phoebe Green Pussy Riot, appearing at Great Western

Eshe Kiama Zuri, panellist at Radical Book Fair

Aftersun

Lucy Sherston at Glasgow Print Fair

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed showing at Inverness Film Festival

Culture House Launch

Summerhall, Edinburgh, 17 Nov, 7:30pm

The Skinny faves EHFM and Nothing Ever Happens Here co-present the launch of Summerhall’s Culture House, a new exhibition of the art venue’s resident creatives. Headlining the evening are dreamy alt-rock Glasgow outfit Cloth, sound artist and musician Rudi Zygadlo, with films by the team behind EIFF darling A Cat Called Dom and DJ sessions from EHFM regulars.

We Are Here Scotland: Creators Showcase

Various venues, Glasgow, 18 Nov, 10:45am

We Are Here Scotland, an organisation supporting and platform ing creative voices by Black people and people of colour across the country, is hosting a gorgeous showcase featuring some of the rising stars in Scotland’s music scene. Following on from panels, performances and workshops at The Glad Cafe during the day, the evening features live music from ID, PAQUE and Lamaya, as well as DJ sets from hip-hop devotee Arusa Qureshi and Hiba.

Ritualia & The Circle

Dundee Rep, Dundee, 3-5 Nov, 7:30pm Scottish Dance Theatre presents a double bill of two of their most acclaimed pieces in recent years by internationally renowned choreographers Colette Sadler and Emanuel Gat. Ritualia re-imagines Igor Stravinsky and Bronislava Nijinska’s 1923 masterpiece Les Noces, revealing the latent androgyny and gender queerness of the original, while The Circle offers a dy namic, visually striking exploration of electronic jazz by Squarepusher.

French Film Festival

Various venues, various cities, 2 Nov-15 Dec

Havana Glasgow Film Festival

Various venues, Glasgow, 8-13 Nov

To mark 20 years of Glasgow being twinned with Cu ba’s capital, Havana Glasgow Film Festival returns with a special focus on Black filmmakers across both classic and contemporary cinema. Highlights from the programme include the world premiere of Sara Gómez's restored 1960s Isle of Pines Trilogy, a fami ly-friendly screening of the sweet and moving Crazy About Carol, and a late night party at CCA’s Saramago Cafe Bar, DJed by Cami Layé Okún.

Nira Pereg: Patriarchs

Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, until 18 Feb 2023

Israeli artist Nira Pereg’s video installations interrogate the performances of faith and religion that occur under difficult geopolitical and ideological conditions, considering the inherent tension between ceremony and territory. Patriarchs follows contested sites of worship in historic Palestine, examining how prayer and pilgrimage are structured both by religious temporalities and colonial and military control.

SWG3, Glasgow, 2 Nov, 7pm

Blending grime, hip-hop, and spoken word, Kojey Rad ical has collaborated with the likes of Michaela Coel and Mahalia and opened for Young Fathers, making him one of the most exciting names in British rap. Fol lowing four EPs over the years, this year saw him re lease the Mercury Prize-nominated Reasons to Smile, a genre-defying, game-changing work of political and emotional acuteness.

Maria Stoian: Forgeries

Out

of the Blue Drill Hall, Edinburgh, 3 Nov-1 Dec

Push the Boat Out Summerhall, Edinburgh, 4-6 Nov

Queer Theory: Velvet Rage Stereo, Glasgow, 5 Nov, 8:30pm

Bee Asha, appearing at Push the Boat Out

Forgeries

Photo: Tal Imam

All details were correct at the time of writing, but are subject to change. Please check organisers’ websites for up to date information.

Photo: Diana Dumi

Image: courtesy of French

Film Festival UK

Frans Gender at Queer Theory

Don Juan

Kojey Radical

Image: Maria Stoian

Photo: Marilena Vlachopoulou

Image: courtesy of artist

Photo: Brian Hartley

Photo: Justin Lockey

Image: courtesy of Havana

Glasgow Film Festival

Image: courtesy Nira Pereg/Talbot Rice Gallery

Arusa Qureshi, appearing at We Are Here Scotland

Kojey Radical

The Circle at Dundee Rep

Cloth for Culture House Launch

Crazy for Carol

Sarah Sarah, Nira Pereg

What's On

Music

It’s November and there are still festivals going on. On 6 November, SIRENS is new from the team behind Stag & Da er. Taking over Glasgow’s Classic Grand and Audio venues, catch sets from Giant Swan (live), bdrmm, Stealing Sheep, Slim Wrist and more. On 12 November, The Great Western returns to Glasgow with Pussy Riot, Los Bitchos, Connie Constance, Scalping, The Bug Club and a whole host of local talent set to play, from Martha Ffion and Withered Hand to Dutch Wine, Bee Asha Singh and Rachel A s, while at the end of the month, Make-That-a-Take Records’ Book Yer Ane Fest returns to Conroy’s Basement for its 15th outing. Taking place over three days from 25-27 November, expect sets from Bratakus, Lou Mclean, James Liandu, Kaddish and more.

Several local artists are celebrating releases this month too with shows. Lizabett Russo launches While I Sit and Watch This Tree, Vol 2 at The Hug & Pint (4 Nov), Hailey Beavis celebrates her debut album I’ll Put You Where the Trombone Slides at Summerhall, Edinburgh (5 Nov) and Mono, Glasgow (12 Nov), Russell Stewart brings his debut EP Into View to Glasgow’s King Tut’s (18 Nov), Aberdeen’s The Little Kicks take the Cairn String Quartet on the road for a trio of shows celebrating People Need Love – catch them in Edinburgh (Voodoo Rooms, 18 Nov), Glasgow (Drygate, 24 Nov) and Dundee (Hunter S. Thompson, 26 Nov) – and Glasgow’s Humour play Nice N Sleazy on 26 November, the day after releasing their electric debut EP Pure Misery Elsewhere, a trio of 2022 Mercury Prize nominees roll into Glasgow this month, with Kojey Radical (2 Nov) and Wet Leg (17 Nov) playing SWG3, before Yard Act play QMU (22 Nov). Kendrick Lamar brings Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers to the OVO Hydro (2 Nov) for a massive show, before Aussie party band Confidence Man play Barrowlands (9 Nov); on the same night in Edinburgh catch Lime Garden at Sneaky Pete’s. Later in the month a run of shows could easily keep you busy every night of the week with Ezra Furman at QMU (20 Nov), Orlando Weeks at King Tut’s (21 Nov), Ibibio Sound Machine at St Luke’s (22 Nov), Amyl and the Sniffers at Barrowlands (23 Nov), Jesca Hoop at The Caves (24 Nov) and Whitney at QMU (25 Nov). And for a true hit of nostalgia, the first week of the month brings the OG Sugababes lineup to Edinburgh’s Usher Hall (5 Nov) and Glasgow’s O2 Academy (7 Nov). [Tallah Brash]

Film

The French Film Festival (2 Nov-15 Dec) has a fantastic lineup fitting of its 30th-anniversary milestone. It’s got new films from Michel Hazanavicius (Final Cut), the Dardennes (Tori and Lokita) and François Ozon (Peter von Kant) as well as classics like Marcel Carné’s Children of Paradise, Jacques Demy’s A Room in Town and Claude Chabrol’s Madame Bovary, which screen at Edinburgh’s Institut Français d’Ecosse. Also look out for the propulsive Full Time, blistering drama Rodeo and Hitchcockian whodunit The Green Perfume Africa in Motion (11-20 Nov) is smaller in scale this year but still remains one of the most vital events on Scotland’s festival calendar. The event kicks off with Tug of War, Amil Shivji’s political love story set in the final years of British colonial Zanzibar. Frequency Adjustment is a new strand celebrating the

All details correct at the time of writing

Photo: Polydor Records

Photo: Jamie Macmillan

Photo: Douglas Robertson

Kendrick Lamar Yard Act

Lizabett Russo

Tori and Lokita

influence that African and Black diaspora artists have had on the punk and metal scenes. And there’s an unmissable double bill of Ousmane Sembène’s classic Mandabi with Nana Mensah’s debut feature film Queen of Glory Havana Glasgow Film Festival (8-13 Nov) returns with a spotlight on Black Cuban filmmaking with a particular focus on Black women directors. Highlights include a mini-retrospective dedicated to Sara Gòmez, an AfroCuban documentarian who explored the position of women and Afro-Cubans within Cuban society. On 12 November, the festival hosts a party at Saramago Café, where Cuban DJ Cami Layé Okún comes fresh from Havana.

The popular Doc’n Roll (2-6 Nov, GFT; 5-12 Nov, Cameo, Edinburgh) is also back with a hand-picked selection of music documentaries. The festival kicks off with A Film about Studio Electrophonique, which is a warm tribute to the studio in a Sheffield council house that helped launch legendary bands like The Human League, Heaven 17 and Pulp. There’s also a rare screening of Rewind And Play: Thelonius Monk (GFT, 3 Nov), where the jazz genius takes down an arrogant journalist in an infamous 1969 French TV interview.

Elsewhere, you’ll find Summerhall screening a stellar collection of cult LGBTQ films: But I’m a Cheerleader, Tomboy and Beautiful Thing. GFT bring their now annual Noirvember featuring a brace of silky neo-noir from the 90s. Also at GFT, there’s another unmissable Scorsese screening, with the Scotsman’s Alistair Harkness introducing The Last Waltz, the nearpeerless doc capturing the farewell tour from The Band, featuring electric and, let’s face it, often dru ed-fueled performances from Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, NNeil Young and Joni Mitchell. [Jamie Dunn]

Clubs

Starting November off, UK Nu-Garage DJ Oneman makes an appearance at The Berkeley Suite (3 Nov). Missing Persons Club celebrate their 10th birthday, with a B2B from Julian Muller and MRD – this is one for those who like big room techno (4 Nov). Civic House host their monthly party with Glasgow festival Counterflows, including contemporary Chilean music (4 Nov).

Sneaky Pete’s have a big weekend with Miss World presenting Londonbased hardcore and NRG selector mixtress (4 Nov), while Palidrone invites TVSI aka Anunaku, the co-founder of UK dance label Nervous Horizon (5 Nov). Edinburgh also hosts UK garage DJ Bluetoof (Keep Hush) at The Caves (5 Nov).

Glasgow label Redstone Press celebrate their 5th Birthday at Civic House (12 Nov) with a line-up including Iona, Abena, Angel D’lite, Ira, Lewis Lowe and Pseudopolis. A huge day party – expect goody bags and party balloons.

A new club night launches 17 November at the Poetry Club in Glasgow. Phlox focuses on DJs, VJs, and visual artists, creating a sensorial experience within a club environment. Glasgow’s Erosion invites FAUZIA (NTS) and Mi-El (Venue MOT) to Stereo (18 Nov). This is a night with fast-paced club music, bass, and breaks.

Bringing some midweek excitement to La Cheetah, Glasgow techno podcast Frenetik gives HØLEIGH her Scottish debut (23 Nov). PRTY host their final party of 2022, with a sell-out night at SWG3. They invite Brutalismus 3000 (26 Nov) for a night with a contrast of 4x4, nu-gabber and post-punk. Pulse’s 14th birthday takes place at The Mash House, with queer techno duo Blasha and Allatt (26 Nov). [Heléna Stanton]

Art

Kelvin Guy opens their exhibition Nothing Yet on 12 November at iota in the West End of Glasgow. The solo show features dynamic and movementfilled paintings, reflecting the artist’s career as a set painter for Scottish Opera. The show is on public view until 26 November.

Also in Glasgow, The Hunterian opens Turner Prize-winner Elizabeth Price’s first solo show in Scotland, opening to the public on 11 November. The exhibition, titled UNDERFOOT, focuses on Glasgow and Renfrewshire’s textile heritage, referencing and employing never-before-exhibited archival materials.

Continuing until 25 January 2023, Hayley Tompkins’ exhibition at Fruitmarket titled Far features paintings and films made since 2007. Tompkins’ practice ‘looks at the way we look’ and questions what we pay attention to. The exhibition’s focus is a new installation that displays all of the artist’s films from the past 15 years of her career. Nearby, Stills’ annual exhibition FUTUREPROOF sees twelve recent graduates from Glasgow School of Art, Edinburgh Napier University, University of Highlands and Islands, Moray School of Art and Grays School of Art showcasing some of the most exciting contemporary photographic work in the country. For the first time,

Tug of War

Devil in a Blue Dress

ANUNAKU

Photo: Suleika Mueller

DJ Fauzia

Detail of June Bug, Kelvin Guy

Photo: Poly Artists Agency

Image: courtesy of the artist

Arwen, Hayley Tompkins

Image: courtesy of the Artist and The Modern Institute, Toby

Webster Ltd., Glasgow and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York

the exhibition also takes place across Stills and Street Level Photoworks in Glasgow. Both exhibitions open on 12 November.

Over in Perth, Jupiter Artland presents an offsite installation of Rachel Mclean’s film work Mimi. First shown in 2021 at the sculpture park and now reconceived by the artist in an abandoned shop on Perth’s High Street, the exhibition continues throughout November.

This month, Alberta Whittle’s film commission for this year’s Venice Biennale, Lagareh – The Last Born will continue its Scotland-wide tour, screening at Mareel Shetland Arts in Lerwick on 27 November. [Harvey Dimond]

Theatre

If you’re one of the people who get S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) when November starts, cosying up in a warm theatre this winter might just be the remedy. And why not get a pie and a pint while you’re at it? Thankfully, A Play, a Pie and a Pint are touring again with five new plays from emerging Scottish playwrights. The season includes Joe McCanna’s Alföld, a play about a young interracial couple whose marriage is on the verge of collapse. It is a dark comedy that explores themes of language, misogyny, politics, racism and what it takes to survive in Viktor Orbán’s illiberal democracy (Traverse Theatre, 1-5 Nov).

The CCA in Glasgow has two striking performances on this month. First up is Ci ie Stories: Twenty Tales of Love and Sorrow (3-4 Nov), a performative launch of a new collection of autobiographical writings by multi-disciplinary artist Emily Furneaux. Also on is Tricky Hat’s Don’t Stop Me Now (5 Nov), which challenges the taboos surrounding ageing.

If you’re saving up for the holiday season, you might like these free events: The Citadel Arts Group’s new play Caring, based on playwright Rhona McAdam’s experience as a carer for her son, is staged at the Scottish Storytelling Centre (3-4 Nov). Queer Stories is a pop-up event by Shaper/ Caper that explores the impact of Section 28, a ban that once prohibited the ‘promotion of homosexuality’. Inspired by interviews with LGBTQ+ people who lived through the time, they’ll be performing in Dundee, West Lothian, and Inverness.

Under the £1 Traverse Ticket scheme is Witch Hunt (16-17 Nov), a cau tionary fairytale that celebrates the wisdom of the witch, unpacks the notion of the predator, and conjures a world of coven-ready weird sisters.

Also playing this month are Stellar Quines’ Sister Radio in Aberdeen at The Lemon Tree (2 Nov) and in Edinburgh at the Traverse (10-12 Nov); Jordan & Skinner’s The Time Machine: A Radical Feminist Retelling at the Traverse (3-5 Nov); and NTS’s Enough of Him in New Galloway at CatStrand, Platform in Glasgow, Lanternhouse in Cumbernauld, Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh, and Perth Theatre. [Sophia Hembeck]

Poetry

This month, Edinburgh hosts its second annual international poetry festival, Push the Boat Out. A flock of the country’s best will take to the stage in Summerhall from 4-6 November, featuring poets such as Pascale Petite, Will Harris, Hannah Lavery, Alycia Pirmohamed and Nadine Aisha Jassat. The opening night mixes poetry, dance and music from artists including Janette Ayachi and Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch. Lighthouse Bookshop’s Radical Book Fair takes place the following weekend at Edinburgh’s Roxy (10-13 Nov). Expect talks on climate change, borders, feminism and activism, and a captivating storytelling performance from Mara Menzies.

A new cabaret evening will see its second month of performances at The Stand Comedy Club in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Hosted by Glasgow’s Jim Monaghan, Word Up brings together poets, musicians and comedians. On the Glasgow (10 Nov) and Edinburgh (13 Nov) bills are Iona Lee, Michael Mullen, Bruce Morton, Robert Florence, Clarissa Woods, Phil Differ, Rachel Amey and Calum Bird. Up in Aberdeen, long-running spoken word night Speakin’ Weird will see a headline set from Jeda Pearl this month (9 Nov). Leyla Josephine’s debut collection In Public / In Private is published by Burning Eye Books on 16 Nov. To celebrate, the poet and screenwriter is going on tour. She’ll be at Push the Boat Out (6 Nov), in Galashiels (24 Nov), at King Tuts in Glasgow (26 Nov) – with support from Colin Bramwell, Ellen Renton, Empress, Iona Lee, Niki Rush and Kevin P. Gilday – and in Ayr (30 Nov).

Book Week Scotland takes place 14-20 Nov. Workshops, talks and community events are happening across the country, with highlights includ ing a Debut Authors panel with Kenny Boyle, Heather Darwent, Caron McKinlay and Sarah Smith and a night of crime fiction with Denise Mina and Chris Brookmyre. [Nasim Rebecca Asl]

The Seeing Hands, Katie Schwab

Traverse Theatre

CCA

Hannah Lavery

Image courtesy of CCA

Image: courtesy of Neil Hanna

Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic

Photo: Hazel Mirsepasi

Leyla Josephine

Radical Book Fair

Photo: Marilena Vlachopoulou

Image: courtesy of Lighthouse Books

Features 19 We speak to filmmakers and former employees of Filmhouse and EIFF to share their reac tions to the venue’s closure, while looking to the future. 24 Double Palme d'Or-winning director Ruben Östlund on his cruise ship class satire Triangle of Sadness

25 Scottish director Charlotte Wells on her long-gestating debut Aftersun

26 Big Joanie discuss the ex pansive sound of their second album, Back Home

28 Amy Love and Georgia South, aka Nova Twins, on building community for Black and POC punk and heavy rockers.

30 Kode9 on Escapology, Astro-Darien and Scottish independence.

40 We take a walk through the Tram way retrospective of Norman Gilbert’s intimate paintings.

41 Unravelling Hannah Lim’s Edinburgh Printmakers exhibi tion, Ornamental Mythologies.

43 We meet some of the poets from More Fiya, the BlackBritish poetry collection being showcased at this year’s Push the Boat Out

44 Redstone Press talk about their future, and notable memories, ahead of their fifth birthday party at Civic House.

46 Jessica Fostekew chats nuance, tackling complex is sues in comedy and changing people’s opinions.

49 Director Laurie Sansom on racism and royalty in James IV: Queen of the Fight on the eve of its Scottish tour.

On the website...

More on Filmhouse and EIFF in The Cineskinny podcast , our weekly Spotlight On… series on new Scot tish music, and gig reviews aplenty (Bon Iver, Japanese Breakfast, Rina Sawayama)

Jockstrap @ Stereo, Glasgow, 30 Sept by Serena Milesi @serena_milesi

Winter Warmers

Get cosy in Edinburgh this winter, with charming bars, warming coffee, exciting nights out and unforgettable sights

Words by: The Skinny

(one of the city’s oldest golf courses) all the way to Arthur’s Seat. In Leith, The King’s Wark (36 Shore) is a modern gastropub with a storied history. Since its inception in the 1400s it’s been a royal residence, a storehouse and an armory store – come for the history, stay for a hearty dinner.

Heading along the coast, there are few Edinburgh landmarks as iconic as the Forth Bridges. The UNESCO World Heritage site is an incredible piece of Edinburgh history, and it looks spectacular at night. Just a 25-minute train journey from Edinburgh, head to the quaint seaside suburb of South Queensferry for dinner at the rustic Hawes Inn (7 Newhalls Rd) or the more modern Scotts Bar & Restaurant (Port Edgar Marina) and take in the unique nighttime view.

Live music and comedy

It’s winter. It’s cold outside, and it’s either raining right now or it will be shortly. The good news is that Edinburgh is full of memorable places to see and things to do, no matter what the weather throws at you.

Cosy pubs and bars

While you’re out exploring all that Edinburgh has to o er, you’ll need a few places to get warmed up, and where better to start than ‘in the pub by the re’. In the heart of the Old Town, The Bow Bar (80 Victoria St) o ers an excellent beer selection to enjoy while you warm up, and it’s a similar story at re nowned Tollcross pub Bennets Bar (8 Leven St). In terms of historic pubs, they don’t get more historic than The Sheep Heid Inn (43 The Causeway) in Duddingston. There’s been a pub on this site since 1360, making it the city’s oldest watering hole; the recently-restored skittles alley alone makes it well worth a visit.

Down in Leith, check out Nobles (44a Constitution St), originally opened in 1896 and still featuring some of its Victorian features including some delightful stained glass windows. For a quick winter warmer, head over to Gorgie and the much-loved Athletic Arms (1 Angle Park Ter). Their whisky list is incredibly extensive, and the back room is called ‘the Snug’ – doesn’t get much cosier than that. At the Bellfield Brewery (46 Stanley Pl) in Abbeyhill, the beer garden is equipped with patio heaters, booths, and regular kitchen pop-ups – you can get warmed up while still outside.

First-class co ee Edinburgh has one of the UK’s best co ee scenes, with independent speciality co ee bars dotted all over the city. Fancy a at white in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle? Head to The Source Coffee Co (4 Spittal St), who serve exciting co ees sourced from around the world and roasted at their very own roastery. In the Old Town, The Milkman (7 Cockburn St) pair modern espresso with restored vintage signage that reveal the cafe’s former life as a newsagent. And if you want to take in Edinburgh’s evening ambience but don’t fancy a trip to the pub, there are also a host of great cafes that stay open a bit later. Thomas J Walls (35 Forrest Rd) is an excellent espresso bar in a former opticians’ and is open til 7pm, as are The Maytree chocolate cafe (123 Brunts eld Pl) and the cool Scandi-inspired Project Coffee (192 Brunts eld Pl) up in leafy Brunts eld.

A bite to eat

For dinner with an excellent view, head to The Outsider (15 George IV Bridge) The split-level bistro has a laid-back charm, and an excellent outlook across the Old Town to Edinburgh Castle. Up in Brunts eld, Leftfield (12 Barclay Ter) pairs excellent seafood with a view across the historic Brunts eld Links

Nothing warms you up quite like a good sing-along (even if you’re not the one singing), and there are a host of lively music bars across Edinburgh to draw you in from the cold. Folk fans are served by two iconic institutions on the border of the Old Town and Newington. Sandy Bell’s (25 Forrest Rd) is a small but extremely cosy bar that o ers near-nightly folk sessions as well as a huge selection of whiskies, while the Royal Oak (1 In rmary St) hosts weekly folk gigs in the basement bar.

Just around the corner is another very di erent basement music bar. The Jazz Bar (1a Chambers St) is the place to be for jazz fans, with multiple live gigs every night from bands and artists from around the world, and plenty of delicious cocktails to go around. Alternatively, spend an evening chuckling away in one of Edinburgh’s comedy clubs. Monkey Barrel (9 Blair St) plays host to regular touring shows from Fringe hits and alternative comedians from across the UK, and The Stand (5 York Pl) o ers a similar mix of new material nights, touring shows and mixed bills.

Out and about

For a fun winter night out, head to one of Edinburgh’s cinemas. Take your pick from Morningside’s art deco, family-run Dominion (18 Newbattle Ter), the century-old Cameo Cinema (38 Home St) in Tollcross, or the leather armchairs of The Scotsman Picturehouse (20 North Bridge) And of course, the longer the nights, the more opportunities for Edinburgh to light up and take on a magical glow. Castle of Light returns from 18 Nov, lighting up Edinburgh Castle with a kaleidoscope of illuminations and projections, while the Royal Botanic Garden’s Christmas light show begins on 17 Nov with more than a million lights twinkling away across the gardens.

Discover more places to go and things to do in Edinburgh at edinburgh.org/blog/an-evening-in-edinburgh/

Image courtesy of Forever Edinburgh

Image courtesy of Forever Edinburgh

Edinburgh skyline at night

NOBLES

More than Bricks and Mortar

The brutal closure of Filmhouse and EIFF has left our film community bereft. We speak to filmmakers and programmers whose careers are indelibly intertwined with these institutions and ask about their hopes for the future of film exhibition in Scotland

Interview: Jamie Dunn

Illustrations: Irina Selaru

o one will miss Scotland’s self-appointed Centre for the Moving Image, the charity that fell into administration on 6 October. But anyone who cares even an inkling for cinema will dearly lament the loss of the three institutions CMI took with it: two much-loved cinemas, Filmhouse in Edinburgh and the Belmont in Aberdeen, and the 75-year-old Edinburgh International Film Festival. Over 100 staff were laid off with zero notice and are now pursuing legal action. The CMI’s board claimed that the “perfect storm” of sharply-rising energy costs, together with both the lasting impacts of the pandemic and the rapidly emerging cost of living crisis were the reasons for their swift collapse, but it’s become increasingly evident that this organisa tion had issues long before COVID-19 or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

group quickly sprang up after the closure with ambitions of saving these institutions. It held an extremely positive meeting on 14 October between members of Creative Scotland, former employees of CMI and other members of the film community where it was su ested there is the political will and capital for these vital community assets to be salvaged.

In this spirit of hope, we’ve invited some Edinburgh filmmakers and key figures in Filmhouse and EIFF’s storied history to reflect on the closures, share their memories of these possibly lost institutions and dream of what a Filmhouse and EIFF 2.0 could look like if they can be raised from the ashes.

Shock, Sadness, Anger

EIFF has had many great programmers over the years, but few can claim to have had the impact of Lynda Myles. She was invited to join the EIFF team in 1968 after writing a blistering open letter in Scotsman about the festival’s tepid programming and quickly became the integral creative force during its glorious run in the 70s (acting as Artistic Director 1973-1980) when EIFF was among the most innovative, influential and well-respected film festivals on the planet.

was very much part of the Filmhouse furniture, with his curly mop of hair often to be spotted in the cinema’s front row. “When I wake up at 6.30am, I always check what’s on at Filmhouse,” Cousins tells us. “I visit it as a reward to myself for hard work. I go there to refill. I used to say that you get vitamin D from a movie screen. Filmhouse Screen 1 is my vitamin D.”

It’s hard to overstate the damage these closures have done to the Scottish capital’s film scene. The city is left without a venue dedicated to art house and repertory cinema. The lively schools’ programmes run by Filmhouse’s education wing have gone. Smaller festivals and independent programmers who used Filmhouse as a venue are now scrambling for alternatives. A crucial commu nity space has vanished overnight and it’s hard to imagine how it will be replaced in the near future. The loss of the long-running festival similarly stings, especially as the 75th edition saw an artistic resurgence with new Creative Director Kristy Matheson delivering an edition full of thoughtful curation and much promise for the future. If there isn’t a 76th edition, it will be a crying shame.

It feels like the Scottish film community has already cycled through most stages of grief by now – certainly ‘denial’, ‘depression’ and ‘anger’. They haven’t settled on ‘acceptance’ just yet though. A

“The news of the closure was devastating, unimaginable and it’s critically important that both the film festival and Filmhouse are resurrected,” Myles says of her initial reaction to the closure. The news reminded Myles of an essay by Martin Scorsese in Harper’s magazine last year. “Scorsese wrote, ‘We can’t depend on the movie business, such as it is, to take care of cinema.’ We need independent cinemas like Filmhouse which offer a unique space to watch a wide range of films.”

Another legendary figure at EIFF and Filmhouse is Jim Hickey. He was the Head Programmer when the Filmhouse first opened its doors on Lothian Road in 1979 and succeeded Myles as EIFF’s Artistic Director in 1980. “I was shocked that the staff were treated so badly and angry that there were no warnings or concerted efforts to attract financial support to even begin to deal with the emergency,” Hickey tells us. “Now there is a huge sadness about what was thrown away so quickly. I knew something of the back ground to the gathering storm over recent years but not the full extent of it. I get upset just talking about it now.”

Filmmaker Mark Cousins was at the heart of an EIFF revolution in the mid-90s, when he was EIFF’s Artistic Director. And before it closed,

he

“This is so much more than a cinema closing down; this is about Edinburgh’s creativity and artistic soul”

Ninian Doff

Cousins isn’t the only filmmaker whose career and sense of cinema are interwoven with Filmhouse and EIFF. A few days after news of the CMI’s collapse broke, Limbo director Ben Sharrock was one of the most articulate voices to express his dismay at the situation. Sharrock grew up in Edinburgh and was a pupil at Boroughmuir High School, just five minutes up the road from Filmhouse. He didn’t hold back when we asked about his reaction.

“I was frustrated,” says Sharrock. “Angry. Saddened but ultimately powerless. It’s that horrible feeling of thinking that… surely something can be done. Surely this isn’t it? But knowing that I can’t personally do anything to change it or fix it. I wish I could. I would love to be involved in figuring out how to revive these essential parts of our city as I’m sure lots of local filmmakers and cinephiles would be.”

When we ask Edinburgh filmmaker Hope Dickson Leach how she felt when she heard the news of the closure, she talks of grief. “I feel like someone has died,” she says. “It’s especially painful after the global grief that I (as many) have experienced during the pandemic. There is so little resilience or hope to push back against the seeming inevitability of the loss of our film culture. As someone who has also been working with theatre in the last few years and engaging with Scottish culture at large, it feels like we are at the beginning of severe cultural loss that I don’t know how we will recover from as a country.”

A Place of Film Education

It’s hard to overstate how important Filmhouse and EIFF have been to film talent development in Scotland. Just look at the most exciting release of the autumn: Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun, which opened the 75th EIFF just a few months ago. While promoting the film at its English premiere at London Film Festival, Wells expressed her heart break at the news, explaining that Filmhouse is where she got her first taste of filmmaking as part of the cinema’s innovative scheme SKAMM (aka Scottish Kids are Making Movies).

Another Edinburgh film kid turned good is Ninian Doff. His debut Get Duked!, a riotous class comedy about four working-class lads being hunted for sport by deranged members of the Highland gentry, opened the festival in 2019. “EIFF championed my little film and gave it the full red carpet treatment of a massive Hollywood block buster,” says Doff of that gala screening. “It was one of the greatest moments of my life and I’m

forever grateful for it. It breaks my heart that it could even be possible that future filmmakers might not experience the magic of this festival.”

Like Wells, Doff was an alumnus of SKAMM. “When I was 12 I went to the Filmhouse to the first meeting of a young person’s film club set up by Shiona Wood and Mark Cousins,” he recalls. “Once SKAMM was in my life, I never wanted to be anything other than a film director.” The scheme also bla ed Doff a press pass to EIFF. Every summer from the age of 13 to 16, he’d immerse himself in world cinema. “I’d watch about five films a day and still remember sta ering home with my mind full of images, crashing down asleep only to wake up to hit the first 9am screening the next day and do it all again. Through SKAMM’s projects and their generosity in letting me attend the festival, I honestly learned more than I ever did on any film course.”

Sharrock wasn’t part of SKAMM (“I fancied myself as more of an actor in those days,” he says), but as an adult, he attended EIFF Talent Lab in 2014 and found it similarly galvanizing: “This was the best film development programme I ever did – better than Berlin Talents and BFI Network. I came away believing I could make films for a living.”

The public programme was also invigorating. “That year at EIFF I saw Club Sandwich by Fernando Eimbcke,” Sharrock recalls, “and I was so inspired by it that I wanted to leave the cinema, pick up a camera and make my first feature immediately.” A year later, Sharrock had done just that. His wonder ful debut Pikadero screened in competition at EIFF’s 2016 edition and walked off with the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature.

As co-founder of SKAMM, Cousins was a mentor to many of these talented filmmakers, but he describes Filmhouse and EIFF as being just as vital to his own career as an adult as it was to young film nuts like Wells and Doff. “Filmhouse and EIFF weren’t just things I did in my spare time,” he says. “They were what energised that spare time. I saw a Japanese documentary at Filmhouse – The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On – when I was planning my film about neo-Nazism [Another Journey by Train, 1993], and it completely changed my movie, which in turn really advanced my work and creative life.” He also cites EIFF’s retrospective of the Bengali director Ritwik Ghatak as another pivotal moment in his film

education. “Thirty years later I’m still feeling the effect of those screenings. I now know Indian movie stars and directors and build Indian cinema into a lot of what I do specifically because of those ten days watching Ghatak films.”

Like Cousins, the festival was where Dickson Leach’s career in film began. Throughout the late 90s and early 00s you’d have found her running around behind the scenes at Filmhouse in one of the many roles she held at EIFF. Over the years she was a submissions coordinator, head of screenings, jury coordinator and assistant to the Artistic Director. When we speak to her, many memories come tumbling out.

“Managing a test screening with Béla Tarr as we set up the subtitles for Werckmeister Harmonies [2000] was one of the strangest things I’ve done, not to be outdone at the horror of having to show Liv Ullman the damaged print of her film Faithless [2000] following an accident at a press screening.” Dickson Leach adds: “The projection ists at the Filmhouse, incidentally, are some of the best people I’ve worked with in the film industry full stop, and the way they handled both things was with the height of professionalism and full of the love for cinema you could count on from everyone who worked there.”

Can Filmhouse and EIFF return?

It’s abundantly clear that Filmhouse and EIFF – and visionary programming by people like Lynda Myles and Jim Hickey – have touched countless lives. Without them, we might not have filmmakers of the calibre of Charlotte Wells, Ben Sharrock, Mark Cousins, Hope Dickson Leach and Ninian Doff. Their resurrections are essential for Scotland’s fragile cinema ecosystem. But it would be foolish to look back at Filmhouse and EIFF with rose-tinted glasses. As indispensable as these institutions were, they were not without their flaws

too. If there is to be a rebirth of both, the shape and character of what emerges shouldn’t be carbon copies. We ask our interviewees what they hope for if there is to be a Filmhouse and EIFF 2.0.

As much as he values Filmhouse and EIFF, Sharrock agrees that there are areas in which both institutions could improve. “In general, I think art-house cinemas need to lean into being creative hubs for film appreciation and community that have an appeal to young people while retaining a multi-generational pull,” he su ests. “The Filmhouse always had strong programming but, unfortunately, that’s just not enough these days. To put it simply, it needs to be a place where young creatives want to ‘hang out’ and spend money for there to be a future. It needs to feel like a bright, modern and exciting place to be. I think it needs to be a year-round refuge for a progressive filmgoing community. A meeting place. A workspace.”

Myles’ feeling is that if the festival returns, it should build on the green shoots of this summer’s propitious new-look edition: “Kristy Matheson, the new Creative Director of EIFF, demonstrated this year that she has the imagination and energy to re-invigorate and reinvent the festival. Ways need to be found for her to be able to take her creative vision further for a 2023 event.”

Cousins’ su estions are short and sweet. “Keep the great films. Employ more working-class

people. Look at what other, similar places are doing, and do that even better.” He also throws the gauntlet down to the people of Edinburgh, who he feels took these institutions for granted. “Another question isn’t what Filmhouse and EIFF should do, it’s what the audience should do,” he says. “Use it or lose it.”

As much as Dickson Leach adored Filmhouse, she wasn’t attached to its bricks and mortar on Lothian Road. “Filmhouse has lived in other buildings and I would love it if it could return somewhere more accessible,” she says, “bespoke and fit for purpose in a venue that will last into the 21st century.” But before any more ambitious plans are thought up, she reckons there needs to be some deep thinking about the future of exhibition in this country. “We need to look at Scottish cinema’s relationship with the other arts organisa tions and institutions in Scotland if we are to retain building spaces that can deliver not just the art that we crave and need, but also the commu nity engagements that these spaces offer so well. We need to engage with exhibition more broadly before any money is spent on a space.”

We’ll leave the final word to Doff, who simply thinks these institutions are too important to be snuffed out. They need to be supported and saved at all costs. “This is so much more than a cinema closing down,” he says. “This is about Edinburgh’s creativity and artistic soul. I’m literally an Edinburgh kid who walked in as a child and then stepped out as the director of the opening gala festival film. That says everything about how powerful and magical these places are.”

The next Save the Filmhouse public meeting takes place 1 Nov, Grassmarket Community Centre, 5.15pm. To join this meeting and future meetings, sign up to savethefilmhouse@googlegroups.com

“Filmhouse has lived in other buildings and I would love it if it could return somewhere more accessible”

Hope Dickson Leach

Rip It Up

The shocking and seemingly sudden collapse of an institution as established as the Centre for the Moving Image, and cherished cinema spaces and platforms like Filmhouse, Belmont and EIFF disappearing overnight, was unthinkable and difficult to process for anyone in Scotland with a heart for independent cinema. But amid the immediate responses of hurt, outrage and solidarity, and necessary calls to save the venues and festival, it also demands we question the multiple layers of why this is such an immense loss, and look at not just this bi est of Scottish film institutions, but at the wider exhibition sector and its fragility.

Independent cinema spaces should be cherished – as hubs for community, social engage ment, art form progression and resistance against a screen monoculture. In a country that is coming off years of austerity politics, severe underfunding and unstable working conditions in the arts, and neoliberal cultural policies driven by growth and commercialism, we have fewer of these hubs to cherish than in most of our European counter parts, and alternative screen culture has substan tially eroded.

The loss of a cinema like Filmhouse in the nation’s capital is particularly painful because it’s the only of its kind in the city. Take it away and the entire local sector suffers along with it: non-venue organisations, film festivals and community initiatives have few other avenues to turn to; the nurturing of and opportunities for local talent reduce even further; and the exhibition sector workforce finds itself in even shakier conditions than was already the case. Because long before the shocking treatment that CMI’s staff just went

through, workers across our sector – particularly those outside of the big institutions – have not been OK.

So in our calls to save these spaces, we should ask for more than just that. We should ask for more properly funded spaces and platforms, well beyond our city centres, especially as many of them have suffered from the COVID pandemic and our relationship to locality has changed. Plenty of other major cities across Europe provide an alternative to our model: a more diverse and spread out independent cinema eco-system, sustained through wider investment in infrastruc ture, multiple key independent venues, organisa tions and festivals, and therefore a more diverse programme offer and more opportunities for career paths in the field. It would increase the sustain ability for non-venue organisations and freelance practitioners, and allow more space for niche programming, experimentation and risk-taking, all of which help nurture local talent and develop audiences’ hunger for a genuinely exciting and innovative screen landscape.

Of course, such investment requires longterm thinking, but as we’ve seen with CMI, the current approach isn’t sustainable. Because it isn’t just fuelled by the recent crises we find ourselves in. It is because leadership in our bi est institu tions have been prioritising monolithic thinking and expansion – not in the least over fair staff treatment – and have been allowed to do so, in many cases against a backdrop of unacceptable pay discrepancies. It is because funding priorities are dominated by commercial, growth and status interests and lack focus on art form innovation or community investment, or on how the grassroots can benefit the institutions and vice versa. It is because outside of the few (clearly not so) stable institutions we have, the top of our industry is turning a blind eye to the underfunding and self-exploitation at the core of the exhibition sector, causing burnouts, talent drains, and neglect of genuinely radical and socially engaged initia tives that surely should be at the core of the arts.

It can be defeating to dare rethink these structures. Like the rest of the UK’s public servic es, any healthy buffer for sustainability has eroded over the years, and in this time of immense crisis, it feels impossible to dream beyond tomorrow. But in what is still one of the wealthiest economies in

the world, how can we not at least have the structures of some of our European counterparts? The multiple and substantial levels of arts funding – national, regional, council – in countries like Germany, France and Austria allow for a much richer cinema landscape where anything from the mainstream to the experimental can co-exist and feed into each other. Valuing and developing that diversity would create more sustainable routes for careers and talent across the industry too. And in reconsidering how we build and rebuild, we need to move towards a culture of solidarity and col laboration that doesn’t allow for the egos, gate keeping and disingenuity that are rampant in our sector as it is now.

Our arts institutions often still like to pretend that they are a beacon for progressive thought, that the social engagement that should be at the heart of the arts is still a key priority, but every thing about our structures and priorities is being determined by the same neoliberal thinking that we purport to resist. What we need is the space and investment in more people and platforms that genuinely care about cinema beyond commercial outlooks and prestige, to treat them as the spaces for radicalism in form, ideas and activism that the arts should stand for. We need a sector led by those who care about workers, let them progress, and allow for other people’s visions, for collective approaches. Especially now, when we are living in a time of intense crisis. If we’re to save what’s lost, then surely at the forefront should be notions of urgency, necessity, community and social action.

Jehoul is the programme director at Glasgow Short Film Festival and works across the short film slate of festival distribution agency Square Eyes

t: @sanne_jehoul

Long before CMI’s collapse, life was far from rosy for arts workers in Scotland. Glasgow Short Film Festival’s Sanne Jehoul argues that we need to build a radical new model free from neoliberal thinking that’s fair, diverse and full of passion

Sanne

“What we need is an investment in more people and platforms that genuinely care about cinema beyond commercial outlooks and prestige”

“We need a sector led by those who care about workers and allow for other people’s visions”

Vom-Com

Interview: Jamie Dunn

FIlm

Triangle of Sadness, the caustic new comedy from Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund, sees a motley crew of uber-wealthy people get put through the wringer during a luxury cruise. Its sledgehammer approach to satire should prove more than a little cathartic, especially given that its arrival in UK cinemas coincides with a rightwing hedge fund bro with an estimated net worth of £730 million becoming Prime Minister in the middle of a miserable cost of living crisis. Triangle of Sadness didn’t begin with the idea of taking those with obscene amounts of money down a peg or two, however. The currency Östlund was initially interested in exploring was physical beauty, which he became fascinated by eight years ago when he met his wife, who’s a fashion photographer.

“I got very curious about her profession and wanted to hear what it would be like to work in her industry,” Östlund tells us over Zoom. His interest was particularly piqued by his wife’s stories about male models. “She explained that the male models earn one-quarter, or less sometimes, of their female counterparts and that they constantly have to manoeuvre powerful homosexual men in the industry that want to sleep with them. They’re basically dealing with the same thing as women in other professions. So I thought it was interesting to see that flipped around and maybe it would make it easier to actually talk about these issues because a male character wouldn’t be seen as a victim in the same way.”

The film centres on two bickering models, Yaya (Charlbi Dean) and Carl (Harris Dickinson), who are a couple but Yaya holds all of the cards. It’s her social media clout that pays for their tickets aboard a luxury yacht, where they find themselves rubbing shoulders with obnoxious Russian

oligarchs, a lonely tech billionaire and a sweet old English couple taking a break from arms dealing. These characters are all caricatures but they’re also sharply drawn. To make great satire you need to know your subjects well, and Östlund has spent time observing similar circles. “Of course, I’ve been in these situations where I’m surrounded by [the mega-rich], like at Cannes and the Oscars and so on, and we actually had some billionaire that was putting money into The Square [Östlund’s similarly scathing satire skewering the modern art world]. So I had some experience.”

Talking of Cannes, that’s where Triangle of Sadness made its world premiere and it’s fair to say Östlund got something of a perverse pleasure screening this delicious takedown of the global elite to that same global elite. “I loved the idea that it was going to be screened in Cannes,” he says. “I wanted a tuxedo-dressed audience to take a look at another tuxedo-dressed audience that is dealing with something horrific. I think I’ve always been interested in trying to control the social group that I’m connected to myself.”

The Cannes jury clearly appreciated Östlund’s manipulation. The film won the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or, making Östlund among a handful of filmmakers who’ve won the award twice (The Square won in 2017). Critics have been more divided over its qualities, however. Many found this film sidesplittingly hilarious, while others have complained Östlund’s targets of tech billionaires and beauty influencers are low-hanging fruit. The Swedish director doesn’t have much truck with these grumbles, though. “There are certain critics who have a stick up their own arse,” he says. ”They are only interested in what other people think about them. When they write their reviews they are

thinking, ‘Okay, how should I position myself with my reactions?’ They want to be seen to be smarter than the film they are watching.”

He reckons this critical reaction is in some way connected to the traditions of European arthouse cinema, which have tended to be suspicious of films with mass appeal. “If I, as a director, get the money from the Swedish Film Institute, I don’t have to reach an audience because I’m already economically safe,” he explains. “But if you look at American filmmakers, they have to punch the whole way through and reach the audience, otherwise they will lose their job. Therefore there’s a certain kind of cinema in Europe that is posing as if they’re dealing with important topics in a very elitist way.”

He recalls taking a flight from Venice Film Festival to Toronto Film Festival that illustrates his point. “The whole film industry was on this flight, and they are all watching films on their screens. But they were not watching their own films, their important arthouse films, they are watching Adam Sandler. Our aspirational selves want to say, ‘These worthy, important films are the films we like.’ But what we’re actually watching is something else. I wanted to break that contradiction with my films.”

With that, he’s surely succeeded. Critics can argue the merits of Force Majeure, The Square and Triangle of Sadness till the cows come home, but one thing can surely be agreed upon: Östlund’s films are never boring. And for what it’s worth, I can’t remember the last time I laughed as hard in the cinema as I did watching Triangle of Sadness.

Ruben Östlund, the director of Force Majeure and The Square, takes a sledgehammer to the global elite with his latest satire Triangle of Sadness. He talks to us about the film’s inspiration, its critical reaction and keeping his audience entertained

Triangle of Sadness is in cinemas now via Curzon

Memory Box

Is Aftersun, the debut from Scottish director Charlotte Wells, the finest film of 2022? Very possibly. We speak to this talented filmmaker about Aftersun’s long gestation period, visual storytelling and the difficulty of understanding your parents

Interview: Jamie Dunn

watch: Wim Wenders’ Alice in the Cities, Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere and Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon were among them. And then, she mulled it over. “I spent that summer flipping through old holiday albums and just seeing if this was a world I was interested in exploring on screen. I was thinking about it for a long time, but I didn’t realise I would be sitting and thinking about it for quite that long.” It was worth the wait. Earlier this year, Aftersun made its splash in Cannes and looks to be the break-out hit of the festival.

In Aftersun, not very much happens on screen, but everything happens. This debut film from 35-year-old Edinburgh-born filmmaker Charlotte Wells initially presents as a relatively simple drama. Set in the late 90s, it follows an 11-year-old Scottish girl, Sophie (Frankie Corio), and her young-at-30 father, Calum (Paul Mescal), on holiday at a low-rent Turkish resort. The trip itself is rather short on incident. They do fall out a bit – these’s a tiff involving a karaoke performance of REM’s Losing My Religion – but otherwise, they spend lazy days idling by the pool or suffering through the cheesy entertainment put on in the evenings by the hotel’s holiday reps. Inside, however, both Calum and Sophie are going through life-altering emotions, although each is oblivious to the true nature and magnitude of the other’s inner experience.

As a film-daft youngster, Wells harboured aspirations to be a director. An early taster of filmmaking came at the recently-boarded-up Filmhouse. “That’s a space that means a great deal to me,” Wells said recently at the London Film Festival. “When I was younger, I was part of Filmhouse’s movie-making group SKAMM (Scottish Kids are Making Movies), where precocious 12-year-olds were programming Ozu films when I had absolutely no idea what that was and frankly wouldn’t for decades.” By the time she won a place studying film at NYU in her mid-20s, it was the business side of filmmaking she was more interested in. “Producing felt like the thing that would allow me to tie together a lot of different interests,” Wells tells us on a video call from her flat in New York, “and work on a variety of projects and subjects.” The course required that she direct some short films, however, and once she tried out the director’s chair there was no turning back. “It was just clear that with directing I had found this thing I really, really loved. I wanted to experience that feeling more.”

Wells began sowing the seeds that would become Aftersun around 2015 while still at NYU. She shared her vague idea of a feature about a father and daughter on holiday with her professor, who assigned her some movies to

If Aftersun was simply the naturalistic drama it first appears to be, it would be a very fine film. What makes it extraordinary are the increasingly impressionistic elements that Wells filters in. Between naturalistic scenes, we get haunting ellipses and mysterious glimpses of a young woman on a nightclub dancefloor. These images initially appear to be a flashback to Calum meeting Sophie’s mother for the first time, but eventually reveal themselves to be more complex – Nic Roeg-like, even – in their colliding of time and space.

The results are lucid and powerfully emotional, but Wells doesn’t seem too worried if audiences don’t follow every nuance. “I’m crystal clear on what is happening in my films and why,” she explains, “but I learned through my short films that there was a gap between my understanding and the audience’s understanding, and I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. It allows a degree of interpretation; you can bring your own experiences to the film. My films are all ultimately about feeling, so I think that space to interpret is good.”

Gaps in understanding also exist between Aftersun’s protagonists. The film is extremely wise about the fact that, as children, we understand little about our parents’ inner lives. “I think for kids, up until a certain point, our parents, and all adults in our lives really – teachers, football

coaches – they just seem to perform a certain function in our life. It’s only when we’re older that the door creaks ever so slightly open and we start to perceive them as people who have these different interests and have their own path, their own life outside of the role they were to us.”

As mentioned above, Aftersun was seven years in the making. We won’t have to wait so long for Wells’s next film, will we?

“Probably,” she says.

We hope not.

“I hope not too, but I am also not going to put too much pressure on myself. I’m very much all in when I work and I want to make sure that whatever is next is something I’m willing to commit to as much as I have this. So no, I’m not writing yet, I’m trying to enjoy the moment and enjoy sharing the experience of sharing the film with the team who made it. I hope it’s not seven years, but I wouldn’t count it out either.”

Aftersun is released 18 Nov by MUBI

The Skinny has teamed up with MUBI to screen some free previews of Aftersun: 16 Nov, Glasgow Film Theatre, 8.35pm; 16 Nov, Cameo, Edinburgh, 7pm

“It was just clear that with directing I had found this thing I really, really loved. I wanted to experience that feeling more”

Charlotte Wells

Charlotte Wells on the set of Aftersun

Homecoming

Interview: Max Pilley

It should come as no surprise that on their second album Back Home, Big Joanie’s sound has expanded well beyond the perimeters of their 2018 debut Sistahs. The intervening years have seen the London DIY punk group sharing major stages around Europe with the likes of St. Vincent, Sleater-Kinney, Gossip and Bikini Kill, and that increase in scale can now be heard reflected in their increase in ambition.

“We wanted to take what we’ve learned from them and bring it into this next era of Big Joanie,” says singer/guitarist Stephanie Phillips. “It’s definitely something we were thinking about, we wanted to be a bi er Big Joanie and to sound more rounded out and to have it sound like it’s not just us playing our three instruments, but to almost sound like an orchestra.”

The trio, born from the self-starting underground punk scene in the UK’s capital, first started making waves in the mid-2010s with their fearless Black feminist ethos and their tight, riot grrrl-inflected post-punk rhythms, but on Back Home, they appear to come of age. The album builds on all of their musical influences, but sees them take confident strides into their own space, producing a group of songs that cut sharply with infectious melodies, trenchant attitude and more than a dash of sonic experimentation.

“Yeah, I think a lot has changed, really,” says Phillips. “You can hear a development in our band in terms of us learning and becoming more confident in our instruments and our abilities.”

One of the developments has come in Big Joanie’s in-studio process. Songs started coming together more naturally this time around, with the group less rigidly sticking to their instrumental lineup, allowing more room for invention. Sainted, for example, one of the album’s advance singles, saw Phillips moving to synths and regular bassist Estella Adeyeri taking guitar lead; elsewhere, songs started acquiring extra musicians, such as violinist Charlotte Valentine, or building guitar parts that would require multiple players. The sum total is an album charged with the spirit of liberation.

“For the first album,” says drummer Chardine Taylor-Stone, “it was very much just getting a recording of us with some overlaid instruments. This time, we were looking at the studio almost as an instrument in itself. It’s about thinking as an album band when we’re making music. It’s always

the record that is the legacy, that’s the thing that people are hopefully going to listen to in ten, 15 years’ time, so it’s about making that a piece of work in and of itself.”

The band pinpoint one sea change moment as having come when they recorded a fuzzed-out cover of Solange’s Cranes in the Sky for Jack White’s Third Man Records in 2020. “Sonically, that is the beginning of the Back Home album, in terms of the visual imagery in music that we want to create,” says Taylor-Stone. “I don’t really like using the word sophisticated, because it’s naff, but it’s just being stronger in our vision and aesthetic. The depth of sound on that single is reflected throughout the new album.”

That depth is heard on the track Today, for example, with its stoner, Mojave Desert languidness, or in the art-rock sensibility of Cactus Tree, the rolling feedback of which opens the album with a boldly adventurous salvo. “I never thought of it as leftfield until Margo [Broom, Back Home producer] asked if we were sure we wanted to open with it,” says Phillips. “It’s in the mould of bands like Throwing Muses or Pixies, building around a particular weird sound and making something experimental and poppy out of it. We always wanted to open with it, it’s quite definitive.”

The title Back Home is designed to carry multiple meanings. The band members grew up in different parts of England, and while for Phillips and Taylor-Stone, moving to live in London might have helped for professional reasons, making a home there did not prove an easy task. “We felt really precarious in London, like we never had anywhere there that we could call home,” explains Phillips. “You’re always feeling on edge.

“But also, the use of the phrase ‘back home’ has a different meaning for us as the descendants of migrants and people who’ve come here from the

Big Joanie talk about the expansive sound of their second album Back Home, the many meanings of home and the ongoing challenges faced by the music industry

“When we started, it was seen as a bit odd that we wanted to be a Black punk band”

Stephanie

Phillips, Big Joanie

Photo: Dale Harvey

Photo: Dale Harvey

Big Joanie live at Usher Hall

Big Joanie live at Usher Hall

diasporic community. What home means to that community is not necessarily England, but somewhere else. And even then, since we were all born here in the UK, that home isn’t necessarily our home either. So it’s about thinking about where we can find home and find peace and space.”

References to this topic are littered throughout the album, and they breathe life into the record’s cover art, too. Designed by multidis ciplinary artist Angelica Ellis, the image depicts Ellis’ embroidery of a photograph of Taylor-Stone’s fouryear-old nephew at the barbers, surrounded by ackee flowers, an image intended to invoke the embroi deries often found in post-Windrush Caribbean family homes in the UK.

“The barber shop is quite a central point in diaspora cultures, it’s where people hang out and have conversation,” says Taylor-Stone. “Hair is quite an important thing in Black culture too, obviously. But we could be talking about any diaspora actually, whether it’s from Ireland or anywhere. But it started with that image, and then it expanded to attempt to include traditional crafts and women’s quilting in African America and the Caribbean, the diaspora of enslaved peoples and those amazing crafts.”

These passions extend well beyond the trio’s work with Big Joanie. Adeyeri and Phillips, for example, are both part of the collective behind Decolonise Fest, an annual, not-for-profit DIY punk festival organised by and for POC punk bands, while Taylor-Stone was recently the vice chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee at the Musician’s Union in 2021.

Further to the Cranes in the Sky cover, Phillips also recently finished writing a book about Solange, “to put her in her context and to make sure that she’s celebrated properly,” as she puts it.

There is no doubting that Big Joanie strive to represent the change they wish to see in the music industry and in society at large. For a band so immersed in the workings of their own industry, their observations ought to serve as a wake-up

call. “Post-pandemic, people are trying to push themselves through these crazy tours,” says Taylor-Stone. “Everyone is making money except for the artists and something needs to be done, particularly around streaming.

“There are bands playing Brixton Academy for five nights in a row, 20,000 people – they should be zillionaires by now, but most of them have only just given up their jobs. The losses we’ve made because of streaming as artists have been catastrophic for us. I have a full-time job, we all do, and we’re trying to tour on the side. And because of the cost-of-living crisis and Brexit, the costs have gone up even more. We do it because we love it, we don’t do it for money, because you just wouldn’t do it.”

“There is no real commitment to shifting power in that industry,” adds Adeyeri. “When you go and see who’s managing those big booking agencies and those labels, it’s still just the same older, more privileged white men basically. We’re lucky enough to be with a booking agency that was founded by four women, but I haven’t seen any other agencies with that structure.”

Despite the continuing intransigence of the business they love, they remain optimistic about the fact that young and talented new artists are still emerging all the time. Indeed, it is in no small part thanks to the visibility of diverse, outspoken groups like Big Joanie and their unwavering commitment and support for the cause that the music industry is finally starting to see the benefits of broader representation at a grassroots level.

“There have been many more POC bands starting in the punk scene and young people don’t even notice that it might’ve been an issue ten years ago,” says Phillips. “When we started, it was seen as a bit odd that we wanted to be a Black punk band, our messaging was seen as a bit weird. But now that wouldn’t be looked at twice – it would actually be celebrated in a lot of ways.”

Big Joanie release Back Home on 4 Nov via Daydream Library Series; Big Joanie play Mono, Glasgow, 14 Jan 2023' bigjoanie.com

Photo: Ajamu X

Big Joanie

Boss Bitches!

Interview:

Amy Love and Georgia South – known as Nova Twins – crouch over a laptop to talk to me between tour stops. Nova Twins are currently wrapping up their North American tour, which they say has been amazing all the way through. The London-based pair span nu-metal, R’n’B, punk, and more in their music, and the crowds at their gigs reflect it. The pair stress that their music offers something beyond the usual punk-rock fare.

This month, Love and South embark as headliners on their own European tour, which will see Nova Twins play St Luke's in Glasgow on 10 November before moving on to Manchester and

London, which Love says will be their bi est headline gig so far. “It’s nice to see how the project continuously grows, and our audience gets more diverse, more beautiful in that respect,” South says. “We’ve got mosh- and twerk-offs happening in our pits, and that’s what we want. It’s not just for one type of person. The music’s for anyone who wants to listen to it.”

From the start, Nova Twins have been determined to do things their way. They call themselves DIY. There are usually just three instruments – guitar (Love), bass (South), and drums – accompanying their vocals. Love says that they enjoy keeping up with their fans on Discord.

We catch up with Nova Twins about their DIY ethic and how they’ve helped foster a community for Black and POC punk and heavy rockers

Rho Chung

They even make their own clothes. Their work looks backwards at trends in Black music and culture, but it also looks forward to a more equal

“We have women with big afros in the mosh pit, taking up space and feeling safe in it”

Amy Love, Nova Twins

Photo: Federica Burelli

space. More than anything, Nova Twins offer a space to be many things at once; they create an environment where joy can merely exist.

There’s something about Nova Twins, espe cially live, that is uniquely electric. Their most recent album, Supernova, is ecstatically high-en ergy. The subject matter ranges from radical self-love to killing (ex-) boyfriends – it’s the ideal soundtrack for stomping to work through the rain. The album foregrounds Nova Twins’ signature blend of rap, metal, and punk. Coupled with lean instrumentals, the pair have a clear, powerful, and instantly recognisable sound. Love and South, who have been playing together as a band since 2014, are both formidable musicians. Footage from their North American tour looks euphoric. They are captivating as they weave in and out of the audi ence, commanding enormous, roiling crowds. Even through earbuds, Supernova unlocks something deeply powerful. It feels like a primal scream in leather pants and a chrome corset.

South says that she wants fans to leave their shows feeling “like they’ve released everything, and like they feel seen in the room.” The cathartic nature of Nova Twins’ music may be partially behind the pair’s meteoric rise over the past year. We are in a stressful time, to say the least. The rise of punk and heavy rock movements is a logical follow-on from the fucked-over feeling we’ve all been having these days. Prior to the rise of Nova Twins and a handful of other groups, it was difficult for a lot of people to feel welcome in the punk scene.

“It was known that women didn’t get into the mosh pit,” Love says. “We’d stay way at the back at a rock show, because [otherwise] you’d get fully pushed over, or a black eye.” It’s not that women can’t mosh – sometimes you just want to feel something – but, especially for anyone in a mar ginalised body, the pit can be notoriously risky. Love assures me that this isn’t the case at their shows. She says: “We also have women with big afros in the mosh pit, taking up the same space and feeling safe in it…This is a safe space for everyone, and everyone’s gonna be respectful in it, and everyone should have a good time. You shouldn’t feel like you could leave there with a black eye.”

Love and South are serious about represent ing their communities in the punk scene. To them, visibility is a key part of opening the door for other Black punk acts. Supernova was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize this year. South says: “It was such a big thing for us, because people are saying that we’re the first Black, female, heavy rock band

to do it. So it just feels nice. It’s like a win for a wider space.”

Love and South recount feeling alienated from the scene when they were starting out. Punk aesthetics are simultaneously out-of-the-box and startlingly strict. Though the movement is often linked with anti-racism and leftist political dissent, the pervasive image of the ‘rocker’ is pretty specific (and pretty white, cis, and male). “People didn’t know where to put you on the playlist,” Love says, “or people wouldn’t have you play here because you didn’t ‘look rock’.” It’s an experience that Love and South found they had in common with other non-white rock musicians.

It was this deficit, alongside the BLM move ment, that led Nova Twins to start their Voices for the Unheard Instagram series and Spotify playlist. The series of live videos features Connie Constance, Sophie K, Shingai, Loathe, Death Tour, and many others. In it, the band interview other artists about liberation, anti-racism, personal style, and DIY punk – the list goes on. Through each interview, there is an underlying current of mutual reverence. The band fosters a community for its own sake. The series unapologetically rejects the gaze of a white, male-dominated industry.

In Episode 2, South points out that the deficit of Black voices in contemporary punk begets originality. Nova Twins weave influences into their sound seamlessly – but, as South says, there wasn’t always a lot of Black punk out there to be influenced by. The result is a creative, one-of-a-kind sound. It goes beyond innovation and speaks directly to survival, especially on the fringes of normativity.

The project culminated in a vinyl compilation and a live show on Dr. Martens’ Instagram. The artwork for the show features the motto: ‘When they don’t give us a stage, we build our own!’ Love and South carry this quintessentially punk spirit into everything they do. Voices for the Unheard

acts as a living manifesto highlighting the incred ible range of talent among Black and POC rockers.

It feels like there’s no end to Nova Twins’ creativity. They make everything they wear, from music video to festival stage. Their clothing line, Bad Stitches, isn’t available to buy (yet). South says that the name was apt when they first got started, but now they’ve gotten quite good. “We’ve always been so interested in fashion,” South says. “We loved talking about clothes when we were younger. We used to put safety pins on our clothes, or a little patch here and there. When the band started, we just thought, we want to wear [clothes that look] how we feel when we write music and play onstage. So we went super DIY with it.”

Nova Twins really encapsulate DIY punk – born partly out of necessity, partly out of unbri dled artistry. They have a hand – often the only hands – in creating every detail of their work. Nova Twins seem to be at the epicentre of a rising aesthetic movement. Love says that punk is “having its heyday again.” Nova Twins remind us that punk is all encompassing – it’s the way they dress themselves, the way they interact with their fans, and the way they liberate themselves through the music that, I think, will define them as one of the most influential bands of this particular era.

Love and South have a touching amount of love and respect for their fans. For them, playing live is a collaborative experience with the audi ence. As Love says, “It’s just a really good vibe.” Talking over – and with – each other, Nova Twins weave together a few words on how they want their audiences to feel when they leave the show: “Empowered,” they say. “Like a boss bitch.”

Nova Twins play St Luke’s, Glasgow, 10 Nov novatwins.co.uk

“We’ve got moshand twerk-offs happening in our pits, and that’s what we want”

Georgia South, Nova Twins

Photo: Federica Burelli

Speaking in Kode

fiction film

Interview: Michael Lawson

It’s no exa eration to describe Steve Goodman as one of 21st century dance music’s most important figures. Operating as Kode9, Goodman is the founder and driving force behind the era-defining Hyperdub label, a former member of The Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (an experimental cultural theorist collective he de scribes as “bringing together philosophy and rave in quite a unique way”), and a visionary electronic artist in his own right. A typically adventurous affair, his latest album Escapology provides the soundtrack to Astro-Darien, a sonic fiction film critiquing Scottish independence amongst other things. We catch up with him to find out more.

You grew up on the west coast of Scotland. What was your gateway into electronic music and club culture?

Probably taking ecstasy for the first time at a psychedelic jazz and funk club called Chocolate City at The Venue in Edinburgh around 1992. They played everything from Parliament to James Brown instrumentals to Herbie Hancock and loads of rare groove stuff I’d never heard before... I went out and bought decks the next day. I also used to go to a more hardcore techno club called Pure around that period.

You’re best known as the founder and label head of Hyperdub. What came before that?

I ran clubs for a bit in Edinburgh between 1992 and 1994, and then spent a summer in London and got addicted to jungle and early drum’n’bass and bought a sampler and started... messing around with production. I moved to the Midlands around 1996 to study with the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit... By the time I finished [my PhD] in 1999, I felt like I’d had enough of academia, and Hyperdub emerged initially as a web magazine which chan nelled some of the ideas we’d been developing alongside writers such as Kodwo Eshun.

In your opinion, what is the most interesting and forward-thinking type of club music at the moment? I’m not 100% sure what that means anymore. ‘Forward thinking’ implies things are moving in a linear direction and all I know is that things evolve in much more complex ways, at different speeds simultaneously, and all criss-crossed and influ enced by new technologies.

What would you say to people who view dance music as little more than an escapist pastime?

I would say “fine, use it as that if you want.” But that’s also like saying that a car is a group of seats under a roof. But a car can also transport you from one place to another. I suppose dance music, right from the beginning, plu ed into cultures that needed to fabricate and imagine escape cap sules to live in, offered a potential to envisage alternate realities. Getting off your face is like level one of a game. What you then do with that determines whether you stay at level one, or progress any further.

Astro-Darien is far from the average music release. How would you describe the concept behind it to someone unfamiliar with your music?

To avoid any confusion, it’s got literally nothing to do with dance music at all. Astro-Darien is a 26-min ute sonic fiction, a science fiction audio essay, or a documentary fiction in sound narrated by Scottish AI voices. It revolves around a video game simulating the breakup of the UK, developed by a games company called Trancestar North.

Its loose story spans a historical period ranging from the disastrous Darien scheme in the late 17th century [...] through Scotland’s subse quent involvement in colonialism, imperialism and slavery right up to the contemporary movement for independence. This is all told through a somewhat wild extrapolation of the actual space race going on in the Highlands and Islands to build vertical launch spaceports, which becomes, in the game, the exit portal to a quasi-utopian orbital space habitat called Astro-Darien. That it’s not really set in the future, but is rather an alternate version of what’s going on right now, is the sense in which I call it a documentary fiction.

What are your own feelings on Scottish inde pendence? How did they inform the project?

I don’t live in Scotland, and therefore can’t vote, but I’m 100% sure that independence should be a decision for people living in the country, and not a bunch of incompetent muppets in London, of any political persuasion. If I was in Scotland, I would vote for independence [...] Aside from the positive potential of not being ruled by Westminster, I think

being in London during the first independence referendum and watching all mainstream British media and politics be so pro-unionist was such a massive turn off.

Similarly, Brexit massively turned me off the idea of the UK, and so this Astro-Darien project is really channelling those two frustrations. On the one hand the sheer reactionary inertia in the British establishment that would have to be overcome to make it happen, and secondly the idea of turning Brexit against itself (or its support ers) so it becomes the final nail in the coffin of the British Empire and forces England to confront itself in a way it currently can’t do while it thinks it’s still an imperial nation of global significance. So Astro-Darien is an escape pod, which even if independence doesn’t happen for a while, can happen virtually, and gather momentum in this alternate reality.

Escapology is out now on Hyperdub; Astro-Darien is out on 11 Nov via Flatlines

Read a more extensive version of the interview online at theskinny.co.uk/music

The soundtrack to a sonic

exploring the breakup of the UK through the lens of a video game, Hyperdub label boss Kode9’s latest releases are his most ambitious yet

“Independence should be a decision for people living in the country, and not a bunch of incompetent muppets in London”

Steve Goodman, Kode9

Kode9

Photo: Kode9

Fife Finds a Way

Words by: Tallah Brash

In the words of Dr Ian Malcolm, “Fife nds a way.” Okay, so Je Goldblum’s character in Jurassic Park didn’t say that, but what he did say wasn’t far o , and we reckon if he knew what Fife had on o er in the coming months, that’s exactly what the ctitious character would say, as the Kingdom has found a way to get us excited for winter, with a whole host of Christmas markets, panto, art, music, poetry and whisky events taking us right through until the rst whispers of spring.

And what better way to kick o the festive season than by heading for a bit of family fun at the theatre? There are takes on two classic fairytales coming to Fife this winter, one with a glass slipper, the other a poisoned apple. Can you guess what they are yet? Oh yes you can! First up, Cinderella: The Magical Family Pantomime! will be lighting up the stage of the Rothes Halls in Glenrothes’ Kingdom Shopping Centre from 3 to 24 December, with a special BSL performance on the 15th and a relaxed performance on the 22nd.

Meanwhile, at The Kings Theatre in Kirkcaldy, Ya Wee Sleeping Beauty runs from 8 December right through to 15 January, giving you plenty of time to take the kids before they head back to school. Ya Wee Sleeping Beauty also has adult only performances available, so if you fancy a night out without kids being in the mix, this could be just the ticket. Oh yes it could!

As well as a night out at the theatre, what would the lead up to Christmas be without visiting a local makers market or two, ambling from stall to stall and excitedly chatting to vendors about their wares, slowly but surely ticking relatives o your Christmas shopping list. At the start of the month, Largo Arts Week is hosting Largo Arts Winter Weekend (3 4 Dec), giving you the opportunity to visit local artist studios where you’ll be able to buy works directly from their creators. As soon as the full studio lineup has been announced, Largo Arts will detail all those taking part with a handy studio map making planning your visit even easier.

The following weekend (10 11 Dec) will see two more markets take place in the area, with the Bowhouse Christmas Market, unsurprisingly, taking place at the Bowhouse in St Monans. Found in Anstruther’s quaint East Neuk, the market will play host to several local food, drinks and craft vendors, while a short 20-minute car ride away, in St Andrews you’ll nd

National Orchestra have an event that is sure to help blow away the cobwebs of 2022 (a year that will surely go down in history for too many reasons not worth lowering the tone with here.) Catch the RSNO making things right on 7 January at Dunfermline’s Carnegie Hall for Vienna. Led by conductor David Niemann, on the night the RSNO will celebrate and play the music of Johann Strauss as they perform pieces like Die Fledermaus, On the Beautiful Blue Danube and the Thunder and Lightning Polka.

Moving into 2023

Also in January and throughout much of February, the Cambo Estate in Kingsbarns, St Andrews, will be hosting their Snowdrops Festival with events, plant sales and daily tours around the estate welcoming the rst signs of spring. Moving further into a new season, something that’s sure to warm the cockles is the Fife Whisky Festival, taking place across various locations from 3 5 March. The festival will include an opening meal at the Lindores Abbey Distillery on the 3rd, 35 distilleries and independent bottlers will exhibit in The Corn Exchange in Cupar on the 4th, with exclusive events at the InchDairnie Distillery in Glenrothes on the 5th. Whether you’re a fan of Scotland’s most prized nectar or not, you’re sure to discover something to tantalise the taste buds.

Finally, a few days later, be sure to head to Scotland’s International Poetry Festival StAnza in St Andrews from 9 to 12 March where this year’s theme is WILD! Forms of Resistance. The full lineup is due to be announced soon, so keep an eye on their website and socials for latest news and updates. Names so far include Hollie McNish, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Elizabeth-Jane Burnett and Craig Santos Perez.

So whether you live in the Kingdom of Fife or not, there’s plenty going on that would warrant a day trip or overnight stay in the coming months. As Dr Malcolm said, “Fife nds a way”, so why don’t you?

We take a look at what the Kingdom of Fife has in store this winter, from po etry and whisky festivals, to pantos, Christmas markets and more

Exclusively Highlands Kinkell Byre Christmas Market at, well, Kinkell Byre. A beautifully converted farm building, classy Christmas decor and fairy lights aplenty will get you in the mood for the season as you shop all manner of local goods, from glassware and wire creations, to tweed, jewellery, ceramics, soaps, cheese, seafood, preserves and more.

, the Royal Scottish

Bowhouse

Hollie McNish, Stanza

Photo: Kat Gollock

Fika as Fuel

There’s power in taking time for ourselves and for each other. After spending time in Sweden, one writer reflects on how the country’s culture harnesses this power – and how we should too

Words: Rosie Priest Illustration: Ione Rail

For those unfamiliar with the Swedish art of fika, it can be described as coffee and usually a pastry (fikabröd) with a friend or two. But fika is far more than coffee and cake like we have in the UK; ‘to fika’ is to take part in an intrinsic Swedish culture; it is a space for meaningful connection, slowed conversation, reflection, and care. In the last two years we’ve heard increasing calls to slow down, to connect, to reflect. It’s a political issue, as well as a personal one, with stress, anxiety and depression as a result from work only increasing.

To understand fika better, and what makes it a somewhat radical phenomenon, it’s useful to explore its history. Coffee arrived in Sweden in the late 17th century, and by the mid-18th century coffee houses were increasingly run by women. Stockholm even protected women-run coffee houses, with one quarter of all licences being earmarked for women living in poverty. When Sweden began to ban coffee due to royal decree, many women took to illegal trade routes to maintain their businesses. Beans were sold from homes or hidden in bags of shop ping. Women were vital to keeping Sweden’s coffee coming, even when it was illegal. Many of those arrested for selling coffee were poor women; those arrested for drinking coffee were also mainly women, many of whom worked in factories. The sharing of coffee amongst women friends during coffee prohibition would have strengthened bonds and helped develop community feeling. The depth of connections formed during these early secret fikas contributed to continued coffee bans. Having a well-connected, considered and reflective society does not make for overly loyal workers.

The Swedish Labour Movement was formed shortly after the final Swedish coffee bans in the early 19th century and demanded eight hours of work, eight hours of freedom and eight hours of rest. At the same time in the UK, children younger than 13 years were limited to working 48 hours a week, and everyone else limited to 69 hours a week. Decades before other European countries, Sweden had demanded better working hours. This feeds into the importance of fika more widely. It recognises a need for connection, care and reflection that has been largely neglected in UK workplaces until recently.

Nowadays, fika at work is just one way Sweden creates and supports connectivity amongst its workers. Many workplaces, including my own, work 9am-4pm. Across Sweden, working hours must not exceed 40 hours a week; in the UK it’s 48 hours. Sweden ensures workers receive at least 36 hours of rest whilst the UK offers 24 hours. Flexible working is embroiled within Swedish law, meaning employees must be able to work flexible hours or from home if needed. Fika reflects these working principles. Folded into the working day, fika is not considered a break from the work but an integral part of it. It dismantles organisational and social hierarchies, something we definitely need more of in the UK as we face increasing socio-economic erosion from those in power.

I naively thought fika was just coffee and cake, until I started having fika with friends, colleagues and peers. The time is protected, and in many Swedish organisations fika is compulsory. There are no bonus points if you work through

your organisation’s fika. In fact, it’s considered rude. For me, fika at work has been a revelation. Fika offers us all time to connect and reflect on what’s happening. For deepened and careful conversations. The work still happens – I think it just happens at a more considered pace. I achieve as much but with less frustration, stress or fear. There are fewer mistakes; my brain has space to breathe. I’m not exhausted or overwhelmed even though I’m facing the same tasks. Those pangs of imposter syndrome that used to linger have disappeared, simply through being surrounded by people I feel a deep sense of community and connection with.

Fika with friends is a little different. Not only are we not at work, but we rarely talk about it. Our conversations are gentle and winding and rarely feature the intense emotional off-loading of coffee meetups I have in the UK. The protected nature of the time, the connectivity and deepened conversa tion, and the space to be open, honest and a critical friend is something very different to having coffee and cake in the UK. It took me by surprise, the immediacy of con nections with new people in a new place when given the time and space. Nurturing our friendships can be a radical act – and it’s one that I’m grateful to fika for facilitating.

Just as the Swedish women who illegally sold coffee and gathered around it to talk, share and build community, contemporary fika offers us similar possibilities. Fika offers us all a slower approach to work and life. It’s a chance to build community together at a time when communities are being decimated and millions are facing crisis. At this time in the UK, we need to grab the opportunity to reflect and share with both hands, to shake off the burden of working until burnt out and re-energise so that we can fight for a better future. Fika gives us these opportunities. Fika could help fuel that fight.

“Folded into the working day, fika is not considered a break from the work but an integral part of it”

Public Speaking

It’s not easy being talked about – especially when you’re trying to say something important yourself. We reflect on the emotional toll of both in-person and online critique and speak to activists about hope under scrutiny

Interview: Ross Hunter Illlustration: Connie Noble

“Don’t let Ross near your kids,” reads one of the comments.

For around two days my Twitter mentions are nothing but a steady stream of insults. I get called a paedophile, a groomer, and a misogynist. All for just…doing my job. For report ing on an issue – LGBTQ+ people, drag queens, feminism – that has become contentious, particu larly on the internet. I was all of a sudden the subject of public debate, something I had never imagined myself ever becoming.

It was kind of funny, to begin with. I’ve always viewed rhetoric on social media as almost universally meaningless: I grew up in the age of Xbox Live and Habbo Hotel, after all. I figured that people had always said terrible things online and that taking any of it to heart was overly precious. I

was less Be Kind and more Be Realistic. Because, just like in real life, not everybody is kind. In fact, some people are fucking horrible.

To be publicly denounced is unsettling. Regardless of how illegitimate or nonsensical the abuse may be, it’s safe to say that someone might believe it. And reckoning with the reality of people believing you are evil makes you question yourself, no matter how detached from the truth the claims might be.

This mire of self-examination isn’t something most people expect of stepping into the fray of public debate. Yet, unfortunately, it is something activists are also exposed to, with their own motivations all too often scrutinised.

“We have a running joke,” says Alice Jackson, co-founder of Strut Safe. “We pass a coin between us whenever a reporter asks Rho [Chung, the other co-founder of Strut Safe] or I whether we’ve been sexually assaulted and that’s the reason why we do this work.”

Alice and Rho co-founded Strut Safe, a helpline service that provides company and support for people walking home alone at night, following Sarah Everard’s murder.

“We just wanted to put something in place that was tangible,” says Alice. “We’re very aware that Strut Safe isn’t a solution to this problem. It’s a sticking plaster on an institutional, structural problem.”

And yet, within certain portions of the media, the thirst for a particular narrative is overwhelm ing. So much so that it’s as if no good deed could

emerge purely as itself. It has to have a history; and preferably a dark one.

“Journalists really, really want you to talk about being sexually assaulted on camera. Because people need to feel like they are in a position of generosity to take you seriously. It’s like they’re not prepared to listen to a woman talk about this issue unless they can feel sorry for her.”

Jobs like Alice’s are hard enough even without people rabidly demanding she unspool her trauma in public.

I consider myself lucky to do the work I do but a large part of it entails near constant expo sure to ‘bad’ news, which can take its toll. Imagine, then, if your career centred around trying to prevent acts of horrific violence or the destruction of the planet. That, in part, is an activist’s life.

“When you get to conferences like COP26,” says Dylan Hamilton, an 18-year-old climate activist, “you know that on the other side of the barriers are the bad people doing the bad things.”

Indeed, Dylan’s experience highlights how confronting – and exhausting – debate can be in real life (and not just on the internet). “It feels quite a lot like being in a fight. But I try not to think of it too much like that because it becomes very draining.

“You start to see it as win-lose and that can be very, very dangerous. Because even if we lose, we can’t stop. Every tiny little bit of climate change we can prevent matters.”

Fighting for a living takes its toll. Once bright-eyed, idealistic young people end up feeling like ageing boxers pummelled by a hostile world.

“The nature of the calls that we take,” Alice says, “and the nature of the issue that we’re dealing with on a wider scale are so upsetting, so violent, and yet at the same time so desperately human that I had a mental breakdown over it.”

That’s the cost of the work, she says. It hurts. How could it not?

“I stru le with hope,” says Dylan. “Sometimes I’ll see a huge protest and think this is amazing, this is the hope.

“But most of the time it just feels very depressing. So, I try not to think about hope because even if it looks like we’re losing we still can’t stop. Because it still matters, even when it feels hopeless.”

Hope, it seems, can only take you so far. Hope certainly doesn’t entirely sustain you through the brutalising experience of publicly standing up for what you believe in.

I didn’t understand how exposing, painful, and exhausting it is for activists to maintain momentum in a world that seems to gain pleasure from trying to hurt them, especially online where there’s a crowd eager to witness your downfall. There’s a real need for us all to protect good people, doing good things, in troublesome times.

“Reckoning with the reality of people believing you are evil makes you question yourself, no matter how detached from the truth the claims might be”

Angela Kirkwood Exhibiting at Glasgow Print Fair, The Lighthouse, 5 Nov, 10.30am-5pm Glasgowprintfair.co.uk

Our Stories Between the Myths and Memories

Stories connect us – to ourselves as individuals and, crucially, to each other as communities. Through open conversations, a welcoming space, and joyful interactions, the weekender at David Livingstone Birthplace Museum showed exactly that

Words by: Eilidh Akilade

Photos:

Najma Abukar

The weekend opened with a panel discussion with the day’s practitioners and facilitated by writer, editor, and cultural producer Tomiwa Folorunso, exploring the power of stories for Black communities.

While Etienne Kubwabo’s comic workshop brought wonder (and colouring pencils), readings from layla-roxanne hill, Inga Dale, and Tomiwa Folorunso grounded us, exploring both collective and individual identity within the African Scottish diaspora.

At once capitavting and moving, Three60 presented SONDER, a visual arts piece re ecting on community in modern-day society. Rounding o Saturday, Jambo! Radio presented DJ Baron, giving us the time – and music – to let loose.

Shifting focus slightly, Sunday opened with researcher and artist Adebusola Ramsay in conver sation with Folorunso, questioning whether a decolonial museum can ever exist.

A performance from Congolese musicians The Gig Group brought further unity, the audience swaying and clicking and owing with each beat.

Sharing their commissioned works in response to the museum, Natasha Thembiso Ruwona and Clementine Burnley o ered new and divergent ways of approaching the space itself, prior to David Livingstone Birthplace Museum’s team leading a tour of its collections, challenging myths surrounding Livingstone’s legacy.

Finally, Ashanti Harris and co-dancers performed a new iteration of An Exercise in Exorcism, exploring the museum’s colonial history. The end of the performance held the room as much as the actual performance did: there was this feeling of not quite knowing where its story ended and where ours began – truly showcasing all that storytelling can do.

This weekend of crucial re ection and joyful connection has truly brought us together. A huge thank you to Natasha Thembiso Ruwona for programming, the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum for hosting, and to Museums Galleries Scotland for kindly funding.

A Mosaic of Memories

Interview: Rachel Ashenden

We reflect on Norman Gilbert’s intimate paintings of his family and the characters of his native Pollokshields

Figures at a Table with Plants, Norman Gilbert

Image: courtesy of Tramway

Walking into Tramway is like coming home. A colourful stew of nostalgia and sentimentality, it is hard to not feel warmed and nourished by the current retrospective of Glasgowbased artist Norman Gilbert (19262019). Breaking the white cube wall, everyday objects from the Gilbert family home (a stone’s throw away from Tramway) have been incorporated into the wallpapered exhibpition space which screams a 1970s aesthetic.

For Bruno Gilbert, the son of the late artist, the exhibition space presents a mosaic of memories. He tells me he was born in a caravan next to a pi ery his father was working on and points to a painting which depicts that very caravan. By way of his well-loved moccasins, Bruno can identify himself amongst the portraits of his brothers, Paul, Daniel and Mark. Vibrant textiles, including a tablecloth gifted by a former girlfriend of Bruno’s, lie on a table, demonstrating how his father translated patterns into paintings – often on repeat.

“[My father] is my definition of an artist because he couldn’t not do what he did,” Bruno reflects, radiat ing with pride. Norman was constant ly experimenting, always learning. Deemed “unteachable” at the Glasgow School of Art, Norman carved out his own artistic trajectory. In interviews, when asked which painting is his favourite, it was always “the next one.” Keen to show me how his father’s practice and idiosyncratic style unfolded, Bruno opens a digital archive on his laptop. I’m surprised to see muted naturalis tic colours (olive, ochre, dusty pink) dominate the beginning of his oeuvre, incorrectly assuming that he always used a psychedelic palette. The digital archive also demonstrates his transition from shading to flat panels of paint, assembled in sections, like a mosaic.

Quite rightly, Bruno is ambitious about preserving and presenting his father’s legacy. Should an acquisition be made, there are several paintings ringfenced for public collections. Each family member has claimed a painting from Norman’s 70-year career. Bruno tells me how he

swapped his original choice (picked for its unique colour palette and use of frozen action) for Totem Pole (1971) which captures an endearingly playful moment with his siblings: one brother sits on Bruno’s shoulders while he holds the youngest in his arms. It’s doubly special because in the background of Totem Pole hangs another portrait of Bruno at a younger age playing the guitar, referencing a painting Norman made in 1963. As anticipated, posing for his father’s portraits as a young boy was not always Bruno’s, nor his

brothers’, favourite thing to do. “Especially because he made us wear dresses and pose as girls,” he laughs. His father painted “whoever he could get his hands on” – includ ing the Turner Prize-winning artist Susan Philipsz.

Norman’s portraits were not always made from life. Pocketing snippets of inspiration from his everyday movements, he sometimes relocated passers-by (aka, potential portraiture subjects) into the domes tic scenes of his canvas. Bruno shows me how this trick is perhaps most obvious in Plants, Patterns and People (1965), which depicts three women sitting in a row in a living room and staring absent-mindedly into the distance. That they are fully clothed in entrancing 60s attire – coats, gloves, headscarves, and all – is probably the bi est clue; Norman spotted them riding the Glasgow subway.

Towards the end of Norman’s life, the number of potential models frequenting his home and studio depleted, and the number of still lives he produced therefore increased. I’m guided to the last painting he made, Plants, Patchwork and Two Green Chairs (2019). The absence of people in these later still lives only empha sises how sociable their home was, but it also communicates the deep grief carved out by the passing of Pat, Bruno’s mother, and the love of Norman’s life. I am moved by all the anecdotes that Bruno shares with me, but especially by this one: “my father painted three portraits of my mother in the three years before her death and three corresponding empty ‘chair’ subjects […] after her death; each ‘chair’ subject references the corresponding portrait of Pat in its composition.”

There’s a worn wooden box in my parents’ house, filled to the brim with photo albums of mine and my sibling’s coming-of-age stories. Standing in Tramway, I get the same tu ing feeling in the pit of my stomach when that wooden box is opened, and the photo albums come out to play. I should really visit home soon.

Gilbert, Tramway, until 5 Feb 2023

Norman

Reclining Boy and Girl, Norman Gilbert

Image: courtesy of Tramway

Challenging Ornamentalism

The Skinny unravels Hannah Lim’s incisive and multi-faceted exhibition at Edinburgh Printmakers

Interview: Sofia Cotrona

of balance in Chinese culture and a key aesthetic parameter in its visual and architectural tradition. Lim’s prints and drawings, such as Droplets, Bowing Swans, and The Watchful Lion, demon strate this principle. The layout of the room respects a symmetrical approach too. Standing in front of the large central installation Hanging Spider, its lower point sits perfectly in the middle of the seem ingly multiplying swans of the sculp ture Bowing Swan, dividing the room into two mirrored sides.

and Medieval bestiaries, which infuses her sculp tural works with anthropomorphic shapes. While artworks like Shards of Fire appear more abstract, the Snuff Bottle series works more literally, with the artist equipping each of the boxes with small animal paws that animate the mythical creatures sculpted on their surfaces in a playful way. Lim’s research touches on an exploration of her Chinese-Singaporean family’s relationship with Christianity, leading the audience into a world of hybrid symbols and creatures that emerge from the encounter of multiple cultures.

We associate the word ‘ornamental’ with objects whose sole purpose is to be aesthetically pleasing: taken at face value they have no other scope or meaning than to embellish a space. For centuries, this has been the attitude reserved for Asian, (particularly Chinese) art by Western onlookers. Obsessed with the intricacy of Chinese design, Western artists and collectors built a taste for ‘Chinoiserie’ during the 18th century. Western art subsequently became populated with artworks and furniture designs which included Chinese-inspired patterns and motifs. Hollowed out of any understanding and appreciation for Chinese culture, the motifs were imitated in relation to European aesthetic taste; thus primarily, if not exclusively, valued for their ornamental function.

Hannah Lim challenges this dynamic with her first solo show in Scotland, titled Ornamental Mythologies, currently on display at Edinburgh Printmakers. Through her works, the artist ex plores her cultural identity as a woman of mixed Singaporean and British heritage reclaiming a culturally appropriate way to imagine the practice of Western appreciation for Chinese designs and patterns. Lim reinterprets traditional Chinese subjects and designs – such as dragons and lions – across a variety of media including sculp tures, installations, drawings and prints. Other references to Chinese visual tradition include the recurrent use of bilateral symmetries: the symbol

Lim engages with the challenges posed by the large exhibiting space of Edinburgh Printmakers by placing her small Snuff Bottle series on wooden carved shelves. Positioned at eye level, the shelves draw visitors in to appreciate the minute details of these works, with their complex elements and soft-toned match ing palette. Painted brackets on the walls frame the works within the two long sides of the gallery – a smart artifice to further focus audienc es’ attention on Lim’s prints and sculp tures. Layered with symbols from different cul tures, Lim’s work is informed by her research about animism, traditional Chinese storytelling

The use of space in the exhibition cleverly conveys Lim’s intention to challenge the ornamen tal attitude reserved for Chinoiserie, while simulta neously addressing the challenges of exhibiting minute works in an expansive space such as the lower gallery of Edinburgh Printmakers. For example, by placing the Snuff Bottles on intricate ly carved shelves, Lim hints at their ornamental nature as they evoke aesthetic, yet purposeless dust-catchers often left forgotten on shelves and mantelpieces. The exhibition layout also enhances Lim’s desire to subvert attitudes about non-Western art.

Hannah Lim: Ornamental Mythologies, Edinburgh Printmak ers until 20 Nov

Ornamental Mythologies, Hannah Lim

Image courtesy of Edinburgh Printmakers. Photography by Alan Dimmick

Image courtesy of Edinburgh Printmakers. Photography by Alan Dimmick

Trail Blazing

Interview: The Skinny

Edinburgh’s International Poetry Festival, Push the Boat Out (PTBO), returns to the nation’s capital this November. For three days, Summerhall will be host to an array of talks showcasing some of the best that contemporary poetry has to offer.

On Sunday 6 November, four writers included in Canongate’s breathtaking anthology More Fiya will take to the stage to perform and discuss the collection – Dean Atta, Janette Ayachi, Rachel Long and Degna Stone. I’m honoured to have been asked to chair the event – More Fiya is a powerful exploration of Black British identity and samples some of the most talented poets writing in the UK today. The four poets featured in this PTBO event all have strong, individual voices and are mesmer ising performers.

Edited by poet and DJ Kayo Chingonyi, More Fiya brings together work by 34 Black British poets. It’s a long-awaited sequel to The Fire People, the 1998 anthology edited by Lemn Sissay and a work that was influential in Chingonyi’s own journey. As he notes in the introduction to More Fiya, for a long time in Britain “the anthology was [Black writers’] principal space of possibility as published poets” and collections like The Fire People served to disrupt a “poetry ecosystem” that neglected, diminished, and ignored the voices of minority groups.

The significance of the project is not lost on Ayachi: “It is a dream to be published in such a meaningful, original poetry anthology that signifies

stories that have so often been silenced from voices that have sometimes been unheard.”

Half of the More Fiya poets appearing at PTBO have very close ties to Scotland; Ayachi lives in Edinburgh and accomplished YA novelist and poet Atta has spent recent years living in Glasgow. “I’m thrilled about the other performers arriving from distant places to the homeland!” says Ayachi. “Edinburgh has so much to offer in the arts and literary scene, I feel proud to live here and share what we as a city can represent in terms of talent, colour and inspiration.”

Ayachi’s first collection, Hand Over Mouth Music, is an energetic and lyrical representation of Scotland’s streets which are charmingly brought to life in her work. She explores love, destruction, grief and fire in the three poems she has included in More Fiya. “Quickfire, Slow Burning is the title poem from my new collection. It was taken from what a lover described me to be once, it stuck. Fire is an element that can so easily destroy land and cultural history. It’s the epitome and centrefold of feeling desire.”

She says she’s “honoured” to be included in More Fiya. “I can’t sing praises for this collection enough; it’s touching, magnetic, cel ebratory and channels magic from centuries of our deep burials.”

Degna Stone is also full of praise for Chingonyi and the project: “He has curated an incredible anthology that builds on the legacy of The Fire People and creates a space for a multi plicity of Black voices to be heard. I’m overawed to be in the company of so many amazing poets and excited that my poems will reach new readers.”

“Where do I come from if not here? This country. My country,” writes Stone in How to Unpick the Lies? To me, those lines reach to the core of the flame that is More Fiya. While there are poems about relationships, family, home, politics, language and travel within the collection, the book operates in one plane as a response and a rebuttal to the hurtful and harmful belief that Black British writers do not belong. “They’re poems that (I hope) speak to the times that we’re in,” Stone says. “I think there’s something interesting in the way they all seem to explore losing a sense of self.”

The poet and editor is making the journey from north east England to PTBO. “I’m so excited to be back in Edinburgh to read at Push the Boat Out! I love sharing my poetry in Scotland, there’s an energy to the various poetry scenes here that is

so vibrant. I’ve always, always had a brilliant time each time I’ve headed north of the border.”

Along with Ayachi, Stone, Rachel Long –whose debut collection My Darling from the Lions was shortlisted for a host of awards including the Forward Prize and Jhalak Prize – and Polarinominated and Stonewall Book Award-winning Dean Atta, More Fiya features a range of estab lished writers such as Malika Booker and Roger Robinson alongside newer voices like Warda Yassin.

“The work included in More Fiya has the flavour of always moving, whether it is back and forward in time or across various soils of our bloodlines,” reflectes Ayachi. “Nothing about this collection stands stagnant. What a book like this brings is a difference to the foreground that is inherently needed.” It’s a difference that is gripping, moving, musical and beautiful in equal measure.

Push the Boat Out takes place in Summerhall, Edinburgh, 4-6 Nov

pushtheboatout.org

We chat with some of the poets featured in More Fiya, the Black-British poetry collection that is being centred at this year’s Push the Boat Out poetry festival

“The work included in More Fiya has the flavour of always moving, whether it is back and forward in time or across various soils of our bloodlines”

Janette Ayachi

Janette Ayachi

Degna Stone

Photo: Matthew Thompson

Redstone Press on Turning Five

Interview: Heléna Stanton

where we grew up, the logo isn’t a house, it’s a bus stop where we used to wait to get to primary school, and later where we used to graffiti.”

The community values surrounding DIY labels are highlighted in the label’s special relationship with Eris Drew, who alongside Octa-Octa, runs T4T LUV NRG (a label prioritising trans bodies in dance music). “I was driving home for Christmas in 2017, and I had her RA mix on in the car, as everyone was talking about it. I heard Pseudopolis - At Last and I couldn’t believe it. She was someone so huge who was playing our track. I reached out to her after it, and we met at a couple of festivals and became friends, she’s been such a big supporter of the label from the beginning, so it made perfect sense for her to do the first remix. It’s a coming full circle moment.”

DJs Lewis Lowe and Ethan Harfield (Pseudopolis) founded Redstone Press five years ago, after forging a life-long friendship while growing up together in the Northeast of Scotland. Lewis and Ethan lost contact after primary school but reconnected during their late teens attending local free parties in the Highlands.

Lewis tells how he was really into dance music in 2016 and was DJing as a hobby. Ethan was massively into early and postdubstep while producing tunes. Post-dubstep pioneering labels like Hessle Audio hugely inspired the pair. However, Ethan’s productions weren’t making as much progress as he’d have liked. So, the idea of Redstone Press was born. The pair got ten dub plates cut by Precise Mastering, who’s worked with labels Warp and Hemlock Recording – huge names in dance music.

The dubplates were distributed to the likes of Joy Orbison, Ryan Martin, Optimo and Hessle Audio. One fateful night Lewis was in the Glasgow nightclub La Cheetah, where he bumped into Rubadub’s Richard Chater. “I was talking to Richard and told him I was cutting dubplates and starting a record label, Richard stated he’d distribute the records.” Lewis says, “I didn’t expect him to email the next day after the conversation, but he did the next morning, so I sent him the tunes and two weeks later he said, yep we’ll distribute them.”

This was a huge moment for Lewis and Ethan. Rubadub’s extensive reputation reaches far beyond its Glasgow warehouse. Celebrating their 30th year of imparting wisdom to so many emerging small labels and artists, it’s hard to find something so deeply rooted in the underground electronic music scene.

Eventually in 2017, Lewis and Ethan left the Highlands for a flat in Glasgow, officially forming Redstone Press. The logo resem bles something of a house – this is a common misconception, Lewis explains: “The name Redstone Press is after a little hamlet

Recently the label published remix, described as a ‘4X4 rave weapon’. With crushed breakbeat and femme vocals throughout, Eris Drew’s alias Bassbin 23’s remix of Pseudopolis - High for Life contributes to Redstone Press’s already tightened grip on producing euphoric club music.

Looking back on other moments for the label, Lewis recalls how the 2020 release with Cloud’s Liam Robertson came to be: “We became good friends when I first moved to Glasgow, and he was nice enough to give me a USB with a load of WIPs and track ideas. I was listening to them, and instantly went ‘wow this is insanely good’ to this one track, so I instantly asked if it was signed and luckily it wasn’t. Liam’s EP was a turning point from just putting out club music to more accessible [music]. I really love it a lot. .”

It’s evident through talking with Lewis that friendship has played a massive role in the success of the label. From DIY to club bangers, with four unannounced releases for 2023 Redstone Press is not slowing down. Lewis discusses the future for the label: “We’re at a point where it’s no longer a DIY label, which is scary but also great. I guess we are taking the next step of being a bit more professional, we had external PR for the first time this year, I never thought we’d ever be at this stage. It’s crazy.”

The past five years comes together for the label at Civic House for their 5th birthday party. Lewis describes the curation of the line-up as a “simple party with friends, and a couple of bits of lighting décor, and a smoke machine with big bass from Ira’s amaz ing Bass Warrior Sound System. We’re going to give some goody bags away as well for the first folk in, make it into a proper party.”

Redstone Press 5th Birthday Party, 12 Nov, Civic House, Glasgow, tickets via Resident Advisor

redstonepress.bandcamp.com

We discuss Redstone Press’s future, and notable memories, ahead of their 5th birthday party at Civic House, which boasts a huge line-up including Iona, Abena, Angel D’lite and Ira

Redstone Press

Photo: Coco Blue Kay

Nuance and Pubes

In a time where the pressure to articulate clear positions on hot button topics is particularly intense, Jessica Fostekew’s willingness to address ambivalence is refreshing. Committed to broaching the hard stuff in her new show –sensitive, complex topics like gender, sexuality, ageing – she’s also honest about not always knowing what she thinks or not liking what she finds herself believing. She acknowledges it can be tricky communicating this kind of nuance comically, given the pressure comedians feel to “come at subjects as someone who knows everything,” while ensuring content “makes sense and hits hard and gets clicks.” Fostekew, however, is adamant that all the different “shades and angles” are attended to. Don’t imagine that this equates to earnestness, though, because if there’s one thing there can be no doubt about, “it must be funny.”

Starting as a “very tight and fast” piece at this year’s Fringe, Fostekew’s latest hour Wench evolved over the course of the festival into something looser. She reaches for the image of a ball of wool to illustrate what she’s after; it’s still got a clear shape but it’s “malleable”. Now on tour, the comic’s enjoying how different the show is each time, with each new audience and venue bringing a distinctive energy. It’s not so much that the words change, but the emphasis shifts: “where you lean into, lean back from, bits you throw away, bits you speed up, bits you slow down.”

Fostekew is relishing the conversations emerging in response to her material; as keen to engage with those who don’t agree with her, as

those that do. And she freely admits to being on a journey with some of the issues raised: plastic surgery for instance, a big theme of the show, remains something she’s confused about. Pubic hair – that’s another issue: “What kind of pubes are we doing?” she asks the audience, and her perplexity about where we’re at with waxing trends leads to some deliriously funny riffs.

At moments, she’s clearly angry about the way expectations are shifting – with the normalising of Botox for instance – to the degree that “poison in your face” becomes “an inevitable part” of any young girl’s future. But she’s also keenly aware that her perspective is bound up in cis-gendered, middle-class ethics and assumptions (artificiality is bad; spending lots of money on your appearance: also bad). For those on a “gender journey” or for those with different aesthetic tastes, then surgery represents something much more positive. It’s important, too, she says, not to pathologise this particular historical moment, given that we’ve been doing “mad shit for centuries.” It’s just another step in the constant “stretching of the bonds of what we do for beauty.”

Our capacity for change, particularly the potential for small-scale shifts, is something she believes we don’t emphasise enough. She mentions a recent conversation with a boomer relative, who talked with baffled contempt about the number of non-binary kids at a local secondary school –dismissing it as just a fad or a phase. Fostekew gently took issue with this, su esting the situation could be approached “with curiosity and not

judgement.” Her reframing worked, allowing for a shift in the relative’s viewpoint. While Fostekew is in no doubt that the attitude revealed was essentially “toxic”, she’s again aware of the limits of her own perspective, and her own particular bubble, recognising that the bafflement is an attitude shared by many. It’s another instance where she experiences herself as part of what she calls a “bridge generation”; a liminal position that she uses to great effect in the new show.

That recalibration from judgement to curiosity says a lot about the kind of intellectual and emotional precision Fostekew brings to her comedy. She clearly thinks hard about how emotion fuels our opinions, and recognises that precision about those emotions can be crucial in affecting change. She understands, equally, that emotion is an essential motor for her storytelling, and one she uses very strategically in her examination of tricky topics. It’s a deeply considered approach certainly, impassioned and punchy too, but above all, unfailingly funny.

Jessica Fostekew: Wench, The Stand Glasgow, 7 Nov, and The Stand Edinburgh, 9 Nov, 8.30pm, £12-14

Follow Jessica Fostekew on Twitter and Instagram @jessicafostekew

Also listen to her Hoovering Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts

Jessica Fostekew chats nuance, tackling complex issues in comedy and changing people’s opinions

Interview: Emma Sullivan

Jessica Fostekew

Photo: Matt Stronge

Miss Power

Ahead of her appearance at The Great Western festival this month, Connie Constance talks us through her latest album, Miss Power, track by track

In the Beginning

From as early as I can remember there have been fairies around my childhood home and living in the bottom of my garden. When I first began making this album, I said I wanted to create it from the perspective of an ancient fairy that has been frozen in time for tens of thousands of years and awakened now in our present world – how would they feel, what would they see? I wanted to take people on a journey of the trials and tribulations of being a young person in today’s society.

Till the World’s Awake

For the most part, this song was the indie dance single of my dreams. It’s a letter to the universe... It’s a song that says thank you for looking out for me, thank you for the chance of making my dreams a reality, and thank you for the beautiful people you have kept around me.

Miss Power

It’s a fairy boss bitch anthem that I actually needed myself at the time. During the pandemic I was cleaning offices and toilets once a week to have enough money to come to the studio and to keep up my training in dance; it can be quite hard to keep a dream in your mind while squirting bleach down a toilet. This is my empowerment anthem.

Never Get To Love You

If fairies had a Skins-themed party this would be the backing track. I think this song is where all the field recordings that we did in the New Forest really shine. Me, Sam [Knowles, producer] and his friend Nic [Ferguson-Lee] went out to the country and frolicked with wild horses, recording all the mystical sounds that we could muster. Lyrically, it’s about an ex-lover, how we grew apart and [how] all the dreams we made together will be lived out separately as we aren’t in love anymore.

Mood Hoover

The writing of this song came from one of my mum’s classic phrases – “mood hoover”. She would call my adolescent brother [that] when he would finally make it down to dinner to be around his out-of-touch parents and uncool siblings. [Sam Knowles] said to me that it would be fun if I wrote a song about me and my

man but from a love/hate perspective. I had “mood hoover” written down in my notes...From there I dived into my little bit sarky, little bit cheeky and a little bit moody perspective.

Heavyweight Champion

I had just started having quite a civil relationship with my father for the first time ever and I wanted to write about the fact that we may never get to reconcile on the past. Writing this song helped me understand that’s okay.

Hurt You

My revenge song, this is a song for all the villains that are a product of their environment. This is for the Joker and Harley Quinn. In this realm the villain is the people’s champion and anarchy reins.

Kamikaze

Where do I start? I was on stage with Hak Baker playing an unreleased punk song we had written earlier that year; I jumped off stage after the show and was raring to go. [I] went to the studio in Old Street [after] to capture the energy of [the] performance for the album. [We] barely had a bassline going and I was shouting ‘TICK, NO, TICK, YES, there’s no in-between / They want me to look PRETTY and they want me to look CLEAN’. And my feminist anthem was born.

Home

This song is my anxiety made beautiful, it’s for when you’re right in the thick of it, when you can’t silence the intrusive thoughts and you don’t really know what to do. This is another song where the field recordings shine! [It also features] my good friend Hak with the most beautiful spoken word poem. I wanted Hak to imagine I was a ha ard fairy and he was a jolly troll trying to cheer me up with his riddles, which is quite a characterful depiction of our relationship really.

YUCK!

We wanted to make a song for the album that was a stream of consciousness, and the only way to do it was as a freestyle. I wrote down a couple of subjects that had been floating around my head and got up to the mic and delivered it from start to finish in one take.

Blank Canvas

This song is really a cry for peace, for a fresh start. I’m not ready to uncover the story behind my writing for this song, but I’ve been more than ready to write this and have a song that I can relate to when I think back to a traumatic time.

Red Flag

I actually wrote this song after one of my dearest friends went through something that I’ve experienced myself, but less complex. It’s about that friend, lover or family member that is meant to have your back, but instead of protecting you from others, they are the chaos in your life. [It] also has that feeling of being on the other side of trauma and that’s why it is our grand finale. The album really started when I made Prim and Propa. This song, for me, carries that same energy, so it’s only right that it closes this era.

Connie Constance plays The Great Western, Glasgow, 12 Nov

Miss Power is out on 4 Nov via Play It Again Sam

Photo: Joel Palmer

The Culture of Empathy

Interview: Becca Inglis Illustration: Tintin Lindkvist Nielsen

In venues across the world on the last Saturday of November, artists are gathering to take part in the global charity initiative, Fair Saturday. Booked as a sorely needed counterbalance to Black Friday’s unfettered consumerism, Fair Saturday has a simple but bold manifesto – to promote the value of empathy and culture for building a better society.

It sounds ambitious, but the premise is quite straightforward. Creatives put on any kind of event and pledge a portion of its income to a charity or cause of their choice. If financial support is too much to commit to (as it has been for many artists of late), then participants can still use their platform to spotlight a charitable organisation. It’s a concrete way to demonstrate how the arts can make a positive impact in the world, and how much poorer we would all be without it – an especially vital message these days, when the fallout from COVID-19 and ongoing economic crisis are threatening the future of venues, festivals and individual artists.

that hosts its own Fair Saturday programme.

Cultural organisations both big and small are taking part all around the country. The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh will host a concert featuring the ‘all-welcome’ Soundhouse choir, multiinstrumentalist and singer Inge Thomson, and Edinburgh makar/poet Hannah Lavery, with proceeds going to Soundhouse’s work promoting local gigs and musicians. “We wanted very much to provide artists with the opportunity to support themselves,” says Ensom. Meanwhile in Bo’ness, the Hippodrome Cinema will screen the Me Too drama She Said, which coincides with the UN’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. Up in the Highlands, the rural arts promoter SEALL are putting on the Festival of Small Halls, which brings together musicians in remote community halls across the Isle of Skye and Raasay for a performance and ceilidh.

“The thing that makes Fair Saturday a bit different is that anyone can take part,” Ensom says. “Anyone can take part in the Edinburgh Fringe, but actually there’s often a cost involved. At Fair Saturday, it doesn’t have to be very costly, so it could be a local Scouts group putting on a display of what they’ve been doing or an amateur dance group.” These collectives can then take advantage of the global reach that Fair Saturday offers – last year, 37 countries tuned in to a livestream of the Festival of Small Halls’ ceilidh. It’s an opportunity, says Ensom, to feel part of something bi er, knowing that similar events are happening in other small halls – or large concert venues – in places like Lisbon, Bilbao, or La Rioja.

As for what audiences take from the day, Ensom hopes that by pairing the promotional power of the festival and its larger participants, people will be nudged to discover new activities in their area. “There’s a lot of good work being done, but I think the arts still sometimes don’t feel accessible to particular groups or communities,” she says. “What I really want is for all people in Scotland to feel like there’s something there for them.” Take Orkney’s Northlight Gallery which, in a series of short films titled Orcadian Stories, is shining a light on locals who have made a difference in their community. Or the Oban Winter Festival, a ten-day event that showcases local performers, food vendors, and light shows.

“Having those kinds of community activities is really important for opening a new window to the world for people.”

For Ensom, it’s these smaller events outside the cities’ more traditional cultural centres that hold the bi est potential for Fair Saturday’s goals. “We’re empowering communities to create their own content and share that content with the world,” she says. “It’s about building bridges and understanding others and sharing the culture that makes us us and makes communities communities. Every community in Scotland, they’ve got something really precious to share. I think that this is the platform where they can do that.”

Fair Saturday, events across Scotland, 26 Nov standrews.fairsaturday.org

“Culture is really important in and of itself,” says Suzy Ensom, the regional manager for Fair Saturday Scotland. “There are a lot of things that you can do through art, music or theatre that help people to look at the world a bit differently. I think that the arts and culture have a part to play in bringing people together and to help think about the more vulnerable members of the community.”

Fair Saturday started out as a pilot event in 2014 in the city of Bilbao in northern Spain, before rapidly growing to 45 participating countries and 3,924 artists the next year. So far in 2022, more than 42,000 artists worldwide have signed up, and more will keep joining in the weeks leading up to the event. Usually it is cities or regions that join as Fair Saturday hubs, but Scotland is the only nation

The day after Black Friday, a global gathering of creatives will demonstrate how art and community can do some good in the world with Fair Saturday

“Having those kinds of community activities is really important for opening a new window to the world for people”

Suzy Ensom

Racism and Royalty

Interview: Rho Chung

As the fourth play in Rona Munro’s James plays, James IV: Queen of the Fight focuses on the inaugural performance of William Dunbar’s sta eringly racist poem, Of Ane Black Moir (About a Black Moor) at the court of Scottish king James IV in the early 1500s. The poem, called “shockingly racist” by medievalist Karl Steel, details in deeply unsettling terms how the object of the poem – a Black woman, newly brought to Scotland – differs physically from her white counterparts. The translated title of the poem is sometimes referenced as ‘My lady with the large lips’, and it paints a clear picture of some of the earliest iterations of anti-Blackness in Scotland. The poem utilises many of the racist tropes we still see in play today. In it, Dunbar points out (‘praises’ is definitely not the right word) the subject’s ‘exa erated’ features – it is disturb ing enough to read it, let alone to hear it spoken aloud.

However, Munro’s most recent James play requires the audience to do just that. Director Laurie Sansom, who has been with the project since its inception, says that he hopes the story will “move people, make them talk about it.” Sansom is hoping that the raw depiction of racism in the play will contribute to the national discussion about racism in Scotland. “I think it’s calling out a kind of Scottish exceptionalism that likes to think it’s open and fair and equitable,” he says. “We know that, of course, there are other currents running underneath that.” Sansom is hoping that non-Black theatregoers are willing to interrogate their own biases, and confront in greater detail Scotland’s long history with racist violence.

Performing this poem is a tall order for the show’s company, as well. Sansom says: “It was probably the hardest thing to get right. At the heart of the story, you have this horrible poem full of racist slurs, and it’s one of the key beats that we’re leading up to. It’s actually a very difficult thing to bring into the room, even in rehearsal – to have to hear those words and ask people to engage and respond to it.” Sansom talks about striking a balance between giving the poem context and power, while also allowing the play to showcase joy and complexity. He doesn’t want the poem to be “reduced to one utterance”, because it isn’t just a one-off incident. The sentiments in Dunbar’s poem are still echoed today. They can be found in beauty ads, social media trends, and reality television – they are very much a part of our modern spectacle.

However, Sansom hopes that the play can cut through all this context to deliver a meaningful, character-led drama. According to Sansom, James IV is not like other history plays. It is, at its heart, a

deeply personal drama about performances of power. Especially in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II (James IV’s great-great-greatgreat-great-great-great-great-great-great-greatgreat-great granddaughter), Sansom hopes that the play can provide a timely examination of public and private power – how it is signified, held, and enforced. In James IV, we see the threads of white supremacy in royal rule enacted on a Black woman. But with a predominantly non-Black creative team, how deeply must a play dive to tell a faithful and constructive story about anti-Blackness?

The question is, as always, who gets to be the subject? To be a subject is not just to have the play be ‘about’ you – it is to have agency and authority, to be liberated in the context of the story. In Dunbar’s poem, the Black woman is, quintessentially, an object. She is offered up for scrutiny, even ridicule. There is something in the project of James IV that hopes to go beyond pointing out that ‘racism = bad’. In its ideal interpretation, the play should interrogate the conditions that enable (and even celebrate) such abject oppression.

“It looks like the play is responding to a very particular moment in time,” Sansom says. “But I think what happens is that, if you write honestly about people, you always end up talking about what’s going on in the world right now.”

Sometimes, theatre-makers make the mistake of thinking that because their work is ‘about people’, it doesn’t necessarily have to confront context head-on. Sansom and his team took steps in the rehearsal room to mitigate the eliding effect of adaptation, but it’s hard not to wonder about who really ‘owns’ the project. Especially because James IV sits in the midst of an ongoing trilogy about Scottish royalty, Dunbar’s egregious racism runs the risk of feeling like a feature of a broader history, rather than a current – and urgent – threat. Something feels out of touch about the wish to balance education with entertainment. After all, Sansom says, he also wants to give audiences “a really good night out” on top of everything else.

It feels like Sansom’s wishes are targeted at primarily white audiences, at theatre-goers who need to be asked politely to confront racism, rather than those who are confronted with it on a daily basis. I’m not here to make a value judgement on plays about racism by predominantly white creative teams, but I think that the success of the James plays, including James IV’s upcoming Scottish tour, speaks to who is welcome to tell these stories in Scotland and who remains an object.

Director Laurie Sansom discusses racism and royalty in James IV: Queen of the Fight on the eve of its Scottish tour

James IV: Queen of the Fight, touring Inverness, and Stirling until 12 Nov

Danielle Jam as Ellen, Laura Lovemore as Anne

Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic

Album of the Month

Andrew Wasylyk — Hearing the Water Before Seeing the Falls

To know that someone from Tayside can produce such rich, explorative music is reason enough to celebrate the work of Andrew Wasylyk. Nods of recognition are duly coming his way as more people become aware of his talents. But with his latest record, you can’t help but feel he’s onto something truly magnificent.

Hearing the Water Before Seeing the Falls was initially conceived as a musical response to an exhibition by American contemporary landscape photographer, Thomas Joshua Cooper. Many of the artist’s works cover extreme locations surrounding the Atlantic Ocean, several of which are likely to be under water within 35 years as a result of climate change. These works and their ephemeral nature clearly had a strong effect on Wasylyk, who now swaps the greenery of Balgay Hill: Morning in Magnolia for a nautical voyage of longing and self-discovery on his new record.

What’s most striking throughout is Wasylyk’s ability to create lush musical layers and textures in such an understated manner. New nu ets of sound present themselves with every listen, beginning with the 16-minute marvel, Dreamt in the Current of Leafless Winter, which sonically embodies the poetic nature of its title. A bedrock of jingle bells forms a slightly jarring drone before

patient introductions of drums, keys and engrossing sax tones from Angus Fairbairn, aka Alabaster DePlume, paint a vivid picture that’s in full colour. Fairbairn’s playing throughout this track in particular is sensational; his staccato stabs contrast with elegant legato sequences beautifully, evoking variety and real emotional depth across what could have easily felt like too long a track.

The album ebbs and flows between dreamlike states and palpable reality. Years Beneath a Yarrow Moon is laden with ominous arpe ios and evocative strings. Jazz elements come to the fore on the more structurally refined The Confluence, based around an inviting ostinato on keys that leaves space for intricate drums to shine and other instrumental layers to showcase their voices. The Life of Time features existential words written and performed by Cooper himself, bringing a nice personal touch to the album, while closing track Truant in Gossamer concludes on a slightly melancholic tone, but the subtle sounds of birds and bright vibraphone tones leave lasting shades of wonder, optimism and possibility.

A deeply profound album that’s dense in multitudes, allow yourself the time and patience to bask in Andrew Wasylyk’s latest compelling body of work. [Jamie Wilde]

Ezra Collective Where I’m Meant To Be RRRRr

Ami Dang

Living World’s Demands RRRRr

Gold Panda

4 Nov rrrrr

Listen to: In My Arms, Taut, What Are You Waiting For

Big Joanie have become slowburning breakout stars since 2018’s Sistahs, and their second album is sure to cement their reputations as iconoclasts in both the traditional punk sense, as well as in their approach/rejection of genre boundaries.

There’s still plenty of scuzzy guitar, but Stephanie Phillips’ vocals shine through with a newly acquired sheen that makes the insightful lyrics impossible to ignore. But they haven’t forgotten the synths either, especially on the straight-up industrial Sainted which closes the album, bringing things full circle thematically from opener Cactus Tree’s ‘goths who are into doo-wop’ vibes. In My Arms is possibly the catchiest song they’ve ever made, while Count to 10 is the only true concession to electronica with sci-fi keys and a drum machine.

The stylistic leaps from song to song would be unwieldy in lesser hands, but Big Joanie have such a clear, cohesive vision that going from trance to grunge seems to make sense. In fact, the only weak portion of the album (relatively) is two consecutive rockers towards the end. But this is a minor quibble in what’s otherwise one of the most exciting albums to come out this year, regardless of genre. [Lewis Wade]

Miss Power is a whirlwind. Winding through myriad emotions, utilising the complexity of sound to mimic the intended emotion, her mesmerising storytelling bodes well with certain fairytale elements, yet her passion and anger resonate in other thrashing tracks.

Carla dal Forno Come Around Kallista Records, 4 Nov rrrrr

Listen to: Side by Side, Come Around, Mind You’re On

Carla dal Forno has spent her first two solo records honing a very specific atmosphere, using the sound of 80s DIY synth-pop and post-punk to make soundscapes recalling brain fog haze and the equal parts calm and danger of a sleepwalker’s plod. On Come Around she hones in even further on this sound until it’s at its most essential form.

The trademark dreamy haze is certainly there in spades. Opener Side by Side melds its seasick lurch of a bassline with wafting synths into something warm yet gently eerie, while the hypnotic, cyclical melodies of Stay Awake feel like a slow sink into your own subconscious.That is not to say there aren’t new sounds for dal Forno on the record. The title track, with languorous rhythms and stabs of guitar manages to feel like one of the half-forgotten dub singles that informed post-punk the first time around without ever feeling blindly derivative.

Barring the exception of the brilliant, more up-tempo Mind You’re On, Come Around doesn’t have the tonal or the sonic variety of her previous record. Instead the record polishes to perfection dal Forno’s specific sound-world, feeling more like a jigsaw, the songs forming a kind of composite dreamscape.

[Joe Creely]

4 Nov rrrrr

Listen to: Home, Kamikaze, Miss Power

Opener In the Beginning is a soundscape reminiscent of an enchanted forest. Constance's begins the album with a haunting chant that later expands into a fairytale world of layered vocals and distorted woodland sounds. It creates a juxtaposition between calmness and chaos, introducing the overall turbulence of the album.

A shift in sound highlights Constance’s indie prowess. Till the World’s Awake and title track Miss Power reinforce themes of selfassurance. Kamikaze is addictive from the start, distorted guitars only heightening the raw emotion and passion erupting through Constance’s dauntless screams.

As Miss Power comes to a close, tracks YUCK! and Home give comfort. Constance’s empathy is radiant as her lyrics are brought to the fore by way of a minimal guitarled backing. Her emotional intellect is demonstrated through her articu lation of mental health and personal stru les. [Abbie Aitken]

18 Nov rrrrr

Listen to: Rupture of the Wheel, The Pink Mirror

Electronica and R’n’B converge on Laal, the conceptually daring second instalment of Kapil Seshasayee’s Desifuturist trilogy. Critically interro gating ‘hidden’ aspects of Bollywood’s legacy and present, the ScottishIndian artist’s work is underpinned by an uncompromising hunger for justice, with tracks shining a light on various oppressions. Legacies of casteism are explored on track I Whitewash the Old West, while on The Pink Mirror, the censorship and dehumanisation of queer and trans Indians in mainstream Indian cinema is highlighted.

Standout track Rupture of the Wheel, featuring a guest verse from Pakistan rap outfit Daranti Group provides a searing critique of hyperna tionalism. Despite the heaviness of topic explored, the hyperpop influence keeps the track defiant and hopeful: anger is catharised towards hope for a better future.

Sonically synth-laden, Seshasayee’s vocals float and con verge into the instrumentation to mesmerising effect. The lo-fi produc tion adds a raw edge, but in areas the album’s scope of ambition feels restrained – it would be interesting to see how this could be upscaled in future. Nevertheless, with Laal, Seshasayee has shown himself to be an innovative talent with a compelling future-forward vision, both sonically and thematically. [Anita Bhadani]

November 2022

Review

Albums Big Joanie Back Home Daydream Library Series,

Connie Constance Miss Power Play It Again Sam,

Kapil Seshasayee Laal self-released,

Listen to: TK1_Overshare, TK3_ FloatingLake, TK4_Overgrowth

Tyondai Braxton is perhaps best known for his time fronting US math-rock consortium BATTLES. Since leaving the band, Braxton has been busy further exploring the reaches of his musical imagination as an accomplished experimental composer. It’s in this vein that he brings us Telekinesis, an 87-piece work for electric guitars, orchestra, choir and electronics.

Loosely inspired by the 80s Manga classic Akira, the work takes us on an epic journey through the discovery of telekinetic power, the destruction of wielding it without control and the ultimate path to self-destruction. Originally commissioned for live performance in 2018, this full studio recording featuring The Metropolis Ensemble, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and chamber choir The Crossing is not only an expertly-crafted fusion of familiar electronic and organic textures, but is complete dream fodder for vintage horror/sci-fi soundtrack fanatics. Its exceptional use of Radio Serial-like synth wobbles and pulses paint a vivid vision of mind-bending power and the destruction left in its wake; amplified by gorgeously dramatic bursts of symphony and chorus. A real gem. [Ryan Drever]

Daniel Avery’s Ultra Truth began as a sonic mood board in 2018, when he published a Spotify playlist of the same name. With more than 2000 songs, it’s an ever expanding insight into the sounds that have made their way into Avery’s latest album, ranging from Mogwai’s thunderous reverb to Portishead’s forlorn vocals and the early rave ecstasy of Andrew Weatherall.

Sound, 4 Nov rrrrr

Listen to: Higher, Wall of Sleep, Only

The record is a bit slow to get going, and at times meanders into excessive atmosphere – next to The Slow Bullet’s ambient fuzz, the urgent jungle rhythms on Higher and Devotion in particular pop. But Avery is engaging with the art of the album as a sum of its parts, and from start to finish conjures a fantastical, dreamlike world.

HAAI’s airy vocals drift beneath clattering drums on Wall of Sleep, as if heard through the haze of a waking dream; squelchy percussion resembles dripping water in a cave on Collapsing Sky; the twinkling glockenspiel on Higher sounds positively starlit, as if we’re surging upwards into the night sky, propelled by unabating bass. The impression we’re left with is of forward motion. One by one, each track pushes on into a more hopeful place.

[Becca Inglis]

Right from the first line of the first song, you remember how Natalie Mering is one of the best around for perfectly poising a line to make you stand up and take notice. On And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, she lets you back into her world with her warm, lugubrious tones riding high in the mix, setting up a confessional, intimate feel to the entire album.

Weyes

Blood And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow Sub Pop, 18 Nov rrrrr

Listen to: It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody, Hearts Aglow, The Worst Is Done

The second part of a trilogy, fundamentally it’s an album about anxiety and loneliness, not a million miles away, thematically or sonically, from the previous effort Titanic Rising The lackadaisical soft rock backing with her vocals centre-stage remains, and veers into new territory on the downbeat disco of Twin Flame. Each song is a six minute paean to introspection and regret, always emotionally direct before giving way to meandering wordless crooning, as if she retreats back having exposed too much.

The pandemic is the ghost at the feast, lyrics dotted throughout about the deep personal upheaval we have all endured both publicly and privately these past two years. Penultimate track The Worst Is Done lifts up the mood with wistful optimism, setting up the stage for the third and final album of this heartrending saga. [James Hampson]

Gleaming and resplendent, contoured and finessed, another Gallic artwork that has graced the halls of the Louvre is on display. No, it’s not some Renaissance portraiture, but another album from French sons Phoenix, with a Botticelli gracing its cover and actually birthed from the pandemicinduced emptiness of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

4 Nov rrrrr

Listen to: The Only One, Winter Solstice, All Eyes On Me

Alpha Zulu is everything a Phoenix album has been already: slick, silly, maximalist. Their music can still conjure exhilaration, and there’s definitely a song they can top and tail a show with. They mine nostalgia for call-backs; find comedy in impending doom. But the boys are ageing and, separated initially by lockdown, an emotional core burned a hole in the centre of this new record instead of a six-minute space-bound instrumental. Winter Solstice finds Thomas Mars vulnerably unadorned – ‘Turn the lights on, find me a narrative, something positive / This Requiem played a few times before / I heard it once, so I’m not sure’ – a distant, muffled bass pulse calling to him for connection.

Phoenix are now an artefact. Movements come and go but the old masters who once made classics still bang, even with their lesser works.

[Tony

Inglis]

Tyondai Braxton Telekinesis New Amsterdam & Nonesuch Records rrrrr

Daniel Avery Ultra Truth Phantasy

Phoenix Alpha Zulu Loyauté/Glassnote,

Music Now

Words: Tallah Brash

October was an absolute ride of a month for Scottish music. Following on from releasing I Saw and announcing their forthcoming album, Heavy Heavy, due next February, Young Fathers briefly broke the internet when presales went live for their 2023 Glasgow show, with seemingly all tickets disappearing within about two minutes. After a brief panic in the office, tickets were secured by many of us, and we were finally able to get on with our day. Phew!

As well as new music from YF, October brought a new project from CHVRCHES’ Iain Cook and Sons and Daughters’ Scott Paterson, who together are Protection, released debut single Still Love You. Dundee producer CUTLIST released Almanac, his debut album of ambient, downtempo techno, and Ian Humberstone released his new album Black Water Plus there were a whole ga le of singles from the likes of Billy Got Waves (Slow 10’s & 9’s), Rosie H Sullivan (What a Life), Susy K (Keep On Going), Hound (Take Off), Post Coal Prom Queen (Free Radio Phobos), Hampi (Devil’s Moon), Maria Saraiva (Send a Sign) and Dutch Wine (April).

For November, the release that’s stuck with us the most is Alliyah Enyo’s sta eringly beautiful Echo’s Disintegration. Originally birthed as a live recording at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh in 2021, the live recording of which acts as the record’s B-side, there has been no loss to the feeling of ethereal grandeur by taking its five tracks inside the walls of Glasgow’s Green Door Studio. Reel-to-reel tape loops provide a quality hard to capture nowadays in recordings; fractured vocals, warm echoes, a comforting sense of being present.

Despite there being no discernible lyrics across the album, the pain and loss you can feel in Enyo’s vocal play is remarkable, making the album’s closer – the gorgeous and captivating The Healer (reworked by Naafi) – all the more effective in its bid to offer closure on a period of Enyo’s life that, merely from listening to these works, feels like it’s been a lot. The eventual gut-punching beat of the song is a giddy and much-needed reminder that life goes on and with time comes healing. Due on 4 November via Somewhere Between Tapes, Echo’s Disintegration is an absolute masterstroke of a record which demands your undivided attention.

While The Healer might offer closure for Enyo on Echo’s Disintegration, Hailey Beavis’s entire debut album does the same for her, offering the letting go of seven year’s worth of weight. Due on 4

November via OK Pal Records, on I’ll Put You Where the Trombone Slides, Beavis beautifully bottles memories of people, love and pain, ultimately giving her the power to open them up when she wants – or she can screw the cap on tightly and chuck them in her bag for later, avoiding leaks. Storytelling is a key feature of Beavis’s music, but her greatest power is her all-at-once folk/country/pop chops, and the way she’s able to adapt her voice, chameleon-like, to the mood of each song. From the fist-in-the-air anthemic opener Anything That Shines, to the more vulnerable and pained New Heat, I’ll Put You Where the Trombone Slides is as glorious as the metallic le ings she wears in her press photos.

On the same day, Lomond Campbell releases his latest album via One Little Independent Records. Under This Hunger Moon We Fell is the final instalment in Campbell’s tape loops series. Each of its ten tracks were created starting with 140 tape loops – taken from his previous Lost Loops album – stacked in a multi-track project to be whittled down until something vaguely musical came to the fore. The result is an atmospheric body of work as dramatic and fantasmagorical as the winter Hunger Moon of the title.

For the most part instrumental, that Campbell has created music so vivid in the imagery it conjures is astounding. Phonon for No One somehow evokes heavy clouds clambering down mountainsides, while in the delicate piano of Sister Rena you can feel those clouds dissipate. The Mountain and the Pendulum offers up the kind of cathartic release Jon Hopkins is so good at capturing in dance music, but also leans into the squelchy rhythmic plod that Anna Meredith is a master at exploring. What’s more, repeat listens always offer something new on this beautifully cinematic record.

On the previous pages you’ll find reviews for Andrew Wasylyk’s Hearing the Water Before Seeing the Falls, as well as Kapil Seshasayee’s Laal. Also this month, bis release Systems Music For Home Defence (18 Nov), while Romanian-born, Scotland-based singer-songwriter Lizabett Russo releases While I sit and watch this tree, volume 2 (4 Nov). Michael Timmons is back with the more experimental Pastel EP (18 Nov) and Rachel Jack releases Grief is the Price (11 Nov), while debut EPs come from Kilgour (So Far, 5 Nov), Russell Stewart (Into View, 18 Nov), Humour (Pure Misery, 25 Nov) and No Windows (Fishboy, 25 Nov). There are also new singles from Megan Black (Just For Fun, 4 Nov), Zoë Bestel (Utopia, 11 Nov), Josephine Sillars (Spend Time Wasting, 18 Nov), Teose (Do You Miss Me?, 18 Nov) and more.

We highlight A LOT of music coming out in Scotland this month, and explore new albums from Alliyah Enyo, Hailey Beavis and Lomond Campbell in more depth

Alliyah Enyo

Hailey Beavis

Photo: Miriam Cradock

Photo: Greg Ryan

Film of the Month — Aftersun

The classic British summer holiday is an uncanny excursion in which the laws of nature seem to not apply. Time feels like it stretches on forever, strangers bond together over nothing more than a shared nationality, real life slips away. One such father-daughter trip to Turkey is the setting for Aftersun, the muted debut feature from Scottish director Charlotte Wells.

end, Aftersun is also a story about that epiphany that arrives as a child once we discover our parents are just as fallible as any other person.

15 November by MUBI Certificate 12A theskinny.co.uk/film

The film is the most realistic on-screen portrayal of a British family holiday since the TUI adverts. Many will recognise the hotel resort pools with high traffic, every dad’s stubborn loyalty to pints from the Irish pub, and the excruciating night time entertainment (Here, it’s the staff begrudgingly dancing to the Macarena). But beyond the momentary thrill of seeing vacations past rendered so clearly, the film is a careful unravel ling of the fraying relationship between 31-year-old Callum (Paul Mescal) and his pre-teen daughter, Sophie (Frankie Corio).

“When you were 11, what did you think you would be doing?” Sophie asks her father through a camcorder. It’s an innocent question that nonetheless seems to bother him, judging by his lack of an answer. The role of a parent doesn’t come naturally to him, and he doesn’t seem to want it either. Joining some teenagers for snooker, Callum is asked if Sophie is his sister, and the slight embarrassment in his intonation as he admits that he’s her father is only just perceptible. There’s a bubbling resentment from Callum that stems from becoming a father so young.

On Sophie’s end, she learns that her father is less freewheeling than she expected. Callum can be the fun-loving dad who encourages her to goofily dance and talk about crushes, but then there are moments where he’s closed off, like in a particularly excruciating scene when he refuses to sing R.E.M.’s Losing My Religion with her at karaoke. To that

Comparisons with last year’s The Lost Daughter are expected, in the way that they both depict parenthood as complicated at the least, and nightmarish at most. Nevertheless, Aftersun leaves something to be desired when considered next to Ma ie Gyllenhaal’s film, if only because it’s so toned down that an emotional release never arrives. But there’s also something to be said about Wells’ intimate approach, which feels just right for a relationship that’s slowly wearing away.

In a film that’s navigating repressed emotion, its small cast is uniformly excellent in communicating subtly. Mescal slips in and out of a faint Scottish accent, but the Irish actor taps into that same level of deeply buried sorrow that garnered him acclaim in Normal People. “There’s this feeling when you leave where you’re from that you don’t really belong there anymore,” Callum admits to Sophie, speaking of his move to London and revealing an aimlessness that’s so confounding for a child also trying to figure out who they are and where they belong. It’s apt in this liminal space of a Turkish hotel that the feelings of disorientation that permeate their lives become that much clearer. [Iana Murray]

See a preview of Aftersun for free with The Skinny and MUBI: Glasgow Film Theatre, 8:35pm; 16 Nov, Cameo, Edinburgh, 7pm

Tickets at theskinny.co.uk/tickets"

Film of the Month November 2022

Director: Charlotte Wells Starring: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall, Brooklyn Toulson, Sally Messham RRRR R Released

Scotland on Screen: Krysty Wilson-Cairns

Interview: Rory Doherty

Filmography: The Good Nurse (2022), Last Night in Soho (2021), 1917 (2019), Penny Dreadful (TV, 2016), Fink (short, 2013), Dollface (short, 2013), The End of an Era (short, 2012), All Men’s Dead (short, 2012)

Instagram: @krystycairns

Twitter: @WeWriteAtDawn

Krysty Wilson-Cairns, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of 1917, is eager to share her fond memories of growing up in Glasgow’s Southside. “We would go to Global Video three times a week, you know, three for £5 video rental,” she says. “We watched everything, we’d watch with subtitles, it didn’t matter. My grandparents would call it the Kinema, like really Glaswegian. I think if my grandparents and my mum had been given the start in life I had, they would have all been much better writers than me.”

After studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Wilson-Cairns did her Masters at London’s National Film and Television School. Her dark and violent sci-fi script Aether made it on to The Black List, the prestigious annual collection of the year’s best unproduced screenplays, that led to her signing with an agent. The Good Nurse, the true-crime thriller about America’s most prolific serial killer, was actually the first project she was attached to after signing, but despite all the stars aligning – Danish director Tobias Lindholm, Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne were all attached – it took a long time to take off.

“We were all ready to go, and then it all fell apart overnight,” she recalls. “It was like, this isn’t going to work, the time’s not working, something to do with the rights like – all this stuff that happens. And I thought, ‘Well, that’s a shame,’ because at this point I’d spent maybe five years on it.” Such a drawn-out pre-production process had given her an unselfish love for the material. “I remember thinking that I wouldn’t mind if someone else started adapting this book just because I think the story is so important.”

It wasn’t until 1917 and Night in Soho (Wilson-Cairns’s collaboration with Edgar Wright) were in production that the ball start rolling again on The Good Nurse. With such a packed schedule, Wilson-Cairns was probably relieved to have spent those five years on the script, as research isn’t just crucial to her

process – it’s her favourite part. “I’m not an authority on medi cine,” she says. “I wasn’t an authority in the First World War. I’m not an authority on 1960s Soho. So you have to totally immerse yourself in the world. So I’ll listen to the music. I’ll read diaries, first-hand accounts – for 1917, I spent the better part of six months constantly reading or going to the Imperial War Museum and listening to recordings of the veterans – so you understand how people speak as well. It’s also the best way to procrastinate.”

She hasn’t had much time to procrastinate recently, and she’s not likely to have much downtime in the near future. Like any working screenwriter, she has an extensive back-catalogue of unproduced screenplays, and she’s now assessing them with fresh eyes. “It’s really weird as a writer going back to read Aether, because I hadn’t read it in maybe nine-ish years. When I wrote it, both my grandparents had Alzheimer’s. My grandfather had recently died and my gran had Alzheimer’s but was really fit and healthy, and became a violent woman. It was just my mum and I looking after her, and I was really depressed. I suppose when I read Aether I think, ‘Oh, my God, you were really stru ling. You really thought the world was terrible. You really thought this was a bad place.’ I think reading your old work is like having a conversation with your old self.”

Wilson-Cairns doesn’t believe this old self would be able to tackle The Good Nurse, in no small part due to the difficulty of adapting true crime as an inexperienced writer. “It’s very difficult to get the rights to these kinds of things,” she explains. “To really accurately portray true crime, I call it both a burden and a privilege because you are writing about other people’s lives. I think you really have to take that responsibility seriously and get it right, and I think in film school, even I knew that I wasn’t ready for that responsibility. Nor did I have the infrastructure around me to make sure that you could tell the stories respectfully.”

It’s a fine line, especially as all her produced work is filled with violence and darkness. “I find with each script, with each story, you have to work out what the touchstone is,” she explains. “I wouldn’t really call myself an optimist, but I’m not that much of a pessimist. I think what each of these stories has in common is actually this real pinhole of pure light.”

But it’s those childhood days of renting videos that most influence her writing now. “I always believed that movies should be entertainment,” she says. “No matter what the story is that you’re trying to tell, no matter how serious it is. If you’re going to speak to people in the dark, you should make sure that they’re having a fun time.”

Streaming now on Netflix

With films like 1917, Last Night in Soho and now The Good Nurse under her belt, Krysty Wilson-Cairns is now an established screenwriting

force in Hollywood, but she explains that it all started at the old Global Video in Glasgow’s Southside

“I think reading your old work is like having a conversation with your old self”

Krysty Wilson-Cairns

No Bears

FilmDirector: Jafar Panahi Starring: Jafar Panahi rrrrr

Recent Jafar Panahi films have been concerned with boundaries, from testing the restrictions imposed on his artistry by the Iranian authorities, to exploring the slippery line between fact and fiction. In No Bears, he tells parallel stories about a couple trying to escape Iran, brilliantly linking these tales through an ingenious opening shot. One story occurs in a film Panahi is directing remotely from a small village near the Turkish border. The other drama unfolds around the director, as he unwittingly gets drawn into a scandal that animates the whole village, with a young woman attempting to escape her prearranged marriage and elope with her true love.

The film-within-a-film – where the central couple’s quest for a

passport seems to mirror the actors’ real lives – is less compelling than the main narrative in which Panahi himself is embroiled. The village elders de mand that Panahi hand over an incriminating photograph that he claims he never took, and through this situation No Bears explores the nature of truth and how dangerous misplaced beliefs can be, while also giving Panahi space to critically examine his own role as a filmmaker in the current climate.

No Bears is full of Panahi’s trademark humour, invention and empathy, but a note of exhaustion and disillusionment creeps in as the film moves towards its tragic climax. Panahi’s recent arrest gives this bleak ending an additional layer of reso nance, and we can only hope this isn’t the last we’ve heard from one of the vital voices in 21st-century cinema.

[Philip Concannon]

Released 11 Nov by Picturehouse Entertainment; certificate PG

Bones and All Director: Luca Guadagnino Starring: Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Mark Rylance, Michael Stuhlbarg rrrrr

Bones and All is a film that wears its heart (and its lungs, and its liver, and its kidneys) on its sleeve. Everything that ought to be inside is suddenly out: organs and blood vessels, of course, but shame and desire and alienation too, made legible like a blush across skin. Luca Guadagnino’s film about two cannibalistic teenag ers (Maren, played by Taylor Russell, and Lee, played by Timothée Chalamet) translates the hungry, grisly wants of coming-of-age into a raw and grief-stricken fairytale of life lived on the fringes.

Its premise may be relatively welltrodden, yet while Bones and All doesn’t quite escape the tropey frills of its YA source material, Guadagnino’s fingerprints are all over

his adaptation: in the bruised, longing fragmentation of memory that ruptures, in the slant queerness of desire enacted in the shadows. The setting – a sun-bleached Americana sometime in the 1980s – imbues the film with an overwhelming, analogue tactility that carries over to its two leads, with Chalamet’s trademark tremulous physicality playing against Russell’s portrait of rigid loss.

It succeeds where star-crossed teen films before it have failed because the sheer violence at stake is given its due weight – unravelling the smeared blood and bone-crunch ing sickness of adolescence, where the tenderest, most impetuous of feelings sit hard alongside a shatter ing appetite for things we mustn’t want. All of us, Guadagnino’s film knows, are trying to run from our bloodied pasts. We are all seeking a way to belong. [Anahit Behrooz]

Starring: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood rrrrr

Remakes of Akira Kurosawa films should always be regarded with scepticism, but they do frequently manage to transpose his observa tions on contemporary or historical Japanese society onto the culture into which they’re being adapted. Thankfully, Living continues the trend with a mostly rewarding exercise in investigating the codes of class and labour that existed in 1950s England (as opposed to the same era of Japan in the original Ikiru), refracted through the end-oflife lifestyle shifts of a respected but unexcitable civil servant, Williams (Bill Nighy), after an unexpected terminal cancer diagnosis.

It’s maybe the high standard set before it that propelled Living’s team to strive for something more prestig ious than the usual sentimental British period fare. Director Oliver Hermanus

(

Ramsay shoot with crisp, delicate style, offering a gorgeous colour palette in response to Kurosawa’s black-and-white original. All Living’s constituent parts, from the perfor mances (a quietly powerful Nighy) to the stunning score (Emilie LevienaiseFarrouch) feel finely crafted.

It’s a shame that the script, penned by none other than Kazuo Ishiguro, ends up flattening Living’s home stretch. Ishiguro has a great ear for the reserved, clipped dialect of the period, but the last third neglects to offer Ikiru’s furious closing social criticism, opting for interpersonal drama that, when it has to land the film’s entire emotional payoff, feels underdeveloped. It may appear only a slight fault, especially considering the strength of so many other elements, but the result is a film that deserves a more lasting impact. [Rory Doherty]

Released 4 Nov by Lionsgate; certificate 12A

She Said

Director: Maria Schrader Starring: Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson rrrrr

Maria Schrader’s She Said is an excellently acted and competently constructed film that nonetheless stumbles under the weight of its capital ‘I’ importance. It follows New York Times reporter Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) as they join forces on a new investiga tion into workplace sexual harassment with their eyes on the bi est man in Hollywood: Harvey Weinstein.

Mulligan and Kazan’s double act of grit and heart work marvel lously in scenes dramatising investi gations. These are delivered with a straightforward, process-focused lens that avoids salaciousness and centre on journalistic rigour, though undercut by Nicholas Britell’s overlyheroic score.

A major issue, though, is that She Said seems to trade in film

industry insider knowledge to the detriment of the trauma at its centre. For example, Weinstein’s insistence on keeping ‘Gwyneth’ out of the NYT’s report is played almost with a knowing wink. The results feel less impactful than previous awards season procedurals such as Spotlight – and less compelling than the original reporting.

A note on this ‘Gwyneth’: when Paltrow came forward, she noted her partner at the time of the abuse, Brad Pitt, stood up to Weinstein. More recently, Pitt has been on a rehabilita tive PR tour after details of his own abusive behaviour toward his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, and their children came to light. His name among the film’s executive producers feels uncomfort ably like damage control. In the end, is She Said a story of courage straight forwardly told, or a self-congratulatory tome as the cycle of violence contin ues? [Carmen Paddock]

Released 25 Nov by Universal; certificate 15

LivingNo Bears She SaidBones and All

Living Director: Oliver Hermanus

Released 25 Nov by Warner Bros.; certificate 18

Moffie) and cinematographer Jamie

Inside the Factory

Albion Expo:

a weekend of open

studios, exhibitions and events shines a light on a hidden creative hub in Leith

Interview: Stacey Hunter

Edinburgh-based designers Isabelle Moore and Eve Hynd are the producers of the first ever yard-wide Albion Expo. Their open studio event and pop-up exhibition at Albion Business Centre celebrates the eclectic array of multidisciplinary artists, designers and makers working in Leith. Over 30 independent creative professionals, across multiple spaces will all be publicly accessible together for the first time. This independently organised showcase is a chance to see first hand the craft and design industry within your local community and to support the continued production of locally made products.

Speaking to Local Heroes during the preparatory stages of the show Isabelle Moore says, “Eve and I are both designer makers and have a passion for connecting people. It was evident that many folk had little knowledge about the hidden gem that is Albion and the unparalleled array of skilled artists and artisans based here.

Albion Business Centre is a vibrant part of Edinburgh’s creative life, however, much of the breadth of skill here lies behind closed doors ordinarily. We’ve developed this annual showcase to allow public and professionals alike unprecedented access to the artists and the spaces within where an extraordinary quality and diversity of work is created on a daily basis.”

The event is located in a cobbled yard which historically once housed James Dunbar’s soda bottling plant and is now more well known for its proximity to Hibs stadium. The multidisciplinary

showcase takes place throughout the weekend of 12 and 13 November with a special opening night taking place on Friday 11 November, 6-8pm. A wide variety of scales of work, from jewellery through to architecture will be exhibited – featured disciplines include furniture design, screen printing, decorative surface design, glass art and textile design. Units 1, 3, 5, and 8 are participating alongside WASPs. A pop-up gallery will feature pieces from visual and fine artists alongside contemporary design, handmade furniture and accessories fabricated within the workshop’s exemplary woodworking facility. The collection showcases work produced across five studios, including pieces by Finbarr Lucas, who created objects during the first of a regular series of furniture residencies which began in May 2021.

Open studio tours will allow unprecedented access throughout the yard enabling visitors to engage with skilled craft practitioners. Short handson demonstrations and informal presentations of craft techniques and materials will be on offer from selected makers. Learn more about making ceramics from Studio Frostwood, a partnership between ceramicists Natalie J Wood and Hazel Frost; try printmaking with Jessica Crisp and Chris Sleath of Dynamo Works and explore furniture making with Oli Debenham and Sedric Craigen.

Visitors will be able to see behind the scenes at Fiona McIntosh’s Tessutti workshop where the designer hand-dyes and silk screen prints a range of distinctive fashion accessories. Furniture

aficionados can head over to cabinet maker David Buchanan-Dunlop’s Lyne Studio where refined furniture and accessories for the home are created and where materials and jointing techniques take centre stage.

Participating designer Hazel Frost said: “Albion Business Centre is home to so many incredible artists, designers and makers, with such a wide range of skills. It is a privilege to be part of this community and we are looking forward to showing everyone what we do here. We are excited to open our doors and welcome people into our space to share a little of what we do as ceramic artists, as well as represent a small part of Edinburgh’s Art and Craft community”

For design lovers the Expo is a rare opportunity to meet with makers; see a variety of creative studios; engage directly in craft demonstrations; purchase objects for your home; discuss a commission or even book your spot on a craft course. For more information visit the Albion Expo instagram page.

Albion Expo is open Sat 12 Nov, 10.30am-4.30pm, Sun 13 Nov, 12-4.30pm

Unit 5 Albion Business Centre, 78 Albion Road Edinburgh EH7 5QZ

@albion_expo

Photo: Susan Castillo

Natalie J Wood

PATINA BAKERY, EDINBURGH

A trip to Edinburgh Park brings questions of place and context to the fore – but the excellent pastries at Patina prove an effective distraction

3 Airborne Place, Edinburgh, EH12 9GR

Wed-Sat, 8am-4pm

i: patinaedinburgh

If Edinburgh Park is a place at all, it’s an almost entirely liminal one. It has next to no history (the business park was founded in 1995) and very little life outside of office hours, but is almost comically well-connected to the rest of the city. You’re most likely to see it hurtling away from town on the train, or rumbling towards the airport on the tram, off somewhere new. It’s a transitional zone. It’s ‘on the way’ to other places. It isn’t really anywhere Onto this blankish slate arrives Patina, and it’s a truly impressive undertaking – it’s a cafe and a bakery with a pastry focus, and somewhere in here there’s a bar and restaurant which also does gigs. Patina comes to town courtesy of the team behind Kiln, an excellent bar and restaurant in Newcastle which itself doubles as a working pottery. Truly, these folk love to multitask.

Inside, Patina is equal parts flashy and homely. That means enormous Romanesque columns out front, and massive windows for catching the golden hour light and seeing through into the working bakery. It also means dangling pendant lamps for brightening the place up the rest of the time, some classy Scandinavian-inflected design, and a pleasingly cosy feel. There’s plenty of gold detailing, and the tableware is excellent – all wellhewn ceramics and hefty coffee cups. An accidental recent research trip to Kiln su ests that these are from the restaurant/ pottery on Tyneside (then the ‘Newcastle’ inscription on the bottom gives it away).

The staff are all incredibly helpful, whether it’s the counter staff talking everyone

through the extensive bakery counter or the staff member literally walking from table to table handing out free buns. Back at that counter, it’s an impressive array of sweet, savoury, sticky and sandwichy. The almond croissants are supremely gooey and absolutely loaded with almond paste, while the pain au chocolat has the classic combo of a thin, shellac-like outer layer with a soft, buttery inner. Many layers, all delicious, hard to fault.

The bread is also delicious – the seeded sourdough bounces and crunches in all the right places with a pleasing tang – and the doughnuts have a truly impressive amount of jam squirrelled away inside them. The coffee’s great, and we don’t get a chance to try the pasta but it does look pretty impressive on its way to the next table over.

An awning outside boasts that this new bit of Edinburgh Park will have a million square feet of office space and “1,800 diverse and affordable homes”, which is an interesting choice of wording we can get into later. The point is there is clearly a lot of money flying around this part of western Edinburgh, and now all that gold and those columns make a bit more sense. At the moment, it’s some half-empty office space, a hastily-assembled padel tennis court, a Premier Inn in the middle distance, slightly too much public art and some very nice pastries. It’s a bit like playing a new

video game on a very old computer, waiting for the rest of the environment to load in.

Patina is an excellent bakery staffed by lovely people, and it’s a warming refuge from the drizzly ghost town vibe outside, but it is the kind of spot that raises more questions than it answers. Back in the real world, patina is the sheen that comes with age – the wear on a well-used handle, or the scuffs on a dinner table that come together to form a new top layer. It’s a sign of life, of a worn-in object that has its own history and story to tell. Whether it can be applied directly to something brand new remains to be seen.

Interview: Peter Simpson

Image: courtesy Patina

Image courtesy of Patina

Book Reviews

Dislocations

By Sylvia Molloy, trans. Jennifer Croft rrrrr

Translation is an important, necessary, and often overlooked side of the book world. Since its inception in 2017, Edinburgh’s Charco Press has been one of the finest exponents, specialising in translating contemporary Latin American fiction into English, resulting in three International Booker Prize nominations. Their latest publication is Dislocations by Argentinian novelist and literary critic Sylvia Molloy – translated by Jennifer Croft. Over a series of short chapters, most of a page or less, the narrator makes a number of visits to her friend M.L., who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. At the book’s heart are questions about the nature of memory. As M.L. begins to lose hers, the narrator examines the shared power of mutual memories, and whether losing this power lessens those recollections, and in turn the individual who is still able to reflect upon them. It is a heartbreaking read, and its power lies in the straightforward, honest and spare nature of the prose which avoids excessive sentiment. As simple tasks such as eating and reading begin to escape M.L., the narrator feels guilt and a loss of self she can’t quite comprehend, and reflects on the friendship and the growing sense of loss despite brief moments of respite for both. Dislocations proves to be a masterclass in writing, with a brevity and clarity which is both rare and welcome, and firmly situates Molloy as an outstanding talent.

[Alistair Braidwood]

1000 Coils of Fear

By Olivia Wenzel, trans. Priscilla Layne rrrrr

Olivia Wenzel’s debut novel 1000 Coils of Fear explores intersections of race, gender and sexuality while questioning the experience of oppression in the face of privilege. The tapestry of voices and differing styles are clear nods to Wenzel’s background as musician and playwright, weaving in moments of biting comedy with dark absurdism.

Wenzel’s unnamed narrator shares a great deal with the author themselves. Both Black, German and queer, the book is a slow drip-feed into the consciousness of guilt. The use of questioning rhetoric –manifesting as airport security and critical bystanders throughout – points to the culture of suspicion that scaffolds the narrator’s life, the fear of otherness that has do ed her from her childhood in East Germany to her adulthood in America.

Wenzel’s protagonist experiences comparative economic and political freedom from her mother and grandmother which she worries mitigates the “banal racism” she experiences. In doing so, Wenzel mocks whinnying concerns of white scepticism debating which types of racism truly matter and in doing so, mocks her own fragility. As the overwhelming note of the novel points out – the accumulative exhaustion and anxiety of Black identity is ubiquitous and ought not be overlooked. Wenzel’s novel is about an ordinary person living an ordinary life in the shadows of racism and identity politics. [Josephine Jay]

Idol, Burning

By Rin Usami, trans. Asa Yoneda rrrrr

Idol, Burning by Rin Usami is a short but mighty novel that sheds a light on the world of superfans, obsession and the dangers of building your identity around a phenomenon that can disappear in a second. Akari is obsessed with Masaki Ueno, a member of J-Pop group Maza Maza. Despite stru les in her ‘offline’ life, Akari excels at being an online superfan and she shows her devotion to Masaki, her ‘oshi’, by meticulously researching his life and writing about it on her blog. But when rumours begin to surface online that Masaki assaulted a female fan, Akari’s world is shattered and her idol’s fall from grace opens an emotional void that causes Akari’s fanatical obsession to spiral to increasingly darker depths.

Usami’s novel lifts the lid on the unique world of fandom and ‘stan’ culture in Japan. Written in the voice of her teenage protagonist, Usami’s narrative transports the reader directly into the mind of a young, impressionable superfan. It explores the complex relationship between pop stars and their followers as well as exposing the darker side of cancel culture and the sometimes extreme commercial pressure of being in volved in online fan communities. Sharply encapsulating the experi ence of being a superfan, with all its highs and lows, Idol, Burning is the perfect quick read for anyone who has ever wanted to understand the somewhat elusive world of ‘stan’ culture. [Kerri Logan]

Losing the Plot

By Derek Owusu rrrrr

Derek Owusu’s Losing the Plot is a tender, rhythmic, fictive meditation on his mother’s journey from Ghana and subsequent life in the UK. The novel, written in verse, deals with familiar immigrant tropes: displace ment, alienation and longing. But the narrative is not his mother’s alone: Owusu deftly weaves his own narra tive voice into the plot. The narrative voice is multilayered, representing an intimate and often terse interaction between generations. Owusu intertwines the past, present and future, bridging temporal planes to present time as both a multidimensional and flat construction.

Owusu is careful to consistently centre the matriarchal narrative in the verse, and does not allow his own to overwhelm. His interactions with the verse are literally sidelined in the form of sporadic sidenotes, interjecting his perspective on his mother’s unfolding narrative. For this reason, it is hard to engage with the verse in a linear or formulaic manner, and the reader’s eye and attention is haphazardly guided across the page. The reading experience is often fraught. But perhaps this was Owusu’s intention: to create reading conditions that mirror a complex and turbulent personal history.

Owusu’s use of language is also stirring and composite. The combinations of Twi, British slang and standard English point to the divergence and overlap of identities. Owusu uses language to locate the characters in different transient settings: who we were and who we are now. [Laila Ghaffar]

Dialogue Books, 10 Nov

Canongate, 3 Nov

Canongate, 3 Nov

Dream Gig

Edinburgh local (by way of the US) comic Krystal Evans tells us about her best gig ever. Then imagines an even better one ft. mum mies, pyramids and The Muppets

Illustration: Jack Murphy

My favourite ever gig was in the basement of a pub in Glasgow. It actually had all the tell-tale signs of a nightmare: a rowdy crowd who were already too drunk, mostly gathered from the bar upstairs who were clueless there was a comedy gig about to start; hosted by the guy that ran the gig (a non-comedian); a ragtag group of comics (some established locals and some very alternative/weird acts) that would have gone down better in a wanky hipster bookshop; a giant pillar obscuring 30% of the crowd; in a venue that had been around for ages and constantly rearranged to see if it would help the gigs go any better (it never did).

I was headlining and watched act after act go up and do bad to alright before an increasingly drunk and rowdy crowd, thinking to myself: of all the people in the Scottish comedy community, I am certainly not the one who should headline this gig. I am an American woman in a group of pissed locals. Like a beautiful (read: Very Sexy) exotic flamingo amongst a bunch of ratty city pigeons. Please don’t get offended or anything – this isn’t a commentary on Scotland, just this very specific group. And Glasgow. As any comedian will tell you, in this scenario being nervous is not only going to hinder you, but possibly put your life in danger. My nerves made my body and brain transcend to some sort of higher plane; like when a protective mother summons impossible strength to lift a car off her child or someone who is freezing to death starts singing Hot in Herre by Nelly. I went into a state of complete zen. Some might call it denial. “You’ll be fine,” a concerned fellow comedian comforted me before I took to the stage. What a cunt, I thought. Anyway, it was probably the most fun I’ve had on stage before or since. I tamed that audience like a… goat tamer? I got 50 quid and 20 of it went on petrol. But for 25 minutes, I enjoyed stand-up comedy. And of course, I didn’t film it.

As I’ve mentioned, the shittiest places make the best comedy venues. Undersell and overwhelm. So I’d like to do a gig in an Ancient Egyptian tomb. Added bonus: you can make sarcophagus and mummy jokes. Is it dead in here or is it just me?

Etc. We’d get a string of fairy lights to add some atmosphere as well as a huge laminated poster of Steve Martin in his King Tut outfit and really piss off the Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. If a joke doesn’t land, you can blame it on an ancient curse. I feel there are just endless Ancient Egyptian jokes that haven’t been mined and we could dig it all up on the night. If all our ears start bleeding spontaneously because we’ve angered the gods, at least we’d die doing what we loved: disrespecting ancient religions. I think the Pharaohs would be down for a bit of comedy though. Have you read the Rosetta Stone? I mean I get that it’s important but it really needs punched-up. The audience would mainly be local Egyptians (because locals never do anything touristy so they’d get to see the inside of a pyramid for the first time), a smattering of archaeologists and all my pals from the Scottish comedy community. Roy Wood Jr (The Daily Show) would host, talk to some people and prob ably generally take the piss out of what a stupid idea this gig is; then Sandra Bernhard (Roseanne) would open and ruminate on what divas the Pharoahs all were; David Cross (Arrested Development) would go on and do very offensive material comparing Ancient Egyptian religion with Republican politics… he’d been asked to headline but wanted to go on before the interval so he can leave. Fozzie (Muppet) and Data (Star Trek, not Goonies) would be the two five-minute open spots in the middle. The audience are mostly laughing at them but they are unaware and think they’ve killed it. Steph Tolev (Canada) headlines and destroys the room because surprisingly both the locals and archaeologists love material about mullets and cum. To celebrate, we’d all go out for a KFC (I hear there’s one right next to the pyramids).

Follow Krystal Evans on Twitter @MsKrystalEvans and Instagram @krystalevanscomedy

Krystal Evans plays Do-Gooders Comedy: A Ukraine Fundraisers at Bundits of Leith, Edinburgh, 6 Nov

Listings

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

Glasgow Music

Tue 01 Nov

MAGGIE ROGERS

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Alt pop from the US.

POP EVIL

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00

Rock from Michigan.

SEPULTURA (SACRED REICH + CROWBAR)

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 17:30–22:00

Heavy metal from Brazil.

TOVE LO SWG3, 19:00–22:00

Grunge pop from Sweden. MEUTE SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Techno brass from Germany.

THE RASMUS THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Funk rock from Finland.

MYRIAM GENDRON (QUINIE) BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Montreal.

PRESS CLUB STEREO, 19:00–22:00 Alt rock from Australia.

JAZZ AT THE GLAD (ALYN COSKER + INDIA BLUE PALMS)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Jazz from the UK.

N’FAMADY KOUYATE THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00

Mandingue from Guinea.

Wed 02 Nov

MARK LETTIERI GROUP

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Instrumental from Texas.

LEAH KATE (LOLO)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00 Pop from the US.

STELLA DONNELLY MONO, 20:00–22:00 Indie pop from Australia.

TAMZENE SWG3 19:00–22:00 Indie soul from the Highlands.

CONJURER (TUSKAR + SUGAR HORSE) CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Post-metal from the UK.

JOYWAVE (GEORGE O’HANLON)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Rochester.

NICK SHOULDERS BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00 Alt country from Arkansas.

KENDRICK LAMAR THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Rap from the US.

CAPTAIN ACCIDENT THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Roots reggae from Cardiff.

Thu 03 Nov SWIM SCHOOL KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00 Indie from Edinburgh.

OVERPASS (PETTY CASSETES + L PLATE) BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00 Indie from the Midlands.

HALF PAST NOW: EASTATES VOL.1 STEREO, 19:00–23:00 Electronica from Eastern Europe.

WALL OF DEATH! (SAM LOU TALBOT + ROB TURNER + REBECCA MACKENZIE + AKU AKI)

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:00

Eclectic lineup.

MOONLIGHT ZOO THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Indie pop from Dunfer mline.

GLASGOW STREETSOUND PRESENTS (SARAH MCMURRAY + REDLINE + OLIVIA JANE + MICHAEL WERNINCK) ROOM 2, 19:00–22:00

Eclectic lineup.

Fri 04 Nov

MARTIN STEPHENSON AND THE DAINTEES ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from the UK.

THE DAMNED O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Punk from the UK.

BBC INTRODUCING LIVE IN SCOTLAND (STRABE + SWISS PORTRAIT + LEIF COFFIELD)

KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:00

Eclectic lineup.

KLANGPHONICS (BRØR)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–22:00

Electronica from the UK.

CLINTON KANE SWG3, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Australia.

DESPISED ICON (DECAPITATED)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 17:30–22:00 Deathcore from Montreal.

MODERNLOVE THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Pop rock from Ireland.

TV PRIEST (MODERN WOMAN) BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Rock from London.

MIDDLE CLASS GUILT (KING ORANGE + MADDS)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00

Post-punk from Glasgow/ Hull.

NOISE // MUSIC (KNIFEDOUTOFEXIS TENCE + FLESHLICKER + VIIMEINEN)

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:00

Eclectic lineup.

RIDDEMPTION THE RUM SHACK, 19:00–22:00 Reggae from Scotland.

LIZABETT RUSSO THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Folk jazz from Scotland.

A NEW INTERNATIONAL ROOM 2, 19:00–22:00

Pop from Scotland.

Sat 05 Nov

PIP MILLETT ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00

R’n’B from Manchester.

BILL CALLAHAN QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from the US.

JULIA JACKLIN SWG3, 19:00–22:00

Indie pop from Australia.

LEBROCK

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Synth rock from the UK.

FORGETTING THE FUTURE (ESQUIRE + DOVV + EXPLODING ONIONS)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Scotland.

SAUL ADAMCZEWSKI + THE VLAD BAG DUO BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Indie rock from the UK.

WRONG LIFE (FLINCH + COME OUTSIDE)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00

Pop punk from Edinburgh.

THE AFGHAN WHIGS ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00

Rock from Ohio.

LINZI CLARK THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Paisley.

KASABIAN THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00

Rock from Leicester.

SHAWN JAMES DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Chicago.

THE HOOTEN HALLERS (THE AUSTINS + WHITNEY KING)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Blues from the US.

THE FRANTICS (RENAISSANCE + WISHBONE + THE SUMMITZ) ROOM 2, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from York.

Sun 06 Nov

JACK HARLOW O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Rap from the US.

BLACK ACES NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00

Hard rock from Australia.

ALY & AJ (HAZEL ENGLISH)

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:00

Pop rock from the US.

SET IT OFF

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Punk from Florida.

JILL ANDREWS BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Tennessee.

SPECIAL INTEREST (CONTAINER) STEREO, 19:00–22:00 Industrial punk from New Orleans.

THE LIGHTNING SEEDS (BADLY DRAWN BOY ) OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Rock from Liverpool.

CRAWLERS

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Alt rock from Liverpool.

TV MOMS (TRIPTYCH + POLLY )

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:00 Rock from the UK.

BIFFY CLYRO

THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Rock from Scotland. JOE HICKS THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Folk pop from Newbury.

Mon 07 Nov

SUGABABES O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Pop from the UK. AYRON JONES (AMONGST LIARS) KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00 Indie from Seattle. STILL WOOZY SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Indie pop from Oakland. JETTA BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00 Electro pop from Liverpool. DAYYDREAM (SAINT SAPPHO + GRACE MORTON) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Pop from Glasgow.

Tue 08 Nov

JAMIE T O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Rap from London.

JAKE CLEMONS KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Rock from the US.

OLIVER TREE SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Pop rock from California. SISTER RAY (CLARA MAN)

BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Alberta.

N DUBZ

THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Hip-hop from London. AMY MONTGOMERY (PEPLO + JEN ELLA) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Ireland.

Wed 09 Nov

SKINNY LIVING KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie from the UK.

RILEY DOWNING BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Country soul from New Orleans.

CONFIDENCE MAN BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Electro pop from Australia.

CHRIS CLEVERLEY (SAMUEL HOWAT)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Dream folk from Birming ham.

Thu 10 Nov

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Blues rock from Florida.

ALL THE YOUNG NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00 Alt rock from the UK.

IMPERICON NEVER SAY DIE THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Metal lineup.

LUST FOR YOUTH BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Alt indie from Copehagen. NOVA TWINS ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Rock from London.

JANICE BURNS + JON DORAN THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Trad from the UK. FRANZ FERDINAND THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Rock from Scotland.

JIM BOB

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–22:00 Singer-songwriter from the UK.

MILLIE MAUNDERS AND THE SHUTUP THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Pop punk from the UK.

Fri 11 Nov

ZEAL & ARDOR

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Metal from Switzerland. NATI DREDDD KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00

Indie from Scotland.

THE SELECTER (IDESTROY )

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:00

2 tone ska from Coventry.

DIRT BOX DISCO BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Punk rock from the Midlands.

SHOLTO DOBIE (QUINIE + HARRY GORSKI BROWN + ROMY DANIELEWICZ) THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 20:00–22:00 Instrumental from London.

JOHN LEMKE (SUSAN BEAR + EVERYDAY DUST)

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:30–22:00 Instrumental from Glasgow.

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

KAISER CHIEFS + THE FRATELLIS (THE SHERLOCKS) THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Rock from the UK. GHUM THE RUM SHACK, 19:30–22:00 Post-punk from London.

SPIZZENERGI THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Punk from London. HIPPY (PELIKAN ROGUE + NASTY NESTO + THE SADBOIS) ROOM 2 19:00–22:00 Acoustic rock from Glasgow.

Sat 12 Nov

RENFORSHORT

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00 Alt pop from Toronto.

HAILEY BEAVIS MONO, 20:00–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Edinburgh.

JOEY VALENCE & BRAE SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Rap from Pennsylvania.

THE ICICLE WORKS THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Alt rock from Liverpool.

THE LUKA STATE THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Cheshire.

PINTY BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Rap from London.

THE SAW DOCTORS BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Rock from Ireland.

MIST & WING STEREO, 19:00–22:00 Indie folk from Skye.

FATE (T.S. WARSPITE + DESPIZE + HEADCLEANER) THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00 Hardcore from England.

ANAIS MITCHELL ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Folk from the US.

KATHRYN WILLIAMS

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Folk by Liverpool. OWAN (FRANTIC LOVE + THE MUNDOS + THE BARELY RESPONSIBLE) ROOM 2, 19:00–22:00 Eclectic lineup.

Sun 13 Nov

CHARLIE HICKEY KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00 Indie from California. FOZZY SWG3, 18:00–22:00 Heavy metal from the US.

SONGER

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Rap from the UK.

KEG BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00 Post punk from Brighton. JAMIE WEBSTER BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00

Folk from Liverpool.

RED RUM CLUB ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie from Liverpool. CHARTREUSE ADDICTION (MURDOCH + BLUE LIPZ) THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:00

Hard rock from Glasgow.

KA BAIRD THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Composer from New York.

WILD PINK (JACK BROTHERHOOD + UR.FRND) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Indie rock from New York.

CAM COLE ROOM 2, 19:00–22:00 Blues rock from London.

Mon 14 Nov

JAMIE T O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Rap from London.

DEAF HAVANA SWG3 19:00–22:00 Americana rock from Norfolk.

BLACK MIDI OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 19:30–22:00 Post-punk from the UK.

THE WONDER YEARS ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Pop punk from Pennsyl vania.

BAD HAMMER (CASUAL WORKER)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30

Shadow pop from Glasgow.

PART CHIMP (THE WIFE GUYS OF REDDIT + MONI JITCHELL)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Rock from London.

Tue 15 Nov

BRETT YOUNG

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Pop from California.

FILM NOIR KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00

Indie rock from Paris.

MUNA SWG3, 19:00–22:00

Indie pop from the US.

ALEXANDER 23 SWG3, 19:00–22:00

Pop from Chicago.

ROMERO BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00

Power punk from Australia.

JAMIE WEBSTER BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Folk from Liverpool.

Wed 16 Nov

HEIMATDAMISCH

BAVARIAN OOMPAH BAND

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Instrumental from Germany.

BEACH BUNNY SWG3, 19:00–22:00

Bedroom pop from Chicago.

BEMZ SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Rap from Ayrshire.

KEZIA GILL (BRIAN COLLINS)

BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Country from the UK.

SHAKEY GRAVES ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Americana from Texas.

BAR ITALIA THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Lo-fi from London.

DIVIDE AND DISSOLVE THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Doom metal from Australia.

Thu 17 Nov

SAMANTHA HARVEY

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from the UK.

FONTAINES D.C. (WUNDERHORSE) O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Post-punk from Ireland.

WET LEG SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Indie punk from the Isle of Wight.

NOTHING, NOWHERE SWG3, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Vermont.

MOTHER MOTHER

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Canada.

JEFFREY FOUCAULT (DIETRICH STRAUSE) BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00

Singer-songwriter from the US.

EVANESCENCE + WITHIN TEMPTATION

THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Rock from the US. KATIE MALCO (MIKE BAILLIE (THE LONELY TOGETHER) + KATE MCCABE)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Northampton.

DIXIE FRIED THE BLUE ARROW, 19:30–22:00

Blues from Scotland.

Fri 18 Nov

FONTAINES D.C. (WUNDERHORSE)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Post-punk from Ireland.

RUSSELL STEWART (CHARLIE + ALICE FAYE)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00

Alt soul from Glasgow.

PHOEBE GREEN (NEIL MESCAL) BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Alt indie from Manchester.

DECLAN WELSH & THE DECADENT WEST BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00

Pop rock from Glasgow.

BENEFITS STEREO, 19:00–22:00 Music collective from Teesside.

ANGUS MUNRO (SPEAK EASY CIRCUS + WHITE NOISE)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter.

COIN ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00

Pop rock from Tennessee. WE ARE HERE SCOTLAND (ID + PAQUE + LAMAYA + ARUSA QURESHI)

THE RUM SHACK, 20:00–22:00

Eclectic lineup.

BEACON THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Electronica from New York. STANLEY ODD ROOM 2 19:00–22:00

Hip-hop from Scotland.

Sat 19 Nov

DEHD ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Rock from Chicago. SEA GIRLS O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Indie rock from London.

UPSAHL (ALISSIC + LIZZIE ESAU)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00

Alt pop from Arizona. WIDOWSPEAK MONO, 20:00–22:00 Indie rock from New York.

ROB HERON & THE TEA PAD ORCHESTRA (TRUE STAYS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:00–22:00 Rockabilly from Newcastle.

TURIN BRAKES QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:00 Alt indie from London.

SPECKSY THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Rap from Coatbridge.

WESLEY GONZALEZ BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Indie pop from London. DAVE ARCARI STEREO, 19:00–22:00 Alt blues from Loch Lomond.

SOVIREZ (BLACK DOVE + MAYOR STUBBS)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00

Funk from Greenock. WESTLIFE (LYRA) THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00

Pop from the UK.

SWEATY PALMS THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00

Post-punk from Scotland.

Sun 20 Nov

EZRA FURMAN

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:00

Alt indie from Chicago.

SUDAN ARCHIVES SWG3, 19:00–22:00

R’n’B from California.

FAKE FRUIT BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00

Post-punk from Oakland.

FRAZEY FORD ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Vancouver.

WESTLIFE (LYRA)

THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00

Pop from the UK. SEBA SAFE THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00

Pop from Ireland.

Mon 21 Nov

MARLOWE BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00

Alt rap from the US.

SAXON BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00

Heavy metal from the UK.

ZOMBIE ZOMBIE THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00

Electropop from Paris.

Tue 22 Nov

BLOSSOMS

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Pop rock from Manchester.

YARD ACT

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:30–22:00

Rock from Leeds.

NINA NESBITT SWG3, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Scotland.

WAYNE SNOW STEREO, 19:00–22:00

Future soul from Nigeria.

LANDE HEKT (RACHEL AGGS + CULTE) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00

Indie from Bristol.

Wed 23 Nov

AMORPHIS & ELUVEITIE

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 17:00–22:00

Dark metal from Europe.

CALLUM BEATTTIE SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Indie from Edinburgh.

BANDIT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00

Indie rock from the UK.

THE UMLAUTS BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00

Dance pop from Europe.

WERKHA (REBECCA VASMANT ENSEMBLE) STEREO, 19:00–22:00

Electronic jazz from Glasgow and Manchester.

BECKY SIKASA

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00

Neo-soul from Glasgow.

Thu 24 Nov

CALLUM BEATTTIE SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Indie from Edinburgh. K TRAP SWG3 19:00–22:00

Rap from London.

PRIMA QUEEN BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Indie rock from the UK/US.

THE REYTONS BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00

Indie rock from Yorkshire.

STORM THE PALACE ALBUM LAUNCH STEREO, 19:00–22:00

Folk from Edinburgh.

MAKE THAT A TAKE: PRE BYAF SHOW (ALLDEEPENDS + FOREVER UNCLEAN + SEWER CATS + BLEAKS)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00

Punk from Dundee/Den mark/England.

RUTS DC

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00

Post-rock from the UK.

POSTCOLONIAL PATTERNS AND GENDER GAPS IN MUSIC (RACHEL AGGS + JESSELINE SARDOKIE PREACH + ERIKA MOMO NOMENI)

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:00–22:00

Experimental lineup.

THE LITTLE KICKS DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:00–22:00

Indie from Aberdeen.

Fri 25 Nov

PARLIAMO

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00

Alt indie from Scotland.

CENTRILIA KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00

Metal from Glasgow.

GASHI

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Rap from the US. DANNY VAUGHN THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Rock from the US.

RUVELLAS BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Rock from Dundee.

ALGARA STEREO, 19:00–22:00 Anarcho-punk from Spain.

WREST ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Scotland.

MARTYN JOSEPH CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:30–22:00

Folk from Wales.

TARA CLERKIN TRIO THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Instrumental from Bristol.

BLUSH CLUB THE RUM SHACK, 19:30–22:00

Post-punk from Glasgow.

FRANKIE MORROW (RACECAR + SAMUEL NICHOLSON)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Indie rock from Scotland.

MICKEY 9S ROOM 2 19:00–22:00 Dance punk from Glasgow.

Sat 26 Nov

HUMOUR NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:00–22:00 Rock from Leeds.

AIRBOURNE QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:00 Hard rock from Australia.

MARCUS MUMFORD SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Folk from the UK.

THE WOLFE TONES BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Trad from Ireland.

ALESIA + UNDETERMINED + THE RAMPANTS + THE SQUINTS ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Eclectic lineup.

RAINY MILLER (KUTE) THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 20:00–22:00 Grime from Preston. UNITS THE RUM SHACK, 19:30–22:00 Drum from Scotland.

BOTTLE ROCKETS (ISABELLA STRANGE + LACUNA) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Indie from Scotland.

THE STEVE PILGRIM BAND (THE SOLID BOND) ROOM 2, 19:00–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Liverpool.

Sun 27 Nov

INME + RAGING SPEEDHORN CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Rock/heavy metal from the UK.

OZRIC TENTACLES (GONG)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Psych rock from the UK. MADISON CUNNINGHAM BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Folk rock from the US.

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Alt rock from London.

Mon 28 Nov

FIRST AID KIT

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Folk pop from Sweden. KRS ONE SWG3, 19:00–22:00

Hip-hop from the US.

FACES OF DEATH CATHOUSE, 18:00–22:00 Thrash metal from Australia.

Regular Glasgow club nights

The Flying Duck

SUNDAYS GOLDEN DAYS

Weekly house and techno night for losing yourself in the beats.

The Rum Shack

SATURDAYS (THIRD OF THE MONTH) MOJO WORKIN’ Soul party feat. 60s R&B, motown, northern soul and more!

SATURDAYS (SECOND OF THE MONTH) LOOSEN UP Afro, disco and funtimes with three of the best record collections in Glasgow and beyond.

Sub Club

SATURDAYS SUBCULTURE

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

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

NADA SURF ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Alt rock from New York.

Tue 29 Nov

FIRST AID KIT O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Folk pop from Sweden.

HOLLY HUMBERSTONE SWG3 19:00–22:00 Indie pop from the UK. STEREOLAB SWG3 19:00–22:00 Avant pop from London. KISHI BASHI STEREO, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Seattle. BADFLOWER ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Rock from California.

ROD STEWART THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Rock from the UK.

Edinburgh Music

Tue 01 Nov

WESLEY GONZALEZ SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie pop from London.

Wed 02 Nov

BLACK DIAMONDS BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Rock from Switzerland.

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00 Isicathamiya and mbube from South Africa.

CAR BOOT SALE SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from London.

Thu 03 Nov

SAM APPLEBY (CATHAL MURPHY + BECCA SLOAN) THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Scotland.

NICK SHOULDERS SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Alt country from Arkansas. INJURY RESERVE SUMMERHALL, 19:00–22:00 Hip-hop from Arizona.

Cathouse WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE WEDNESDAYS

DJ Jonny soundtracks your Wednesday with all the best pop-punk, rock and Hip-hop.

THURSDAYS

UNHOLY

Cathouse's Thursday night rock, metal and punk mash-up.

FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS Screamy, shouty, posthardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style.

SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS Or Caturdays, if you will. Two levels of the loudest, maddest music the DJs can muster; metal, rock and alt on floor one, and punky screamo upstairs.

SUNDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH) HELLBENT

From the fab fierce family that brought you Catty Pride comes Cathouse Rock Club’s new monthly alternative drag show.

SUNDAYS (SECOND OF THE MONTH) FLASHBACK

Pop party anthems and classic cheese from DJ Nicola Walker.

POLLY PAULUSMA (HARRY HARRIS) LEITH ARCHES, 20:00–22:00

Folk from Cambridge.

Fri 04 Nov STOP STOP BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Rock from Spain. GOTH GF (FINGERING AT THE DISCO + DEAR SRRZ) WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00

Doom punk from Glasgow. R.DENHAM (MUSCLE VEST + CUTTINGS) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Noise rock from England.

THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE (VANILLA SUGAR+ WITCH OF THE VALE) LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Pop from Toronto. ZONES THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Rap from Scotland.

Sat 05 Nov

THE GUILLOTINES BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Punk from Glasgow. ROBERT PLANT THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00 Rock from England.

SUGABABES USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00 Pop from the UK. PIZZA CRUNCH SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

Indie from Glasgow. HAILEY BEAVIS SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Edinburgh. FEROCIOUS DOG LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Folk punk from Scotland. BEARS IN TREES THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Folk punk from London.

SUNDAYS (THIRD OF THE MONTH) CHEERS FOR THIRD SUNDAY

DJ Kelmosh takes you through Mid-Southwest ern emo, rock, new metal, nostalgia and 90s and 00s tunes.

SUNDAYS (LAST OF THE MONTH) SLIDE IT IN Classic rock through the ages from DJ Nicola Walker.

The Garage Glasgow MONDAYS

BARE MONDAYS

Lasers, bouncy castles and DJ Gav Somerville spinning out teasers and pleasers. Nice way to kick off the week, no?

TUESDAYS

#TAG TUESDAYS

Indoor hot tubs, inflatables as far as the eye can see and a Twitter feed dedi cated to validating your drunk-eyed existence.

WEDNESDAYS GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS

DJ Garry Garry Garry in G2 with chart remixes, along with beer pong competi tions all night.

THURSDAYS ELEMENT

Ross MacMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most impor tantly, air hockey.

FRIDAYS FRESH BEAT Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nos talgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore.

SATURDAYS

I LOVE GARAGE Garage by name, but not by musical nature. DJ Darren Donnelly carousels through chart, dance and classics, the Desperados bar is filled with funk, G2 keeps things urban and the Attic gets all indie on you.

SUNDAYS SESH

Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes through the night.

TV MOMS (DUSK AMADEUS + BUFANDAS) LEITH DEPOT, 19:30–22:00 Rock from the UK.

Sun 06 Nov

THE HOOTEN HALLERS BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Blues from the US.

JOHN MCCUSKER THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:00 Fiddle from Scotland.

Mon 07 Nov

SAUL ADAMCZEWSKI & THE VLAD BAG DUO (SISTER RAY ) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Experimental from London.

Tue 08 Nov

SIGRID USHER HALL 19:00–22:00 Electro pop from Norway.

NATI DREDDD SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie from Scotland.

PUSSY RIOT SUMMERHALL, 19:00–22:00 Punk from Russia.

Wed 09 Nov

CHRIS HOLMES MEAN MAN BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00

Heavy metal from the US.

AMPLIFI (DANNY CLIFF + ROSÉ CHRISSY + EYVE)

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:00 Hip-hop from Scotland.

SQUEEZE USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00 Rock from the UK.

LIME GARDEN SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie from Brighton.

Thu 10 Nov

THE NIGHTINGALES

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00 Post-punk from the UK.

MEURSAULT SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:00 Indie rock from Scotland.

Fri 11 Nov

PINTY ( JADES) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Rap from London. ALL WORK TOGETHER: RACHEL SERMANNI + SOLAREYE + RICK REDBEARD SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:00

Eclectic lineup. RCMS PRESENTS (THE SKUNKS + THE GLARES + THE SHAHS +LUKE WALKER) THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Eclectic lineup.

Sat 12 Nov

WICKED SMILE (CASSIDY PARIS + THE BRINK) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Hard rock from Australia. DARREN STYLES O2 ACADEMY EDINBURGH, 22:00–22:00

Electronica from the UK. SING IN THE CITY (HANLEY AND THE BAIRD + THE AW BLACKS)

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00 Choir from Scotland. BIG LANES (THE LETTING GO) WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Psych rock from Edinburgh. KEG

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

Post punk from Brighton.

RCMS PRESENTS THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Eclectic lineup.

THE ORB THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Electronica from the UK.

Sun 13 Nov

DOM MARTIN AND BAND

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00 Rock from Belfast.

PART CHIMP

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Rock from London.

Mon 14 Nov

SORCHA RICHARDSON SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Dublin.

Tue 15 Nov

ENUFF Z’ NUFF

BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00

Rock from Chicago.

SIGUR ROS USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00

Post-rock from Iceland.

JITWAM SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Electronic/jazz from London.

Wed 16 Nov

BREEDING INDIUM (HYPERSTASIS + THE LACKEYS) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Rock from Scotland.

COURTNEY PINE (WITH ZOE RAHMAN) THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:00 Jazz from England.

MUNA THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00 Indie pop from the US.

ROMERO SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

Power punk from Australia.

Thu 17 Nov

SWEET CRISIS BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Blues rock from the U

CHRISTINE BOVILL

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00

Jazz pop from Scotland. JAZZ FORWARD WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00

Jazz from Scotland.

RANDOLPH’S LEAP SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

Country pop from Scotland.

SUMMERHALL RESIDENTS NIGHT: CLOTH + RUDI ZYGADLO + WILL ANDERSON + AINSLIE HENDERSON SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30

Electro-rock from Glasgow.

Fri 18 Nov

CORKY LAING PLAYS

MOUNTAIN BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00

Rock from Montreal.

DUTCH CRIMINAL RECORD WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00

Alt indie from the UK.

STONE FOUNDATION

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00

Soul from the UK.X

KATIE MALCO (MIKE BAILLIE + KATE KYLE) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Northampton.

TURIN BRAKES

LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Alt indie from London.

Regular Edinburgh club nights

Cabaret Voltaire

FRIDAYS

FLY CLUB

Edinburgh and Glasgow-strad dling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selec tion of guest talent.

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

Sneaky Pete’s MONDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH) HEADSET Scottish rave label with a monthly, guest-filled night.

TUESDAYS POPULAR MUSIC DJs playing music by bands to make you dance: Grace Jones to Neu!, Parquet Courts to Brian Eno, The Clash to Janelle Monáe.

WEDNESDAYS

HEATERS Heaters resident C-Shaman presents a month of ambiguous local showdowns, purveying the mul tifarious mischief that characterises Sneaky’s midweek party haven.

THURSDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)

VOLENS CHORUS Resident DJs with an eclectic, global outlook

FRIDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH) MISS WORLD All-female DJ collective with monthly guests

FRIDAYS (SECOND OF THE MONTH)

HOT MESS A night for queer people and their friends.

SATURDAYS (LAST OF THE MONTH)

SOUL JAM Monthly no holds barred, down and dirty bikram disco.

SUNDAYS POSTAL Multi-genre beats every Sunday at Sneaky Pete's, showcasing the very best of local talent with some extra special guests.

The Liquid Room

SATURDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)

REWIND Monthly party night celebrating the best in soul, disco, rock and pop with music from the 70s, 80s, 90s and current bangers.

The Hive

MONDAYS

MIXED UP MONDAY Monday-brighten ing mix of Hip-hop, R'n'B and chart classics, with requests in the back room.

Sat 19 Nov

STEELER (LUMO) WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00

Metal from the UK.

M60

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Manchester.

KAPIL SESHASAYEE SUMMERHALL, 19:00–22:00

Synth rock from Scotland.

MEDITERRANEO: THE BADWILLS + BRISTOL BRANCH + TUFLAMENCO SUMMERHALL, 20:30–22:00

Spanish flamenco, Italian pizzica and Brazilian forro.

BLUES AFTERNOON: (FULL FAT + ANDREW EUSTACE + JENSEN INTERCEPTORS)

LA BELLE ANGELE, 12:30–15:00

Eclectic lineup.

PHOEBE GREEN

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00

Alt indie from Manchester.

Sun 20 Nov

KIRA MAC BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Rock from the UK.

K TRAP

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00

Rap from London.

VIRGINS (WYNONA BLEACH + STUFFED ANIMALS) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Shoegaze from Belfast.

Mon 21 Nov

VAN BAERLE PIANO TRIO

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:45–22:00

Classical from Amsterdam.

LYDIA LUNCH + MARC HURTADO

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00

Post-punk from the US.

CAVETOWN

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00

Indie pop from Oxford.

HARRY MILES

WATSON & THE UNION SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Edinburgh.

Tue 22 Nov

PENSACOLA MIST SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

Synth pop from Edinburgh. MARLOWE THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00

Alt rap from the US.

Wed 23 Nov

JOHN CORABI ACOUSTIC BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00

Hard rock from the US. BLOSSOMS

O2 ACADEMY EDINBURGH, 18:00–22:00

Pop rock from Manchester.

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00

Indie pop from Glasgow.

NINA NESBITT THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from Scotland.

RUVELLAS (CLOUD HOUSE + CLOUD 9INE + TANDALE) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

Rock from Dundee.

STINA MARIE CLAIRE SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:00

Bedroom pop from Scotland.

SIOBHAN MILLER (GNOSS + SIAN) SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Scotland.

Sun 27 Nov

SIXTIES GOLD (THE TREMELOES + CHESNEY HAWKES + GARY PUCKETT)

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00 Pop from the USA and UK.

STORM THE PALACE WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Folk pop from Edinburgh.

KYOSHI STATION (GEFAHRGEIST) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Edinburgh.

Mon 28 Nov

FELIX RABIN BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00

Jazz rock from France.

FONTAINES D.C. (WUNDERHORSE) O2 ACADEMY EDINBURGH, 19:00–22:00 Post-punk from Ireland.

FROST*

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00

Prog rock from England.

STEREOLAB

Regular Glasgow comedy nights

Drygate Brewing Co.

FIRST AND THIRD TUESDAY OF THE MONTH DRYGATE COMEDY LAB, 7PM

A new material comedy night hosted by Chris Thorburn.

The Stand Glasgow

FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH MONDAY NIGHT IMPROV, 20:30

Host Billy Kirkwood and guests act entirely on your suggestions.

Glasgow Clubs

Wed 02 Nov

INR PRESENTS:

H3L3NA (PYWOI + CLISHAM)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Techno and electro.

Thu 03 Nov

ONEMAN WITH BÉTON BRUT

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 Garage and funk.

TUESDAYS

RED RAW, 20:30

Legendary new material night with up to eight acts.

FRIDAYS

THE FRIDAY SHOW, 20:30

The big weekend show with four comedians.

SATURDAYS

THE SATURDAY SHOW, 21:00

The big weekend show with four comedians.

The Glee Club

FRIDAYS

FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY, 19:00

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

SATURDAYS SATURDAY NIGHT COM EDY, 19:00

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

DJ SET: CAMI LAYÉ OKÚN + FERGUS CLARK

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 22:00–03:00 Afrobeats and Cuban disco.

Sun 13 Nov

SASHA

SUB CLUB 23:00–04:00 House and techno.

Fri 18 Nov

EROSION: FAUZIA (MI

EL + JOE UNKNOWN) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Bass, garage and club from London and Glasgow.

UNCHAINED 002 (F I I S H E R + NEEVA NINE + NEILLSON + PABLO)

Fri 07 Nov

MORRISON STREET: NITE FLEIT SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Electro.

Mon 10 Nov

PURE HONEY: NICK CASTLE B2B TOM KEEBLE SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 House and techno.

Wed 12 Nov

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

TUESDAYS

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

WEDNESDAYS COOKIE WEDNES DAY 90s and 00s cheesy pop and modern chart anthems.

THURSDAYS HI SOCIETY THURSDAY Student anthems and bangerz.

FRIDAYS FLIP FRIDAY Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect.

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

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

Subway Cowgate

MONDAYS

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

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

WEDNESDAYS

XO Hip-hop and R'n'B grooves from regulars DJ Beef and DJ Cherry.

THURSDAYS SLIC

More classic Hip-hop and R'n'B dance tunes for the almost end of the week.

FRIDAYS

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

SATURDAYS SLICE SATURDAY The drinks are easy and the pop is heavy.

SUNDAYS Sunday Service

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

The Mash House

SATURDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)

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

SATURDAYS (LAST OF THE MONTH)

PULSE

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

TVAM SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Industrial from Man chester.

THE LOTTERY WINNERS

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00

Indie pop from Man chester.

Thu 24 Nov

DANNY VAUGHN BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00

Rock from the US.

JESCA HOOP THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00

Folk jazz from the US.

THE ROLL MO SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

Indie rock from Glasgow.

RIVAL CONSOLES SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:00

Synth from London.

REBECCA PIDGEON (MATTHEW PIDGEON) LEITH DEPOT, 19:30–22:00

Folk pop from the US.

Fri 25 Nov

THE SWEET THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00

Classic rock from England.

THE APPLEBEGGARS

THE CAVES, 19:30–22:00

Pop rock from the UK.

JAMES BAY USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00

Singer-songwriter from the UK.

RUTS DC

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00

Post-rock from the UK.

CALUM BOWIE LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00

Acoustic from Scotland.

Sat 26 Nov

MARCUS MUMFORD

THE CAVES, 14:00–22:00

Folk from the UK.

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00 Avant pop from London. BONNIE KEMPLAY SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Bedroom pop from Edinburgh.

Tue 29 Nov

NATION OF LANGUAGE THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00 Indie pop from New York.

BRAD STANK SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Jazz pop from Liverpool.

Dundee Music

Thu 10 Nov

MARCO MENDOZA BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 19:30–22:00 Rock from the US.

Fri 11 Nov

JAMES YORKSTON BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–22:00 Folk from Scotland.

Sat 12 Nov

DIRT BOX DISCO BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–22:00 Punk rock from the Midlands.

Wed 23 Nov

DAVE ARCARI BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 19:30–22:00 Alt blues from Scotland.

Thu 24 Nov

CLOUD HOUSE BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 19:30–22:00

Pop rock from Glasgow.

Fri 25 Nov

THE ROLY MO

THE HUNTER S. THOMP SON, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Glasgow.

Fri 04 Nov

RED MUSEUM (NKC + AKUMU + MM + MAG) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Hard drum and techno.

BASS INJECTION THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Drum ‘n’ bass.

MISSING PERSONS CLUB 10TH BIRTHDAY: JULIAN MULLER B2B MRD

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Techno and house.

MAGIC CITY: MESMERIZED + JORDSS (RINSE FM) SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00 R ‘n’ B and hip-hop.

KIERNAN LAVEAUX (T4T LUV NRG) (BONZAI BONNER) THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 Psychedelia and house.

Sat 05 Nov

QUEER THEORY: VELVET RAGE

(JUNGLEHUSSI + PINK POUND) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Cabaret afterparty.

Thu 10 Nov

VIP RED PRESENTS MAYHEM X TROPIX MOVEMBER FUNDRAISER STEREO, 23:00–03:00 House and techno from Glasgow.

Fri 11 Nov

PUSH IT STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Female pop and R’n’B.

Sat 12 Nov

TGW AFTERPARTY STEREO, 23:00–03:00 House and dance.

WAX ROOMS (WRISK + H3L3NA)

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Bass/electro.

OPTIMO (ESPACIO) THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 House and techno.

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

THE BERKELEY SUITE AND HANG TOUGH PRESENTS HODGE THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 House, techno and dubstep.

Sat 19 Nov

FUNDAMENTALS X WODAWATER (ANFS + BRANDON LEE VEAR + TRSSX) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Techno and rhythmic noise from Greece and Poland.

MOTIF THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 House.

Thu 24 Nov ERROR404 STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Techno, donk and jungle.

Fri 25 Nov

STEREO PRESENTS: MINOR SCIENCE ( YUSHH + DJ PEANUT) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Bass and experimental electronics.

POLYTUNNEL (DJ PLANKTON)

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Electronica.

Sat 26 Nov

STEREO BDAY: 15 AGAIN STEREO, 19:00–03:00 Stereo 15th birthday CARTEL PRESENTS: OVERKILL

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Edinburgh Clubs

Wed 05 Nov

PALIDRONE: TSVI SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 UK bass and hard drum.

Fri 14 Nov CHAOS IN THE COSMOS SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Acid and Italo.

Mon 17 Nov ABSOLUTE. SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–00:00 House and techno.

Tue 18 Nov

AQUELARRE: GK MACHINE, KRIS WASABI, PAKO VEGA SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Leftfield.

Wed 19 Nov HEYDAY SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–00:00 Queer house.

Fri 21 Nov

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

Mon 24 Nov

EDINBURGH DISCO LOVERS SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Disco.

Tue 25 Nov

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

Fri 28 Nov

TAIS TOI SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Thu 03 Nov

CHURCH X NORTHERN JUNGLE PRESENTS: DJ MARKY & MC GQ LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Jungle.

Fri 04 Nov NON STOP STYLES LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop. RMN BITS THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 House.

Listings

November 2022

NÜK

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Drum ‘n’ bass.

Sat 05 Nov

TIME WARP!

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Old school pop.

SAMEDIA SHEBEEN

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Latin and Arabic.

FUSION THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Tech and house.

Thu 10 Nov

VIVA INTERNATIONAL

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Party and pop.

Fri 11 Nov

SANDSTORM

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 90s pop.

DILF

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Pop and disco.

Sat 12 Nov

CENTRAL

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00 Dance.

K POP PARTY

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 K-pop.

CLUB NACHT THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno and disco.

LIQUID FUNKTION THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Drum ‘n’ bass.

Sun 13 Nov

MOGWAI DJ SET WITH STUART BRAITHWAITE THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Tue 15 Nov

DUBBED

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Dub.

Thu 17 Nov

GOOD 4 U

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop and disco.

Fri 18 Nov

THAT 70S CLUB

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 70s pop and disco.

OVERGROUND THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Rave and techno.

Sat 19 Nov

DECADE

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop punk.

METROPOLIS

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Breaks and garage.

PARA BELLUM

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Thu 24 Nov

THE MILEY HIGH CLUB, THE MILEY CYRUS CLUB NIGHT

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop.

Fri 25 Nov

CALL ME MAYBE

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 2010s pop.

INTOXICATED THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Drum ‘n’ bass.

Sat 26 Nov

WEE DUB CLUB: MUNGO’S HI FI + SOLO BANTON LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Dub.

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

BOUND IN SOUND THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Electro, house and techno.

Mon 28 Nov

ORIGIN PRESENTS (SERUM FT MC INJA)

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Techno and house.

Glasgow Comedy

Oran Mor

FLO & JOAN 9 NOV, 7:00PM 9:00PM

Award-winning musicial comedy duo.

DARREN CONNELL: THANK YOU FOR BEING MY FRIEND 26 NOV, 7:00PM 9:00PM

Beloved comedian’s first ever on-the-road tour.

PADDY MCDONNELL: ON THE TOOLS 2: TOOL HARDER 27 NOV, 7:00PM 9:00PM

Local comedy from Han nahstown regular.

The Stand Glasgow

SHANE TODD 26 NOV, 4:30PM

Northern Ireland’s most exciting and beloved come dian, Shane Todd returns for an hour of hilarious stand-up comedy.

DARREN CONNELL AND THE FUNNY BUNCH 27 NOV, 8:00PM 10:00PM

Come and join Darren and some of his favourite acts for a great show of standup comedy.

WORD UP 10 NOV, 8:30PM 10:00PM

A fast-moving spoken word cabaret. Featuring the best poets, comedians and musicians from across the UK.

MARCEL LUCONT: LE “BEST OF” 2 NOV, 8:30PM

Britain’s favourite French comedian presents his greatest oeuvres from the past decade

SIMON DAY AND FRIENDS 6 NOV, 8:30PM

BBC's The Fast Show, The Simon Day Show, Brian Pern and King Gary, Simon Day performs some of his much loved Fast Show characters

GLENN MOORE: WILL YOU STILL NEED ME, WILL YOU STILL FEED ME, GLENN I'M SIXTY MOORE

12 NOV, 8:30PM

Expect a high-energy barrage of the most jokes you’ve ever heard humanly fit into one stand-up show.

SEANN WALSH: BACK FROM THE BED 17 NOV, 8:30PM

Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Show nominee Seann Walsh is back from the bed and onto the stage with an electric new show.

ROB AUTON THE CROWD SHOW 20 NOV, 8:30PMA

comedy/theatre/spoken word show about crowds by award-winning writer, actor and podcaster Rob Auton.

HAYLEY ELLIS: THE INVISIBLE MAM 19 NOV, 4:30PM

Becoming a mum and then going into lockdown is not how Hayley imagined maternity leave.

TOP FLIGHT TIME MACHINE: UNDERPREPARED & OVERCONFIDENT 9 NOV, 8:30PM 10:00PM

Taking their wildly success ful podcast on the road again, Sam Delaney and Andy Dawson are pretty much making it up as they go along.

THE GLEE CLUB

FRANKIE BOYLE: WORK IN PROGRESS 1-9 NOV, 4:30PMA work in progress hour from the fantastic Frankie Boyle.

Edinburgh Comedy

Monkey Barrel Comedy

ROAST BATTLE

14 NOV, 8:00PM 9:30PM

The show that turns smack talk into an art form.

IAN SMITH: WORK IN PROGRESS 19 NOV, 8:00PM 9:00PM

Multi award-winning comedian Ian Smith returns to the Monkey Barrel with a work-in-progress of a brand new show.

SALLY ANNE HAUWARD: EVER SO NICE 22 NOV, 8:00PM 10:10PM

Tour support for Sarah Mil lican, Sally-Anne Hayward brings us her hilarious new show Ever So Nice.

PADDY MCDONNELL: ON THE TOOLS 2 TOOL HARDER 26 NOV, 8:00PM 9:00PM

Fresh from multiple soldout shows across the UK and Ireland, Paddy McDon nell returns with the second instalment of his hit show.

The Edinburgh Playhouse

MICKY FLANAGAN: WARM UP 25-26 NOV, 7:30PM 10:30PM

A warm-up work-in-prog ress from beloved British comedian.

The Queen’s Hall

TOM ALLEN 15 NOV, 8:00PM 10:00PM

Comedian from England.

The Stand Edinburgh

SHANE TODD 27 NOV, 8:30PM

Northern Ireland’s most exciting and beloved come dian, Shane Todd returns for an hour of hilarious stand-up comedy.

STU & GARRY’S IMPROV SHOW 1 NOV, 8:30PM 10:00PM

The Stand’s very own Stu & Garry’s long-running improv show: taking audience suggestions and making comedy gold.

RISE UP: AN EVENING OF RADICAL MUSIC, SPOKEN WORD AND LIVE COMEDY 2 NOV, 7:30PM 9:30PM

A night that brings together all forms of performance with a fantastic lineup of comedy, music and spken word.

CABARET OF DANGEROUS IDEAS 23 NOV, 8:00PM 10:00PM

Now in its eleventh year, CODI is ninety minutes of rapid-fire research from some of the finest minds in the country.

WORD UP 13 NOV, 8:30PM 10:00PM

A fast-moving spoken word cabaret. Featuring the best poets, comedians and musicians from across the UK.

MARCEL LUCONT: LE “BEST OF” 3 NOV, 8:30PM

Britain’s favourite French comedian presents his greatest oeuvres from the past decade

SIMON DAY AND FRIENDS 5 NOV, 4:30PM

BBC's The Fast Show, The Simon Day Show, Brian Pern and King Gary, Simon Day performs some of his much loved Fast Show characters

BENEFIT IN AID OF CLASSROOMS FOR MALAWI 8 NOV, 8:30PM 10:00PM

Join us for a belly full of laughs while raising money to alleviate poverty through education.

GLENN MOORE: WILL YOU STILL NEED ME, WILL YOU STILL FEED ME, GLENN I'M SIXTY MOORE 13 NOV, 5:00PM

Expect a high-energy barrage of the most jokes you’ve ever heard humanly fit into one stand-up show.

ATLANTIC BODY AND SOUL FUNDRAISER 15 NOV, 8:00PM 10:00PM

A familiar face on British television for 30 years (Downton Abbey and Trig ger Point). Cal MacAninch is taking up the challenge to row the Atlantic.

SEANN WALSH: BACK FROM THE BED 16 NOV, 8:00PM

Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Show nominee Seann Walsh is back from the bed and onto the stage with an electric new show.

ROB AUTON THE CROWD SHOW 19 NOV, 4:30PM

A comedy/theatre/spoken word show about crowds by award-winning writer, actor and podcaster Rob Auton.

HAYLEY ELLIS: THE INVISIBLE MAM 20 NOV, 8:30PM

Becoming a mum and then going into lockdown is not how Hayley imagined maternity leave.

CLINTON BAPTISTE VS RAMONE 29 NOV, 8:00PM 10:00PM

Buckle up for a battle of charisma, verbal one up-manship and hair raising paranormal wizardry as the two megastars meet to finally decide who holds the title as Britain's Greatest Paranormalist.

Glasgow Theatre

CCA:

Centre for Contemporary Art

CIGGIE STORIES: TWENTY TALES OF LOVE & SORROW 3-4 NOV, 7:30PM 10:30PM

A fragmentary look at intimacy and trauma told through the humble cigarette.

THE FLAMES | DON’T STOP ME NOW 5-5 NOV, TIMES VARY A radical performance challenging the narratives around ageing.

Oran Mor

A PLAY, A PIE & A PINT: JINNISTAN 1-5 NOV, 1:00PM 2:00PM

A supernatural take on belonging and liminal identity.

A PLAY, A PIE & A PINT: THE PROGNOSTICATIONS OF MIKEY NOYCE 7-12 NOV, 1:00PM 2:00PM

After predicting Covid, Mikey’s prophetic visions start to get taken seriously.

A PLAY, A PIE & A PINT: BABS 14-19 NOV, 1:00PM 2:00PM

Drawing on Slavic folktales, BABS is a story of friend ship, self-discovery and a hag-turned-hostess

A PLAY, A PIE & A PINT: KIKI 21-26 NOV, 1:00PM 2:00PM

Kiki employs the infectious sounds of chanson, jazz and French music hall to tell the poignant and often funny tale of a woman who made her own way in a man's world and rose to be Queen of the Demimonde.

ORAN MOR CHRISTMAS PANTO: RAB HOOD & THE SHERIFF OF SHETTLESTON 29 NOV-31 DEC, TIMES VARY

A chaotic, pantomime ver sion of Robin Hood arrives in town.

The Glee Club

JOE BLACK: CLUB CATACLYSM 14 NOV, 7:30PM 10:00PM

Join RuPauls Drag Race UK's dark cabaret reprobate Joe Black for an evening of devilish dirge, vaudevillian villainy and musical mayhem.

The King’s Theatre

SISTER ACT 14-19 NOV, 7:30PM 10:30PM

Disco diva goes undercover in this live musical version of Whoopi Goldberg’s starmaking turn.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 26 NOV-31 DEC, TIMES

VARY

Be a guest at this lavish pantomime.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE* (*SORT OF) 7-12 NOV, TIME VARY

An irreverent, spiky take on the enemies-to-lovers Austen classic.

SPIKE 1-5 NOV, 7:30PM 10:30PM

New comedy play penned by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman.

Theatre Royal

THE BOOK OF MORMON

9-26 NOV, 7:30PM 10:30PM

A hit, outrageous musical comedy from the makers of South Park.

SCOTTISH OPERA: AINADAMAR 1-5 NOV, TIMES VARY

A lavish opera reimagining the life of and works of Federico Garcia Lorca.

Tramway

PAWEL SAKOWICZ: THE RUMBLE PERFORMANCE 5 NOV, 2:00PM 3:00PM

A movement-based performance in response to Tramway’s Iza Tarasewicz exhibition.

BARROWLAND BALLET PRESENTS 5-6 NOV, TIMES VARY

A live and filmed pro gramme of contemporary dance exploring ideas of movement, ecology, and belonging.

WHITE AND GIVAN: WORN 11 NOV, 7:30PM 10:30PM

An emotive dance produc tion inspired by kintsugi practices, exploring how the body is affected by time and space.

PROJECT X DANCE: ARTIST VOICE 2022 19 NOV, 7:00PM 10:30PM

A series of scratch performances platforming dance within the African and Caribbean diaspora in Scotland.

Tron Theatre

THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ 23 NOV-8 JAN 23, TIMES VARY A witty, modern take on the transformatory classic.

Edinburgh Theatre

Festival Theatre

SCOTTISH OPERA: AINADAMAR 8-12 NOV, TIMES VARY

A lavish opera reimagining the life of and works of Federico Garcia Lorca.

EDINBURGH GANG SHOW 2022 1-5 NOV, 7:00PM 10:30PM

Show-stopping musical and choreography numbers from young people in South East Scotland Scouts and Girlguiding Edinburgh.

SCOTTISH BALLET’S

THE SNOW QUEEN 19 NOV-10 DEC, 7:30PM 10:30PM

A lavish production of the winter classic with music from Rimsky-Korsakov.

Royal Lyceum Theatre

AN EDINBURGH

CHRISTMAS CAROL 24 NOV-31 DEC, TIMES VARY

Discovering the Scottish roots of this festive classic.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE* (*SORT OF) 1-5 NOV, TIMES VARY

An irreverent, spiky take on the enemies-to-lovers Austen classic.

The Edinburgh Playhouse

SATURDAY NIGHT

FEVER

1-5 NOV, 7:30PM 10:30PM

The days of disco return with this Bee Gees classic.

THE COMMITMENTS 28 NOV-3 DEC, 7:30PM 10:30PM

Musical packed full of soul classics.

The Studio

INNOVATIONS

CONTEMPORARY DANCE PLATFORM AUTUMN EDITION 11-12 NOV, 7:30PM 10:30PM

Bringing together Scottish dance companies for a dynamic contemporary programme.

Traverse Theatre

SISTER RADIO 10-12 NOV, 8:00PM 10:30PM Two sisters from Iran confront their past in the confines of their Edinburgh flat.

THE TIME MACHINE:

A RADICAL FEMINIST RETELLING 3-5 NOV, TIMES VARY

In a secret bunker, a group of feminists confront the doom of their future.

A PLAY, A PIE & A PINT: ALFÖD 1-5 NOV, 1:00PM 2:00PM

A dark comedy exploring the roots of misogyny and racism through the story of an interracial couple who encounter a mysterious stranger.

A PLAY, A PIE & A PINT: JINNISTAN 8-12 NOV, 1:00PM 2:00PM

A supernatural take on belonging and liminal identity.

THE COVID REQUIEM 10-11 NOV, 7:00PM 10:30PM

An emotional work by Jo Clifford and Lesley Orr in which the words of the Re quiem Mass reflect on the tragedy of the past year.

REDCOAT 17-19 NOV, 8:00PM 10:30PM

A life-affirming show about being happy (and a little bit about being sad).

CELL OUTS 24-26 NOV, 8:00PM 10:30PM

A dark comedy written and performed by two ex-prison officers.

Dundee Theatre

Dundee Rep

CINDERELLA

26 NOV-31 DEC, TIMES

VARY

A festive musical retelling of the classic fairytale.

RITUALIA & THE CIRCLE

3-5 NOV, 7:30PM 10:30PM

A double bill showcas ing the possibilities of contemporary dance, from a visually entrancing reimaging of Stravinsky to a physically remarkable jazz interpretation.

Glasgow Art

CCA: Centre for Contemporary Art

MAJD ABDEL HAMID: MUSCLE MEMORY

1-5 NOV, TIMES VARY

A new body of work drawing on the history of embroi dery in Palestine, created in the aftermath of the devastating 2020 explosion in Beirut.

Glasgow Print Studio

KEN CURRIE: CHUNNACAS NA MAIRBH BEÒ (THE DEAD HAVE BEEN SEEN ALIVE)

1-26 NOV, 11:00AM 5:00PM

A new body of monotype figures, drawing on ideas of historic haunting and the Clearances.

Glasgow Women’s

Library

GATHERING STITCH

1 NOV-4 FEB 23, TIMES

VARY

A collaborative textile piece created by survivors of sexual violence, placed in conversation with textile work from the library archive.

VANESSA BAIRD: NEW WORKS

17 NOV-28 JAN 23, TIMES VARY

A new series of quotidian paintings by one of Nor way’s leading contemporary artists.

GoMA TASTE!

1 NOV-31 DEC, 11:00AM 4:00PM

Featuring work by Andy Warhol, Sarah Forrest and David Shrigley, this exhibi tion looks at how taste is created and art archives are curated.

DOMESTIC BLISS

1 NOV-31 DEC, 11:00AM 4:00PM

Exchange and civic space. Building on the gallery’s space as a former house and civic space, Domestic Bliss examines how artists develop practice alongside social and political change, and the ways in which public and domestic labour intersect with art.

CLARA URSITTI: AMIK

1 NOV-29 JAN 23 11:00AM 4:00PM

Sculpture, film and scent installation consider ideas of trade and histories of human, animal and botanic migration.

The Briggait

SOPHIA PAULEY: FLOW MATTERS

7-25 NOV, TIMES VARY

Painting, drawing and sculpture reflecting the parallels and contradictions in the concept of “flow”.

Tramway

NORMAN GILBERT

1 NOV-5 FEB 23, TIMES VARY

A major exhibition of vibrant paintings by seminal Glasgow Southside artist.

IZA TARASEWICZ

1 NOV-29 JAN 23, TIMES VARY

Working from her farm in Poland, material

Iza Tarasewicz co-opts rural systems of production to craft installations that entangle cellular, social, agricultural, and celestial interactions.

iota @ Unlimited Studios

KELVIN GUY: NOTHING YET 12-26 NOV, 12:00PM 5:00PM

An exploration of the limits of representation and figuration.

Edinburgh Art &Gallery

MICHAEL CRAIK: EBB AND FLOW

5-30 NOV, TIMES VARY

Exploring the interplay of colour and repetition as a method of producing quiet, contemplative work concerned with colour, ma terial quality and process.

Arusha Gallery

JOHN ABELL: THE FORETOLD SUN 1-6 NOV, TIMES VARY Hybrid forms that use folklore and parable to tell eerie, contemporary stories.

NINA ROYLE: DOWN YOUR TRESSES 11 NOV-4 DEC, TIMES

VARY Vivid paintings exploring ideas of iconography and modern deities.

City Art Centre

GLEAN: EARLY 20TH CENTURY WOMEN FILMMAKERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS IN SCOTLAND 12 NOV-12 MAR 23, TIMES VARY

Presenting work by 14 pio neering early 20th-century photographers and film makers and their relation ship with the environments of Scotland.

RON O’DONNELL: EDINBURGH: A LOST WORLD 19 NOV-5 MAR 23 TIMES VARY

Previously unseen photo graphs from the 60s and 70s by Ron O’Donnell paint an intimate, urban portrait of Edinburgh.

PAUL DUKE: NO RUINED STONE 26 NOV-19 FEB 23, TIMES VARY

A photographic series exploring the built environ ment and its residents at a time of significant urban regeneration and social flux.

Collective Gallery

STEPHANIE BLACK DANIELS: POSITION & ATTACHMENT

1-20 NOV, 10:00AM 5:00PM

A series of performancebased works drawing on the artist’s experience of breastfeeding in public, and exploring ways of navigating motherhood in man-made spaces.

KATIE SCHWAB: THE SEEING HANDS

1 NOV-5 MAR 23, 10:00AM 5:00PM

An interactive exhibition considering ways of explor ing and expressing tactility.

Dovecot

Studios

KNITWEAR: CHANEL TO WESTWOOD

1 NOV-11 MAR 23, 10:00AM 5:00PM

Bringing together some of the most influential knitwear pieces of the 20th century in a groundbreak ing and cosy exhibition.

COLLABORATE! 21ST CENTURY COMMISSIONS AND CREATIONS PART I 1 NOV-31 DEC, 10:00AM 5:00PM

Showcasing the creative process behind some of Dovecot’s most dynamic rug and textile collabora tions.

Edinburgh Printmakers

HANNAH LIM: ORNAMENTAL MYTHOLOGIES

1-20 NOV, 10:00AM 6:00PM

The first solo Scottish exhibition by British-Singa porean artist Hannah Lim, whose works explore the colonial collisions between East and West.

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop

ALICE DUDGEON + OISÍN GALLAGHER: LINE DRAWINGS

1 NOV-7 JAN 23, 11:00AM 5:00PM

Sculptural wooden forms informed by the surround ings of the gallery and developed from a series of ink drawings.

Fruitmarket

HAYLEY TOMPKINS: FAR 1 NOV-29 JAN 23 10:00AM 7:00PM

A vivid exhibition of new and existing work exploring the sensuous materiality of paint and colour.

MARK COUSINS: LIKE A HUGE SCOTLAND 5-27 NOV, 10:00AM 7:00PM

An immersive film installa tion by acclaimed director Mark Cousins in response to the work of seminal 20th-century Scottish painter Wilhelmina BarnsGraham.

Ingleby Gallery

PETER LIVERSIDGE: AN ECHO

2 NOV-17 DEC, 11:00AM 5:00PM

An uncanny exhibition exploring the theme of the double - its fragmentations and its possibilities.

Open Eye Gallery

PAUL FURNEAUX RSA: RAIN SALUTATION

1-19 NOV, TIMES VARY Japanese woodblock tech niques exploring abstract modes of representation.

ALICE DUDGEON: SELECTED WORKS

1-19 NOV, TIMES VARY

Lightweight, wooden sculptures exploring the intersection between nature and labour.

ALEXANDRA RODDAN: SHOWCASE

1-19 NOV, TIMES VARY

Paintings that act as a window into the modern flaneur, as urban experi ences of the city.

Out of the Blue Drill Hall

MARIA STOIAN: FORGERIES 3 NOV-1 DEC, 10:00AM 4:00PM

A work-in-progress glimpse of riso artist Maria Stoian’s graphic memoir, and the creative processes behind writing the self.

Royal Scottish Academy RSA

OUTSIDE EDGE 1-13 NOV, TIMES VARY

The culmination of a collaboration between two British and two Chinese artists, featuring drawings, paintings, and ink work.

WILLIAM WILSON 1-13 NOV, TIMES VARY

Marking fifty years since the passing of one of Scot land’s most talented twen tieth century artists, this exhibition pulls together printmaking, watercolour and stained glass.

ADE ADESINA 1-13 NOV, TIMES VARY Intricate, playful etchings that engage with climate crisis, industry, architec ture, deforestation and Scottish culture.

THE CHRISTMAS SHOW 19 NOV-22 DEC, TIMES VARY

Featuring over one hundred works by Royal Scottish Academicians.

Scottish National Gallery

A TASTE FOR IMPRESSIONISM:

MODERN FRENCH

ART FROM MILLET TO MATISSE 1-13 NOV, TIMES VARY

Exploring the fascination Scottish collectors had for Impressionist art, this exhibition features the likes of Degas, Van Gogh and Gaugin.

IN THE FRAME: CONSERVING SCOTLAND’S ART 19 NOV-16 APR 23, TIMES VARY

An exhibition showcasing the ambitious conservation work taking place at the National Galleries.

Summerhall

ANUP VEGA: AÑJANAM/LIGHT WATCHING

1 NOV-23 DEC, 12:00PM

5:30PM

Paintings exploring cosmic ideas of emptiness and illusion.

WONDERLUST

1 NOV-28 FEB 23, 12:00PM 5:30PM

Blown-up, nostalgia-tinged polaroids are given an eerie, haunted feel in this photographic series.

Talbot Rice Gallery

QIU ZHIJIE

1 NOV-18 FEB 23, TIMES VARY

Large-scale paintings and topographies exploring developing geopolitical landscapes.

NIRA PEREG

1 NOV-18 FEB 23, TIMES VARY

Video installations that explore ideas of ceremony, ritual, and contested po litical spaces across Israel and Palestine.

LARA FAVARETTO

1 NOV-18 FEB 23, TIMES VARY

Large-scale sculptures and installations that investigate the space between destruction and reconstruction, collapse and recovery.

The Scottish Gallery

LACHLAN GOUDIE: PAINTING PARADISE 3-26 NOV, TIMES VARY

Landscape and still life paintings that explore the intersection between rural and urban environments.

THE NORTHERN ISLES 3-26 NOV, TIMES VARY

Bringing together various Scottish landscapists.

WILLIAM PLUMPETRE: CORDAGE 3-26 NOV, TIMES VARY

An exhibition of ceramics crafted through traditional throwing and inlaid objects.

SUN, SEA & STARS 3-26 NOV, TIMES VARY

Carefully choreographed jewellery exploring ideas of timelessness.

Torrance Gallery

CLARE ARBUTHNOTT: SOLO SHOW

1-12 NOV, 11:00AM 5:30PM

Scotland-based artist ex plores ideas of landscape and representation.

Dundee

Art

DCA: Dundee

Contemporary Arts

MANUEL SOLANO

1-20 NOV, TIMES VARY

Mixed-media work responding to ideas of identity, created through tactile mapping techniques after the artist’s loss of eyesight due to a HIVrelated illness.

Generator Projects

GEORGE FINLAY RAMSAY: FAMILY FUGUE 3-6 NOV, 12:00PM 5:00PM

A folkloric moving image piece exploring relation ships between ancestors and descendants.

The McManus HIDDEN HISTORIES: EXPLORING EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN DUNDEE’S ART COLLECTION

1 NOV-30 DEC 23, 10:00AM 5:00PM

Exploring the McManus 20th-century collection through different posi tionalities, to examine the responsibility of the museum as institution in responding to history.

CASTS AND COPIES

1 NOV-30 SEP 23

10:00AM 5:00PM

Examining the artistic and historic significance of copies, fakes, and forgeries.

V&A Dundee

SINCERELY, VALENTINES: FROM POSTCARDS TO GREETINGS CARDS

3 NOV-8 JAN 23

10:00AM 5:00PM

Exhibiting an archive by J. Valentine & Sons, Scotland’s pioneering com mercial photographers who popularised the holiday postcard on a global scale.

PLASTIC: REMAKING OUR WORLD

3 NOV-5 FEB 23

10:00AM 5:00PM

A dynamic exhibition thinking through the ma teriality and technological capacities and difficulties of plastic.

artist

The Skinny On... Garth Marenghi

As his new book TerrorTome hits shelves, the author, dreamweaver and visionary (plus actor) Garth Marenghi fills out our Q&A

Garth Marenghi is the finest horror writer of his generation, massively underappreciated in his own time. Well, underappreciate him no longer! The writer, director and star of iconic Channel 4 series Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace is back with a new trio of stories in the form of Garth Marenghi’s TerrorTome. It’s about Nick Steen, a horror writer whose hellish visions come to life and start wreaking havoc on the town of Stalkford after he gets sucked into a haunted typewriter.

But what kind of twisted mind could come up with that? We spoke to Garth (via creator Matthew Holness) to take a dive into the murky waters of his mind. Don’t have nightmares. Or do. It’s your call.

What’s your favourite place to visit and why?

The Arcadia Daemonicum, a fine art gallery dedicated to visual renderings of my own work in the realms of the fantastique. All of which are painted, sculpted or rendered in forms as yet unknown to civilisation by yours truly. Admission is prohibitively expensive, so I tend to go alone. Which I prefer. They do a meat-only buffet.

What is your favourite colour?

Shrane – a colour I have glimpsed only in dream.

Who was your hero growing up?

Flynn the Holy, a 17th century goblin slayer from Dublin Town. He was the first real hero I ever wrote and he mainly dispatched goblins via rudimentary G-clamp, compressing them into smaller form, then stamping on them. I’ve always idolised my own heroes. After all, I’m their first reader. Incidentally, you can obtain the complete Chronicles of Flynn the Holy plus other assorted juvenilia via private e-book sale. Yes, it’s extortionate. Yes, it’s essential.

Whose work inspires you now?

Again, largely my own. Awe at my recent work inevitably informs and inspires my next. Today’s Nick Steen is tomorrow’s Vaughan, Soul Sucker of Nantucket.

Which three people would you invite to a dinner party, and what are you cooking?

I’d only ever invite two people, mainly because they tend to interrupt me, but also because most supermarket four-to-six-person ‘roasts’ constitute the bi est false advertising scandal in modern retail. Roastwise, generally Turducken, if it’s in

season; otherwise I’ll ask my personal slaughterer to advise.

What’s your all-time favourite album? Ride a Rock Horse by Roger Daltrey.

What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen?

Todd Browning’s London After Midnight starring Lon Chaney, a copy of which I found at a car boot sale last year and burnt the same day. The vampire wasn’t real

What book would you take to a desert island?

The Oeuvre, by Garth Marenghi. Which is all of them, minus TerrorTome. But if the trip’s not for a while, I’ll wait until Oeuvre 2 comes out.

When did you last cry?

At seven months, three weeks and two days. I no longer liked rusks.

What are you most scared of?

My tax bill (heh heh heh). Seriously, though? My tax bill.

When did you last vomit and why?

This morning. I think it’s Noro. Did you anti-bac, because I didn’t have time.

Which celebrity do you think you could you take in a fight?

I could easily take Richard Osman, despite – in fact because of – his height. And he’d no doubt thank me afterward. He’s dying to branch

into horror.

If you could be reincarnated as an animal, which animal would it be?

A salamander.

Tell us a secret? No.

Garth Marenghi’s TerrorTome is out on 3 Nov via Hachette

Image: courtesy Garth Marenghi