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Meet the team
Championing creativity in Scotland
We asked: What's the most memorable piece of audience interaction you've witnessed?
Editorial
Rosamund West
Editor-in-Chief
"One more tune – the last few gigs I've been to there's been no 'one more tune' and it's really worrying me. We could be losing a cornerstone of our culture."
Cammy Gallagher Clubs Editor
"Burrito 'n' Shake staff innocently upstaging the Free Fringe comics of 2023, transferring ingredients across the floor, whilst nonchalantly operating power tools backstage."
Harvey Dimond Art Editor Redacted
Peter Simpson Deputy Editor, Food & Drink Editor
"Musician plays very abrasive support slot; starts remonstrating with audience member; gets so distracted they walk right off the edge of the stage."
Polly Glynn Comedy Editor
"Watching someone come out to their mates (who were very sweet and accepting) at 2.30am during Julia Masli’s ha ha ha ha ha ha ha show last Fringe."
Ellie Robertson Digital Editorial Assistant
"Countless Glasgow-specific Rocky Horror Picture Show calland-response moments that are not suitable for print"
George Sully Sales and Brand Strategist
"The DJ hired for a friend's big family party not only sang several karaoke songs themselves, but did so while several guests were waiting ages to have a go."
Sandy Park Commercial Director
"Witnessing the mass (well, four to five people) brawl that broke out when Oasis played the SECC in 2008. Roll on Wembley next year."
Anahit Behrooz Events Editor, Books Editor
"Every time someone in the audience shushes someone else who is talking during a film. Simply could not be me but you are doing God’s work."
Eilidh Akilade Intersections Editor
"I'm a traditional girl – I love playing witness to ‘not so much a question, but a comment.’"
Laurie Presswood General Manager
"Once saw a video of myself be ing an unknown audience member for a high five whilst performing Creep on karaoke. Not strictly speaking 'memorable' as I was blackout drunk at the time."
Ema Smekalova Media Sales Executive
"Some might not even call it an interaction, but that time me and Dan Howell made awkward eye contact several times during the Reuben Kaye show."
Jamie Dunn Film Editor, Online Journalist
"The elderly couple behind me at a screening of Antichrist in Cineworld who had a very loud and animated (but quite sweet) conversation about Willem Dafoe's penis during the film's climax."
Rho Chung Theatre Editor
"A guy in the audience of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 leaned into Lucas Steele's mic and said (unprompted), ‘Lemons are better than oranges.’"
Production
Dalila D'Amico Art Director, Production Manager
"At an acoustic gig, someone tried to start a sing-along during a quiet, emotional song. No one joined in, and the awkward silence after was brutal."
Emilie Roberts Media Sales Executive
"Gotta be any time an American singer comes to Ireland, calls us the UK, and the whole audience boos. It's a time honoured tradition."
Tallah Brash Music Editor
"Watching a continous stream of audience members appearing onstage to launch themselves into the crowd for the entirety of Osees' set at the Apolo, Barcelona for Primavera 2015."
Phoebe Willison Designer
"At T in the Park in 2010 Jay-Z pointed at me (I was on my friend's shoulders) and said 'I see you' and I promise it was 100% at me and definitely not one of the other 50,000 people there."
Gabrielle Loue
Media Sales Executive
"The collective gasp in the theatre when Jacob took his shirt off in Twilight: New Moon."
Editorial
Words: Rosamund West
Autumn is very forcefully here, bringing with it a wide array of increasingly specialist film festivals. To set the scene on the Scottish film landscape, our Film editor Jamie talks to some of the people working tirelessly behind the scenes to make these festivals happen, ensuring Scotland’s film fans are well served in spite of the precarious funding context in which they are operating.
We take a deep dive into the programmes on offer in the coming months – first up, we meet the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF) director Indigo Korres ahead of the ninth edition of this celebration of LGBTQ+ cinema. As Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival opens with a programme of late-Soviet-era animation, Czech filmmaker Michaela Pavlátová explains how animation was able to flourish as an expressive medium in an otherwise tightly censored environment.
Looking forward to more festivals whose programme’s we’re excited to explore – Spanish Film Festival platforms cinema from Spain that wouldn’t otherwise have cinema presentation in Scotland. Self-described as the home of ‘outcasts, orphans and outliers’, Weird Weekend are popping up in OFFLINE Glasgow. Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival returns with programming across the country, including screenings of Silent Men, the debut by Skinny favourite, documentarian Duncan Cowles. London’s Queer East is hitting the road and bringing its annual showcase of boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema to Edinburgh’s Cameo. Staying in Film but beyond the festivals, we talk to the duo behind Studio Ghibli deep dive podcast Ghibliotheque as they release their book Ghibliverse: Studio Ghibli Beyond the Films Music has an unexpected focus on classical string instruments this month. Segueing from the film special, we talk to Oliver Coates about his work scoring films and also the cello. We meet Lawrence Power ahead of his appearance at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Borealis shows, as he discusses how he believes the viola has now moved beyond its role as the butt of other orchestra-members’ jokes.
Groundbreaking Glasgow producer TAAHLIAH is gearing up to release her debut album Gramarye – she tells us about
finding her voice and moving beyond genre. We talk to Kelly Lee Owens about colour and her fourth studio album Dreamstate, and look forward to some of the upcoming events near and far that prove that music festivals aren’t just for the summer.
Intersections does Halloween, exploring its history as a space for expression for marginalised communities. We meet Glasgow Apple Pressing, a collective who put on free events across the city, aiming to provide a public service and connect urban dwellers with the pockets of nature that surround them. Developing the theme of connection, we talk to some people of colour-led organisations about how their projects finding joy in nature nurture community and political resistance. On the centre spread you’ll find this month’s poster by Angus Vasili. Inspired by urban decay, particularly that on billboards, you’ll find him showing and selling his work at Glasgow Print Fair, which returns to the city in early November.
Books looks forward to the return of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, this year framed around the theme of Building Bridges. Art explores Listen Gallery, the Glasgow space which supports and platforms sound art. Holly Davey’s upcoming exhibition at Fruitmarket, The Unforgetting, foregrounds the voices of the women artists who’ve exhibited in the gallery in its 50-years history.
Comedy talks to prop comic Spencer Jones, sad to report that my su ested headline Through the Torquay Hole or maybe just Through Torquay Hole (he mentions, briefly, driving from Torquay to Glasgow) was collectively overruled by literally everyone else on the team. Clubs meets the Scotland-born Copenhagen-based artist Fergus Jones (fka Perko) to learn about the truly international development process for his latest release Ephemera. The magazine closes with The Skinny on… Tricia Reid of Sophisticated Boom Boom, one of the subjects of new documentary Since Yesterday which spotlights the stories of Scotland’s girl bands through history. She says she could take Russell Brand in a fight anytime, anywhere, and I truly believe her.
Cover Artist
Darren Shaddick is a visual artist based in the sticks of North Devon, UK. He works in a variety of disciplines which include illustration, graphic design and animation. His distinctive style of illustrated characters, objects and creatures exist within a playful and whimsical universe of their own. Shaddick has worked with a multitude of clients, including Ralph Lauren, Kiehl's, Vans, Lysol, New York Times, Bloomberg and many more.
darrenshaddick.co.uk @darren.shaddick
Love Bites: Car Boot Collections
This month’s columnist reflects on a keen vintage eye passed down from father to child
Words: Rachel Ashenden
As a kid, my dad had car boot sales down to a military operation. He’d wake me up at the crack of dawn, I’d pull on some sweats and we’d race round to a local field. We’d be refused a parking spot because the sellers weren’t ready. Lurking in the bushes until given the all-clear by someone in a hi-vis vest, he’d ask me what I was hoping to find –tamagotchis, a Gameboy, and Croc charms. He was simply drawn to objects made before he was born. It was always a game to see how far a tenner could take us. He would encourage me to ha le, but I didn’t have it in me (I still don’t). Our car journey home would be filled with dusty ceramics, vintage toy cars, and often an unwanted gift for my mum.
His love for old stuff has rubbed off on me tenfold. My obsession for vintage clothes is on the precipice of irrationality. But here’s how I justify it: in a hyper-capitalist society, where clothes are made in unethical circumstances and influencers mass-order in the name of content, vintage clothes are infinitely richer in history. Each garment is an invitation to spin a tale about the lineage of beholders. What does the style reveal about their personality or circumstances? Where did they wear this and who did they love? With most high-street fashion, there is only one narrative – and it’s one of exploitation.
My dad walked me down the aisle this year, two decades on from those fabled car boot sales together. I wore a 1950s fishtail dress made from satin and tulle. Always one to wear his heart on his sleeve, he burst into tears when he saw me in it, and barely stopped for breath throughout the whole ceremony. I imagine whoever wore the dress before me was an absolute diva, maybe divorced and remarried because they wanted another chance to wear it. When I’m old, I hope its next owner enjoys revelling in the mystery that this vintage ecosystem offers.
Heads Up
After Party Tron Theatre, Glasgow, 4-5 Oct, 7:45pm
There are many different kinds of parties – the good ones (house, birthday) and the bad (political). Taking place in the various aftershocks of New Labour, this partly autobiographical piece begins with the election party of 1997 and imagines possible parties from the past, present and future, scored by a live DJ. There are all kinds of morning afters, it tells us, and all kinds of comedowns.
Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival
Various venues, Glasgow + Edinburgh, 1-5 + 19 Oct
The third edition of Samizdat, Scotland’s film festival dedicated to cinema from Eastern and Central Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, is filled with little-seen classic gems and new releases. It takes place primarily in Glasgow, with screenings such as the groundbreaking 1934 film Uzhmuri, along with a pop-up day in Summerhall screening Soviet animations and horror.
John Akomfrah: Mimesis: African Soldier
GoMA, Glasgow, 26 Oct-31 Aug 2025
One of the UK’s most significant contemporary artists, John Akomfrah’s work looks at ongoing legacies of colonial and material oppression through the use of moving image and archival footage. This latest acquisition unfolds across three screens, highlighting the experiences of soldiers from across the Commonwealth in World War I, and the strange tension inherent in fighting and dying for a country that refuses to recognise you.
It’s a film festival special so we have all kinds of indie film festivals making their way across the country, as well as gigs, exhibitions, theatre and club nights for when you need to rest your eyes.
Holly Davey: The Unforgetting Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, 19 Oct-17 Nov
Compiled by Anahit Behrooz
Sneaky Pete’s x Fruitmarket Installations
Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, 11-12 Oct, 8pm
Sneaky Pete’s are bringing back their series of dance music installations at Fruitmarket’s iconic warehouse space, with two curated DJ sets and productions spread over two nights. First up is legendary DJ and producer Daniel Avery on the Friday, followed by dancehall, baile funk and garage peddler Arthi headlining the Saturday, with support from Bakey, Fiyahdred and Comrade Massie.
Flawd Foik
Sett Studios, Edinburgh, 5 Oct, 2pm
A one-day multi-venue festival of visual art, performance and live music, Sett Studios’ Flawd Foik centres around a folkloric costumed procession through Leith, starting at Settlement Projects and ending at Sett Studios for the artist-run gallery’s annual group exhibition opening. Stick around for an after-party at Leith Depot featuring sets from some of the best local DJs around – costumes through the day are highly encouraged.
Becky Sikasa
Beat Generator Live!, Dundee, 10 Oct, 7:30pm
One of the leading emerging voices in a new wave of UK neo-soul, Becky Sikasa’s complex, heartfelt songwriting is brought to life by a beautifully husky voice, melding the deep emotional soul of Solange with an explorative, pop-like sensibility. She’s heading on her first ever Scottish tour this autumn, with stops across the country including Dundee’s Beat Generator.
EHFM: Potpourri vs Ratarsed Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, 5 Oct, 11pm
Bess Atwell St Luke’s, Glasgow, 8 Oct, 7pm
Holly Davey: The Unforgetting Potpourri
Image: courtesy of artist
Photo: Tristam Kenton
Photo: David Pentecost
Qudus Onikeku/ QDance Company: Re:INCARNATION
Bess Atwell
Image: courtesy of Sneaky Petes
Becky Sikasa
Arthi for Sneaky Pete's
After Party
Flawd Foik
Once Upon a Time at Samizdat
John Akomfrah: Mimesis: African Soldier
Image: courtesy of Sneaky Pete's
Photo: Jassy Earl
Photo: Ot Pascoe
Image: courtesy of Samizdat
Image: Smoking Dogs Films, courtesy Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery
Photo: Susan McFadzen
Queer East Festival
Cameo, Edinburgh, 17-21 Oct
Queer East, a film festival dedicated to LGBTQ+ cinema from East and South East Asia, is on tour around the UK, stopping off at Edinburgh for a programme of four features and a shorts programme. Some of our favourites include the 50th anniversary screening of Bye Bye Love, a cult classic of Japanese cinema whose negative prints were rediscovered in 2018, and uncompromising documentary Love Bound
Cosmo Sheldrake Summerhall, Edinburgh, 2 Oct, 7pm
One for the ecocritical, posthumanist girlies: Cosmo Sheldrake’s music draws on found sounds and field recordings made in nature, from the rocks shattering on a mountainside to the buzzing sound of the sun’s nuclear reactions, to craft quirky, haunting folk melodies that interrogate the boundaries between human and nonhuman creativity. He’s currently touring his latest album, the gentle and playful Eye to the Ear
Scottish Queer International Film Festival
Various venues, Glasgow, 8-12 Oct
An incredible celebration of queer cinema and community, the Scottish Queer International Film Festival is back, taking place across Glasgow Film Theatre and the CCA. Highlights from the programme include incredible shorts strands themed around the likes of drag and resistance, futurities, and grief, plus a screening of lyrical lesbian documentary Lesvia, a craft fair, and workshops and panel discussions.
SAY Award Ceremony
The Albert Halls, Stirling, 24 Oct, 7pm
Scottish International Storytelling Festival
Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, 18-31 Oct
Master Peace
King Tut’s, Glasgow, 9 Oct, 7:30pm
It’s impossible to pin Master Peace down in one single genre: there’s a distinct indie vibe, drawing on the charming indie sleaze of British bands that came before, but there’s smatterings of punk rock energy and smooth R‘n’B sounds. What is sure is that he’s one of the most innovative and exciting artists working at the forefront of the UK’s indie scene: catch him touring his debut album this month.
A Streetcar Named Desire
Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 24 Oct-9 Nov, various times
Tennessee Williams’ heady American tragedy arrives in Edinburgh in this blistering, highly acclaimed production from Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Examining the tensions that arise after newly impoverished Southern belle Blanche Dubois moves in with her younger sister Stella and Stella’s brutish husband Stanley, this new production is anchored by powerful performances that dig into the subtleties of Williams’ violent and erotic grammar.
Rinse 30: Yung Singh b2b Moktar + Hu-Sane
Sub Club, Glasgow, 24 Oct, 11pm London-based community radio station Rinse FM are turning 30 and to celebrate they’re hosting a world-class club night, bringing together some of the best local and national acts in the business. Headlining are world-class DJs Yung Singh and Moktar playing garage, techno and hip-hop with a Punjabi and Arabic inflection back-to-back, with local icon Hu-Sane warming up.
Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival
Various venues, Edinburgh, 2-26 Oct
Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival
Various venues, Scotland, 10-27 Oct
Darren McGarvey, To Tell or Not to Tell
Photo: Linda Williamson
Photo: Daniel Blake Image: courtesy of Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival
Dead Pony
Duncan Williamson with son Jimmy and brother James
Image: courtesy of Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival
Calladita
Master Peace
A Streetcar Named Desire
Bye Bye Love for Queer East Festival
Cosmo Sheldrake
Yung Singh
Lesvia for Scottish Queer International Film Festival
Image: courtesy of artist
Photo: Fraser Band
Image: courtesy of Queer East Festival
Photo: Jack Thompson-Roylance
Photo:
What's On
Music
It’s October, which means the 2024 Scottish Album of the Year will be revealed this month. Artists like Barry Can’t Swim, corto.alto and Lucia and the Best Boys are up for this year’s award, with The SAY Award ceremony once again taking place at the Albert Halls in Stirling (24 Oct). Earlier in the month, Glasgow has two big events taking place on 12 October. Annual music festival of discovery Tenement Trail takes over a clutch of venues in the East End (more on p46), while Music Makes Glasgow takes over Drygate. Raising funds for The Sound Lab charity, who provide free music lessons and creative mentoring for children and young people, Terra Kin, Haiver and EYVE are all set to play.
And the rest of the month looks like this for local talent. Back in Stirling, neo-soul artist Becky Sikasa starts a run of tour dates across Scotland at Tolbooth (3 Oct) in support of her latest SAY Award-longlisted album, while the end of the month brings a similar string of shows from Roddy Woomble promoting his latest solo LP, During the Night We Fell Off the Map Catch him in Dumfries, Crieff, Galashiels, Aberdeen, Inverness and Stirling (25-30 Oct).
In-between all that, in Glasgow, Randolph’s Leap frontman Adam Ross plays The Hug & Pint (4 Oct), Cowboy Hunters play Nice N Sleazy (4 Oct), corto.alto plays Saint Luke’s (10 Oct), and Rebecca Vasmant hosts a Rebecca’s Records night at The Rum Shack with Ari Tsugi and Azamiah (11 Oct). On 17 October, Zoe Graham headlines The Poetry Club, before Amy Papiransky follows suit the following night, celebrating her second album Friday’s Daughter Nina Nesbitt continues to bask in the glow of Mountain Music at The Old Fruitmarket (18 Oct), while on the same night Mono hosts the official aftershow party for Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands, with a live performance from one of the trailblazing bands featured in the film – Sophisticated Boom Boom. The band’s guitarist, Tricia Reid, takes on our Q&A on the last page of the magazine.
A few days later, Donegal-born, Glasgow-based visual artist mokusla launches lovely people here, but it’s just not the same at The Rum Shack (22 Oct), while Indoor Foxes celebrates Sadolescence at the Garage Attic (25 Oct), before the month rounds out with a full band headline show from Tina Sandwich at Stereo (27 Oct).
In Edinburgh, Lewis McLaughlin plays Cabaret Voltaire (12 Oct), Theo Bleak plays the first of three Assai in-stores (11 Oct), Emily Scott celebrates Leave No Shadow, her recent debut as Chrysanths, at Summerhall (16 Oct), Elsie MacDonald launches Dressage Lessons at The Waverley (19 Oct), wojtek the bear play their rescheduled show at Summerhall (25 Oct), and in Dundee Man Of Moon play Beat Generator Live! (19 Oct).
Elsewhere some touring highlights across Edinburgh and Glasgow include Getdown Services (Saint Luke’s, 4 Oct; La Belle Angele, 5 Oct), Benefits (The Hug & Pint, 7 Oct), Saloon Dion (Legends, 9 Oct), Pale Waves (SWG3, 13 Oct), Pom Poko (Mono, 14 Oct), Mabe Fratti (Mono, 17 Oct), Astrid Sonne (Summerhall, 18 Oct), Elliphant (King Tut’s, 19 Oct), Darkside (QMU, 20 Oct; La Belle Angele, 21 Oct), Los Bitchos (Summerhall, 23 Oct; QMU, 24 Oct), mui zyu (The Glad Cafe, 24 Oct), Chelsea Wolfe (Saint Luke’s, 27 Oct), and Bolis Pupul (Sneaky Pete's, 30 Oct; Room 2, 31 Oct). [Tallah Brash]
Film
Might there be too many film festivals in October? Perhaps. From pages 23 to 27 of this magazine you’ll find previews of SQIFF, Samizdat, Weird Weekend, Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, Queer East and the film element of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival. But there’s more besides, like the Edinburgh Short Film Festival (25 Oct-10 Nov, Summerhall); touring music
Tina Sandwich
corto.alto
Photo: Hope Simmers
Photo: Sophie Jouvenaar
mui zyu
Photo: Holly Whittaker
documentary festival Doc’n Roll (from 29 Oct, GFT and Cameo); and a dozen titles from the London Film Festival hosted at GFT (9-21 Oct). Film fans, get set to part with a large chunk of October’s payslip! Adrenalin junkies should get set for The Art of Action, a high-octane movie season at GFT. From silent masterpiece Safety Last! (11-12 Oct) to brutal western The Wild Bunch (15 Oct) via Jackie Chan’s Police Story trilogy (27-28 Oct), there’s an action flick for every taste. We’re particularly keen to check out two Mexican curios by B-movie director René Cardona – The Panther Women (5 Oct) and Bat Woman (19 Oct) – which have been programmed by the mighty feminist film collective Invisible Women. To mark 100 years since the Surrealist Manifesto was penned, Dundee Contemporary Arts is taking audiences on a trip with Surrealism on Film. On 4 October there’s a double bill of two Czech classics: Věra Chytilová’s Daisies and Ester Krumbachová’s Murdering the Devil. And then on 11 October, there’s a screening of Germaine Dulac’s subversive 1928 classic The Seashell and the Clergyman along with the brand-new short Foreign Body on 11 October. The season rounds out with films from Federico Fellini (8 ½, 20 Oct) and David Lynch (Eraserhead, 18 Oct), as well as Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound (6 Oct), which features a wild dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí.
Halloween is also approaching, which means tonnes of scary movies at cinemas near you. We recommend Tony Scott’s gorgeous vampire flick The Hunger (GFT, 27 Oct, with an intro from novelist Kirsty Logan), Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s deeply troubling J-Horror masterpiece Pulse (Cameo, 18 Oct) and for all those people who like to have their furry friend around to protect them at the frightening bits, a dog-friendly screening of John Carpenter’s slasher Halloween (27 Oct, Cameo). We’re also intrigued by GFT’s Halloweenadjacent screening of Dark Soul, a supernatural thriller set in Edinburgh that aims to make cinema more accessible for blind and visually impaired people by telling its story through immersive sound only, with no visuals appearing on screen (26 Oct). [Jamie Dunn]
Clubs
Sub Club presents Goldie b2b Special Request (3 Oct) – brace yourself for a breakbeat, hardcore fusion. Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, Jawnino brings effortless bars over grime, jungle, and beats in between for Volens Chorus at Sneaky Pete’s (3 Oct). On Friday 4 October The Flying Duck dancefloor’s doused in dubstep at Erosion: Pinch & Mantra Gabber Elaganza ups the tempo at The Berkeley Suite with brute rave and hardcore cuts at Missing Persons Club (4 Oct). Edinburgh’s EHFM presents Potpourri vs ratarsed (5 Oct) – anticipate a mixed bag of energetic productions. In Glasgow, explore Gqom and Amapiano with Charisse C at EXIT (5 Oct).
Fancy some bagpipes by the time Monday comes around? Drew McDowall brings an electronic, pibroch blend to The Glad Cafe – warm-up from Alliyah Enyo and TRSSX (7 Oct). On Friday 11 October, Sneaky Pete’s Installation returns to the Fruitmarket, staging Daniel Avery. Sylkie World is at Sneaky Pete's , uniting the Parisian and Dublin underground with bassheavy selections from Beatrice M. and EMA (11 Oct). The Supertouch DIY ALL DAYER (12 Oct) seeks to reinstall the risk into techno across two rooms at The Dream Machine – BYOB from 1pm. Later, La Cheetah hosts electronic wizard of The Hague, Legowelt (12 Oct). On Sunday, Machinedrum makes an appearance at Sneaky Pete’s (13 Oct).
Midweek at Sneaky Pete’s, from NYC to Edinburgh, livwutang packs adventurous bass and headsy house picks for membrane (Wed 16 Oct).
Expect electroclash and sci-fi-tinged techno as The Hacker headlines Paisley’s Club 69 on Friday (25 Oct). Tim Reaper and DJ Flight rail out jungle and DnB at The Flying Duck, while Eek-A-Mouse and Horseman play LIVE on Hometown Sound at Slay (25 Oct). On Saturday, there’s Times to Be Realised at The Flying Duck with Debonair, fka boursin, and Ribeka (26 Oct). Round out your month celebrating thirty years of radio with Ben UFO at the Rinse 30th Anniversary, Sneaky Pete’s, (30 Oct). [Cammy Gallagher]
Art
At The Cooper Gallery in Dundee, the fourth iteration of the five-part project The Ignorant Art School: Five Sit-ins towards Creative Emancipation opens (18 Oct-1 Feb). Curated by Sophia Hao, this iteration is inspired by Dundee’s history of powerful working class women’s culture.
Also in Dundee, at Lifespace Science Art Research Gallery, Katherine Fay Allan’s exhibition Gastromancy runs 9 October-17 November. Allan’s film, which features performances from Saoirse Amira Anis, Maria Sappho and Hannah Draper, explores the high rates of gastrointestinal illnesses in Scotland through the lens of local mythologies.
In Edinburgh, exhibitions by Gabrielle Goliath and Guadalupe Maravilla both open on 25 October at Talbot Rice. Johannesburg-based
Image: courtesy of Erosion
Image: courtesy of Club Sylkie
Blitz
Safety Last
Tarik Kiswanson, The Rupture, 2024
Photo: Jens
Gerber
Erosion
Club Sylkie
Goliath’s exhibition Personal Accounts will address the global normativity of patriarchal violence. Maravilla’s exhibition Piedras de Fuego (Fire Stones) will bring together the artist’s remarkable personal journey and teachings from healers and shamans from around the world.
In Glasgow, The Common Guild inaugurates its new Florence Street gallery with an exhibition by Tarik Kiswanson The Rupture (5 Oct-30 Nov), articulates legacies of war, displacement and trauma from the position of a second-generation immigrant. Debjani Banerjee’s solo show Jalsaghar at CCA which explores British-Bengali culture, identity and heritage, is also open to the public until 30 November.
At Platform, artist duo Beth Shapeero & Fraser Taylor present Scribbling/Scrabbling (until 11 Jan), a giant canvas artwork which spans an 18-metre wall of the gallery, which will be displayed alongside a selection of smaller archival works.
On 26-27 October, art lovers (and buyers) will be treated to the fifth rendition of the Art Car Boot Sale, organised by Patricia Fleming and taking place at Tramway. Over the weekend, visitors will be able to buy works by Scotland-based artists at great prices. [Harvey Dimond]
Theatre
October in Scotland boasts an ambitious offering of theatre and performance, with no fewer than three festivals happening amidst an array of individual productions.
Starting on 10 October, the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (10-27 Oct) begins its eighteenth annual programme of shows and events across Scotland. Programme highlights include Jen McGregor’s work-in-progress, Hallucinogen, Sanjay Lago’s Floating Along Silently, and Men Don’t Talk, a new collaboration between Clare Prenton and the Scottish Men’s Shed Association and Luminate.
Palestinian dance artist and choreographer Farah Saleh and collaborators bring The World We Share (18 & 20 Oct), a new intergenerational dance piece running in Edinburgh and Glasgow this month. The work asks how we can come together to solve personal and collective problems.
In collaboration with workers from Glasgow, Manchester-based Quarantine brings their durational performance, 12 Last Songs, to Glasgow’s Tramway on 19 October. This will be the seventh of twelve completely different iterations of the show, shaped as it is by the people who work in each city the company visits. During the twelve-hour show, workers will do paid shifts to demonstrate what they do to make a living.
From 18-31 October, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival offers a huge programme of traditional storytelling events, including the Orkney Storytelling Festival. Among the festival’s other exciting offerings are Niall Moorjani and Jonathan Oldfield’s Kanpur: 1857, Claire McNicol and Linda Williamson’s Raven Jack and Lady Unicorn and Macastory’s Rip-Roaring Renaissance.
Over Halloween weekend, Edinburgh Horror Festival haunts The Banshee Labyrinth (31 Oct-3 Nov). With 24 shows, events and workshops, the programme is as inventive as it is spooky. Highlights include Paul Case’s Rogues So Banished, SMaK Productions’ i am but a tiny little lady, The Sculptor, My Grandmother Taught Me to Knit and Frighthouse 2. [Rho Chung]
Books
Kicking off a month of bookish events, head to Lighthouse Bookshop on 2 October for Writers For a Free Palestine, a fundraising event for families in Gaza featuring the likes of Megan Booth, Alyson Kissner, Alycia Pirmohamed, Tisya Sanchez, Mohamed Tonsy and Lorraine Wilson. On 14 October, meanwhile, Lighthouse welcome Palestinian writer Ibtisam Azem to discuss her latest novel The Book of Disappearance. And on this revolutionary theme, acclaimed journalist Sarah Jaffe drops by the bookshop to launch her deeply urgent book From the Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World of Fire (17 Oct).
There’s more book launches over at The Portobello Bookshop with Ekow Eshun launching The Strangers (14 Oct), Jenni Fagan launching A Swan’s Neck on the Butcher’s Block (3 Oct), and Malachy Tallack launching That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz (28 Oct). Over at Typewronger, meanwhile, Glasgowbased poet Tim Tim Cheng launches the beautiful The Tattoo Collector on 21 October. And for something a bit less on the page, don’t forget about the Scottish International Storytelling Festival running 18-31 October with an incredible programme of events at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
It’s a little quieter on the Glasgow front for launches, but there are some great workshops and events to get stuck into. Glasgow Zine Library is hosting Collage and Conversation: Resistance in the face of fascism (11 Oct), a workshop aimed for Black people, people of colour, and those from the global majority. Over at Glasgow Women’s Library, meanwhile, The Skinny’s own
Photo: Ruth Clark
Men Don't Talk
Anya Gallaccio, Stroke 2014
Quarantine
Photo: JMA Photography
Heather Yule for SISF
Photo: Andrew Perry Photography
Image: courtesy of And Other Stories
Beth Cochrane is hosting a workshop exploring personal connections with books as part of the National Library of Scotland’s centenary celebrations in 2025 (17 Oct), and artist Shona Macnaughton will be hosting a drop-in session exploring materials from women’s and LGBTQ health literature in the collection. [Anahit Behrooz]
Comedy
First we want to shoutout some excellent Black comics coming to Scotland this month. COBO: Comedy Shutdown showcases four comics at the top of their game – Nabil Abdulrashid, Kat B, Michael Akadiri and Kazeem Jamal on 6 October (Monkey Barrel, 6pm / Glasgow Glee, 7.45pm, £18). Sam Jay and Travis Jay (no relation) are also in town. Known to UK audiences from his NAACPnommed HBO special and roasting NFL star Tom Brady on Netflix, Sam’s at The Stand in Edinburgh on 8 October (8.30pm, £25). UK act Travis Jay, who came to the Fringe in 2019 and currently stars in Netflix’s Supacell, brings his first tour to both Scottish Stand venues (Edinburgh, 9 Oct / Glasgow, 10 Oct, 8pm, £15).
Alt comic fans, we’ve a couple of treats for you. Greasy anti-comedy creation Neil Hamburger makes a rare appearance in Edinburgh (14 Oct, Monkey Barrel, 14 Oct, 8pm, £25), while Edinburgh Comedy Award x2 nominee Spencer Jones goes on his (well overdue) debut tour (The Stand, Glasgow, 19 Oct, 4pm, £16 / Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, 21 Oct, 8pm, £17.60). Promising best bits from his previous shows, expect prop-based, loop-pedal silliness and sentiment in a night of joyful chaos. Read more about it in this month’s interview on p51.
One of our faves from Fringe 2023, Priya Hall, returns to Monkey Barrel with a WIP of a new show (19 Oct, 8pm, £7). If you didn’t catch her then, she’s definitely one to put on your radar and is fresh off supporting Nish Kumar on his current tour.
Local lad Larry Dean brings his latest hour Dodger, about the relationship with his granny, to Edinburgh (30 Oct, Monkey Barrel, 7.30pm and 9pm, £16) and Dundee (31 Oct, Whitehall Theatre, 8pm, £16-£18) this month. One of the top 20 best-reviewed shows this Fringe, Dean also takes the show elsewhere in Scotland at the beginning of November.
Finally, there’s spine-chilling chuckles for the whole family this Halloween at Glasgow Stand (The Big Halloween Kids Comedy Show, 26 Oct, 2pm, £6-£8). Best for kids aged 5-11 and their grown-ups, it’ll be an afternoon of super, spooky stand-up and mayhem. [Polly Glynn]
Photo: Matt Crockett
Photo: Rachel Sherlock
Priya Hall
Nabil Abdulrashid
Photo: Matt Stronge
Larry Dean
EDINBURGH’S OLDEST COCKTAIL BAR
Features
20 Autumn Film Festival season is here – we take a survey of the Scottish film scene and its impact on communities.
28 We talk to the duo behind the Studio Ghibli deep dive podcast Ghibliotheque about their new book, Ghibliverse: Studio Ghibli Beyond the Films.
31 Cellist, producer, film composer and electronic musician Oliver Coates on solo record Throb, shiver, arrow of time
36 Taking Up (Green) Space: How people of colour are embracing Scotland’s outdoors.
38 We meet groundbreaking Glasgow producer TAAHLIAH as she prepares to release her debut album Gramarye
43 Kelly Lee Owens on the importance of colour, collaboration and connection in her music.
44 Lawrence Power on why the viola’s cool now, and performing with the SCO.
46 We look at some of the autumn music festivals happening near and far this October and November.
48 The 35th Scottish International Storytelling Festival arrives with the theme of building bridges.
50 We look forward to Holly Davey ’s new exhibition at Fruitmarket, which foregrounds the women artists who have exhibited at the gallery over the last 50 years.
51 Prop comic Spencer Jones on driving from Torquay to Glasgow and making work from adversity.
54 We take a look inside Glasgow’s Listen Gallery, which supports and exhibits artists working in sound art.
On the website...
Look out for more news from The SAY Award, plus weekly Spotlights on some of our favourite new Scottish bands, our fortnightly film podcast The Cineskinny, and the occasional chance to Win Some Stuff in our competitions…
Image Credits: (Left to right, top to bottom) I Am Nevenka; My Neighbour Totoro; courtesy RVNG Intl.; Heedayah Lockman; Jackson Bowley; Samual Bradley; Giorgia Bertazzi; Cameron Brisbane; Lucas Chih-Peng Kao; courtesy of the artist; courtesy of the artist; Felix Lumen
Chappell Roan @ O2 Academy, Glasgow, 15 September by
Marilena Vlachopoulou
Across
8. 1994 superhero film remade in 2024 – corvid (3,4)
9. Point of view (7)
10. Discotheque (9)
11. Terror – freak out (5)
12. Ghost hotline (5)
13. Large amount – bargain (5,4)
14. Delusion – men gift (anag) (7)
16. Lunacy (7)
18. Kill – hurts a leg (anag) (9)
21. Cured meat (5)
22. Shinobi – skilled person (5)
23. Depose (9)
24. Genuine (7)
25. Stretchy (7)
Disdain – a fondness shifts (anag) (15)
Pretending (8) 3. Town in Dumfries and Galloway – elopers' destination (6) 4. Dusk – vampire franchise (8)
17. Bits taken out (8) 19. Canopy (6) 20. Cliches (6)
Stab in the back (6)
Compiled
by
George Sully
to page 7 for the solutions
In this month’s advice column, one reader is experiencing an unwelcome workplace romance
I’m head over heels with someone who has a partner and now we keep working together :( I kind of love that there isn’t really a question here, it’s more just an expression of a predicament. And if it’s comforting to you at all, it’s such a common one that you’re about to join a canon of the greats. You are the Jane Eyre to this person’s Mr Rochester, the Cyrano to their Roxane, the teenage dirtbag to their girl whose boyfriend is a dick and drives an IROC. Unrequited love – or at least unconsummatable love – is a bitch, but it’s also a tale as old as time. Love and attraction don’t really care about trivialities such as practicality and propriety and whether you’re about to absolutely fuck up your own heart. They just happen. Lucky people fall in love under perfect conditions. The rest just… fall in love.
To answer the implicit question here (what should you do!), I can give you very sensible advice which you probably already know and which I have rarely if ever followed in my own life. If this person, for whatever reason, truly isn’t available, indulging in these feelings will lead to someone getting hurt, and in ascending order, it will be this person, their partner, and you. I know how addictive that rush of serotonin can be, but every upper has a comedown and it! will not! be fun! for you! Try and create some distance at work, maybe even talk to this person about how you feel, and do your best to set up some boundaries.
But I do want to take a second to acknowledge how fucking shitty this advice is, and how much it sucks that the very real way you feel has to be diminished and abandoned. I don’t even mean this in a ‘free love’, ‘abolish relationships’ way, but more in a ‘your feelings are important and valuable and it’s so depressing that they can’t be legible or welcome outside of the structure of a relationship’ way. Like, you haven’t done anything wrong. You are feeling the same feelings as everyone else in this scenario – you just didn’t luck out this time. And yeah, you need to try and protect yourself and prioritise what is possible but more than anything, I hope you remember that.
Focus on Film
Film festivals – there sure are a lot of them at this time of year. This month in the Central Belt alone we count at least ten. Yet simultaneously, in this moment of vibrant, forward-thinking, bountiful film exhibition, we know arts funding in Scotland is in crisis and many of the bricks-andmortar institutions that host these events (arts venues like Summerhall in Edinburgh and the CCA in Glasgow) are stru ling to stay operational. To take the temperature on the contradictory situation, we speak to some people who help run film festivals big and small to find out what it’s like at the film festival coal face right now.
We also get excited about some of these events. One writer looks ahead to Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival and specifically its opening celebration of Eastern Bloc animation created at the fag-end of Soviet rule, where, surprisingly, artistic freedom and creativity were high. We hear from Scottish Queer International Film Festival (aka SQIFF) ahead of the ninth edition of this excellent celebration of queer cinema and community. We also check out the vibrant programme of some of the other great festivals happening this month, like the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival and Weird Weekend.
POSTER ARTIST (p40-41):
Angus Vasili studied Graphic Design and Illustration in Liverpool, where he honed his skills and developed a passion for process-driven work. His unique visual style beautifully fuses together screen-printing, photography and hand-finished texture, while his practice is intuitive, continually evolving and informed by the experimental. He is inspired by urban decay, particularly decay in posters and billboards, which has developed into abstracts referencing nature. The juxtaposition of finding a more traditional beauty from a non-traditional starting point of urban decay is the driving force behind his art. Find him at Glasgow Print Fair, The Pyramid at Anderston, Saturday 2 November, 10.30am-5pm.
Scene Setting
If you’re a film fan living in Scotland, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to film festivals. Are you nuts for Japanese animation? Check out Scotland Loves Anime (1-10 Nov). A bit of a Francophile? French Film Festival UK is for you (6 Nov-12 Dec). Perhaps it’s films concerned with LGBTQ+ stories you’re after? Get yourself to SQIFF aka the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (8-12 Oct). And those are just a few of the festivals happening in the near future. Across Scotland you’ll also find brilliant festivals championing silent film (HippFest in Bo’ness), artist moving image (Alchemy in Hawick), short films (Glasgow Short Film Festival), films by women (Sea Change in Tiree), folk cinema (The Folk Film Gathering in Edinburgh) and much more. Whatever your movie taste, there’s a film event happening somewhere in this fair land for you.
grander Edinburgh Film Festival in terms of audience, programme and industry event size some years ago. “I’m not a great believer you have to grow every year for growth’s sake,” says GFF director Allison Gardner when I chat to her by phone, although she certainly sounds chuffed at Glasgow’s status as, in her words, the country’s “premier film festival.”
Size isn’t everything, though. Gardner reckons the festival feels just about right at the moment. “It’s now big enough to attract a brilliant range of films, but small enough to still feel intimate.”
Crucially, GFF is of a size where she feels she can still interact with the audience. “You know, I go to Cannes every year and it’s not like I ever get to talk to [its artistic director] Thierry Frémaux,” says Gardner. “He just gets ferried hither and thither. But I hope that’s not the experience the audience or industry members have with me. People can, and do, come up and talk to me at any time.”
Scotland’s film festivals come in all shapes and sizes, and there are plenty of smaller, more specialist organisations that are as ambitious as GFF in their own way. Take, for example, Take One Action, Scotland’s film festival concerned with creating positive social change. “I think what makes Take One Action unique,” says Xuanlin Tham, TOA’s programmer, “is the emphasis that we place on using film as a catalyst and as a way for
One festival that could probably cater for all your needs, though, is Glasgow Film Festival. Its motto is “cinema for all” and on that it delivers. It’s the kind of festival where you can watch a Hollywood classic in the morning, discover a charming Icelandic football documentary in the afternoon, hear a member of The Lord of the Rings’ fellowship discuss their illustrious career in the evening and finish the night with a gnarly horror. GFF has slowly grown to be Scotland’s bi est film festival too, surpassing the older, Scotland has a plentitude of film festivals but there’s an increasing scarcity of funding available to support them. In a month overflowing with film events, we take the temperature on this vibrant but precarious scene
Words: Jamie Dunn
bringing people together with the hopes that the collective momentum and energy [of our events] carries forward in their lives.”
While films are carefully curated at TOA, they’re only the starting point. “I think from the beginning, we have always been led by the needs of our community,” explains Tham. “So our priorities as a film festival aren’t the traditional ones like prestige or how many hundreds of tickets we sell. It’s about the meaningfulness of our interactions.”
GFF celebrated a bumper year in 2024, with 34,000 attendees, but it sounds as if Gardner agrees with Tham’s sentiments on measures of success all the same. “I tried to say to funders all the time: what is really important is not just the number of people who attend, but the experience those people have,” explains Gardner. “Lots of people is good because obviously we need to work to budget and make sure we have the right amount of ticket sales, but we also have to make sure that every audience member, every filmmaker, every industry delegate, every press member has a good experience. Now, that’s a big ask, because, you know, everybody’s different, but we do genuinely look at it from a place of achieving excellence.” These festivals are different in scale but what they have in common is that they welcome you in; they want to build community around films. Part of the reason why GFF feels so rooted in its home city is its connection to Glasgow Film Theatre, its main base of operation. As CEO of Glasgow Film, Gardner oversees both. She su ests the close collaboration between the various GFF and GFT teams is why both organisations are thriving. “Paul [Gallagher], who programmes GFT, is involved in the festival and su ests things and looks at stuff for us, and he knows our audience,” says Gardner. “And so the year-round audience at GFT knows that they can trust the festival. And then, in turn, the audience who comes to GFF gets introduced to the GFT.”
Many of Scotland’s best festivals have similar year-round activities. French Film Festival UK, for example, continually feeds their Edinburgh audience’s appetite for French cinema with regular screenings at the Institut Français. Festival of cult cinema Weird Weekend (25-27 Oct) are building a voracious audience for truly bizarre cult movies in Glasgow at their monthly film club. And Alchemy in Hawick might be the most industrious festival in the whole UK: they’ve initiated myriad grassroots projects in their Border hometown, from school workshops to artists’ residencies, turning it into an unlikely hub of filmmaking activity, much of which then features alongside international work in the annual festival.
Alison Gardner at GFF
Photo: Eoin Carey
TOA recognises the importance of fostering community outwith festival time too, so much so that they’ve recently adopted an experimental new model. They’re now a biennial festival, with smaller, regular events bridging the gap. “We realised that sometimes, especially with a really small team like ours, those relationships that you hope to establish within the various communities that you’re working in can end up being in short bursts and quite extractive [using the annual festival model], even though you don’t intend for them to be,” says Tham. “With this new model, we hope to turn those relationships into something much more long-term and mutually enriching.”
Arts funding in Scotland must be in rude health to support such a rich and diverse film festival landscape, you might think to yourself. But nothing could be further from the truth. That’s what’s so incredible about this scene: it seems to be endlessly creative and buoyant despite the fact Creative Scotland’s funding has remained static for years. The cracks have long been showing, however. Key venues that host these film festivals have either closed (Filmhouse in Edinburgh) or are hanging on by their fingernails (Summerhall in Edinburgh is currently seeking public donations to help cover its core costs while the CCA in Glasgow has been forced to close its doors over the winter until the new round of Creative Scotland funding). And while Edinburgh Film Festival made a phoenix-like return back in August after an expensive rescue job by Screen Scotland, some smaller festivals have quietly shut up shop or are on an extended hiatus while they assess their futures (see Document and Africa in Motion).
When I ask Gardner what’s the bi est challenge faced by film festivals, she doesn’t miss a beat: “Money. It has to be funding. In terms of our Creative Scotland RFO [Regularly Funded Organisations] funding, that has been the same
since 2015, so in real terms, taking into account inflation, it’s probably a 40% cut. How we’ve managed that is by exceeding our income targets through box-office sales and we diligently look at every budget line, you know? But there is a limit to that.”
“Our priorities as a film festival aren’t the traditional ones like prestige or how many hundreds of tickets we sell. It's about the meaningfulness of our interactions.”
Xuanlin Tham, Take One Action
Despite this rough funding climate these festivals continue to take place and punch above their weight. “That phrase, ‘punch above our weight’, really does ring true,” says Tham. The real story is that the vibrancy of these festivals is down to the sweat and ingenuity of arts workers, many of them overworked, underpaid freelancers on short-term contracts, who go above and beyond. “Most of the people I know who are delivering incredible festivals, like SQIFF, for example, are operating with tiny teams,” Tham continues, “yet they deliver incredible festivals, prioritise access, sell out venues, all of these things. But a lot of these festivals whose external output looks amazing and up to par with some of
the larger festivals in terms of ambition are really stru ling. They are always based on project funding that is, by its nature, precarious. You won’t know if you get it next year, which means that you can’t promise your staff or your audience’s longevity.” Festivals like TOA and SQIFF – and the arts freelancers who run them – have built a vibrant and exciting cultural scene, but its longevity is far from guaranteed.
It’s a precarious time for the arts but Gardner seems hopeful. “There’s so much great work out there, and I think that we need to give all kudos to Film Hub Scotland as well in terms of the work that they’ve been doing to connect the sector in a much more strategic way,” she says. Gardner also su ests more collaboration and resource sharing as a way forward. “I think there are lots of strategic things that we could do that would benefit both people and organisations. Is there a pool of Film Festival professionals that we can employ all year round, for example?”
What’s for sure is that this vibrant scene can’t survive on the passion of its workers forever. There’s a sense of these festivals holding their breath until a more stable funding era arrives, which could emerge in 2025 when the current RFO programme is renewed and retooled. One thing audiences can do in the meantime is support these festivals. After all, Gardner reckons a large chunk of GFF’s success can be attributed to its audience. “I do think great audiences are what make film festivals,” she says, “and ours are genuinely brilliant. They’re risk-takers. I think filmmakers really feel that our audiences are truly engaged with their films when they come here.” So turn up in your droves to some or all of the festivals taking place this month and throughout the year. Help them sell out screenings and keep their atmosphere buzzing. Because without continued support, they could easily disappear tomorrow.
Audience members at a Take One Action screening at Filmhouse
Photo: Douglas Robertson
Open Hearts, Open Minds
We hear from SQIFF director Indigo Korres ahead of the ninth edition of this fantastic, forward-thinking film festival celebrating LGBTQ+ cinema
It seems like only yesterday the plucky, punky Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF) entered the Scottish film festival scene but this excellent celebration of queer cinema isn’t a newbie anymore. It returns for its ninth edition this month and over the last decade it’s proven itself one of the most forward-thinking festivals on the circuit, became a leader in many areas of film exhibition and built up a loyal following; as I write, weeks from the festival’s opening, screenings are already starting to sell out.
SQIFF returns to the Centre for Contemporary Arts and Glasgow Film from Theatre 8-12 October for a packed programme, including the very exciting Scottish premiere of Bye Bye Love, Isao Fujisawa’s daring, recently-rediscovered 1974 film about two lost souls exploring a complicated romantic, physical, and spiritual connection. There’s also a special focus at this edition on POC and disabled narratives on screen.
As well as great films, the heart of SQIFF is an ambition to foster community art and artistic development. Accessibility and diversity is also key. All screening and event tickets are priced on a pay-what-you-can basis from free to £12. Audio description, live captioning, BSL interpretation and descriptive subtitles are offered to make filmgoing as inclusive as possible. This ethos of inclusivity extends to the welcoming of other art forms into the programme – including exhibitions by local artists, a queer craft fair, a party with local DJs and performers, and a variety of workshops and panel discussions.
boundaries of social norms, respectability, gender, and the very idea of sex and bodies in its depiction of two malcontents who find each other through an encounter so random it can only be fate. Their affair moves beyond easy categorisation as the film becomes increasingly surreal, and their exploration of their bodies’ limits and forms questions ideas about what is and is not organic.
“We’ve partnered with Queer East this year to present the first-ever screening of Bye Bye Love in
Words: Carmen Paddock
The festival’s other feature film is Lesvia, directed by Tzeli Hadjidimitriou, a documentary chronicling the pilgrimage generations of queer women have made to Lesbos – Sappho’s island – in search of community and themselves. In addition to these international, intergenerational voices and testimonies of transformation, Lesvia explores the conflicted feelings local women have about their island’s reputation and even the name of the island being synonymous with gay culture, as well as the challenges of tourism on local businesses and communities. Lesvia is a heartfelt work and a much-needed addition to LGBTQ+ history, mixing archival footage with testimony and recollections to give these women full control over the story.
“We love all art forms,” festival director Indigo Korres says, “and as a festival, we’re really committed to bringing our audiences creativity through lots of different lenses.” She notes that these extra-film events complement the film programme and are “intended to spark conversations and root the films in our community context.” When we ask Korres about one of these events she’s particularly looking forward to, she cites the letter-writing workshop led by artist Huss Mitha, running as part of the festival’s Dear Future Self shorts programme, which will utilise tools and techniques from abolitionist theory and science fiction “to imagine liberated future selves and others.”
Fifty years after its initial release, the previously mentioned Bye Bye Love still pushes the
Scotland since it was rediscovered in a warehouse in 2018,” says Korres. “It’s a poetic and surreal work that brings a queer challenge to conventional understandings of relationships through a doomed road trip through Japan. Our partnerships allow us to share films with audiences that we wouldn’t otherwise have access to and we’re really excited for Queer East to bring this special film to Scotland!”
The film programme is rounded out by 15 curated short film programmes, beginning with the Opening Night Scottish Shorts. Other strands include Drag & Performance Through Censorship (focusing on international and displaced communities), Blossoming Wilt (an exploration of the delicate and heartbreaking nature of queer love), Music as Resistance (exploring the idea of music as a universal language to empower marginalised communities), Sci-Fi Meets Reality (using the uncanny as a tool for gender exploration and historical critique), and ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆ “The Real Internet Is Inside You” ･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ (exploring sensory overload and emotional vulnerability). In addition, the SQIFF programme incorporates Oska Bright Film Festival’s famous Wild Women programme, which spotlights films made by neurodivergent women.
SQIFF was founded in 2015 with the aim of contributing to Scotland’s LGBTQIA+ culture, showcasing films audiences might not otherwise see, and to create inspiring and informative events. With the invention, care, open hearts and open minds that comprise SQIFF 2024, this promises to be a vibrant four days in Scotland’s cultural calendar.
Scottish Queer International Film Festival, CCA and GFT, Glasgow, 8-12 Oct
Full programme information at sqiff.org
Lesvia
Hot Young Geek Seeks Blood Sucking Freak
Subversive Shorts
This year’s Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival opens with a programme of animation made during the tail end of Soviet rule. Czech filmmaker Michaela Pavlátová tells us how artistic freedom and creativity for animation flourished during this era
Eleven boundary-pushing animations open this year’s Samizdat Film Festival, Scotland’s first festival of Eastern European film which also celebrates the cinema of Central Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Last year, nine surrealist animations were featured midway through the festival. This year, animation is promoted to the opening event, with Animations of the Late Eastern Bloc (1980-1997). It’s a programme that reflects the art form’s previous ubiquity across Eastern and Central Europe at the beginning of almost all film outings, as Oscar-nominated Czech animator Michaela Pavlátová – whose 1991 short Řeči, Řeči, Řeči… (Words, Words, Words) features in the screening – explains.
Under Communist rule in Czechoslovakia, all feature films shown at the cinema were preceded by a state-funded short film that was either a documentary or animation. “Animation was part of [all] our lives,” says Pavlátová. And while the government’s hand meddled strongly with the documentaries and [live action] features, “somehow, they didn’t expect anything dangerous from animation,” which led to much weaker censorship. As a result, the animated films from this era survive as artefacts of untouched creative freedom in a way that live-action studio films from the same period do not.
Words: Louis Cammell
Pavlátová is Chair of the Animation Department, are graduating into an almost non-existent market for their projects.
“We didn’t have so many choices [as we do now],” she says. “But somehow people were more into culture, because if there was a book out, all people read it.” People lived their lives locked in privacy, especially when a piece of Western media made it through the Iron Curtain. They held secret screenings and book groups. In this hybrid culture of ravenous artistic appetite and the stifling uniformity of the regime – of grey streets, grey clothes and empty shops, as Pavlátová recalls – animation was a “small, positive island of freedom.”
For most of us raised with that pervading image of the Eastern Bloc as a pallid and desolate landscape, the news that it was a place where animation was thriving may be hard to square. Compare that with the general health of animation in 2024: the industry is in disarray. Those working in Hollywood VFX describe a race to the bottom, where studios bid to work for minimal time and pay. Artists are leaving the profession in droves, putting their sleep and their mental health ahead of the visions of executives which are frankly uninspiring anyway. Closer to home in Prague, students at FAMU, the world’s fifth-oldest film school where
The Eastern Bloc was of course a less than ideal place to come of age. Even as the Communist party’s hold over everyday civilian life began to loosen under Perestroika, Gorbachev’s ill-fated reformation movement, higher education was far from a meritocracy. Raised by parents who weren’t members of the party, Pavlátová was only allowed into art school because her uncle was an artist and knew people in the commission. It was also a confusing place from which to set off on newlypermitted trips to Germany and France as a graduate. She recalls sitting on trains and being petrified by the threat of a stranger injecting drugs into her arm, so strong was the state propaganda back home.
Yet Pavlátová’s films were not overtly political and so she was practically never out of work. She doesn’t remember any deadlines – nor any studio notes – when she started making professional shorts in 1987. So long as she could keep producing films to screen before the main feature (the slot reserved in the West for adverts and trailers), she was left pretty much alone, save for the studio’s in-house script doctors, editors and animators who were ready to work at her disposal should she need them. After the Revolution in 1989, everything changed. The studio continued on its last legs for five years before new owners took over and stripped it for parts. “They were not interested in producing non-profit films,” she says.
It was during this twilight period for the studio that Pavlátová’s Words, Words, Words was released. It survives as the product of a bygone age. Its experimental choice to portray the dialogues of coffee shop patrons solely visually – as all different shapes and symbols: lightning bolts; question marks; dominoes and puzzle pieces – is unlike anything being produced in the mainstream animation landscape today, reserved as it is for the latest crowdpleaser from Disney, Dreamworks or Illumination.
But given the wealth of independent creators sharing their work online nowadays, Pavlátová appears hopeful for the future. Her experiences have taught her that “mainstream also produces people who don’t want to make mainstream; that mainstream actually produces very big fans of art films.” Through sheer force of will, beautiful and groundbreaking works are still being made in makeshift spaces. And festivals such as Samizdat are helping them connect with their audiences. “They are small groups of people, but those people are hungry to see something different,” she says, smiling.
Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival runs at CCA and Glasgow Film Theatre, 1-5 Oct, and Summerhall, Edinburgh, 19 Oct
Animations of the Late Eastern Bloc (1980 - 1997) takes place 1 Oct at GFT, then again on 19 Oct at Summerhall Full programme at samizdatfest.co.uk
Words, Words, Words
Escape with Lavery
We asked Dr Freya Spoor, Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, to tell us all about three of the paintings currently on display in An Irish Impressionist | Lavery on Location
These three paintings by Sir John Lavery, the Irish Impressionist and Glasgow Boy who’s currently the subject of a major exhibition in National Galleries Scotland: National, are all part of Scotland’s national collection of art. These historic acquisitions – the rst added to the collection as far back as 1950 – will continue to be free to access for the people of Scotland in the future. Lavery on Location takes us on a trip through the life of the artist, with over 90 paintings currently on display in the gallery on the Mound.
Loch Katrine
Ever since the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s poem The Lady of the Lake (1810), Loch Katrine had become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Trossachs. By 1913, visitors could get there by car, bus or rail. They could walk on specially created footpaths around the loch, enjoy scenic viewpoints or take a trip on the SS Sir Walter Scott.
Given Lavery’s membership of the Glasgow Boys – a group who rallied against what they saw as the overproduction of romanticised views of the Highlands in Scottish art – he creates a fresh interpretation of this familiar scene. Using pastel tones and broad sweeping brushstrokes, he emphasises the tranquillity of the natural landscape. There is no hint of the crowds of visitors. The stillness of the water is only disturbed by a single swooping bird. The woman sketching on the shore is most likely Hazel, his wife, who was herself a talented artist. The couple appear to have the place to themselves.
This impressionistic depiction of Loch Katrine was so di erent to other paintings of the area that when it was shown during a solo show in 1914, one of Lavery’s critics lamented that he had yet to tackle a piece of Highland scenery.
Edward Arthur Walton, 1860-1922. Artist. With his ancée Helen Law, 1859-1945 (Hokusai and the Butter y)
This work was painted on the occasion of a Grand Costume Ball organised by the Glasgow Art Club in 1889. Lavery was dressed as Rembrandt and made quick oil sketches of the invited guests. In this painting, he depicts his friend and fellow artist EA Walton with his ancée Helen Law. He presented it to them to celebrate their engagement.
Walton is dressed as the Japanese printmaker Katsushika Hokusai while Law’s costume references the butter y monogram of artist James McNeill Whistler. Hokusai and Whistler were artistic heroes of the Glasgow Boys group of artists, who were really at the height of their in uence on the city’s art scene at this time. They had risen through the ranks of the Glasgow Art Club, getting involved with exhibitions and social events that it staged.
When the Glasgow Boys showed their work in London, it
brought the city and its art scene to international attention. It led to invites to exhibit in Europe and America. This a orded Lavery opportunities to travel more broadly and was a springboard into his career as a society portrait painter with an international pro le.
The Dutch Cocoa House at the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1888
The Glasgow International Exhibition of 1888 was a showcase of art and industry staged over a sprawling site in the city’s West End. Over the ve months the exhibition welcomed over 5 7 million visitors.
In this painting, Lavery depicts the interior of the faithfully recreated a 17th-century Dutch cocoa house built by the cocoa manufacturers Van Houten and Son, of Weesp. It was located close to the Exhibition’s grand entrance and was one of several cafes and kiosks where visitors could enjoy a range of food and beverages from around the world.
Lavery, like many of his Glasgow Boys friends, submitted paintings to be shown in the Fine Art Pavilion of the Exhibition. They also got involved with some of the decoration of the Exhibition buildings.
However, Lavery was keen to take advantage of the unprecedented scale of this Exhibition to promote his art – he decided to appoint himself as an uno cial artist-reporter. In this role, he made a series of 50 on-the-spot paintings of the exhibitors and crowds enjoying the attractions. These were shown locally during the course of the Exhibition. They sold well, and earned him a commission from the Glasgow Council to paint the State Visit of Queen Victoria.
You can enjoy these three paintings in the exhibition An Irish Impressionist | Lavery on Location, on until 27 October at the National Galleries Scotland: National Open daily 10am-5pm, £5-19
To nd out more visit www.nationalgalleries.org
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The Dutch Cocoa House at the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1888, Sir John Lavery. Purchased with the aid of the Barrogill Keith Bequest Fund 1985.
Edward Arthur Walton, 1860 - 1922. Artist. With his fiancée Helen Law, 1859 – 1945 (Hokusai and the Butterfly), Sir John Lavery. Purchased 1980.
Loch Katrine Sir John Lavery. Presented by Mrs Annie Dunlop from the estate of George B Dunlop 1951
Four More
Weird Weekend
OK, sickos! This is the festival for you. A celebration of cinema’s ‘outcasts, orphans and outliers’, Weird Weekend has become a regular fixture on the Scottish film scene. Its monthly cult film screenings at OFFLINE in Glasgow have brought some wonderfully strange and obscure titles to thisSouthside cinema over the past year, and their first weekend festival at their new home looks to be a doozy.
There’s a pleasing playfulness to the programming, with some fun being had exploring the relationship between the films and the audience. Take the opening event Make Good Choices: An Evening of Interactive Cinema, hosted by Glasgow-based self-proclaimed drag abomination Puke. “We’ll be joining the audience to make our way collectively through several ‘choose your own adventure’ films,” explains Weird Weekend programmer Sean Welsh. “I say several, because it’s quite possible we’ll make some bum choices and end each film prematurely.” There’s a similarly interactive ending to the festival titled The 5-to-1 Game, in which the audience is shown the first five minutes of five gonzo movies, then invited to pick which one they’d like to watch in full.
Weird isn’t the only criteria a film needs to appear in the lineup. Being extremely rarely seen is another requirement. “We’ve purposely focused on a programme of films or versions of films that can’t be seen otherwise,” says Welsh. One highlight looks to be Scott King’s Treasure Island, which won the Sundance Jury Award in 1999. It’s much spikier than your typical Sundance darling, however – probably why it disappeared without a trace. It follows two counterspies (one played by a baby-faced Nick Offerman) in 40s San Francisco, and is reportedly spilling over with dream logic, film references and much psychosexual shenanigans. Offerman recently described Treasure Island as an “ambitiously strange film that I’m still
staunchly proud of.” King will be in Glasgow for the screening to take part in a Q&A.
The most ‘Weird Weekend’ sounding film in the lineup is Rufus Butler’s 1984 film Screamplay – it stars DIY cinema legend George Kuchar and was put out by Troma Entertainment. Welsh calls it “an ingenious monochrome DIY masterpiece hiding in plain sight.” Other highlights look to be Andrew Horn’s 1987 noir The Big Blue; cult musical Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers from 1972, starring Warhol superstar Holly Woodlawn with a supporting cast that includes Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin; and Robinson Devor’s The Woman Chaser, which features Patrick Warburton (aka Elaine’s boyfriend David Puddy from Seinfeld in his only lead movie role) as a car salesman turned Hollywood auteur.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Weird Weekend is its No-Film Programme, a sidebar exploring films that can’t be screened for various reasons. It features an exhibition of marketing material for planned films that never got to production, co-curated with Screen Slate’s Jon Dieringer, and a looping shorts programme, which includes two new video essays from Glasgowbased Canadian filmmaker Daniel Cockburn. One explores Goncharov, the 1973 mafia film imagined up for a lark by a community of Tumblr users, and Batgirl, the Glasgow-shot superhero movie that became a tax write-off.
Film festivals can often be too in thrall to shiny new world premieres. How exciting to see one that delves into the dusty vaults of cinema history, finding weirdo movies we didn’t even know existed and giving them a second chance to find an audience.
Weird Weekend, 25-27 Oct, OFFLINE, Glasgow
Full programme at makeitweird.co.uk
Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival
The long-running Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival is back with a wide-ranging programme taking place all over Scotland. All the arts are celebrated, and film is very much in the mix. It’s a great opportunity to see the debut feature from Skinny fave Duncan Cowles. Titled Silent Men, it sees the Edinburgh documentarian take a road trip across the UK to speak with men who’re hiding deep mental health issues behind a stoic façade. It’s very much about Cowles’s own stru les too, and as you can expect from this talented filmmaker, he tackles these delicate issues with plenty of charm and deadpan humour. Cowles will be touring Silent Men from Inverness to Dumfries via Glasgow, Dundee and Aberfeldy, giving Q&As at each screening, but the majority of SMHAF’s film programme takes place at the CCA in Glasgow as part of its Focus on Film strand. Highlights include three more deeply personal documentaries. There’s the incisive Sick Girls, in which director Gitti Grüter weaves together the stories of five other women living with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; Kurtis Watson’s poignant My Dad’s Tapes, which sees the filmmaker try to come to terms with his father’s suicide by exploring the treasure trove of home movies the troubled patriarch left behind; and Chloe Abrahams’ gorgeous and heartbreaking The Taste of Mango, which sees the filmmaker trying to untangle painful knots in her family’s unspoken past. There’s also a host of short film programmes and the festival’s annual International Film Awards, which celebrates the film work that best confronts and reflects on mental health in their programme.
Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, 10-27 Oct, various venues across Scotland; SMHAF’s Focus on Film, 16-19 Oct, CCA, Glasgow
Full programme at mhfestival.com/events/focus-on-film
Silent Men for Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival
Screamplay for Weird Weekend
We roundup more great festivals happening across Scotland this month Words: Jamie Dunn
Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival
There’s a new Pedro Almodóvar joint being released at the end of October (The Room Next Door, out 25 Oct) but if you’re looking for more films by talented Spanish filmmakers look no further than the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, which returns this month for its 11th edition. The whole reason that the festival exists is that so many great Spanish films – save for the work of that previously-mentioned arthouse darling – don’t make it to UK cinemas. “I think we’re really good at bringing new directors, and especially women directors to Scotland,” says Marian Aréchaga, Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival’s curator. “Very few Spanish directors, apart from of course Almodóvar and maybe a few others, find a place in UK cinemas, especially here in Edinburgh now that the Filmhouse has been closed.” It’s a shame this is the case because if ESFF’s rich and varied programme is anything to go by, Spanish cinema looks to be in good health in 2024.
Proceedings kick off with the timely Galician thriller Artificial Justice from Simón Casal. Set in the near future, it concerns the introduction of AI software into the Spanish legal system to replace judges, the thinking being that the cold logic of an algorithm won’t bring human bias into determined guilt. But as anyone who’s used a computer anytime in the last few years will know, AIs are far from infallible. Blending dystopian sci-fi with courtroom drama, it should make for an intriguing opener – and something nice and juicy to argue over at the festival’s opening reception.
Casal will be one of several filmmakers flying into Edinburgh for the festival, but the prolific Edinburgh-based director Icíar Bollaín can probably make the screenings of her latest film, the #MeToo drama I Am Nevenka, on a Lothian Bus. The film tells the true story of the ordeal faced by 24-year-old student Nevenka Fernández when she lands a job at the local government offices in
Ponferrada only to be relentlessly pursued and harassed by the town’s sleazy mayor, Ismael Álvarez. Coming to ESFF fresh from premiering at San Sebastián Film Festival, expect a searing and deeply humane piece of work from this talented filmmaker.
Another highlight looks to be the sharp class conflict drama The Quiet Maid, which explores the tension between Colombian maid Ana and her rich art collector employer, whose sleek Costa Brava pad she cleans; this debut from Miguel Faus comes with Steven Soderbergh’s seal of approval. We’ve also heard great things about Little Loves, Celia Rico Clavellino’s intimate drama tracking a troubled mother-daughter relationship.
It’s not just movies on the menu. Your mouth can take a delightful trip to Andalusia’s wine region with a wine-tasting evening centered on a selection of bottles from Bodegas Alvear, one of the oldest wineries in Spain. Acclaimed Spanish novelist María Dueñas will visit the festival to deliver a masterclass on the art of writing. And there’s also the opportunity to get creative with a movie poster-making session with the Scottish refugee charity The Welcoming.
There’s much more to find in this year’s ESFF programme. Dive in!
Queer East Festival: On The Road
Queer East is London based but it’s bringing its annual showcase of boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema on the road. The festival’s aim is to amplify the voices of Asian communities and challenge the conventional labels and stereotypes associated with queer Asian portrayals, and its small but stellar touring programme of great queer Asian cinema, both new and old, should do just that. One of the best-looking new titles in the programme is Ben Mullinkosson’s The Last Year of Darkness. Ravers young and old should make a beeline for this neon-soaked documentary about nonconformist youths in Chengdu, China who’ve found a queer haven in an underground techno club called Funky Town, which probably isn’t going to be around long with cranes moving in to rebuild the neighbourhood; it’s a glorious love letter to the temporary communities that form on the dancefloor. Of the older work, be sure to see the extraordinary The River from the great Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang. It’s a mesmerising study of pain, isolation and horniness – many of Tsai’s favourite themes – following three members of a dysfunctional family (a mother, a father and their adult son), with Tsai exploring their alienation and desires in his trademark long, engrossing shots. And for a more rounded view of contemporary Asian queer cinema, check out Welcome to Neverland, a short film programme of weird and wonderful films blurring boundaries between reality and fantasy and challenging cultural understandings of gender and sexuality.
Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, 2-26 Oct, various venues in Edinburgh; ESFF also tours to Tranent (3, 4 & 11 Oct), Stirling (2-10 Oct), Inverness (8-21 Oct) and Glasgow (11-19 Oct)
Full programme at edinburghshortfilmfestival.com
Queer East Festival: On The Road, 17-21 Oct, Cameo, Edinburgh
Full programme at queereast.org.uk
The River for Queer East Festival
I Am Nevenka, for Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival
Into the Ghibliverse
Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham have spent the last six years celebrating Studio Ghibli with their podcast Ghibliotheque. Their new book, Ghibliverse: Studio Ghibli Beyond the Films, dives even deeper and wider
For most cinephiles, Studio Ghibli, the animators behind all-time classics like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, need no introduction. But how much do you really know about them? Well if you listen to Ghibliotheque, the fantastic podcast from critics Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham that takes a deep dive into this legendary animation studio, you’ll know a fair bit. Leader and Cunningham also explored the world of Studio Ghibli in print with Ghibliotheque: The Unofficial Movie Guide, and now they’re di ing into lesser-charted territory with the follow-up Ghibliverse: Studio Ghibli Beyond the Films.
This new read examines all the lesser-known cultural objects and moments that orbit Ghibli’s feature film releases – but what was the impetus for this direction? “We’ve been doing this for six years, and the longer that we do it, the more connections we uncover,” explains Cunningham. “By connections, that can mean talking with Domee Shi on the podcast and finding a link between her short Bao and My Neighbors the Yamadas [from Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata], or it might be talking about [the Ghibli influence on 2021 Pixar animation] Luca, or it might be talking about music. We’re constantly making these connections between Ghibli and other artists’ work, but also the work that came before the studio and the work that happened because of the studio, and they are equally part of the story.
“We’ve always been surprised at how much of an audience there is. When we set up the podcast, we only planned initially six episodes, because we thought, right, we’ll do six and see how it goes, and if there’s an appetite for that, maybe we’ll do some more. And then that kind of philosophy seems to have been with us through every different aspect of this entire project.”
Although Ghibli films are much-loved by audiences globally, they (along with anime more broadly) haven’t typically been accepted into the Western canon of great cinema, especially among arthouse distribution and audiences – which is where Leader and Cunningham have sought to make a difference. “We wanted to put [Studio Ghibli] on a pedestal with the sorts of filmmakers that would get this treatment elsewhere in podcast or book form,” says Leader. “When we go out on the road, it’s funny how we’re put in the same bracket as fandom, but we always wanted to put these films on in cinemas where they
Words: Zoe Crombie
sit side by side in the programme with the latest releases. And we’ve always been surprised by who’s turning up!”
Take, for example, their recent screening of the little-seen 2004 psychedelic gem Mind Games from Masaaki Yuasa, which they programmed at the massive IMAX at BFI Southbank back in August. “It’s possibly the most offbeat thing we’ve shown – we had 170 odd people turning up to the IMAX to see it, and I’d probably say 80% hadn’t seen it before,” says Leader.
“Ghibli is so much bi er than the films”
Michael Leader
Even for people who have seen most – or all – of Studio Ghibli’s films, there’s still plenty to discover. “Ghibli is so much bi er than the films,” continues Leader, “particularly in the last few years, with the success of the stage productions, and with the park and museum becoming not just holiday destinations but pilgrimage destinations. It shows that even though Ghibli did release another film with The Boy and the Heron, there is so much more to them than just what’s on the screen.”
For many (myself included), Ghibli can become a bi er part of your life beyond the screenings. Cunningham and Leader have captured this idea with Ghibliverse in ways inspired by their
own unique engagement with the studio. “I’m not somebody who obsessively re-watches films, but some people do, and so it can become part of your life that way,” says Leader. “But you might get the tattoo, and be looking at Ghibli all day long; it’s literally etched into your skin.
“Jake wrote the music chapter in this new book, and makes the very good point that he’s spent more time listening to [regular Ghibli composer] Joe Hisaishi’s music than he’s ever spent watching the Ghibli films. So in a way, that is the primary Ghibli influence in his life.”
With all this research, there was bound to be a few facts or experiences that caught the pair off guard – so what was their most surprising discovery? “That the Ghibli Park is more than the sum of its parts,” says Cunningham, “and that it has become its own artwork and not just a great tribute or memorialisation. It’s the crowning achievement of Goro Miyazaki [son of Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki] – it’s quite a phenomenal piece of architecture and design.”
Ghibliverse: Studio Ghibli Beyond the Films is published 10 Oct by Hachette UK
The latest Ghibliotheque podcast series, The Shinkai-deology, is currently available wherever you get your podcasts
Cunningham and Leader have curated Film in Print, a free series of talks at London Film Festival about film writing, which run 12-13 Oct at gallery@oxo in London
My Neighbour Totoro
Illustration by Morvern Graham
Floating In Time
Ahead of releasing his latest solo record, Throb, shiver, arrow of time, we catch up with cellist, producer, film composer and electronic musician Oliver Coates
When filmmaker Steve McQueen took out his phone to Shazam a track sounding like a cello compressed into millions of disintegrating atoms he heard while shopping, he discovered it was part five of musician, composer, and in-demand film scorer Oliver Coates’ suite Caregiver from his 2020 album skins n slime. Soon after, Coates had the first 15 minutes of McQueen’s ambitious in-the-works documentary Occupied City in his inbox, and a commission to soundtrack the work of one of modern cinema’s great directors.
The story is a modest downplaying of Coates’ achievements – something he does multiple times over the course of our conversation in a cafe in the West End of Glasgow. Coates’ career has taken him from his home in London as something of a cello prodigy to tying a thread from his classical bona fides to the electronic music scene; collaborating with other ardent experimentalists like fellow film alumni Mica Levi, on the road with Thom Yorke, and eventually landing in Glasgow,where he’s now based, and where he has now made a name for himself scoring films and television series – most notably Charlotte Wells’ lauded debut feature Aftersun
“Music is a very powerful type of glue. It’s just sound. And we all assume it’s loaded with human meaning”
Oliver Coates
This month Coates will release Throb, shiver, arrow of time, a new album of original work in a similar vein to the aforementioned skins n slime, where he manipulated the bowing of his cello into heaving, metallic drones and surges of shoegazey feedback. Throb, shiver, arrow of time complements those techniques with melancholy and, sometimes, whimsical electronic textures which give it a lighter tone. On Living branches, the echo of Coates’ cello has a vastness, as if it’s funneling up the spiral of a cathedral. On Backprint radiation, its refrain is small but magic – it sounds like something in the midst of creation.
“When you do a film, you’re hoping to map the internal structure of the music onto the dramatic structure of the film, trying to make it bend and flex to whatever is needed,” says Coates. “With this, the time and shape is something I can determine. I could probably make an ambient cello track every day of the week, but it doesn’t need to
come out unless I really need it to.
“With the last album, I think I felt some pain or suffering, and I really felt like I put that into the work at that time. Not that it’s autobiographical, but it’s more like you do something with your despair and you turn it into catharsis. I was leaning into distortion, saturation and overdrive, where you’re just like lost in it. It’s just gorgeous and it does something. This time I didn’t want to just lean into that as a kind of cure-all. I wanted to make the music and the notes speak a bit more and have their own logic.”
Throb, shiver, arrow of time coalesces strands of Coates’ work that have become slowly entangled over recent years. Memory is key – thematically, it links Aftersun (a personal memory of Wells’ father) and Occupied City (our collective memory of the Holocaust), and now this new album.
“Our identities and egos are shored up on these narratives that are probably construed out of conflicting bits of information – there’s no truth,” says Coates of his contemplation of the unreliability and embellishment over time of memory. “There’s halfremembered moments mixed with emotions from a different event somehow overlaid to make a coherent sense of self.”
Shopping centre curfew, a short improvisational track, came out of a jumble of thoughts and feelings derived from lockdown, the demolition of an Elephant and Castle mall and a remark in parliament about a curfew for men as an act to reduce violence against women. These all connected for Coates into a dream logic.
Coates opens a hulking coffee table book of the work of artist Sarah Sze. He says her work exploring the fragmentation of our lives through frames and bombardments of images informed the way he approaches the flatness of digital versus the liveness of his playing. It also inspired the
concept of the video for Apparition, a kind of “hypervlog” based on thousands of Coates’ personal photos – which somehow succeeds as an act of satire and a radical act of sincerity – directed by Wells. It’s not surprising he should bring a visual eye to his compositions, transmuting the approaches of his collaborators onto his own.
How these abstracts manifest in the music, Coates says, is not dissimilar to how he sees his scoring work: “Music is a very powerful type of glue. It’s just sound. And we all assume it’s loaded with human meaning. But the music itself is not. We are doing that. We are the ones giving it titles, accusing it of being this and that – too sweet, too sentimental, too dark – because of our own conditioning, our own ears. The music remains a bunch of frequencies floating in time. Those are our own biases.”
Throb, shiver, arrow of time is released on 18 Oct via RVNG Intl olivercoates.com
Words: Tony Inglis
Oliver Coates
Carving Traditions
It’s that time of year: toffee apples, green-lit and cobwebbed club nights, all-too-flammable costumes – just about anything goes. One writer reflects on the radical Halloween histories of marginalised genders and queer folk
The air crackles with the chill of autumn, swirling with the scent of fallen leaves and faint bonfires. Costumes abound: witches with crooked hats and flowing capes, skeletons clattering along the pavement, and spectral figures drifting through our communities. Amidst the glitter and face paint, identities blur, and the masks we wear reveal more than they hide.
Halloween feels like a night of fantasy and escapism. But under its playful surface lies a powerful and historical connection to women, marginalised genders, and the queer community. It’s a connection forged through resistance, expression, and defiance.
Witches are arguably the most iconic symbol of Halloween, and their history is deeply intertwined with that of women, particularly those persecuted for defying the patriarchal structures of their time. The witch trials of Europe and early America disproportionately punished women who lived outside societal expectations – for instance, healers, midwives, and, surprisingly, brewers.
‘At its core, Halloween is a celebration of the otherworldly: the liminal space between what is and what could be’
In medieval Europe, brewing was largely women’s work. Known as brewsters or alewives, women produced beer as a means of survival and commerce. But as the brewing industry became more profitable, male brewers began to push women out of the trade. As researcher Laken Brooks argues, the imagery associated with alewives – tall hats, cats to guard grain stores, and broomsticks used to advertise their home-brewed ale – became intertwined with the later depictions of witches.
When we see witches on Halloween, we’re not simply seeing a figure of fantasy; we’re witnessing a historical symbol of how society has often demonised independent, skilled women who step outside the boundaries of what is expected of them. Witches were branded as dangerous, subversive, and uncontrollable.
Nowadays, it is a sad impossibility to disentangle the image of a witch from anti-trans campaigners, misaligning themselves with those persecuted as witches throughout history. Of course, witches represent those who stood against societal norms; women and marginalised people who resisted control and oppression. The irony lies in the fact that these groups, which champion extreme patriarchy and heteronormativity, have co-opted witches as symbols for their cause. By using this symbol, anti-trans campaigners claim a figure that has always defied the very structures they seek to uphold.
For the queer community, Halloween has historically been more than just a night of spooky revelry – it’s been a moment of liberation, as noted by Them magazine. In the 20th century, long before Pride parades were commonplace, Halloween provided queer people with an opportunity to express themselves freely, often for the first time. Gender norms were rigid and unforgiving; Halloween offered a unique loophole. Halloween’s embrace of costumes and disguises allowed queer individuals to experiment with their gender presentation and sexual identity in ways that, on any other night of the year, were
Words: Rosie Priest Illustration: Liv Dugdale
dangerous. Dressing in drag or adopting an androgynous appearance could be dismissed as ‘just a costume’ during Halloween, offering a rare moment of safety and freedom in a hostile world. For one night, queer people could embody who they truly were – or who they aspired to be – without fear of persecution. Bars and clubs in cities like New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans began to hold elaborate Halloween parties where queer expression was not merely tolerated but celebrated. Halloween’s sense of play, its blurring of identity and reality, allowed queer people to explore their true selves in a way no other holiday could.
Halloween’s broader themes also resonate with other marginalised communities. Monsters are often metaphorical stand-ins for the ‘Other’, the one who is feared and misunderstood by mainstream society. Whether it’s the misunderstood Frankenstein’s Creature or the seductive vampire, monsters are often portrayed as those who live on the fringes, and in them, marginalised folk can see reflections of their own experiences.
Historically, queer people have often been portrayed as ‘monstrous’ in mainstream culture, their identities framed as something unnatural or even evil. But on Halloween, this fear of the ‘Other’ can be reclaimed. The queer community has long found power in taking on these identities and turning them into sources of pride and strength. Drag performers, for instance, often blend the grotesque with the glamorous, embodying the idea that what society calls monstrous is often a source of creative power.
At its core, Halloween is a celebration of the otherworldly: the liminal space between what is and what could be. For marginalised genders and the queer community, it’s a night that can be both fun and deeply symbolic. It’s a time when the things that society fears – queerness, the blending of genders – become the focus of celebration, not condemnation.
While the monsters upon our TV screens may be frightening, the real fear which Halloween confronts is society’s fear of difference: the fear of women who step outside traditional roles; the fear of queer people who refuse to conform; the fear of the ‘Other’ who exists on the margins. Halloween turns that fear on its head and gives those who have been marginalised the chance to own their power, if only for one night.
From women who were persecuted for brewing ale and using their knowledge of herbs, to queer individuals who have claimed Halloween as their own, Halloween offers a unique space of empowerment and self-expression. In that sense, Halloween is more than just a spooky celebration – it’s a night of resistance, transformation, and liberation.
Morning and Evening by Nobel Prize laureate Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls, publishes on 7 November
Apple of Our Eye
Apple picking season has never tasted so sweet. We speak with volunteer-run Glasgow Apple Pressing about public services, sustainable community building, and (of course) freshly pressed apple juice
Words: Lillian Salvatore
Iam at Townhead Village Hall, where the community is celebrating its Apple Festival. The place is packed: children running around, a live band playing lively folk tunes, people sitting together enjoying apple cake and coffee. Apples are decorated like e s, apples are painted on children’s faces, apples in all different shapes and colours line every surface of the room. Outside, a group of children and adults are gathered around two big machines. They turn the handles, and I watch as pulp falls into buckets. Someone hands me a cup and I drink –juice tart but smooth like syrup as it lingers on the tongue. “This batch is much sharper than the one before,” they tell me.
In charge of the machinery is Glasgow Apple Pressing, a collective who put on free apple pressing events across Glasgow. Autumn is their season, with apples ripe to harvest in these orange months, and Rod Sànchez – humbly describing himself as ‘the equipment holder’ – works with 30 or so volunteers to press apples into juice for whoever would like it.
This year, the collective have also started running apple picking days, inviting folk to join them in gathering fruit from the numerous public apple trees around the city. “It’s about showing people that you don’t need to own land or have an orchard or a garden to make stuff, and make use of things,” Sànchez tells me. In doing so, they’re exposing Glasgow as a living, breathing, community orchard, primed and ready for use.
The collective sit alongside a vast network of community-run operations in the city that provide food and resources for people most affected by the cost-of-living crisis. “[We’re] not a West End or ‘Strathbungo’ endeavour,” Sànchez says. “It’s in communities that need as many resources in them as they possibly can. That’s very clear to me.”
“It’s about having people be part of a public realm that is growing stronger and can deal with whatever is thrown at it. That’s the long-term.”
The idea was born out of conversation. Sànchez, who is a regular volunteer with many other community growth collectives around the city, was hearing stories about how others had pressed apples from their allotments and sold them as juice for £5 a pop. It was October 2022, and he was surrounded by an abundance of apples waiting to fall from trees. “How do you use these apples when it’s not commercially viable to do so?” he tells me. “I was inspired by groups that I see, like the Glasgow Seed Library, that offer an alternative model of food and plant-based practices of eating, drinking, and production.”
In the ongoing barrage of cuts to public services in Scotland, the collective is providing a service where there is none. “The goal was always about being a public service, free at the point of use for anyone to come and use it,” Sànchez says. You bring the apples, and Glasgow Apple Pressing will do the rest.
They pop up regularly over the autumn in community spaces all around the city, holding their apple pressing events. They’ve been frequent visitors of the Nan McKay Hall in Pollokshields and the Barmulloch Recreation Hall in the north of Glasgow, locations “independent of the council and being run by the community.” They provide not only free produce, but a space to socialise and bring people together, fostering a sense of community in areas frequently less targeted than others.
In August they posted a photo to their Instagram, with an announcement that they had secured a two-year community interest lease with Glasgow City Council to open a multi-arts venue, apple tree nursery, and ‘ciderarium’ inside the disused People’s Palace. A sta eringly positive shift from the council, that was, in fact, just a wee joke. The comment section was filled with praise and joy for the little apple pressing collective that could.
“Sorry about that,” Rod says. “It was meant to be more obvious that it was a wish, or a dream, or a fantasy – even if it was sharply edged.”
So, what then, of the future? “There is no funding for what we’re doing, I don’t think.” But Sànchez remains positive. “We can build these castles in the sky,” he says, “but we can also build them on the ground.”
Perhaps the ‘ciderarium’ and orchard is just a fantasy, but the collective activism that Glasgow Apple Pressing are a part of has, in some sense, brought that dream into reality today, at Townhead Village Apple Festival. The aim of the collective is really “about people making and creating and producing,”
Sànchez says. “It’s about connecting people, bringing people together, and showing each other that these things are not beyond us... It’s about having people be part of a public realm that is growing stronger and can deal with whatever is thrown at it. That’s the long-term.”
A group of children hand me another cup of apple juice, urging me to try their latest press. Behind us, people line up and make their way down to the little orchard, ready to harvest some more apples.
@glasgowapplepressing on Instagram
Photo: Eoin Carey
Taking Up (Green) Space
The great outdoors is for everyone – not just white folks. We speak to people of colour-led organisations about connecting with and building community within nature
Under foot, pine needles sink into soil. Greenery sprouts here and there. It’s a grey sky today, the light reaching through the thick branches with ease. The trunk of a tree is cool upon the palm. It’s quiet, it’s peaceful, and there is only birdsong.
As reported by RENEW Biodiversity, approximately 60% of people of colour in the UK spend time in nature less than twice a month; for white people, it’s only approximately 30%. Although either figure is troubling, the disparity between the two is alarming. Underlining this, RENEW lists three types of barriers faced by people of colour when attempting to spend time in nature: structural, experiential, and cultural. Whether inaccessible due to costs and distance or alienating due to microa ressions and racial harassment, green spaces are often built by white communities, for white communities. Nature can be decolonised; but it, like any decolonisation, is no mean feat.
In recent months, this disparity has felt ever pressing due to far right race riots. Amid travel warnings and a few too many funny looks, leaving the house became more difficult than usual. Location sharing-on; route mapped by group chat updates; home before dark. Palestine flags still hung from windows and ‘Refugees are welcome here’ stickers still clung to traffic lights; but, at the same time, the red and blue of Union Jacks became all-too sudden and fresh.
Despite such difficulties, a number of people of colour-led, Scotland-based organisations are turning to the outdoors – embracing it, as it embraces them too. And so, finding joy in nature becomes a means of community building, self-affirmation, and political resistance.
At the height of 2020’s COVID lockdown, Woodlands Community began online anti-racism reflection sessions, following the murder of George Floyd. They met weekly – reading, discussing, questioning. As the outdoors began to open up once again, the group envisioned a community resource from which people could access and borrow anti-racist books. With a background in bookselling and curation, Sapna Agarwal was asked to lead the project. There was a little money – but not a lot – and the era had its own demands. “COVID necessitated more outdoor activity,” says Agarwal. Rather than opting for a mobile library, Millenium Park in the heart of Woodlands was chosen as a base. What began as
an indoors and online endeavour found itself outdoors and in-person, with the help of a little social distancing.
“From April to October, we’re outdoors. We have the little community meeting room up back, but we massively prefer to be outdoors,” Agarwal says. Windy spells have seen the team turn their hand to a makeshift gazebo, with only a few hopeful pieces of string. “If there’s a very heavy conversation that someone wants to have when we’re indoors, they’ll be seeking a little corner, or it’ll be a bit harder to have those conversations if there’s hardly anyone else there. Whereas when you’re outdoors, you can just take a little step away from the table,” says Agarwal. Out in the open, open conversations are possible. “It’s so strange that there’s no physical barrier, but in a way there’s loads more privacy.”
“This belongs to you, as well as everyone else, as long as you look after it”
Joshua
Adeyemi, Black Scottish Adventurers founder
Rhubaba, an Edinburgh-based artist-run organisation, also found some much needed peace of mind in nature. During a research residency at Cove Park, the committee found the space to breathe and create; they felt communities of colour in Scotland would really benefit from this. Without traffic and light pollution and sirens, the committee were able to lean into the natural rhythms of their bodies. “The thing to do seems to be to go sit in a basement and do funding applications – that would be the smart thing to do,” says Rhubaba committee member, Jj Fadaka. “But actually, to follow our bodies’ natural rhythms and go back to nature gave us so much more creativity and motivation than sitting in an office.”
Through the residency at Cove Park, Rhubaba realised they’d like to take matters outwith the city via Dòigh Nàdair, their current artistic development residency which seeks to reunite people of colour with the natural environment. With demands for communities of colour to work hard, harder, prove
Words: Eilidh Akilade
Illustration: Heedayah Lockman
our worth and excel, cities can seem the only space in which to achieve these capitalistic ideals. “You’re only allowed to focus on one thing – which is working,” says Fadaka. Nature is de-prioritised (ironically) for survival.
“How can you be truly creative if you’re on edge all the time?” says Rhubaba committee member, Neha Apsara. Propranolol in hand and jaw tensed as we run errands, we’re well accustomed to anxiety. Time outdoors allows us to step out of the cycle, if only for a few moments. But, of course, nature isn’t devoid of its own stresses. “A lot of things in nature can be brutal. You don’t know what’s going to happen; you need to be okay with the uncomfortable as well.” Creativity can be found in those moments of vulnerability.
In everyday life, people of colour are ever watched; in nature, there are few judgmental eyes. Such sentiments are interwoven into Dòigh Nàdair; the residents, Katucha Bento and Shona Inatimi, are not expected to display anything. Unlike our whitewashed arts landscape, nature asks little of us – Rhubaba’s programme reflects exactly that. For Woodlands Community Anti-Racism Library, seeing and being seen, however, is crucial. “It’s visibility. It’s not like we’re having these difficult conversations behind a closed door,” says Agarwal. “We’re out in the open.” With a play park, basketball court, and a handful of benches, it’s a space designed with community in mind. The library has leaned into this warmth, offering snacks to passersbys. “When there [are] tensions in the country, or you’re hearing about things in the news, to maintain that physical presence [allows] people to come and feel supported.”
A similar visibility is often lacking in traditional outdoors activities; however, Black Scottish Adventurers co-founder Joshua Adeyemi is keen to change this. “If you don’t see people like you doing something, sometimes it can be a hindrance [...] You might feel out of place. I’ve been through it, I’ve felt it, I know it first hand,” says Adeyemi. The group coordinates trips to the Scottish outdoors – hiking, swimming, cycling – while also promoting wellbeing and sustainability. With Scotland’s Land Reform Act, we can roam freely; for Adeyemi, this is a responsibility to be enjoyed. “This belongs to you, as well as everyone else, as long as you look after it.”
From carpooling to post-walk-barbecues, each trip is structured to facilitate connection between members. “Connection in the outdoors is
very, very organic. It’s not the kind of connection you make sitting over a coffee table,” says Adeyemi. Many of Black Scottish Adventurers’ members are first generation immigrants; as such, the group is keen to connect them with each other as well as the Scottish wilderness. Although named Black Scottish Adventurers, the group is open to everyone, no matter their racial or ethnic background. “We named it that [...] because there’s nothing specific for that group. Other Black people can know that they are welcome here –which is very, very important.”
Much like Black Scottish Adventurers, Rhubaba isn’t an organisation solely for PoCs. However, in recent years, their programming has actively centred communities of colour; afterall, white communities are centred just about everywhere else. At a recent Dòigh Nàdair workshop, attendees shared their experiences of being in nature. “People in the group were saying that they’ve been on hikes or nature trips with white
people, and they felt really uncomfortable. They felt very othered, or they felt they were getting judged for not knowing or understanding as much as their white counterparts would about being in the outdoors,” says Apsara. When facing such mistreatment when venturing outdoors, the indoors seems a lot safer.
For Black Scottish Adventurers, it’s crucial that their members are well-prepared. “A lot of people can go out in nature and do all sorts, but how do you do it safely?” says Adeyemi. The group supports their members with guidance on outdoor clothing and equipment. For those new to such adventuring, it’s easy to accidentally waste money on flimsy waterproofs or too-small boots.
“In nature, lack of access doesn’t come with lack of care,” says Fadaka. Not every river can be swam in; not every tree can be climbed. Unlike state-sponsored neglect, when nature does not welcome our presence, it’s not with hostility. In reality, there’s relief in this resistance, in allowing
nature – and ourselves – to simply exist. “Maybe that hill is to be untouched.”
With well-mudded boots and rosy cheeks, experiencing the outdoors in community with others also brings a much-needed fun. “Yes, there’s an element of white people being able to educate themselves, but there’s also this real privileging of joy and of mutual support and celebration,” says Agarwal. “There is space for people to come and bring their difficult stuff, but there’s also a lot of laughter, a lot of playfulness.”
Between race riots and mass deportations, taking up space in the outdoors is a radical act in itself – Black Scottish Adventurers, Woodlands Community Anti-Racism Library, and Rhubaba are testament to that. For Apsara of Rhubaba, it’s simple: “They can’t tell us where we can be. We will be where we will be.”
Find out more @blackscottishadventurers, @rhubaba, and @woodlandscommunityglasgow on Instagram
To Yourself Holding On
Photo: Jackson Bowley
Ahead of releasing her steeped-in-feelings debut album Gramarye, we catch up with groundbreaking Glasgow producer TAAHLIAH
Words: Jack Faulds
By now, everyone who’s anyone knows Glasgow groundbreaker TAAHLIAH and her exemplary contributions to the world of Scottish music. If you’re in any way involved in the Glasgow club or dance music scene, her slick production and celestial compositions will undoubtedly be on your sonic radar. Not to mention her otherworldly approach to live performance – an expert blend of creative lighting and visuals, contagiously fun go-go dancing and (of course) an always spectacular setlist.
I felt the impact of this approach for the first time last year when I reviewed TAAHLIAH’s Ultimate Angels show at SWG3 for this very mag. It was a show that ran on the pure euphoria of the audience, a show which celebrated the joy of the crowd (and dance and club culture as a whole) just as much as it celebrated the artist performing. A few weeks prior to this hometown show, TAAHLIAH performed at the Southbank Centre with the London Contemporary Orchestra as part of the 2023 Purcell Sessions. This event, unbeknownst to her at the time, served as a turning point in the DJ’s artistic direction as she began writing her upcoming debut album – Gramarye
Following her ethereal and award-winning 2021 EP Angelica, Gramarye (a folkloric word relating to magic and necromancy) sees TAAHLIAH at her most vulnerable both emotionally and musically. As well as going full-throttle on the LCO-inspired orchestral elements, the album also brings in live drums, ripping guitars and swelling bagpipes – exciting additions to the TAAHLIAH soundscape that we’ve come to know and love. TAAHLIAH also sought out vocal and piano lessons for the album, giving it an intimacy and personal edge that was not afforded to Angelica.
“I’m not in a crack den, by the way,” prefaces TAAHLIAH, whose voice echoes around an empty room in her boyfriend’s new flat as she tries to find a place to set down her laptop for our chat. She’s wearing a slogan tee which reads ‘What exactly is heterosexuality and what causes it?’ and I feel immediately at home.
“The anticipation of this album definitely feels bi er than that of the EP,” she begins. “Not necessarily due to the scale of the project, it’s more about the perceptions that people have of you as an artist. But I’m excited at the prospect of releasing a piece of work that can speak for me and what I’m interested in and that displays how I’ve grown as an artist. I’m excited to move on from a world
“This album is all about feelings, and I wanted to play around with different ways of representing love”
TAAHLIAH
that is conceptually not what I’m about anymore. “Angelica was a project that was created in my bedroom,” she continues. “And I think you can hear that. There’s obviously intentionality with that approach but, as with any dated work, the artist falls out of touch with it. I think the success of Angelica kind of spearheaded me to look in different places. Gramarye feels more internal than external.”
TAAHLIAH no longer guards the door that leads the audience to her innermost thoughts, feelings, regrets and desires as she explores new territory on this album. The intimate nature of songs like Cherish and Hours really drives this internal feeling, led respectively by cavernous vocals and the tactile clicks of nails against piano keys. Lyrically, one of the most candid songs on Gramarye is second single 2018, in which TAAHLIAH expresses the deep frustration, anger, nostalgia and (eventually) bitter acceptance that we feel around that one relationship we all had as a teenager.
“That’s a very pathetic song,” she laughs. “But I think the patheticness of songs like 2018 (and then the acceptance of the patheticness) is really what this album is all about. The first song I ever made for the album was Angel and it lived in a very different world than how it exists now. It’s a very soft, light blue kind of song. Kind of like the sky right now, actually.” She turns her laptop around to let me see the wispy clouds that blanch the fading cornflower firmament. “But the first phrase I wrote down was, ‘The world is hard but I’m soft like an angel’. It was originally an Instagram caption that I came up with, half asleep in my bed. The focal points of that phrase – the ‘hard’ and the ‘soft’ – are what the album’s journey explores. The intimate, pathetic, ‘soft’ moments really aid the more sassy, preposterous, ‘hard’ songs.”
As TAAHLIAH mentions here, Gramarye is also very brutal and maximalist when it wants to be. Hard-hitter Eylvue (pronounced ‘I love you’), for example, could very well be the most boisterous love song you’ve ever heard. A thumping kick, squelchy synths which explode like firecrackers, and an unidentifiable audio snippet from an oldHollywood movie of a conversation between lovers.
“That song was conceived because I wanted to make a song or sound that evokes the same sense of electricity one feels when falling in love,” says TAAHLIAH. “That’s where the electric-sounding patch comes through, and the forceful kick which I used to emulate being pelted with feelings of lust, passion and angst. And anxiety, in my case. The title is also spelled like that because I didn’t want to just call it I Love You. I didn’t like that as a title, and it’s not representative of how I feel about who inspired the narrative of the album. This album is all about feelings, and I wanted to play around with different ways of representing love.”
The influence of that London Contemporary Orchestra performance on the massive sound of this record is undeniable. The first time she had ever worked with live instrumentation, this show allowed TAAHLIAH to hear her music in a different way and broadened her perspective. “It really expanded my horizons in regards to how
“I really enjoy playing with the undefinable”
TAAHLIAH
genre-less things can become when you combine those electronic and acoustic elements. The power of strings is always something I feel quite enamoured by. And I really enjoy playing with the undefinable, there’s kind of something for everyone on this record…ish. It just kind of blew my mind, I was like ‘Woah, these songs sound even bi er with these things that I thought were a hindrance’. I sometimes think about what would have happened if I didn’t do that gig.”
For me, one of the greatest pleasures of listening through this record was hearing TAAHLIAH’s own voice sprinkled across the tracklist. She employs past and frequent collaborators Sophie Thornton (naafi) and Tsatsamis to lead the vocal charge (as well as new collaborators such as Morven Kemp (Pearling) and Dev Hynes (Blood Orange), but takes a brave step towards being more present in her work. “I’ve always been told that I have… what’s the word…” she hesitates. “A voice with potential? It was always something that I was interested in exploring. But I think that perhaps my grievances with my gender at the time kind of stopped me from investigating that. I had a lot of fear.
“We’d be in the studio and the people with me would be like, ‘How do you want this sung?’ and I’d sing what was in my head for them. They’d say, ‘You can sing, why would you not sing on your own tracks?’ and I’d be like, ‘Do you want me to jump out a window?!’ But eventually, I asked my label if I could get singing lessons. It took me a long time to even feel comfortable singing in front of my vocal coach. It’s still something that I’m kind of grappling with, because I want to tour a lot of the songs from this album, and I think that would involve my voice. I’m not there yet, I’m still looking for where my voice fits in.”
The closing double-act track of Holding On / Let Me Go begins with a croaky bagpipe drone, over which Tsatsamis and Thornton layer their impassioned embellishments. TAAHLIAH is a masterful composer here, simultaneously designing an intricate arrangement and giving the first half of this finale space to breathe. The latter segment of this song, though, wraps the album up perfectly. A hopeful, countrified track which concludes TAAHLIAH’s journey on an optimistic note, complete with heavenly slide guitar.
“The message I want to get across is that what I’ve been through has made me the person that I am today – and that’s someone I really like. The lyric at the end of that outro song – ‘And I’ll keep holding on even if you let me go’ – is not holding on to that person or that relationship, it’s more about holding on to yourself, understanding who you are and taking that forth into wherever you go.”
Gramarye is released on 18 Oct via Untitled (Recs)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra Presents with thanks to esk �lm
Dreaming Big
Ahead of releasing Dreamstate, we catch up with Kelly Lee Owens to talk about the importance of colour, collaboration and connection in her music
When Kelly Lee Owens feels the call to make an album, she picks up a new notebook. The colour of this notebook is the first major decision made. Her fourth album, Dreamstate, is a bubbly dance record designed for moments of shared euphoria. This time, her heart wanted bright green.
The Welsh dance producer and songwriter has had a huge year – supporting Depeche Mode in 75,000-capacity venues, becoming the first signee to George Daniel’s dh2 label, and in an act of fate, playing Charli xcx’s PARTYGIRL night at Amnesia in Ibiza alongside Shygirl and Romy. Of course the colour was BRAT green.
“It had to be this specific colour,” Owens agrees. “The lime green, the brightness pulled me towards it for its hopeful vibe and healing energy.” She thumbs through the pages. “Let me see. The first thing I wrote was, ‘Euphoric exploration, brightness, collaboration, openness...’” You can hear all this in Dreamstate’s warm melodies and anthemic scope. But the next line hints at the record’s intimate side: “‘You deserve all the dreams that you keep hidden’.”
By the end of the record’s creation, she had filled three notebooks – a darker one for her ballads, and one in black to tie it together. Beneath the shine is something grittier.
Growing up, Owens was a daydreamer. In school, she was given two certificates by her classmates, one for ‘music lover of the year’ and another for ‘daydreamer of the year’. “If it was supposed to be funny and derogatory, you got the wrong one. I was thrilled. These were genuine achievements.”
Daydreaming for Owens isn’t just escapism. It’s a way to think beyond the options laid out for you. “I was like, what do you mean we go to school, then we go to university, we get a job, and we die? That’s not me... I was always questioning tradition.”
Dreamstate works with big, accessible emotions, but that doesn’t make it less nuanced. While its songs touch on inner belief, Owens is careful not to sell a self-help lifestyle. “I think that dreaming is becoming more of a privilege and a luxury that’s going to be commodified,” she says. “The new luxury is being offline. We are being constantly bombarded by so many things that you don’t even know what your own dreams are, because you’re being
sold other people’s dreams. They say that comparison is death. What do we think of Instagram then?”
Before her summer of dreaming, Owens took a moment to remind herself what she wanted. “I found myself having a word with the universe,” she says. “There were so many things that changed all at once. You know when that happens? Those times where you’re like, ‘What the fuck is going on
“Dreaming is becoming more of a privilege and a luxury that’s going to be commodified”
Kelly Lee Owens
Words: Skye
Butchard
here? I thought I knew where my life was going. Clearly, I don’t. So fucking show me’. I was pissed off.” She decided to give herself to music in a way she’d never done before, and to have faith in that process. “I was the walking embodiment of having faith for most of last year.”
Then, all the parts fell into place. Soon, she was touring with The Chemical Brothers and Bicep, both of whom contributed to this project. Still, Dreamstate remains cohesively Kelly. Bringing other voices into her private world took work, even if it was one of the first things she wrote down. “I’m finding a sense of trust in myself that I haven’t experienced before,” she says. “When something terrifies me, I should probably go and do it.” Bringing in these “big dogs”, as she calls them, was one of those things.
Dreamstate was made to be shared with others in a live setting. A hectic year of shows performing to larger crowds made Owens more eager and direct when creating that live connection, which isn’t easy if you’re stuck behind the decks. “DJing is very different, because you’re limited to being behind something,” she says. “Having performed with Depeche Mode, I was like, I’m getting on the table, or whatever I can get on to connect and say, ‘I’m here, I’m a human being.’”
Her summer has been peppered with surreal moments, like doing karaoke with Beth Ditto, or getting back to camp at Glastonbury at sunrise after partying with Charli and George. Despite this, a free show she put on with Caribou in a community centre in North Wales remains her highlight. “Bringing something back to Wales, however big or small, is really important,” she says. “Wales is synonymous with music, poetry and expression, and North Wales used to be massive in the 90s for acid raves on mountains and beaches. I wanted to remind people that we see them, they matter and that they can do this. I’ve never felt love in a room like it.”
Now, she’s getting the first glimmer of a new notebook. “I’m not quite sure what it is, but I recently wore this dark red wine [lipstick] colour. The sensuality of that, maybe that’s a vibe?” She pauses, thoughtfully. “But it will come to me.”
Dreamstate is released on 18 Oct via dh2 kellyleeowens.com
Kelly Lee Owens
Photo: Samuel Bradley
Power Points
Ahead of his appearance at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Borealis shows, part of their New Dimensions series, we chat with world-class violist Lawrence Power
We catch Lawrence Power at 8pm on a warm Tuesday night – the temperature has bloomed over the weekend and the Northern Lights have been spotted across the UK. Caught between childcare and rehearsals for his residency at the Southbank Centre, Power is unlikely to see this for himself.
Power is a world-class viola player, highly sought-after by audiences and composers, and therefore quite hard to pin down. For context, in
“I don’t think we should call it classical music if we’re trying to reach out – it’s just a show, isn’t it?”
Lawrence Power
2003, aged just 26, he was headhunted to become principal violist for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and turned the job down.
His status as a celebrated violist, though undoubtedly deserved, would for hundreds of years have been an oxymoron, given that the instrument was used mostly to fill out orchestral harmonies and serve as the butt of other musicians’ jokes. In Power’s own words, the viola is a “compromised voice that shouldn’t really exist.” But over the last century, as attitudes have changed and more composers have started to write for the instrument, its top players have started to gain star status.
Power comes to Scotland at the end of October for Borealis, two shows with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh (The Queen’s Hall, 31 Oct) and Glasgow (City Halls, 1 Nov). The latter performance is also included in five-day festival Nordic Music Days Glasgow (30 Oct-3 Nov). Part of their New Dimensions series, Borealis is a programme of new sounds from Scotland and the Nordic nations. Power’s contribution is a performance of the viola concerto written for him in 2021 by Swedish composer Anders Hillborg. The piece is heavily textured and effect-forward, and both explosive and contemplative – it begins and ends in a fit of anger, but in between times conjures great northern landscapes for your mind to explore.
The concerto also invokes the North in a different sense. It was originally commissioned and premiered by the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Hillborg wanted a part of the city in the piece’s DNA – if you listen closely you’ll hear that the middle section quotes The Beatles’ I Am the Walrus.
In British classical music the viola has often been used as an expressive, elegiac instrument – Hillborg’s concerto is decidedly not that. The piece is an abrasive, emotional statement, but Power says that’s why people connect with it. “Once people hear this piece, I think they’ll find it incredibly accessible and direct – more than Bach and Brahms.”
For him, the audience’s connection to the music is as important as his playing, or the composer’s writing. He doesn’t have a process to speak of when it comes to interpreting a score, but he thinks a lot about
Words: Laurie Presswood
“As a performer you’re just one third of a triangle... You need an audience and you need the music”
Lawrence Power
how he relates to the people watching him. “As a performer you’re just one third of a triangle, you know? You need an audience and you need the music. And I think without one of those three elements, there is no musical experience... I think it’s very important that we never sort of get above ourselves, that we’re all in it together.”
The audience’s role in live music is as integral now as it’s ever been. No matter the style or genre, the energy a crowd gives out feeds back into the performance – there’s a reason performers and audiences alike love going to gigs, particularly in Glasgow. Power points to the number of now infamous premieres at which the audience hated what went on to be a celebrated work, or loved it so much that the orchestra played one movement over and over and over again. At the 1913 premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, there were famously audience members who hated it so much that they started throwing punches mid-performance.
But for that time-honoured tradition of rioting in the concert hall to continue, the classical music world has to find a way to attract new audiences – a discussion Power says they’ve been having since he was a student. He su ests some younger audiences find the idea of a concert hall, or the very label of ‘classical music’ off-putting. His treatise for the evolution, possibly even survival of the genre, is that we stop demarcating it so strictly, and focus on putting on a good show.
“‘Classical’ is quite an elitist word, isn’t it? It kind of elevates it above other music – ‘classical’.
“I don’t think we should call it classical music if we’re trying to reach out – it’s just a show, isn’t it?”
New Dimensions: Borealis, The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 31 Oct; City Halls, Glasgow, 1 Nov. Tickets for Students and Under 26s are £6
Further performances in the New Dimensions series will take place in 2025: Ad Absurdum, The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 30 Jan and City Halls, Glasgow, 31 Jan; Parabola, The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 13 Mar; City Halls, Glasgow, 14 Mar
More info at sco.org.uk
Finally, a playlist! We asked Lawrence Power what pieces of music he’d recommend to get a first-time listener hooked on the viola. Scan the QR code for his su estions.
Lawrence Power
Photo: Giorgia Bertazzi
Your New Favourite Bands
The nights are fair drawing in, but there’s new music to be found! We look at some of the music festivals happening near and far this October and November
Words: Tallah Brash
As the temperature plummets, and it starts getting dark by 6pm, it’s easy to lean into your yearning for cosy evenings on the couch, binge-watching trash TV, but some of the best new music from future talent is waiting to be discovered in sweaty basement venues, cosy record shops, holy chapels and on boats in all corners of the globe. We take a look at some of the multi-venue music festivals taking place this October and November from as near as Glasgow to as far away as Montreal.
Neighbourhood Festival Manchester, 5 Oct Kicking things off in Manchester is Neighbourhood. Launched in 2016, they’re proud to have hosted a lot of artists over the years who have gone on to be the next big thing – Sam Fender, Mabel, Holly Humberstone, the list goes on. Taking place across 16 venues around the Oxford Road area of Manchester’s city centre, famed venues like the Albert Hall, Gorilla and the O2 Ritz will all be in on the fun of this all-dayer that boasts a lineup of over 100 artists.
Near the top of the bill you’ll find 2023 Scottish Album of the Year Award-shortlisted R’n’B, soul and indie artist Brooke Combe, whose next record, Dancing at the Edge of the World, is due in January, and Manchester’s fast rising stars Pale Waves, fresh from releasing their latest album Smitten. Further down the bill, it’s all about discovery – Liang Lawrence, Nxdia and Vincent’s Last Summer are good places to start. neighbourhoodfestival.com
Beyond the Music
Manchester, 9-12 Oct
Staying in Manchester, Beyond the Music’s global music conference and festival recognises the difficulties currently being faced by the music industry and are ‘here for the future of music.’ Led by its ‘No artists. No music’ ethos, Beyond the Music are ambitious, hoping to turn challenges into opportunities. Now in its second year, the festival has a mammoth list of stage curators, from publications like Clash and Rodeo Mag to labels like Melodic and Nice Swan via the likes of BBC Introducing, with a
strong focus on platforming and celebrating early career artists.
Alongside the music, there’s a full programme of informative panels taking place in the daytime too, discussing topics like the evolution of Black British music, mental health in the industry, and misogyny in music, with rapper Aitch giving the keynote speech. While 25% of the lineup is made up of artists from the north west of England like Werkha, Heavy Salad, Dog Sport and Good Grief, the rest are from far and wide with Zoe Graham and Goodnight Louisa representing Scottish talent. beyondthemusic.co.uk
Tenement Trail
Glasgow, 12 Oct
For a day of musical discovery on home soil, look no further than Glasgow’s much-loved Tenement Trail. Launched in 2013, this all-dayer takes place over eight spaces in the city’s East End, from smaller spots like McChuills to the iconic Barrowland Ballroom, with a devotion to Scottish talent of all genres. Alongside bi er names like Declan Welsh and the Decadent West, Neon Waltz and VLURE, you’ll find recent SAY Award longlisters rEDOLENT further down the bill alongside exciting up-and-comers like neverfine, Dutch Wine, Humour and Fourth Daughter. The festival has also teamed up with BBC Introducing in Scotland for their Barrowland 2 lineup. tenementtrail.com
Left of the Dial
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 17-19 Oct
Named after a song by The Replacements, Rotterdam’s Left of the Dial are proud to have no headliners at their three-day international showcase festival in Rotterdam. With a focus on alternative music, all artists that play are by default of equal importance, and with past performers English Teacher having just won the Mercury Prize, you’re guaranteed their taste is just as good as their ethics.
Split between a whole host of venues – including a boat(!) – more than 100 artists are set to play, with many, like recent DFA signees Mermaid Chunky, performing more than once. A handful of Scottish talent is set to play this year too, including Savage Mansion, No Windows, Samuel Nicholson and Man Of Moon. Alongside the music, there’s also a finely tuned conference schedule with discussions around programming the perfect lineup and the Bands Boycott Barclays protest movement. leftofthedial.nl
Deadletter at Left of the Dial
No Bounds
Sheffield and Rotherham, 11-13 Oct Celebrating music, art and technology in Sheffield and Rotherham this October, the more experimental No Bounds returns for its seventh outing taking over spaces like Sheffield Cathedral, Our Lady On the Bridge Chapel and Hope Works, a former WWI gun barrel factory. Their packed music schedule features live sets from the likes of Oram Award winners Lola de la Mata and The Silver Field, Grammy winning hip-hop artist Flowdan and a collaborative performance from producer Nueen and rapper Iceboy Violet, while their visual art strand includes an installation from Sheffieldbased artist Melville.
Elsewhere, their wellness strand brings Drone Yoga, and Dreaming (live), a six-hour durational sleep performance to the festival, while a collaboration between LGBTQIA+ collective and The Beatriarchy features a two-hour DJ workshop and a three-hour improvisation and play workshop, with priority given to women, non-binary and marginalised people. And the day before the festival officially starts, catch a panel hosted by John Chowning, developer of the FM synthesis algorithm back in 1967. noboundsfestival.co.uk
Mutations Festival
Brighton, 5-9 Nov
Running since 2015, Mutations Festival takes place across nine different independent grassroots venues in Brighton. Over the years they’ve platformed acts like Yard Act, Baxter Dury, Pussy Riot, Working Men’s Club and Billy Nomates, offering the unique chance to see artists destined for bi er stages up close and personal in more intimate settings. This year, over 100
artists are set to play, with names you likely already know like Warmduscher, Arooj Aftab, Kneecap and Alabaster DePlume playing alongside names you should, like Boston alt-indie rockers Horse Jumper of Love, jangly, angular London outfit Folly Group and New York-based folk-pop singer-songwriter Bloomsday. There’s also a smattering of Scottish acts on the bill too with Hamish Hawk, rEDOLENT and VLURE set to play. mutationsfestival.com
Iceland Airwaves
Reykjavík, Iceland, 7-9 Nov
There are obviously many reasons to visit Iceland – the Blue Lagoon, Gullfoss Falls, the Strokkur geyser, the northern lights, the list goes on – but heading there to attend the country’s longest running music festival should also be on your list. Celebrating its 25th year, Iceland Airwaves returns to downtown Reykjavík this November taking place across record shops, launderettes, bars, art museums, churches, nightclubs, concert halls and more. Having platformed artists like Young Fathers, Sigrid, Hot Chip, Florence and the Machine and Caribou early on in their careers, this year, alongside international talent like bar italia, Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul, Charlotte Day Wilson, Magdalena Bay, Personal Trainer, Overmono, Lynks and English Teacher, there’s a glut of Icelandic artists rounding out the bill across a diverse cross section of genres – go discover the next Björk! icelandairwaves.is
Live at Leeds In the City Leeds, 16 Nov
Running in November for the first time, Live at Leeds In the City takes place across numerous
independent venues for what will be the festival’s 17th edition. While there are some bi er names on the bill like Everything Everything, Marika Hackman and the aforementioned English Teacher, who’ll play their first hometown show since winning the Mercury Prize, there are plenty of new musical discoveries to be found too. With a strong devotion to grassroots talent, and in particular to platforming local talent from the West Yorkshire area, they do still cast their eyes and ears further afield, and so you’ll find Scots like Indoor Foxes, Humour and No Windows also on the bill. liveatleeds.com
M for Montreal
Montreal, Canada, 20-23 Nov
Okay, so this one is far away, but well worth your time, we promise. Celebrating its 19th year showcasing local and international talent in the bars, clubs and strip joints – no, really – of Montreal, over the years M for Montreal has platformed Canadian and international talent like Grimes, Mac DeMarco, BadBadNotGood, M83, Fucked Up, Death Grips and more. This year, the official selection includes Quebec talent like Afrobeat artist Ya Cetidon, folk-pop from Velours Velours, synthpop from KROY, R’n’B from Naomi, and queer pop from Fleece as well as the return of two of our noisy faves from last year – psych band Population II and punk-rock outfit DVTR. As well as the music programme, for industry types you’ll find a whole host of networking events, panel discussions and off-the-beaten track events to sink your teeth into. mpourmontreal.com
Photo: Ásgeir Helgi
Photo: Camille Gladu-Drouin
Photo: Omar Balaa
Photo: Cameron Brisbane
Photo: James Ward
Hawa B at M for Montreal
Rian Treanor x Ocen-4 at No Bounds
OneDa at Beyond the Music
Lucia and the Best Boys at Tenement Trail
Unnstein at Iceland Airwaves
Building Bridges
The connective power of storytelling is at the heart of the 35th Scottish International Storytelling Festival, with its theme of Bridges Between. We chat with the head programmer and performers about what it means to tear down walls and build bridges
Words: Louis Cammell
It’s not difficult to see why Edinburgh was awarded the accolade of being the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature 20 years aog. If the Scottish Storytelling Centre were a person, it would, by now, be old enough to drink, and by the time of the centre’s opening, its forerunner, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival – nowadays based primarily in the centre’s Netherbow theatre – was already in its 17th year.
In October 1989, when it began, the world was experiencing seismic change. The Berlin Wall – a physical manifestation of the 20th century’s cultural and political divisions – was to fall only a month later. A populace that had been split for decades was left to collectively figure out the steps to the tricky dance of reunification; a choreography that is still being reworked and renegotiated today. As part of SISF’s 35th edition, two storytellers are set to recollect their experiences of this time in West-East-West: Stories From a Still Divided Germany, presented by the Berlin-based Storytelling Arena and joined by Berlinbased Scottish storyteller Rachel Clarke.
A year after the collapse of the Wall, Wind of Change, the smash-hit single from the German rock band The Scorpions – told from the perspective of a citizen of the USSR navigating a collapsing regime – would become a cross-cultural anthem for the time. Today, it tops ‘song of the 20th century’ polls, its universal influence even prompting a rumour that that the song was in fact written by the CIA. Such is the power of music, of stories, to bring people together that still now, a single song is remembered to have played such a role in post-Cold War international relations that the band are still batting away accusations of American propagandist meddling.
have been formed and held together by the Ceilidh tradition for centuries, something which the festival’s head programmer Daniel Abercrombie says is at the forefront of the festival’s ethos. “If you’re going to a ceilidh, traditionally,” he says, “you go to someone’s house or [a] community space where there [is] food, drink, stories, music, poetry and dancing. Everyone’s involved. It’s a circular thing and you’re encouraged to take part. That, I think, is the approach to the festival.”
Abercrombie cites what he says is an old Scottish Traveller proverb: “That it’s told eye to eye, mind to mind and heart to heart. Which means it’s two-way. The storyteller has to receive something back from their audience as well. The storyteller would always share a story, not tell a story. That sharing process means that you then go and share it with someone else, and it flows on from there.” The ripples of storytelling are in the empathy the stories create, the images and sentences that stay with you and open your mind up to new ways of seeing.
“The storyteller has to receive something back from their audience as well. The storyteller would always share a story, not tell a story. That sharing process means that you then go and share it with someone else, and it flows on from there”
Daniel Abercrombie
Nowadays, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we’re more connected than ever. While that may have been true during 2020 and 2021’s COVID lockdowns, Abercrombie feels social media losing its lustre and notices his peers increasingly coming up for air. “People now maybe realise that that’s one element of our daily existence. But there’s an important other element that we had before and that we need to really cherish, which is the human connection.”
If any nation would find this story unsurprising – knowing and appreciating that camaraderie is to be found in songs, ballads, and stories – it would be Scotland. Its communities
Following on from last year’s theme celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this year’s open call to artists requested work responding to the prompt ‘bridges between’. Mending Nets – a collaboration between Scottish-Palestinian poet and dancer Nada Shawa and Scottish storyteller Janis Mackay – was selected from the callout to open the festival because it represents myriad ways to
interpret the phrase, bridging borders, cultures, art forms and disability in one performance.
Mending Nets is the first time that both artists are working together, after 20 years of watching one another perform separately. The dance classes at which they first met were integral in allowing Shawa, who lives with cerebral palsy, to embrace the fluidity of her own movement. Were it not for the welcome she received from Janis and the rest of the attendees, she says, she would never have been able to reconsider the rigid, choreography-led nature of dance in favour of something more narrative-focused.
Beautifully expressed in the festival’s programme notes, their bridge of friendship presents the simple and radical belief that telling stories from our lands can help us retrieve an unravelled sense of identity. “It is especially important in this climate of cultural tension that has really grown,” says Shawa. “Specifically, in terms of people who want to generally divide. We really are rejecting that. We are saying no, we are actually together. We are respecting each other and we’re here.”
Elsewhere in the programme, the stru le for identity appears throughout the numerous events that draw on Scotland and Ireland’s respective folk texts and traditions and therefore from Gaelic. After centuries of neglect repression in both countries, musicians and storytellers are among the minority keeping Scottish and Irish Gaelic alive – and with them, the stories of our ancestors. These include Òran Mhòir, a multimedia performance from storyteller Eileen Budd and experimental folk duo Burd Ellen, as well as The Desperate Battle of the Birds, performed in English with Gaelic throughout by Scottish storyteller James MacDonald Reid and Korean musician Ryan Williams.
Of course, Scotland’s storied history isn’t just one of the oppressed but also of the oppressor. With Scotland, Slaver Nation and Kanpur: 1857! in the programme, this is something that the festival does not shy away from. The former will take place first as an online event and then in-person under the title Slaver Nation: Incredible but True, co-hosted by Kate Phillips, author of Bought and Sold: Scotland, Jamaica and Slavery which uses rare archive sources to give light to first-hand accounts of the trade. Joining her are Lorna Callery-Sithole and Donald Smith. In the latter, Niall Moorjani and Jon Oldfield present the story of a young Indian rebel answering to a British officer for the crimes of Kanpur.
Scotland is a country whose colonial ties to India are
visible in the histories of both countries’ textile industries. Dundee is home to an award-winning museum on the city’s production of jute, a rough Indian fibre used to make burlap sacks, where its production was once primarily based. While the mills have since fallen, they once employed the majority of Dundee’s workforce. The whole story is one of greed and corruption from the ruling class in both countries. Telling the stories of the ones who fought back are Kirsten Milliken and Neel Debdutt Paul, in a performance titled Torn from the Same Cloth, directed by Peter Chand.
Residents of Dundee can learn more about the two nations’ ties during a Ceilidh upon the HMS Unicorn at South Victoria Dock, where Jeena Raghunath will join local storytellers to discuss how these stories ‘link us to the past, ground us in the present and help us to imagine the future’. The event is called Bridges of Stories: India & Scotland and is just one of the many instances in which the festival extends beyond its Edinburgh base to reach a nationwide audience of all ages. Its events are slated for Angus, Argyle, Dumfries & Galloway, Glasgow, Fife, and the North-East, Borders and Highlands – to name just a few. The programme – beautifully illustrated by Morvern Graham – gives full details of all locations, as well as a handy collection of family events across a double-page.
“Walls can come down,” says Shawa. The fall of the Berlin Wall showed this, quite literally, to the world. “The [35 year] anniversary is poignant because it can inspire future walls to [fall].” And when they do, they give way to ways in which we can connect. Bridges between ways of life; between worlds. Abercombie feels that focusing on these, rather than our differences, is the root of storytelling.
In the wake of an announcement from the Scottish government that funding for individual creators would be cut, and a backlash that forced them to thankfully renege, it wouldn’t be right to print these words without the acknowledgement that the money, space and time to make art is too seldom a bridge extended to those with stories to tell. And when it is, it can come with a plethora of caveats that censor or distort the tale. So long may the Scottish Storytelling Centre continue in providing a vital, impartial platform for voices to be heard.
The Scottish International Storytelling Festival runs 18-31 October and is based out of the Scottish Storytelling Centre. Find the full programme at sisf.org.uk
Janis Mackay and Nada Shawa
Photo: Lucas Chih-Peng Kao
Voices from the archive
Holly Davey’s new exhibition at Fruitmarket sees the artist foregrounding the voices of the women artists who have exhibited at the gallery over the last 50 years
Words: Shalmali Shetty
“The Unforgetting in a sense is about trying to remember.
Unforgetting something is a very different process to remembering something. In relation to memory, how do we want to archive them for the future, for somebody in the future to look back at? By examining our present, can we shape the kind of history we want to create?”
Over the past two years, Holly Davey has been working with the Fruitmarket archive to develop new work, building on a larger body of work she began at The British School at Rome in 2019 with A Script for an Archive and another iteration with a series of online projects titled Curating Living Archives commissioned by curator Judit Bodor. In the context of her research into the Fruitmarket archives, Davey’s research stemmed from her encounter with an exhibition catalogue titled Scottish Sculpture ‘75, which features an eleven-member only-male show. Raising the question about the presence of women artists in the Scottish landscape, with some expanded research, Davey discovered Ann Henderson (1921-1976), a Scottish sculptor and graduate of Edinburgh College of Art who then worked as a senior lecturer at the ECA for about 30 years. Given that a number of these male artists included in the show had graduated during her tenure, it is likely she taught some of them. Davey was intrigued to understand the teacher-student dynamic and how Henderson, a female sculptor, may have influenced their visual and stylistic approach. This then led Davey to comb through the records of the Fruitmarket archive, to identify the names of a total of 354 women artists who exhibited at the gallery over its 50 year history, starting from 1974.
these archives: it is essential to approach them with sensitivity and empathy, acknowledging that the individuals involved may or may not have even intended for their belongings to be collected or preserved. It is also challenging to discern information about a person’s gender, sexuality, or even ethnicity from historical records, and so as researchers or artists, one must remain aware of our own unconscious biases and assumptions and approach the material with care and openness.
“Davey reflects on why we collect, and what collecting and maintaining archives enables us to do”
Holly Davey’s artistic practice involves working with physical collections and archives, utilising materials as extensive as drawings, sculptures, objects, films, photographs, books, annual reports, census records, voter registers, and birth and death certificates. She also uncovers voices through newspaper clippings, personal letters and diary entries, or even by tracing addresses and physically visiting the place and imagining a past in order to awaken those memories. From methodically seeing, touching and listening to objects stored in basements, attics or storage units, Davey reflects on why we collect (whether as individuals, organisations, or as a society) and what collecting and maintaining archives enables us to do.
She indicates how working with historical records often involves engaging with the memories of individuals who are no longer alive. These documents and objects become remnants of their past, preserved in their absence without their direct agency or voice. There is always something so personal about
Davey’s exhibition at Fruitmarket will be staged like a theatrical set in the warehouse, featuring three main components. The first will be a sculptural installation made up of 354 clay figures, each representing one of the women who exhibited at the gallery over the past 50 years. The second component is an extended prompt desk displaying a script and accompanied by an audio work with the women’s names being spoken out loud. The script represents the voice of the archive – a woman, reciting the names of all the women artists who have exhibited at Fruitmarket. The third is a large incomplete wooden and felt sculpture, symbolising the figure of a woman. On 25 October, there will be a performance featuring a reading by Jill Smith, who under the name Jill Bruce was the first woman to exhibit at Fruitmarket. She will read the names of all 354 women artists, beginning with her own and ending with Davey’s, in celebration of 50 years of women showing at the gallery. Through this project, Davey emphasises the importance of celebrating women as part of our shared history, and her work aims to recognise and foreground their contributions. Davey’s archival research and exhibition also poses questions around the gallery’s historical and current archival methods, creating the potential to reimagine how the gallery can preserve and document their history and information in the future.
Holly Davey: The Unforgetting, Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, 19 Oct-17 Nov, free
Images:
courtesy Holly Davey
Two for Joy
We meet prop comic Spencer Jones, who’s driving all the way from Torquay for his first Glasgow show
Picture the scene: you’re making your way up the M74, taking it easy in the left hand lane. You look to your right and see you’re being overtaken by a 20-year old car driven by the man pictured here. The back seat is piled high with what looks like random junk: spoons, ping-pong balls, and – is that a chicken mask?
But this is not just some hoarder, this is Spencer Jones, on his way to Glasgow for a gig at The Stand. He’s driven all the way from Torquay, so at this point he’s been alone with his thoughts for seven hours. Anyone who’s seen the way he uses loops onstage can imagine what that would sound like.
Incredibly, given his TV and live comedy successes, Jones has just set off on his first ever national tour ten years after his Edinburgh debut. His appearance at The Stand Glasgow (19 Oct) will mark not only his first performance there, but his first time setting foot in the city.
Before Glaswegians take offence, know that Jones is as shocked by that as anyone. He’s a big fan of the city’s comedic output and is particularly excited to perform at The Stand, given the big names who have come up there and continue to do so.
“I just love the human animal”
Spencer Jones
Jones’ career took off around the time he had his two kids, hardly the time to go gallivanting across the country for two months (“wouldn’t have been fair on the missus”). Since then, the kids have gotten older, started school, and the whole family has moved to Devon, where they didn’t know anybody. The move, fresh out of lockdown, took Jones from a period of state-enforced isolation to self-imposed loneliness. The ensuing mental breakdown and quest for male friends form the basis of his show Making Friends, which he brought to the Fringe last year.
The show continues his move towards more narrative-driven shows (he describes his early work as “like throwing a hedgehog at a dartboard – you’re just looking for as many hits as possible”). It’s a winning blend of his trademark songs, goofs and good old fashioned storytelling. You get the impression that the performance is pretty fluid, changing from night to night depending on when he feels a segment has run its course. The way he describes it, there’s a second monologue playing in his head: he chats for a bit and
Words: Laurie Presswood
then decides “I’ve been talking for long enough now, time for a song.”
Jones is bringing himself on tour with him, too – he’s doing his own warm-up set. Like The Eras Tour, it brings together all the best bits of material from his last ten years into one half hour set. He says it’s like rewarding the crowd in advance for coming to listen to an hour-long story of his mental breakdown. It’s also a good way of warming up the half of the crowd who know him from Ted Lasso and have no idea how weird the show is going to get.
So that explains the car full of odds and ends accumulated over the course of a decade. This magpie-like tendency to collect and repurpose manifests in his interactions with people too – he finds mannerisms and intonations get stuck in his head like the human equivalent of a catchy guitar riff. “I just love the human animal,” he says.
So much of the colour of his act comes from small interactions he’s witnessed over the years,
often from the myriad jobs he worked when he was first living in London – on a building site, at an ad production company, or, his all-time favourite, as the singer in a wedding band.
“If I’d had parents who lived in London, the fridge was always full and there was a bed, then my experience would have been very different – but life’s good isn’t it? All those different experiences helped.”
Take yesterday, when he was on the way home from the first night of the tour in Manchester. He was alone at a petrol station in the middle of the night when he heard a noise. A man spilled hot coffee over himself at the pump and was cursing at the top of his lungs. Now Jones has the man’s musical squawk of “oh faaaack – fackin’ ‘ell” stuck in his head. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see it as part of a set one day.
This month, we look at Edinburgh's post-festival theatre landscape, conscious of its ties to genocide and oppression
Words: Maria Farsoon
All theatregoers place special value on the delightful moment when the lights slowly dim as a production is about to begin. The chatter quietens, and the room becomes a vessel of unity. You are comfortably positioned in your velvet-cloaked seat, with your eyes opened eagerly and your ears prepared to catch the first utterance or musical note of the world you are about to enter. You are about to leave everything else behind.
Anybody who says they do not like a mechanism of escape is lying at least slightly. It is a selfish and indulgent act in the sense of the ignorance that fuels its pleasure. Despite and because of the atrocities of reality, escapism persists. How do we grapple with the lightness of relishing in escape, when it only feels like ignorance amidst structural injustice? How can something so relieving be so destructive? It is because of the ‘relief’ of ignorance that it provides that it is detrimental. At
times, escapism is necessary for human survival. In those same moments, when we witness injustice and absurdity, nothing else is demanded of us except to stay alert and conscious. We cannot truly be conscious if we are in constant escape. Preservation requires a form of recharging, but never at the cost of human life, especially at the genocidal hands of depravity.
Edinburgh possesses its own element of escapism, as a city that regularly welcomes performers and lovers of theatre, namely because of its August festivals. We are now in the post-Fringe term and the back-to-school season has begun. The population drops to its regular size again, and the city’s stage lights reposition to focus on those who do (or soon will) find familiarity in Edinburgh and less on the tourists who only know its overpopulated, rambunctious side. Bright-eyed first-year students arrive at the place that will soon establish a sense of their identity. The same students will later come to find that Edinburgh is much smaller than they once imagined. Constantly bumping into the people that one knows becomes more tradition than coincidence. At times, Edinburgh feels simulated. At other times – because of the glorious landscapes – it possesses an unpredictable and wonderful darkness that can only be observed deep into the night, when the moon is full, and the silhouette of Arthur’s Seat dazzles the audience below it. This is an Edinburgh worth staying for after the show.
Much like a theatre production, however, Edinburgh easily deceives, and its dark crevices are found in the city’s institutions. The University of Edinburgh hosts predominantly white theatre societies. Students of colour have anonymously communicated experiences of marginalisation and witnessed the biased decision-making produced by this disparity in representation. Societies are managed by a white majority which has reportedly failed to recognise the structural injustices faced by students of colour. More widely, the university’s arts scene is severely underfunded. Instead of properly funding the Edinburgh Art College, for instance, the institution has built the excessive Edinburgh Futures Institute, and we can all already anticipate the irony of that name. Additionally, many Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows are hosted at rented venues ultimately owned by the University of Edinburgh. Students and staff have proven the university’s own set of unethical and heedless financial activities. In a legal analysis of the institution’s financial investments, which can be found in the link below, students and staff find that the University of Edinburgh is in flagrant violation of international law and human rights.
As students once enthralled by the aesthetics of our institution’s architecture, the design of a stage is only as convincing as long as its façade is fixed. Are you still sitting comfortably in your seat?
tinyurl.com/edinburghunilegal
Photo: Miguel Prego
Inside Glasgow’s Listen Gallery
This month, The Skinny has given over space to Glasgowbased Listen Gallery, which supports and exhibits artists working in sound art. The gallery’s founder Riah Naief tells us more about what they do, with accompanying voices from community and collaborators
“Listening is an act of care – sensing, initiating, intending. It opens conversations, creating echoes across languages, cultures, and even places and time, which I learned through Listen Gallery. Just like dripping water on a stone, 念念 不忘，必有回响” – Peilin Shi 石佩琳
My personal journey with listening begins in Iraq, where I was born, although a lot of my childhood experiences are of human displacement and obscured through family trauma – listening became a way for me to reveal and access some of my histories. Listening to pictures, conversations, my body, my dreams, became a route for trying to piece together all the unknowns and to overcome a sense of otherness. I have been interested in sound for as long as I can remember; the voice, different sonic-ecologies – in particular the existence of frequency, both internally in the body and externally around us, and how these frequencies sonically unify us. For me, this is the power of sound art, that it’s a conduit to explore what listening can mean.
“Listening is a profound and radical act. To really listen you must do less of everything, and more of nothing” – Maria Kypridemou
“Listen Gallery is a truly special place, where one falls in love with listening and the power of community, love and refuge” – Mónica
Listen Gallery (LG) is a space dedicated to sound art and supports artists in presenting the theory and practice of audio-based projects. Sonic exploration is an important and valuable part of the arts and LG is providing much-needed representation and inclusion of these practices in a gallery space that thinks beyond the white cube model. ‘Listen’ is an acronym of ‘love is serving the ears now’ – which considers listening as a model of care. To love and to listen, for me, are two interlinking states to constantly strive for, both abundant, rooted in understanding, acceptance, imagining and dreaming. Everything in the programme is curated to give people the space to think about listening as an attentional and behavioural shift which can move from the individual to the collective.
real challenge trying to get any larger organisations or funded institutions to acknowledge or support LG and realise that the work a lot of us do on the ground keeps the cultural sector active as a whole. Scotland is praised for its artist-run initiatives and although this is something to be celebrated, I think it is important to note how many people are doing this with such little resources and how evermore difficult this is becoming.
“Listen Gallery is a space which embodies love as a leading practice. A space which fosters artistic sound practice in ways unique to the art ecology in Glasgow, Listen Gallery is a space which speaks to the crucial role and functions of galleries today – serving communities, responding to their needs and placing this at the heart of the work” – Pelumi Odubanjo
the Cathedral and is the only person of colour-led artist-run space within this area. I feel more and more the importance of this locality and the responsibility to hold this space, despite the odds – to have spaces that critically engage with inclusion on ground-level, multicultural narratives of history and thinking about representing people who contribute to the city but have very few monuments dedicated to them. LG is a working example of how diversity can exist in the arts outside of tokenism and performativity. As a non-drinking Muslim, I centre most events around food and tea – I feel so proud of my Iraqi roots for teaching me this approach to hospitality. I think this is what makes LG unique and a culturally essential example of trying to create a nourishing and nurturing space.
“Working with Listen Gallery has given me such joy as an artist. I have never worked in/with an art space that has worked to cultivate an atmosphere of mutual support, care, knowledge exchange, and care for its artists and neighbours” – Kirsten M
“A hidden yet welcoming space, cosy and inspiring. A crowd of unknown yet like-minded people, relaxed conversations had over delicious homemade food. No idea is too far-fetched, as an artist I have never felt so supported “ – Velvachell
“Listen Gallery holds a unique space within Glasgow and really feels like it belongs to the whole community. Everyone who visits leaves with a smile!”
– Emma Diamond
“‘To listen’, more than simply indicating our processing of sonic vibrations, is a practice of attuning ourselves to difference, of recognising the multitude of ways in which we are constituted within a natural environment that is, itself, embedded within the vast expanse of the universe” – g. Kypridemos
Although I founded LG, it has only been able to exist this long because of collaborators, volunteers and audiences who support it. People need more communal spaces to convene, share, learn and just be. We are desperate for places that challenge models that don’t serve us: I just wish the infrastructure would support this more. It is a
The community behind LG are truly the bi est blessing out of this venture and meeting so many DIY creatives who are challenging the status quo is so inspiring, such as Solidarity Screenings, Good Luck Choir, Radio Buena Vida, ERP and Baked Beans on the Doorstep, just to name a few. The generosity and dedication people invest to keep creativity alive is unreal. Glasgow is superspecial like that and this is definitely something I feel a responsibility to pass forward.
“Listen Gallery is a place for hope and resistance dedicated to the spreading of love. The most subversive way to act is to love and to unite. And to unite in this universe is to become a community. The love for sharing, caring is what will make us stronger. A place where all these utopia can become real, should be preserved for our own good.” – Yasmine Des Astres
The gallery exists in a category B listed building, a stone’s throw from the Necropolis and
Our next exhibition is by Toulouse-based sound artist Yasmine Des Astres. Yasmine and I have been growing a friendship online for a few years now and her sonic exploration is inspired by themes of Sufism and her experience as a Lesbian-transwoman. She defines the piece as an exhibition for all the broken souls – for me, this speaks to the idea of solitary creativity and how sound has the power to create these metaphysical spaces of belonging.
“Listening sharpens the senses, blurring shapes of the visual, offering less dominant archetypes of learning and knowing. There are worlds within worlds, and elements beyond sight and sound, what is vocal or harmonic are clear indicators of the polymorphous often invisible creatures made in sound – let us listen to them and quieten” – Lucille Brownri
Images: Felix Lumen (www.felix-i-lumen.com)
Yasmine Des Astres: Overdriving Love, Listen Gallery, 210 Hunter Street, Glasgow, G4 0UP, 19 Oct - 3 Nov, 2-7pm www.listengallery.co.uk
Around the World
Edinburgh-born, Copenhagen-based, Fergus Jones fka Perko unpacks contemplation through worldwide collaboration on his debut album, Ephemera, via Numbers
Words: Cammy Gallagher
The Skinny: How did the album come together over the last five years?
Fergus: I had this album looming in the back of my mind but would never really sit down to do it intentionally. I was interested in making music with people as a departure from how I’d done so before. Staying with Koreless (in Wales), we’d just experiment with microphones most of the time. Similarly, in Iceland, there was an iterative method of resampling stems with Huerco S. He made this kick on Heima that goes whooping down like a pitch LFO... so, I’d try to make a bassline from that. I’m interested in what’s possible with the computer while it remains music.
Was this a constant throughout collaborations?
Well, it wasn’t always just pushing something as far as it could go. With Lia T in Melbourne, we had only one synth and ran it through all this stuff from her friend’s studio. There was this interesting loop, and I thought “maybe this is enough.” You don’t need 120 Ableton channels for it to be good. I previously overcooked stuff, or incorrectly equated technicality with quality. There’s confidence in using something for what it is – like “this is an 808,” I’m not trying to make it anything else.
“Creating the work is the most important thing, a release is just the byproduct”
Fergus Jones
What do you think leads people down this hyper-editing path?
The possibilities afforded to you by the medium in which you produce. You know, there’s a big difference between an indie film shot on a camcorder, and Christopher Nolan. You can make something that costs hundreds of millions, but is it good?
Ephemera is your indie film?
Maybe. There’s still that complexity, but it’s not flashy. Something complicated can still sound simple... that’s the goal.
How did you glue all the collaborations into one coordinated tracklist?
Everything gelled together without too much shoehorning. I took it in to mix at my friend Michael’s studio. He did a lot of work, getting it to this place where it feels like one cohesive thing. There’s a depth of sound he can achieve that I’m unable to. It was a little bit depressing to discover expensive hardware actually sounds quite good.
Maybe there’s liberation in realising you can sacrifice the mixing stage?
I think that’s true. I stru le to let go, and that’s many aspects of my life. I’d done everything in the past on my own, but last year Michael mixed Prang, and it still sounded like me… just a way better version.
Now you’ve let go of the project – out 18 Oct –how have your feelings towards it changed? It’s important to learn to be as happy as you can, let it be and make more work. It’s easy to get caught in unhealthy thought patterns, imagining this is the thing that defines you. My fine artist friends constantly make new stuff; creating the work is the most important thing, a release is just the byproduct.
Making the arc from your Bleaker alias to art residencies at Heima in Iceland, how do you navigate between the club and gallery spaces?
My music hasn’t changed at all throughout the last 10 years, it’s just the reference points that have.
Even Hype Funk ?
Even then I was just interested in the way you can reimagine things. Could you make dance mania-indebted music in a UK garage style? This is still at the core of what I do, it’s just the scenes I inhabit have shifted over time.
Rubadub described your record as having a distinctive impact long after its runtime. How do you make sense of the title Ephemera?
My experiences travelling and meeting all these people... the recordings felt somewhat ephemeral. But it’s also a self-pun. This music platform described things I do as ephemeral... I thought it was funny. It can get a little serious in this underground experimental dance music world.
The photo of the very large vegetable had me theorising a farming album.
Maybe the next one.
Where’s it from?
I have a garden with my girlfriend. I also have a job and go to school. I think that’s why I released the album under my own name. I felt weird having a DJ name. I was always uncomfortable presenting some idealised version of oneself, like, ‘cool guy in the big city’, or ‘big arts guy’.
What do you study?
Software design. I started the masters in 2023 after moving from Glasgow seven years ago. I decide how much, or little, I want to engage with music, on my own terms. It’s never been the only thing that I do, and I’m conscious about keeping it that way.
Ephemera on Bandcamp: https://fergusjones.bandcamp.com/ album/ephemera
Fergus Jones
Fergus Jones with Huerco S. and James K - Heima
Image: courtesy of Fergus Jones
RVNG Intl. & Freedom To Spend 2024 Releases
DANIELLE BOUTET Pièces • HORSE LORDS As It Happened: Horse Lords Live • STEVE GUNN & DAVID MOORE Live in London
DISCOVERY ZONE Quantum Web • KA BAIRD Bearin g s: Soundtracks for the Bardos • TASHI WADA What is Not Stran ge?
GREGORY T.S. WALKER Minstrels & Minimoogs • BLACK DECELERANT Reflections Vol. 2: Black Decelerant • ISIK KURAL Moon in Gemini
DIALECT Atlas of Green • OLIVER COATES Throb, shiver, arrow of time • SUSSAN DEYHIM & RICHARD HOROWITZ The Invisible Road: Original Recordings, 1985–1990
Album of the Month
Godspeed You! Black Emperor — NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD
NFind reviews for the below albums online at theskinny.co.uk/music Released 4 Oct
O TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340
Listen to: BROKEN SPIRES AT DEAD KAPITAL, GREY
RUBBLE – GREEN
SHOOTS, RAINDROPS CAST IN LEAD
DEAD marks the eighth album in the discography of the elusive Canadian post-rock collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Over the last 26 years the group has cultivated a mystique only reserved for select bands who refuse to engage with the music industry’s media circus, rarely giving interviews and being openly hostile to large record labels. Their work has often been explicitly political, with the sleeve of their 2002 album Yanqui U.X.O. detailing connections between music conglomerates and the military industrial complex. Similarly, the collective’s 2021 album, G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END!, serves as a soundtrack to the dream of an immolative end of US imperialism.
In this context, NO TITLE... brings an unmistakable political message through an incredibly sombre composition. The album’s title is in reference to the heavy civilian losses experienced in Gaza since Israel’s ruthless bombardment of Palestine that began almost a year prior to the album’s release. The project’s longest track, RAINDROPS CAST IN LEAD illustrates this context of war by building a relentless rhythm throughout its 13-minute duration, eventually breaking into a scream of electric strings and beating drums, leading us into the next song.
The track BROKEN SPIRES AT DEAD KAPITAL acts as the antithesis to RAINDROPS..., offering droning ominous instrumentation paired with mournful strings. Gradually warping and tearing as it progresses, the track eventually breaks into a slow parading drumbeat – a requiem for a loss of not only a people, but of a place too. The album’s closing track GREY RUBBLE – GREEN SHOOTS injects an atom of hope into what is otherwise a doom-laden album, with its title and interspersed guitar riffs indicating that through pain and destruction there is a chance that those left behind can rebuild.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s resistance against western imperialism and military intervention manifests itself in a sonically intricate and emotionally devastating project. Given that the death toll of Israel’s genocide in the Gaza strip has almost doubled since the date outlined by the album’s title, the LP remains increasingly relevant.
While certainly not a work for casual listening, NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD is, in all of its warped, noisy instrumentation, the embodiment of music as art. Removed from corporate influence, conventional song segmentation, and algorithmically tuned track lengths, Godspeed You! Black Emperor are free to convey a message uncompromised. [Oscar Lund]
Sans Soucis
Kelly Lee Owens Dreamstate
Soccer Mommy Evergreen
untitled (recs), 18 Oc t rrrrr
Listen to: Dawn,
Gramayre, Glasgow-based artist TAAHLIAH showcases her artistic maturity. Blending glamour, emotive music-making and vulnerability, she’s
cathartically guiding listeners from the intensity of a 4am club to the reflective calm of the morning after, offering a cushioned comedown that
iconic voice of Octavia St. Laurent echoes ‘Don’t fuck with me’ amidst glittering synths and euphoric of longtime collaborator naafi,
emotional depth of the track, capturing the bittersweet nostalgia bass, paired with pitched-up sampled vocals repeating ‘I love
naafi’s and TAAHLIAH’s vocals into a beguiling melody, with the refrain ‘Soft like an angel’ crooning brightly throughout. Gramarye is a testament to TAAHLIAH’s ability to balance romantic introspection with intricate songwriting, delivering an album glowing with artistry, showcas[Heléna Stanton]
Listen
Earlier this year, Yasmin Williams raised the hackles of the Beyhive Cowboy
Carter in an op-ed for The Guardian She accused the Texan superstar of sidelining the Black musicians she claimed to celebrate, arguing that “Beyoncé has put the Carter before the horse.” No such accusations could be levelled at Williams, whose latest album sees her backed by a revolving cast of collaborators.
Cliffwalk opens the digital edition of the album, with Williams accompanied by Dom Flemons; the clacking beats of his rhythm bones punctuating her guitar like dancing shoes on a hardwood floor. This celebratory tone continues on Hummingbird, in which Allison de Groot’s banjo and Tatiana Hargreaves’ fiddle conjure images of barn dances and flannel shirts. Elsewhere, the soft vocals of Darlingside lend Virga the gentle, unbothered feel of a week spent living amongst nature: stirring with the sunrise, and sleeping under the stars.
Williams may be known for her inventive approach to the guitar – inspired as much by the spiritual blues of Elizabeth Cotten and American primitive guitarist John Fahey as it is – but it’s her egalitarian approach to collaboration that makes alluring. [Patrick Gamble] Acadia so
Oliver Coates Throb, shiver, arrow of time RVNG Intl., 18 Oc t rrrrr
Listen to: Please be normal, Ultra valid, Backprint radiation
Due to his prolific soundtrack work, you may well be a fan of Oliver Coates without realising it. If you were one of many that had their hearts shredded by Charlotte Aftersun you have his score to thank for giving the film a lot of its
record picks up where his Aftersun score left off – attempts to capture the fleeting, elusive terrain of memory, but with a broader sonic palette, incorporating further electronics, and a more expansive use of space into his pre-existing sound.
This is well-worn territory, and little sets tracks like Shopping centre curfew and 90 apart from the countless other producers making wistful, gently nostalgic
playing is foregrounded, as it is on most of the record, he remains a composer of astonishing tenderness. Coates’ compositions remain most beautiful at their most minimal – the gently interlocking lines of Please be normal or the swooping motif of Ultra valid – hit an absolute sweet spot of
another strong showing from Coates who is shaping into one of the moving composers of his generation.
[Joe Creely]
The Linda Lindas No Obligation Epitaph, 11 Oc t rrrrr
Listen to: Lose Yourself, Too Many Things, Yo Me Estreso
LA Public Library in 2021, The Linda Lindas have continued to put out music made in-between school terms and over weekends. With their youngest member just out of middle school, the group already has an impressive oeuvre; their second No Obligation is a cer tified banger, and exactly the kind of music I needed as a teenager (and still do).
Compositionally, No Obligation is full of passion, rage and energy, and a dazzling window into growing up right now, borrowing from and building on previous generations of feminist riot grrrl punk (with less of the white-centric bent for which the initial movement is often criticised). It’s full of lyrics about being misunderstood, simultaneously grieving lost promise and celebrating difference.
Carlos de la Gar za’s production complements the album beautifully, creating clean sounds without compromising the group’s DIY vibe. It’s the kind of music best suited to riding in the back of a pick-up truck, hanging out in a petrol station parking lot, and sharing your first cigarette with your three best friends. With a clearly defined sound and unapologetic enthusiasm, The Linda Lindas are absolutely a group to watch. [Rho Chung]
TAAHLIAH Gramarye
Yasmin Williams Acadia Nonesuch Records , 4 Oc t rrrrr
to: Cliffwalk, Hummingbird, Virga
BABii
DareDeviil2000
Boxset Recordings, 11 Oct rrrrr
Listen to: Tra$$$her, Scarface, Bric-a-Brac
DareDeviil2000 sees BABii armed with the confidence to graduate from the personal and set her sights on society’s apparently undesirable, hellish elements. Building on 2022’s mixtape SCREAMER, her delicateyet-commanding vocals are accompanied by crisp post-club productions, cultivated with a cast of vital underground talent like Grove, Warpstr and Iglooghost.
Opening track Static delivers hell; deafening bass and cartoonish samples giving way to sickly sweet vocals, beckoning you to choose pacification or panic. Scarface and Tra$$$her examine her fascination with smash-and-grab criminality over squishy grime instrumentals and throbbing basslines.
If SCREAMER began BABii’s investigation of the undesirable and our ability to rationalise our fears, DareDeviil2000 is certainly a more accomplished flex in that direction. Yet it feels like a step towards something greater. This is an artist who at one time sold branded pocket knives as merch, who humanises the plight of the XL Bully, and who gave us a drill cover of Lovefool for Christmas. You’re never sure where BABii’s going next, but her next project may be the one that truly defines her sound and legacy. [Vicky Kavanagh]
Japandroids
Fate & Alcohol
ANTI-, 18 Oct rrrrr
Listen to: Eye Contact High, One Without the Other, All Bets Are Off
Fate & Alcohol is the definitive final statement we never thought we’d get from Japandroids – a good band with one perfect album, and an underappreciated misfire of a third record the duo thought would be their OK Computer that seemed destined to be their farewell.
As it happens, Brian King and David Prowse had one final yell like hell to the heavens to deliver. It’s a back-to-basics tale of tiring of constant hangovers, sobering up and getting out – an ode to the younger us. The full throttle guitars and howling vowels of the vocals are familiar pleasures that they nailed better years ago. Familiarity – and earnestness – is, however, what Japandroids do expertly at their most locked in. It’s also been the heaviest load for their music to bear, the easiest way to knock them down.
‘Remember saying things like “we’ll sleep when we’re dead”?’ Turns out that feeling does end. But on an all-timer of a closer – a song about a lover, or about each other? –Japandroids figure really that, ‘it turns out time don’t change a thing’ and leave it on a cliffhanger: ‘All bets are off tonight’. [Tony Inglis]
Caribou Honey City Slang, 4 Oct rrrrr
Listen to: Over Now, Honey
The creep of AI into the arts has gathered pace recently, but it’s rare to see a somewhat mainstream artist incorporate it as prominently as Dan Snaith has on Honey. While this aspect of the album may draw attention, the reliably impressive arrangements keep it grounded in the consistent lineage of Caribou.
The overall sonic blueprint, however, owes more than a little to Snaith’s more DJ-minded alias Daphni: the crisp drum programming of Broke My Heart, the wobbly dubstep of the title track, the bubbling crescendo of closer Got To Change. The robotic effect of the AI-manipulated vocals on Come Find Me and Do Without You detracts from the excellent synth programming, sometimes akin to the anonymous vocals of 90s club hits that provided texture rather than insight. Caribou has always trucked in simple statements and repetition, but these vocals don’t have the warmth you could always feel in the past.
Ultimately, Honey is one of the more interesting experiments in the use of AI, but in this case it feels like a watering down of emotional impact from an artist who’s never had an issue when it comes to capturing hearts and moving bodies.
[Lewis Wade]
Listen to: U Should Not Be Doing That, Me and the Girls, Tiny Bikini
Listening to Amyl and the Sniffers feels like hurtling down the motorway on a stolen motorbike in denim cutoffs and a bikini top, necking a beer, while screaming. So it’s a good thing their third album, Cartoon Darkness, is about doing all of those things.
There’s plenty of the usual Amyl fare here, with some absolute stompers right out of the gate. Opener Jerkin’ is mental (we’d love to see another song this year with lyrics about fucking spiders), a full-on sonic assault that reminds you Amy Taylor is no stranger to tearing up a stage. Just as the record threatens to feel repetitive, we reach the back half, with songs like Bailing On Me, a melodic, swaying admonishment of a former lover, and the wonderfully bratty U Should Not Be Doing That, a tongue in cheek fuck you to the men who try strip Taylor of her autonomy and power. But the highlight has to be closing track Me and the Girls, a no holds barred takedown of ‘frumpy, grumpy’ boys; it’s a celebration of how great it is to be a woman, in all our free, fun and angry glory.
[Emilie Roberts]
Amyl and the Sniffers Cartoon Darkness Rough Trade, 25 Oct rrrrr
Music Now
October sees EP releases from up-and-coming Scottish talent like Nü Cros, Indoor Foxes and mokusla, while Roddy Woomble returns with a brand new solo record
Words: Tallah Brash
We covered a heck of a lot in the September column, but still there was more to come, like Isik Kural’s sublime and delicate Moon In Gemini, or Eyes of Others x pete.mcm’s collaborative Trust, Loss, Forever record, stacked with dreamy, loping, hip-twitching grooves. There were also excellent new singles from the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai, Barry Can’t Swim, Elisabeth Elektra, Zoe Graham, Jacob Alon, Linzi Clark, Saint Sappho and Katherine Aly among others.
The October release schedule in Scotland is similarly busy, although far less overwhelming than last month. On 4 October, for a heavy dose of noisy screamo-punk, seek out For me, Before, the debut EP from fierce Glasgow outfit Nü Cros. While for the most part, For me, Before is a relentless onslaught of squalling guitars, muscular drums and thick bass, FALLING shows a softer, more introspective side to the band, while on DLAW they’re furious, not afraid to share their thoughts on the state of misogyny in the music industry as they demand you ‘educate your sons’.
On the 9th, Martha Barr releases her excellent debut EP, as Indoor Foxes, Sadolescence. Co-written with Fatherson’s Ross Leighton, when we spoke to Barr earlier in the year following the release of her soaring single Church Music, she described the EP as being “like my own personal mood ring.” She also told us, “I hold so much anger, which I can only express in my music, which is inherently linked to my sense of girlhood and womanhood.” And so over the course of six tracks, Barr channels her anger through rage-fuelled verses and cathartic head-banging, punch-the-air choruses. While you can undeniably hear the influence of Leighton on these songs, the experiences, pain, powerful rage and vulnerability are all Barr’s and we’re excited to follow her on what we’re sure will be a fruitful career.
From new talent, to an old hand… When Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble’s latest solo record arrives at its final song, you’re jolted upright, questioning what month it is as the unmistakable jingle of festive sleigh bells shimmer over a gently plodding, quintessentially Christmas melody. That’s right, tucked away at the end of During the Night We Fell Off the Map (11 October, not December), you’ll find Christmas Without You, as Woomble reminisces about missing a loved one, bathed in the warm glow of fairy lights. This feeling of warmth is not a rarity, but rather is one that imbues the entirety of this intimate album that Woomble aptly self-describes as a “fireside record.”
Deeper into the month, on 23 October Glasgow-based, Donegal-born singer and producer mokusla releases her second EP, lovely people here, but it’s just not the same. A record that
celebrates friendship, mokusla says: “It came from a time of feeling lost, craving old connections and deep nostalgia.” On opening track enjoy tomorrow mokusla sings, ‘If I die today, it’s alright / This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time’, her breathy vocal carefully dancing over an ethereal pop soundscape like a huge sigh of relief. It’s an intimate moment on an EP full of them as it twists and turns through lo-fi beats and fuzzy electronics as you dip in and out of a trance-like state. It’s an altogether calming, soothing and surprising 21 minutes and one you’ll want to listen to again and again.
And finally, a quick run through of everything else we’re aware of at the time of writing. Only seven months since their last album release, Glasgow dancefloor-bothering post-punk outfit Dancer are back with the aptly titled Split (4 Oct), a joint, ahem *split* 12” with Portland, Oregon post-punks Whisper Hiss. Bringing to the table seven new tracks, it features more of the spiky, angular instrumentation and lemon sherbet vocals we’ve come to love from the Glasgow troupe.
It’s around the same time that queer Scottish-Indian producer Rahul.mp3 is set to release his Mumbai Heat EP, drawing inspiration from his Indian culture, and fusing it together with genres like jungle and Brazilian funk. On the 6th, Glasgow jazz trio Sekoya release Shuna, drawing on their love of electronic, contemporary orchestral, world, folk and jazz music, while the 9th brings the debut EP, Losing Focus, from rapper JusHarry Skip forward a week or so and on the 18th, there’s lots to listen out for. Amy Papiransky’s latest folk record, Friday’s Daughter, arrives with contributions from KT Tunstall, Lewis McLaughlin and Grammy award-winning banjoist Ron Block; Glasgow’s Conscious Pilot release their scuzzy, sassy, little bit Franz Ferdinand-y (hello Filth Night), post-punk second EP Wipe Clean, and originally from Dundee but now based in Edinburgh, alt-folk singer-songwriter Elsie MacDonald shares experiences of being in your early 20s across four-track EP Dressage Lessons. The following week, Citizen Papes releases Gramophone (23 Oct), while the next day Rebecca Vasmant releases her Better Than Before + Come Together EP. Turn back a page and you’ll find full reviews for new records from TAAHLIAH and Oliver Coates, and as the month rolls on keep your eyes peeled for new singles from Auntie Flo, Locked Hands, Beira, Roller Disco Death Party, Benni Murks x Jurnalist and DM Arthur
Scan the QR code to follow and like our Music Now: New Scottish Music playlist on Spotify, updated every Friday
Photo: Nathan Dunphy
Photo: @bymarisvza
Indoor Foxes Nü Cros
DAMN FINE COFFEE
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Film of the Month — Dahomey
Director: Mati Diop
Starring: Makenzy Orcel (voice)
RRRR R
Released 25 October by MUBI Certificate PG
theskinny.co.uk/film
Over a century ago, the French army looted priceless treasures and statues from the West African kingdom of Dahomey. It wasn’t an isolated pillage, nor was it the most severe act of violence committed by French colonial forces, and everything that the French did was also being carried out just as brutally by European settlers and colonists across the whole of Africa and around the world. The current French government, led by Macron, has pledged to return looted African treasures from their prestigious museums, but the sheer enormity and brutality of colonial oppression threatens to undermine the 26 Dahomey statues and artefacts making the much-politicised journey back to modern-day Benin – is this the extent of reparations that colonial powers like France are willing to make?
Dahomey, the second film by Mati Diop, who won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2019 for her debut Atlantics, documents the packaging, delivery and reception of the 26 treasures returning to Benin. Diop is interested in unravelling the metaphysical and philosophical impact of these statues returning to West Africa – but also in interrogating the easy, comforting messages about decolonisation surrounding their return. The kingdom from which these statues were looted no longer exists, but the colonial and capitalist injustices of the past 130 years have affected modern-day Benin just as much, if not more, than the century-old theft of cultural and religious artefacts.
Diop’s camera lingers on the ways these artefacts are handled – including one poignant moment of a gloved hand cradling the immobile hand of a statue – before being measured and boxed up for a triumphant homecoming that, as is pointed
out by critical Beninese voices, is less a victory over a former oppressor and more a mutually beneficial deal made with them.
Upon the artefacts’ arrival, Benin scholars and experts dutifully categorise the history and condition of each object.
Whenever you think you’re settling into a purely observant, meticulous documentary about process meshing with historical trauma, Diop pivots into sudden, distorted voiceover from the perspective of the artefacts, who poetically speak about their years in exile, desires to come home and how liberation can come hand-in-hand with disorientation. It’s a welcome, pleasingly subjective choice, but in a documentary this short (running at only 68 minutes) and cleanly divided into linear sections, at times it threatens to disrupt the flow of information and insight.
The voiceover works most strongly in Dahomey’s final act, in an extended montage of a debate between Beninese students. The incisive perspectives on growing up in a former colonial state combine with the dreamlike point-of-view of the royal statues to create an urgent chorus of contradictory, fiercely felt voices that celebrate and interrogate the messaging around the statues’ return.
A proportion of stolen treasures are now out of the historic oppressor’s hands, yes, but how happy should Benin and other former colonial states be about the symbolic nature of their return? Dahomey does not land on a concrete answer, but by centralising real and imagined voices in nearly every scene, it also underlines how we should never be satisfied with decolonisation on anyone but the colonised people's terms.
[Rory Doherty]
Scotland on Screen: Laura Carreira
From her incisive short films to her upcoming feature debut On Falling, Laura Carreira has shown herself to be a filmmaker with an eye for nuanced cinema concerned with social justice. Ahead of On Falling’s UK premiere, we look back at this body of work
Filmography (selected): On Falling (2024), The Shift (2020), Red Hill (2018)
w: lauracarreira.com
i: @carreira_lau
Edinburgh-based Portuguese filmmaker Laura Carreira presents the UK premiere of her debut feature On Falling at London Film Festival in October, following its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival last month. Taking several leaves out of the Ken Loach and Mike Leigh book of social realist filmmaking, On Falling tells the muted tale of a Portuguese immigrant stru ling to survive in Scotland while tackling the subjects of mental health, workers’ rights and suicide with considerable empathy. Along with her earlier short films Red Hill and The Shift, Carreira’s filmmaking paints a bleak picture of working-class life in Scotland but provides an essential viewpoint upholding social justice through cinema.
Red Hill (2018)
In her short Red Hill, we see the beginnings of Carreira’s signature, nuanced style. Set within a Scottish mining community, the film follows Jim (Billy Mack), an ex-miner and security guard at his former mine, who’s processing the end of his career through participation in a retirement support group. Jim’s life has always centred around the mine in some way, and Carreira’s film explores the idea of losing a sense of self without the purpose of work. When the group leader su ests that “a lot of you won’t have had time for any hobbies” and asks the room to think of ideas for activities, Jim is left speechless. His inability to engage in the exercise is a subtle indication of his loss of identity; working has become all that he is, and it’s a testament to Carreira’s delicate approach that we form this conclusion through performance and narrative alone.
The Shift (2020)
Carreira’s next short, The Shift, made its bow at the prestigious Venice International Film Festival. It’s her most successful and poignant short to date, and after the Venice premiere, it went on to win acclaim and awards at film festivals the world over. It
follows agency worker Anna (Anna Russell-Martin) on a trip to a supermarket. She’s tied up her dog outside and proceeds to carefully peruse the aisles, only placing discounted and budget brand items in her basket. Anna’s humble shopping trip is suddenly interrupted by a call letting her know she’s not required for upcoming shifts at work, the loss of which means she might not be able to eat this week. As Anna leaves the shop without looking back, we see her dog still tied up by the automatic doors, left behind in a heartbreaking decision of survival. Not only is The Shift a sharp critique of zero-hour contract work culture, it’s also a vital depiction of what is truly required of those living on a financial knife edge, where a shift at work can be the difference between feeding yourself and your furry companion.
On Falling (2024)
The themes addressed in these shorts come together to form the very fabric of On Falling, a character-driven workplace drama tracking the daily routine of Portuguese warehouse worker Aurora (Joana Santos), whose hope for a better life in Scotland has turned into a lonely, monotonous existence. Bound by a never-ending cycle of shift work, Aurora clutches at glimpses of human connection surrounding her, whether it be dry workplace friendships or ta ing along to the pub with her friendly new flatmate. Subtly referencing a classic movement in British film culture, ‘kitchen-sink’ conversations provide a pivotal function in Aurora’s daily regime. At one point we see her repeatedly entering the kitchen in her flat for a glass of water, the sole purpose being an excuse for potential social interaction.
As she did in The Shift, Carreira is exploring the idea of ‘working to live’, but with a more introspective tone. Rather than financial adversity, which we also see Aurora experiencing in On Falling, what is presented here is a lowered expectation for quality of life where these minuscule interactions are what Aurora is evidently working to live for. This desire for connection is perfectly symbolised by Aurora choosing to fix her broken phone over a much-needed food shop, prioritising her need to ‘connect’ above basic human survival.
Similarly to Jim in Red Hill, we also see Aurora begin to lose her sense of self to the workplace. Towards the end of the film, Aurora is interviewed for a position as a social care worker, which presents a new, hopeful trajectory that would allow her to escape from soul-destroying shift work. However, when she’s asked what she likes to do in her spare time, Aurora is only able to answer “the laundry”, mirroring Jim’s inability to consider recreation outside of work.
Collectively, Jim, Anna and Aurora are all victims of a flawed social system that has caused them to lose their humanity and purpose due to ineffective working conditions. While Carreira’s filmmaking is demonstrably devastating, it is also a vital source of representation for Scottish working-class stories, and seeks to educate and advocate for future change-making in the sector through her resonant artistry.
On Falling screens at London Film Festival on 17 & 19 Oct
Words: Heather Bradshaw
The Shift
A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things
Director: Mark Cousins
Starring: Tilda Swinton (Voice) rrrrr
Mark Cousins’s latest cine-essay explores the life and work of Wilhelmina ‘Willie’ Barns-Graham, an abstract artist who was pushed aside in favour of male contemporaries in her lifetime but has been increasingly heralded as a key figure in 20th-century British painting. This film is an impassioned attempt to solidify that position while providing an introduction for those unfamiliar.
Cousins is best known for his cinema documentaries, but this prolific filmmaker has strayed into myriad subjects (his last film, the marvellous The March on Rome, examined the rise of Fascism in Italy). A Sudden Glimpse... maintains his idiosyncratic style: rather than a straight documentary, Cousins mixes the gonzo and the impressionistic, drawing as much on the adventures
The Crime Is Mine Director: François Ozon Starring: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Rebecca Marder, Isabelle Huppert, Fabrice Luchini, Dany Boon rrrrr
When you churn out features with François Ozon’s regularity, it’s inevitable you can sometimes be caught coasting. The Crime is Mine is a fun but forgettable screwball pastiche in which a high-profile murder trial sparks a media frenzy, with echoes of Roxie Hart (1942). Stru ling actress Madeleine (Tereszkiewicz) sees the courtroom as the ultimate stage to showcase her talents. She falsely admits to killing a lecherous impresario, enlisting her similarly penniless roommate Pauline (Marder) as her lawyer, in the hope that this will be the break they both need.
Ozon pits Madeleine and Pauline against a patriarchal system, but the film’s stabs at inequality and misogyny feel like easy pickings; these canny young women have little
his own interests take him on as it does your typical talking heads.
The film acts as a kind of detective story, trying to get to the very centre of Barns-Graham as an artist. It’s a technique you could take umbrage with: there’s rarely some neat ‘Rosebud’ moment to encapsulate any one person’s life, but it certainly makes for an interesting journey. This structure affords a more meandering momentum, but there’s a sense of accumulating little clues to the core of Barns-Graham, and Cousins’ curiosity and openness stop it from sitting still for too long. It also allows for formal dalliances like the montage at the film’s core, a breathtaking stream of Barns-Graham’s artwork combined with Linda Buckley’s sublime score. It may feel slight in its DIY nature, but this is another strong addition to Cousins’s singular catalogue. [Joe Creely]
Released 18 Oct by CONIC; certificate 12A
trouble outwitting a roster of bumbling men. Ozon generally keeps things light and zippy, and he has some fun with the film’s structure, repeatedly running the murder in flashbacks as Madeleine offers contradictory confessions.
As ever, Ozon has a sure hand with actors, and the ensemble he’s assembled is The Crime Is Mine’s strongest suit. Tereszkiewicz and Marder are an appealing pair (with Pauline’s understated sapphic yearning adding a note of poignancy) and Fabrice Luchini is reliably entertaining as a clueless prosecutor, but the film is comprehensively hijacked in its final third by Isabelle Huppert. She blasts into the picture in full-on diva mode as a grand dame of the silent era now eyeing her chance at a comeback, delivering an outrageously hammy performance. She’s clearly having a ball, and her sense of enjoyment is irresistible. [Philip Concannon]
Released 18 Oct by Parkland Pictures; certificate 12A
Since Yesterday: The Untold Story Of Scotland’s Girl Bands Director: Carla J. Easton, Blair Young Starring: The McKinleys, The Ettes, Strawberry Switchblade, Sophisticated Boom Boom, Twinsets, His Latest Flame, Sunset Gun, Lungleg, Pink Kross, Sally Skull, Hello Skinny, The Hedrons rrrrr
Scotland is no stranger to a pop band – so where, then, are all the women? Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands strides forth and answers that question: most have faded into obscurity, and it’s because the culture let them.
It’s obvious from the get-go that this documentary is a labour of love. It makes you feel like you’re back in your teen bedroom, flicking through mags, music on full blast, your mum banging the door down. A blend of collage, interviews, animation and more, it’s frenetic and a bit mad at times, just like the bands themselves.
Timestalker
Director: Alice Lowe
Starring: Alice Lowe, Aneurin Barnard, Jacob Anderson, Nick Frost, Kate Dickie, Tanya Reynolds rrrrr
Timestalker begins with Agnes (Alice Lowe), a 17th-century Scotswoman, experiencing a moment of love at first sight. Alex (Aneurin Barnard) might be a complete stranger to her, but she knows from the second she lays eyes on him that this is the person she was meant to be with – which is unfortunate, because he’s about to be executed for heresy.
Lowe’s new sci-fi comedy tracks Agnes through the centuries as she is reincarnated time and time again, respawning everywhere from 1790s England to 1980s Manhattan. No matter where or when she finds herself, every version of Agnes falls hopelessly in love with every version of Alex, and every version of their love story ends very badly.
It’s a fun conceit, essentially taking the same premise as Bertrand
And what bands they were. From the stunning harmonies of the McKinley sisters in the 60s to the perfect 80s punk of The Ettes and Strawberry Switchblade to the 90s girl bands that were an antidote to lad-soaked Britpop, this doc is a history lesson but it’s also a warning: of how misogyny permeates the music scene; of how everyday sexism can stop girls from following their dreams, or even having those dreams in the first place; of how that which we do not nurture does not grow. There’s been leaps of progress recently to amplify women in music in Scotland but we’ve all got a part to play. So let’s get down there and support our local girl bands, make that zine, pick up that guitar. Let’s not let the new crop fade away too. And listen… if you’re holding auditions, you know where to find me.
[Emilie Roberts]
Released 18 Oct by
The Beast and playing it as a goofy historical romp rather than an existential anxiety dream. And there are some neat touches, like jumping from the Romantic Era to the New Romantic one – envisioning Alex first as a flamboyant highway robber, ordering passersby to “stand and deliver”, and then as an Adam and the Ants-style rocker.
Sadly, Timestalker doesn’t have the comic imagination to take advantage of its premise, with a surprising number of its jokes consisting simply of characters swearing, burping or falling over. And whether they’re wearing a powdered wig and a petticoat or a neon leotard, it just isn’t that funny. [Ross McIndoe]
Released 11 Oct by Vertigo; certificate 15
The Crime Is Mine
A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things
Timestalker
Since Yesterday: The Untold Story Of Scotland’s Girl Bands
Bonello’s
MUNA’S ETHIOPIAN CUISINE, EDINBURGH
Spicy, funky and ludicrously generous, the Ethiopian home-cooking at Muna’s is an absolute standout
STue-Fri and Sun, 2-10pm; Sat 6-10pm
@munasethiopiancuisine
Words: Peter Simpson
ome cafes and restaurants have remarkable staying power. The Skinny has been putting money across the counter of the excellent east African sandwich shop Africano Wrap Place for over a decade at this point, and we won’t stop now. But some locations just don’t seem to have it. One of these is the bumper unit on Gillespie Place, as Tollcross turns into Bruntsfield, which has been so many things over the years we’ve lost count.
Its latest resident, Muna’s, has been open for a week and a half on our visit and it’s packed – if you want your restaurant to be a hit, it turns out spending several years making great street food at markets around the city is a decent marketing strategy. There are incredible aromas wafting around the room, and frankly enormous plates on each of the tables. Then there’s Muna, the eponymous matriarch, ducking and diving through the restaurant in a large hat adorned with an Ethiopian flag. She’s seemingly on a mission to say hello to every single person in the restaurant before duty calls and she’s off through the back as quickly as she arrived. She will return. Also all the lights have just flickered off and then back on again, but that’s probably nothing.
Ethiopian food, and this branch of Ethiopian food in particular, is built on the injera – a sour, spongy, fermented flatbread that sits somewhere between a pancake, a crumpet, a dosa and the gnarliest, truest slice of sourdough you’ve ever had. That’s what’s literally underpinning those enormous plates of food, and Muna’s injera is great. Bouncy, firm, super-sour and mercifully easy to tear, which is crucial. Tear off a bit of injera, and dip, squish or grab something other than injera into it.
That’s the game this evening, and it’s one which this guy – noted fan of spice, fermentation and putting his hands in his dinner – is more than happy to play.
We pick out a selection of dishes, and they come as hefty dollops on a humongous, hubcapsized injera. Key Wot is a spicy beef stew flavoured with berbere spices – chilli, coriander, fenugreek, the lads are all here. The result is fiery, savoury, and a little bit citrusy. The Tibs – a lamb curry with spiced butter – is the richer, milder and more decadent of the two. The Kik Alicha – a rich yellow chickpea stew with garlic and ginger – isn’t a million miles from a south Indian dal, but with a little bit more bite and an extra oomph that we can’t quite put our finger on. The Defin Misir Wot is a lovely, melt-inthe-mouth stew of brown lentils and onions, and the Gomen – a slowcooked selection of greens topped with fresh herbs – adds a zip and a zing to whatever it touches.
And that’s the joy of this kind of eating – everything is touching everything else. You grab a piece of injera, scoop up a little Alicha and add a bit of the sauce from the Key Wot, and you have a spicy, earthy bite with a citric tang. Do the same, but swapping the Alicha for the Defin, and you get less of the turmeric low end but more of the spicy high notes. Those bright but sour greens, with that supersavoury lamb? Now we’re talking. Get that with a bit of the base injera that’s been slowly soaking up flavour from across the board, and you’re on to a winner. Muna’s back, and now shouting ‘is everything good?’ at a selection of diners from the kitchen door; endearing and efficient all in one move.
It’s all some combination of spicy, earthy, sour, rich and delicious, and by the end our napkins look like the Shroud of Turin’s cooler brother. We haven’t mentioned price yet, because that whole lot came in at £34.95. It’s an absurdly good deal considering the volume and variety on offer, not to mention the fact that – and don’t take this the wrong way, reader – there is no chance you’re making five curries for yourself on a weekday night. Muna will, and they’re all really good.
We step outside into the evening and find Omar, the patriarch of the excellent and long-standing Khartoum Cafe right next door to Muna’s, outside with a pal. “How was it?” he asks, and we give him the short version of this review, including the bit about Muna dashing around the restaurant. He pulls out a low laugh: “She’s a wild one,” he says. With food this good, we can imagine that we’ll find out a lot more about Muna and her cooking in the months and years to come.
8 Gillespie Pl, Edinburgh, EH10 4HS
By Sally Rooney rrrrr
The metaphor of chess is, in some ways, long overdue for Sally Rooney, an author whose novels are so meticulously choreographed, whose characters circle each other with such wary calculation, that each book feels like the invention of a new gameplay. In Intermezzo, we have our opening gambit: chess prodigy Ivan and lawyer Peter Koubek have just lost their father, and neither is handling it particularly well. Largely estranged from their mother and each other, each has effectively been rendered orphan at the tender age of 22 and 32 respectively. Enter the other piece on the board: gentle Margaret, Ivan’s 36 year-old divorced lover; Sylvia, Peter’s first love; and Naomi, his gen-Z girlfriend.
Rooney renders the various permutations of these relationships with her now-trademark acuity: trapped within defenceless desires and nervous insecurities, Ivan and Peter are also mired in a cla ing grief that makes the idea of forward motion almost impossible. Peter’s passages in particular show astonishing formal command, conveyed through Joycean sentence fragments whose subject pronouns are entirely dissolved from the page. Yet abdication of autonomy does not really exist even in the most liminal states: with incredible, sensitive insight, Rooney snags again and again on the tension between helplessness and agency, on the illusion of ever being fully stuck in one’s own life. Intermezzo is a novel supposedly about interludes, but even interludes, she tells us, contain a driving force. Grief, lust, heartache. We play our moves out across them all. [Anahit Behrooz]
By Malachy Tallack RRRRR
Malachy Tallack’s That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz has two strands which converge as the novel progresses. It begins in 1957 when a young sailor’s near-death experience makes him yearn for home and the promise it holds. We then jump to present-day Shetland, where Jack Paton leads a relatively solitary life, one with which he seems content until someone leaves him the unexpected gift of a kitten. Both then befriend Vaila, the daughter of his neighbour Sarah. Between them, they show Jack there is more to life than simple existence, but also that with relationships comes risk and the need for courage, something Jack has to dig deep to discover.
Music and song are central to the novel, with many of Jack’s life lessons learned from his record collection. He writes his own songs to try and make sense of life. Don’t make the mistake of skipping them (they appear as Jack’s own handwriting), as they don’t just mirror events but are where real emotional punches land. Tallack will be releasing an album of these songs as a companion piece, and they work together beautifully, both touching on love, loss, heartache, and regret, but also hope. That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz gives up its secrets subtly, so much so that when you eventually piece everything together the effect is unexpectedly profound. Tenderhearted and graceful, this is a novel to be cherished. A quite beautiful evocation that every life is extraordinary. [Alistair Braidwood]
Journeys and Flowers
By Mercè Rodoreda, trans. by Nick Caistor and Gala Sicart Olavide RRRRR
Looking back at her collection of work, Mercè Rodoreda said: “If they asked me which of my books I wanted to save from a fire, I would choose this one.” This October, Daunt Books brings Rodoreda’s newly translated collection of thirtyeight short stories to life in English for the first time. Split into two sections – journeys and flowers – the tales weave beauty and sadness across their pages.
Translated from Catalan by Nick Caistor and Gala Sicart Olavide, Journeys and Flowers flits across pastoral settings, spinning enchanting and surreal strands of narrative encased in the spectre of war. The stories blend horror and surrealism with a dreamlike ease, drawing on Rodoreda’s life with tales of soldiers, women and animals rising and breaking like waves upon rock. Born in 1908, raised in Barcelona and experiencing the horrors of the Spanish Civil War firsthand, Rodoreda moves away from her earlier style of psychological realism in this collection. Her words are carefully chosen and carefully translated as the stories flit from village to village spinning the tales of people trapped in their own time. This collection moves the reader from story to story seamlessly: Rodoreda’s stories are like a collection of snowglobes, frozen and beautiful. [Josephine Jay]
The village that Marigold Mind Laundry begins in doesn’t have a name, but it bears a strong resemblance to Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s Macondo – a remote spot where modernity is kept at bay and magic is a part of everyday reality. When a young villager named Jieun tragically loses her family, she embarks on a journey that will take her across hundreds of lifetimes, using her powers to set up the titular laundry, a place where hearts can be washed free of the troubled memories that stain them.
Jungeun Yun’s best-selling novel is a gentle story about how we hurt and heal. Each chapter introduces us to a new customer of Jieun’s, from a young filmmaker haunted by failure to an influencer plagued by success and a delivery man who keeps in constant motion in a bid to leave his childhood traumas behind. One by one, they all learn a little about how to move on from the darker parts of their lives, and Jieun slowly learns to do just the same.
The lessons found in Marigold Mind Laundry can be simple, even a little saccharine. Some of its wisdom feels a little faded from overuse, like when a character solemnly recites the ‘Dance like nobody is watching’ poem. But, for the most part, Yun’s novel is sweet and soothing, delivered in prose as soft and crisp as fresh folded laundry.
[Ross McIndoe]
Daunt Books, 10 Oct
Intermezzo
Marigold Mind Laundry
By Jungeun Yun, trans. by Shanna Tan RRRRR
That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz
Glasgow Music
Mon 30 Sep
YOT CLUB (LATE NIGHT DRIVE HOME)
KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Alt from New York.
GODSPEED YOU!
BLACK EMPEROR BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30
Post-punk from Canada.
MARY SPENDER
ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Singer-songwriter from the UK.
Tue 01 Oct
THE DANDY WARHOLS (THE BLACK ANGELS)
O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Alt rock from Portland.
KERR MERCER
ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Indie from the UK.
AMERY (KARL D'SILVA + CHIZU NNAMDI)
THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Synth pop from Canada.
Wed 02 Oct
PARTYNEXTDOOR
O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 R‘n’B from Canada. DUFF MCKAGAN (JAMES AND THE COLD GUN)
THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Hard rock from the US.
MICHAEL ALDAG STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Pop from Liverpool. GLASGOW AMERICANA (GOOD GUY HANK)
THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Americana.
THE COURETTES ROOM 2, 19:00–22:30 Garage rock from Denmark and Brazil.
Thu 03 Oct
IN FLAMES + ARCH ENEMY
O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Metal from Sweden. TOM ROBINSON KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from the UK.
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
CHIME SCHOOL MONO, 20:00–22:30 Indie pop from San Francisco.
APOCALYPTICA PLAYS
METALLICA
SWG3 19:00–22:30 Metal from Finland. STEVIE BILL SWG3 19:00–22:30 Pop from New York. NOW EX THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Alt pop from London. YOUNGR STEREO, 19:00–22:30
Singer-songwriter from Manchester.
KAREN JONAS
THE RUM SHACK, 19:30–22:30 Alt country from the US. BUZZARD BUZZARD BUZZARD THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Alt indie from Cardiff.
ALLIYAH ENYO X ANGEL R X SEÁN BEING EXIT GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Ambient and experimental. STEELJOY (HOYDEN + JUSTINE BEVERLEY + POMMES FRITES) ROOM 2, 19:00–22:30 Eclectic lineup.
Fri 04 Oct
JOE JACKSON O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Singer-songwriter from the UK.
DAN WHITLAM KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Rap from London.
STAN BUCKROYD SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Indie from the UK. ALEX SPENCER THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Manchester.
BECKY SIKASA STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Manchester.
GOLDIE LOOKIN CHAIN ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Hip-hop from Wales.
WILDFIRE SESSIONS (SHAUN LOWREY + JODIE DIFFER) THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:00–22:30 Pop rock from Glasgow. RACHEL BAIMAN + CAHALEN MORRISON CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 20:00–22:30 Indie lineup. GLASGOW AMERICANA (SULIDAE) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Americana. ADAM ROSS (JAMIE SUTHERLAND)
THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie folk from Scotland.
Sat 05 Oct
PEARL CHARLES
KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie pop from LA. KING BUZZO + TREVOR
DUNN MONO, 20:00–22:30 Rock from the US.
SCARLET REBELS
CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Wales.
DANNY MELLIN
THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Indie from the UK. GLASGOW AMERICANA STEREO, 19:30–22:30 Americana. BLASPHEMER (DEATH COLLECTO + REPULSIVE VISION + BRAINBATH + TYMVOS) THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00 Death metal from England. JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN
ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Alt indie from Connecticut.
TAUPE (TOCSIN BALUSTER) THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 20:00–22:30 Jazz from Glasgow. THE COUNTESS OF FIFE
CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:30–22:30 Alt country from Scotland.
LAVINIA BLACKWALL (ALEX REX + SOPHIE SEXON)
THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Psych folk from Scotland. GENTLEMEN OF FEW THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie rock from the UK.
BRENDA (GORDY DUNCAN + HUGH REED & THE VELVET UNDERPANTS + JINX LENNON + UNHOLY FRANKENSTEIN)
ROOM 2, 17:00–22:30 Eclectic lineup. Sun 06 Oct
JXDN O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Rock from the US.
ORANGE GOBLIN (CONAN)
KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Metal from London.
JET SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Australia.
SIOBHAN WINIFRED (MEG CHANDLER) SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Alt pop from Dorset. REAL ESTATE THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Indie rock from the US. BALANCING ACT THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Indie from Manchester. THORPE & MORRISON STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Folk from Birmingham. SECRET COAST
SONGWRITERS THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:30 Eclectic lineup. GLASGOW AMERICANA (PETER BRUNTNELL) THE GLAD CAFE, 15:00–17:00 Americana. GLASGOW AMERICANA (ANNIE KEATING BAND + HANNAH WHITE) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Americana. DEKKER THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie folk from the US.
Mon 07 Oct
GOOD NEIGHBOURS (ESME EMERSON) KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie from the UK. DREW MCDOWALL (ALLIYAH ENYO) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Composer from Scotland. DOUGLAS DARE THE RUM SHACK, 19:00–22:30 Pop from the UK.
BENEFITS THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Punk and alt.
Tue 08 Oct
VONDA SHEPARD
ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30
Singer-songwriter from New York.
STERLING PRESS
KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie from London. LOUIS DUNFORD SWG3, 19:00–22:30
Singer-songwriter from London.
IMMINENCE
THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Metal from Sweden.
BEDOUIN SOUNDCLASH
STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Dub punk from Canada. SALOON DION THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00 Indie from Bristol.
BESS ATWELL
ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Indie folk from Brighton. JAZZ AT THE GLAD (SAM BRAYSHER) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:00–22:30 Jazz from London. ANNA ERHARD THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Berlin.
ARIEL POSEN (DAN OWEN)
ROOM 2, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Canada.
Wed 09 Oct
MASTER PEACE
KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie from London.
BLUES PILLS
THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Sweden. SOAP STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Pop punk.
CROWDED HOUSE THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:30 Rock from Melbourne.
LADY MAISERY
THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Folk from the UK. Thu 10 Oct
THE LONG RYDERS
ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Alt country from the US. THE LAST DINNER PARTY
O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Indie rock from London. EIVØR
QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:30 Art pop from the Faroe Islands.
ASTON MERRYGOLD
SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Pop from the UK. TOM VEK
SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Indietronica from London. RÍOGHNACH CONNOLLY AND HONEYFEET STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Folk from Manchester. CORTO.ALTO
ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Jazz from Scotland. KAIA KATER (PIPPA BLUNDELL) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Folk from the US.
BLANKET (DELAIRE THE LIAR) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Post-rock from Blackpool. Fri 11 Oct
PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT
O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Post-punk from the UK. CROWS (HANK) KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Punk from London. MAX COOPER SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Electronica from London.
CARDIACS SWG3 19:00–22:30 Rock from the UK. TOM MEIGHAN BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Rock from the UK. JIM JONES ALL-STARS STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Rock ‘n’ roll from London. EVERYBODY GETS HURT (DESPIZE + SCARAB + PEST CONTROL + SPEEDWAY + FATE) THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00 Ultimate mosh hardcore from the US.
NINE BELOW ZERO (DR. FEELGOOD) ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Rock from the UK.
NICK HARPER THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from the UK.
TWEN THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie rock from the US. Sat 12 Oct
SAMBROSO ALLSTARS PLAY THE BUENA VISTA CLUB ORAN MOR, 18:30–22:30 Latin from London. MIMI BARKS THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Trap metal from Berlin. GUSTAFFSON STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Pop rock from Liverpool. RAYMOND MACDONALD + ALISTER SPENCE (SEMAY WU + SKYE REYNOLDS) THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriters from Glasgow and Australia. FLO PERLIN THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Folk jazz from London. Sun 13 Oct
MALLORY KNOX SWG3 19:00–22:30 Alt rock from the UK. JACK BOTTS STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Folk from Brisbane.
RACHAEL LAVELLE THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:00–22:30 Alt indie from Dublin.
JANET JACKSON THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:30 Pop from the US.
MEMORIALS THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Psych jazz from the UK. Mon 14 Oct
PRATEEK KUHAD ORAN MOR, 18:30–22:30 Indie from India.
POM POKO MONO, 20:00–22:30 Post-punk from Norway.
STARSET SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Ohio.
HANA LILI SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Indie rock from Wales.
LEAP THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Rock from London.
VIDEO AGE THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Rock from New Orleans.
Tue 15 Oct
JUDIE TZUKE ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Singer-songwriter from the UK.
CAT BURNS
O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Indie pop from London. MARIE NAFFAH SWG3 19:00–22:30 Singer-songwriter from the UK.
SAINTE SWG3 19:00–22:30 Rap from Leicester.
WUNDERHORSE BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Rock from the UK.
JOHN MAUS ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Synth pop from the US.
CHRYSANTHS (ADAM STAFFORD) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Glasgow.
BICURIOUS THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Post-rock from Dublin.
Wed 16 Oct
CARAVAN PALACE
O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Electro swing from Paris. FIELD MUSIC MONO, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Sunderland. SAINT MOTEL SWG3 19:00–22:30 Indie pop from LA. THE VANNS THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Indie rock from Australia.
PUBLIC SERVICE
BROADCASTING BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Art rock from London. JADE HELLIWELL (KATIE RIGBY ) THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00 Acoustic singer-songwriter.
UNKLE ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Electronica from the UK. BARD EDRINGTON & KARINA WILSON THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Indie from New Mexico. SEKOYA THE RUM SHACK, 19:00–22:30 Jazz from Scotland. SKATING POLLY THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Punk from Oklahoma. Thu 17 Oct
BERNARD BUTLER ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Alt rock from London. MABE FRATTI MONO, 20:00–22:30 Avant-garde from Guatemala. ZOE GRAHAM SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Indie pop from Glasgow. SHED SEVEN SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Rock from York. HEALTH THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Noise rock from LA. IGLU & HARTLY STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Pop rock from LA. SNOWGOOSE (THE LETTING GO) THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 20:00–22:30 Folk from Scotland. HARRY BIRD (RAIN OF ANIMALS + GK MCGINTY ) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Ireland. CHRIS STAPLETON (MARTY STUART) THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:30 Country from Kentucky. MAN & THE ECHO THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Warrington. BODEGA (GIFT) ROOM 2 19:00–22:30 Rock from New York.
Fri 18 Oct
TOM RASMUSSEN KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Alt from the UK. SKINNY LIVING SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Indie soul.
AMY PAPIRANSKY
SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Trad pop from Scotland.
GEOFF TATE (KIM
JENNETT)
CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:30 Rock from the US.
EMMA BLACKERY STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Pop rock from Essex.
DIALL (LOUSE + CODED MARKING
+ CARE HOME + BLEAKS) THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00 Hardcore from Newcastle.
NINA NESBITT
OLD FRUITMARKET
GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Folk from Scotland.
FLAIR THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:30 Alt rock from Glasgow.
BOAB THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Scotland.
KEANE THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:30 Alt rock from the UK.
MAD DOG MCREA
THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Folk rock from Plymouth. Sat 19 Oct
BLOSSOMS
O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Indie rock from Manchester.
ELLIPHANT
KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Punk from Sweden.
NATHAN EVANS & THE SAINT PHNX BAND
SWG3 19:00–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Scotland.
SKINDRED BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Heavy metal from Wales. THE COVASETTES
STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Indie from Manchester.
KEVIN P GILDAY & THE GLASGOW CROSS THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland.
MOTOPIA + SHE DREW THE GUN ROOM 2, 19:00–22:30 Eclectic lineup. Sun 20 Oct
BYWATER CALL
ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Soul and roots from Canada.
JOHN FRANCIS FLYNN ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:30 Folk from Ireland.
DIZZEE RASCAL
O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Rap from London. BOA
SWG3 19:00–22:30 Alt rock from the UK.
MOLCHAT DOMA SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Post-punk from Belarus.
LAUREL THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Indie from London. THE NEW ROSES THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Germany.
FATAL COLLISION (SPEEDER + NIGHT FIGHTER + LUXERA)
THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00 Thrash and speed metal. FRANKIE ARCHER THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Electro folk from the UK.
SUNDA ARC THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Electronica from Norwich. SKINSHAPE ROOM 2, 19:00–22:30 Underground from London.
Mon 21 Oct
BEA & HER BUSINESS
KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Pop from London.
LACUNA COIL SWG3, 19:00–22:30 Goth metal from Italy. JOHN GRANT BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Singer-songwriter from the US.
ISABEL LAROSA ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Pop from the US.
ADULT JAZZ
THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Experimental rock from the UK.
Tue 22 Oct
DARKSIDE
QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:30 Electronica from New York.
DZ DEATHRAYS STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Dance punk from Brisbane. BILLIAM & THE SPLIT BILLS THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00 Punk from Australia. ALTERED IMAGES
ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 New Wave from Scotland.
OISÍN LEECH
CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:00–22:30 Folk from Ireland.
LICE
THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Bristol.
Wed 23 Oct
NOISY
KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Alt indie from the UK.
WILD PINK MONO, 20:00–22:30 Indie rock from New York. LAGOS THUGS STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Afrobeat from Lagos. MODERNLOVE
ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:30 Pop punk from Ireland. CENZONTLE
THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:30 Experimental from Berlin. GIZMO VARILLAS THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Spain. FERRI & THE FEVERS THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Folk punk from Glasgow.
Thu 24 Oct
SAD NIGHT DYNAMITE (BUG EYED)
KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Indie pop from the UK. LOS BITCHOS QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:30 Rock from London.
MASTER BOOT RECORD
CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:30
Synth metal from Rome. :PANIC :OVER THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Bangor.
BIFFY CLYRO
BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Scotland.
STEVE KNIGHTLEY CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:00–22:30 Indie from the UK. MUI ZYU (RAVELOE) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Synth pop from the UK. SAVAGE MANSION (DANCER + SUSAN BEAR) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Scotland. Fri 25 Oct
LIANA FLORES (RAQUEL MARTINS)
KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30
Singer-songwriter from the UK. THE MALAKITES SWG3, 19:30–22:30 Post-punk from Wales. INDOOR FOXES THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:30 Bedroom pop from Scotland.
BIFFY CLYRO
BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Scotland. THE ICICLE WORKS STEREO, 19:00–22:30 Post-punk from Liverpool. RASH DECISION (KADDISH + SLOWMOVE + OH, RAIN) THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:30 Punk from Cornwall. AMY DUNCAN THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Scotland.
SAVAGE MANSION (HOUND + COME OUTSIDE) THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Indie from Scotland. Sat 26 Oct
STEPHEN WILSON JR. KING TUT’S, 19:30–22:30 Country from the US.
CASISDEAD QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:30 Rap from the UK. JAZMIN BEAN
SWG3 19:00–22:30 Pop from London. BIFFY CLYRO BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Scotland.
Sat 05 Oct
NIK KERSHAW THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:30 Pop from the UK. TOM ROBINSON BAND THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Punk from the UK. STEREO MCS THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:30 Hip-hop from the UK. RANDOM RULES: PROBLEM PATTERNS SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Punk from Belfast. GOLDIE LOOKIN
CHAIN
ANNA CASSIDY (MARINA ROLINK) THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Belfast.
FREAK HEAT WAVES (JAAKO EINO KALEVI) THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:30 Electronic psych from British Columbia. WHEN RIVERS MEET THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:30 Blues rock from the UK.
Edinburgh Music
Mon 30 Sep
FIRING AT STATUES BANNERMANS, 19:00–22:30
Pop punk from Glasgow.
Tue 01 Oct
ANVIL
BANNERMANS, 18:30–22:30
Heavy metal from Toronto. ROCKY AND ROSS LYNCH O2 ACADEMY EDINBURGH, 19:00–22:30 Rock. THE COURETTES THE CAVES, 19:30–22:30 Garage rock from Denmark and Brazil.
Wed 02 Oct
SATARIAL BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Metal from Russia. MIDWEEK NECTAR: ANNIE & THE JAYS (GAMBIT + MONDAY SERVICE + THE URBAN)
SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Pop rock from Edinburgh. COSMO SHELDRAKE SUMMERHALL, 19:00–22:30 Experimental folk from the UK.
Thu 03 Oct
THE ZEALOUS CHIEFTANS BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30
Heavy rock from Scotland. KING BUZZO + TREVOR DUNN THE CAVES, 19:00–22:30 Rock from the US.
ADAM ROSS
SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie folk from Scotland.
CAST
LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Liverpool.
Fri 04 Oct
APRIORI (WILD -FIRE + HOLYRUDE VAULT)
BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Hard rock from Blackpool. RADIO RATZ
WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock. THE WORRY PEOPLE (LIFEGARDEN) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock.
CHEMTRAILS (FISTYMUFFS) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Post-punk from Manchester. BOOZE N GLORY LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Punk rock from London. THE DARTS LEITH DEPOT, 19:30–22:30 Garage punk rock. Fri 11 Oct
LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Hip-hop from Wales.
Sun 06 Oct
STAN THE BAND
BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Newcastle. THE WEDDING PRESENT THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:30 Indie rock from Leeds. CALA (CURIOSITY SHOP)
SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Neo-trad from Inverness.
Mon 07 Oct
JENNY LASCELLES (POUR ME + RAWLINGS & WHITE)
BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Newcastle.
Tue 08 Oct
ROMEO STODART (THE MAGIC NUMBERS) + REN HARVIEU THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–22:30 Rock from London.
BENEFITS
WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Punk and alt.
Wed 09 Oct
SUSAN SANTOS
BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Spain. RÍOGHNACH CONNOLLY & HONEYFEET
THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Folk from the UK. SQUEEZE
USHER HALL, 19:00–22:30 Rock from London. DENT MAY (GURRY WURRY + PETER JOHNSTONE)
SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Bedroom pop from LA. LELY45 LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Indie pop from Ukraine. THE IRREPRESSIBLES THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Neo-orchestra.
Thu 10 Oct
SKILTRON BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Folk metal from Buenos Aires. NEW MODEL ARMY O2 ACADEMY EDINBURGH, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Bradford. SHUNYA (DUDÙ KOUATE + SEB ROCHFORD) THE CAVES, 19:00–22:30 Experimental from Ireland. GROOVE GARDEN (THE RAINFLOWERS + GROOVE DOWN + RINGU)
WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Rock, funk and indie. PUBLIC SERVICE
BROADCASTING THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:30 Art rock from London.
MAXÏMO PARK THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:30 Alt rock from the UK. JOHN ROBB THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–22:30 Rock from the UK. KAIA KATER (MIWA NAGATO -APTHORP) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Folk from the US. RACECAR (SOMER + MISTRAL) WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Folk pop. GOODBYE MR MACKENZIE THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Scotland.
ADULT DVD
SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie dance from Leeds. SAMBROSO ALLSTARS PLAY THE BUENA VISTA CLUB LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Latin from London. Sat 12 Oct
CREATURE CREATURE BANNERMANS, 20:00–22:30 Rock by Brighton. HUE AND CRY THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:30 Pop from Scotland. STONE FOUNDATION THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Soul from the UK. NICK HARPER THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from the UK. 10CC
USHER HALL, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Stockport. NORMAN SILVER & THE GOLD (BILLY LIAR) WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Indie punk. GEOFF TATE (KIM JENNETT) THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:30 Rock from the US. THE FIERCE & THE DEAD
SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Alt rock from London. COFFIN MULCH + SCORDATURA + RANCID CADAVER + JAUNDICE THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Death metal.
RACHAEL LAVELLE LEITH DEPOT, 19:00–22:00 Art pop from Dublin. Sun 13 Oct
SAMANTHA FISH
THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:30 Blues rock from the US. FLO PERLIN (ANGUS MTIZWA) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Folk jazz from London.
BEN HOWARD USHER HALL, 19:00–22:30 Indie folk from London. BOROUGH COUNCIL LEITH DEPOT, 19:00–22:00 Post-punk from Hastings.
Mon 14 Oct
BURNT KIT
BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Boston. SNOWGOOSE (BLUE GOOSE) THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Scotland. FIONA ROSS LEITH DEPOT, 19:30–22:30 Jazz.
Tue 15 Oct
TAILGUNNER (BATTLE BORN) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30
Heavy metal from the UK. WALLOWS O2 ACADEMY EDINBURGH, 19:00–22:30 Alt rock from LA. HANNAH ALDRIDGE (KATIE BATES) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Country from Alabama. NATURE TV (WYNONA BLEACH + LEI HOPE) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie pop from Brighton.
Wed 16 Oct
WOE (SIDIOUS) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30
Black metal from the US. WALLOWS O2 ACADEMY EDINBURGH, 19:00–22:30 Alt rock from LA. THE BATHERS THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:30 Rock from Scotland.
REAL FARMER SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Art punk from Netherlands. JOHN MAUS SUMMERHALL, 19:00–22:30 Synth pop from the US. CHRYSANTHS (HAILEY BEAVIS) SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30
Singer-songwriter from Glasgow. EVAN DANDO LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Rock from the US. HARRY BIRD LEITH DEPOT, 19:30–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Ireland.
Thu 17 Oct
TOASTIE (THE DIRTY COOKS) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Dunfermline. WALTER TROUT (LAURA EVANS) THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:30 Blues rock from the US. JOHN FRANCIS FLYNN THE CAVES, 19:00–22:30 Folk from Ireland. SEB LOWE THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:30 Indie from the UK. KESSONCODA (SLOW KARMA + BECCA SLOAN) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Electronica/jazz from London.
LIZ JONES + BROKEN WINDOWS SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk rock from Scotland. SKINNY LIVING LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Indie soul.
Fri 18 Oct
THE 5 6 7 8’S (THE MASONICS) BANNERMANS, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Tokyo. ROBERT VINCENT THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Liverpool.
FAIRGROUND ATTRACTION
USHER HALL, 19:00–22:30 Soft rock from London. EVE SIMPSON (MALLY SMITH + SARAH OWENS) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Singer-songwriter from South Shields. ASTRID SONNE SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30 Experimental from Denmark. THE REAL PEOPLE THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock.
Sat 19 Oct
SUNDA ARC THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Electronica from Norwich. ANDY AHKTAR CELEBRATION (THE THANES + THE RAVEDIGGERS + WASTES OF TYME) WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Garage rock. METEOR AIRLINES
SUMMERHALL, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Morocco.
FRANKIE ARCHER SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30 Electro folk from the UK. GATHERING OF THE DAMNED (RUADH + EIHORT + VORTEX SUTRA) LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Metal.
RAZORLIGHT THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from London. Sun 20 Oct
MERCY UNION (TIM HAUSE) BANNERMANS, 19:00–22:30 Rock from New Jersey. THE MANFREDS FT. PAUL JONES THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:30 Pop from the UK. Mon 21 Oct THE ZOMBIE ECONOMISTS BANNERMANS, 19:00–22:30 Alt rock from Scotland. CENZONTLE (DEAR HEATHER) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Experimental from Berlin. PUNK ROCK FACTORY THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:30 Punk rock. KING NO - ONE SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Pop rock from York. AFRO CELT SOUND SYSTEM SUMMERHALL, 19:00–22:30 Afro-celtic. DARKSIDE LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Electronica from New York. FAITHFUL JOHANNES & NEOCIA (CEILING DEMONS) LEITH DEPOT, 18:00–22:30 Hip-hop from Durham. Tue 22 Oct IHLO (OMNEROD + RAMAGE INC) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Prog metal from the UK. KÄÄRIJÄ O2 ACADEMY EDINBURGH, 19:00–22:30 Rap from Finland. WILD PINK SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from New York.
Regular Glasgow club nights
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 international techno.
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.
SUNDAYS (THIRD OF THE MONTH) CHEERS FOR THIRD SUNDAY
DJ Kelmosh takes you through Mid-Southwestern 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 dedicated to validating your drunk-eyed existence.
WEDNESDAYS GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS
DJ Garry Garry Garry in G2 with chart remixes, along with beer pong competitions all night.
Regular Edinburgh club nights
Cabaret Voltaire
FRIDAYS
FLY CLUB
Edinburgh and Glasgowstraddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent.
SATURDAYS
PLEASURE
Regular Saturday night at Cab Vol, with residents and occasional special guests.
The Bongo Club
TUESDAYS
MIDNIGHT BASS, 23:00
Big basslines and small prices form the ethos behind this weekly Tuesday night, with drum'n'bass, jungle, bassline, grime and garage aplenty.
FRIDAYS (THIRD OF THE MONTH)
ELECTRIKAL, 23 00
Sound system and crew, part of a music and art collective specialising in BASS music.
FRIDAYS (MONTHLY, WEEK CHANGES)
SOUND SYSTEM LEGACIES, 23 00
Exploring the legacy of dub, reggae and roots music and sound system culture in the contemporary club landscape.
FRIDAYS (EVERY OTHER MONTH)
DISCO MAKOSSA, 23 00
Disco Makossa takes the dancefloor on a funk-filled trip through the sounds of African disco, boogie and house – strictly for the dancers.
FRIDAYS (EVERY OTHER MONTH)
OVERGROUND, 23 00
A safe space to appreciate all things rave, jungle, breakbeat and techno.
FRIDAYS (FIRST OR LAST OF THE MONTH) HEADSET, 23 00 Skillis and guests playing garage, techno, house and bass downstairs, with old school hip hop upstairs.
SATURDAYS (FIRST OR SECOND OF THE MONTH)
MESSENGER, 23 00 Roots reggae rocking since 1987 – foundation tune, fresh dubs, vibes alive, rockers, steppers, rub-a-dub.
SATURDAYS (MONTHLY )
MUMBO JUMBO, 23 00
Everything from disco, funk and soul to electro and house: Saturday night party music all night long.
SATURDAYS (MONTHLY ) SOULSVILLE INTERNATIONAL, 23 00 International soulful sounds.
SATURDAYS (EVERY OTHER MONTH) PULSE, 23 00 Techno night started in 2009 hosting regular special guests from the international scene.
Sneaky Pete’s
MONDAYS
MORRISON STREET/STAND B-SIDE/CHAOS IN THE COSMOS/TAIS-TOI House and techno dunts from some of Edinburgh's best young teams.
TUESDAYS RARE Weekly house and techno with rising local DJs and hot special guests.
THURSDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH) VOLENS CHORUS Resident DJs with an eclectic, global outlook
FRIDAYS (SECOND OF THE MONTH)
HOT MESS A night for queer people and their friends.
THURSDAYS
ELEMENT
Ross MacMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey.
FRIDAYS FRESH BEAT
Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic 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.
NATHAN EVANS & THE SAINT PHNX BAND LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Scotland.
Wed 23 Oct
DIVINE SHADE
BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30
Rock from Lyon. THE S.H.I.T. (THE DEBT COLLECTORS) THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:15–22:30 Blues rock.
LOS BITCHOS SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30 Rock from London. OISÍN LEECH SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30 Folk from Ireland.
Thu 24 Oct
THE CULT USHER HALL, 19:00–22:30 Rock from London. FOREIGN MORNINGS SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Alt rock from Belfast.
Fri 25 Oct
SONS OF LIBERTY (KIT TRIGG)
BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:30 Rock from Bristol. FREAK HEAT WAVES (JAAKO EINO KALEVI) CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–22:00 Electronic psych from British Columbia. IRON & WINE (LIZZIE NO)
SATURDAYS (LAST OF THE MONTH)
SOUL JAM Monthly no-holds-barred, down-and-dirty disco.
SUNDAYS POSTAL
Weekly Sunday session showcasing the very best of heavy-hitting local talent with some extra special guests.
The Liquid Room
SATURDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH) REWIND
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-brightening mix of Hip-hop, R'n'B and chart classics, with requests in the back room.
TUESDAYS TRASH TUESDAY Alternative Tuesday anthems cherry picked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.
WEDNESDAYS
COOKIE WEDNESDAY 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 noveltystuffed. 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
TWISTA
Banger after banger all night long.
THURSDAYS FLIRTY
Pop, cheese and chart.
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
TUESDAYS
MOVEMENT
House, techno, drum ‘n’ bass and garage.
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.
THIS FEELING: ROOMFORE (THE SUN DAY + THE NEAPOLITAN) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Rock from Dundee. DARKHER (MAUD THE MOTH) SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30 Metal from Germany. HENGE THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Electro rock.
Dundee
Music
Fri 04 Oct
WRONG LIFE (SMOKEY REAPER) CHURCH, 19:00–22:30 Pop punk from Edinburgh.
Thu 10 Oct
BECKY SIKASA BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 19:00–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Manchester.
Sat 12 Oct
TOASTIE (THE DIRTY COOKS) ROOTS, 19:00–22:30 Rock from Dunfermline.
Sun 13 Oct
LEWIS MCLAUGHLIN CHURCH, 19:00–22:30 Indie from Edinburgh.
Tue 15 Oct
THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:30 Folk rock from the UK. THE UNDERCOVER HIPPY
THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Folk reggae from the UK. HOLY COVES (THE CASTROS + EH52)
SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Rock from North Wales.
WOJTEK THE BEAR + XAN TYLER (MARTIN METCALFE)
SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30 Indie experimental.
LAGOS THUGS (KALAKUTA) SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:30 Afrobeat from Lagos. COCKNEY REJECTS LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00 Punk.
XENTRIX
THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Thrash and speed. Sat 26 Oct THE ICICLE WORKS THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Post-punk from Liverpool. JUNIOR BROTHER THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:30 Alt indie from Ireland.
MATILDA IN THE MIDDLE (KAT LIRONI) WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Indie.
GEOFF TATE (KIM JENNETT) BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 19:00–22:30 Rock from the US. Sat 19 Oct MAN OF MOON BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 19:00–22:30 Alt rock from Glasgow. Thu 24 Oct
NATHAN EVANS & THE SAINT PHNX BAND CHURCH, 19:00–22:30 Singer-songwriter from Scotland.
Fri 25 Oct
TRANSLATION + COLOURWAY + THE FROOBZ + THE SANKARAS ROOTS, 19:00–22:30 Eclectic lineup.
Sat 26 Oct
MIDNIGHT ALLEYS + CONNOR LIAM BYRNE & THE BAD KISSERS + JUTEBOX + TOMORROW KID ROOTS, 19:00–22:30 Eclectic lineup.
Glasgow Clubs
Wed 02 Oct
INTRO GLASGOW: 003 LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00 House and garage.
Thu 03 Oct
DANCE NO EVIL: OSMOSIS JONES (SPEKI C + LEWIS ROBERTSON + BREWBOY + CACKETT) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 House and garage. SUB CLUB PRESENTS GOLDIE B2B SPECIAL REQUEST SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00 Breakbeat.
Fri 04 Oct
MELLA DEE (CALL SUPER)
SWG3, 23:00–03:00 House and techno.
LUCA AGNELLI (KARAH + DJ BATE + TRKN)
SWG3, 23:00–03:00 Techno. LET THERE BE GROOVE SWG3, 23:00–03:00 House and disco. SOUND (JAMES HOMETOWN + T- O -D + IZIT? + MGANGA + CAMPEAZI)
STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Bass, dub and grime. EROSION (PINCH + MANTRA) THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Drum ‘n’ bass and jungle. HAPPINESS THERAPY LABEL NIGHT: BIG MIZ + BESSA LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00 House and garage.
JAIVA: DJ PAULETTE & BUTHOTHEWARRIOR B2B JOSHUA DUBE SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00 House and Afrohouse. MISSING PERSONS CLUB X NEVER SLEEP: GABBER ELEGANZA + DJ SMOKER + LOVEJOY THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 House and techno. CIVIC HOUSE PARTY X BAILE BAILE CIVIC HOUSE, 17:00–00:30 Highland themed party. Sat 05 Oct THEY: FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY
SWG3 15:00–03:00 House and techno. MAL HOMBRE (PETRICHOR + URGULA + ONA:V) SWG3, 23:00–03:00 Techno.
CL!CK X STEREO: JENSEN INTERCEPTOR (SALAM KITTY B2B 3MR + DJ BELLAROSA + GRLOFSWORDS) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Techno, bass and ghettotech.
A CUT ABOVE X GLOBAL FOLK (CHRIS IMLER + DAYAHUASCA + CLYDE ARCALIS B2B GOUREN + BECKY SPARKS) THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Experimental. ACT NATURAL NICE N SLEAZY, 23:30–04:00 House and Italo disco.
A LOVE FROM OUTER SPACE THE BERKELEY SUITE, 22:00–03:00 Club.
Sun 06 Oct KEEP ON WITH SPECIAL GUEST HARRI LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Deep house and disco. Thu 10 Oct
MEZ: PART 2 (CARMEN BAÍA + PRITHVI + HU-SANE + PASOSPROHIBIDOS) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Latin bass, bhangra and electro. FLIPSIDE WITH EMA (WOOZY/RINSE FM) LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Bass and dub.
BREATHE PRESENTS: MODEL MAN SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00 House and electronica. Fri 11 Oct
D.O.D SWG3, 23:00–03:00 Techno. SWEATBOX X STEREO: TAYHANA (MM B2B DOUBT + JWY + TEKHOLE) STEREO, 23:00–04:00 Bass and hard drum. COLD OPEN (BITTER BABE + TAMMO HESSELINK + LEWIS LOWE) THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Bass.
D -AMAGE & TRKN ALL NIGHT LONG ROOM 2 23:00–03:00 Techno and industrial. Sat 12 Oct CADZOW SWG3, 22:30–03:00 House and techno. GAIA JEANNOT & LEAHGTE TILL LATE: FUNDRAISER FOR ESIMS FOR GAZA STEREO, 23:00–03:00 R’n’B, hip-hop and bass. WRONG PARTY (ZILLAS ON ACID) THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Acid and disco. LA CHEETAH 15 X LEZURE WITH LEGOWELT LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Electronica. LOOSE JOINTS: OK WILLIAMS THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 Techno and house. CHISPA X ECCO PRESENTS: BEATRICE M EXIT GLASGOW, 22:00–03:00 Bass and dubstep. Sun 13 Oct
KEEP ON WITH OOFT! & DAVID BARBAROSSA LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Disco and balearic. Wed 16 Oct
TALKLESS DANCE MORE LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00 House.
Thu 17 Oct
RARE CLUB: ROSS FROM FRIENDS PRESENTS BUBBLE
LOVE SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00 House and garage.
Fri 18 Oct
SHOOT YOUR SHOT:
MARIE DAVIDSON
SWG3, 20:00–03:00 House and techno.
SONNY FODERA (JAZZY )
SWG3 22:00–03:00 House and techno.
BREAKHAUS DEBUT
PARTY: FACE2FACE (CORRAN F2F HU-
SANE + TEODOR F2F ROY DON)
STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Breakbeat and bass.
H4LW4 X WSHWSH (DIJA + 222BABYCHAI + SALAM KITTY + FATMA) THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Breakbeat.
I LOVE ACID THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 Techno and acid.
Sat 19 Oct THROUGH THE ROOF: OBSKÜR
SWG3, 23:00–03:00 Hip-hop and noise.
VAN DAMN
SWG3, 23:00–03:00 House.
I LOVE MUSIC TOO (KOOSHTY B2B
JACUZZI BABY + CARMEN BAÍA + SPENDDOGG + RYANS. REEL)
STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Hyperpop, electro and house.
PLANTAINCHIPPS
CURATES
EXIT GLASGOW, 22:00–03:00 Bass and club.
Thu 24 Oct
RINSE 30: YUNG
SINGH B2B MOKTAR + HU-SANE
SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00 Techno and house.
Fri 25 Oct
EROSION (TIM REAPER + DJ FLIGHT) THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Drum ‘n’ bass and jungle. ANIMAL FARM: FREDDY K + QUAIL + TRAINSPOTTERS
SUB CLUB, 23:00–04:00 Techno.
CÉLESTE W/ THELMA THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 Electro.
Sat 26 Oct
NRG 004: HALLOWEEN SWG3, 21:00–03:00 Techno.
STEREO X NEHZA
RECORDS: RONI, DE GRANDI & AMOR SATYR (XIVRO) STEREO, 23:00–03:00 Experimental and bass. TIMES TO BE REALISED (DEBONAIR + FKA BOURSIN + RIBEKA + LUCA)
THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 Experimental.
Edinburgh Clubs
Mon 30 Sep
YBZ COLLECTIVE: ODF
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 UK garage.
Wed 02 Oct
HAPTIC: TRUFFALO BASS, BOKONON, BARTEK
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 UK garage.
Fri 04 Oct
CALL ME MAYBE LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop.
DISORDER PRESENTS: BENNY L (METALHEADZ / AUDIOPORN) THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Drum ‘n’ bass. EPIKA THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno.
Sat 05 Oct
TAIS-TOI // DJ BORING THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Techno and house. EHFM: POTPOURRI VS RATARSED SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Queer club.
K-POP PARTY LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 K-pop.
SAMEDIA SHEBEEN FEAT. AZULON (LIVE) + SAMEDIA DJS THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Afrobeat and Latin.
Wed 09 Oct
OVERGROUND
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Rave.
Thu 10 Oct
RED ROOM SOUND: FRESHTA SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Bass from London. PINK PONY RAVE LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop and dance.
Fri 11 Oct
DANIEL AVERY : SNEAKY PETE’S INSTALLATION #011 FRUITMARKET, 20:00–00:00 Techno from London.
MISS WORLD: BEATRICE M. & EMA SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Bass from Bristol/Dublin. BACK TO THE 80’S LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Disco and pop. SATSUMA SOUNDS THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 House and disco. CTS THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Hardcore.
Sat 12 Oct
ARTHI HARD: ARTHI, BAKEY, COMRADE MASSIE FRUITMARKET, 20:00–00:00 Club and UK garage from London. KIROLLUS + EDINBURGH DISCO LOVERS + CLUB NACHT + HOBBES MUSIC THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00 House and disco. ASCENSION
WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00 Industrial and Goth. REDSTONE PRESS: TAMMO HESSELINK SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Techno from Amsterdam. VIVID VS ELATION THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Trance and techno.
Sun 13 Oct
FREE TIME: MACHINEDRUM DJ SET
SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Hip-hop and drum ‘n’ bass from California.
Wed 16 Oct
MEMBRANE: LIVWUTANG
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Techno from New York.
Thu 17 Oct
AGORA: TALKLESS
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Bass.
SWIFTOGEDDON LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop.
Fri 18 Oct
EDINBURGH DISCO LOVERS
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Disco. POSTY PARTY LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Hip-hop and pop. INDIE SOCIETY THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Indie club.
Sat 19 Oct
BETAMAX WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00 Synth pop. CLUB MEDITERRANEO
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Disco.
DECADE
LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop punk and emo.
Mon 21 Oct
MILE HIJACK: YUNG KIDD, LOWREE & FOURTH PRECINCT
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 UK techno.
Wed 23 Oct
ARIELLE FREE: FREE YOUR MIND
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Tech house.
Thu 24 Oct
MARGINS
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Global club.
Fri 25 Oct
CLUB SIGNAL: TASHA
SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Techno from London. SO FETCH: 2000S HALLOWEEN PARTY
LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop.
LUNAR THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 House and techno.
Sat 26 Oct
SOUR (DJ MILK MONEY )
WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00 Hyperpop and dance. CLUB CULTURE: SHAPESHIFTER LA BELLE ANGELE, 15:00–22:00 House.
REGGAETON HALLOWEEN PARTY LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Latin.
PULSE: SILICONE SOUL & VIOLENCE THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno. House
Dundee Clubs
Fri 11 Oct
PINK PONY RAVE CHURCH, 22:30–03:00 Pop and dance.
Fri 18 Oct
SAD GIRL RAVE CHURCH, 22:30–03:00 Pop.
Fri 25 Oct
SO FETCH: 2000S HALLOWEEN PARTY CHURCH, 22:30–03:00 Pop.
Sat 26 Oct
WE ARE STILL YOUNG: HALLOWEEN PARTY CHURCH, 22:30–03:00 Pop punk and emo.
Glasgow Comedy
The Glee Club
CARL HUTCHINSON: TODAY YEARS OLD
24 OCT, 7:00PM –8:00PM
Carl is back for a third consecutive back-to-back tour.
THE SCUMMY MUMMIES: GREATEST HITS
2 OCT, 7:00PM-8:00PM
Join Ellie and Helen as they celebrate ten years of scumminess.
COBO: COMEDY SHUTDOWN BLACK HISTORY MONTH
SPECIAL
6 OCT, 7:15PM-8:30PM
An evening of rip-roaring, back-slapping belly laughs bringing together some of the most talented comedians on the circuit.
FRANKIE BOYLE’S WORK IN PROGRESS SHAMBLES AND BOOK READING
13-16 OCT, 6:00PM –7:00PM Frankie Boyle does some new jokes, some old jokes, and reads some of his new book A Short History of the Apocalypse in a haphazard attempt to amuse.
GURSIMRAN KHAMBA
LIVE!
26 OCT, 1:00PM –2:00PM
Gursimran Khamba is a stand up comic, writer, director, producer and various other titles that require constantly chasing after invoices.
The Old Hairdressers
IMPROV FUCKTOWN
8 OCT, 7:00PM – 8:00PM
Glasgow Improv Theatre Presents: Welcome to Improv Fucktown, population: you.
HAROLD NIGHT
1 OCT, 8:30PM – 9:30PM
Two Glasgow Improv Theatre house teams performing The Harold. Featuring F.L.U.S.H. and Raintown!
YER DA WANTS A WORD
15 OCT, 7:00PM –8:00PM Monthly show from Yer Da! Stick your name in the bucket for the jam at end.
PERFECT IMPROV
22 OCT, 8:30PM –9:30PM Wade into the stream of improv comedy with stories flowing from a special guest monologist.
The Stand
Glasgow FREEDOM FROM TORTURE BENEFIT
20 OCT, 8:00PM –9:00PM
Freedom from Torture is the only UK human rights charity dedicated to the support and protection of torture survivors. Line-up TBC.
SCREEN TIME
3 OCT, 8:30PM – 9:30PM A new mutlimedia comedy night hosted by Fearghas Kelly.
Regular Glasgow comedy nights
Drygate Brewing Co.
FIRST AND THIRD TUESDAY OF THE MONTH
DRYGATE COMEDY LAB, 19:00
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.
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, 20:30
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 COMEDY, 19:00
An evening of awardwinning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday.
Regular Edinburgh comedy nights
The Stand
Edinburgh
MONDAYS
RED RAW, 20:30
Legendary new material night with up to 8 acts.
TUESDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)
STU & GARRY’S IMPROV SHOW, 20:30
The Stand’s very own Stu & Garry’s make comedy cold from suggestions.
THURSDAYS
THE BEST OF SCOTTISH COMEDY, 20:30
Simply the best comics on the contemporary Scottish circuit.
FRIDAYS THE FRIDAY SHOW, 21
The big weekend show :00with four comedians.
SATURDAYS
THE SATURDAY SHOW (THE EARLY SHOW), 17:00
A slightly earlier performance of the big weekend show with four comedians.
TRAVIS JAY: TRAVISTY
10 OCT, 8:00PM –9:00PM Travis Jay brings his brandnew show Travesty on his debut tour.
SEAN COLLINS: STILL SMOKIN FUNNY
16 OCT, 8:30PM –9:30PM Sean Collins, a stalwart of the standup scene with three decades of uproarious experience, takes center stage.
RHYS NICHOLSON: HUGE BIG PARTY CONGRATULATIONS
2 OCT, 8:30PM – 9:30PM
On this, the year of our Lord 2024, it's a brand-new, hour-long, stand-up comedy concert from your old pal Rhys Nicholson.
MATT BRAGG HAS NOTHING WRONG WITH HIM
5 OCT, 4:00PM – 5:00PM A selection of the comedian’s best bits from seven years on the comedy circuit.
EMMA DORAN : DILEMMA!
9 OCT, 8:30PM – 9:30PM If turning 40 is the start of something new, what is it the end of?
SCHALK BEZUIDENHOUTKEEPING UP
12 OCT, 4:00PM –5:00PM Newly married, Schalk feels older, wiser and much more mature, but all he wants is to stay “hip with the youth”.
SATURDAYS THE SATURDAY SHOW, 20:30
The big weekend show with four comedians.
Monkey Barrel
SECOND AND THIRD TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH
THE EDINBURGH REVUE, 19:00
The University of Edinburgh's Comedy Society, who put on sketch and stand-up comedy shows every two weeks.
WEDNESDAYS TOP BANANA, 19:00
Catch the stars of tomorrow today in Monkey Barrel's new act night every Wednesday.
THURSDAYS SNEAK PEAK, 19:00 + 21:00
Four acts every Thursday take to the stage to try out new material.
MARK THOMASGAFFA TAPES
13 OCT, 8:30PM –9:30PM
Jokes, rants, politics, play and the occasional sing song. If you don't know what he does ask your parents.
SPENCER JONES
19 OCT, 4:00PM-5:00PM
The star of BBC's The Mind of Herbert Clunkerdunk and of BBC’s Mister Winner comes to you on tour with his irresistibly madcap show.
COMEDY NIGHT IN CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH
20 OCT, 5:00PM –6:00PM
Get ready to laugh and shake that bum in this evening of pure comedy and music.
GIGGLES FOR GLEN - A BENEFIT FOR THE BUTTERFLY TRUST
24 OCT, 8:30PM –9:30PM
A special benefit show Giggles for Glen in celebration of Victoria Glen. Hosted by Jay Lafferty. THE BIG HALLOWEEN KIDS COMEDY SHOW
26 OCT, 2:00PM –3:00PM
A brand new unpredictable Halloween Comedy show for the whole family filled with nonsense, games, stand up, improv and competitions.
COBO: COMEDY SHUTDOWN BLACK HISTORY MONTH
SPECIAL
6 OCT, 6:00PM-7:30PM
An evening of rip-roaring, back-slapping belly laughs bringing together some of the most talented comedians on the circuit.
COUNT BINFACE: BINDEPENDENCE DAY 9 OCT, 8:00PM –10:00PM
Count Binface has landed! The universe’s favourite novelty politician is back on our planet, and just in the nick of time.
BRITISH COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR (SCOTLAND HEAT) 10 OCT, 8:00PM –10:30PM A stellar mix of comedians battle it out for the title of ‘British Comedian of the Year 2024’.
SCHALK
FRIDAYS MONKEY BARREL COMEDY'S BIG FRIDAY SHOW, 19:00/21:00 Monkey Barrel's flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.
FRIDAYS DATING CRAPP, 22:00 Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, Farmers Only...Come and laugh as some of Scotland's best improvisers join forces to perform based off two audience members dating profiles.
SATURDAYS
MONKEY BARREL COMEDY'S BIG SATURDAY SHOW, 17:00/19:00/21:00
Monkey Barrel's flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.
SUNDAYS MONKEY BARREL COMEDY'S BIG SUNDAY SHOW, 19:00/21:00 Monkey Barrel's flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.
Edinburgh
Comedy
Festival
Theatre
ED GAMBLE: HOT DIGGITY DOG
20 OCT, 7:30PM –10:30PM Ed Gamble has minced a load of meat (thoughts), piped it into a casing (show) and it’s coming to a bun (venue) near you.
Monkey Barrel
Comedy Club
PRIYA HALL: WORK IN PROGRESS
19 OCT, 8:00PM –9:00PM
A work in progress hour from comedian Priya Hall. THE SCUMMY MUMMIES: GREATEST HITS
30 SEP, 8:00PM-10:00PM
Join Ellie and Helen as they celebrate ten years of scumminess.
SPENCER JONES
21 OCT, 8:00PM-9:40PM
The star of BBC's The Mind of Herbert Clunkerdunk and of BBC’s Mister Winner comes to you on tour with his irresistibly madcap show.
JACKIE FABULOUS: FULL CIRCLE
3 OCT, 7:00PM – 8:00PM
Jackie Fabulous has been carving her place in comedy in her native America since being a semi-finalist in America’s Got Talent.
BEZUIDENHOUT: KEEPING UP 13 OCT, 8:00PM –9:50PM As seen on Netflix and Comedy Central and fresh from supporting Trevor Noah on his arena tour. A CAREFREE EVENING OUT WITH NEIL HAMBURGER 14 OCT, 8:00PM –9:45PM
Enjoy A Carefree Evening Out with Neil Hamburger plus special guest Major Entertainer.
LAURA LEXX: SLINKY 18 OCT, 8:00PM –9:40PM Join multi award winning stand up star and viral sensation Laura Lexx with her highly anticipated UK tour.
CHRIS KENT: OFFLINE (WIP) 18 OCT, 8:30PM –9:30PM Chris Kent tries to give up the internet and navigate life without asking his phone what to eat, where to go or how to get home.
GARRETT MILLERICK: NEEDS MORE SPACE 25 OCT, 8:00PM –9:40PM Comedy's angriest optimist returns for a hilarious, honest, and mostly historically accurate, exploration of space travel.
CAMPFIRE IMPROV 25 OCT, 10:00PM –11:30PM Gather round the campfire to watch some of Scotland’s top improvisers create hilarious scenes based on stories from a special guest monologist.
JOHN HASTINGS 26 OCT, 8:00PM –9:00PM God's favourite comedian returns to his ancestral home to do what he does best, a bunch of jokes in order.
The Queen’s Hall
GARRISON KEILLOR: TONIGHT 19 OCT, 7:00PM –10:30PM
One man, one microphone, one comedy extravaganza. The Stand
Edinburgh
SAM JAY: A PROPER CLUB TOUR
8 OCT, 8:30PM – 9:30PM After the success of the last visit, Sam Jay is back with a brand new show.
TRAVIS JAY: TRAVISTY
9 OCT, 8:00PM – 9:00PM Travis Jay brings his brandnew show Travesty on his debut tour.
EMMA DORAN:
DILEMMA!
10 OCT, 8:30PM –9:30PM
If turning 40 is the start of something new, what is it the end of?
SEAN COLLINS: STILL
SMOKIN FUNNY
17 OCT, 8:30PM –
9:30PM
Sean Collins, a stalwart of the standup scene with three decades of uproarious experience, takes center stage.
CHRIS KENT - BACK
AT IT
19 OCT, 5:00PM –
6:00PM
Cork man Chris Kent returns with his brand new show Back At It.
URZILA CARLSON: JUST JOKES
21-21 OCT, TIMES VARY
South African-New Zealander Comedian, Urzila Carlson returns to tour the UK with her new show.
Glasgow Theatre
Oran Mor
A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: ANNA/ ANASTASIA
1-5 OCT, 1:00PM –
2:00PM
A hilarious comedy inspired by the true story of Anna Anderson, the greatest imposter of the 20th century.
A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: LOST GIRLS/AT BUS STOPS
7-12 OCT, 1:00PM –
2:00PM
Two girls navigate the chaos of the Fringe in this epic queer romance and love letter to the world's greatest and most magical arts festival.
A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: DETAINED
14-19 OCT, 1:00PM –
2:00PM
A tense new drama about two best friends and the broken British immigration system.
A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: CASSIE AND THE SPACE COWBOY
21-26 OCT, 1:00PM –
2:00PM
A hilarious satirical comedy set during an alien invasion, exploring the extremities of a post-truth world.
The King’s Theatre
BLOOD BROTHERS
15-19 OCT, TIMES VARY
The beloved musical tale of separated-at-birth twins who grow up on opposite sides of the tracks.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
8-12 OCT, TIMES VARY
Train travel has never been so glamorous or so dangerous than in this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s landmark murder mystery.
Theatre Royal
SCOTTISH OPERA: DON PASQUALE
12-26 OCT, 7:15PM –10:30PM
Set at the start of the Swinging Sixties, this production of Donizetti's quick-witted comedy explores the not so happily married life of Don Pasquale.
SCOTTISH OPERA: ALBERT HERRING
18-22 OCT, 7:15PM –10:30PM
One of the 20th century's most beloved operatic comedies, Britten’s loose adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s short story is full of 90s nostalgia.
Tron Theatre AFTER PARTY
4-5 OCT, TIMES VARY
An autobiographical performance of personal and political comedowns growing up in the aftermath of New Labour.
NO LOVE SONGS
24-26 OCT, TIMES VARY
A tale of the trials of parenting told through music by Kyle Falconer.
SMALL TOWN BOYS
8-13 OCT, 8:00PM –10:30PM
A tender, chaotic exploration of the escapism of nightlife during the AIDS crisis, held offsite at The Polo Lounge.
Edinburgh
Theatre
Assembly Roxy UP
5 OCT, 7:30PM –10:30PM
A fantasy table-top exploration using object theatre to explore themes of fate and chance.
Festival Theatre
PEAKY BLINDERS: THE REDEMPTION OF THOMAS SHELBY
1-5 OCT, TIMES VARY
A gorgeously choreographed adaptation of the hit TV show from groundbreaking dance company Rambert.
CARRIE HOPE
FLETCHER: LOVE LETTERS
15 OCT, 7:30PM –10:30PM
The West End star returns with a new solo show. QUDUS ONIKEKU/ QDANCE COMPANY: RE:INCARNATION
18-19 OCT, 7:30PM –10:30PM Nigeria's celebrated QDance Company explode onto the stage with their exuberant Re:INCARNATION.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
22-26 OCT, TIMES VARY Train travel has never been so glamorous or so dangerous than in this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s landmark murder mystery.
Royal Lyceum
Theatre
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
24 OCT-9 NOV, TIMES VARY
One of the great works of 20th-century American theatre makes its way to Edinburgh from Pitlochry.
Summerhall
AFTER PARTY 11-12 OCT, TIMES VARY
An autobiographical performance of personal and political comedowns growing up in the aftermath of New Labour.
HER BY JENNIFER ADAM
8-10 OCT, 7:30PM –10:30PM The harmful aftershocks of gender inequality are explored in this powerful play.
The Edinburgh Playhouse
HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL
7-12 OCT, TIMES VARY
A feel-good musical comedy about making your own way in the world.
THE BOOK OF MORMON
15 OCT-2 NOV, TIMES
VARY
A hit, outrageous musical comedy from the makers of South Park.
The Studio
LOVE THE SINNER
1 OCT, 7:30PM –10:30PM
Physical theatre and intoxicating music come together in this imagination of the seven deadly sins let loose in Scotland.
DEMENTIA: THE MUSICAL
12 OCT, TIMES VARY
A brand new musical based on the campaigning work of three of Scotland's longest serving dementia activists James McKillop, Nancy McAdam and Agnes Houston.
THAT FEELING WHEN 25-26 OCT, TIMES VARY
The seasons act as a guide to navigating cycles of teenagehood in this beautiful sensory dance piece.
Traverse Theatre
RUCKUS
1-3 OCT, 8:00PM –
10:30PM
Love transforms into coercion in this powerful exploration of abuse which gained critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022.
SEARCH PARTY
4 OCT, 8:00PM –10:30PM
Poetry unravels from an immense archive in this audience-led, masterful delve into the act of creation.
TO SAVE THE SEA
10-12 OCT, TIMES VARY Inspired by a real-life 1995 protest against Shell, this vibrant new musical is ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: ARMOUR 1-5 OCT, 1:00PM –2:00PM
Two of the women in Robert Burns’ life meet 30 years after his death in this quintessential Scottish musical.
A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: ANNA/ ANASTASIA
8-12 OCT, 1:00PM –2:00PM
A hilarious comedy inspired by the true story of Anna Anderson, the greatest imposter of the 20th century.
A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: LOST GIRLS/AT BUS STOPS
15-18 OCT, 1:00PM –
2:00PM
Two girls navigate the chaos of the Fringe in this epic queer romance and love letter to the world's greatest and most magical arts festival.
A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: DETAINED
22-26 OCT, 1:00PM –2:00PM
A tense new drama about two best friends and the broken British immigration system.
ARÁN & IM
25-26 OCT, 8:00PM –10:30PM
A theatrical performance in which Manchán Magan bakes sourdough bread while offering insights into the wonders of the Irish language
Dundee Theatre
Dundee Rep ON OUR WAY TO LISBON
23 OCT, 7:30PM –10:30PM
Two fans recreate the epic campaign that led to Glasgow Celtic's 1967 European Cup win.
RAY 24-26 OCT, 7:30PM –10:30PM
Scottish Dance Theatre’s latest creation by Brusselsbased choreographer Meytal Blanaru explores ideas of emergence and the quest for a deep, collective physical experience.
LOVE THE SINNER
9 OCT, 7:30PM –10:30PM
Physical theatre and intoxicating music come together in this imagination of the seven deadly sins let loose in Scotland.
TO SAVE THE SEA
26 OCT, TIMES VARY
Inspired by a real-life 1995 protest against Shell, this vibrant new musical is ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
SNAKE IN THE GRASS
1-5 OCT, TIMES VARY Murders about in this stylish and clever new murder mystery from Alan Ayckbourn.
DEMENTIA: THE MUSICAL
18 OCT, TIMES VARY
A brand new musical based on the campaigning work of three of Scotland's longest serving dementia activists James McKillop, Nancy McAdam and Agnes Houston.
MEYTAL BLANARU: DARK HORSE
17 OCT, 7:30PM –10:30PM
Physical theatre piece reflecting on the way we look at other bodies, and the way that we’re able to look at ourselves.
Glasgow
Art
CCA: Centre for Contemporary Art
DEBJANI BANERJEE: JALSAGHAR
1 OCT-21 DEC, TIMES VARY
An intricate exploration of Bengali culture set against a 1980s British childhood.
Compass
Gallery
NEIL MACPHERSON
RSA RGI RSW: LIFE IS A STRANGE PLACE
1-31 OCT, TIMES VARY Lyrical paintings inspired by the changing seasons, history and folklore of the Highlands.
David Dale Gallery and Studios
HOLLY WHITE: VIDEOS
3-26 OCT, 12:00PM –
5:00PM
Three video installations respond to each other, offering a screwball look at ideas of housing, domesticity, and capitalism through genres of dystopia, sci fi, and guerilla filmmaking.
GoMA
SCOTT MYLES: HEAD IN A BELL
1 OCT-23 FEB 25, 11:00AM – 4:00PM
An exhibition of painting, sculpture, print, moving image and sound exploring ideas of exchange and circulation, and the cyclicality of materiality.
JOHN AKOMFRAH: MIMESIS: AFRICAN
SOLDIER
26 OCT-31 AUG 25, 11:00AM – 4:00PM
A film installation from acclaimed artist exploring the significant contribution of over six million African, Caribbean and South Asian people from across former colonies who fought and died in World War I.
Patricia
Fleming
JO MCGONIGAL: BLANCO
1-4 OCT, 11:00AM –4:00PM
Minerals painted directly onto the gallery walls examine deep material histories.
Platform IF WE ONLY HAD THE SPACE
17-26 OCT, TIMES VARY
A new exhibition in contemporary craft that responds to the politics of housing, property rights and access to space.
SWG3
FLY TIP ROAD TRIP: GLASGOW
1 OCT-1 NOV, 12:00PM – 6:00PM
The latest showcase from the acclaimed What A Load O’ Rubbish campaign blends art and environmental activism to highlight our troubling relationship with waste.
Street Level
Photoworks
FUTUREPROOF 2024
1 OCT-3 NOV, TIMES
VARY
Futureproof returns for its 16th year, platforming the talent and diversity of newly graduated artists across Scotland’s dedicated Photography and Fine Art courses.
Tramway
DELAINE LE BAS: DELAINIA: 17071965
UNFOLDING
1-13 OCT, TIMES VARY
Objects, installations, textiles and costumes are positioned at the intersection of the personal and the political, exploring the artist’s Romani heritage.
Edinburgh
Art
City Art Centre
ADAM BRUCE
THOMSON: THE QUIET
PATH
1-6 OCT, TIMES VARY
A retrospective of a largely neglected landmark Scottish artist, who was among one of the first to study at the Edinburgh College of Art.
TAPE LETTERS: MIGRATION ON TAPE
3 OCT-23 FEB 25, TIMES VARY
A project exploring practices of sending messages on cassette tape as an unorthodox method of communication by Pakistani migrants between 1960-1980.
Collective Gallery
PASS SHADOW, WHISPER SHADE
18 OCT-22 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM
A group show by artists in the 2024 Satellites Programme exploring ideas of inheritance and legacy.
Dovecot
Studios
TANIA KOVATS: SEAMARKS
1 OCT-2 NOV, 10:00AM – 5:00PM
Tania Kovats’ seascapes rendered in brushstrokes and ceramics are being transformed into textile form with the creation of a new tapestry, exploring how art can respond to our climate emergency.
STITCHED: SCOTLAND’S EMBROIDERED ART
25 OCT-18 JAN 25, 10:00AM – 5:00PM
A new exhibition in collaboration with the National Trust for Scotland brings together an extraordinary collection of their embroidered textiles.
Edinburgh Printmakers
ADE ADESINA: INTERSECTION
1 OCT-10 NOV, 11:00AM – 4:00PM
Experimentations with screen printing and lithography explore the artist’s African roots and British surroundings.
TAYO ADEKUNLE: STORIES OF THE UNSEEN
1 OCT-10 NOV, 11:00AM – 4:00PM
Delving into historic accounts and expositions of race, this exhibition re-examines stories about blackness from a new and decolonial perspective.
Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop
JAN PIMBLETT: HYBRIDS
1-5 OCT, 11:00AM –5:00PM
Strange, hybrid creatures and artefacts highlight the arbitrary nature of boundaries and our warped assumptions surrounding purity, marginality and identity.
ETCHINGROOM1: WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY IN A WONDERFUL WORLD
1 OCT-1 MAR 25, 11:00AM – 5:00PM A collaboration between Ukrainian artists Kristina Yarosh and Anna Khodkova, this mural articulates the artists’ experiences of conflict and their strategies for resilience.
Embassy Gallery
THE DONKEY SHOW 4-6 OCT, 12:00PM –6:00PM
Fruitmarket
IBRAHIM MAHAMA: SONGS ABOUT ROSES
1-6 OCT, 10:00AM –
6:00PM
The first ever UK solo exhibition by Ghanaian artist using site-specific installation to interrogate ongoing legacies of colonialism and global migration.
HOLLY DAVEY: THE UNFORGETTING
19 OCT-17 NOV, 10:00AM – 6:00PM
A series of sculptures and installations celebrating all the women who have exhibited at Fruitmarket in its 50 year history, Ingleby Gallery
RICHARD FORSTER: OST..!
2 OCT-2 NOV, 11:00AM – 5:00PM
Photorealist pencil drawings explore ideas of place and otherness through the concept of Ostalgie 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
National Gallery AN IRISH
IMPRESSIONIST: LAVERY ON LOCATION
1-27 OCT, TIMES VARY
The late 19th and early 20th centuries come to life in this survey of renowned Belfast born artist, Sir John Lavery.
Open Eye Gallery
SAUL ROBERTSON: IDYLL
1-19 OCT, TIMES VARY
Paintings and drawings exploring how idylls can be formed in urban landscapes.
STUART BUCHANAN: WANDERING AND WONDERMENT
1-19 OCT, TIMES VARY
Paintings depicting small solitary figures explore ideas of peace and refuge.
Royal Botanic Garden
FUNGI FORMS
1 OCT-7 DEC, 10:00AM – 6:00PM
An exploration of the biological and cultural presence of fungi, told through music, literature, fashion, design, scent and visual art.
Royal Scottish Academy RSA
EVOLUTIONS
1-13 OCT, TIMES VARY
Spanning across various media, this innovative exhibition showcases work by nine recent recipients of RSA awards.
BRONWEN SLEIGH: CONVERGENCE
1-13 OCT, TIMES VARY
Working in printmaking, drawing and sculpture, these works draw from manmade structures and spaces and the ways they evolve over time to create the urban spaces we know today.
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art WOMEN IN REVOLT! ART AND ACTIVISM IN THE UK 1970–1990
1 OCT-26 JAN 25 10:00AM – 5:00PM
Stills HOME: UKRAINIAN PHOTOGRAPHY, UK WORDS
1-5 OCT, 12:00PM –5:00PM
Contemporary photography from Ukraine exploring the plurality of home and belonging.
Summerhall
YUMIKO ONO: COMPOSITION IV
1 OCT-1 NOV, 12:00PM – 5:30PM
Developed out of a residency program in Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, this large-scale work explores intersections between art and architecture.
Talbot Rice
Gallery
GUADALUPE
MARAVILLA: PIEDRAS DE FUEGO (FIRE STONES)
26 OCT-15 FEB 25, TIMES VARY
Sculptures, paintings and murals explore narratives of healing and recovery, drawing on global healing and shamanic practices.
Dundee Art
Cooper Gallery THE IGNORANT ART SCHOOL: SIT-IN #4: OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE
18 OCT-1 FEB 25, TIMES VARY Sit-in #4: Outside the Circle, is an exhibition and public event series inspired by and generated from feminist and queer movements since the beginning of the 20th century.
DCA: Dundee
Contemporary Arts
CLAUDIA MARTÍNEZ
GARAY
1 OCT-17 NOV, TIMES VARY
Multimedia work by Peruvian artist explores how artefacts, cultural relics, and propaganda communicate the history and social-political memory of cultures.
Generator Projects
RESIDENCE
RESIDENCE
3-6 OCT, 12:00PM –5:00PM
An experimental project highlighting three artists’s examination of entanglements between art, work and leisure, and how blurring the boundaries between the three can lead to anti-capitalist models of art.
V&A Dundee
PHOTO CITY: HOW IMAGES SHAPE THE URBAN WORLD
3-20 OCT, 10:00AM –5:00PM
Bringing together items from the V&A archive as well as two specially commissioned works to explore how two distinctly modern phenomena – cities and photography – have informed each other.
KIMONO: KYOTO TO CATWALK
3 OCT-5 JAN 25 10:00AM – 5:00PM
Taking the humble figure of the donkey as its subject, this exhibition examines how art itself moves between hard work and perseverance to parody and humour.
Fresh off a stint at Tate Britain, this exhibition documents two decades of seismic social and political change and the art that emerged from and challenged the ensuing culture.
Part-fashion survey, partexploration on material culture, this exhibition traces the history of the kimono from 17th-century Japan to contemporary runways.
Dundee venues round-up
We run through some of Dundee’s newest openings, from boil in the bag seafood to a new much-anticipated dessert spot
THE WHITE GOOSE
44 DOCK ST, DUNDEE, DD1 3DR
Resurrected from the elephant graveyard of Dundee restaurants that shut down during the pandemic, the new-and-improved White Goose is back with a bang near the scenic Waterfront development. The sleek venue’s interior echoes owners Lauren and Calum Runciman’s other premises, Giddy Goose and Black Mamba. But where Giddy is bursting with feverish fake flowers and Black Mamba is all plush, no mess, White Goose has a slightly more relaxed, bistro-type feel. The rattan decor will put you right in the mood for one of their delicious cocktails, many of which are made with jam in homage to Dundee’s historic industry. And the small but varied menu will cater to all tastes and dietary requirements, making it perfect for a weekend dinner date (they close at 5.30pm Sunday to Wednesday), a meal with family, or a casual lunch with friends.
HEAVENLY DESSERTS
48-54 REFORM ST, DUNDEE
DD1 1RT
This summer saw a new candy-coloured confection drop into one of Reform Street’s empty retail units as dessert chain Heavenly Desserts celebrated their grand opening. The pink-and-mint adorned dessert bar is the ultimate destination for those who
Words: Rebecca Baird
can’t resist a sweet little (or big) treat. From delicious non-alcoholic dessert cocktails to hot waffles, countless cakes and a rainbow of ice cream, it’s a toothache worth the trip. And the best part? It’s open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, providing a sugar high for those looking for an alternative to boozy nights out. Just be sure to wear your eating trousers – you certainly won’t leave hungry!
FIREWATER
1-5 SEAGATE, DUNDEE DD1 5EG
Dundee’s nightlife has taken some hits in recent years, but dance bar chain Firewater has breathed some heat back into the city’s evening offering. Students and locals alike have embraced the Seagate venue’s upbeat, unserious vibe. Themed nights (Wild West, Brat Summer and Y2K have featured already), cheap drinks and a social media team which doesn’t quit has made Firewater the hot new club as the autumn semester takes off.
Pro-tip: hip-hop fans, Tuesdays are for you.
SURF AND TURF
41 DOCK ST, DUNDEE DD1 3DR
The first boil in the bag seafood in Dundee… with sausage and tatties? Whether you’re excited, disturbed or intrigued, there’s no doubt that this new Dock Street restaurant is bringing something new to the city’s culinary offering. The former Indian restaurant has been given a makeover, and what started as a plan to rebrand as a fish and chips place snowballed into a full steak and seafood outfit. And the American-style ‘boil in the bag’ dish, with mussels, crab, shrimp, lobster and clams as well as sausage and potatoes, has taken the city by storm. Who’s trying it, then?
Heavenly Desserts
Photo: Rebecca Baird
The Skinny On... Tricia Reid
80s Glasgow band Sophisticated Boom Boom – a favourite of John Peel’s – are reuniting to support the release of Carla J. Easton and Blair Young’s doc Since Yesterday. Ahead of that gig, the band’s guitarist, Tricia Reid, takes our Q&A
Carla J. Easton and Blair Young’s new film, Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands, is a sparky music documentary celebrating some of the Scottish girl bands who should be on every Scottish teen’s wall but aren’t – bands like Strawberry Switchblade, The Ettes, The Twinsets, The McKinleys, The Hedrons and Lung Leg. Also featured in the doc are excellent 80s Glasgow outfit Sophisticated Boom Boom (later known as His Latest Flame) and they’ll be helping launch Since Yesterday at the Glasgow premiere on 18 October by headlining a post-screening gig at Mono. Ahead of Sophisticated Boom Boom’s return to the stage, we asked the band’s guitarist, Tricia Reid, to take on our monthly Q&A.
What’s your favourite place to visit and why?
I like to travel, so I have lots of favourite places. Paris and New York spring to mind, and more recently Hong Kong, but I’ve been lucky enough to spend a bit of time in India, which is a feast for the senses. If I really had to choose, it would be India.
Favourite food and why?
Probably South Asian, because I’m Glaswegian. Glasgow is a city deeply in love with the curry house after all. Also, it’s excellent for vegans and ve ies, so my children basically.
Favourite colour and why?
I’ve taken a liking to purple recently, mostly because it suits ma auld grey heid, but also because it’s the colour synonymous with the 1970s, which is the best decade for music.
Who was your hero growing up?
[Celtic and Scotland legend] Jimmy Johnstone because he made all the people I loved so very happy.
Whose work inspires you now?
What’s your all-time favourite album? This is a ridiculous question, but if forced I’d have to say Hounds of Love [Kate Bush, 1985].
What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen? Titanic [1997] because of the song and the bad ageing makeup.
What book would you take to a desert island? A Thousand Nights and One Nights because I haven’t read it and I understand it’s very long but also varied and saucy.
Who’s the worst?
J. K. Rowling.
When did you last cry? Yesterday. I cry all the time. I heartily recommend it. It’s good for you.
What are you most scared of? Something bad happening to my children or my partner.
When did you last vomit and why?
I don’t vomit often, so maybe 15 years ago and that would have been food poisoning. Hasn’t put me off oysters, though.
I retrained as an academic, so I’m currently big into cultural theorists like Sara Ahmed, Stuart Hall and Jack Halberstam. In Scottish music, I’m inspired by the Hen Hoose collective, which I really wish had been around when I was young. I would have bloody loved that.
What three people would you invite to your dinner party and what are you cooking?
Muriel Spark, Patti Smith and Caryl Churchill. I’d make aash reshteh for the hot-fired garlic and onions.
Tell us a secret?
I once took acid and had a rather interesting conversation with a seagull.
Which celebrity could you take in a fight? Russell Brand. Anytime.
How was the experience of being featured in Since Yesterday?
It was great, really. A bit discombobulating being sucked back in time, but great to reminisce with the girls in the band, and to feel that our contribution to Scottish music, however minimal, was being valued and restored to the historical record. Also, every single woman featured in the film is a legend in her own right, just for having the sheer audacity to get up there in the first place. It’s really gratifying and very cool to be in such excellent company. Carla and Blair have done a wonderful thing. Truly.
What’s your favourite memory of playing with Sophisticated Boom Boom?
Camaraderie, dressing up, getting into songwriting, meeting John Peel. It was all fabulous.
What’s your most memorable interaction with an audience member?
Walking past a group of guys in Hurricanes bar in Glasgow and hearing one of them say “That’s that girl from Sophisticated Boom Boom. She looks like a fucking witch.” I remember laughing and thinking. “My work here is done.”
Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands is in UK cinemas from 18 Oct
Screening dates and locations at sinceyesterdayfilm.com
Photo: Peter McArthur
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust Hidden Door Festival Collective Royal Scottish Academy Fruitmarket Stills: Centre for Photography Edinburgh Festival Fringe EAF Edinburgh
International Festival Dovecot Studios Talbot Rice Gallery
Surgeons’ Hall Museums Edinburgh Printmakers Jupiter Artland
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